💚 Going a Maying 💚

On Beltane 🔥 or Midsummer s Eve it was traditional for new couples to go off together into the woods supposedly to collect the branches & flowers of special trees

🌳💚🌳

In the cyclical wheel of the year, Imbolc or Brigid's Day comes around 9 months…

During the winter this little Elder looked quite different whilst all the way back in Autumn it was covered in purple berries which are loved by 🐦💜.

Elder is represented by Ruis in the Ogham alphabet. The 🌳based writing system which was probably developed when the Romans were…

Gorse flowers glow brightly in the sunshine ☀️ (Fairy Gold) but even on wet and grey days they light up the hills & hedgerows

🌳🌳🌿💚🌿🌳🌳

Whilst it was asleep this Elder 🌳 was almost completely unnoticeable but now that it is awake it is as vibrant as the mythology, both good and bad, that surrounds it.

When the flowers of this little 🌳 spring into life they will sustain numerous insects & the 🌳 will be…

And they're free 🌼🌼🌼

Hawthorn, which is the sixth letter of the Ogham alphabet (Huath) gets its common name from the Anglo Saxon Haguthorn (I've seen a few versions) which means
a hedge or fence with thorns

🌳🌳🌿💚🌿🌳.

Dandelions 🌼 open and close with the coming & going of the ☀️

Just like the Alder 🌳 paves the way for others to follow the Dandelion pushes it's root deep into the soil both loosening & nourishing it allowing others more delicate plants to follow

🌳🌳🌿🌼🌿🌳🌳

The bright green leaves of the Hawthorn almost sparkle on the sunlight & some nearby bushes are starting to show little patches of white blossom 💮.

We sit on the cusp of Beltane 🔥 & the halfway point of the Celtic year.

Yet another time when magical things can happen & the…

Oak before Ash we're in for a splash. Ash before Oak we're in for a soak...or something like that. Let's see how the year unfolds. I'm quite sure the Oak were out first this year ☀️

It's well known that pre Christian sites of worship & gatherings were often held in and around…

One of my favourite Oaks is starting to wake up.

The foreboding ☁️ made me think of the likes of Zeus, Thor & Perun.

Oak 🌳s play a significant part in the ancient cultures across Europe & are generally (it seems) considered to be the preeminent 🌳 in most of these…

Not the best picture but this shining Holly 🌲 growing by the edge of the Giants Ring neolithic site in Belfast is showing just why, other than sheltering kind fairy folk, that Holly with its light 🕯️ reflecting leaves was brought into homes generations ago.

Holly (Ilex…

The mere sight of daisies invokes childhood feelings of innocence & happiness.

Their 'flower' is actually a composite of lots of little yellow disc flowers surrounded by petal like white ray flowers (I think that's right)

But more importantly, a child wearing a daisy chain on…

In Ireland ☘️ Primrose was once collected by children before the sun came up on May Day/Beltane.

The magical little flowers were believed to offer potent protection against the influence of mischievous or even malevolent fairies.

Plus the 🐝 & 🦋 like them

These little flowers…

A little Grey Wagtail having her (I think) dinner by the River Lagan.

This insectivorous little bird is a lot more colourful than the name would suggest & often is found around water when breeding presumably due to the bugs.

The Wagtail is a magical little bird that is able to…

Wild Garlic growing in Antrim Castle.

Garlic is a plant of good fortune and (apparently) in Ireland ☘️ some folk would put bulbs in the thatching of new roofs.

It is an indicator of ancient forest & in this instance grows alongside wood anemone (another indicator of ancient…

Dandelions 🌼 are irrepressible and such a lovely gift from nature to us & 🐝.

They grow in our gardens, meadows, cracks in the pavement & refuse to be subdued by lawnmowers.

Blowing a Dandelion was once supposed to tell you how many children you will have (🙄)....but more…

Orange field Park in Belfast.

I know which part I prefer.

Better than previous years but I genuinely think these guys just enjoy riding around on the lawnmowers. I know I did when I was an eleven year old.

It's 2024. Belfast City Council we know the damage that has been done by this…

A beautiful Willow just resting by a little river in east Belfast.

In the Celtic Lunar 🌙 calender we are not long out of the month of Willow (a little different from the Graves one as it starts with Samhain which makes much more sense as that's when the New Year began).

In…