Baby Magpies

I took this photo the day of our last heatwave.. I had, had a plastic bowl on the ground but I felt it left the birds to vulnerable, so we picked up this bird bath for next to nothing.. it has been so well used in the short  time we had it.. do you remember this post H Triple M  well look who has come back with her 2nd or 3rd mob..

Mama on the ground guarding  her two babies..

Watching for harm, as the little ones drink - she didn't herself.

It is a huge delight to me, to see the wildlife in my yard.. I have got quiet attached to this family and the Crow who gets an equal amount of delight from peering in my windows.

For those interested, I have posted over at Tales From A Crones Hearth.. Magickal Plants

Altar your attitude

Today is the first of the Pagan Blog Project posts.. starting with the letter A.  I thought about a few topics but my line of thought kept coming back to altars. Even before there were established religions, people from all continents have, for thousands of years been constructing shrines, cairns and altars in caves, forests, fields and in their homes.. turning mundane and ordinary places into those that were both mystical and sacred. This is true in my own home..
When I first started walking a Pagan path, it was one of joy in each new discovery.. hearing the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, spoke to me like the voice of the Goddess, walking along the beach each crashing wave was like her heart beat.. while digging in the garden feeling the cool earth between my fingers I knew I was holding something special, there were age old secrets in that dark rich loam. The wind through my hair left me feeling more alive than I had remembered, like I had breathed in creation itself.. Feeling the sun on my skin left me energised, eyes closed I could feel the fire..standing imagining my spiritual roots going deep into the earth left me feeling centered and with a sense of being home.. and be it in the shower or even running water over my hands I could feel any negative emotion just washed away.. it was such a cleansing feeling.
I was and still am very drawn to the elements, and at the very start, I was led to create a "space" where they could be honored.. this was my first altar - dedicated to Earth, Air, Fire and Water.. my main altar is still set up to this, it changes as the wheel turns with a few things added that are important to me, things that I may find.. recently I found a wee birds egg shell unfortunately not so Sacred Temple Kitty stole it.. but I digress..

My sacred space and working altar in the family room..a place where a table is dedicated to the elements, incense is burnt here, candles are lit here, hands are clapped to music here, drumming happens here. This is my space; this is the area of the home from where energy flows to every corner. It is a place of grounding.

 I work with two Goddess's and have spaces in my home that are dedicated to them..  they have in essence turned into altars. One is for Hekate who is a triple Goddess representing Maiden, Mother and Crone. She is the Goddess of night, the crossroads, life and death, beginnings and endings...

Not all altars or sacred spaces have to be big.. this small tile beside my stove, holds a red candle, an amethyst and a small bunch of lavender to honour Hestia.. virgin Goddess of my hearth and home.

As the pagan wheel turns, we celebrate different sabbats, one of my favorites is Samhain - it is a time when we honour our ancestors and the ancients that have gone before..

While each altar we have looks different and is used for a different reason, there is one thing each does that is the same.. It can and will alter your attitude. A glance toward it, can change a negative thought to a positive one.. to gently touch it can leave your spirits uplifted.

There have been times when I have struggled with my faith, my spirituality. Times where l have lost sight of my own truth.. but one thing that helps bring me back to basics, is a place/space that I have created with a purpose.. it puts me in touch with deity, with my earth mother, with the essence of all things.. and importantly, with myself...

Change and Gratitude

Lots going on the last few days..  I have decided to take part in the Pagan Blog Project.. over 12 months, once a week I will write a post about my faith.. beginning with the letter A.. it will be interesting for me for a couple of reasons, it will give me more focus on my spirituality, something that has been a little hard over the last few years.. and perhaps it will be enlightening to those who know little of a pagan path.

The other thing, I have decided to become involved is.. I CAN change one thing... which is a goal setting exercise. There are a number of things I want to archive this year, some of these things are developmental.. for example..show myself a little more love, one of the hardest loves to give.. so over at witch-blog there is a free little book to down load, so you can write and follow your goals.. if you want to check it out pop   over to I CAN Change One Thing  download the booklet. There is also a Gratitude Journal, something I am looking forward to working on, and I do have many things to be grateful for..

