I feel a growing sense of unease as I track this storm that is almost upon parts of the UK. I have many friends who live in the south and my thoughts are with them as they prepare to be battered by huge winds. It is usually the Scottish isles that are caught in the paths of autumn storms but this time it is our English neighbours that stand in the way. Facebook is telling me that the winds are increasing so I am watching and waiting along with everyone else.
Mother Nature has a way of asserting herself at this time of year and our autumn storms can be the worst of the year. As islanders we are always weather watching for disruptions to our ferry crossing and it makes for an interesting life. I have always refused to see the ferries as the life blood of the island and I think that is what motivates us to grow some of our food. I also believe in keeping a good store cupboard and we taught all our children how to bake their own bread. Perhaps we have to think slightly differently than people who live on the mainland. That said I watched a programme this week about a family who live in the Scottish highlands on a croft that has no mains electricity. Their lives looked challenged on a daily basis and I am not sure I could cope with that. I did, however, love the isolated valley that they lived in....
Our smallholding is now moving into its development stage as we prepare for next year. Our priorities are much clearer now so we now need to extend our potential as a supplier for cut flowers. We are about the clear all our beds of the last of the annual crops so that we can mulch with seaweed for the winter months. This will feed our soil as it rots down using the natural rhythm of frosts and warmer periods. We also use seaweed mulch around her perennials after a fairly hard cut back. We also fleece our less hardy crops when we know a hard frost or snow is on its way.
Beyond that Pete will be building more raised beds ready for new crops for next year. I spend the next few months researching varieties to ensure I only grow varieties that can thrive on the island. Our first willow crop took really well so will be taking cuttings to plant another 200 trees early in the new year. I love the fact that we planted different colours of willow because it opens up the options for their use. I need to spend some time researching where this might take us in the future. That is a good way to spend a winter.
Today has been devoted to writing the final module for my Meditation through Writing online course. It has been a real journey the past few months working with students as they develop their meditation and extend their writing voices. It has felt like such a privilege and I shall miss the regular contact with them. Many of the students have gone on to publish their writing in one place or another including One soul many hearts. I am pleased that I have been able to offer a platform for publishing their work as it is so important to receive feedback. It is this feedback that develops your writing. This final module tests the students as they extend their meditations into longer and more deeply penetrating explorations. Our inner minds are a labyrinth of experiences that are largely untapped and meditation is capable of reaching these. Combining it with writing allows you to hold onto these explorations and make greater sense of them. Overall, I am thrilled with the first running of the course and I have a growing list of interested people for the next delivery in the new year. I will have to place a limit on numbers so that I can support the students so if you are thinking about it let me know and I can make sure you get first refusal.
It felt good to get the first newsletter published from One soul many hearts as it has been a steep learning curve working with the little chimps that mail! I love that their graphics are such friendly little chimps as this makes you feel even more inadequate when you can't navigate yourself successfully through the programme.... But, with a bit of determination, our shiny new newsletter went out on time and we have already started work on our next one. This one will take us up to Christmas and promises to be jam packed with lovely things.
Scottish island mum will benefit from the many hours spent with chimps who mail as she will be issuing newsletters from 2014 onwards. She will have a much easier ride.
I am ending noting that we appear to have reached day 300. Important to say thank you.
Until tomorrow. xx
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