When the clouds partthe sun is warm withthe scent of season’s turning, and the promise thatseeking a different angleoffers a different sight.And the first bumblebee. + Sue Heatherington It was surprisingly warm in the sun as I fed the boys yesterday afternoon. It enlivened everything and complemented my morning walk when the shafts of light … Read more
Within the grip of winter, it is almost impossible to imagine the spring. The grey, perished landscape is shorn of colour. Only bleakness meets the eye; everything seems severe and edged. Winter is the oldest season; it has some quality of the absolute. Yet beneath the surface of winter, the miracle of spring is already … Read more
Is it that time already? Clumps of early daffodils stake their claim to the path’s edge, as they always do. Yet I am always surprised by their appearance. And astonished that everything necessary for their flowering is there in the bulb. Just waiting to emerge. SURPRISED BY LIFE Autumn receivesthe yielding.Cradling thesoft tissue oflife, and … Read more
Eyes adjustingto winter’s harvestof seedheads inchill wind and ice-blue skies. What does this timerequire of me, andwhat peculiar giftsdoes it bear? Will I standwith open hands,or shield my gazefor another day? ~ I’ve been drawn to these bulrushes on successive days. Each time I encounter them differently, sometimes with extraordinary contrasts.
One of the privileges of living here in the valley is seeing the familiar through the changing lenses of the seasons. I notice the difference between yesterday’s light snow flurry and the crystal clear winter sunlight a few days ago. Yet we are not always returning to a remembered place, but maybe something stirs in … Read more
A fruitful rest? Somehow this tips on its head all our culture tries to tell us. That we earn fruitfulness, that it only comes through striving. And rest is a means to an end. But what if we’ve misunderstood the very nature of life? THE FECUND FALLOW And what if all this waiting;this trembling body … Read more
It has been an extraordinary autumn. The altered hues and the way the season has rearranged the natural drapes of the valley have opened up a different experience. An invitation to linger and enter rather than pass through on the way to winter. This has been an internal journey as much as an external encounter. … Read more
Have you noticed the colours are different this year? Autumn here in the valley has arrived. Seeping across the landscape rather than splashing about like a toddler with a paintbrush. And the greens. Vibrant, verdant greens announce there’s still life here. When usually, the greens are tired and dried, looking forward to the rest of … Read more
In the slanting sunlight, I spied one of our bumper acorns. Plump and free of its cup, it was ready for germination and sprouting in the moist soil. This is life in its unfolding, doing what it does in season. So what about us? Where are we opening ourselves to this next stage of life? … Read more
Where is the pathon the cusp of time?The invitation to walk fromknowing to unknowing. To see the change in seasonripening before our eyes,while whispering farewellsto lives once lived. Nothing is held formore than a moment.These are just spaceswe dance within. ~ After feeding the alpacas, I climbed up the hillside, watching the flow of seasons … Read more