Blessings of Brigit

Blessings of Brigit this fine Imbolc day! Spring has arrived exactly on time! I hope you enjoy the view from the art room this afternoon. The sky was blue, the birds were singing, & just look how sparkly it is in the camelias......I think the Fae must be hiding in there somewhere........


Oh Marigold! How you have let your garden go this Winter! Now you must prepare this weedy space for Spring planting! But just look at the light! It is truly wonderful after such a long, cold season. I think I will attempt to make the vegetables & herbs much prettier this year.
Here is my poultry! The ducks are very wild & very shy this year. I do love to eavesdrop on their mutterings. The hen I made for myself out of felted knitting after being inspired by one I saw at Winterwood Toys. This girl turned out to be plumper & broodier than I had imagined, & is a perfect symbol in my workspace. She sits on the little velvet tub chair, hatching out good ideas whilst I work away, trying to do her justice. She reminds me that sometimes I have happy accidents....

So, here's to Spring, & to our dear Brigit! Just look at these lovely fat burgundy buds swelling on the Eldar Mother!

And the face in the evergreen Oak .......I didn't notice it until the camera showed it to me!


I'm off to do a bit of Spring celebrating with Mr Treadwell! Blessings of blue skies from the Not So Misty Today Mountain!

Misty Mountain in Winter

Hello again from the extremely Wet, Cold & Misty Mountain. Miss marigold & Treadwell are tucked up in the art room, playing with coloured threads & watching the clouds drifting in & out of the trees.

A couple of weeks ago, we visited the magickal Rowan Grove above, & believe it or not, we were greeted by a huge tawny rabbit, who immediately turned his fluffy white tail & disappeared into this thicket as I fumbled clumsily with the camera....they don't like being caught, do they?

Also, I took a couple of "big" shots, to show you how beautiful it is up here. This place encourages shamanic flight......... and Mr Treadwell loves to ramble......

I attempted to dye muslin for Springtime last month, but left it as it is too difficult to get it dry inside. The art room is rather small for acres of wet, messy cloth, and anyway, it looks so beautiful on the clothesline, wafting in a gentle breeze, it's worth waiting for some sunny Spring days, which surely must come in a couple of months..... For now, I shall continue to work with wool, creating more Mountain Pixie Socks, & some felted coin purses I am still imagining because they too, are hard to dry.


Soon it will be Imbolc. The wild ducks that enjoy bobbing about on the pool have returned from their "other home", wherever it is, & the garden feels as if it's waking up even though everything is still cold.

The lyrebird sings his unspeakably beautiful song in the valley below, & all is exactly as it should be.........

Well, I'd better go & stoke the creative fire!

Blessings of increasing light & activity if you're in the South, & Blessings of the Velvety Blanket of increasing darkness & rest if you're in the North!

Blessings of the creative fire

Blessings of the Winter Solstice to you!
Here is the fire at a beautiful ceremony Miss Marigold attended with friends in the country this weekend. Today she will be visiting a Mother Oak in the city of Melbourne, & tonight shall make her observances within the privacy of the apple & elder grove in the garden on the Misty Mountain.

Soon the cold will really begin to bite, even though the days will be longer! Frost Faeries will decorate the naked garden, & we shall all enjoy looking at it magically transformed into lace!

How do you celebrate the turning of the year? I hope you enjoy a deeply peaceful season.

May the fires of creativity birth something new & wonderful in your life.

Happy New Year!

Winter Arwen, Snow & Fae Invasion

Oh Dear, Sister Cellulitus is very cold, sitting out under the pot plants minding the ivy..........
Treadwell thinks she is far too small to be trusted!
It has snowed this week around the magic lamp post!

But, Miss Marigold has been warm & snug, getting on with her work! Well, between going to a wonderful Goddess Gathering at Gaia's Garden, Samhuin with The Melbourne Grove, & the long awaited, fantastical splendiforous Spiral Dance & Damh the Bard concert at Bar 303 in Northcote. What a wonderful crowd! It is a year since she enjoyed the experience of so many Pagan people coming together in 1 place! Thanks Adrienne & Damh & Cerri! If you don't know Spiral or Damh, Mr Google can assist. I highly recommend Druidcast on Itunes if you like nice music & meaningful discussions mixed with gentle humour.



They faery invasion has arrived, & Marigold has embraced the fantastical. She is thoroughly enjoying the great whoosh of Arwen that has been flowing for the past few weeks. A Druid's work is never done.........always more things to make & learn & enjoy.



She is selling gloves, woolen needle-felted Wild Faeries, painted muslin Rainbow Scarves & cloths & her famous stripey Mountain Pixie Socks.
Have a peek..........

You can buy Marigold's makings by leaving a comment & she will contact you by email if you'd
like her to. These paricular old-fashioned mittens can be purchased at Epoche, a beautiful Steiner Shop located in the village of Kallista - well worth a trip to Melbourne's Hills just to visit this little haven.

