Midsummer and Summer Solstice

Abundance has to be the key-note as we celebrate this Summer Solstice. And what abundance this year! Here at An Gáirdín the trees and hedgerows are laden with fruits and berries.

Recently we have had a few little delightful moments here. What is rare tends to excite us! For the first time we spotted the Bee Orchid in the orchard. We haven’t seen the Humming Bird Hawk-moth since Covid 2019 until now. Third the Spotted Flycatcher is back again this year, so must like us.

We remind ourselves that while what is rare excites us, the ordinary everyday wonders of nature are no less beautiful and spectacular: The dandelion as much as the orchid, the bee as much as the Humming Bird Hawk-moth and the crow as much as the Flyctcher.

Also we have something too to learn from the appearance of the Bee Orchid. Had we mown that part of the orchard the orchid would be denied its existence. Interesting that the orchid did not appear in the wildflower meadow – the common orchid, yes. This is really a strong reminder of the potential beauty and diversity of life we extinguish with our mowing regimes.

When one is immersed in nature it is so much easier to live in cyclical time. One is moving with the seasons. It seems such a short time ago as we celebrated the Spring Equinox that we watched the little shoots emerge, and now we are bowled over with the abundance of leaf, flower and fruit. We do have much to celebrate.

Live in each season as it passes;

Breathe the air,

Drink the drink,

Taste the fruit,

And resign yourself to the influence of the earth

– D.H. Thoreau