Saturday, August 1, 2009

HAPPY LAMMAS/LUGHNASADH PART II


LUGHNASADH by Nadi Spencer
(See more information on this painting below)
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I almost forgot that today, August 1, is the Feast of Lammas/Lughnasadh, the old British/Irish/Celtic festival of the first fruits of the harvest. I only remembered because I was looking at my Feedjit feed today and saw how many people were searching the words Lammas, Lammas Poem and Lughnasadh. There were a lot!
Being too darn lazy this Saturday morning to write a new post about Lammastide, I instead found some new images, and am giving links to the posts I wrote the last couple of years. (I thought they were pretty good posts, and I've written about all I can on the subject, so why re-invent the wheel, LOL?). Here they are:
3. Lammas Poem:
It was fun to see the artwork I've previously used, and to note how "oppresively hot and humid" it was in 2007. Not so this year!)


Looking at this Lughnasadh Blessings banner above makes me think of fall. Certainly we are seeing these first fruits of the harvest at the Farmers Markets all over town. And this morning I saw my first yellow leaf.
My blogging friend Leanne in England is predicting an early fall there, and I am wondering if we might be having one too. It has been an unusually cool and wet summer here. Yesterday and the day before, the last two days of July, mind you, it has only gotten into the 60s F. That's chilly for us - it should be in the 90s!
LUGHNASAD by Sharon McLeod

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Our local weather forecaster says it's because the jet stream is dipping below us instead of rising up into Canada. He says there are hot days ahead. But I repeat, it has been an unusual summer, one that has seen:
1. Snow in June in Dickinson, ND.
2. The prairie, usually dry yellows and browns by now, still emerald green into August.
3. No lawn sprinklers going.
4. Lawn mowers going all the time.
5. No air conditioners going.
6. Bismarck already reaching the average precipitation for the year, with FIVE months to go.

I mentioned before that I only remembered that it was Lammas/Lughnasadh today because of my Feedjit widget. It's a fun (and free) thing to have. At first I was just thrilled at how many people were coming to my site, from every country imaginable. Wow, that's heady. And then I realized that most people weren't coming to visit me, they had just Googled images or words and phrases. Oh, well, it's still fun. It's interesting to see what people are Googling. For me, these are the most-searched topics:
1. Pixies, fairies, moon fairies, brownies, elves, sprites, selkies and the like (also fairy painters like Arthur Rackham and Cicely Mary Barker).
2. "The most beautiful words in the English language."
3. "Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" (lines from a Yeats poem).
4. "Count your blessings" Celtic poem.
5. Hollyhock dolls.
6. "Oh, to be in England now that spring is here". (Which is incorrect. I can't believe how many searchers get this wrong! This Robert Browning poem begins, "Oh to be in England now that April's there").

Take a look at that list for a moment. Am I really that airy fairy? And are there so many people in the world like me? I suppose there are as many people searching for websites on serial killers, alien abductions, global warming, the tanking of the economy, genocide, war, human trafficking, etc. etc. They just aren't finding them on my blog. And I hope that the people who innocently land on this blog like this airy fairy place of beautiful words, art and pictures, lines from poems, memories of childhood and the realm of imagination.
Oops, I wandered off the subject a bit. Back to Lammas/Lughnasadh:


The painting shown at the top of this blog is digital art by Nadi Spencer. To see how she created it, visit her website at http://www.nadispencer.com/. Nadi used the painting for her line of recipe greeting cards that she sells in her Etsy shop at http://www.Cafepress.com/NadiSpencer/6466808 (scroll down to Nadi's Table).

Does anyone live near Three Rivers, CA? Nadi's having an open house at her studio today, with a real Lammas "first fruits" luncheon of potato soup, blueberry scones with Irish whisky spread and blueberry ice tea. Can't go? Too bad, I can't go either. But, if you go to yet another of her sites, Nadi's Table (her cooking blog) you can find the recipe for her blueberry scones and spread: http://www.nadistable.com/ for Thursday, July 23.

Happy Lammas/Lughnasadh to you!

11 comments:

Rowan said...

Blessings at Lughnasadh Julie, it's a really wet, autumnal day here but I'm sure that better weather is ahead of both of us in September and October. I love the last piece of art work on this post, it is very evocative and expresses just what August should be like.

gma said...

Lammas blessings dear Julie Aine. The August Lammas card is so pretty. It has been unusual record breaking hot here. July's average temp was 109 degrees. Today will be 110.
Julie I love that picture of you and Gracie. Really cute.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Lovely post- and blessings for you. We are not as hot as we have been - it was past miserable for at least 10 days - one day even got up to 100 - and in the Pacific Northwest that is unbearable at its best. Today is about 76 - sunny - nice breeze - lovely day to think of harvest, though I don't have a garden this year we celebrated by sharing some fresh tomatoes from our daughter's garden.

Odette Bautista Mikolai said...

Hello Julie!
I am so glad to hear from you. I always visit your blog site each time there is a new post because it is always full of information. I resolve to always leave a comment so you will know I have been here, ok?
We are in our wet season now, so its been raining day in and day out. We have storms coming into our shore one after the other. In fact,there had been accident of landslide and flooding all over the archipelago.
Today however, the sun is up and I am glad to be able to put out my laundry to dry.
I am not familiar with Lammas/ Lughnasadh so this is new info for me.Thanks, for sharing!
xoxoxoxo

Shopgirl said...

What a wonderful teacher, I always leave your blog with knowing something new. I will also have to look up the Cooper Hawk. They are so lovely in the air. This morning Arney and I were setting on the patio talking about everything and nothing when Papa Hawk came down into the yard and sat on a branch about 15 feet over our heads. He is beautiful. Soon they will be teaching the young ones to fly. We watched them last year, it is sink or swim....I love ya Julie,
Hugs, Mary

Lila Rostenberg said...

Great post! Thanks for reminding me about the harvest festival!
We have a local grape festival in a couple of weeks...always great food and fun. [then a wine festival 6 weeks later...LOL!]

Margaret's Ramblings said...

Another amazing post Julie. You have been tagged, LOL

Margaret

Bimbimbie said...

It's been a really mild winter for us and I think Spring is already on her way - hoping I haven't spoken too soon ;)

Sandi McBride said...

I'm here from Curly's Corner and I'll be back and back and back! Now, off to read about Dogs!
Sandi

Colleen - the AmAzINg Mrs. B said...

Well, I come to your airy blog to see beauty, read wonderful words and feel better for having visited! Keep up the great work and thanks for teaching us soo much!

TitusL said...

Great Post thankyou:D
Thought you might like my machinima film,
The Lammas Wickerman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORqpwf0dpSs
Bright Blessings
Elf
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