#bilberry farmer

[reasonsforhope]

"In west England, a series of hills cloaked in heather and wildflowers are the target of a national restoration project that is already seeing success.

Similar to the story GNN reported on last week about the rewilding along the south coast and South Downs National Park, Sussex, volunteers are seeding old hay fields with native wildflowers and replanting traditional hedgerows to ensure wildlife can move freely through the region.

The region is called the Shropshire Hills, which by British law is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is managed and controlled so this beauty can endure. But while the area is indeed beautiful, the valley between the sections of hills known as Long Mynd and Stiperstones has for decades been under heavy hay cultivation, with farmers plowing up meadows and planting fast-growing commodity grasses.

As part of a project by the UK’s National Trust called Stepping Stones, volunteers have been working with landowners and local councils to turn some of these meadows back over to the wildlife, creating corridors of habitat to allow species like the bilberry bumblebee, pine marten, and curlews to move freely from hilltop to valley floor and back to hilltop.

Charlie Bell, project manager for Stepping Stones, told the BBC that the project is one part of an overall mission that aims to restore 97% of meadows that have been lost in the UK over the last 100 years.

“Many old meadows have been plowed up and re-seeded with more productive mixes of grasses,” she told the national broadcaster. “Fertilizers are often added to increase the growth of these dominant productive grasses, at the expense of finer grass species and wildflowers.”

Jinlye Meadows, on the Long Mynd side of the valley, is now thriving with native wildflower species like mountain pansy, and volunteers have recorded the area is thriving with bilberry bumblebees which are rare and in decline.

In particular, the meadows were covered last year in yellow rattle, also known as the “meadowmaker,” a key part of Ms. Bell’s strategy for restoring meadows. This native species attaches itself to the roots of grasses, slowing, but not sabotaging, their growth. This allows not only the flower to grow, but space for all manner of other flowers to grow as the grasses’ growth is [slowed down]."

-Article via Good News Network, July 11, 2024. Video via NT Midlands, June 19, 2023.

[smallgodseries]

[image description: A handsome green-eyed man with a well groomed black mustache. He wears classic western togs, A dark violet jacket, a blue vest, a nice green shirt, and a red tie with a pearl-topped stickpen. His head is round, and he's a ripe rich berry color. The background is bright green foliage. Text reads, “19, Gay Lussacia, the small god of HUCKLEBERRIES”]

This isn’t what he expected his life to look like, but he’s not complaining.

Harvest gods are quite literally a dime a dozen, or a dollar for a bushel, and as a god of bilberries, Gay had never aspired to much beyond a place at the farmer’s market, a warm spot of sun, and maybe occasionally being part of the kind of pie that inspired someone to moan his name in between bites of flaky crust and vanilla ice cream.  He was comfortable with his lot in divinity.  He was content. He was never going to be important or essential, but he was going to grow in his own small way, and that would be enough.

That would have to be enough.  Those who reach too far find their boughs broken and their leaves wilted, and he had no desire to lose his growth in such a way.

When European colonists reached North America, they found bushes growing there which fell under Gay’s domain, and called their fruit huckleberries.  Tart and sweet and delicious, they expanded his profile, and filled his pie pans with fresh harvest.  As time passed, he became known more and more by his new name, and less and less by the old.

Well, that was fine.  “Huckleberry” sounded better anyway.  It ran trippingly off the tongue, it tasted sweet against the back of the throat.  And so he was content with what he was and what he had, until the day someone invoked him when what they meant was “I love you.”

It was a sweeter shock than all the sugar in all the pies in all the world.

And it began to happen more and more, people invoking him because they loved, because they wanted, because they needed.  And as this happened enough to be common, his hands spread wide to grant his benedictions, and his blessing.  He is a god of a small and specific love, and he treasures it all the more because it is less common than some other kinds.

Only call upon him, if you need him.  He’ll gladly be your huckleberry.

.........................................................................................

Artist Lee Moyer (The Doom That Came to Atlantic City, Starstruck) and author Seanan McGuire (Middlegame, Every Heart a Doorway) have joined forces to bring you icons and stories of the small deities who manage our modern world, from the God of Social Distancing to the God of Finding a Parking Space.

Join in each week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many tiny divinities:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://www.smallgodseries.com/

[coinandcandle]

Lammas

Learn about the holiday of Lammas!

What is Lammas?

Lammas, Lammas Day, Loaf Mass, Loaf Mass Day—however you’d like to call it—is a holiday celebrated originally by Christian Anglo-Saxons. Lammas is also called “the feast of first fruits” and is a harvest festival taking place on August 1st in the northern hemisphere (February 1st in the southern hemisphere).

Some neopagan religions, namely Wicca, would later add this holiday to their sabbats (see: Wheel of the Year). Due to various reasons, the holiday Lughnasadh—a festival historically celebrated in Ireland—became conflated with Lammas, and the two are often used interchangeably. For a short explanation as to why this is an issue, please see this post.

Etymology

Lammas comes from the Old English hlāfmæsse, or “Loaf mass”. This most likely references the tradition of making a loaf of bread with the crop harvested on Lammastide.

History

In the past, it was customary to bring a loaf of bread to one’s local church to be blessed or to have a procession from the church to a bakery wherein those who are working will be blessed. The blessed bread may also be used for the Eucharist.

Throughout Britain in the Middle Ages fairs would be celebrated, feasts would be had, rent would be paid, and local elections held.

Note: Lammas may have pre-Christian influences but the festivities we know of and its name come from a distinctly English and Christina era. It was not “stolen” from pagans.

Modern Day Lammas

These are simply suggestions, anything that can be seen as traditional will be marked with a (T).

Correspondences

Deities

The Christian God (T), Lugh, Demeter, Freyr, Osiris, and many of the harvest/agricultural deities.

Rocks, Crystals, Minerals, Etc

Sunstone, amber, gold, iron

Herbs and Plants

Wheat, cereals, corn (T), blackberries, blueberries, bilberries

Activities

Bake bread (T)

Hold a bonfire

Harvest crops (T) or tend to houseplants

Practice divination

Create or cast spells involving equity and justice

Visit a bakery (and tip your bakers if possible!)

