Monday 24 October 2011

The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry 

I was just browsing some of my favourite sites and I visited Keri Smith - an artist, writer, person whom I admire.  I hadn't visited her lately (I don't mean really visited but cyber visited), anyway she had posted a poem by Wendell Berry.  I liked the poem and never having heard of the poet I looked him up and he sounds like a very interesting man (and a cool dude).  Next I looked up some of his poems and this title caught my eye.  I really like it and can relate to the poem.  That is how I feel when I am down at the river.

Here are some quotes of his (from here)

“One of the most important resources that a garden makes available for use, is the gardener's own body. A garden gives the body the dignity of working in its own support. It is a way of rejoining the human race.”


“You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it.”

“The passive American consumer, sitting down to a meal of pre-prepared food, confronts inert, anonymous substances that have been processed, dyed, breaded, sauced, gravied, ground, pulped, strained, blended, prettified, and sanitized beyond resemblance to any part of any creature that ever lived. The products of nature and agriculture have been made, to all appearances, the products of industry. Both eater and eaten are thus in exile from biological reality.”

“How joyful to be together, alone as when we first were joined in our little house by the river long ago, except that now we know each other, as we did not then; and now instead of two stories fumbling to meet, we belong to one story that the two, joining, made. And now we touch each other with the tenderness of mortals, who know themselves...”

“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”

At home with Sunny and Django

We love making and playing with the waterfall!!





Messy cornflour goo is another favourite. Now Nelson is back at school, Django keeps me busy!






Hooray a milestone is reached. Django can now swing. Hooray for swinging!
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We have been busy!

Nelson bought 3 baby silkies from the Grower's market. They were only one week old and very little and cute. They had to sleep in the bathroom next to the heater for the first week.




The silkies are outside now and getting very fluffy. They have been named Storm Trooper, Silky and Fluffy.


One of our hens had a chick too (only one!) Can you see it? Django named it Peck.


Here is our handsome Rooster who I like to call Heathcliffe.


We also have silkworms. Sunny likes to pick them up. (Poor things).




Django likes chopping down new bamboo with his sword.


Nelson has been practising the didgeridoo.


It has finally warmed up again and we have been to the pool.



Still a favourite pass time - jumping on the trampoline.
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Saturday 8 October 2011

Global Carnival













I had a great time at the Global carnival last weekend.  There were lots of great bands of all sorts and I had the best dance I have had in ages.  The weather was a bit grim but we had fun none the less.   Some very clever friends did  the arty installations which were very cool.  Some highlights were Lotek, Dubmarine, The Djangoholix, Mama Kin (with a surprise performance by John Butler) and Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.