June ~ summertime

June – time of blossom:

Now summer is in flower and nature’s hum

is never silent round her sultry bloom

insects as small as dust are never done

wi’ glittering dance and reeling in the sun…

(from John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar 1-4)

 

 

JUNE

Month of the Summer with longer nights.

Moon of horses Dyad moon Strawberry moon Summer Solstice

Buzzards learn to fly. Dragonflies flash.

Sunflowers open. Wheat ripens. Soft fruit time.

To roll a strawberry in the palm of your hand is to hold the weight

of so many weeks of sunshine, earth and water.

Iris, butterflies, rose.

Time of garlands, floral dancing, midsummer weddings.

In the fields, sheep seek shade, tuck together along hedges and shadow.

 

 

( An extract from June in my new book ‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ costs £4 and is available from me at rosecook108@gmail.com or info@greyhenpress.com )

 

 

Here comes May…blessings to you all

May – time of hawthorn:

Come queen of months in company

wi all thy merry minstrelsy

the restless cuckoo absent long

and twittering swallows chimney song…

(from John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar 1-4)

 

MAY

Month of the Hawthorn

Hare moon Milk moon Bright moon

Peonies bloom short glamour.

The birds sing fiercely and loud.

In the dusk blackbirds fill the air with song.

We wear lighter clothes. Cotton hats.

The air is sweet, thick with insects.

Listen to their under whisper.

Frogs have begun to chorus.

Time to find wild herbs flowering.

The hawthorn blooms call us to Maying.

Fertility dances around.

( An extract from May in my new book ‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ costs £4 and is available from me at rosecook108@gmail.com 

or order from: info@greyhenpress.com )  

 

March ~ an excerpt from ‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ Rose Cook

MARCH  

 

Month of the Winds ambushed by sudden snow

Wind moon   Chaste Lenten moon   Vernal equinox  

 

Time of change. Spring begins.

We stand on the soil, feel life stir beneath and around us.

Small birds, sparrows, make nests, all birds grow intent and sing.

The distance we have travelled, we know ourselves better.

Rain runs down gutters, chatters up possibilities, lifts,

fills small pools where frogspawn glitters.

 

 

March – time of weather:

 

March, month of ‘many weathers’ wildly comes

in hail and snow and rain and threatening hums

and floods…

 

 

(from John Clare’s The Shepherd’s Calendar 1-3)

photo Rose Cook

‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ (pub Hen Run, Grey Hen Press 2021)

available £4 plus p&p from Rose at rosecook108@gmail.com

Wintry greetings

Wintry greetings to all, lit by the fullness of the moon, blessed by the Solstice shift, stay warm and well 💫

‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ is available from Rose at rosecook108@gmail.com £4 plus p&p

Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar ~ Rose Cook

‘Fresh Start: A Shepherd’s Calendar’ by Rose Cook is out now published by Hen Run at Grey Hen Press.
Available by email: rosecook108@gmail.com it costs £4 plus p&p.

What people are saying:

It’s a beguiling mix of pastoral and personal that I’m enjoying very much 🤍

One month on from its release, this beautiful new Shepherd’s Calendar will take you on a poetic journey through the year. I love it! 🤍

A beautiful book that would make a lovely present 🤍

(Photo Rose Cook)