Wild Faeries are constantly manifesting. Soon the art room on the Mtn. will be bursting!


These Faeries have made their way into The Grove Wholistic Center for Women's Spirituality in Brunswick. Marigold highly recommends this beautiful organisation to women who want to explore their spirituality no matter what form it takes, & who want to share a safe space with other like-minded people. She is teaching a course on Chakras there on Thursday nights, 7-9.30pm, starting 14th July & finishing1st Sept. only $160 all inclusive
You need to book your place in advance, so call 9383 1993 or email thegrove@netspace.net.au
if you want to be included.



Well that's probably enough for one blog! Marigold experienced a bit of ta tizzy. Protective Mr Google thought some bad goblins were attacking her account, so she couldn't get in, no matter how hard she tried. Most of you know she is a rather old-fashioned lady, & a technophobe (don't tell her that though). Anyway, she persevered, & finally convinced nice Mr Google to open the Fairweather & Friends account again. So here you are.
Phew!

Blessings of the dark season when activity is hidden beneath Earth's nurturing soil,
Blessings of the cold elements, that remind us to rest & reflect,
Blessings of warm hearts, & friendships that sustain us

Greetings of the harvest

Here he is again, the Green Man, the face in the trees........... actually, I think it's another Ent.......

Grain harvest was Lughnasadh - in my part of Australia, the grain was flooded, after a long drought. There was a bumper crop. Apparently there was sooo much wheat, they didn't have enough silos to put it in, & now it has rotted.........
As a Druid, I reflect on what might mean for my inner harvest, & I think it means that if there is too much of the element of water, which represents the emotions, my harvest of what gives me strength is likely to be spoiled. I equate grain with sustaining energy food. So, if I allow my inner strength to be depleted, due to unchecked emotions, I could find myself in difficulty.

But on to sweet succulence! Fruit harvest is here, & it's almost Autumn Equinox, the dizzy, syrup of ripening, the time to harvest all that is sweet, & juicy & fragrant in life. The shockingly sweet-sharp berries are almost gone this year, but it is time for sticky, oozey figs, succulent plums & the first crisp apples that make your mouth water as you break their flesh with your teeth........ Oh, the joy of it! The first wines are being made, & the sun is golden......as well as pastel-coloured.....& we have thunder storms, & hot days & humid days & cold nights, & dewy mornings.
The leaves haven't changed colour yet, as the soil is still warm, but soon there will be a grand exhibition to enjoy as the world begins to turn inward, after its grand celebration............Ahhh, how I love the turning of the year!








With all this talk of harvests, & change & sweet things, please let me introduce my new assistant. Whilst nobody will ever measure up to the sweetness of my dear Mr Scampini, this little fellow has all the makings of a fine companion, a feisty guardian, & someone nice & warm with whom to snuggle when the cold nights arrive.............
I have a lot of work ahead, as he requires much training. Sadly, there are people in this world who don't appreciate the privilege of caring for a four-legged, & my poor young assistant in the making has suffered very badly in this, his first year. I have adopted him from Hotel RSPCA, and his story is a sad one, so we have many obstacles to overcome, & things to unlearn before he can be regarded as reliable, but I have every confidence that by the time he reaches the ripe old age of Scampini, although I hope he avoids the sizeable girth of his predecessor, he shall be as trustworthy, affectionate & loyal as any canine could hope to be. Meet Mr Harry Treadwell.
May he always tread well, wherever he walks, & may the rest of his sojourn on this beautiful Blue Planet be happy & comfortable.

Before I go, I want to tell you I have just been introduced to the joys of needle felting by a lovely friend who is a mistress of fantasy figures in wool felt.

I have since made more, but these are the first two ladies that have manifested themselves.

I am looking forward very much to be making many more felted things over the Winter, in front of my quiet hearth, as the mist silently veils the Mountain & peace descends once more.........
Although I am caught up in the chaos & hedonism of Autumn, I look forward to turning within as the dark half of the year returns.

Samhuin is the next harvest festival, & the last one of the Celtic Wheel of the Year. It is the blood harvest.......time to harvest anything that can't live through the Winter darkness & cold. I wonder what this shall be in my sphere of knowing? I wonder what you think about this most sacred of festivals, that has become known to the general populace as Halloween, when the veil between the worlds is thin, the ancestors are our honoured guests, & which mirrors Beltaine, the Spring festival of love .............

Summer in a strange land

I hope your Summer Solstice & Silly Season celebrations were as pleasant as mine. I enjoyed 3 shared Solstice observances, one with friends & Kangaroos for lunch, another with friends in a special garden, & one with the resident Kookaburra in my own garden. It was very pleasant to allow my world to begin to contract after so much expansion this past 6 months. Whilst it is good for me to acknowledge my successes & strengths, it is also a relief to release things that didn't reach manifestation, as well as continue to nurture those projects that require further incubation.

