Finally, it seems that Spring is here to stay! We have had a few lovely warm days and the sun has been very welcome! Sunny days give us a spring in our step and motivate us into action!
The garden is looking lovely with an array of Spring bulbs now in bloom. We have daffodils lining the drive on each side and narcissi, pink hyacinths, purple fritillaria and blue grape hyacinths. There are also quite a few pale yellow primroses here and there. Clumps of dainty wood anemones have suddenly appeared in the lane, replacing the snowdrops now all faded …
It's the Spring Equinox today and from now light makes significant gains over dark as days get longer and longer till the Summer Solstice. Winter is receding to be replaced by Spring, a season which brings renewed hope and energy for new beginnings.
This year, Winter appears reluctant to loosen its grip: we are only just emerging out of a very cold few days with a significant amount of snow and wind that left us snowed in for a couple of days for the second time this month. Spring serves as a transition season, a buffer between opposites Winter and …
Today is the Winter Solstice, an important point in the calendar as it marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It is a celebration of the returning light that goes on gaining strength until the Summer Solstice in June. The Winter Solstice also marks the start of a new season: Winter, when nature is dormant, wildlife hibernates and the trees that have shed their leaves now put all their energy into their roots deep underground.
Very appropriately, I spent this morning at a Winter Solstice Mindfulness event in woodland at Erddig Hall near Wrexham. Our group …
Celebrated by the Celts, Samhain is the festival that marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the darkening months of the year. At mid-point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, we are now entering darker times as we journey through the last quadrant on the Wheel of the Year before the Winter Solstice when the light returns. The clocks went back at the weekend and I have noticed how the energy of the sun is now much weakened, like it is getting tired and ready for its last breath.
Two weeks ago, we purchased four hens and their coop. Their keeper, from just over the hill from us, was moving away into rented accommodation and could not take them with them. We collected the coop first and got it ready for the hens. Betty, a Splash Maran, and her brood (a Light Sussex, a Speckledy and a Blubell) arrived in cardboard boxes at night time and we transferred them into their own coop but at their new location at ours. They made a little fuss but quickly settled in for the night.
The area where we live is rich in ancient woodlands and, at this time of year, it is a delight to witness our hillside change colours: the lush greens of Summer are now being replaced by the golden and rusty tones of Autumn. It is a beautiful scene that not only takes my breath away but also offers a wisdom to me.
This show of yellows, oranges and reds is an indication that trees are responding to the weakening power of the sun, the shorter days and the dropping air temperature. In preparation for Winter when there is not enough …
On this day two years ago, we completed the sale of our house in Salisbury and the purchase of our smallholding in Mid-Wales. Two years already that we are living the smallholding dream!! I can't quite believe it because the time has gone so incredibly fast! And yet, if feels as if we have lived here forever!
This morning, as I walked down the lane to go and check on our sheep, with fresh air filling my lungs, the warm sun on my face and stunning views across the rolling hills, still in love with our little piece of Welsh …
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.
This morning, our cat Lola brought in two dead baby birds. Both fledglings and therefore slower to fly off, she had managed to catch them. She may have even played with them for a bit before she brought them in the house as gifts for me. I very much dislike it when she kills a bird. Yet, I know about the prey and predator dynamics and that’s what cats do. At the moment, there are many fledglings leaving their nests and they are vulnerable to our cats. With their wings not yet strong enough to fly, they spend a few …
Mental Health Awareness Week starts today and whilst I am not currently practising as a counsellor/psychotherapist, I have not forgotten the world of therapy of which I was a part for over 10 years till we moved to our smallholding. On the contrary, living up here in the tranquility and peacefulness of our piece of the Welsh countryside, I am reminded on a daily basis how being surrounded by nature is good for mental health and well-being: hills, trees, green fields, wildlife and birdsong all help to achieving a sense of inner calm and relieve stress.