Pray for blessings

Feast (T)

Offerings

Beer

Bread or other baked goods (T)

Any of the herbs or rocks mentioned above

Support local farmers

Dance or sing

Honor your ancestors, gods, or spirits with an altar or a space at your feast

References and Resources

Lammas - Britannica

A Little History of Lammas - A Clerk of Oxford

Lammas - Wikipedia

Stations of the Sun - Ronald Hutton

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[downtoearthmarkets]

Since the discovery of Blue Zones–areas of the world where people tend to enjoy longer lives and lower rates of chronic disease–there’s been lots of coverage of the diets and lifestyles followed in these regions. While the Mediterranean diet remains the gold standard amongst nutritionists, there are health benefits associated with many ancient foodways. One common thread running through all these diets is an emphasis on plants, legumes, whole grains, wild-caught fish, pastured eggs and other locally sourced foods you can find every Sunday in the farmers market. Here are some of the traditional diets that have garnered attention and gained popularity recently and how to incorporate them into your weekly Down to Earth Markets food shop. The Atlantic Diet A close cousin to the Mediterranean diet, the Atlantic diet is based on the eating habits of people in northwestern Spain and northern Portugal. Because seafood is plentiful in this coastal region, a variety of simple, unprocessed fish and shellfish feature heavily in the diet. The population’s Celtic origins have also brought potatoes, bread and milk to the diet’s forefront. Vegetables, fruit, legumes, honey, nuts, eggs and olive oil are also regularly consumed, while red meat and dairy are enjoyed in smaller amounts. Both the Atlantic and Mediterranean diet emphasize seasonal, local, fresh, and minimally processed foods, which make them appealing from a health standpoint and sustainability perspective. While there are similarities between the two, the cooking techniques of the Atlantic diet are distinct from the Mediterranean diet in that they utilize more steaming, boiling, baking, grilling and stewing than frying, which better preserves the nutritional composition of foods. To leverage the benefits of this diet, try this Galician-style fish recipe using ingredients sourced from the farmers market:

Hake or other flaky, white fish from American Pride Seafood, cut into thick slices

3 large Great Joy Family Farm potatoes, peeled and cut into uneven pieces

1 white Sun Sprout Farm onion, sliced

6 cloves Jersey Farm Produce garlic, sliced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

2 bay leaves

Coarse salt

The Japanese Diet Japanese people enjoy some of the world’s highest life expectancies, especially in the Okinawa Prefecture, which has been identified as one of the five blue zones. One of the main principles applied to food in the Japanese culture is called “hara hachi bu” which means to stop eating when you are 80% full. This is typically achieved by consuming a few small meals per day.

The Japanese diet avoids added sugar, refined fats and processed foods. It is rich in cooked and raw fish, soy products, steamed rice, fermented foods, cooked and pickled vegetables, and smoked foods. A traditional Japanese meal also incorporates locally sourced ingredients. Try a taste of the Japanese diet with this stir fry featuring Great Joy Family Farm's New York state grown rice, handmade tofu and a medley of their fresh veggies.

The Nordic Diet The Nordic diet is one that I’m quite familiar with having enjoyed two trips to Finland in the past year. This diet is consumed across Scandinavia and is associated with a number of health benefits including improved heart health and lower weight. Like the Atlantic diet, traditional Nordic cuisine features twice as much fiber and seafood as the standard Western diet and places emphasis on consumption of local and seasonal foods.

Nordic berries such as lingonberries, cloudberries and bilberries proliferate in the deep forests and rugged terrain of these northern countries and are preserved for consumption throughout the year. Mushrooms thrive on the damp floor of forests and hundreds of varieties are found on Nordic menus, although foragers must compete with reindeer who love to indulge in sprouting fungi during the summer and fall. Root vegetables such as beets, turnips and carrots are year-round staples and are often served pickled alongside herring and wild game. Whole grains such as rye, barley and oats are also a big part of Nordic cuisine and appear in a variety of preparations.

Of course, every street corner in Nordic cities has a farmers market, even during the depths of the Arctic winter! We were able to visit the same farmers market on Helsinki’s harbor front in both late August and frozen February, although the wild berry and mushroom vendors had packed up shop and the winter market featured mostly fish, craft and hot food vendors.

You can easily replicate this traditional Finnish reindeer stew called Poronkäristys with ingredients from the farmers market all year round:

2-3 lbs boneless Great Joy Family Farm beef steak or Roaming Acres bison steak (round, sirloin, or chuck)

2 tbsp Maplebrook Farm butter

1 Sun Sprout Farm yellow onion, sliced

2 clovesJersey Farm Produce garlic

Sliced Garden of Eve Organic Farm chives for garnish

Peck's of Maine Wicked Good Wild Blueberry fruit spread

Creamy mashed Great Joy Family Farm potatoes

Sliced Dr. Pickle dill pickles

1 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp ground allspice

As the season progresses and more spring produce floods into the farmers market, it will be easy to embrace these and other plant-forward, health-promoting diets from across the globe. We hope you enjoy experimenting with some different cuisine ideas and incorporating international themes and flavors into your market food shopping this weekend.

[calebshope]

The Relevance Of Sustainable As Well As Moral Factors To Consider When Deciding On Organic Herbal Tea

In recent times, the fad of alcohol consumption all natural herbal alvita bilberry tea has developed in recognition. Along with the public's rate of interest in healthy and balanced living and sustainability, acquiring natural tea has ended up being a mindful selection for many. Having said that, is actually buying organic sufficient? Should we also be looking at sustainability and ethical factors when purchasing organic plant based tea? In this blog, our company are going to explore why it is vital to look at these elements and also what to watch out for when creating an educated acquisition.

Factors To Look For Organic And Also Morally Sourced Teas:

The Ecological Effect of Organic Tea Creation

Organic tea makes use of cultivating methods that carry out not include man-made chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides. This possesses a favorable result on soil top quality, dangerous results of chemicals, and also genetic range. Natural farming also commonly utilizes less water as well as electricity than regular farming. It safeguards wildlife, including , which are actually vital pollinators. Sustaining organic farming through purchasing all natural tea helps in reducing pollution as well as ecological destruction.