Xmas was a delight. Although we don't observe the religious bits, it was wonderful to have family & friends gathered under my roof to celebrate togetherness. I cooked vast amounts of vegetarian food, & generally enjoyed having everyone there. I am especially proud of my 2 sons & their partners. What superb young men & women they are!

The calendar has flipped over into 2011. I wonder, along with millions of other people, just what will unfold this year. Extreme weather around the Earth at this time is of great concern. I think we shall experience great events in the history of this planet, as the Earth finds its own balance, with little concern for the life that is upon it.

Today I am fortunate. I have been travelling again, this time back to South Australia, where I have had the pleasure of observing so many, many different landscapes. I am told the farmers in some regions are ripping out grape vines because they can't sell their wine. There is apparently a glut. At first I was surprised that farmers would be so hasty to change their source of income, but as we covered thousands of miles in the Oriental Chariot that was made by Mr Toyota, I was shocked to see vineyards as far as they eye can see. If you know how big an area South Australia covers, you will understand what I mean. There must be the equivalent area of wine-growing regions South of France, Italy, Spain, Austria & Germany all within this one Australian state. As very good wines come from other Australian regions (my local being the lovely Yarra Valley), I'm not surprised there is a glut! Just how much can people consume? I do wonder at farming practices sometimes.........Usually I'm cross about the devastating effects of monoculture upon the environment, as well as GM foods & the use of poisons & pesticides.....obviously, I'm not a farmer.......

Anyway, I am currently in the historic town of Burra, where the picture above shows you the wonderful sunset we witnessed last night. It is on the edge of the desert country of the Australian outback, & was once a mining settlement. Now it is a tourist town, with pretty stone buildings surrounded by big sheep & wheat farms & little else. We are staying in an old miner's cottage with solid stone walls & a veranda to keep out the summer sun. Actually, I must stop writing now, as we need to go outside to explore while it is still relatively cool. By afternoon,
Old Mr Fairweather & I need a siesta!

Blessings of the turning year to you all,
may health, wealth & happiness be yours always,
with love, Marigold

Sad passing of a Friend, Irrepressible Springtime, and an Invitation

I do apologise if you have missed me. I have been rather preoccupied. Sadly, my dear old assistant passed away a couple of months ago. I went to Tasmania, to walk on the land of my ancestors, and it was a comfort, yet beloved friends are always be missed.

I have also been participating in a course to learn more about the ways of commercial cookery, which has taken most of my time for the past half year. Commercial cookery seems a very busy sort of world, & I wonder how many people actually appreciate the effort that goes into producing their meal when they go to a restaurant.

My personal interest, as you probably know, is organics, & I know the production of really good food
all begins in the garden,
& that the produce is only as good as the seed, soil, weather & the skill of the gardener.

Garden produce must be harvested, handled & stored correctly to keep it in peak condition until it reaches the kitchen. This is an art in itself.

Next, the chef creates a menu designed to be not only tasty, or nutritious, or look pretty, but is meant to be a totally pleasurable experience for the diner.

Food must be cooked to perfection, served at exactly the right temperature, & engage all the senses..... so much effort...your body transforms food into fuel........Alchemy!


The first purple artichoke this spring in my garden ............amazing design!

Certainly, I have learned to respect the artistry involved in creating beautiful food.


Above is a rabbit's eye view of the vegetable garden

The garden is bursting with life once more, & the vegetables had to be fenced in order to keep out marauding rabbits this year. Again, we have a pretty little black one, & a couple of Peter Rabbit-type brown ones, that frolic in the grass close by while is sit quietly.

I have to protect plants as they grow over Summer from the Possums, Wallabies & Wombats too. Also from the Rosellas, who are very sneaky, & really like eating pea & bean seeds.
There 's not much I can do about clever mice that get into the fava beans, so I will try to pick them just before Ali Baba & the Furry Thieves discover them.......


Now I invite you to quietly enter this picture below

I invite you to sit very still..............watch this scene...........
silently.......... from the sanctuary..............of a healing Grove............soft apple & elder trees.........
scent the cool breeze.............

curious birds will soon appear........... to investigate...............
Kookaburra & Magpie.......... always hoping for a free grub or snail...............

Rosella, King Parrot & Cockatoo have you under surveillance..............
in case someone has seed in a pocket ...........

one Duck stays...........
slowly......quietly..... sipping & siphoning tadpoles in the cold pool.................

as you sit,
gentle Rabbits creep from their cover.............

beneath the great Cedar..................

to nibble sweet Spring grass......

right in front of you.........

Springtime is happening...........

everything is new and tender.

Blessed Be