A Growing Spiritually

Ancient Irish Poem/incantation Translation by Michael R. Burch Original poem  Am gaeth i m-muir, Am tond trethan, Am fuaim mara, Am dam secht ndirend,  Am séig i n-aill,  Am dér gréne, Am cain lubai, Am torc ar gail, Am he i l-lind, Am loch i m-maig, Am brí a ndai, Am bri danae, Am bri i fodb fras feochtu, Am dé delbas do chind codnu, Coiche nod gleith clochur slébe? Cia on co tagair aesa éscai?Cia du i l-laig fuiniud gréne?

We’ve forsaken Eden's green For motorways and gasoline By our actions will we be seen With you I want to walk. We’ve forsaken this good land Where children worked hand in hand Lost we turned from nature's plan With you we shall return, We’ve forsaken what was given Forest green and valley riven No longer to our hearts we listen Heal with me my friend? This land is our Mother fair Nurtures us with love and care Our dependency we should repair Before the times too late. Through dark times the sun will shine Light the way back to the divine Emerge beyond our own demise To a land that we once knew. So walk with us beloved friend Divert from a bitter end With love's message we can transcend Find the better way.

Compact Rush - Juncus conglomeratus Harvested Rushes. On a rainy Tuesday, I decided to renew our Brigid's cross . Traditionally, in Ireland, this is done on the first of February. Here in Sweden, the season is a little less advanced and the snows have not long gone. Above you can see the rush growing next to a small stream and the harvested rushes ready to be brought home and weaved. This particular form of woven reed cross is Irish in origin. It is called a St Brigid's cross after a 5th-century nun, but its origins almost certainly predate Christianity. That three armed crosses are also known alludes to its ancient roots. The crosses are created  by folding reeds in half and weaving them at right angles to the previous one. Traditionally they are made in  as spring returns and are associated with purification and protection, prosperity and blessings.  In pagan Ireland, the great Goddess Brigid, a member of the Tuatha-de-Danann, or Tribe of the Goddess D

The Kombucha fermenting is going exceptionally well with the last batch being very fizzy and tasty. We are expanding how much we are making and trying some different varieties. Boiling ten liters of water to make the latest batch of Kombucha. The scoby was split into two pieces and each will grow again to become a new whole. We will bottle some and do a double fermentation, this time with some fresh ginger. This time we are making five liters of green tea and five liters of black Two new batches ready to ferment.  We found some cheap five-liter glass dispenser jars that are ideal for the kombucha and more effective than the bowl style jar we were using before. The taps will reduce any chance of cross-contamination and are much better suited than using a ladle to get kombucha out of the jar as we have done previously.

Apple (Malus pumila) Source; pexels.com Apple trees drilled neatly in lines on a sunny hillside full of pinkish white blooms are a pleasing sight in the countryside. The apple tree has lived alongside us and shared our lives for as long as there have been people to cultivate them.  We are, for obvious reasons, naturally drawn to fruit trees  i.e: the need for food.  We have planted, cared for, pruned and harvested them wherever we have settled. Unfortunately, in more recent times we have genetically modified them, and what a great loss this has been to natural diversity.  The domesticated apple tree and its wild cousin that we refer to as "crab" apple are small to medium-sized trees. They produce the well-known fruit after the attractive five-petaled flowers have been pollinated.  There is a characteristic of the apple tree which has led to a wide diversity of farming methods. This is the trees ability to be "grafted", which revolutionized the different stra

I am an addict. I've been so most of my life. From a young age up to the present day, there is a tendency in me to abuse my senses in every possible way. From sugar and food to drugs, alcohol and destructive emotions, I've struggled with addiction as long as I can remember. I think most people are addicted to something, in one way or another, whether it be to the more obvious and destructive things that we associate with addiction; alcohol and drugs, sex, gambling, and violence, to the more subtle addictions like behavior patterns or over-eating. source; pixabay.com My addictive tendency has come from a feeling of pain and emptiness. There has been, in my life, a need to fill up the emotional void inside of me where there should have been feelings of love, connectedness, and higher purpose. Yet, at least those of us who have gone through conventional education and shaping by popular culture, we are taught the very opposite principles. We are taught that we don't r

  The garden of Gaura Nitai is growing well, the seeds are sprouting en masse. We planted some cress seeds behind the main stone seat and in the front corners of the altar, they sprouted within a day or two.  Some of the willows look like they will not grow whilst others look like they are taking root. If they do not grow then I will plant some climbing plants to grow over the trellis to create a similar effect. T his beautiful Hyacintha was a gift from friends on a delightful and unexpected visit, sweet fragrance now grace's Gaura's garden!         The kombucha was tasty and refreshing. I separated and bottled the gallon that we made last week. Two of the jars got pieces of grapefruit to flavour the kombucha and help add some extra fizz.  I also started a second batch of Kombucha using some of the old and the same recipe as previously. Next time I plan to try out black tea.                Please feel free to comment on and share via social media any of these