GLOW OF THE EVENING SUN

November 25, 2015 | gaiainaction

What a most beautiful day it has been, full sun and quite warm for the time of year. This evening I happen to be in the garden getting in the washing and noticed what beautiful light surrounded me, and how the evening sun was bringing out all the colours of vegetables and herbs alike. Magnificent especially as not long after that the moon came up, large and beautiful.

I feel so blessed with all the beauty that surrounds me. Really good to counter balance all the sadness and strife that is going on in our earth.

Feeling grateful.

LIVE IN SILENCE

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 | gaiainaction

“Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open? Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking. Live in silence. Flow down and down in always widening rings of being.”
Rumi, The Essential Rumi

KINDNESS

November 19, 2015 | gaiainaction

I have just come off the phone from my sister Josefine in Belgium, and what we do not hear about in the news here I will tell.

The fact that in Mechelen, a town in Belgium, there has been a large gathering the other day of people of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths, all together in brotherly love, praying for peace.

If you just look at the news there is a lot of scare mongering going on, but it is not the way it is. The feeling is not that we should be scared of our neighbours, but that we should show them extra consideration and kindness, and in this way evil is not winning, but goodness is.

Just thought I would share this.

A WINDY NOVEMBER EVENING

November 17, 2015 | gaiainaction

While it has been windy for the past week, today was wilder still. It has been drying out the garden which is good as the heavy rains have made it so sodden that doing any work in there is just impossible. This wild weather has brought with it some amazing views of a watery sun this evening. Birds have had their feathers ruffled big time, and they must have been very seasick from sitting on the swinging branches of the trees! So far we still have electricity but a lot of the country are without it, I would not mind as I love candle light and we always have candles handy during winter time just to be prepared. Right now the stove is roaring as the draft is strong, a lovely cosy evening with my partner, after a day making the kitchen ‘mouse’ proof, something that has to be done at the beginning of every winter, there should be nothing in paper or plastic, everything should be in strong glass containers, and now it is 🙂 it feels good to have done this, something I had on my list and can scratch out.

PREDAWN KIND OF CLARITY

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 | gaiainaction

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“Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge. ”

Reif Larsen, from The Selected Works of T.S.Spivet

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“Do you ever get the feeling like you already know the entire contents of the universe somewhere inside of your head, as if you were born with a complete map of this world already grafted onto the folds of your cerebellum and you are just spending your entire life figuring out how to access this map?”
Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T.S.Spivet

A BLESSED SUNDAY IN RURAL IRELAND

November 2, 2015November 17, 2015 | gaiainaction

Harry Clarke is well known for his use of the most beautiful colours, deep blues especially delight the eye. This is one of the stained glass windows in St.Barrahane’s Church in Castletownshend, Ireland, there are three windows designed by Harry Clarke in this little church. We spent some time here last Sunday as my latest grandchild was being christened. Because of the week that was in it there was not much work done in the garden, apart from the hedge cutting. I went on an outing with my daughter and grandchildren one of the days, we did some shopping but also walked along the estuary and bird sanctuary at Timoleague and saw the ruins of an old abbey there (http://www.timoleague.ie/abbey/default.html). And on Friday we had a crafts day with the two oldest girls, we made a treasure box from scrap items which they thought was great fun! Then on Sunday there was yet another outing to the christening, and a stroll along the country road where the starlings were making a racket but otherwise all was very peaceful.

Meanwhile it is the second of November and still the weather is mild and a golden sun burnt away the grey skies this morning. So far we have been really blessed with the weather here which we gratefully accept after a rather cool and sunless summer.

Sts Louis IX and Martin of Tours – stained glass window by Harry Clarke.

Sunday stroll around the old pub where we had lunch, an old farm door took my interest.

Magically recreated soap powder boxes. And deep pink hydrangeas along the Irish country roads.

Starlings gathering in the trees, and autumn leaves all along the hedgerows.

