4th annual piebird picnic garden concert

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At the lovely Piebird Bed & Breakfast in Nipissing village! Find out more at the Piebird event page.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Oireachtas na Gaeilge Cheanada 2012

There is an Irish language and cultural festival happening in Kingston Ontario this coming week from July 6th to 8th. Here is some info from the event's website:

Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada is a weekend filled with traditional Irish music, singing, dance, story telling, and friendship. It is a celebration of the Irish language (Gaelic) and the traditional culture of that language.

The Oireachtas takes place Friday, 6 July, to Sunday, 8 July, at Gaeltacht Thuaisceart an Oileáin Úir. The Gaeltacht is located near the settlements of Tamworth and Erinsville in the rolling hills along the Salmon River, just north of Lake Ontario. The Days Inn in Kingston is the venu for accommodation, business meetings, club na féile, banquet, and awards presentations. Kingston is a 30 minute drive from the Gaeltacht.

A group rates of $105/night has been negotiated at the Days Inn, which is an extremely attractive price during peak season. Our block of rooms will only be held until 15 June. Please book early, and be sure to indicate that you are reserving for the “Irish Language Celebration (Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada)”.

On Friday, annual general meetings of Cumann na Gaeltachta and Comharchumann Sealbhóirí na Gaeltachta will take place at the Days Inn between 11:00 and 14:00. The meetings are open to the public. Potential investors are especially welcome.

Later Friday afternoon, 15:00 - 17:00, displays of music, song and dance will take place at the Murney Tower Pavillion along the waterfront in downtown Kingston. Returning to the Days Inn, the evening will include a supper, guest speaker, book launch and stage play.

Saturday morning, bus transportation is provided to the Gaeltacht. Opening ceremonies will begin at the Gaeltacht at 10:00 a.m. The competitions will be held under tents, as an open air festival, in the beautiful Gaeltacht surroundings. Presentation of awards will take place at the Days Inn at 6:30 p.m. followed by a banquet, céilí, and club na féile.

A concluding brunch will take place on Sunday morning. People may wish to remain in Kingston for a day of sightseeing. Kingston is one of Canada’s oldest, and most Irish of cities. The “Celtic Cross Tour” is highly recommended.

This festival is a great idea and I bet is going to be awesome. You can find out more from the website.

Sláinte!

Laurel

*teehee*

Merry Midsummer!

{photo by Other Think}

A bird in the boughs sang “June,”
And “June” hummed a bee
In a Bacchic glee
As he tumbled over and over
Drunk with the honey-dew
~by Clinton Scollard

We hope that all of my readers have a lovely Midsummer and if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, a lovely Yule/Winter Solstice to you! :)

leave you with a great song for Midsummer, Belly of June by Horse Feathers.

Sláinte!

Aymi & Laurel

luverly of the week: the cosmic soul factory drum

Ain't she pretty? This luverly is made from a large walnut trunk and was crafted by several artists.

Here are some more photos of The Cosmic Soul Factory Drum and it is available over at the Etsy shop of Strike Daekins Designs.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Horse Feathers Live

This is a wonderful live performance of Horse Feathers at the 2012 Nelsonville Music Festival. Enjoy! :)

sad news, good news, gmos & asshats

Some good news first!

Funding for research of test tube pigs has finally been cut off here in Ontario:

After more than10 years, active research into the genetically modified (GM or genetically engineered) pig called “Enviropig” is being abandoned. In late March, the hog industry group Ontario Pork decided to stop funding GM pig research at the University of Guelph and the university is now closing down its active research and ending its breeding program of GM pigs.

You can read the rest of the article over at Common Ground's website.

Some more GMO news, this time not so good:

Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate "Trojan corn," "super weeds" and the disappearance of monarch butterflies.

But in the Midwest and South - blanketed by more than 170 million acres of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton - an experiment begun in 1996 with approval of the first commercial genetically modified organisms is producing questionable results.

Those results include vast increases in herbicide use that have created impervious weeds now infesting millions of acres of cropland, while decimating other plants, such as milkweeds that sustain the monarch butterflies. Food manufacturers are worried that a new corn made for ethanol could damage an array of packaged food on supermarket shelves.

You can read the full article here.

Some fucking asshole decided to kill and desecrate an animal that is sacred to the Lakota people:

According to a Fox News report, the extremely rare and sacred white buffalo born last year has been found dead and skinned along with its mother.

