LUGHNASADH

Having listened to the weather forecast for today we decided as a family the today we would all do as little as possible,we adhered to our resolve and today has been the laziest I can remember.....it was lovely.

Pa has not been well these past few days and his leg has become so badly swollen that falling is inevitable if he attempt to walk. My son is recovering from a writing marathon in which his first novel was completed, he is recuperating by doing research for his next book! A combination of the heat ,stress and a work overload has caused me to have a minor wipe out,it could not have happened at a worse time.

All these things triggered our decision to have a lazy day and I am certain that we are all the better for it.

Today is the start of Lammas Tide,or Lughnasadh, depending upon your belief. One this day the festival of the first fruits was and still is celebrated. It is also the Festival of Lugg,one of the old Gods and a talented individual who was reputed to be able to turn his hand to anything from shoeing horses to delivering babies...the original Jack of all trades.

We celebrated Lughnsnadh with a pasta meal made with the first of our courgette crop and the first fruit cut was given as a thank you to good old Lugg.

I am so glad that I was able to prepare this meal and watching the boys tuck in to one of their all time favourite meals of the years made the effort worth while.

Now that the harvest has begun we shall soon be picking our apples and damsons for the last of the winter jellies and chutneys and many of our neighbours will share our crop;as we have shared their cherries and other earlier fruits. This way of life is,sadly vanishing and often a gift of fruit or bread is viewed with suspicion which is a pity.

To share as we do here ensures enough fruit far all from the first green gooseberry to the last quince or medlar fruit,nothing is wasted,in short it makes sense to share.

I am so looking forward to making more goodies for our winter store and I hope to add pickled walnuts to the list of produce as I recently discovered a walnut tree full of green fruits.

In view of all this fruit conserving to come a few lazy days to conserve my energy will not come amiss. Sorry about yesterday.