Amazing transformation Collette! Now Bealtaine Cottage has the richest, most fertile and the most beautiful land in the whole of Ireland! The richest fertilizer you have used on your land is your shear love for it and your devotion to make your dream happen. The sad cottage is now a beautiful and much loved home and a very magical space in which to live! Bless you Collette and all that you have accomplished and bless you also for sharing this magical journey with us. Love and hugs to you and Jack, from Megan x :)
I'm so blessed and honored to have you in my life and as a friend. I learn so much from your wisdom and am always joyful at your messages. You've given me the ability to rethink my worldview and contemplate my own journey of transformation and development. Thank you, thank you dear friend. Much love to you and Jack!
Brilliant, Colette! I live in Canada, own a small lot and house, and there was nothing here but few hydrangea bushes. I have put in nine trees. Oak, maple, rowan, etc. I LOVE trees, and rocks too! Blessings to you!
Dear Colette, Bealtaine Cottage shines like a candle in the darkness , yes yes yes . I have tanken an example of your underplanting of shrubs . The remodeling of my garden continues , and thank you again for everything that you have thought me . Good night to you and your loved ones. Conny Braun and cat Felix from Germany .
Hi Colette, I live in Sweden and the light have been diminishing quite dramatically. I used to hate a lot on the darkness but with the years I've grown warm to it. When I was on my way to work this week it was pitch black but the moonlight was so bright up in the sky around 7.00 and the moonlight was sharp yet gentle. At the same time the sun was shy but rising in the sky. I witness the sky going from black, marine to indigo and eventually to light blue. To be honest it was quite magical and I felt so grateful to have witness such mesmerising fenomen. Blessing and much love
Thank you, Colette! Today is my birthday and I am gong to embrace "lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness" as my guiding premise for this year. You have given the land back to its source and have passed along this light to all of us ten fold. May life shower you with soft sweet blessings, many great thrift store treasures, colorful blossoms, sweet fruit, warm furry companions, and the best harmony of rain and sun that can be imagined!
You have inspired me to do a similar project. I currently live in Redmond WA in a house built in 1960 on a 1/4 acre lot. The nice thing here is we have massive trees- 3 Western Red Cedars that are 175-200 years old. When we moved here 22 years ago we changed the back lawn to a native forest planting with sword ferns rescued from a developing property (transplanted over 70 of them) 3 deciduous native huckleberry (rescued as well, and the hardest to move due to their very gentle nature) snowberry, salal, evergreen huckleberry, maidenhair ferns, blueberries, etc. The birds are very at home and I also put out winter feeders and year round feeders for our precious Anna's Hummingbirds who in the last 20 years have quit migrating and stay year round in our warmer areas around the Puget Sound. I have roses and butterfly bushes etc. in the front and back yards mixed in. So naturally now I'm inspired to take up a bigger project now because from my small urban garden success and seeing yours it seems even in my 50's I can dream bigger! Warmest wishes to you on your juice cleanse and into the winter months ahead. Thanks for the inspiration!
Dear Colette , the land has undergone a transformation to you . A wasteland turned in to a magic forest . A one woman show , i can not find other words than magical . May your creativeness and strength not diminish . Best regards and many hugs for you and your loved ones , from Conny Braun and cat Felix from Germany .
It never ceases to amaze me what you have done on your own at Bealtaine, you are so inspirational. Always good to light a candle in the darkness. Blessings Colette x
Thank you so much for such inspiration. I shall write to the RHS about your example and hope that they contact you re their mini woodland emphasis in this year's Chelsea Flower Show. And even if they do not, I shall continue to share and plant. "A prophet is not acknowledged in their own land" is such a true saying, unfortuately:)
Everything is so beautiful in your garden, I am trying to do the same, I live in the forest, anyway I am planting trees, shrubs and everything else , I am feeding the birds, I adore animals and I am enjoying life , thank you for everything
Thank you Colette for your positive messages and gorgeous videos. It is heart warming to revisit the pictures of Bealtaine when you began work and to see what has happened since. The beauty is staggering, the winter colors magnificent, the abundance attests to the health of the land and your hard work, seeing it all feeds my soul! Living in Vermont we are cloaked in beautiful thick white snow and will be into April. Ours is a different kind of quiet beauty. Blessings to you and Jack.
Yes! Light a candle in the darkness! Can you imagine the effect of our collective candlelight?!! I love your positivity Colette! Shine on my friend🕯💜🕯xx
Thanks for the timeline, and orientating of the photos on the land for my mind's eye to see. I had wondered about the initial dredging of the landscape and how you knew what to do and where in order to get better drainage which changed the potential of the land from poor to prosper! Brilliant work, really.
Colette - you simply take my breath away. What you have achieved at, and with, Bealtaine is truly extraordinary and such a source of inspiration for us all. With huge gratitude xx
Good morning from the east coast...of the US. Roanoke, Virginia. Its 627am...rainy morning here...51 degrees. Busy day cooking for a church Christmas party. I'm watching you while I bake cookies.
Colette I am amazed that you knew what to do with your land to stop water from draining into the back of your cottage. I wouldn't have had the slightest inkling as to what to do. when my daughter & I moved here to west Tennessee 25 years ago, we started planting trees. all but 3 of the willows survived. Sadly both corkscrew willows died. I loved those so much. Kudos to you Colette. Blessings
You are such an inspiration. You're words ring true and something I needed to hear. Thank you. It's amazing what you have accomplished with all your hard work and being in tuned with the earth.
