Drips, Drupes & Bumblebee Sharpening

Hello there!

How lovely to see you!

Do make your self comfortable while I tell you a little story...

Here you have the faery songs, the golden, glad, and airy songs, when all the world was morning, and when every heart was true; Songs of darling Childhood all a-wander in the wild wood, songs of life's first loveliness - songs that speak of you!

Thomas Burke 
(Many thanks to Barbara for the verse & picture) 
I think there may be part of me that will remain a little girl of about seven, now, forever & ever. Eternally drawn to sweetness & light, make-believe & fairies, The Land of Kindness & Beauty...it's such a lovely place; there are flowers everywhere & wooden swings in all the largest trees. The sky is almost always blue & there is a gentle brook that laughs it's way to the sea. The green moss is soft & tender & makes the perfect fairy's bed. Would you like to come & play with me...we could sip honeysuckle tea from tiny acorns & wander in the wild woods singing songs of life's first loveliness?
There are darling little creatures in that wood like Mr furry Bumble bee. 

Every now & again he must zoom in to visit Blacksmith Gnome for sharpening & repairs.

Illustration: Eric Heinemann

Then back to work he goes.

There is harmony & wholeness, 

(I found her in the Dog Shop...isn't she sweet)

tenderness & 

compassion in the Wild Wood.

The thing about compassion, however, is, it doesn't always come as part of your legacy.

I grew this guava tree because of memories of my Nan..her jams & jellies & resourcefulness.

I loved her guava tree & the jelly that she made every autumn...the drip, drip of the jelly bag hanging over the old claw foot bath.

Not one to show emotion or talk of feelings (like many of her day), Nan kept a spotless home & a rigid schedule. I have gratefully gathered in my memories of my grandmother but I want so much more from life...

I want to be present in/to love. To chose compassion with knowledge...& boy do I want to know!! I love to learn new stuff every day...pushing past the "oooh but I feel so dumb", when at first run through, it all seems over my head & a little too much for my struggling brain.
I made my jar of jelly & then I pushed the guava pulp through a sieve with some cooked figs from our tree & made an amazing fig & guava paste. It is so good with soft cheese.  

The thing is...what I've learnt these past few months, that matters most of all: if you don't learn how to love yourself unconditionally, truly accept yourself just as you are, you haven't got a chance of loving anyone else in healthy, fabulous ways.

If I have the right to be here...just as I am. Then I need to stop fussing & fluffing & just be me, in all my quirkiness...

& delicious succulence.

I asked the man at Te Mata figs last week about our amazing un-named fig & he said that it is an adriatic...the quintessential Italian original. The best. And when I told him about the tree in St Aubyn street where I got my cutting & he knew it straight away. We have strict instructions to take good care of a local treasure, & so we shall!

Such a lot of rain this past week & a great deal of melody from this fluffy tui chap.

I wondered what his enthusiasm was all about & then I remembered what our friend Don had said about the the birds feeding on the fruit of the totara tree. And so I went looking..& found a drupe. Yip, that's what they're called: drupe! They're edible & yum but very small.

Our wee fantail friend has taken to popping inside for a squiz around. When he's done he finds his own way out again.

Today I looked in to the face of a flower & I marveled at the extraordinary profusion of colour & form, pollen & glory. 

I know I have a choice to make today: will I see the world that we live in as friendly & good or scary &  bad? Will I chose to be the change I want to see in my world?

And it's really not so hard...it kind of goes like this:

Much love to you for visiting.
Thank you & bless you!!

♥♥♥♥♥