Nevertheless, it is actually also necessary to think about the impact of transit. The carbon impact of importing all natural tea coming from overseas may have a considerable effect. Some tea suppliers make use of air cargo to bring tea products promptly, which has a considerably bigger carbon dioxide impact than ocean shipping. When opting for alvita tea, it is actually far better to acquire tea that is grown and also generated in your area, when achievable.

Exhibition Labor Practices

The majority of tea production globally happens in cultivating countries, and commonly these employees experience poor labour conditions. Organic tea manufacturing possesses policies to guard workers, like supporting civils rights as well as sticking to minimum wage rules. It is vital to focus on exactly how tea is actually sourced and also that is responsible for making it. Through sustaining fair work practices and also transparent source establishments, clients are actually marketing moral, responsible creation of all natural herbal teas. Fairtrade logo designs deliver warranty of planters obtaining a reasonable rate for their tea.

Specialty Organic Herbal Teas

A fast-growing trend in the all natural tea market is actually specialized teas. Many people are actually uncovering the benefit of using teas to assist with health issues like tension or digestive function, or to target various other wellness advantages like cleansing and anti-inflammatory. Although specialized basic materials might be actually more difficult to discover as well as a lot more costly, specialized teas usually support local farmers, make certain premium quality elements and also aid in fair manufacturing methods. To make certain that a specialty tea is reliable, sustainably sourced, and organic, it is necessary to understand where these elements come from as well as how they reach the tea that you're drinking. Look for teas that maybe originate from tiny, nearby developers, or small-cooperative tea gardens that focus on environmental strategies.

Product packaging and waste

The product packaging of the alvita spearmint tea must also be actually a considerable idea. Are they packaged in manner ins which are eco-friendly? the majority of tea packing is actually created of components that are actually not appealing to the environment, like plastics, aluminum foils and complex materials. These may induce harm to the setting as well as may also impact the premium of the tea. For that reason, it is actually good for select product packaging that is recyclable or even biodegradable. Today, a considerable amount of tea manufacturers are actually changing to eco-friendly packing helping make tea consuming a much more sustainable selection.

Final thought

It is critical to look at the effect of our selections when obtaining natural herbal tea. While the positive influences of all natural teas on our wellness, environment, and also the economic climate are very important, our team ought to likewise be sure that our experts are picking morally produced tea along with maintainable procedures. Clients have the power to make a variation through holding environment-friendly creation methods, decent labour methods, local area manufacturers, specialty teas, and also lasting and also recyclable packaging. Through creating these mindful choices, our company can easily hold reliable, sustainable, and also health-promoting supply establishments-- a win for everyone!

[volublelemur]

my favorite berry ever is now in season I need jars so I can make jam for the first time ever !!!

I'm not 100% sure of the species but I know for sure theyre huckleberries which are native to where I live !

I think there's at least ten of these large berry bushes I can get to

based off their appearance I believe these plants are:

Cascade huckleberry, Cascade bilberry, or blue huckleberry (Vaccinium deliciosum)

i think they taste better than the mountain ones which are bigger/juicer and thus preferred by most farmers :/

hopefully this year I don't send myself to the er picking them lol

these plants don't have horns I just tripped, fell down a hill, and landed on my knees in the street

[beardedmrbean]

Finland's construction sector is increasingly relying on sole traders for labour that has previously been carried out by employees.

Iltalehti highlights problems surrounding construction companies forcing workers to become self-employed, which means they become responsible for managing and paying their taxes and pension contributions.

Toni Malmström of the the Finnish Construction Trade Union told IL that foreign workers were constantly telling the union how difficult it is to secure employment in Finland, as all available work requires going into business.

"Light entrepreneurship is a good option if you want to renovate your neighbour's sauna, but this arrangement doesn't really lend itself to working on a large construction site," Malmström explained.

Foreign workers in particular are susceptible to exploitation, as they might not be aware of their rights or familiar with Finnish labour laws, IL reports.

The Regional State Administrative Agency (Avi in Finnish), charged with monitoring labour laws, told the paper that different authorities are still seeking a model for how to collectively address exploitation regarding light entrepreneurship.

Regional disparity

Finland is making unprecedented 140-billion-euro investments into the country's green transition, but some areas will benefit a lot more than others. That's according to Helsingin Sanomat, which explores an east-west divide in renewable enrgy projects.

Wind farms will make up the majority of these investments, which also target solar farms, battery factories and hydrogen production plants.

"Unfortunate geographic realities" are the reason wind farms are planned for the western coast, the paper explains. The military has nixed wind power plans for the Gulf of Finland and the eastern border, arguing they would interfere with radars.

But it's not only wind that's going west. Factories will also be set up on the coast, since products such as batteries will be manufactured for export.

A lesson in blueberries

Do you know your bilberries from your blueberries? Maaseudun Tulevaisuus gives its readers an English lesson on what differentiates these two juicy berries.

Bilberries—which are native to Europe, including Finland—are different from North American blueberries, which are marketed as "bush blueberries" (pensasmustikka) in Finland.

Some farmer's markets in Finland also make this subtype differentiation by referring to Finnish bilberries as "forest blueberries" (metsämustikka), or to complicate matters further, as "wild blueberries."

[memq-art]

Fact: 

the real names of the bilberry farmer and his daughter is Horace and Hazel ✿

ВКОНТАКТЕ • INSTAGRAM • TWITTER • DEVIANTART

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Sunday 21 July 1839

3 ¾

..