I also got some great news yesterday at the Dr's..  as some of you know, I have been adjusting to life with AS.. however just before Christmas, it was discovered that the medication I was on to help treat it, has caused problems with my heart in the form of atrial fibrillation and angina.. I have had numerous tests over the last few weeks.. and yesterday was told that, while I need to stay on medicine to help my heart rate, there has been no permanent damage to my heart - I am so relieved, it has been a huge worry over the last month but it has also been a bit of a wake up call for me.. to be in the ER and wondering am I going to have a heart attack and that's the end of it., so this has led to a new place for sharing.. a new blog.. it will not take the place of Butterflies and Breezes, this has been my baby for 4 years now.. my new blog is going to focus more on my personal change, on my Pagan path, on how I feel about growing older and entering a new phase of my life.. Crone. I could write all this here, but I feel Butterflies and Breezes has evolved into something I am happy with, a place to share living in general, recipes, ideas, some paganism.. I just didn't feel it was the right place to explore this new area.. soooo if folk are interested in reading this new blog.. come and take a peek at "Tales From A Crones Hearth"   It is set up to go but I am sure I will be changing the layout and tweaking it a little..  I would be happy to have you stop by..

My Container Garden

We had a bit of a heatwave here yesterday, the temps got up to 40.5c that's 104.9f -  I knew once the wind got up and came from the North, it would scorch and sear anything in it's path, because it comes in off the desert. Being on holiday here getting out of bed early was a bit hard..but as I am a container gardener I knew if I didn't, my small garden would suffer badly and possibly fry without a good drink before the heat of the day.. In a heatwave, even large established plants wilt and wither.
I wonder though if I am the only person outdoors at 6.30am in their pajamas, messing about in the garden.. I took my camera to take a few photos the other day.. and tonight it was lovely eating fresh vege - organically grown and by my own hand.. such a satisfying feeling while nourishing our bodies with chemical free produce.

A pot of zucchinis, these are a dwarf variety..but look I have babies in here

Im thinking this would be tasty, stuffed and fried in a little tempura batter.

Pots of cucumbers.. the tall one is not going to do so well, its mates died, so I am not sure it will have enough pollinated flowers to grow more fruit.

however, I will get two cucumbers which isn't bad for the cost of two seeds.

Three tubs of tomatoes. I am amazed at how well these guys have done.. .

the fruit are huge 

My first red tomato

The lawn so needs mowing, but this container has beetroot and capsicums, the green, wooden ammunition box has dwarf beans in it. 

Beautiful fresh beets

More ammunition case, beans.

A different herb garden.. in the recycled old wooden book case, spring onions, garlic chives and flat parsley and in the black tub.. coriander

Pots of Russian Tarragon, Holy Basil (Thai) and its hot

And that is the vege patch.. It shows if your not able to put plants into the ground that you can still feed your family.  Have you ever grown vege in tubs, if so what do you grow?

Simplicity in 2012

I hope you all had a safe and happy entry into this new year 2012.. at nearly 51, I remember when that date was something you would see in a 80's Sci Fi movie. But wait, this 'would see' is now 'do see' I swear there are days when I feel like I am living in a sci fi movie.  When you see adverts for 3d television, 3d camcorders, ipads, ipods, ebooks, androids, robotic vacuum cleaners, ethanol fireplaces and coffee makers that cost more than a small car one could be forgiven for feeling that way.
I had always tried to keep up with modern technology in the past, hey I have a four slice pop up toaster, a waffle maker, yes I even have a girl in my mobile phone that talks to me - Siri but I woke up one morning and everything had changed. I had turned into a technophobe.
Trying to turn on the dvd player these days, leaves me feeling like I am trying to launch the space shuttle.  I bought a new alarm clock recently with an iPhone dock on it.. duh me, it only took two nights of being woken up at midnight to realise I had not done what I thought I had done to switch the alarm off.
I watch the teens of the house breeze through, gimmicky gadgets with the ease of toddlers putting blocks in holes which indecently I still struggle to do and I just blink at them dumbly as they do.

