but, back home to Avalon & the mountains, the trees are putting on a glorious autumnal show - colours of magenta, orange, cerise, gold, tan & all colours in between are breathtaking when the late afternoon sun hits them. to me, that is God. the bird call has that slow autumn sound and the stillness in the air is heralding the coming of the resting season.
the garden is slowly, taking shape - all the vegetable gardens are full of soil & mulch, ready for planting.. I planted a few plants of brussel sprouts and some mizuna lettuce for winter greens and a couple of calendula plants. oh and a lemon tree! - times like this, I will admit I miss my old garden at Inglewood - but I know that I can work this garden and make it mine..
we have two new hens.. an australorp and a Langshan... this completes our family of chooks.
we have been making compost from the autumn leaves which will turn into rich, wonderful soil for next years vegetables. I have planted a tamarillo, hopefully it will grow here in the colder climate.
a few weeks ago, I ordered my garlic bulbs to plant and they arrived during the week.
I hope to go to the nursery some time soon and buy some daphne and a luculia if I can find one. I need to add some whimsy to my garden and I am painting the Marian Shrine that Joe built for me. in colours of Mexico - a long way from Katoomba but I am drawn to the colours of Guadalupe at the moment and those colours will surely add some whimsy. I am amazed at how many tourists walk past my home on their way to Katoomba Falls and stop to take a photo of Mary in her shrine.
it will soon be time to order potatoes.. I am at odds whether to plant potatoes this year - when we go to England they will need a lot of hilling up over the time we will be away - so I may leave it this year..
I found weevils in my jar of rolled oats - first time in over 25 years.. I was cooking my oats and saw brown specks.. then looked at the jar and it was crawling with them.. so the new chooks had a feast and I scrubbed the lid and jar and put them into the sun to dry. I have always put a bay leaf in the jar with grains & flours.. and never a weevil. Hadn't done it since I moved here.. so off i went to gather some bay sprigs.. and hung some in the pantry as well as in the jars.
I am loving Katoomba - I walk up the hill most days if I can - but haven't been on any bush walks for ages - too much rain equals leeches and ticks and I live in fear of those things.. I have been walking elsewhere, though - to a favourite spot that overlooks a vast valley - I have been sitting and doing contemplative prayer.. on a rock with my feet barefoot on the ground.. at times the wind blows gently through my aura, I can hear birds coming to life in early morning, I can feel the ancestral mist on my face. times like this, I am at perfect peace.
I still struggle with my spiritual life - I often wonder if my searching will ever cease. I doubt my connection to the Divine, alot. it is such a struggle sometimes, and often my soul cries in frustration. but there are times, when I can just sit in contemplation and feel the direct connection - these are times of my peace also.
6 comments:
I am glad to visit with you again. There's so much I want to know about your world where planting so much in Autumn can be accomplished, while here in this half of the hemisphere, there are only a few things which could be planted and survive through the cold of Winter....is it the more temperate climate perhaps, that lets you do this?
For the past little while, the notion of having a chicken or two has been on my mind, but to be honest, I don't think my neighbors would take kindly to it and more than that, I'm actually a bit afraid of chickens!
I responded immediately to the slowing of the cawing of the birds in the Fall. I wait to hear that sound each year. I understood that so well and reading those words gave me that wonderful feeling for a few blessed seconds.
Your struggle with the Divine...I think that's true for all of us when we realize that being in this Human form does cause a membrane of separation from Source. And those moments when you feel peace and grace? Those are the moments when we are reminded that we are Source and can feel it and remember the truth of things.
I'm glad you are home.
It's so good to see you're back and it sounds like you had a fun visit with your family.
I particularly enjoy when you write about your garden...maybe because I'm so terrible at growing things! You have such a wonderful way of telling us about all the plants and the birds. Love seeing the pictures, too.
Enjoy all those autumn colors and your solitary, contemplative moments. Be at peace.
I am so in love with what you are doing here, Robyn. I have a brown thumb. My successes in the garden are few and unpredictable. The successes I DO have though, cling stubbornly to life and my life. Three rose bushes, a crysanthemum, a very abundant aloe, irises galore and the random bulb. They are my hardy children who stick with me year round.
I'm selfishly happy you are home,so I can live in your garden with you (envy) and take those wonderful walks with you. Your descriptions put me right there. Mostly I think it's your spiritual side that draws me back to your blog home. Welcome back. xo
Ohh I just love your writing, and where you live sounds breath-taking. All the nature and gardening and edible plants - I miss when I had a yard and a veggie garden.
dear robyn welcome home!
i have missed you so. i too am giving myself full force to the land around us. we are preparing our summer garden. all day i have followed the shade to wrestle weeds out of the earth and into the compost! i relish sitting on terra firma as birds sing and fly above, the fragrance of iris lifts my heart and friends such as you stir in my thoughts like precious songs.
when i was 16 i picked a hibiscus flower and twirled it in fingers as i went walking. after some time i sat down and peered into the center of the flower. when my eyes traveled down into the pollen rich stamen suddenly i was in the sky, looking down from a very great height. i saw myself sitting there. the top of my head, my shoulders, my hands holding the flower, my gaze looking within. i was in the boundless sky. i felt limitless, i was at oneness with divine love. there was no beginning and there was no end. the enormity of this "realization" has never left me. pure infinite peace. this is what i wish for you right now.
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