Had fallen asleep after being called – were to have been off at 4 – unluckily could not persuade Mr. Munthe to settle anything last night – obliged to give him 7 sovereigns and 16 half ditto = £15 at ten dollars banco per sovereign! money enough ought to have been provided at Copenhagen – carriage valued at 500 D.B. 10 p.c. duty = 50 D.B. etc. etc. = 55+ D.B. paid to the custom house – harness above 56 DB.  50 DB. paid in advance for the posting etc. etc. Hotel bill 4.24. so that altogether we paid before leaving Helsinborg [Helsingborg] 168 D.B. engaging to give the coach man at Gotheborg [Gothenburg] 33.18 Banco and then we had to live on the road – 22 5/8 Swedish miles about 150 English miles – not true that one can travel quite for nothing even in Sweden – gave Gross 4 D.B. in a/c and off at last – nevertheless thinking Mr. Munthe tho’ he must gain by our sovereigns above 2 out of the 15 besides

SH:7/ML/E/23/0088

 probably so further premium at the hands of our Swedish hussar coach man whom he found us – But we could do no better – Gross of no use save as a servant to wait upon us – off at 5 50/.. from Helsinborg [Helsingborg], Hotel Muntha – with our Swedish hussar coach man John Harder, and the man to bring back the horses sitting on the boot imperial – our harness very decent – at our 4th Relais (at [Karup]) at 11 ¾ alighted and .:. ordered breakfast fresh milked milk and brown cake or bread and excellent butter – ready for us in ¼ hour price 32 skillings = 1 Dollar rigsgeld [kriegsgeld] = 2/3 DB. almost a single house – neat, the rooms stewed over with and strong-smelling of juniper – not disagreeable – K- a very scattered village several men drinking something (coffee) out of small cups – all very civil – off again at 12 23/.. – flat, sandy, thin-cropped country but everything Swedish new to us, and therefore interesting – the red painted houses straw thatched or red tiled low wood or brick between squares of wood – picturesque – from [Karup] road sandy but good hard bottom – not so deep as from Lingen to Hazelunen in Oldenburg – and from K- a good deal of moor land covered with low sheep-eaten juniper, cranberry and bilberry – we thought Engelholm [Ängelholm] at 8 25/.. and Laholm at 2 4/.. nice neat good little towns – Halmstad, at 4 55/.. a nice little town – sortie by a pretty whitewashed tree-embossed gabel-ended gateway – from Laholm the country improves in the picture – peeps of the sea – just out of Laholm cross picturesque rapidy stream – picturesque mill there – and pretty – road sandy out of Halmstad, but pretty drive from there thro’ wood (forest) and breaks and moory or wooded hill – cross everywhere thin and short – Qvibille [Kvibille] at 6 47/.. very pretty picturesque little scattered village whitewashed church and dark brick red washed wood cottages straw thatched or red tiled – bad horses from here – alight about after 7 for ¼ hour the horses turning restive up a hill – put the wheelers into the faulty leaders places – a civil farmer finding we were English gave us cherries looking ½ ripe, but eating good – the Swedes all very civil – very pretty drive from Qvibille [Kvibille] – about 8 we near the rounded granite or gneiss? hills – Slöinge at 8 ¾ just as we had finished our dinner of Helsinborg [Helsingborg] bread and butter and cheese and Deventer gingerbread – the potatoes seem everywhere the best crop they have – the moors are everywhere striking as being as it were warty, the granite boulders greened over being thick upon the and giving the ground this singular appearance – at 9 50/.. I could just see to write – the dew lying on the ground in very thick patches, like thick fog or smoke creeping along at no great height – to clear ground for crops, they 1st get off the surface stones, then pare and burn – see no turnips – I kept awake, and the twilight continued, very little less than at 9 50/.. till about midnight – I then slept, but awoke at 2 am and found it then so light that I could very

[wolfy58]

1839 July Sunday 21

Got up 3 ¾  Went to bed ..

Had Mr Munthe with his bill and all settled as agreed upon yesterday – very good sort of man aetatis about 60! then had Gross gave him 2 Dollar Banco – account for yesterday and the remainder towards today – it seems I still owe him 17 marks – I think of giving him for[?] himself and wife 1/3 an English £ a day – annoyed! - off from Helsinborg Hotel de Munthe at 5 50/.. –

Fine but dull morning F 73° at 5 a.m. slept good – country like Zealand Cropa[?] Bekk – small light horses – no shoes on hind feet and merely plates on fore feet – Fleninge 1 Swedish mile at 6 ¾

Engelholm nice neat little town at 8 25/.. – change horses at the door of neat white splashed Inn – pretty water and wood – mowing grass – rye yellowish barley and oats every where quite green – Margretetorp change horses at the road side - little village about 160 yards off (left) – row of hops looking well – nice country from Margretetorp to Karup at 11 ¾ road hilly and sandy but hard bottom – moor juniper and cranberry and bilberry covered sheep walkings[?] strewed over with granite boulders none very large –

At 11 ½ descend upon Karup and into plain that in the distance had looked like water drag on several times this stage

Descend upon Karup ...

Good beech wood (like prince Christian’s) near Karup – scattered little village change horses at house[?] standing almost alone – several decent peasants there drinking out of little cups coffee? went in – could have coffee in 10 minutes – No! in ¼ hour had fresh milked milk and very good brown cake or bread and excellent butter – enjoyed our breakfast – I stood all the the while –

The rooms strewed with juniper – we liked the smell

very good brown cake or bread

Off again at 12 23/.. from Karup the road hilly and sandy but hard bottom – good deal of moor land – crops no where heavy but short and thin – at 2 good clean pretty town of Laholm but drive thro’ it with out changing horses as the handbook says, very pretty river winds round the town – 4 or 5 minutes out of it picturesque broad shallow stream rushing under wooden bridge from a mill – and at 2 25/.. peep at the Baltic and same river winding towards very pretty – the people every where very clean and well dressed –

At 3 35/.. Baltic (Kattegat) near (½ mile) left – sort of large open common – poor pasture – and sea nearish till enter (pass wooded bridge over river) at 4 50/.. into the good little town 2 story high houses of Halmstad where stop at the far end to change at 4 55/.. neat Grande Place and white washed church – nice town – the river runs its short course to the Kattegat and is here as good as the Ouse at York –

Two pictures of the river Nissan’s outlet into the Kattegat and on the right the castle of Halmstad (top W R Kerzka mid 1800′s, bottom Oscar Ohlson 1887)

At every change of horses write in Daybook name (Madame Lister) where from (Helsingborg) where going to (Gothenburg) number of persons (4) having done this last (par ignorance) first time here (Halmstad) – the sun very hot here – a few drops of rain between 1 and 2 – cold mornings and evenings? very hot in the sun – sortie by pretty white washed tree embosomed gateway – every where the people very decent and civil – sandy but hard bottom out of Halmstad – from 6 pretty drive thro’ wood and braks and mossy or wooded hill at 6 47/..

