Lammas 2026

August 1, 2026August 1, 2026 ~ Ashley ~ 20 Comments



Full of vigour,
In garden and field,
Sweet ivy.

Sweet ivy,
Forever weaving,
Rarely enclosed.

Already it’s August and Lammas is upon us; a time when we celebrate the summer and the gathering in of the harvest. There’s work to be done as the wheel of the year turns towards the Autumn Equinox and the darker days of winter.

Ivy, Gort in Irish, is the 12th letter (G) in the Ogham Tree Year. As Yuri Leitch says in his book The Ogham Grove, Ivy is an evergreen and is seen symbolically, as immortal; of the spirit world.

Ivy, Hedera helix, is not actually a tree, but a climber belonging to the Aralia family, Araliaceae. A slow grower it can live for hundreds of years. Its fruits are nutritious to birds like blackbirds and thrushes but they are poisonous to humans if ingested: the berries contain Triterpenoid Saponins and Oxalate Crystals. The leaves were collected as fodder for livestock from ancient times up until the 16th century.

In ancient Egypt, Ivy was dedicated to Osiris, the lord of vegetation. Along with the vine, it was concocted to use in ceremonies to honour the Greek vegetation god Dionysos, called Bacchus by the Romans.

A tough wood, it has been used to make tool handles.

Ashley

Books I’ve used as references:

The Ogham Grove by Yuri Leitch ISBN 9781517653637

The Spirit of Trees by Fred Hageneder ISBN 0-86315-557-X

Lammas 2025

July 1, 2025July 31, 2025 ~ Ashley ~ 10 Comments



Butterflies,
Flitting from flower to flower;
Peace.

The end of July and the beginning of August, is the traditional festival of Lammas, a time of abundance and in the pagan calendar, seen as the beginning of autumn. There are so many flowers in our tiny garden but this Buddleia, a dwarf variety, is a favourite. Known as the butterfly bush or shrub, we can see why it is so called. I didn’t manage to capture on camera the other butterflies in the garden but I am working on a further linked post with some artwork which I shall publish shortly. 🤞🤞

Ashley

A short holiday by Strangford Lough

August 27, 2024 ~ Ashley ~ 45 Comments

Our short holiday should have been taken earlier this year, but had to be delayed. The owner of the property we stayed at (Stay on the Bay, in Kircubbin) was really helpful and it was rearranged for August.

1view through the upstair lounge

The ‘upside-down’ cottage was brilliant and waking up in the mornings to the sound of the waves was wonderful. The weather hasn’t been the best this year, especially August, but a change is as good as a rest, as they say! Without stress or pressure, we just took each day as it came.

A short drive took us to Greyabbey.

1greyabbey

4greyabbey from the physic garden

Greyabbey was delightful. The village has few shops but there is enough to keep one occupied, exploring the craft and antique shops before lunch. Of course, a visit to the ruins of the abbey, a Cistercian monastery, is a must. It was founded in 1193 by Affreca, the daughter of Gofraid, the king of Man and the Isles. She was the wife of John de Courcy, the Anglo-Norman adventurer.

On another day, we visited the National Trust property of Mount Stewart.

1mount stewart main entrance