01/08/2026
Lughnasadh Blessings, Celebrating the First Harvest, High Summer and the Vibrancy of the Season
The scent and texture of the harvest hangs heavy in the air like a late Autum mist, fields transform from tall golden stems, heads hanging, rustling in the breeze, to bare clipped short stalks and large straw bales. A beautiful transformation from that one single unassuming little grain, planted in the soil, into clusters of offspring. The journey does not even stop there, as they travel on to become a wealth of different thing, perhaps flour to form the first loaf made of this seasons crops, or simply to the next single seed that restarts the cycle again, and so much more in between.
Nature is a wonder, and this year in particular, she shows her strength, as High Summer drifts in. The dusty parched Cambridgeshire landscape, so hard and dry, with its network of cracks and crevasses across the shrunken soil, seem beyond able to keep sustaining anything, but she does, delving deep into her reserves of moisture, she keeps giving. It is her incredible resilience that we should learn from. For she knows that every crystal clear, sparkling drop, of life giving water is so precious.
If it were not for those of us that walk on two legs, the ones that call ourselves advanced, intelligent and adaptable, the ones that demand the most, draining Mother Earth of her most basic of resources, us that expect daily showers, once used clothes not yet dirty washed, watering above and beyond what is needed, the strain of industries and data centres, that believe there need is greater than natures. If it were not for all these ill considered actions, putting additional strain on her ability to maintain the balance we all require to co-exist. She would in her quiet and unassuming way, simply ride the dry days through without that extra burden, knowing when the time is right Farther Sky will bring the rain again, and the balance will return.
I ponder all of this as I walk in the early hours before the sun rises too high in the sky, with my four legged soul mate at my side. I push aside the troubles of the world and let nature do what she does best.
My focus shifts, and instead I breath deeply and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that surround me. It is food for the soul, as my senses tune into the present, and reconnect with all around me.
I see Hares running across the stubble fields, they seem unconcerned by the seasons enduring heat, playfully welcoming each day without preconceived assumptions of what is to come.
A wiley Fox watches from the cover of the Alder tree but knows, to try and out run Hare would simply be a waste of time and energy, so Fox turns in search of easier pray. The baby Rabbits take note, white tails bobbing as they dive under the sloe bush into the safety of their burrows.
A Barn Owl swoops low over the hedge and glides soundlessly into a nearby Oak tree, and a Red Kite plummets to earth, rising again with a small Mouse grasped in its talon. The poor Mice are easy prey, until they adjust to losing the cover of the crops, that were devoured by the eating machines.
In the distance two Fallow Deer head to the tree line, raising their heads, picking up trace scents, that seem to shimmer like vibrant trails on the wind.
Scattered walnut shells crunch beneath my feet, clearly the Squirrels are not going to miss out on the early gathering of nuts, as they spring precariously from branch to branch, delighted that once again they have beaten me to the best ones.
The Moorhen has managed to raise two more little chicks on what remains of the once full pond. The Olive tree is flourishing, perhaps even offering up its own harvest for us this year. Blackberries swell in the hedgerows; the first gathering is imminent, and the Rowan Berries are turning their familiar vibrant red. Apples swell and redden, while Damsons become a darker shade by the hour. The hedgerows rustle and chirp with birds sheltering from the heat, sharing the shady areas without argument. There is an unspoken understanding which we would do well to take note of.
We enter the festival of Lughnasadh, which offers us the chance to celebrate this bountiful and beautiful time of year, where the rush of growth in early Summer has matured, to a slow and gentle ripening, readying its self for its last push toward the Autumn.
So walk with a spring in your step, observe the gentleness of nature’s ways, and understand that if we align ourselves with her, she will gift us an inner peace that will grant us balance with in the seasons.
Life is the vessel that she strives to sustain, and we simple must listen to benefit from her wisdoms.