North gate (Norreport) Halmstad (Carl Stendahl 1879)

Stop to change at Qvibille very pretty picturesque little scattered village white washed church and dark brick red washed wood houses, red tiled and straw thatched – wooded hill all round more or less distant – very pretty for the last ¾ hour – but thin short oats and other corn – about after 7 alight for ¼ hour –

Qvibille Inn c. 1900

Horses refuse the hill– change the wheelers to the faulty leaders places – very pretty hereabouts farm and civil people give us cherries – we like the Swedes they are so civil – the cherries were brought out the moment the man heard we were English –

Rounded wooded hills and red straw thatched cottages with white chimneys and windows shatters – oak, birch, ash, alder, aspen – granite boulder fence walls – beeches as fine as prince Christian’s trees – all thro’ the forest and finer oaks and soon after 8 near the rounded granity (gneiss?) green and dark[?] granite boulder covered rocky hills – remind me of mountains and the fine mountain Norway scenery we are going to –

Drived from 7 ¾ to 8 ¾ just as we stop at Slöinge small pretty much scattered village, white church – the potatoes and corn everywhere the best crop they have – ‘tis now quite beautiful night quite light enough to write but growing duskish –  tho’ the moon 1/8 way up the sky and bright and apparently about ¾ full, seemed setting, now we

All little hillocky warty moor windy granite boulders greened over with grass or juniper or cranberry or bilberry – then cornfields and folds[?] as everywhere patches pared thin and burning and patches of more dew or fog rising like smoke – hills all around – very thick dews in patches

Now at 9 50/.. or 10 5/.. by the clocks here can only just see to write this –

Marginal notes:                  leave Helsingborg

                                             view off Baltic

                                             Breakfast at Karup

                                             Halmstad

                                             drived

1839 July Sunday 21 (diary)

SH:7/ML/E/23/0087 

SH:7/ML/E/23/0088

Got up 3 ¾  Went to bed ..

Had fallen asleep after being called – were to have been off at 4 – unluckily could not persuade Mr Mu[n]the to settle anything last night – obliged to give him 7 Sovereigns and 16 half ditto = £15 at ten Dollar Banco per Soverign! money enough ought to have been provided at Copenhagen – 

Carriage valued at 500 Dollar Banco 10 per cent duty = 50 Dollar Banco etc. etc. = 55+ Dollar Banco paid to the custom house – harness above 56 Dollar Banco 50 Dollar Banco paid in advance for the posting etc. etc. hotel bill 4.24 so that altogether we paid before leaving Helsinborg 168 Dollar Banco engaging to give the coachman at Gothenborg 33.18 Banco and then we had to live on the road – 22 5/8 Swedish miles about 150 English miles – not true that one can travel quite for nothing even in Sweden – 

Gave Gross 4 Dollar Banco in account and off at last – nevertheless thinking Mr Munthe tho’ he must gain by our soverigns above 2 out of the 15 besides probably some further premium at the hands of our Swedish hussar coachman whom he found us – but we could do no better – Gross of no use save as a servant to wait upon us – 

Off at 5 50/.. from Helsin[g]borg, Hotel Munthe – with one Swedish hussar coachman John Harder and the man to bring back the horses sitting on the boot imperial – our harness very decent – at our 4th relais, at Karup, at 11 ¾ alighted and therefore ordered breakfast fresh milked milk and brown cake or bread and excellent butter – ready for us in ¼ hour price 32 skillings = 1 Dollar rigsgeld = 2/3 Dollar Banco almost a single house – neat, the rooms strewed over with and strong-smelling of juniper – not disagreeable – Karup a very scattered village several men drinking something (coffee) out of small cups – all very civil – 

Off again at 12 23/.. – flat, sandy, thin-cropped country but everything Swedish new to us and therefore interesting – the low red painted houses, straw thatched or red tiled (or brick between squares of wood) –  picturesque – from Karup road sandy but good hard bottom – not so deep as from Lingen to Hazelunne in Oldenburg – and from Karup a good deal of moorland covered with low sheep-eaten juniper cranberry and bilberry – we thought Engelholm at 8 25/.. and Laholm at 2 4/.. nice neat good little towns – 

Halmstad at 4 55/.. a nice little town – sortie by a pretty whitewashed tree-embossed gabel-ended gateway – from Laholm the country improves in the picturesque – peeps of the sea – just out of Laholm cross picturesque rapidy stream – picturesque mill there – and pretty – road sandy out of Halmstad, but pretty drive from there thro’ wood (forest) and breaks and moors or wooded hill – crops everywhere thin and short – 

Qvibille at 6 47/.. very pretty picturesque little scattered village whitewashed church and dark brick red washed wood cottages straw thatched or red tiled – bad horses from here – alight about after 7 for ¼ hour the horses turning restive up a hill – put the wheelers into the faulty leaders places – 

A civil farmer finding we were English gave us cherries looking ½ ripe, but eating good – the Swedes all very civil – very pretty drive from Qvibille – about 8 we near the rounded granity or gneiss? hills – Slöinge at 8 ¾ just as we had finished our dinner of Helsinborg bread and butter and cheese and Deventer gingerbread – 

The potatoes seem everywhere the best crop they have – the moors are everywhere striking as being as it were warty, the granite boulders greened over being thick upon the and giving the ground this singular appearance – 

At 9 50/.. I could just see to write – the dew lying on the ground in very thick patches, like thick fog or smoke creeping along at no great height – to clear ground for crops, they first get off the surface stones, then pare and burn – see no turnips – 

I kept awake, and the twilight continued, very little less light than at 9 50/.., till about midnight – I then slept but awoke at 2 a.m. and found it then so light that I could very well see to write – then slept till near 6 – 

[theladymorganlefay]

Hello! I love your blog! I was wondering if you have any tips for someone celebration their first Lughnasadh? I’m going to have a feast with my family and make corn dollies but I was wondering what else we could do! Thank you so much! Blessed be!

