Bee Hive Walk

Mika knows someone that knows someone that keeps bees. Now Mika knows him. Well anyway, Mika struck a deal with him; we have land, he has bees, so he can keep bees on our land. We didn’t have to do much, just clear away vegetation from the track and hand over a key. Then the beekeeper, at night, brought the bees in their beehives and placed them there.

Why at night you say? Well, it’s to make sure that all of the bees are nice and dormant because before nightfall, everybee goes home, no late nights out...

Well, having spotted them through the trees from the road in the car before, I decided to have a walk and see them a bit closer. Not too close though, of course!

When I got there I was expecting only a handful, maybe 5 or 6, of beehives. Little did I know I was in for a suprise. With the two dogs, Chispa and Luna in tow we rounded a corner to the hazel orchard where the hives are. Well lo and behold, there before me stood something like 30! Still not too close you understand.

Now I’ve seen small groups of hives and they have quite a buzz of activity from them, but this was a great cloud of buzzing honey industry. Just thinking about walking near it made my skin itch and cringe. And the noise! I was standing at least 20 feet away and could hear it as though I were standing next to it.

With all those busy bees buzzing about, you could say our flower beds and vegetables with be well and truly fertilised, not to mention the honey, YUM!

It was playing cards that brought me the idea to buy rabbits. I (Mika) will explain...

While playing a "blackjack" card game, I thought that it would be funny to have bets to make the game more interesting, so of course, because we are animals lovers we had this hey, not so crazy idea to have a "couple of rabbits" as the final prize, lol. So the first that would won 50 games would receive them! The game then became REALLY exciting.

When the games were finished, I was the winner and so Adam and I went that day (Sunday) to the famous oh so plentiful street market to get MY own rabbits! When I saw them I just said: "We won't get only 2 but 4 because they're too nice!" so we've bought one more couple (male and female) so we have 2 couples.

The characters are, Ostara, the grey and white one, named after a germanic spring goddess; she seems a bit of a boss type, confident and strong-willed and she often hangs around with Indiana Jones (or Jones for short), the grey one, who's the most active zooming around like I don't know what and we swear he has the theme tune of said movie going through his head! There's also Monty, the black one, named after Monty Python, he's the most curious one, scouting things out and looking at "things". Then last but not least we have Peppermint, a black and white angora, whereas the others are shorthaired. She's the smallest and also the most affectionate one prefering to eat and be held by someone than adventuring around like the other three.

Now the chicken share their home with those tiny furry balls in the same building although separated by a cosy cage for the rabbits and sometimes we even take them upstairs in the patio so they can practice their jumps, run, stretch properly, and exercise other rabbitness-es . They are proud little happy rabbits and they bring a lot of tender feelings to the house.

Wow, life in this valley can be quite adventurous and chicken coop life too.

Let me tell you a story...

Once upon a time, just last week actually, we cleaned the inside chicken coop of dirt and browney-white shit (sorry for the image but that’s country life for you, lol) and replaced it with wood chippings. We added some baskets aswell so that our two chicken can start laying eggs and then, because it felt empty, we decided to get more chicken (plus one randy cockeral is just too much for two hens)

So on Sunday we went to a village where they hold this really big street market once a week with stands selling just about everything to hoards of people. We waded past fruit stands, clothes stands, music stands, shoe stands and lots more stands just to get to the animal stand. There’s plenty of interesting things in that market and the animal stand is no exception. They, rabbits, guinea pigs, chicken, partridge, quail, cockatiels and budgies. They’ve even had a gorgeous white pheasant and some peacocks.

So peering into the cages we chose six chicken, three small ones called quicas and three multicoloured ones which look quite pretty. So with a box full of chicken we headed home to introduce them to where they will stay for the rest of their lives. I say “will” tentatively as you shall see. The three little ones has some difficulty as they weren’t able to use the perches like normal chicken but the other new ones did. The difference between the old ones and the new ones is that the new ones get a bit hysterical around us humans, which doesn’t work in our favour...

