Dear Friends,

May Day used to mark the beginning of summer. For traditional Gaels and Celtic peoples, the merry month of May celebrated fertility and the greening of the earth. (An early version of Earth Day?)   Livestock would be driven out to summer pastures. Bonfires were lit and charms made to protect them.  Nature's creative force - renewed and wide awake once again - was celebrated.

Here's a song to put you in a bucolic mood: The Spotted Cow sung by the great Maddy Prior and Steeleye Span.

Or try these longer, dreamy orchestral pieces by the great English Romantic composers:

A Shropshire Lad by George Butterworth (10 min)

Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves (4 min)

Ralph Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. (17 min)

We've come through a long winter and a sketchy Spring.  Our new beginnings are about to go forth and become manifest.  Summer is on the line…