Acceptance

Letting go of getting things wrong

Mama blackbird on her nest

Hello, how has your week been?

As ever, a click on the ♥️ is much appreciated if you enjoy this, thank you :)

As I opened the back door this morning to let Gertie out a flash of bright green flashed away from us from the rather overgrown border, a Green Woodpecker who had obviously found something rather delicious in there. It made me smile and felt like a good omen somehow.

The day however has not gone quite to plan… This morning I had planned to attend the cremation service of my brother in law’s father, a wonderfully interesting and interested man. Though I arrived at the crematorium in good time I had in fact driven to the wrong one! I should have been the other side of Bristol and it was too late to make it in time, I felt so stupid and sorry to have let my sister and brother in law down as I had wanted to be there for them, my niece and my nephew. I made my way homewards and began to feel the shame setting in, yet somehow I was able to pause and accept a silly mistake for what it was; instead of beetling home I decided to stop on the way back at the local walled garden and treat myself to coffee and cake. I thought of Bob and the family and enjoyed the sunshine.

As little as six months ago I would have beaten myself up for days, while I have often written about how highly I value kindness it has not been easy to turn it towards myself. I’m not really sure exactly what has changed, but I share this for I know that I am not alone.

The Garden

Yesterday morning I enjoyed breakfast in the garden, the sun shining upon me. I sat next to the lavender border where the bees were busily buzzing away and felt guilty for even thinking about ripping the lavender up and replacing it before the bees have finished with it. I am however reassured by

Andrew Timothy O'Brien

that I could probably cut the lavender stems and leave them hanging around where the bees can continue enjoying them and I can get the border rejuvenated and growing in readiness for next year.

This week has been just lovely weather wise, no need to resort to lighting the fire! Every year though I am lulled into a false sense of security by a few sunny days, believing that summer has arrived and will last until October, I wistfully dream of suppers outside and watching the moon rise in the dusky warmth - perhaps it stems from living in countries where summer is less fickle. Still I have been making the most of it and even allowing myself time to rest my hip and enjoy loafing in the sunshine.

I will never tire of seeing laundry lines!

The sweet peas have begun flowering, the tomatoes are finally looking a little more hopeful and tiny, optimistic fruits are appearing on the apple trees. I enjoy a little rose deadheading and remind myself that I really need to keep a few pieces of string in every pocket I own so I can tie in the things that would benefit from it. The fence panels we collected last weekend await our attention this weekend, if only we could remember where we’ve put the crow bar which would be so useful for making some holes!

I made a trip to Rocky Mountain Nurseries just outside Wells yesterday, it’s the first time I’ve visited and can’t think why! It was full of reasonably priced, healthy looking plants and I came away with some Gaura for the big border for more lightness and ‘waft’, and a vine for the garden room which will I hope create shade in due course and make the room a little more useable. I would undoubtedly have come away with much more had I not taken Gertie with me, she’s so good, but it was warm and she spent the whole time trying to take shelter in the cool darkness beneath the plant benches which was not really compatible with pushing a trolley!

Mud, Smoke and Fire

This week was spent mostly in making and applying a new glaze, I’m not actually sure that I love it, but it was worth a try and although I’d seen it on a few pieces it was a different clay body which makes quite a difference.

I also began making a bird bath; outside the shed in the veggie garden we inherited a besom broom hanging bristles up and for the last couple of years a blackbird has made a nest and raised her fledglings there. I always make sure there’s a saucer of water for various wildlife in that part of the garden but think she might enjoy a bath! I’ve also moved a (rat proof!) feeder filled with mealy worms to help her out as she feeds her young.

Bird bath in progress

My mind has been whirring with ideas in the early hours, many garden related items that I could make, but also jars for sourdough starters and kefir, some research and experimentation required. I’ve been making kefir for the last few weeks after reading

Leyla Kazim

who wrote all about it in her substack, it couldn’t really be simpler and I love it with some fruit and granola for breakfast.

My Visual Alphabet of Ceramics

B is for Batts and Bowls

B is for Batts & Bowls! Batts are a wonderful addition to the wheel, a simple disc (or indeed a shape within a disc) can be attached to the wheel head and avoid the necessity of removing freshly thrown objects with one’s hands. The risk of squishing, denting, dinking or dropping something between wheel head and ware board is, in my experience, great and rather stressful. Bowls are perhaps what most of us first make when beginning pottery, I love experimenting with all the possible finishes and you don’t need me to spell out all the many potential uses for these vessels!

Giving For Gaza

An online friend of mine, Alice Hibbert, has spent the last months deeply committed to supporting the Palestinians in Gaza and I’m delighted to have been able to donate a piece of work to a giveaway that she is running with others to raise funds for living essentials to directly support displaced families in Gaza. If you’d like to enter the giveaway you can see all the lovely pieces of jewellery, artwork and ceramics here.

Though I could carry on I’ll finish now, for the garden calls…

I wish you all a happy weekend, may the sun keep shining!

With love,

Vx