Au bord de la rivière

Dés notre arrivée, le héron s’envole indigné.

And the heron flies off, indignant.

You disturbed the peace.

Nous sommes des troubleurs de paix.

Il n’y a pas d’amareyeurs par ici,

Maigre certitude, en ces temps incertains :

Il n’y en aura jamais.

A few things…

What do you say to the country side,

when you come back after all these years?

The river in a hurry runs wild.

Bank swallows scheme and skim

over rising waters.

Bellies full of insects,

too soon they will gather.

Their departure grows near,

I miss them already.

From the water’s edge

Here is a series of pictures I recently took from the water’s edge in Weirwood Reservoir, which is one of my favourite places around here. It is a big body of water made of the Medway River – even though it is only a stream at that point (the Medway starts around here), there is a dam at one end which keeps the water contained here. Although it is man made, it is such a beautiful place and a great haven for wild life…

Local Wildlife Protection Mission…

I went for a walk this am, to visit one of our local pond which is a small sanctuary for wildlife and a great bird watching spot. I was sat on the bench there, listening to all the bird songs and enjoying watching them all.

As I got a bit closer to take a picture of a duck, I realised that the water had a lot of rainbow pools in it. I saw that someone had thrown a car battery in the pond and that the acid had been leaking…

Birds from my backyard triptych

I would like to think that I’m a naturalist. But mostly an urban naturalist.

I love observing Nature reclaiming urban areas.

May is gone…

May has vanished in a flash.

She’s disappeared. Gone. Like that.

Nesting birds

Lost in thoughts

The garden still needs cleaning.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for…

“You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

–Hopi Elders’ Prophecy, June 8, 2000

On a fine Saturday, Eartha set off to central London to join the rebellion 💚

Meet Eartha

Eartha is my latest Spirit doll. She embodies the Earth element and is timely ready for the International Rebellion, that Extinction Rebellion has started today in London.

I knitted her with local yarn, grown by sheep who graze freely in and round Ashdown Forest, hand-dyed by me using chaga mushroom.

Her dress is made out of handspun Nettle yarn. Her hair is made out of hemp, her flowers are knitted with some bits of scrap yarn given by my mum years ago.

She embodies Sacred Activism, through reconnecting with the Earth, Nature – including all her inhabitants –  and her sustainable, local, natural resources which are freely available to us.

An encounter with God

Yesterday, I had a lovely time, teaching special yoga in a local disabled centre. We reflected on kindness and on bodhicitta – wishing good things for ourselves, the persons we love, those we don’t like, all the sentient beings around us: the animals – pets and wild – plants, the planet… Everyone!

Ten

Sometimes beauty can be found in very unlikely places… Like a contaminated junk yard in South East London…