Hello dairy friends, we are sending Midsummer Solstice blessings from the Earth Pathways team, scattered as we are, up and down the U.K, and all doing our own special things today. This includes seeing the sun rise at Stonehenge, making magical gardens in the Greenfields site at Glastonbury festival, and for us in Stroud, meeting tonight at the Red Hearth House – a beautiful space set up by one of our contributors for women to come and drum, sing, and be together.

So a gathering I went this morning, to our little nature reserve a minutes walk from my house, as we are planning to make a mandala with midsummer plants and leaves. I picked Oak and Holly leaves, some baby Rowan berries, and some dark mother Beech leaves.

Oh, and I also sniffed out some newly flowering Sweet Woodruffe which I plan to infuse into some delicious dessert wine for a little pep-me-up tonic. I found myself thinking too about Da Witches from Sensory Solutions (they are gloriously quirky diary contributors!) who showed us how to pick lime blossoms at the Solstice for calming teas – and I wouldn’t be a proper witch without those herby teas on hand in my kitchen at any given moment hey??

So that has been my Midsummer morning so far, with the sun bravely trying to push through stormy clouds over our valley. Wishing you all boldness, firey hearts and full stories……whatever your plans.

And so this witching time is upon us….how delicious…..my favourite festival of the year. A group of us gathered to honour our Ancestors beneath a beautiful  Beech tree, turning from its dark leaves to coppery brown. We spoke names of loved friends and family into the circle, which was lit by candles in jam jars….simple but moving, as dusk fell around us, ushering in the winter.

Today, a quieter walk through Slad woods, catching spiralling leaves,  our footsteps winding slowly up the very steep Swifts Hill. At the top, looking out over the gently misted five valleys that I call home, sharing spiced apple juice (thank you Barbara for the apples!) and homemade chocolate biscuits, soft and crumbly.

The time of roots, and of resting. It begins.

I took photos of the makings and may decide to submit these, along with recipes   

  

     

      And one of the brew boiling up to make the wine 

  

  

 

  

A group hug…..

The last few summer crops…..

The infectious “here I am world!” of a wild teenager…..