01: Five moons later…
It’s hard to believe that 216 moons ago (each moon being 29.5 days) I first moved to Sheffield having only visited once before. A small part of a tremendous burst of creativity, submerged and immersed in all the cities’ free thinking artistry. Its vibrant souls ~ from the earth and from all corners of the earth, Its thumping beat, visible harmonies and its soaring melodies.
Its friendly ‘now then’ and ’can do’ attitude – its refusal to let the grey weather or lack of funds get in its way. Its fondness for wholesome foods and rugged geography – a giants playground for all the free spirits in need of a daily inhale of damp oxygen and metallic ions. Its trees – its sad, sorry beautiful trees, Who made it through the thick slag of a century of belching industry only to be cut down in their prime by the very council that was paid to protect them.
“Now’s the time; time to go; time to uproot; time for Slow.
Time for slow, time for flow, ebb and flow ~ it’s time to go.
We move our location but remain the same.
Wax and wane – and wax again.”
5 moons ago we delivered a baby Girl, under a May full moon.
4 moons ago we named her, Laurie Céleste (heavenly of the sky)
3 moons ago we’re all clear after a year of uncertainty and chaos
2 moons ago we moved Bird&Bee to an Old Picture House cinema where the pigeons had made their home for the last 20 years.
1 moon ago we moved from Sheffield to a barn by the sea on a small island made of granite.
So, apologies for the quietness over the last few moonths and the November delivery of this years’ Lunar Wheel but having decided that we too only live once, we saw it was a time for a change. So, as my dear mam would say, we’ve “upped sticks and gone” – lock, stock and barrel. We’ve settled, for now, on the briny, granite shoulder off Bretagne on the Island of Guernsey. I continue to make work and work as a lecturer in Art & Design at the local Art College in DeLancey, St. Peter Port. It’s been a long road over the last 12 months, fraught with obstacles, revelations, life lessons and life affirming moments – and here we are – delivered into a world of uncertainty, political change, nervous opportunity but with the ebb and flow of the tide for company.
Welcome traveller…
In these uncertain times, what is needed is knowledge, a calm disposition and an inherent appreciation for the wonder that life has within. Here you will find it. Within the pages and archives of Bird&Bee you will find knowledge, wonderment and items of delight and great beauty ~ reaffirming that we all have an innate appreciation and a keen eye for the magic that is all around us. Our interpretations, original prints, fine oak hangers, sun & moon calendars, charts, deluxe cards and classic canvasses; our self-made projects & collaborative commissions endeavour to share in the magic throughout the ages and across the universe. Hidden knowledge ~ forgotten lore.
Established in the last millennium (1999) before mobile phones and the ‘internet of things’ filled the ether, we endeavour to serve as a reminder of who we are, where we are and maybe even why we are – a cool breeze of oxygen for the mind and an iridescent pearl for the eye!
Inspiration comes from dusty old books in backstreet parlours, curious illustrations and painstaking illuminations. From the birds, the bees and the ancient trees. The wise old owls, the natural forms and humans, being. From science, folklore, magic and the stars. The arcane and the future ~ the big questions and the little things…so, fellow traveller, shut the front door – hang up your coat – take your boots off – pull up a chair by the fireside and leave the other world behind…
R.P.Morley / Bird&Bee
Hunters Moon and a Full Moon weekend.
Full Moon: 4th November 05:22
New Moon: 18th November 11:42
Next Full Moon: 3rd December 15:46
The next full Moon will be early Saturday morning, November 4, 2017, appearing “opposite” the Sun (in Earth-based longitude) at 05:22 UT. But don’t miss the full moon rise tonight at 17:26. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Thursday evening through Sunday morning, making this a full Moon weekend. This is the Hunter’s Moon, the full Moon after the Harvest Moon. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, with the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the harvesters have reaped the fields, hunters can easily see the animals that have come out to glean (and the foxes that have come out to prey on them).“Isn’t it wonderful what Toucan do!”
Ryan&Ruth // Bird&Bee
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