THE HEDGE GOT CUT TODAY

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 | gaiainaction

Well, believe it or not but today the hedge got cut, and it wasn’t me that did it 🙂 I tried, and did not manage it, so I got someone else to do it, he was a nice and precise guy and he worked real hard. My little helper was here too, and he had so much fun watching and even trying to help a bit with clearing up.

I just had to do something about the height and thickness of that hedge, as discussed in an earlier blog post. Half of the height was cut down, this means that we can see some of the neighbour houses, and some of the town below, but it does not matter, around here all the people are real nice, and down the little town there is no industry at all. All we can see are things such as warehouses and building suppliers, or hardware stores and some other residential areas. Further along we see a wooded hill (the Atlantic Ocean is beyond that), and flowing pastoral scenes sometimes with sheep in the fields, how much better can it get if you live urban. Now that the hedges are lower the sun today was illuminating and warming the soggy, wooden, raised beds, all is wet and sad enough looking, all the raised beds badly need attention. I am hoping that the garden will become dryer now that the wind can reach everything better, yes it is more exposed now so I will have to take that into account during the winter months.

A brilliant day had by all, and much work done, now I feel more motivated to work on my raised beds again.

A hole in the hedge waiting for tender loving care (new plants in other words) And my elderberry sapling.

My little helper having fun, and afterwards inside we were preparing garlic for planting.

AUTUMN MIRTH

October 27, 2015October 27, 2015 | gaiainaction

“To-day I think
Only with scents, – scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot’s seed,
And the square mustard field;

Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;

The smoke’s smell, too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.

It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth.”

From a poem called DIGGING.”
Edward Thomas, Collected Poems

HERBAL MEDICINE WORKSHOP

October 18, 2015October 19, 2015 | gaiainaction

Today at the Hollies I attended a workshop which taught me more about how to make some medicinal herbal teas, tinctures, syrups, creams, and ointments for regular use, for small ailments. We learnt to identify the plants first on a walk through the land, as I have an interest in herbs for a long time, I had no difficulty recognising them all. What I was hoping to get out of the workshop was a bit more knowledge on how to make a cream or an ointment from infused oils, compresses, poultices, and I found it not only interesting, I also found it inspiring. We went through so much information, took notes, took photos, chatted, and listened, and of course we tasted and tried stuff we made, and we smelled every plant we used, and what a variety; Mullein, echinacea, hypericum, fennel, plantain, hawthorn, periwinkle, rosehip, sage, marsh mallow, calendula, rosemary, comfrey, yarrow, and elderberry. After a few hours of identifying and picking plants, we went inside and enjoyed a nice lunch of nettle soup, homemade bread and hummus, after that we got stuck into brewing up our stuff, first we chopped up some rosemary and also some comfrey root, we made a tea of the rosemary leaves, and cooked up the comfrey root in hot oil (au bain marie), we strained it, and added it to the beeswax which we had cut up and melted (au bain marie) also. Finally we mixed all the ingredients together and poured into little jars. This ointment is said to be good for sprains.

For the cream we made we used calendula flowers, and rosemary leaves, the method was straight forward enough, as was the method to make a tincture, or a syrup.

I think that I finally have found the motivation to use more of the herbs I am growing, and some of the oils that have been waiting to be turned into creams and ointments.

So much to look forward to.

A great group of interested people gathered around so many herbs.

Making the cream was of even more interest to me, we made it of calendula flowers and rosemary, the result was great.

Stirring the cream before pouring it into the little jars, labelling is also very important. Creams would usually last for about a year. And of course we got good recommendation of books, some of which I might look out for.

Digging up the comfrey root, and washing it before taking the peel off and cutting it up for use.

Cutting the comfrey root, and pouring the finished product into little jars.

Comfrey used in a poultice, and students listening and taking notes in the gardens.

Picking off the elderberries to make a syrup, and getting the hawthorn berries ready to make a tincture.

agoyvaerts

To observe, to be enchanted, and to enjoy the simple stuff in life, is truly a delight.