Hello!

And thank you! I have tons of ideas to celebrate Lughnasadh!

If you have a body of water in your area, bless it and decorate its banks with flowers

Harvest the first crops of your garden and dedicate them to the Gods. If you don’t have a garden, take a trip to a farmer’s market or grocery store and purchase some fruit or vegetables.

Bake some bread

Float flowers at a local creek or pond

Take a nature walk and collect goodies for your altar

Sacrifice bad habits and unwanted things from your life by throwing symbols of them into the Sabbat fire.

Do magic to help you finish long-standing projects by the fall.

Bless your garden, where Lugh’s vitality has transformed into the sustenance of ripe vegetables, fruits, and grains.

Take time to actually harvest fruits from your garden with your family. If you don’t have a garden, visit one of the pick-your-own farms in your area.

Include bilberries or blueberries in your feast; these were a traditional fruit, whose abundance was seen as an indicator of the harvest to come.

Share your harvest with others who are less fortunate.

Save and plant the seeds from the fruits consumed during the feast or ritual. If they sprout, grow the plant or tree with love and as a symbol of your connection with the Lord and Lady.

Walk through the fields and orchards or spend time along springs, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes reflecting on the bounty and love of the Lord and Lady

Play a game such as rhibo (a Welsh game) which is traditionally played at Lammas. Three pairs of people face each other and hold hands. A person is then laid across the hands and tossed into the air much like how grain is winnowed. For little ones use a blanet with two adults holding the corners. Be sure to be careful not to “toss” anyone too high!!!

Hope this helps! And that your first Lughnasadh is magical! Blessed be

[princesselisabethofhesse]

1898

MERIEL BUCHANAN’S MEMORIES

The court always spent the summer at Wolfsgarten, the Grand Duke’s country place between Darmstadt and Frankfurt; my father and mother were often asked to spend several weeks there, and when Princess Elisabeth grew a little older, I was allowed to accompany them. 

(...)

We always spent most of the mornings in the pine woods near the tennis court, and in the afternoons went for drives in the big open carriages through the forests of beech or pine, through sleepy villages, where yellow-haired children came out to drop shy curtsies, and farmers doffed their green felt hats to wish “Unser Princesschen” God-speed. Now and then we drove out in the little Russian pony-cart, that was shaped rather like and Irish jaunting car. Sometimes we went and had tea with other little girls living in gloomy old castles, or else we had picnic in the woods and looked for wild strawberries, for bilberries, or little yellow mushrooms which looked so poisonous and tasted so good.

source: Diplomacy and foreign courts by Meriel Buchanan

[alexllove-blog]

Lit by early-morning sunshine, the country lane ahead of me is enchanting.

One side is hedge, sweetly fragrant with white hawthorn blossom, and the other, old dry-stone wall, covered in emerald moss, moist and springy to the touch. Every now and then a wren darts in and out of the wall, looking for the perfect space to nest-build. On the ground, life is also starting to fizz. Fresh, tender shoots are emerging. The broad dark-green leaves of foxgloves spread themselves out and a pair of golden brimstone butterflies flutter around the mauve petals of common dog violets.

A misty valley in Borrowdale in the Lake District National Park

I stop for a moment and take a slow, deep breath –thankful to be back in Lake District National Park in North West England. It’s not just me that finds these landscapes so irresistible. Just over 114 kilometres from the thriving metropolis of Manchester, Lake District National Park, at around 2,362km2, is England’s largest, and more than 19 million people from all the over globe visit it annually. Just like me, visitors here are thrilled not just by the region’s spectacular scenery, but also by the rare creatures that live in its ancient oakwoods and the birds of prey that majestically soar the skies.

At springtime, the Lakes – as the area is better known – are especially magical, but it’s a place that beguiles at any time of the year. The otherworldly beauty of its windswept mountaintops, dramatic valleys criss-crossed with idyllic country lanes, sparkling waterfalls and deep, clear lakes often haunts me long after I return home.

Path from Stonethwaite to Rosthwaite

But of all the region’s valleys, it’s Borrowdale that casts the strongest spell on me. The picturesque area, which is situated in the green heart of the Lake District, is a haven for some of Britain’s most endangered flora and fauna. It’s where I am now, and the country lane I’m passing through is in the small village of Rosthwaite, some nine kilometres south of Keswick, the valley’s main town. This is the start of one of my favourite walks, which will take me through a myriad of arresting landscapes, from craggy fells to wild moors, from mountain tarns to oakwoods and, finally, from river valley to lakeshore. It’s a beautiful microcosm of all that the Lake District has to offer.

Borrowdale has thrilled me since childhood. A huge, wild, living playground, it was the perfect antidote to the grey shades and straight lines of school and suburbia. With my parents, brother and sister – as well as our dogs, a young and exuberant Irish wolfhound and a sensible, much older border collie – many happy summer days were spent here. In the meadows, we searched for daisies, buttercups and forget-me-nots for my flower press. And, in the woods, with socks and shoes off , we chased each other around huge oak trees, picking up acorns, throwing them for the dogs to catch, always saving a few to play wonky marbles with later. Then we’d find a clear stream to cool down and clean our hot little feet before starting our adventures all over again.

A ram near Watendlath

Of course, some four decades on since playing in the woods here, it’s sturdy boots, rather than bare feet, for me on my walk today. Now reaching the end of the lane, the view opens out and my climb up Great Crag, a steep fell-side, begins. The colours are different here – less verdant, more of an autumnal palette of faded-purple heather, burnt-brown bracken and grey rocky knolls. The colour of storm clouds. Now, some 200 metres above sea level, I turn around and marvel at the classic Lakes view. The valley floor – which in the summer months is ablaze with wildflowers – is strikingly green, intersected by the shimmer of the River Derwent that snakes through Borrowdale like a silver ribbon.

