a weekend of gardening ~ and Monday

the past couple of days, Joe and I have taken advantage of the gorgeous late autumn days and packed a sandwich and some fruit into a basket and walked to a nearby park. It is lovely to sit and eat under the trees, with leaves falling around us. ahh, the simple things in life.. are free and do our soul a world of good.

April 27
after lunch in Hinkler Park, just up the road from our home, we returned home and worked for a few hours in the garden.

Joe built me a wheel of the year garden and we moved the blueberries into a more suitable position. There is not much to do in the garden at the moment, but is is just nice to be outside working, bonding with the garden and plants. We plan where my little prayer cubby house will be built. I cannot wait until this is done. Joe is so good to me, really. He builds all kinds of things for me and he has a real talent for design.

the apple tree is slowly losing her leaves.. but I know from experience that oneday, those leaves will  just decide to let go all at once and the grass will be carpeted with them.. not to worry, I love raking them up and they are always put to good use, either on the garden or into a compost bin.

I weed around my Marian shrine in the front yard and take delight in the gorgeous leaves that continue to fall around me like confetti. The hollyhocks are still blooming and seem to be producing more stems and flowers. I have never grown these before so I am not sure if this is normal to continue to flower for 6 mths. I see that the dutch iris leaves are up and the winter roses are blooming.
as I work in the garden, I hear tourists walking past on their way back from Katoomba Falls and I  hear 'oh, this is nice'.. and I realize that they are talking about my own house Avalon and my garden... so my hard work pays off by bringing joy to others.. which is what I wish to do oneday.. share my garden with a circle - contemplating spirituality..
the leaves on the 3 maples are yellow now and the stems are turning the brilliant cerise that they do at this time of year. absolutely stunning.
late into the night, I work on my Morrigan Spirit doll.

April 28
A Currawong greeted me as I went outside first thing this morning, alighting on the fence directly outside my door and listened as I said good morning to him.
Going down to where I am creating a sacred circle, I stood, with my eyes closed under my apple tree and I spoke the words of blessing that I do every morning. After I had finished I stood there, eyes closed and absorbed. The gentle autumn breeze blew softly through my hair and even, I think, through my whole being. The magpies began to carol and the leaves rustled and I could almost feel the veil thinning a little more, leading up to Samhain. What is it about this time of year that makes one want to reflect?

When I read up on Currawong medicine, I see that this bird could be a true animal for Samhain, helping to bring to the fore our hurts and pain from the past and heal them

Sunday mid morning I feel tired so I rest. I feel as if my whole body is intune with earth and the emotional roller coaster of the few part weeks is catching up with me. Nevertheless I follow the urge to lay down and I read Anam Cara, learning in that text that it is very important for people on the spiritual path to look after themselves - point taken.. I really do feel a need to really nurture myself and to let go of the sternness of Saturn which rules me at times.

I think that this Samhain is so different to any others for me.. the deep reflecting over the past month has helped me really be in tune.. especially with my ancestors. I love it.

while researching Samhain, I discovered that the Cornish actually celebrated it as a different name ~ Kalan Gwav, meaning first day of winter, or Nos Kalan Gwav, meaning eve of the first day of winter.. which sent ripples of excitement through my soul! I am planning on visiting the grave of my cornish great grandmother, Laura on Tuesday and I was going to take the last apple from my tree and leave on her grave.. I was so excited to read this:
Large red apples similar to the "Allan" apples popular in West Cornwall during Allantide - it seems that I am very much in tune with my own intuition of my ancestral lineage.

in my wheel of the year garden, I decide to plant heather and sage. I chose heather because it really touched my heart in Cornwall, as we drove along the moors.. and it is perfect for the climate of Katoomba. Now all i need to do is source a plant somewhere. it was available everywhere in Cornwall.. in florists. beautiful. I remember it vividly, especially in Bodmin. so, yes I think a perfect choice.

April 29
I will admit I am finding it a little difficult to relate to the tradition of Samhain and what I have read. Being in a different hemisphere and land, our whole weather pattern is different to my ancestral land. Different to what is described and written anywhere..the weather in Katoomba is unseasonably warm, there is no cold wind blowing as happened in times past in Cornwall.
A little disappointing actually but earth and the seasons are changing, even many of the trees are still green here, very late in turning their autumn colour..

I carve a turnip and my thoughts turn to my ancestors who most probably did this around the table, together as a family. I feel loneliness steal over me for a moment. I toss the carving leftovers into my vegie soup.