Choosing to see differently again

choosing-to-see-differently-again

Eyes adjustingto winter’s harvestof seedheads inchill wind and ice-blue skies. What does this timerequire of me, andwhat peculiar giftsdoes it bear? Will I standwith open hands,or shield my gazefor another day? + Sue Heatherington ~ I’ve been drawn to these bulrushes on successive days. Each time I encounter them differently, sometimes with extraordinary contrasts.

On the riotous celebration of autumn

on-the-riotous-celebration-of-autumn

No season is as lush as autumn. What colours and what abundance! We couldn’t even dream it up if we tried. And when the sun shines, there is a riot of richness at every turn. We feast on the sights and smells, knowing that this harvest will replenish our souls for the months ahead.

What is the harvest for?

what-is-the-harvest-for

If we pick every flower, what is left for passers-by to savour? And if harvesting fields, orchards, vineyards, and woods takes everything, what about the next generation of growth? Where will it come from? Our cycles for judging fruitfulness and success have become catastrophically short-term, and the consequences are all around. We think we have … Read more

The challenge of entangled fruitfulness

the-challenge-of-entangled-fruitfulness

How do you pick your plums, apples, or any fruit you eat? You likely take them off the supermarket shelf, ready selected and potentially wrapped. And because most of our fruit is grown in highly engineered monoculture, picking will be a uniform, mechanically assisted process. But at what cost? There’s an obvious cost to the … Read more

The time of ripening

the-time-of-ripening

These are delicious Victoria plums from my home county of Kent, the ‘Garden of England’. Their fragrant smell and juicy, sweet taste remind me of the fruit farm where I grew up. They are extraordinarily evocative. For the last few weeks, we’ve been able to buy tree-ripened plums. Yet these last few are verging on … Read more

Fruitful harvest of the year

fruitful-harvest-of-the-year

We bless this year for all we have learned,For all we loved and lostAnd for the quiet way it brought usNearer to our invisible destination. + John O’Donohue Time has taken us by the hand and led us along many strange paths. Ways we had not expected to walk. People we never thought we’d meet. … Read more