This is where I live

 

View from my bedroom window -- Sunset over the sugarcane.

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This is where I live

 

Early-morning mist -- view from my patio.

This is where I live

 

This is where I live. No, not right under the Palm tree, just close-by.

Gettin' caught in the rain

After months of drought, few experiences can match the sound and smell of falling rain – unless it is the exhilaration of being caught in it while working in the garden!

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa

I took a stroll

I took a little stroll
along the pathway
and observed the wild flowers blooming.

It was a very fine day.

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Aloe arborescens (Torch Aloe) – The genus is native to Africa; species are found in southern Africa, the mountains of tropical Africa, various islands off the coast of Africa including Sardinia, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula.

(Photo taken on my stroll through Sheffield Beach Estate, Ballito, KwaZulu Natal) with iPhone 6S Plus

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A sense of well-being

As I laboured, packing the rocks for my new water feature, I felt a certain sense of satisfaction in the gnawing pain in my back. Physical labour — feeling the weight of the rocks, their smoothness, their warmth from where they had been lying in a pile in the sun for a couple of weeks — gives me a sense of accomplishment. I stood back, surveying my handiwork and felt an exquisite sense of well-being.

Where the wild grass grows

Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom
Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

This is a corner in my garden at my wildlife pond where I allow the indigenous wild grasses and weeds to grow wild. It’s a real haven for small wildlife, birds and insects. All the trees here are indigenous as well – White Stinkwood (Celtis africana) and some Sweet Thorn (Acacia karroo), a favourite for nesting birds because of all the thorns.

Dedicated to all wild-grasses lovers!

They’re building ’em up
skeletons of brand new palaces,
glass is shining everywhere
so neat are the lines
converging and rising from the sea
that feeds my eyes with watery
veins. Though
the place I like most,
is where the wild grass grows,
where angry bikers hit mud hills
and thick-skinned fishermen cradle
pet-boats between one pint
and the other.
—Eszty Arod

Regaining my connection

I sat down on the grass, crossing my legs yoga-style, and took a deep breath. Watching the river flow by deep and strong, sending ripples to the bank, I felt myself calm down. Today had not been a good day and I knew I needed to get out into the fresh air to think things over. His words were still ringing in my ears and I felt my heart cringing in pain. What had led to this? Was it my fault?

I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. Proof that life goes on, no matter what. I opened my eyes and took in the scenery around me. A Cormorant landed in a tree on the opposite bank and I could see it feeding its young. They will soon have to face the large and sometimes hostile world out there one of these days and I wished that I could be there for them if and when adversity strikes.

My thoughts returned to my heart-ache. I realised that, unlike birds, we have a certain amount of control over adversity, over what happens to us. We can do something about it. Getting up and brushing myself off, I walked back to my car. My mind was clear, I knew what I had to do.

 Buy this Spiral Notebook

• 120 pages
• Cover 350gsm, paper stock 90gsm
• Front cover print from an independent designer
• Available in a selection of ruled or graph pages
• Handy document pocket inside the back cover
• 6" x 8"

Having a space of your own

Nothing is of more importance than our mental and physical health - if you're not well, you are of no use to those around you. In fact, you might be a burden.

I have this special little corner set up in my dining room where I can disappear into my own little world, doing the things I love - journalling, sketching, making notes of new birds visiting my garden and where I keep some seeds ready for sowing. Here I often also plan my week, it seems to bring order to my life and reminds me to not fill my day with too many things and to leave some moments for just being quiet...

When you follow your bliss, it seems like the rest of the world orchestrates things so that your life is easy. It becomes effortless.