The Rose of Mercia 🌹

The day the devil spat on the blackberries. September 29th is one of the quarter days of the year in the Christian calendar. The quarter days were used by farmers to mark the changing of the seasons; as this was the time of harvest and preparation for the long winter ahead. The lore comes from the battle between the Archangel Michael and Lucifer. When Lucifer fell from grace and became Satan, he landed in a blackberry bush. He cursed, stomped and spat on the bush and berries. It is said that if you eat or pick blackberries after the feast of Michael, you will have bad luck or fall ill.

Another little watercolor and gouache mushroom painting ✨️

The Anglo-Saxons called the Milky Way ‘Waetlinga straet’ after the ancient road that connected (what is now) England and Wales. It is named after the giant Wade who was also known as Vate, Vada, Ivalde and Waetla and was father to Weland the smith. In Irish lore the Milky Way was called ‘Bothar Bo Finne’ or ‘The Track of the White Cow' and there’s a subtle connection to Wade in that he was also known for owning a cow – which his wife walked everyday across another ancient road called ‘Wade's Causeway’ that runs across the North Yorkshire moors.

Today's harvest was another big one! I haven't been able to get up to the allotment in almost a week, so I knew I would have a lot to harvest today. Lots of apple fallings from the Katy and Bramley trees. The damson tree is still absolutely laden. I think I'll get at least another tray full next week. The pumpkin vine had started to die back, so I harvested it before the slugs could get it. It will need a little more time to ripen before I can use it. The beans are still producing well, as are the raspberries. The blackberries are slowing down now. The sweet peas are also starting to go to seed, but I'm hoping for just a few more weeks of them.

I've decided that I'll be closing my blog at the end of the year. It has been part of my journey for six years, but I now feel like I have outgrown it. I am not as active as I used to be online either. Since the passing of my grandad last year, I have found peace with being offline more and making strides towards the life I want. All I ever wanted was to inspire people to visit a stone circle or two, sow some seeds, and look deeper into local folklore. I think I have done that. I have never wanted to be a content creator, I don't really like that term. I just wanted to share things online that I found interesting in hopes that someone else would as well. I may repost the blogs on here so they can remain accessible, or perhaps I will repost them on another blog in the future. Honestly, I have lost my love of writing. I don't much feel like sitting in front of a screen to type anymore, but never say never. Perhaps one day, I will create something new from the ashes. There are many people online who provide us with amazing content on folklore, history, gardening, and foraging. For now, that won't be me. I don't really know what the future of this channel is either, but I have noticed my numbers slowly drop over the last few months. That's OK. I appreciate that we are inundated with content, and what I post is no longer of interest to you. Or, perhaps like myself, you are spending more time offline. I will still post periodical updates on here and instagram about my allotment or somewhere I have visited. It's just the long format content I won't be creating for the foreseeable. I'd like to thank everyone who has read my blog and revisits it from time to time. I hope you have enjoyed it.

I've decided that I'll be closing my blog at the end of the year. It has been part of my journey for six years, but I now feel like I have outgrown it. I am not as active as I used to be online either. Since the passing of my grandad last year, I have found peace with being offline more and making strides towards the life I want. All I ever wanted was to inspire people to visit a stone circle or two, sow some seeds, and look deeper into local folklore. I think I have done that. I have never wanted to be a content creator, I don't really like that term. I just wanted to share things online that I found interesting in hopes that someone else would as well. I may repost the blogs on here so they can remain accessible, or perhaps I will repost them on another blog in the future. Honestly, I have lost my love of writing. I don't much feel like sitting in front of a screen to type anymore, but never say never. Perhaps one day, I will create something new from the ashes. There are many people online who provide us with amazing content on folklore, history, gardening, and foraging. For now, that won't be me. I don't really know what the future of this channel is either, but I have noticed my numbers slowly drop over the last few months. That's OK. I appreciate that we are inundated with content, and what I post is no longer of interest to you. Or, perhaps like myself, you are spending more time offline. I will still post periodical updates on here and instagram about my allotment or somewhere I have visited. It's just the long format content I won't be creating for the foreseeable. I'd like to thank everyone who has read my blog and revisits it from time to time. I hope you have enjoyed it.

I've decided that I'll be closing my blog at the end of the year. It has been part of my journey for six years, but I now feel like I have outgrown it. I am not as active as I used to be online either. Since the passing of my grandad last year, I have found peace with being offline more and making strides towards the life I want. All I ever wanted was to inspire people to visit a stone circle or two, sow some seeds, and look deeper into local folklore. I think I have done that. I have never wanted to be a content creator, I don't really like that term. I just wanted to share things online that I found interesting in hopes that someone else would as well. I may repost the blogs on here so they can remain accessible, or perhaps I will repost them on another blog in the future. Honestly, I have lost my love of writing. I don't much feel like sitting in front of a screen to type anymore, but never say never. Perhaps one day, I will create something new from the ashes. There are many people online who provide us with amazing content on folklore, history, gardening, and foraging. For now, that won't be me. I don't really know what the future of this channel is either, but I have noticed my numbers slowly drop over the last few months. That's OK. I appreciate that we are inundated with content, and what I post is no longer of interest to you. Or, perhaps like myself, you are spending more time offline. I will still post periodical updates on here and instagram about my allotment or somewhere I have visited. It's just the long format content I won't be creating for the foreseeable. I'd like to thank everyone who has read my blog and revisits it from time to time. I hope you have enjoyed it.

New life goal: own an ancient apple orchard.

Another successful harvest 😂👀 This is caused by poor pollination. We always plant our sweetcorn in a grid, but we never seem to have a good harvest. I think we will try out the Three Sisters growing method next year and see if that makes a difference. I've hung these on a tree for the squirrels to enjoy. Remember, it's OK to fail. We learn from our failures.