This diary records my personal pathway to becoming a Student of Nature. It can be anyone's journey, but this one is mine. I came back to the land on my quest to bring healing and meaning into my life. And sure enough, Nature was here waiting for me. Nature waits for you, too. This path … Continue reading Hungry for Nature?
Eating the Biggest Frog (Part 2 of 2)
So, I thought the world was ending. We need to get this out of the way, straight off. My Auntie Bea swore by “Eat the Big Frog First” and I’ve been following her sage advice for over 50 years. The teaching, as I understand it, is this: If I have ten things to do, and … Continue reading Eating the Biggest Frog (Part 2 of 2)
Digging Deep (Part 1 of 2)
I see you came back to the compost pile. Again. Against most odds, I’d say. How long can a person wait? How many times do you check back, to see if someone has unearthed something of interest? With no promise that it will be worth looking at in the first place? You will notice my … Continue reading Digging Deep (Part 1 of 2)
Turning the Compost Pile
I started writing "This Wholehearted Life" five years ago to enjoy and share a “Year of Living Naturally” as I settled into my new life on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. This was just three months before the onset of Covid, and while the "pandemic years" didn’t always feel particularly “natural”, they certainly gave me … Continue reading Turning the Compost Pile
The Growing Season
I’d just donned my winter nap-cap in that little resting place between 2020 and 2021, when there was a knock at the door. To my sleepy surprise, it was some manner of Cosmic Carnie, advising me he’d just collected ticket stubs from my entire family, loaded them onto a star-speckled Tilt a Whirl; and smacked … Continue reading The Growing Season
Hindsight and 2020
When I last wrote in January 2020, I had just asked the Universe help me “PUSH PAUSE” so I could get a good look at some decisions I was making, particularly related to my relationship with Nature. I have no interest in being credited with giving Mother Nature the idea for a global pandemic, but … Continue reading Hindsight and 2020
January: Pushing “Pause”
So, you came into 2020 with a plan for change, huh? Me too. I want big change, the blustery kind that closes highways and piles nasty habits and limiting beliefs against my front door. I try to open the door and feel the pushback. Where is my other glove? The snowblower hasn’t been by. I … Continue reading January: Pushing “Pause”
Plum Rising
But it was just a tree. Or it might have been just a pet. Or a cup. Or someone you didn’t even know that well. Why do these losses sometimes crack us open so deeply? If Leonard Cohen, Canadian poet and songwriter, had heard the crack of the plum tree’s trunk as the wind took … Continue reading Plum Rising
Beside the Plum
If you didn’t drop this class after enduring my stint as the rambling substitute teacher yesterday, I have the distinct pleasure of re-introducing the Plum Tree today. I know what you’re thinking; having met the plum couple yesterday, why aren’t they presenting together today? I find dramatic foreshadowing almost unbearable, but as your narrator, want … Continue reading Beside the Plum
Under the Plum: The Prequel
“The hair on my arms stood straight up and that's when I knew.” I asked you to meet me at the plum tree, so it could help explain how I came to live in Cape Breton, but I have something to share before we are ready for that class. The plum will present it’s lesson … Continue reading Under the Plum: The Prequel
A Year of Living Naturally
Meet me at "The Farm on Mull River" and join a growing number of students who are choosing Mother Nature as their Home-room teacher. The Bell rings tomorrow morning and I hope to see you in class!
This Wholehearted Life 