The next day after getting these chicken, Mika was letting them out into their enclosure when all of a sudden out flew one of the multicoloureds right over the enclosure fence! Well, we just couldn’t see where it had gone amongst all those trees and bushes. Will it survive? Will we get it back? We hoped so. Well it did come to hang around near the others because it was lonely, but no matter how we tried it could not be coaxed nor caught and we don’t think it will just fly back in, it’s got too feral.

But that’s not the end of it. Another day I (Adam) went into the enclosure and wanted to have a closer look at the new ones and even see if I could pick one up. What a mistake, before I could blink a multicoloured flew up and out! So I ran out through the gate to catch it with a “interested” dog helping me corner it. But it flew away. BUT I decided to follow it anyway where I realised, passing the gate, I’d left it open. Well one of the quicas decided to escape running into some undergrowth. Even with fast legs and two “sniffer” dogs I just couldn’t find them.

Since then I’ve seen the second escapee twice, the first time I almost caught it and the second time I saw it with the first feral one, so at least they have company out in the wild and they’re still looking healthy and well-fed. The lost quica on the other hand has not been seen and we’re not sure if it learnt to perch which it would need with so many hungry ground animals prowling around.

So we’ve done some work to stop this from happening again. Using a net we have covered the enclosure which, we hope, will stop any more flying out and also stop those hungry eagles getting at them aswell. The three remaining new ones have settled in and have found the older ones to be good teachers in the “Chicken Way”, scratching and pecking at the organic left-over food we give them rather than chemical rubbish that they could be fed. The two quicas have also managed to learn to perch above the ground alongside the others.

These chicken can be hard work, with something to do on a daily basis, but their own work, as egg factories and as compost creators, more than makes up for it. Also it’s fun sometimes just to watch them and their curious behaviour. But the best is yet to come, because in mid-spring we hope to have some chicks, which will be another challenge altogether.

(Picture above: The older ones)

Come meet a women of triple aspect,

I follow a stream deep into woodland,

To its source, to a spring.

By some magic I squeeze into the hole

And move into the dark waters.

Deeper I go and warmer it gets

Until its power soaks through me,

Washing my wounds,

Gently soothing them

And then covering them over.

I follow light out into the world

And chant the chant of Healing.

Come meet a woman of triple aspect.

I follow an old worn path across a field

And before me stands a mound.

Through its doorway I enter to meet ghosts!

Ancestors, memories come forth,

Flow through me and weave you wise words.

And this they do,

A creative spirit flashes across my mind

Like sparks whne striking a flint.

A web of words spring from my tongue

With threads of joy and sorrow.

I follow light out into the world

And chant the chant of Inspiration.

Come meet a woman of triple aspect.

I follow sounds of industry and thick black smoke

Rising from the mouth of a cave.

I enter its darkness and searing heat

Holding an ugly black stone.

I reach forward into a boiling vat of fire

Suffering the burning that writhes up my arm.

I retrieve my hand but the stone has gone

Leaving a shining sword with perfect blade

And perfect balance.

I follow light out into the world

And chant the chant of Transformation.

I meet Brigid of triple aspect

And I chant

Healing, inspiration, transformation.

Healing, inspiration, transformation.

Healing, inspiration, transformation.

This is the nature of her flame.

Hail Brigid!

Cold is being replaced by a warm breeze that indicates that spring is about to come. You can feel how the land is ready to receive the new seed and see signs of life that begins to appear on each corner at the Earth Sanctuary. Here we plant the "seeds" of our hopes and dreams for the coming summer months.

Adam’s thought’s: Coming to Spain I have a different experience of Imbolc time, it’s a bit like spring and temperatures even resemble summer just without the humidity. But the one thing that I do miss is seeing snowdrops. These little white flowers epitomise, for me, the Imbolc season, they can be seen growing up through snow and their drooping heads seem to whisper to the sleeping earth to wake up from winter. They truly are a little springtime in the last stretch of winter and so they have a special place in my heart.

Cunning devices to beat wild boar

If you go down the woods today you might spot a wild boar or... down in the Garden of the Goddess!

