I had a visitation on the land this weekend, Karen of Wildely Creative came to stay. The weather was foul so instead of bivvying in the woods we made camp in the bender. After a tour of a bit of the land it was fantastic to sit by the wood stove, carving spoons and spatulas, sharing stories, beliefs and dreams.
When the weather was good, we had a ping. Karen was a natural at it. Strong stance and good eye.. 7 bullseyes wasn't it Karen?!?! :) The only thing to distract us were the Buzzards playing over head, oh and the odd pesk from Stinkhound!
Last night I got a new bow which is well over 6ft, 34lb & much more powerful! That's my last ping on the bow in the pic below. My first bow...
We tapped a young Birch tree and managed to collect a cup full over night. The purity of the sap is astonishing, after a few minutes I get a wash of feeling totally energised. Only lasts a short time but it's definitely there.
Ok.. now I appreciate that the next picture is probably not going to excite you at all but it's one of the most exciting things I saw this weekend! There's Bluebells in an area of regeneration between the woodland and the coppice. In the few years I've had the land I've only ever seen one Bluebell. This deer track has created a perfect seed bed for Bluebells to pop out of. After decades of over grazing with cattle and Bracken creeping in, finally, finally, finally I'm seeing the benefits of letting the land rest.
On Saturday night the stars came out and the half moon was diamond bright. Intensifying the weekends spiritual adventures. The next day everything was luminous. Mosses, lichens, branches, grass, stone, all of it, totally luminous. Everything was bursting and glowing with spring.
We saw 8 stags over the other side of the valley on Saturday night too. They got chased off by my neighbours lovely little Exmoor ponies. Who celebrated by chasing each other as fast as they could up and down the side of the hill!
I'm really grateful to Karen for keeping us warm using her fire lighting kit and cooking the best breakfasts and BEST baked chocolate bananas ever! I'm also grateful to her for being efficient with fuel, water and our space. Thank you Karen :)
hen
xx
What an outstanding weekend - thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your beautiful land with little ol' me. And yes...Out of 50 shots, 7 hit the bullseye.
ReplyDeleteWhoop :D
The weekend sounds really magical AND with chocolate bananas! Your descriptions of using your outdoors space and shelter are wonderful and it sounds like you keep warm. My only memory of camping as a child was being perpetually cold, damp and miserable and expected to*enjoy* it! But your style sounds FUN!
ReplyDeleteWow, Hen, I had no idea you were back in the bloggsphere. It's great to read about your adventures, I've missed you soooo much. Do take care.
ReplyDeleteKim x