Lughnasadh

Today, the 1st of August, marks the traditional first harvest. In celtic folklore Lugh, the sun God, celebrated his mother's death on this date with games and a feast. His mother had cleared Ireland 's plains to make way for agriculture and the planting of grain. So on this anniversary we think about the cyclical nature of grain and food; it's planting, it's growth and it's harvest, and of course it's eating.

I really struggled not to think about autumn today, it was damp and dull and windy (it's not autumn though weather...are you listening!? You owe us a good deal more sunshine!!). It feels as if the growing cycle is coming to an end, many of the flowers in the garden are past their best, we have eaten most of the peas and of lots of the lettuces.

The kids and I decided to go on a seed walk, we dressed up and walked around the woods and the fields looking for as many different seeds as we could find.We found so many in all shapes and sizes and colours. We talked about the life cycle of the plants and also about how the different seeds are scattered some by wind power, some by animal, some by bird and of course dandelion seeds by children.A few days ago we spotted a patch of early, ripe blackberrys and we went to harvest them.Benny tried SO hard not to eat them all, I had to take his bucket in the end because it was just too tempting.It's a very serious business, this gathering!At home we washed a lot of apples that Rebe had gathered from a friend's garden a few days ago, we also washed what were left of the blackberries and made a delicious crumble...

Before dinner we spent some time reading this book, We picked it up from the library bus last week. It is a lovely story about the cycle of the year and the beauty and wonder of an apple tree (and the wonderful play it provides for the children) all year round. Quite a fitting story for today.

It's been nice acknowledging the cycle of the food that nourishes us. I think that it's important for the kids to understand where their food comes from, how it grows and the work and love that goes into every stage.

And now for something completely different...

oh, oh, oh, Joa your curls are to die for!

A swan toy made by Rebe (with a little help with the pinning from me) using socks, a cushion, paper and safety pins

I asked Rebe today why she doesn't really play with any of her toys. She tells me that she prefers to make her own. Our playroom is full of these amazing wee things that she makes. She comes to me so many times in the day asking for an edge of the sellotape or for yet another cardboard box or in need of a bit of wool. She is so clever and I love that she is so creative and that for her the play is in the making (kind of like her Mama!)