Harvest Home



My Equinox

I'm not one for elaborate ritual; it has its place, and there are times when I feel the need for incense and candles and carefully composed prose, but yesterday was not one of those times. Yesterday was a day for quiet reflection, for simply getting out in the fresh air, for feeling the ebb and flow.

I sat on a log, that at high tide is submerged, and pondered the cycles we are all a part of. The tides come and go, the sun rides across the sky, the seasons change. We can either resist and force our way through life struggling against the tides or we can embrace the never ending cycle of change.

Now is the time for reflection, for preparing for for the cold, dark days ahead. It is hard to think of winter when the sun shines, it is hard to let go of summer; but just as my wife busies in her kitchen preserving the hedgerow harvest so I must too. My harvest is the harvest of the soul, the harvest of dreams. Now is the time to take all that is good and pickle it! Its been a tough year at times and the gains have been hard won.  But they have been won.

I had a dream of a quiet life, a druid's life. Simple and honest. Three years ago I took a chance and walked away from the job that was killing me; I said goodbye to a steady income and healthy bank balance. I cut up my credit card and moved 300 miles from everything I knew and understood, and, may the Lady bless her for it, my wife made that leap with me without fear or complaint.

I'm not going to lie, there have been times when I thought it had all been a dreadful mistake. There have been times when I really didn't think I could do it, when everything I tried seemed to come to nothing, but this year has seen the first seeds of our dreams bear fruit.

Now I have to take the good and discard the bad, preserve the things worth saving, nurture them through the dark days ready to plant again. I had a dream of a quiet life, a druids life. Simple and honest.

I had a dream and I'm living it.

The Recycled Collection

Didn't I say I was heading out to the woods? Wasn't I going for long beach combing walks? Shouldn't I have been out gathering over this last week? Mmmmmmm something seems to have gone wrong somewhere!

Or maybe not.

I've learnt over the years, as most of us have, that life doesn't always have the same plans in mind for us as we have for ourselves. Circumstances change and if we have any sense we change with them. Once upon a time I would fight change. I would cling, kicking and screaming, onto my idea of how things should be and after I'd put myself through a lot of stress, hurt and hardship I'd end up doing what I'd been resisting for so long anyway. So now...when plans go awry, when change comes knocking on my door, I hold on tight and enjoy the ride. Something good almost always comes from it.

I may not have had breakfast on the beach but I discovered a take away that makes the most glorious sticky ribs that brought memories flooding back. I didn't get to disappear for days amid the trees gathering wood but I have been gathering, of sorts.

An unexpected little financial boost meant we could sort out all those little things we've been meaning to do for a while, like finally getting a phone that works. That's a novelty!  We've also been on the hunt for many of those little things that make a place home. My wife hates to buy anything new. Why go to a big store to buy the same stuff as everyone else when with a bit of imagination and leg work one can uncover something different, something with character for a fraction of the price and give it a new lease of life?

And so it was that I found myself having to overcome my shopping aversion to visit just about every charity shop, flea market and boot sale in Cornwall....and ohhhh did I find some treasures!

My work room now has quite a plentiful supply of wood but this time it has been rescued from old, unloved bits of furniture and decor. I'm having fun dismantling it all and identifying the beautiful hardwoods hiding under the peeling paint of a tatty chair or table. It has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I will still be making wands and staffs gathered under my self imposed rules of never cutting wood from a living tree, but now I will also be producing a 'recycled collection'.

I'm not sure where this will take me yet but I'm looking forward to uncovering the inherent beauty in wood that has been hidden or neglected for many years and allow it to breathe again, to know it will be loved again.

I'll post some pictures when I've finished a few pieces; for now I'm taking my time, slowly peeling back the layers to find the life within.

Walk on the Wild Side

Took a trip over to Tintagel last week to take some more of my stuff over to the fabulous folks at Willow Moon. This made my lovely lady very happy; not just because of the present I bought her to say a big Thank You for all her support, but because she's now no longer tripping over a staff every time she turns around! I'm just sorry I forgot to take photo's of everything first.

My work room is looking decidedly empty now. My stack of wood is rather diminished so this week will be devoted to forays into the wilderness in search of potential wands and staves. Its a hard life. lol

It's high time I took another walk through the wild. As much as I love working on my latest piece it's easy to let that take over and I can go for days without stepping foot outside. The time slips by so fast when I'm working. Now I'm very much in need of slowing down, just for a while. It will be good to feel the sun (or the wind and the rain if the weathermen are to be believed) on my skin again. I need to breathe again, infuse my soul with the sweet Cornish air. I'm looking forward to watching the dawn creep slowly across the sea as we have a beachcombing breakfast. I'm not a fan of early mornings, I've always been much more of a night owl, but I can make an exception for bacon butties on the beach.

So I'm off to roam for a few days, if I don't get lost on the moors or decide to take up permanent residence in the woods, I'll let you know how I get on.