Lightning Medicine Cloud, born May 12, 2011 on a stormy night at the Lakota Ranch in Greenville Texas, was a natural white buffalo—an extremely rare occurrence, happening an estimated once per ten million births. In June, a naming ceremony attracted over 2,000 visitors to the ranch, and a report on the proceedings cited beliefs held by some Lakota that the calf was the third white buffalo ever, and the first male in 150 years. Such a white buffalo is tied to the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman, and is the most sacred animal, perhaps the most sacred thing on the planet, to the Lakota people.

In March, the discovery that a ranch in Hunt, Texas offered the chance to kill a white buffalo for $13,500 sparked outrage in Indian country. A day after the news broke, the owner of the ranch told Indian Country Today Media Network that he would cease offering the white buffalo hunt. The buffalo being killed at that ranch and others, like those being born on a ranch in Bend, Oregon, are not natural white buffalo—as an expert told ICTMN in March, knowledge of genetics has allowed modern breeders to engineer white bison.

The rest of the story, along with updates can be read here.

And sadly MCA/Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys passed away last week:

Adam Yauch, a founding member of pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died Friday at age 47.

He died in New York after three years of treatment for cancer, his representatives said. He had been diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland in 2009.

The rest of the article can be read here.

Sláinte!

Laurel

A Blessed Bealtaine!

Awakening Spring by Luc-Oliver Merson

Now the bright morning-star, Day's harbinger,
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose.
Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire!
Woods and groves, are of thy dressing;
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing.
Thus we salute thee with our early song,
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.
~Song on May Morning by John Milton

We wish you all a joyous Bealtaine & May Day for our readers in the North and a wonderful Samhain to those of you in the South! :)

We leave you with some music to enjoy:

Tiocfaidh An Samhradh/Summer Will Come {lyrics here}

Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn/We Have Brought Summer With Us {lyrics here}:

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Sláinte!

Aymi & Laurel

some news of note & a small update

Howdy folks! I hope that everyone had a chance to get out and about to enjoy Earth Day! :) It was rather blustery and cold here, but a nice day nonetheless. I might have some photos to share of yesterday's adventure if they turned out alright. In the meantime, this is just a post of news and updates that might be of interest to you folks.

Of course the Harper government {the Canadian Federal Government} has been celebrating the great wealth and beauty of our planet, by implementing policies so there is less "red tape" and review in plundering that wealth and beauty. The government's logic? Apparently we need to speed up the whole pipeline process by removing those dastardly eco radicals before some other country gives away all their natural resources before we can.

And more great news about the darling of Frankenfood, it seems that Monsanto has made another recent purchase. Apparently back in September 2011, Monsanto bought Beelogics, one of the largest organizations involved in researching the bee colony collapse. Pretty fucking convenient since Monsanto may be partially responsible for that very issue. Perhaps further proof that if you have enough money and power you can just purchase evil deeds and proof out of existence.

On a more positive note...

For people in Ontario, there is a consultation on Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy: A Plan for Healthy Food and Farming starting today until May 31st. To get involved, sign up for a free membership over at Sustain Ontario or for more information send an email to strategy@sustainontario.ca.

Horse Feathers released their fourth album last week. From what I have heard of Cynic's New Year so far, they have not lost any of their awesomeness. Here is a video of one of the songs from the album Where I'll Be:

And a beautiful live performance of Last Waltz {in Paris, 2011}:

Oh! I have finally bit the bullet and created a Facebook page for Unfettered Wood.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Happy St. Patrick's Day {& Some Recommendations}

There are some thoughtful posts on both Tairis & Three Shouts on a Hilltop about St. Patrick's Day that are definitely worth a read.

The Irish and Celtic Music Podcast has a really good St. Patrick's Day special and a great documentary to watch today is Death or Canada:

DEATH or CANADA from Daniel Thomson on Vimeo.

Have a great one and enjoy! :)

Sláinte!

Aymi & Laurel

Media Mix

This is just a quick post to share some awesomeness that I came across recently in my webby travels.

1. A great article from Mother Earth News on small space gardening.
2. A neat and interactive virtual tour of Acy-Romance, a Gaulish Iron Age village. {thanks Seren for the heads up}
3. A pretty good interview with Paul Huson, author of Mastering Herbalism and Mastering Witchcraft.
4. And below is an interview with Andy Letcher of Telling the Bees. {I don't know what I love more, the 'stache or the beautiful music! ;) }
   
   
   
   
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   Sláinte!
   
