I had an amazing time hanging out with my dear friend @queenoftheworld today. After a quick cup of coffee and some marmite toast, we mosied on up to her beautiful allotment. This was the first time I have been there. The allotments are set on a plot of land which extends around an old fort tucked up behind the houses, and away from the main road. We walked the long way round to her plot so I could enjoy the views and get a grand tour of the whole area. I was graced by an abundance of greenery where vegetables, fruits, and wild patches extend their reaches and the views of both sides of the peninsula provide a pleasant backdrop of calm sea serenity. The edges are lined with hedgerows bursting with an abundance of hawthorn flowers, whilst ground elder, and cow parsley dances around below guided by the cool spring sea breeze. Birds are in their element here, darting around the trees, singing songs of happiness with every chirp whilst bees and other pollinators float around working their magic on the plants.
We brought our ukeleles and kazoos with us so we could practice a few songs we have wanted to work on. As we approached her plot, my eyes were greeted by a shed adorned with a stunning painting which Ruth tells me is a work in progress by her partner @audiohive-me. We walk around and open up the shed to place our instruments before taking a stroll around the beautiful plot.
It is permaculture heaven, filled with an abundance of perennial fruits, vegetables, wildflowers. A reclaimed polytunnel shelters less cold-tolerant salads leaves and tomatoes. Plenty of herbs are dotted around and I was in love with the many varieties of thyme. Lemon thyme is one of my favorites. Comfrey grows in abundance and variety here, I think I saw white and pink flowered types. It is used as a compost activator but Ruth is also a medicine lady who tells me that she can make a lovely healing cream with it.
There are a few things to tend to. We watered the plants in the polytunnel and cut back some comfrey to make way for a raspberry cane that had become a little shy. As we wander back up toward the shed, Ruth neatens up the edges of the borders a little. Although this is a permaculture plot, the majority of allotment owners don't grow this way opting for a more conventional style of growing. They see dandelions and scruffy edges as a nuisance so this is done to prevent letters of complaint.
Once back at the shed we sit down out of the brisk wind that whipped up, bringing the promise of rain. We pull out the Ukes and begin playing a few tunes and pretty soon we are harmonizing in complete synchronicity. Even though we hadn't practiced them before, we both seem to hold this kindred vibe. It probably helped that all but one of the songs we played had the same 3 chords with the odd variation here and there. Haha.
The damp air brought a chill so we decided to get the rest of the jobs done and harvest some veggies. We planted some potatoes and picked the flowering mizuna, some asparagus which I must say was very sweet and absolutely delicious raw. Oregano, chicory, and spinach were added to the pile of veggies. Ruth gave me a rather generous share of the pickings and so my dinner was sorted. I am not really a cut flower person but at my dear friend's suggestion, I added the mizuna flowers to a tall glass that is sitting proudly on my dining table.
It really was a day well spent. There's no greater feeling in the world than just simply being yourself in the comfort of others who uplift your spirits and share a love of nature and music. It is so important, now more than ever as the world is slowly starting to come out of this forced hibernation, to live in the present and experience every moment. When the connection has been so disjointed for so long, reconnecting feels like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. We need community and human contact to preserve our emotional wellbeing. We need nature and fresh air and happy songs to keep our spirits lifted. Without these things we are but lost souls wandering aimlessly through the journey of life. I am so grateful to have met wonderful friends who are shining examples of true inner beauty. Whose energy radiates good vibrational frequencies and who you can feel comfortable enough to be yourself around and @queenoftheworld is certainly one. Thank you, beautiful lady, I'm absolutely buzzing from today. My tummy is full of fresh goodness and I have learned so much from you. 💚
~ONE LOVE~
The view from the other side of the allotment
CommunityIIDiscord
what an amazing tale of what has clearly been a lovely day! :^)
Thank you Vincent, yes it has been fabulous xx 💚🤗
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Reading these things encourage and motivate me a lot. The connection that nature has with humans is magical. You are in a paradise, a land full of love. You can feel the vibe that you have gone through, that beautiful vibe when you are with wonderful people accompanying the nature of the earth and plants.
I must confess that I fell in love with this sentence, I ask your permission to publish this fragment in my networks:
It's nice to read again, my friend, a hug and blessings. ♥
Aww thank you beautiful amigo 🤗
There really is no better feeling than enjoying life and nature with good friends.
Yes I am really in love with life at the moment and I am honored that you wish to quote me. Of course you can.
Big hugs to you beautiful 💚🤗
Thank you beautiful. Hugs 💚
Sounds indeed like a day well spent. Happy for you and everyone involved and the little piece of land looks really enjoyable 😊...and tasty 😄
It certainly was and yes the veggies were delicious. 🤗💚
You wrote with such feeling filling us with your feelings of an amazing day
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk
Thank you for your lovely comment. 🤗💚
👍😆👍
tus publicaciones me gustan mucho @holisticmom saludos desde venezuela
Muchas gracias por tu comentario simpático @marianis. Abrazos a ti desde Inglaterra 🤗💚
Aw, connection!
How blessed - I can feel those peaceful vibes as you sit in a garden and play! What a gorgeous spot to do it.
We're headed into another lockdown for a week or so, no chance of connections here. :(
Ah thanks beautiful, yes it was a lovely day. Very relaxing and enjoyable.
Oh no that sucks. At least you have J to keep you company. Sending you big hugs 🤗🤗💚
Wow!! that place look amazingg!! I'd love to be there. As you said it, a day well spent! it is really nice to have moments like these that make us charge the batteries of our souls!!
It is a lovely place. Yes good moments like these are beneficial to our health. Thank you for reading my post and your lovely comment 💚🤗
Social activity has died down so much around the world during this pandemic, and I now find myself longing for even just a quick casual conversation with a stranger. The power and impact of having some close friends to cheer you up and share a meal together can't be underestimated, even cooler if that person is a fellow Hiver.
@NaturalMedicine supports wellness of body, mind, soul and earth on HIVE.
Come say hi via Lotus Chat or drop by our Hive Community - we'd love to have you!
I do feel truly blessed to have found some kindred spirits here in the UK. I totally hear you. We are social beings and since the world turned upside down last year our sense of community drifted away with it.
One day we will all have a big NM hive meet up and share in the community spirit. In the meantime, it's good that hive exists so that we can at least maintain conversational connections. Even if it is only online.
🤗💚