Wet Wet Wet

This week is very, very wet... A delight of course, philosophically and in terms of the flourishment of our land: we are seeing the water well fill, the green leafy plants proliferate, the soil become moist and fertile, the smell in the air life-full - though life in our bothy is decidedly unglamorous.

Working outside during the day, even when it's raining, is rather invigorating, inspiring, full-filling... The evenings are a bit wearing, though - coming in from working dirty, the powerbank run down unexpectedly, my laptop has broken down, a pile of dirty dishes wants dealt with, the last of the damp logs are being eaten up by the stove, symptoms coming to the surface, like my ongoing itchy eyes and scalp...

There can be - albeit brief - moments in which a dark knot of something or other arises: the cement walls close in, the clothes rack taking up the free space in the room becomes intolerable, it gets dark and I can't find my things/ the right utensil/ an appropriate (i.e. just clean) garment to wear in bed...

All part of the riches of a sovereign and free lifestyle; there's little to distract us - not even a biscuit or some gossip, today - just us, on our land, shaping things as they seem to want to be shaped, us two learning and growing alongside the new natural systems that we're integrating...

The hardest moments are fleeting, if a few days of rain, sleet, snow have been testing. We soon get in a trip to a shop to stock up on goodies (including a rare sweet snack!), find an old movie on Archive.org, take to bed with a scalding hot water bottle as soon as it gets dusky - and we feel settled again. We remember to breathe - really breathe - to take a homeopathic remedy, and to snuggle and talk it out.

And any intensity of the day is quickly balanced by hard work the next: up at dawn to chop wood and carry water again, cleaning and clearing a section of woodland for a potential natural dwelling. We are as excited all over again, as when we first stepped onto the land! We feel the elements speaking to us, the stones wanting to be moved and to settle into a more organised form. We sweat and stretch our muscles, chat merrily and deeply, make jokes and drink spicy herbal tea to warm us.

Days lke today, I'm taken back to my childhood when, through the happy 'misfortune' of being neglected, I and my siblings were free to play, explore and build with the wild landscape around us. So we did. We built myriad fabulous dens and crafted improvised shelters - it seemed the most valid thing to do with our time and (most abundant) natural resources: to be creative, to learn and develop hands-on skills.

Though I've studied and practised permaculture, been project manager on myriad (more designed) gardens, and have a rather wide range of experience and active learning pathways throughout my colourful career, I still think of my childhood approach as the most concise way to actually make progress - to make things happen,like a natural house.

Working spontaneously and intuitively, I mean. I've always tried to use this approach, no matter what systems have tried to goad my instincts into a bridle and reins. Coming back to the blessed state of cocreativity with what is around us - this is how things used to come into being, and I love re-embracing the primal, the straightforward, the basic.

Plus, being on a relatively meagre financial track for now, there is little that we can do other than the organic and the improvised! We've discussed at length, @vincentnijman and I, how we are glad to not have the funds to buy machinery or to hire a team of workers - nor even the space to give hospitality to volunteer guests! We get to really hone our energies and focus, to test Living In Gift within a living Universe! To see how much we can create symbiosis with our surroundings, as humans used to!

Our work day winds up with us drenched and chilled, and we scoff down piping plates of homemade soup, then decide to walk down the hillside a couple of kilometres, to see a(nother) giant oak, which friends are applying to the council to create some kind of preservation order around. She is mighty impressive, wow - similar to the epic trees in the wild woods the other side of our land, around 5 metres circumference. We relish the walk down, tramping along the shining tarmacadam, getting even more soaked than before....

Then the return walk, having met the tree elder, and up the steep, steep way back home. We notice and snip several twigs of willow and apple - we almost always carry secateurs, so we can harvest cuttings from any useful/ favourite trees or plants, then propogate them for our land 🤗🐝🙏💝 We thankfully don't meet a single person or car on our hour-plus saunter (we still are not entirely certain how our walking around with great armfulls of vegetation will look to the conservative, rule-abiding folks in these parts!)

And we are in bed by 7pm. Hehehe. It's dark. Not enough candle light for doing anything practical. So we're encouraged by natural rhythms to just do what fits best within this ebbing and flowing of an average day.

Our neuroses and niggles are also put to bed early. All manner of kinks are ironed out by extensive rest; outwith the mod cons of conventional life, we increasingly eat when hungry, rest when tired, express ourselves when things well up, and have a generally pleasant time of it no matter what we're up to - even when we get grumpy or reactionary! The next day is usually easier, and we always learn something even if it isn't.

With love and good vibes to you all - thank you for supporting this most marvellous life that me and Vincent are sharing with you!