Turning back towards Great Crag, I follow the bridleway until a large whitewashed farmhouse and a small cluster of stone cottages come into view. This is the secluded picturesque hamlet of Watendlath that nestles on the shores of the tarn here. Apart from a mewing buzzard above me, enjoying the warm thermals, and a gaggle of honking barnacle geese, it’s incredibly quiet.

A blackbird on a wall near Stonethwaite

I take the path around the water’s edge, passing a flock of free-roaming sheep. Huge moss-covered oaks, with branches outstretched like arms and twigs pointing like fingers, cast their shadows. As the terrain turns to moorland, damp and peaty in places, I spy the yellow-green heads of bog myrtle popping above the scrub.

I scan the sky, hoping for a sight of another buzzard or maybe a falcon. It is empty. If I’d been standing here three or four years ago, though, I might have seen England’s last golden eagle, known as Eddie, filling the void. Up until the early 1800s, golden eagles – Britain’s second-largest bird of prey with a wingspan of around 1.8 metres – were numerous in the Lakes. But regarded as a threat to new-born lambs, the birds’ eyries (nests) were systemically destroyed by local sheep farmers – causing such a catastrophic decline in their numbers that golden eagles became locally extinct by the 1850s.

A pair of keen ramblers taking in the scenery

Since then, only very occasional pairs have settled in the Lakes. The last known couple were Eddie and his mate. He is believed to have died in 2016, some 12 years after the female. Fortunately, conservation measures have been put in place to encourage the return of these iconic birds. It’s hoped that chicks from successful populations in southern Scotland will be introduced here soon, turning the Lakes’ skies golden once again.

“Rare creatures live in its ancient oakwoods and birds of prey majestically soar the skies”

After two and half kilometres or so, I see Dock Tarn, one of the Lake District’s most beautiful mountain lakes. Circled by a small ring of tor-topped hills, covered in heather and bilberry, the tarn is aglow in the sunshine. On the surface, some yet-to-flower waterlilies shiver slightly as a light breeze brushes over them. Come high summer, orchids can be found among the grasses, and when the heather blooms, the tarn will reflect their hazy-purple hues, as if in perpetual twilight. It’s not just Dock Tarn that mesmerises. From here, I can also admire the summit of Glaramara and enjoy take-your-breath-away views of other mighty fells, including Haystacks, Honister and Pillar.

An arresting view of Derwentwater as seen from Catbells fell

The Lake District’s natural beauty has quickened people’s hearts for centuries. During the 1800s, some of England’s best-known Romantic poets and writers – including William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincey and John Ruskin – were particularly enamoured. They celebrated the Lake District’s sublime beauty in their writings, often elevating the region to a heaven on earth, a wild Eden where man could achieve spiritual harmony with nature. William Wordsworth – probably the most famous Lakes poet, and author of the love song to the Lakes “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” – in his great autobiographical work The Prelude, published in 1850, described the region as a place where:

“The solid Mountains were as bright as clouds, Grain-tinctured, drench’d in empyrean light; And, in the meadows and the lower grounds, Was all the sweetness of a common dawn, Dews, vapours, and the melody of birds, And Labourers going forth into the fields.”

A bridge in Rydal

Turning away from the “bright as clouds” view of the summits, I trace a stone-pitched track to the hanging oakwood at Lingy End and begin my descent. The climb down through the ancient wood is steep, and I’m kept company by the babbling Willygrass Gill stream. Originating at Dock Tarn, it cascades gently down the valley, eventually joining the River Derwent. Shoots of pungent wild garlic sprout between rocks and stones, joined by butter-yellow, star-shaped celandine flowers.

“A wonderland I first visited as a girl, I am lured back to the Lake District year after year”

I scan the trees for red squirrels, an endangered native species. Thanks to special conservation programmes, Borrowdale’s woods are one of the best places in England to spot this rare and elusive creature. I also look out for red and roe deer, but as with the squirrels, I am out of luck. I do, though, sight a great spotted woodpecker drilling into a tree, its distinctive black, white and red markings glimmering softly in the dappled light.

A cottage in Stonethwaite

Borrowdale’s oakwoods are the remnants of the temperate “rainforests” that once flourished on the western seaboard of Britain. They are the precious last habitat of disappearing moss and liverwort species and support an incredible variety of ferns and fungi, as well as butterflies, moths and other insects. That’s why Borrowdale’s oakwoods – over 500 hectares, home to more than a hundred bird species – are afforded the highest tier of protection available to habitats in Europe.

After an hour or so, the steepness of the slope eases and I’m back on level ground in the village of Stonethwaite, just next door to Rosthwaite. The wide walled and pretty path here runs parallel to the River Derwent, considered one of the purest rivers in Europe. Freshwater shrimp, lamprey and salmon thrive in its protected waters – even sleek-haired otters, once locally extinct, are back and can sometimes be spotted on the riverbanks with freshly caught fish in their paws.

Two people fishing at a reservoir in Watendlath

Back at Rosthwaite, I jump on a bus and less than 10 minutes later find myself on the shores of Derwentwater, one of the Lake District’s fi nest glacial lakes. In the afternoon light, the water reflects the shape of the mountains that circle it. A swan glides by, heading towards Lord’s Island, one of the lake’s four main islands. Once inhabited by the Earls of Derwentwater, the island is now a desirable residence for nesting birds and primroses only. During the winter months, the secluded bays and headlands here provide shelter for many wildfowl, including greylag geese, mallards and moorhens.

The Queen of the Lakes, as Derwentwater is also known, is the only place in England – apart from Bassenthwaite Lake about 16 kilometres further north – where vendace, a rare Arctic fi sh species dating back to the Ice Age, survives. Bassenthwaite Lake is also the place to see the Lake District’s only ospreys. These spectacular birds of prey, with a wingspan of almost 1.5 metres, returned to breed in 2001, after an absence of almost 150 years, and during the summer months can be seen diving for fish in Bassenthwaite’s pristine waters.