We had some juicy vegetables and fruit growing which the boar happened to find and take for themselves. After all the hard work on the garden, it feels devastating to find it all ploughed up.

Years ago the boar would be hidden deep in the forest but the hunters come along and pushed them out, which means you could find one virtually on your doorstep. The Earth Sanctuary is a safehaven for these creatures where they aren’t hunted which is why they are so brave and use our back garden as a restaurant.

Ok...we LOVE nature and its denizens but we still need to keep our hard work safe, and our lettuces! LOL !

So we set about digging and weaving to make the fences but we still lack a bloomin’ gate. Hopefully in the future we’ll get that gate up to show you AND keep the boar out!

From the masses of humanity,

From their souless masks,

I seek sanctuary

Intent upon the needs of my soul

And my humanity.

Somehow by a miracle of sacred truth,

Despite all delusions

Imposed by such soulless masks,

My soul touched a thread,

A thread of fate

That guided me to a truth never expected.

In the world of masks

The thread exists but is heavily obscured.

In this outward world of masks

The threads vital vision is threatened by destruction.

So I seek necessary sanctuary

And I look at the inward world,

Beyond the masks

And forces of destruction.

Here I find a mirror,

Polished and pure,

That reflects my mask

And the soul-filled eyes shining back.

Here I recognise the first glimmer of sanctuary

As I look deep beyond the mask

Into the truth of my soul

Through all distractions of the mask world.

The masks tell me I’m wrong,

They try hard to deny my truth

For they do not recognise their own

But I trust in truth and follow my thread.

Because of this I now see an outward sanctuary

Hidden from masks,

Where my thread weaves

In trust and truth

Among the threads of others.

I know it is well said that

No outward sanctuary is recognised

When the inward sanctuary is neglected.

-Adam-

Trevor

When we work in the garden Trevor is always nearby. Trevor is an Erithacus rubecula, more commonly known as a robin. You would think he’s just a bird searching for bugs and bits but the way that he observes our work makes us think he is up to something more than that... It’s the way he scans us! The way he flies from branch to branch, watching us from different angles that makes us a bit nervous. He looks so clever, so determined, like he’s making notes of our every move. He makes us suspect that Goddess Nature has sent a guard to keep everything in order and balance.

The Earth Sanctuary has a lot of beautiful places and “micro-sanctuaries”. One of those places we call the Garden of the Goddess, and it is there precisely where Trevor makes its appearance each time. Trevor likes us and we like him and that’s why he gets closer and more trustful each day that passes. We made a deal with a bird as eco-warriors that we will care about nature’s balance and harmony and that we will do good for the land that it is his and our home too.

Maybe he’s just a bird and maybe he’s just searching for bugs and bits but for us his care and observation opens our eyes to a spirituality that is friendly with Nature, and gives us the possibility and hope to celebrate the simple and beautiful moments that can still be found living on this planet Earth.

The Lothlórien-Nemeton Seed Group was created in 2006 as part of the OBOD Seed Groups programme. One of the main duties of our seed group´s core team is to protect and maintain the 108 acres of woodland where we work and live respectfully without interfering with nature and its wild ways of healing itself.

Where contemporary society constricts and erodes the human soul and nature´s soul, Lothlórien gives us the right space to recover and heal in the safety of sanctuary.

The word "nemeton" means "woodland sanctuary" or "sacred grove". This invokes in us a vision where nature is given freedom and respect and in return, nature allows the human beings that are its guardians and visitors to manifest their inner spiritual truth(s).

The Lothlórien-Nemeton Seed Group, then, stands for this inner star that we call the Self, so that it may shine in the dark, and act as a spiritual beacon in the otherwise self-destructive reality that we call "civilization". As Guardians, we work hard to preserve a sacred inner Forest that is as vital for human life than it is for nature itself. Thomas The Apocryph wrote : "The Kingdom is in you and also around you". Thus, taking care of the Kingdom, within and without, is our most important and freely elected task.

This is not an utopia. It is an inner vision come true.

(Imbolc 2007)