Of recent times

I don’t mean recent times in the news – xenophobia, threat of nuclear war, the arrogant spread of Mammon’s slime mould converting real resources into the vanity of money at a disheartening rate, the ever-widening gap between rich and poor sticking two fingers up at the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s all there, and it fills me with grief, even despair if I let it. But for now, for my sanity I’ve stepped back from it to look at the small and close-at-hand.

In our garden we’re coming on to “all is safely gathered in” time, blackberries, greengages, apples, pears and beans safely stashed in the freezer. Our beans did so well. We planted only a small row, half a dozen plants along a bed no more than four foot or so, growing up bamboo poles against the balustrade of our little deck (the back door is three foot higher than the garden, so we step out onto a deck, then three steps down to the garden). We’ve been eating them every day for several weeks, and had enough to freeze a few bags as well. We’re onto the last few now.

As well as things to eat, the fir cone harvest (brilliant kindling) has done us proud as well.

Then, in other matters, Our Alice and Hebe went to stay for a few days at Minster in Thanet to learn about making icons – an extra strand they have for some time intended to add to their daily work.

This was the result of a few days’ making:

Otherwise life continues as normal – writing, cooking, painting, stone-cutting, making music, cleaning, talking, thinking, praying – all the things we do. Humans, foxes, crows, badgers, seagulls - and of course, cats.

"For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat." 

(from Christopher Smart's poem about his cat Jeoffry in Jubilate Agno)

Blessings on your day. xx