Author: Ashley
Samhain 2023
Here on these islands we have just turned the clocks back by one hour, leaving summer time behind and moving into the months of shorter days and longer nights.
Who reading this, hasn’t heard of Halloween? It is also Samhain, the end and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. In Japanese culture, it is the season of Frost Falls (October 23-November 6). An important time, no matter where humans are in the northern hemisphere. A magical time!
Darkness grows - An ending, a beginning, And renewal.
I have added another piece to my set of Ogham sticks: elder, Sambucus nigra. It is the 15th tree in the Celtic Tree Ogham and is known as a tree of regeneration and wisdom. It is also known as a tree of endings and beginnings. I’ve almost completed my set of Ogham sticks and am looking into different ways to continue my tree journey.
November to March is an ideal time to plant trees. I collected and planted some beech seeds last November and already they are several inches high. This year I’ve planted some conkers from a horse chestnut tree. These trees will be too big when fully grown to plant into my own garden but I’m sure others would be glad to have them, once they are a few years old. A few years ago I grew some oaks from acorns: two of them I planted with permission on a small island in Lough Neagh so I must return there and see how they are doing. If you would like to plant trees from seed, here is a link you might like to follow (Plantober):
https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/
Again, I need to thank Glennie Kindred for her book Sacred Earth Celebrations. It now has a permanent place on my desk. Here is a link to her website:
https://www.glenniekindred.co.uk/
Ashley
Silent Sunday: a walk in Lurgan Park
The Last Flowers
This morning I did some dead-heading in our little garden. I took photos, as they are probably the last flowers of this year.
The Michaelmas Daisies are vibrant on this overcast morning. There is something about the combination of the rain filled clouds and the light that actually magnifies some colours.
Due later today is Storm Agnes and so we also moved most of our pots into safer positions. The storm is supposed to be at its worst tonight. Let’s hope it doesn’t do too much damage and that those who need to be outside, will be safe.
No verse this time but an extra photograph showing the Ogham stick I whittled for the Autumn Equinox. It is of apple wood. Apple is the tenth tree in the Celtic Tree Ogham. The tree is regarded nearly everywhere as a symbol of Earth’s abundance.
Ashley
Autumn Equinox 2023
Whilst the ivy is still flowering and attracting bees, also the occasional butterfly, the Nerine bulbs have come into bloom, just in time for the autumn equinox.
Still there are flowers, As the daylight fades -- Spider lilies.
I have a made a note in my diary to find more of these amazing blooms to plant in my little garden for next year. Also I need to add more Asters like this compact variety.
I’ve just read that the autumn equinox is considered to be the doorway to winter, a time to let go of the past and move forward. So, for today and the next few weeks, let us all enjoy the beauty and colours of the remaining flowers in our gardens.
Happy Autumn Equinox.
Ashley
Mid Autumn
Today it is overcast, grey, and now the rain has arrived; a sign of the weather to come: dull and drab! However, yesterday, around midday, the sun shone and it was warm. The ivy flowers, which have been closed since they appeared a few weeks ago, suddenly were open. Open for business!
Warm sunshine, Bright at the top of the hedge -- Movement there!
Butterflies and bees feeding there, On the blooming ivy flowers -- A true sign of autumn.
Ivy! Such a maligned plant in a garden, and yet it is so important for our pollinators!
I can’t resist adding this last photo of 3 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies (Aglais urticae) on one of our dwarf Buddleia (Buzz Velvet Red).
Not long now until the Autumn Equinox!
Early September
The temperature is currently 22c and it is expected to rise by at least another 2c this afternoon! That is hot for this part of these islands! According to the traditional pagan calendar that I follow for my seasonal writing, the autumn began in early August, whilst meteorologists claim the 1st September as the start of autumn!
There is another calendar, of which I no very little, the astronomical calendar, & that has autumn starting around the 21st September. My dear WordPress friend Marina, at
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/2091483/posts/4877388110
will have to fill me in on the meaning of astrological autumn, however, after I complained about the miserable summer we were having here in July and August, she did offer to send me some warm sunny Mediterranean sunshine. It has surely arrived, & Marina, I can only say thank her for her sunny uplifting wishes!
These photos are from a day out to Groomsport on the north coast of County Down. The little harbour sits facing into Belfast Lough & the Irish Sea & I love it there! If I could live there (in my dreams) I would be in heaven: very few people except in summer, one pub, a small supermarket, a restaurant & very accessible to the usual amenities that an older person like me would need! It was so warm I had to wear my shorts! Sorry! No photographs! 🤣 But it was the best day out that we’ve had in months!
The problems of the world, the Earth’s climate, the war in Europe & various other negative personal stories, did not go away, but I’m refreshed & renewed, simply by visiting the coast! Thank you, Marina! 🤗🌹🙋♂️
Lammas
On every flower, A butterfly, a bee; Summer's bounty.
Goodness! It’s the beginning of August already and isn’t the cycle of life amazing? All Earth’s creatures are aware of the changes in the season.
Lammas; Gathering grain for winter, Seeds for sowing next year.
Lammas, the Saxon name for this time of year, meaning “Loaf-mass”, or as it is called in Irish Gaelic Lughnasadh, is a celebration of the rich harvest that is beginning across these islands. Whilst the harvest occurs people still make corn dollies or rattles and healing wands but for me I continue to whittle Ogham sticks when I find the right wood. Here are my latest: Hazel and Gorse.
Hazel (Corylus avellana) is the ninth tree in the Celtic Tree Ogham. Its straight coppiced poles have been used in many ways by humans for thousands of years. It’s been a good companion to humanity and with that in mind I hope to make a walking stick with that extra long piece I was given.
Gorse (Ulex europaeus) is the seventeenth wood in the Ogham. Not actually a tree, it is found mostly on moorland and rough ground where its flowers can be seen throughout the year. It is also known as Whin or Furze.
Ashley
Summer Celebration
July garden; A bounty of butterflies, Sipping nectar.
Holly Blue: Celastrina argiolus. Large White: Pieris brassicae.
Meadow Brown: Maniola jurtina. Peacock: Aglais io.
Small Tortoiseshell: Aglais urticae. Small White: Pieris rapae.
Today it is raining, persistently, but yesterday between the showers I recorded all of these butterflies. Surely, a celebration of summer, Earth’s season of plenty.
Ashley
A random verse & video
Saturday afternoon. The sun was warm and I was trying to read my book but the wind wouldn’t let my mind settle. In front of me on the dwarf Buddleia was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. Thankfully, I had my mobile phone beside me and I was able to capture a few minutes of action. Out of this scene came a random verse and my first (probably my only) action movie!
A Different View 