A river scene in Rydal

Two years ago, in 2017, the Lake District National Park was designated a Unesco World Heritage site. It became a National Park in 1951, one of the first established in Britain after the passing of the 1949 Act of Parliament. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that Act, without which the UK wouldn’t have its 15 glorious National Parks to explore and enjoy today.

That the Lake District is – and remains – a protected place is important to me. The Lake District is a gift. A green refuge where once-lost species have returned; a precious jewel of a place where I, and countless others before me, have felt at peace and been inspired, and found gentle reminders of a more natural past. A wonderland I first visited as a girl, I am lured back to the Lake District year after year. And each time I return, I fall back in love – bewitched all over again by the “empyrean light” of the Lakes that shines forever bright, captivates completely and re-wilds my heart.

SEE ALSO: Why Manchester is the UK’s next creative powerhouse

This article was originally published in the June 2019 issue of SilverKris magazine

The post Over vales and hills: The enchantment of the Lake District appeared first on SilverKris.

[currentclimate]

In England, as in almost all of Europe, growing patterns are changing. The drought has increased food prices, and staples may be in short supply this fall.

In July, farmers had to fly in lettuce from overseas to meet contracts with supermarkets. One cargo firm said it flew in 30,000 heads of lettuce from Los Angeles during one hot July weekend alone.

The drought in Ireland means that income for dairy farmers is likely to be cut in half this year, said Teagasc, the state’s farming advisory body.

Sweden has faced some of the most severe repercussions from the hot weather, starting with the forest fires that destroyed more than 61,000 acres of timber, according to David Sundström of the Swedish Contingencies Agency. Wildfires are still burning, although significantly fewer than when they were at their height.

The drought has also severely hurt production of the iconic Scandinavian bilberries (similar to blueberries), cloudberries (similar to raspberries and blackberries, but often yellow or orange), and red lingonberries.

[memq-art]

The bilberry farmer creacted by me :3 BUT since I didn't complete all the secondary missions, I'm afraid that such a joke could be in one of those missions

.

Characters from Pit People © The Behemoth

Bilberry Farmer © .MemQ.

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[whatdoesshedotothem]

Sunday 21 July 1839

3 ¾

..

Had fallen asleep after being called – were to have been off at 4 – unluckily could not persuade Mr. Munthe to settle anything last night – obliged to give him 7 sovereigns and 16 half ditto = £15 at ten dollars banco per sovereign! money enough ought to have been provided at Copenhagen – carriage valued at 500 D.B. 10 p.c. duty = 50 D.B. etc. etc. = 55+ D.B. paid to the custom house – harness above 56 DB.  50 DB. paid in advance for the posting etc. etc. Hotel bill 4.24. so that altogether we paid before leaving Helsinborg [Helsingborg] 168 D.B. engaging to give the coach man at Gotheborg [Gothenburg] 33.18 Banco and then we had to live on the road – 22 5/8 Swedish miles about 150 English miles – not true that one can travel quite for nothing even in Sweden – gave Gross 4 D.B. in a/c and off at last – nevertheless thinking Mr. Munthe tho’ he must gain by our sovereigns above 2 out of the 15 besides

SH:7/ML/E/23/0088

 probably so further premium at the hands of our Swedish hussar coach man whom he found us – But we could do no better – Gross of no use save as a servant to wait upon us – off at 5 50/.. from Helsinborg [Helsingborg], Hotel Muntha – with our Swedish hussar coach man John Harder, and the man to bring back the horses sitting on the boot imperial – our harness very decent – at our 4th Relais (at [Karup]) at 11 ¾ alighted and .:. ordered breakfast fresh milked milk and brown cake or bread and excellent butter – ready for us in ¼ hour price 32 skillings = 1 Dollar rigsgeld [kriegsgeld] = 2/3 DB. almost a single house – neat, the rooms stewed over with and strong-smelling of juniper – not disagreeable – K- a very scattered village several men drinking something (coffee) out of small cups – all very civil – off again at 12 23/.. – flat, sandy, thin-cropped country but everything Swedish new to us, and therefore interesting – the red painted houses straw thatched or red tiled low wood or brick between squares of wood – picturesque – from [Karup] road sandy but good hard bottom – not so deep as from Lingen to Hazelunen in Oldenburg – and from K- a good deal of moor land covered with low sheep-eaten juniper, cranberry and bilberry – we thought Engelholm [Ängelholm] at 8 25/.. and Laholm at 2 4/.. nice neat good little towns – Halmstad, at 4 55/.. a nice little town – sortie by a pretty whitewashed tree-embossed gabel-ended gateway – from Laholm the country improves in the picture – peeps of the sea – just out of Laholm cross picturesque rapidy stream – picturesque mill there – and pretty – road sandy out of Halmstad, but pretty drive from there thro’ wood (forest) and breaks and moory or wooded hill – cross everywhere thin and short – Qvibille [Kvibille] at 6 47/.. very pretty picturesque little scattered village whitewashed church and dark brick red washed wood cottages straw thatched or red tiled – bad horses from here – alight about after 7 for ¼ hour the horses turning restive up a hill – put the wheelers into the faulty leaders places – a civil farmer finding we were English gave us cherries looking ½ ripe, but eating good – the Swedes all very civil – very pretty drive from Qvibille [Kvibille] – about 8 we near the rounded granite or gneiss? hills – Slöinge at 8 ¾ just as we had finished our dinner of Helsinborg [Helsingborg] bread and butter and cheese and Deventer gingerbread – the potatoes seem everywhere the best crop they have – the moors are everywhere striking as being as it were warty, the granite boulders greened over being thick upon the and giving the ground this singular appearance – at 9 50/.. I could just see to write – the dew lying on the ground in very thick patches, like thick fog or smoke creeping along at no great height – to clear ground for crops, they 1st get off the surface stones, then pare and burn – see no turnips – I kept awake, and the twilight continued, very little less than at 9 50/.. till about midnight – I then slept, but awoke at 2 am and found it then so light that I could very