‘I ask for a moment’s indulgence to sit by Thy side.
The works that i have in hand
I will finish afterwards…’
(R.Tagore)
As the first day of September – and the end of the summer – is fast approaching, I sit under a tree and pause to reflect on the abundance of these last months…
Out on the ‘fallen acres’ a 17 strong ‘vision quest’ group from Central Europe is preparing for their solo time in the wilder parts of our land.
While throughout the summer we’ve had a slow trickle of campers and the occasional event at the shelter- it is great that now that every camping pad is occupied by a tent, and there are even some tents on the tracks through the birches. It is the only time this summer that we had the camping pads and the shelter area being so busy for 10 days.
While much of the world is heating up at alarming rates it seems that here in the North of Scotland things are getting cooler. We’ve had a fresh and damp summer. Yes, there were days of working in shorts and T-shirt, but overall it was never too hot for the strong physical work required on the land.
Over the last months we have been blessed with committed volunteers willing to show up every day – in exchange for staying in our ‘Shepherd’s Hut’ or the bell tent. Chris, from California, our Shepherd’s Hut resident, Fern from Tasmania, who gave the Woodland Garden some much needed love & care, and Stuart from Australia stayed longer than intended and helped wherever needed.
Together we achieved a lot. Much of our time was spent with ‘prickly issues’ – cutting gorse. We maintained and improved all our areas of ‘species rich grassland’ and the now beautifully purple flowering heath lands. We cleared tracks and paths and fire-breaks. On one of the fire-breaks – which gets mowed every year – we counted 25 different species of flowers and grasses ! Together they provide an inviting home for a spectrum of insects and birds.
And many of our days are filled with numerous, unglamorous small jobs which are needed to be done to care for this land and all its creatures. Replacing fence posts on the pony fields, putting over 150 little trees into 1.20m tubes to protect them from the deer, replacing broken tree-stakes – or loading the tractor-trailer with woodchips to give our camping pads a fresh layer in preparation for the vision questers. Brambles were pulled up on newly planted areas, and baby trees have been dug up in areas where they would not have a future and potted to be planted out in the autumn.
Logs have been peeled in preparation for the imminent building of the new Sanctuary.
And within it all we have explored the deepening of the human connection with the surrounding natural world.
I often set tasks for the day beyond the physical work –
How can we stay curious ? (As a gateway to intimacy…)
Can you find something on the third day of doing the same job, something which you have not seen here before ? (findings ranged from flowers and fungi, to insects, to lizards…)
How can we move from looking at things to actually really seeing them ? What is the inner equivalent to the outer work we are doing ?
How can we turn our work into ‘worship’ – an offering of our devotion ?
Well, the harvesting season is about to begin. Apples & pears are nicely ripening in the gardens, so are the wild plums on the land. We’ve snacked on the wild raspberries and now the first blackberries are ripe.
With the recent warm rains the mushrooms are finally poking their heads above the ground in great variety.
I am sure the many bright red berries which shine like rubies on the rowan trees are a happy sight for the birds.
And with that it seems right to sit quietly for a little while and consider our ‘inner harvest’ – as the summer comes to a close.
‘…Now it is time to sit quiet
Face to face with Thee,
And to sing dedication of life
In this silent and overflowing leisure.’
(R.Tagore)
News from the Land – Summer 2024
‘I ask for a moment’s indulgence to sit by Thy side.
The works that i have in hand
I will finish afterwards…’
(R.Tagore)
Out on the ‘fallen acres’ a 17 strong ‘vision quest’ group from Central Europe is preparing for their solo time in the wilder parts of our land.
While throughout the summer we’ve had a slow trickle of campers and the occasional event at the shelter- it is great that now that every camping pad is occupied by a tent, and there are even some tents on the tracks through the birches. It is the only time this summer that we had the camping pads and the shelter area being so busy for 10 days.
While much of the world is heating up at alarming rates it seems that here in the North of Scotland things are getting cooler. We’ve had a fresh and damp summer. Yes, there were days of working in shorts and T-shirt, but overall it was never too hot for the strong physical work required on the land.
Together we achieved a lot. Much of our time was spent with ‘prickly issues’ – cutting gorse. We maintained and improved all our areas of ‘species rich grassland’ and the now beautifully purple flowering heath lands. We cleared tracks and paths and fire-breaks. On one of the fire-breaks – which gets mowed every year – we counted 25 different species of flowers and grasses ! Together they provide an inviting home for a spectrum of insects and birds.
And many of our days are filled with numerous, unglamorous small jobs which are needed to be done to care for this land and all its creatures. Replacing fence posts on the pony fields, putting over 150 little trees into 1.20m tubes to protect them from the deer, replacing broken tree-stakes – or loading the tractor-trailer with woodchips to give our camping pads a fresh layer in preparation for the vision questers. Brambles were pulled up on newly planted areas, and baby trees have been dug up in areas where they would not have a future and potted to be planted out in the autumn.
And within it all we have explored the deepening of the human connection with the surrounding natural world.
I often set tasks for the day beyond the physical work –
How can we stay curious ? (As a gateway to intimacy…)
Can you find something on the third day of doing the same job, something which you have not seen here before ? (findings ranged from flowers and fungi, to insects, to lizards…)
How can we turn our work into ‘worship’ – an offering of our devotion ?
Well, the harvesting season is about to begin. Apples & pears are nicely ripening in the gardens, so are the wild plums on the land. We’ve snacked on the wild raspberries and now the first blackberries are ripe.
With the recent warm rains the mushrooms are finally poking their heads above the ground in great variety.
I am sure the many bright red berries which shine like rubies on the rowan trees are a happy sight for the birds.
‘…Now it is time to sit quiet
Face to face with Thee,
And to sing dedication of life
In this silent and overflowing leisure.’
(R.Tagore)