Last weekend I celebrated Beltane in a private ceremony at home. Beltane is an ancient Celtic fire festival during which the Old Ones are called upon for protection and prosperity in the coming year. Some traditions include jumping over the fire and dancing around a maypole. I was planning to attend a public ceremony nearby, but it was cancelled due to rain, so I celebrated at home.
It’s been never a dull moment around here the last couple of weeks, but this weekend I can finally relax without a sense of impending doom. Our new chimney cap was installed on Tuesday and thankfully all the animals had already vacated the chimney by that time. It was cemented on, so now there’s no way anything else can get in. We are thinking about putting a wood-burning stove in the fireplace, and our chimney guy said he would install it for us when that time comes. Winston is much happier now that there are no more noises or odd smells coming from the fireplace. He hadn’t been feeling well the last few days, but he is much better today. We noticed he was drooling more than usual and licking literally everything non-stop. His energy level seemed low and he wasn’t his normal self. We think he may have eaten something toxic. We were getting concerned and I even called the vet to make an appointment, but it looks like he won’t need to go after all. I’ve been doing Reiki treatments on him and he seems back to normal now. I don’t want to spend more money at the vet if we don’t need to. We’ve spent enough already on the car and raccoon nonsense. It’s been like a comedy movie around here with one thing after another.
We did some more planting around the cottage. Foxglove, Lavender, Sage and Firepokers. Very colorful. We put the poisonous plants in areas where we don’t take the dog (he’s always on a leash when outside and we’re always with him). It’s funny how I’m the witch in the family, but the husband is more into plants than I am. He could spend an entire day going to plant nurseries. My interest in plants is mainly for their metaphysical and magical properties. I do like how some of them look, Foxglove and Bleeding Hearts, for example, and I like unusual and exotic plants. We planted some black lilies, but they have yet to bloom. My two most favorite plants, Blackthorn and European Mandrake, are extremely difficult to find here in America.
Last Wednesday when I was taking Winston out for his morning walk, we discovered a baby deer resting in some tall grass by the driveway. We weren’t sure if we should do anything. It was all by itself, it was shaking a little. We didn’t know if it was injured, abandoned, hungry, etc. We waited a few minutes and then it’s mother returned, it got up and they both went on their way. Apparently that’s what they do, the mothers leave the fawns hidden somewhere while they forage for food. We’ve learned a few things since we moved here. Bears dislike the smell of pine, and spraying Pine-Sol or diluted pine essential oil around your property will keep them away. Some folks here in the mountains dip rags in Pine-Sol and hang them on their fences to keep the bears away. Cayenne pepper mixed with hot sauce will keep raccoons away. Snakes dislike strong minty smells. When we first moved here we noticed a lot of mint had been planted around the cottage and now we know why. We still regularly put snake repellant around the cottage as an added measure. The forest is literally right outside our door, so we’ve had to take alot of precautions. The bug guy comes around every few months to spray around the house (and inside) to keep the spiders and insects out. He uses a pet-friendly and environmental-friendly spray, and we’ve had very few problems.
I just finished watching “Robin of Sherwood”, a BBC series filmed in the 1980’s, and I love it. It has many occult and pagan elements. For example, the Robin Hood character frequently encounters ‘Herne The Hunter‘, a mystical forest god who gives him guidance and direction. Robin calls himself a “Son of Herne”. I will watch this series again, hopefully I can get it on BluRay or DVD. I love the Will Scarlet character…he’s quite nice to look at. Interestingly, we happen to live in a private community where all the roads are named after Robin Hood characters. There’s a Robin Hood Drive, Lady Marion Drive, Little John Drive, Sherwood Drive and a Friar Court. I’ve yet to see a Will Scarlet Drive, but there are some other roads I’ve missed. The soundtrack for this series is from the Irish band Clannad, whom I’ve been a fan of for a long time. I’ve had their CD Legend for many years, but I never watched the series until now. There are three seasons.
It’s taken me two days to finish this post. It’s now Sunday morning, dog and husband are still asleep. The husband wants to do more planting today, and wants to go to the local hardware store. Those places bore me to tears, and he could spend hours at Home Depot, so I’ll likely stay home and write. I’m glad the dog is feeling better, that means I can cancel the vet appointment and go to work on Tuesday. The day job has noticed that I’ve been taking alot of unscheduled time off for odd emergencies, but that’s how it is here at our witch cottage in the forest. Things happen and they have to be dealt with. I don’t get my next allotment of paid time off (200+ hours) until July 1st, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that nothing else happens before then.
Next weekend there’s a Spiritual Holistic Expo happening in town, and I’m planning to go. It’s a bit like Diagon Alley, with vendors offering all sorts of magical goodies. Crystals, tarot readings, herbs and plants, incense, alternative healing, aura photos, wands, cauldrons, essential oils and many pagan/occult items for sale. They have these events every Spring and Fall. I’m quite looking forward to it.
Now I think it’s time for more coffee.
shadowscapes 