summer

Where are all the butterflies?

~ Ashley ~ 62 Comments

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Blooming buddleia,
At the height of summer;
No butterflies!

As a recorder of butterflies in our little garden I am happy to see that my wonderful buddleia* is enjoying some afternoon sunshine.  Unfortunately, I have not recorded any butterflies in the garden since late May.  I am advised by the County Recorder that the lack of butterflies may be due to the mild and wet winter, followed by a dull, mild and wet spring!  The weather!!!  The climate???

 My geraniums are still flowering but here are some daisies** that have burst into flower over the last few days.

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*The buddleia, Buzz Velvet Red, has shot up this year.  It was supposed to be a dwarf variety.  All buddleia usually known as ‘butterfly bush’.

**The daisies are actually Leucanthemum superbum white.  We also have them in yellow but they are just not as far forward. 

Ashley

 

Summer Solstice 2024

~ Ashley ~ 58 Comments

Oh my goodness!  Here we are at the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and still it doesn’t feel like summer!  Whilst we’ve had a few sunny days, the skies have mostly been overcast.  Still, the cycle of nature continues to turn and here in our little garden, some of my favourite flowers are blooming, even with overcast skies.  Geraniums are relatively easy to grow and there are many hardy varieties to choose from which flower throughout the summer months.

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With longer days,
Summer flowers open;
Oh my, geraniums!


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Unfortunately, I’ve lost most of their names but I think the 2nd photo shows Johnson’s Blue, and the 3rd photo shows Bob’s Blunder.

Finally, here is a picture from our small garden, under a grey sky:

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In the northern hemisphere, the sun is at its highest point and the wheel of the year begins again. I hope that we do get some warmer days even as each day passes it is a little shorter than the previous one.

Happy Summer Solstice 🧡🌞

Ashley

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Early September

~ Ashley ~ 39 Comments

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!

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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! 🤗🌹🙋‍♂️

Summer Celebration

~ Ashley ~ 54 Comments 
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

Beltain 2023

~ Ashley ~ 44 Comments

1 hawthorn

2 hawthorn

3 hawthorn (2)

New greenery everywhere,
White buds ready to burst into flower --
Hawthorn on May Day.

It’s May Day or if you follow an older ancient tradition, Beltain.  The Hawthorn is just beginning to show a few flowers and my heart rejoices to know the Earth’s energies are stirring.  I’m happy to celebrate this quickening of fertility and growth in my verse!  Today is warmer and with many damp weeks behind us the flowers and trees are sending us a message: the summer is here!

In my attempts to write these 3 line verses I follow the ancient agricultural calendar which is also the Hokku calendar.* 

In the Celtic Tree Ogham, Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is the sixth tree: Huath, H. and it brings the spirit of wild places, even when growing in a town.  As the seasons change I hope to include more references to the Tree Ogham.**

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Happy Beltain, a time when Earth’s energies are at their most active.  The Earth is alive, not just at the surface but in its depths.

Ashley

[So much of what I am learning about traditional Earth celebrations is down to the writings of Glennie Kindred and I give thanks to her for her love and blessings which I am returning to her through my verse]

https://www.glenniekindred.co.uk

 

* Through David Coomler’s wonderful writings on WordPress I continue to learn about Hokku. https://hokku.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/the-traditional-hokku-calendar-west-and-east/

** https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ogham