Back in May, I became aware that the swallows we had seen flying around, doing their finest acrobatics above us and filling the air with their high-pitched liquid tunes, had begun to build a nest in the workshop. How exciting! In the eight years we have lived here, no swallows have nested in our outbuildings before, apart from a couple of unsuccessful attempts in the field shelter out in the meadow a few years ago.
Each year, their arrival from Africa ushers in the long, heady days of summer and I love seeing them fly high and low above …
A little posy of freshly picked sweet peas, as colourful as they are fragrant, sits on my desk as I write this. I am in the sunroom where, with the door and window open, the sounds, sights and smells of the season waft in and mingle around me. As always, they provide much of the inspiration for these posts and the time of the Summer Solstice, tomorrow in the northern hemisphere, is no exception.
The air is filled with the distant sound of agricultural machinery working in the fields, making hay or silage for winter fodder. A thrush sings …
It's Lammas tomorrow, the festival on the Wheel of the Year that marks the mid-point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. The high energy of Summer is now waning and as we move into the month of August nature offers us the very first glimpses of Autumn. Have you noticed any signs where you are?
Here in the Welsh hills, the landscape around the smallholding is dominated by the purpley-pink blooms of rosebay willowherb that mingle with the creamy froths of meadowsweet and the vigorous and abundant green bracken. At home, the fruit trees in our orchard …
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 …
As we move into August, we pass the half way point in the calendar between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. The long days of Summer are drawing in and we are making our way towards Autumn. On the Wheel of the Year, this point is Lammas, a celebration of the first harvest, the Grain Harvest. The word 'Lammas' comes from 'loaf mass' and indicates how important and meaningful the first grain and the first baked loaf of the harvesting cycle are.
We are now at peak Summer when the harvest season begins in earnest. Growth of early …
Last week, under blue skies and record-beating temperatures, we hosted a band from Toulouse in France, on tour in Mid-Wales. Four extremely talented musicians, one of whom is Maryline's goddaughter Marie-Emilie, filled our home by day with fun, laughter and creativity and by night delighted audiences in five different venues and settings with their vibrant tones especially arranged by them for the three flutes and one guitar quartett.
Over the last nine months, Maryline had been dipping her toes into the world of music and concerts to set up some gigs for El Deseo Quartett in Mid-Wales and Shropshire …
Before moving to Wales, we lived in Salisbury for 15 years and never once did we go to the Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge a few miles away. We probably missed out... Stonehenge at the Solstice is a big event. There were things like family life and work commitments that meant we never joined in the all-night / early morning festivities. In any case, crowds are not really our cup of tea.
Last night, tempted by the invitation over on Facebook by some Montgomery friends to gather at the Town Hill County Memorial Monument to see the sun rise on …
Our little spot in the hills of Mid-Wales is alive and in full growth. The bird population is at its peak as the young have now fledged and some are coming to the feeders with the adults. The grasses in the fields have turned to seed and have now reached well above my knees! Our tiny flock of sheep cannot graze the grass fast enough at this time of year and our Shetland ewe lamb easily disappears from sight in there! To my delight, I have spotted a few wild orchids in the meadow. The honeysuckle in the lane is …
A couple of Sundays ago, we held an Open Shepherd's Hut afternoon with friends and neighbours, as a way to launch our new venture and to show what we have created. It was a lovely gathering, a real celebration of what we have achieved, almost a year to the day since we first set eyes on our shepherd's hut.
It was an almost sunny afternoon (given the cold and wet weather we've been having this August, that was a good thing!) and people came and went as they pleased. Our local Welsh Assembly Member even responded to our invitation …
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.
