The Light Returns…Imbolc.

Spring is here!  Imbolc, one of the cornerstones of the Celtic calendar, marks the start of the farming year. Imbolc is a Gaelic word meaning “in the belly”, this indicates the readiness of the Earth “to give birth”. to life again in the Springtime. We are enlivened by the lenghtening days and the stirrings in the land. The welcome return of the life giving forces. It is a time to come out of our Winter hibernation. Leave behind the darkness and our Winter contemplations. The light returns!

The abundance of Summer is not far off. Gardeners are powerless to resist the urge to till the land and plant seeds. These are rituals which are rooted in the ancient ways. Revel in them.

To the Romans this time of year, halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox was known as Lupercalia. It was a celebration of Spring and also partly in honour of Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled Romolus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The focal point of the festival was the Lupercal, the cave in which this nurturing took place. William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caeser begins during Lupercalia.

Here in Ireland February 1st is also the feast of St. Brigid. Brigid was the daughter of a pagan chieftain and the patron saint of cattle and dairy. Cows in her care were said to produce more milk than all others. Brigid had a very generous nature and much to her Father’s displeasure she gave most of the produce away. She is also reputed to have been the best mead and ale maker in Ireland. She is thought to have converted to Christianity and used rushes to make small crosses which carry her name to this day. St. Brigid’s crosses are thought to protect the house from fire. A new one is usually made each year. The tradition of making the crosses is still very much alive and most children in primary schools will make them at this time.

Brigid was also known as the Keeper of the Sacred Flame, signifying once again the return of light, the return of the sun,  hence the practice of lighting candles around this time. Of course when Christianity came the old Pagans festivals were outlawed and given new focus in Church activities. Imbolc became Candlemas. However in recent years people are once again returning to their roots and giving new life to these ancient festival times. Long may it continue!

Happy Imbolc, St. Bridgid’s Day or Candlemas. The light returns!

Artists against Fracking.

Last night I attended an exhibition in Carrick on Shannon which was a collabaration between 5 artists using various media working to create an awareness of the issue of hydraulic fracturing.The Engage Collective is made up of Stephen Rennicks, David Spense, David J, Brigitta Varadi and mentor David Michaelek.  Regular visitors here will know that the threat of hydraulic fracturing has been a worry for the people in counties Leitrim, Cavan, Sligo, Roscommon and Donegal since our Government (in their infinite wisdom) give preliminary licences to 2 companies earlier this year. Whilst these licences do not permit drilling…desktop studies only…the next step would permit test drilling. These licences could be applied for in 2012. I won’t give info on hydraulic fracturing here…or fracking as it is more usually known…there are lots of websites with info available. One of the most informative is www.what-the-frack.org . The most striking exhibit last night…for me anyway…was a series of portraits of people living in the area. Beautifully captured by David Michalek the pictures were starkly displayed around the white painted brick walls.

The portraits were also available as a set of postcards free to take home…that’s what I have shown above. On the reverse of each postcard each person…children, farmers, artists and students to name but a few expressed what aspect of their lives they felt was threatened by the threat of hydraulic fracturing. Air, health, water, family and land were a few of the things people thought at risk. So much at risk and for what? To continue to line the pockets of  rich men in high places who don’t care about us here on this little island…don’t care about the last wilderness left in this country…don’t care if we become ill…don’t care if our air is destroyed. All to continue to line the pockets of already rich investors and provide the energy that could be obtained from solar, wind and wave power.

 If the companies get the go ahead for test drilling that will be the beginning of the end of all we hold dear. Agriculture and tourism…our 2 main industries will be destroyed. Who would want to tour the fracklands? The diagram above shows the possible scenario for North Leitrim if this madness goes ahead. The red squares show frack pads with the tentacles of the rigs fracking the earth reaching underneath the beautiful Lough McNean. Crazy? I think so. A huge campaign has been mounted to have a ban on hydraulic fracturing applied to Ireland. Hopefully the politicians will awake from their stupor of ignorance and not allow this to go any further. If not… well…we’re not called the fighting Irish for nothing!

For more info on the project and the artists involved check out www.engagecollective.wordpress.com

Daffodils blooming, grass growing @ Prospect Cottage.

The first Daffodils opened here yesterday. Things happen a little later here as we are 110 metres above sea level. The bees are in ecstacy to have a supply of nectar again. It’s lovely to watch them flitting from flower to flower.

I wonder why so many Spring flowers are yellow?

The fields are greening up again, almost recovered from the hard Winter frost. Daphne is delighted to have fresh pickings again. No artificial fertilisers are used on the land here so no pollution runoff. Actually we are very lucky here as our smallholding is bounded by an organic farm. The only thing we put on the land is lime every few years. The land here is fairly acidic because of the high rainfall. The application of lime helps to sweeten the land and improves grass growth. Everything here, vegetables, fruits and animal health is dependant on soil health so it is incredibly important to look after it. 

These hyacinths were some of my January sales buys. They were brought on in the polytunnel. The flowers started opening up yesterday so I brought them into the house to get the full benefit of their glorious scent. This morning the heat in the house had coaxed the flowers to open fully. The scent pervading the whole house today is gorgeous, I love it.

The weather here today is great, sunny since early morning. It feels like Summer. It’s the first day this year that I am only wearing one layer of clothing. Yippee, I’m off now to sow parsnip seed and continue mulching the fruit area.