The water is inky black,
the sun not yet over the horizon
there’s a constant slapping sound of the waves
reminding you of the ocean wilds
just there
beyond the reach of your cold outstretched arms
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(The Sunrise Swimmers is scheduled for February 2018)
In the garden…
thoughts are slowed,
and breath is deeper.
Gentle hands brush past fragrant lavenders,
winter light catches on petals,
highlighting a beauty that often goes unnoticed.
With a kind sun warming your back,
there is a pause,
external noises muffled to the internal slowing beat
A soft sigh,
thoughts not as worrying, concerns not as pressing, what to do next,
definitely not as important,
out here, in the garden.
Winter solstice sunrise swim.
An early morning, when you question your sanity briefly, while taking off your two jackets, looped woollen scarf and gloves.
To submerge your exposed white body in water that threatens to take your entire breath away.
Hold tight you got this one.
Exhale and in.
(And of course it was worth it. Every. Single. Time.)
************
For the fellow sea lovers out there. Take a peek at this truly beautiful little film. Divine.
There’s a quiet peacefulness to your waking
Rhythmic raindrops create a steady beat on the roof.
It’s dark outside, with hints of grey. Just enough to show the puddles pooling in a long since saturated ground.
Thoughts dance briefly over the seedlings you planted three days ago, wondering at their willingness to grow through soggy adversity.
You scrunch your eyes tight to the predictable incoming thought parade.
The mental list of to do’s can surely wait. Just now, here in the early morning grey, this is dedicated gentle think time. Just like the raindrops that continue to fall outside, so to will the thoughts. Speeding up as the day cracks open.
But not yet, not now. It’s still early, and listening to those raindrops falling outside is the only required thought.
It’s 5.15am and your alarm goes off.
Outside is dark. Stars still stand defiantly in the night sky as sunrise isn’t for another good hour and a quarter yet. You stumble into your swim suit, add another 6 layers over the top and silently tip toe out of the house, bundled up like a marshmallow woman. It is after all 7C out.
The trick is don’t let the cold sneak in. Don’t let it.
The stars are still there as you arrive. Looking our over the flood lit pool, and watching the wind whip up over the tops of the waves, you question yourself briefly. Although these days, the why no longer comes into it, it’s just something you do.
You wait patiently for the sun to arrive.
Swimming at sunrise at Merewether Ocean Baths throughout the year isn’t something that appeals to the masses (especially during these winter months), and yet to a select group of people this is the secret to a well lived life.
For over a year now I’ve been documenting these sunrise people, a visual story culminating in an exhibition scheduled for early next year. Over the next six months I will be sharing snippets of these ocean lovers, the magic of sunrise and a tiny part of the process in what it takes to create a body of work for exhibiting.
I hope you’ll jump on board for the journey, it’s a really exciting one that I’m tickled pink to be able to share.
In other news, there is a new website of mine if you are keen for a peek, and if you are still keen as a bean in finding out a few more super fascinating facts about me, I was kindly invited over for a lovely chat at Duckfeet on their Duckfeatures series.
Hope your week to come is good one dear people.
No clock,
no hindrance,
no consideration for the rules that usually define the day.
Hunger for something
that doesn’t come handed to you in the regular format.
Wild
and deliciously free.
Loving…Sunflowers
Seeing these beauties pop up in places I’d forgotten I’d planted makes the heart happy in ways that other flowers simply don’t. While I have a soft spot for marigolds, zinnias, lavendar, nasturtium, cosmos and calendula… Sunflowers have a little extra something about them. (They also have smaller unpredictable life span, as I never quite know when a cockatoo is going to make off with one of the heads. Cheeky buggers.)
Loving…birthdays
Planning small celebrations for the smallest who is no longer so very small. She’s been birthed and has grown a whole handful of years within these blog pages. Getting to celebrate her life makes this mama’s heart sing.
Loving… Revolution
I had initially posted this on instagram in a moment of heat fuelled utter frustration which was then redirected into energy….I still stand by these words and I loved reading people’s responses to it.
Plant a tree, build a garden, seek more knowledge, share your knowledge, find your tribe where people there think you are wonderful, explore other communities, know your farmers, stop and think, dare to dream, don’t sit quietly in the corner because you were told to, stand up for things that are important, stand beside the person who dares to say, no we don’t want this. Stand beside the person who says YES we do want this. Spend a few extra minutes, hours, days, weeks, months in your life to make a difference. Of course it helps. It does it always does.
Care about things. Everyone has a voice, make it heard where it matters. Whether it be through the written word, through art, creativity, through actions, poetry, an added body in a finding momentum crowd. To be quiet or noisy can be equally effective. Ripples or waves, go good people go. We can all be game changers.
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[“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE]
What are you loving at the moment?
I’m not entirely sure how it happened.
Maybe I turned my head? Blinked longer than I should have, and there she went. Grew up and went right out the door with a backpack on her back. Shiny black shoes on her feet and more bubbles of excitement than any other regular given day.
New doors are opening, others simply have quietly shut.
It’s a big one for both of us, so I’m taking it in. Taking it all in.
