Beltane

Beltane, May 1, is the ancient Celtic festival of love, fire and fertility. This is the season of plantings and of new growth. The celebration can be done with flowers gathered around the house, new buds for the season we are entering, candles and gathering together with others. It doesn't, however, take belonging to a group to use this festival.

Beltane as intended to bless our fertility and relationships. Symbolically, we can honor the day by creating a fire only in our minds as we take our current activities, relationships, and even goals through it to cleanse and purify what we want in our lives for the growing season.

If we want to go farther with the celebration, we can make a crown of flowers for our hair (sure, guys too) and then lighting a candle, jump it for good luck (no long flowing dresses please). It has even been suggested that we could go out into our gardens with our lovers and make love there as a blessing upon its fertility. That would take definite fortitude in my area right now given how cold and muddy the ground is.

The Canada Geese are back and much appreciated as they come in at first light or leave at dusk with their wonderful calling sounds. Sometimes there are six of them and sometimes just a pair. These don't fly in large flocks like the ones seen in the main part of the Willamette Valley.

In the years this pair have been visiting us in the spring, they have never nested here as probably this isn't a safe place to raise their babies with a shallow creek and no ponds, but they do enjoy their days grazing, napping, waddling around our pasture, and when the babies are large enough, they come also.

The blossoms are from the old pear tree in the orchard. How old, I don't know, but we lost one of the three last year. We planted new fruit trees, fenced them from the sheep (although it looks like they still got the tips).