Recently, my eldest daughter (29) said to me "Mum,  I want one of those old fashioned telephone handsets, the ones that had round dials on the front" so I went looking online for what she meant, thinking she wanted a 1940's vintage phone.. bless her.. this is what a 29 year old thinks is an old fashioned phone.

Ummmm you can still buy these AS phones and people still use them. So I have decided, even as a modern, iphone using, sneaker wearing woman living in the 21st century, I am happy to stop my knowledge of technology right where it is. I am happy to get back to basics.
Yes, I will use what I have but I still prefer to use a broom to a vacuum cleaner.  I could do without a microwave, hair dryer and my new clock. I prefer to use my own hand made soap and cleaners. I am happy to be slowing my life down in a society that needs to have more things to save them time, so they can work longer hours to buy them. Simplicity is slipping through the nations fingers and I for one, find that a shame.
What are you going to do this year to simplify your life and get back to basics?

Solstice and Christmas Blessings

Summer Solstice was celebrated here on the 22nd and tonight I sit with a smaller than usual family getting ready for. the next celebration.. My two kids from another mother are on the other side of the country with their maternal grandmother, my son and grandson are several thousand kilometers away back in New Zealand.. My Christian daughter Sarah loves Christmas and I get a lot pf pleasure out of making it special.. her boyfriend will join us for a traditional celebratory meal of roast turkey, roast veg, Brussels sprouts, followed by pav good raw cream and Chrissy cake..  it is always feels a little sad without my son with us, but we will give him a call.. tonight we will dine on German sausage, potato salad and sour dough rolls - a tradition I remember from my childhood and set by my German mother..
For my Scottish husband New Year is the bigger celebration.. but that is another post..
Tonight though, I wish all my readers, a safe and happy holiday.. no matter what path or faith you follow.. my wish for you all, is abundant blessing to your hearth and home, and a safe and prosperous new year..

Bit of this and that

It seems forever since I was here blogging. So many things going on, and sadly I have just not had the energy to share them. It has been my first Christmas running my soap business, and I have been blessed it has been so busy, however I had not been 100% prepared for the rush. I have been working sometimes 6 or 7 hours a day.. next year, I will have a better idea of what to expect. A couple of little challenges have been popped up,  throwing a spanner in the works, an unexpected night at the hospital last week and  more Drs and tests this week and next.. all little things that make settling down to blog, just a little harder.

However, we did get the tree up on Sunday, we opted to replace our tired old artificial one, with a real one from a Tree farm.. the house smells so nice, with the fragrance of pine.

Today, I got the cake done, a bit late on it, but last week I managed to get all the cake fruit soaking in a  serious amount of booze, thanks Delia Smith for the recipe   I didn't take photos as I was doing it to share, but when the cake is turned out I will take a few. From what I can see and feel this is a very moist cake..
I have recently started to get some beautiful raw milk, oh it is so nice... last week I bought a small pot of cream and today, I used the cream skimmed of the milk mixed it with the cream and made some beautiful butter. I did not add enough salt for my husbands taste buds, but it is so smooth and silky and how natural does it taste!

This was the butter after about 3 minutes mixing

Draining off the buttermilk..

While I had not added enough salt, this buttermilk was a little to salty to use, *shame faced* I threw it away, I didn't know what to make with it.

This was after I had "rung" it out and rinsed it a few times in ice water, to get rid of the last buttermilk.

The finished butter... ready to eat

Well, thats me lot really, aside from a pot of cherry jam, made when the power went out for 8 hours the other day ( got to appreciate a gas cook top in a power cut)

.. luvely stuff :-)