The last baby bird just went to school.
The hot night shadows speak to each other. Everything seems noisier when it’s 34C at 11.30 at night. The heat sits there like a uncomfortable blanket you can’t pull off.
A fan overhead spins relentlessly. Cooling you it isn’t. Just moving the hot funk of night time round a bit.
Thoughts wonder. Back to the early morning swims of today, the late afternoon swims followed by hot chips of the day before and then all the swims in the middle. This is what this summer has been made of, salty sea water dips that do far more than just cool you off. This is soul building time. It’s memory making and it’s person defining. What that even means at 11.30 at night when you brain has been reduced to hot mush, you’re not sure. But water, it’s an important part of our life, that much is certain.
This summer there is no emptying of removal boxes and no building raised garden beds. No this summer is a little different. A slower pace, a sandy barefoot pace.
Sand has snuck into small people’s beds, swimmers dry on the line in perpetual rotation.
They’ll go swimming again in the morning. Before it gets too hot, well hotter. The laughs, the jumps, the squeals of delight. Splash…
A child’s cry cuts through the salt water thoughts of tomorrow. Listening intently, for the signal to commando roll out of bed and reassure as needed. I’m not though. Not needed. Just a dream, just hot night fuelled dream.
Back to the ambitious fan overhead, and thoughts of tomorrow. Splashing through summer that’s what we are doing.
******************
Along with countless swimming time, this summer period I’ve been given a beautiful reminder to have fun. Don’t ever forget the fun. This is truly the good stuff of life, and just because you are an ‘adult’ doesn’t mean the fun has to stop. Sometimes I do forget though and this year I’m going to make damn sure that this doesn’t happen often.
If you look for us by the sea. We’re the ones, skimming rocks, playing tips and holding handstand competitions.
* If you are looking for an easy Summer dessert, I still love this one. Summer Berry Tart. An easy one to prep ahead of time.
It’s 5.30am and there is a grey stillness to the morning. Although light the sun won’t properly rise for another 15 minutes or so. The quiet hour, the garden hour. It’s summer holiday period round these parts and a different rhythm that doesn’t get found often. Mornings have been spent in two ways of late. Either by the waters edge or here, in the garden.
After a year now of creating beds, building soil profiles, planting, transplanting, weeding, growing, harvesting and eating. This small city garden has just now gone through 4 seasons.
We’ve tracked shadows during the colder months, picked 10’s of kilos of tomatoes during the warm, and frowned over countless unseen critters and their impact on our growings.
This is something that has been a long time in the making. Where small potted plants gave way for a variety of raised garden beds. There are still lessons to be learnt, corners to build up, and plants to try out, but it’s a start, and a wonderful one at that. A tiny corner to take refuge from the noise of the day, a place to grow vegetables and ideas. A pocket of edible greens in an otherwise landscape of lawns.
It’s not perfect, and there are still a multitude of lumps to work through, but it’s got sun, soil, water, and enthusiasm. With that goes a multitude of possibilities.
This is the garden that grows.
More garden posts…
There’s new beginnings in this year
New chapters,
Stories yet to be told
Intentions still not made clear
Sweet adventures to be had
Tears still to tumble onto unsuspecting cheeks
Food to marvel at the simple deliciousness,
(sourdough to bake)
Hugs to hold tight
Thoughts to find pace
and creativity to gain wings.
Hello 2017, I’ve been expecting you.
********
What’s in store for you? What new chapters will be written?
The garden is whispering to me,
the kids want to go swimming,
the dog wants a run,
and I’ve got a reading pile the length of two arms.
Thanks for taking the time to hangout in 2016 dear readers. I’m really looking forward to seeing what next year brings but also keen to see how much garden time, swims, dog runs and reading I can squeeze into the now.
2016 saw a bundle of different topics covered here, so I thought I’d do a quick recap before I’m lost to the wilds of the kids, go swimming with the dog and spend time reading the garden, (or something like that.)
Something that plays an important part of my life, The Kindness Exchange or The Gift Economy, and also loved ones that remind me to make time for what matters.
Gluten free cooking got a look in with the Buckwheat Pancakes and Chickpea Pancakes becoming family favourites.
Setting up a whole new garden this year meant I was now focussing on Soldier Fly Larvae, Slug Problems and how to set up and maintain your Compost. Along with planting some of the Best Flowers to grow for you and your Bees (and a little extra bee love information here.)
My poor misguided children gagged their way through Spinach and Fetta Bread and for the sourdough bakers out there, something you might find handy, a how to Dehydrate your Starter and bring it back to LIFE again tutorial.
While I adore playing with words, sometimes it’s just about the pictures, like a mini winter break, staying in the Hunter Valley which was lovely, and good reminder to do things you love, like How to be Creative with Kids Around (or how to milk the day for everything it has.)
There were lots more posts throughout the year if you are still keen to do more reading and if not, instead, you intend taking some time off to spend with loved ones, dig your fingers in the soil and bake tray loads of traditional Scandinavian treats (surely not just me??) Well, enjoy that time dear people.
See you in January!
cityhippyfarmgirl 