Once again, the gap since my last blog offering is bigger than I would like. I had planned to send a Summer Solstice post out but several things conspired against its timely dispatch. First, I was troubled by some lower back sciatic pain that slowed me right down in the garden at the height of the busy season and I have avoided sitting down at the computer for too long to give my body a chance to recover. Secondly, my mum came to stay with us in June and I made sure to spend as much time as possible together …
Today is the Winter Solstice, marking the shortest day of the year and the beginning of a new season. Darkness has now reached its peak and from this point on, we witness a gradual lengthening of days and shortening of nights. At Midwinter, I always feel within me a relief, a sense that we have turned a corner, a profound joy that comes from knowing the light is returning to us. A deep knowing that goes beyond me, a seemingly unexplainable connection that transcends my personal history and experience on this Earth. As the years go by, Yule speaks to …
Today is the Summer Solstice, marking the longest day of the year with maximum hours of daylight as the Sun reaches its peak in its ascending - or waxing – phase. Since the Winter Solstice six months ago, the light has steadily increased throughout two seasons and it reaches culmination point now at Summer Solstice. Now is the time to celebrate the strong energy of the Sun and the long days of Summer that will bring us a bountiful harvest to feed us during the dark, cold and leaner days of Winter.
I cannot believe I have not written a new blog piece in a couple of months!! Well, actually, I can believe it as it has been a busy Summer here with our son's graduation, our silver wedding anniversary party and having visitors as well as completing various small projects on the smallholding and tending the garden, by now in full growing mode with generous offerings of fruit and vegetables that need harvesting and preserving for later.
At the end of July, we also celebrated our first anniversary of living here. These last 12 months have gone incredibly fast and …