Amazing and proof in the pudding as to speak. When you show us a picture from before and then now... it is truly transformational. It gives inspiration and hope to how everyone can make such a tremendous impact on life and ultimately the climate on earth. Enough gibberish and talk, just getting stuck in and putting effort into action makes all the difference. Bravo dear Colette. I think people tend to feel overwhelmed and think that they can't make a difference. You show us all that you can.
Again, Colette, I really enjoyed your wisdom. Just think what the world would be like if we each lit our candle! I'm so grateful for your Vlogs and RU-vid channel. This was so interesting to both see the beginnings there and to watch you walk the land and explain it. Blessings to you and Jack, and may the Light shine on you and Bealtaine!
It was really interesting to see the photos and compare then and now. I don't know how you did it, it must have been such hard work, but the transformation is incredible. Really inspiring!
Good morning to you and Jack new subscriber here you make lovely vlogs always peaceful and interesting Blessings to you both on the 1st Day of December xx
People say, 'What difference can I make, I'm just one person?'. Whenever someone says that now, I'll simply direct them to your You Tube Channel and/or your website, with a link to this video. So many people celebrate material acquisition, when what you have done should be celebrated SO much more. You took a wasteland and created a mini paradise. We all need to take a page from your book. Have a blessed Sunday, Colette!
What a helpful video. I have looked at your maps and pictures but could not quite place them. Thank you so much for allowing me an opportunity to tour your Woodland. I am in the process of restoring a very , very small site that I rent. My lot is on what was previously part of the lake bed and as such is quite sandy so water retention is a huge problem. My landlord picked up the site very cheap after the death of a lady are used to care for. The houses and property have not been cared for since the 60s. Your hands on work relates to me as I am all hands-on also. Thanks again!
Thanks for this video. Just what I needed to hear today. "Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." I'm going to write this down and put it on my fridge.
So easy to curse the darkness. Thanks for the reminder we always have the option to stop and light a candle instead. A great meditation during this dark time. Thank you, Colette.
Amazing insight into your vision and how it came to fruition. Love the picture of the light coming through the clouds and the saying “ if you can’t do anything with it PLANT”. Thank you Collette ☘️.
I have been looking at all the changes on the website. I also looked at the changes on my own land in photos . I have never done that. What a shock. While I was looking, I notice how stylish and physically beautiful you are. So thin. A rebel with style. Keep those frogs jumping. C
I found a book of 'Familiar Quotations' and opened it to this Forest Hymn by American poet, William Cullen Bryant, - 'The groves were God's first temples.'
A poetic way to describe my life "light a candle instead of curse the darkness". I will have that as my final word. I have your bumper sticker on my car and shared your name with my book group. I am really a solitary as no one seems to care a twit about what I do or think. COLETTE YOU ARE AMAZING AND HAVE DONE AN AMAZING CREATION. That is not much but it is from my heart. I have a perfect place for the map that I ordered today. I have empty walls so this will help my home. All your books are pride of place in my life and i am eagerly waiting for your next creation.
This was a really great video!! I loved that you showed us the photos of before the transformation. The Bealtaine project is such a huge source of inspiration. "You can change the entire world around you" (one planting at a time). 💚🍁🌲🍀🌳🌻🌼🐝🐛🦋🦔🐾🦃🦊🐱🐕
Hello Collette, 2004, you say... Must be a very good year. My son was born on the 4th of January. He is growing into a fantastic young gentleman! Brilliant to sit back and realise what one has achieved. And what an achievement! Well done You LADY!
Your philosophy- I completely agree with. What you produced with your land is admirable. It takes a long time, When alone, to create your heaven. I call mine: "The Cottage at the Gates of the Empyrean. In the Realm of the Eighty. . ." I've spent almost ten years creating mine, yet I'm still so far away. Of course my intention is create until my last day. With a bit of sailing in between. You are an inspiration and aide in my creation. You see, mine takes so long (like yours) as I prefer nature to do much of the decorating with moss and vines and other forest growth painting. I am so happy to have found you. Thank you.
I've seen the before and after pics from time to time, but just loved having you walk is through it. That laurel arch and beyond, what a transformation. Blessings on ye, Colette
Love the imagery. I don't curse the darkness because it is when the lights lit shine all the more noticeable and brighter. That's why I love every season of nature or life. OK, I don't like going through the darkness of life which is painful, but I can appreciate the stage which makes me appreciate light even more. So excited for the Christmas/Yule season for that very reason. Love the Celtic traditions of keeping fires lit and celebration to stave off the darkness and depression of the lack of light in the long dark days of winter. (Seasonal Affective Disorder of today) They didn't even have a name for it but the remedy was light and celebration. Lesson in that. :)
Amazing difference Colette you certainly have created a beautiful Sanctuary It's so peaceful and beautiful I love it😀👍🌷🌻 Have a great day Colette and Jack 🐶❤
Congratulations for all this work. And for all the ideas you had. I will try to do something in the same idea at my home (my garden is smaller but anyway).
You are such an inspiration. You're words ring true and something I needed to hear. Thank you. It's amazing what you have accomplished with all your hard work and being in tuned with the earth.
