I am working on our land, on a challenging early Spring day. The beautiful but 'threatening' sound of rolling thunder has been going on in the background for over half an hour now.
Luckily, it is only raining lightly, as this reminds me - once again - of our living situation as well as of all the craziness going on in the world around us. The sound of a bird of prey - hidden among the clouds - can be heard nearby.
I was in the process of changing a former number 2 spot ( now 💩-free for quite a while, all thanks to the cleaning power of nature/ insects) into a path way. This area ended up being a bit too visible/close to the house and I stopped using/soiling it months ago.
Whilst raking leaves and moving away tree branches and big chunks of ivy as well as starting this write up on my phone, the rain started dripping on my screen. I decided that it was time to go back inside, to see how Clare was doing and take possible precautions against the dripping inside our bedroom.
When I had almost reached the house, the rain turned into light hail.
Right now, I am sitting on a chair in what is our bedroom. Near the woodfire, that we just got going.
Frida, the cat, seems nervous, as if this is her first thunderstorm. Although, perhaps, she is just hungry.
Nature is taking photographs, outside, with the flash on, using the biggest camera around.
📸
I decided to give Frida some dry cat biscuits She hasn't touched this morning's porridge - insulting the chef ( Clare ) - but immediately stops meowing and starts chomping away at the dry food with a predator-like focus
the view from our kitchen window
Earlier today, Clare and I were talking about possibly setting up our tent, to have a separate resting/sleeping space and or a place for Clare to possibly paint in. This topic was brought up after yet another challenging night with frequently interrupted sleep ( one of many, since the start of our relationship a year and a half ago ).
It looks like the ⛺ has to wait another day, at least.
The thunder seems to slow down a bit, whilst we're reheating some herbal tea on the wood stove .
Frida is now sleeping on the chair that I sat down on before and Clare reads to me about plants that grow on our land.
More on that in her latest post: New Plant Knowledge and Rekindling Embodied Wisdom
I am continuing this post from our temporary bed.
The tea is super tasty and we are snacking on nice Italian cheese and a banana. The weather has calmed down, the cat is now quiet aside from occasional snoring and the fire and tea are warming us up nicely.
All seems is well, once again.
Believe me, living in the countryside on a big plot of wild land, in an unfinished (un)house, and having to do everything ourselves, step by little step, due to minimal funding ( and stubbornness, wanting to do things our way ), is far from easy. In fact, it's extremely challenging - and sure tests our rellationship, at times - but the beautiful moments sure make up for all the difficult ones.
Take, for instance this ladybug, that I discovered the day before yesterday...
or this tiny snail...
Luckily, Clare and I are as good at enjoying the small things as we are at being negatively affected by everything and anything around us, at times
Life can be pretty darn exhausting and taking breaks is much needed.
Talking about breaks, it's time to wrap things up.
Sending love from the Italian countryside!