   Laurel
   

Imbolc Blessings

original photo by Tobias Vemmenby

Rich meanings of the prophet-Spring adorn,
Unseen, this colourless sky of folded showers,
And folded winds; no blossom in the bowers.
A poet's face asleep is this grey morn.

Now in the midst of the old world forlorn
A mystic child is set in these still hours.
I keep this time, even before the flowers,
Sacred to all the young and the unborn;

To all the miles and miles of unsprung wheat,
And to the Spring waiting beyond the portal,
And to the future of my own young art,

And, among all these things, to you, my sweet,
My friend, to your calm face and the immortal
Child tarrying all your life-time in your heart.

~In February by Alice Meynell

I love this time of year. Imbolc is a sacred day in my faith, but I also love knowing that the signs of Spring are just around the corner. This is real good news for us gardeners who are just itching to get our hands in the dirt once again!

In the meantime I have plenty of cleaning and preparation to do for our celebration of this day. So I will leave you with a beautiful version of the song Gabhaim Molta Bride {I praise Brigid} performed by Claire Roche. Lyrics and a nice translation can be found over at Gaol Naofa

~AND~

A link to the new Tairis Tales blog, which holds a collection of Gaelic legends & lore. It can be found here {and I nominate Heelan Coo as the best web address of 2012! *moo*}.

A Blessed Imbolc to you & yours. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel {& Aymi}

...a musical interlude...

Just some luverly music. I hope that you folks enjoy. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel

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Hand Painted Raven Bodhrán by Brigid Ashwood

Hand Painted Raven Bodhrán by Brigid Ashwood

A little too pretty to take a tipper too, but if I had an extra $600, this would be hanging on my wall! It's a good thing that she has prints of the gorgeous ravens for a more affordable $15. ;)

There are plenty of other luverlies in Brigid Ashwood's shop as well. Here are just a few:

Evening Toadstool

Time Flies

Saved by Love

Transpurrtation

Sláinte!

Laurel

Samhain Blessings...

{altered royalty free photo}

Tangled in root and thorn
Caressed by bracken and moss
Pools of blood and scratched flesh
A vessel of decay will go back to the
Land of Forlorn where
I will be blessed.

Midnight compass and guiding fire
Witching stang in black earth
The Antlered Brow rides high in the
Hunt for Souls...

Come catch me Wild Hunter!

I welcome the vibrant yelps of Your
Red-eared hounds
I summon the beating hooves of Your
Phantom steed
I beckon the wailing of Your
Hunting horn.

Soon Death will find me and
I will return to my
Ancestral Home.

{from Samhain 2008}

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We wish all of our readers a wonderful Samhain & Hallowe'en! May your loved ones who have past be close to you, and the ones who still live be even closer.

Sláinte!

Aymi & Laurel

Luverly of the Week: Sounds Like Fall

Joe Young of Sounds Like Fall

Joe Young is the man behind the brilliant music of Sounds Like Fall. He only has two albums out that I know of. Hopefully there will be more to come!

His albums are...

Early Recordings

&

The Wolf is at the Door

And this is one of my favourite songs by him, Wildwood Ashes. The perfect song to be listening to while curled up by a fire on a blustery Autumn day. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel

Canucky Musical Awesomeness :D

Some more films for your enjoyment:

Log Driver's Waltz

This lighthearted, animated short is based on the song "The Log Driver's Waltz" by Wade Hemsworth. Easily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to marry a log driver over his more well-to-do competitor. Driving logs down the river has made the young man the best dancing partner to be found.

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{this next one will probably raise some hackles because of some of the historical claims and the parts where "The Celts" are lumped into one homogenized group. Please keep in mind that I am posting this film for its musical and cultural value.}

Celtic Spirits

In this feature-length documentary, two Cape Breton musicians visit Ireland and Scotland in search of their musical roots. Diving deep into Cape Breton music – from the past and present – Celtic Spirits also offers an intimate look at life in the region.

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Sláinte!

Laurel

Luverly of the Week: Amanda Palmer

{photo source}

Amanda Palmer is one cheeky lass and I love her for it. Check out some of her stuff on YouTube and I think you will love her too. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel

Quackers & Shithawks FTW!

A friend sent me these from Epic Fail.





Sláinte!

Laurel

Luverly of the Week: Horse Feathers

photo by Alicia J Rose

I LOVE this band. They are awesome and that is all that there really is to say about Horse Feathers. Here is some of their pretty, pretty music for your enjoyment. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel