Two months worth of small stones

I have completed two months worth of writing a small stone (a short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment - Fiona Robyn) each day. I am feeling rather proud that I haven't missed a day yet. Some days have been a lot easier than others. A couple of days I have just sat in front of the computer wondering what on earth I should write about or how I should word it. Other days they have just come easily. Today is one of the abundant days. I wrote about the squash flower that opened for the first time today. See today's small stone here. I could just have easily written about the gorgeous moth I spotted just as I was getting in to the car. 

or the crow that seemed to be determined to be louder than the people noise just outside the shopping centre. I am sure that this way of writing is influencing how observant I am. Whether I choose to write about the small moments or not I am noticing them a lot more. There is a lot of joy in that. Polishing the small stones in order to communicate the moment I noticed is great writing practice too. I am quite sure that I will use some of my small stones later as a starting point for some longer pieces. Another idea I have had is to use them as writing prompts in the future. 


I am going to keep writing a small stone each day and am eagerly waiting for July when there will be another small stone writing challenge as there was in January. 

To read my small stones go to www.pausingforsmallstones.blogspot.com. To read more about writing small stones and the river of stones project coordinated by Fiona and Kaspa go to www.ariverofstones.blogspot.com. 


In more exciting news there is going to be a small stones book. One of my stones will be in the book. It is the one I wrote on January 24. You can read it here. 

Sunday Scribblings - February 27th 2011

The prompt for this weeks Sunday Scribblings is "fire", inspired by the quote "Remember you are not here to play it safe. You are here to start fires." - Sera Beak. 


This weeks post is different from previous weeks in which I have posted a poem. The prompt "fire" has sparked a memory which I have decided to write about. As I started to think about what to write I thought it did not really relate to the quote very much but it seemed to weave itself in as I thought more and began writing. 


Fire and trust 


In 1995 I spent my first year as a teacher at Fregon which is an Aboriginal community on the Pitjantjatjara Lands towards the top of South Australia. It is very isolated (although not as much as some other communities) being about 1300kms from Adelaide including a 2 hour drive on a dirt road. 


For me one of the highlights of the year (and there were many) was an overnight trip with the school as well as a class of students, teachers and parents visiting from Victor Harbour. My brand new swag was thrown into the trailer along with the many others. Everyone piled into four wheel drives for the short drive to ... somewhere. It was in the middle of nowhere and I really had no idea exactly where I was. It really struck me at the time how dependant I was on the Anangu people who took us there. I was very aware that left there on my own there was absolutely no chance of me surviving. 


Soon after we arrived I watched two small children light a fire. I was amazed at the skill and care taken by the two six year olds. It was not something that I was used to watching and allowing children of that age to do. I did have the trust however that those children knew what they were doing and the adults knew that they were capable and would not have allowed them to if they were not. 


It was a great day, sitting around the fire, watching children play and joining in at times. Lots of great memories. That evening we were settling down to sleep when we heard music and got up to investigate. Children had been painted and we watched an impromptu performance. How special to watch traditional dancing in such a remote place. It is an experience I will never forget. 


When we finally got back to our swags for another attempt at sleeping, there was a man setting fire to a tree nearby. He told us there were wild camels around and the fire would keep them away. The fire quickly spread to the surrounding trees and I was really quite scared. There was quite a lot of discussion between us teachers. Would it be better to be trampled by camels or burnt by fire? It was necessary to trust that these people would keep us safe. That they knew what they were doing. It did take me quite a while to get to sleep and I had quite an eye on the fire. Finally I got a little sleep and awoke safely to smoldering fire nearby. 


Thinking about this experience has got me thinking about trust. I have always been quite an independent person, placing quite a lot of trust in myself but not so much in others. My ability to trust others was further eroded when as a young adult I made the choice to place my trust in someone who I have since found out did not deserve it at all. There are times though when it is necessary to trust others. Sometimes we need to rely on others to keep us safe. We don't always know the answers. Likewise sometimes others may need to rely on us to keep them safe. I will continue to ponder these issues. Keeping safe may involve the lighting of fires, both literally or perhaps metaphorically. Really being alive rather than just existing may require some fire. 


What I have written seems almost in opposition to the quote but inspired by it all the same. I have really enjoyed this Sunday Scribblings prompt. 

Magic Harvest

This afternoon I went to the premiere screening of Magic Harvest at the Don Hopgood theatre at Noarlunga. I was very glad to get in to see it as I had not gotten around to booking even though I knew I wanted to see it.

Inspired by Lolo Houbein and her book One Magic Square, the Magic Harvest project ran over a growing season last year. Community participants, many with little gardening knowledge, learnt about growing their own vegetables and grew their own at home. They participated in workshops to share knowledge and resources and enjoyed a celebratory feast at the end of the season. Participants also agreed to pass on their newfound knowledge about growing and cooking to others. The documentary movie, Magic Harvest, was made to document the project from its beginnings to the end feast.

I first heard about the Magic Harvest project at the Sustainable Living Expo last year. I thought it sounded like a great idea. I had heard about and seen Lolo Houbein's book at Adelaide Writers' week early last year. After the expo I was very lucky to get hold of a copy through the library. Reading it was in part what inspired me to actually give gardening a go. I would still love to get my own copy sometime.

I enjoyed the movie this afternoon. There were some pangs of sadness and jealousy as I wish that I was involved in something like this. Thinking about it more afterwards I think my feelings are not so much about the project itself as that I would like to share meals with others more often. Something I have thought and felt for a while and probably something it is worth working on and trying to organise somehow. In a way I feel like I have had my own little magic harvest project. I haven't participated in workshops with others but I have shared my experiences of gardening in various ways. I have been surprised to find out about other's gardens when I have mentioned my own. I have had many conversations that would not have occurred had I not taken those initial steps of planting some seeds/ seedlings. I have shared gardening tools, advice , ideas and successes with friends. It was a great feeling to give away some of the vegies I grew myself. I often enjoy a short walk to the garden to see how things are going and any visitors usually get a tour of the garden.

Everyone who went to the screening today was given a seedling to take home so they could have some "magic" of their own. I have planted the silverbeet seedling into the garden.

The February garden update

I just realised that tomorrow is the last day of February and I am yet to post the February garden update. So here it is. 


The gardening has been going along at a steady rate. The highlight would have to be the sweet cherry tomatoes eaten straight off the vine. Yum. Yum. They are slowing off now and the plants are looking rather dry. 


One of the celery plants is growing well. The other two are not looking so healthy. 


I have also picked a few red chillies too. I haven't tried them myself yet but the teenagers who tested them said they were quite hot. 


Looking very healthy at the moment are the zucchini and squash plants I planted from seed a few weeks ago. 


This afternoon I got a free silverbeet seedling and have planted that in the garden. More about that in the next post. 

The healthy celery plant

Some remaining cherry tomatoes

One of the chillies

Healthy zucchini and squash plants

The first zucchini

A seedling just planted

worm juice anyone?

A while ago my worm farm seemed to be going really well and I had a fairly constant supply of worm juice. I had been wondering why I wasn't getting very much at all the last couple of weeks and decided to investigate further this morning. I discovered that the tap at the bottom of the worm farm had been turned off. I thought it was on but when I turned it the liquid suddenly gushed out. 


So now I have an oversupply of worm juice. I have used some on my garden and have given some away but still have heaps. So if you want some and can pick it up let me know! 

Sunday scribblings - February 20th 2011

I am participating in Sunday Scribblings. 


I missed last Sunday but realised that the prompt "One Thousand Years" actually influenced my thinking last week even though I didn't get around to writing anything for Sunday scribblings. Maybe it is still to come? 


This week's prompt is "Food". Here's my short and sweet offering.

A burst of warm tang 

Little sweetie tomato 

Fresh from my garden 

A relaxing, art filled Sunday

Yesterday Brianna and I had a very relaxing day with friends. We took some art supplies and enjoyed crafting for much of the day. 


Here's what I made 

From the garden today

It seems that red is the colour of the moment. I just picked these tomatoes, radishes and chillies from the garden. 

Opportunity shop

Opportunity shop 


I watch as she wraps 
layer after layer of newsprint paper 
around my purchase 
I almost tell her not to do her job 
That the breakage she aims to prevent 
is no concern


I am not buying a plate 


My purchase chosen 
from shelves 
a haphazard mosaic of mismatched pieces 


I am not buying a plate 


I hand money over 
for colour 
shape 
texture


for possibilities 


of what could be 

A mistake left uncorrected and lots of rain

Earlier today I accidently posted my small stone for today on this blog. Oops! It was supposed to go on my blog pausing for small stones where I post a short piece of writing each day. I was going to delete it then post it in the correct place but then decided to leave it here as an example of one of my small stones. I also posted it in the correct place. When I thought of today's small stone, I was about to get into my car when I heard lots of parrots in a nearby tree. Writing small stones is helping me to notice a lot more. Little dots of joy throughout the day. Today I was mulling over lots of possibilities for writing because of the rain changing how everything felt, looked, smelt and sounded today. 

It has rained a lot today. The most rain in Adelaide on a February day apparently for a long time. It wasn't particularly heavy but it was constant. Great for the garden! 

The opening parade for the Adelaide Fringe was scheduled for tonight but was cancelled due to the weather. Very disappointing. We have been looking forward to going for a long time. Last year's parade was fantastic. Alysha had a netball game this afternoon so I am not sure that we would have made it to the parade anyway. It is very disappointing that it had to be cancelled though. So many people would have been looking forward to it and the performers have been planning for a long time I'm sure. 

The Fringe is on for the next couple of weeks. I hope to get into town with the girls to enjoy some of the entertainment available. 

February small stone 18

Birds making such a racket 
Are they singing 
"thank you for the rain"?

Poetic treasure in my letter box

On Wednesday I received an exciting package in my letter box. It was from Maya Stein, a poet from San Francisco. The contents were declared safe for entry into Australia. 

Last year Maya undertook a fascinating project called Tour de Word, a travelling poetry project. She travelled around the United States and held writing workshops in various places. The project was funded by her supporters. This was the reason for my receiving the package. I was captivated when I first read about the project. It struck me immediately as something amazing and I decided I wanted to be a part of it. I couldn't do a lot living in Australia and unable to physically attend the workshops. I was, however, able to give some financial support and to follow the project through internet updates on the Tour de Word blog. 


The bonus for offering some financial support was the supporter bonuses which I received on Wednesday. I received Maya's book called "enoughwater" as well as 3 versions of "verse purse" which are just gorgeous. Each "verse purse" has 15 of Maya's poems. I haven't had a chance to read them all yet but flicking through I definitely have a few favourites already.
The book is gorgeous too. Maya sends a 10 line poem out by email every Tuesday. This book is a collection of all the poems she sent out the first year she did so with each one accompanied by a gorgeous photograph. I look forward to a good read later. I also am looking forward to the anthology that Maya is putting together as a result of the project. It will contain writing from participants from the workshops she ran. 

Thanks Maya! Thanks for the project and thanks for the package. And a thankyou to myself as well for deciding to support this project. The project was actually launched on my birthday last year so I considered my support in part a birthday present to myself. Happy Birthday to me!

Sunday scribblings - February 6th, 2011

My second offering for Sunday scribblings. This weeks prompt: 


Tell us your story.
Tell us a story.
What story matters to you?
What story do you need to hear?


This provoked much continuing thought! I decided to rewrite a poem to post here. So here is one take on story. 


Shining the pebbles 


Tell your own story 
share and reframe 
turn it around 
over 
inside out 
tell the same story 
and tell it again
let the telling change 
and the listening too 
sift through your life 
and discover yourself 
shining the pebbles 

The delights of doing just a little...

I was planning to title this post 'The benefits of doing just a little...' but I typed delights and I think I like that better so it will stay. 


This is my 100th post for this blog. Wow. 100 posts on from that day I sat in front of the computer thinking that I may as well just start and one small action of looking for information about how to set up a blog resulted in many more small actions and this blog was the result. Wow again. 100 posts! Plus another blog has resulted along the way. Which is what I planned to write about in this post. 


January is over and I am still writing small stones! I set up my blog pausing to pick up small stones as a place to store the small stones I wrote during January. Fiona Robyn was the inspiration behind this worldwide project. She states that a small stone is "a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment". Lots of people all over the world wrote a small stone each day in January and posted them to their blogs. Many are still continuing to write a small stone each day or nearly every day. I am one of them. I enjoyed the project a lot and continue to write and post a small stone each day. 


I have found this project has contributed to me paying more attention to my world. I am noticing and paying more attention to things that may have otherwise escaped my attention.  Part of the beauty of this project, I think, is its smallness. It is something I found quite easy to do and not too much of a commitment. Starting small has lead to a lot more. I am fairly certain that doing a little bit of writing each day will benefit my writing overall. It feels like practice or stretching. Sometimes I go on to write more than I think I would have that day without participating in this challenge of writing a small stone each day. Each day I get to focus for a short while on getting the small stone written for that day so I am being mindful for at least a short time every day. It seemed like quite a big task to write 31 small stones but it seems not nearly as difficult when broken down to writing one a day. Now I am aiming for 365 stones. That seems like a lot but one a day seems quite achievable. 


Thinking about how writing a small stone each day has lead to more writing has gotten me thinking about how starting something small often leads to more. Sometimes a task seems overwhelming but breaking it down into smaller pieces and just concentrating on one small thing can be useful. As Anne Lamott (1994), writes in her book 'Bird by Bird' 

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. (It) was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

I love that book! I love that passage! I often think of it when a task seems overwhelming. Just concentrate on what needs to be done immediately and let the rest follow. I took this approach when I began attending an art group a couple of years ago. More about that soon. 

Just take it 'bird by bird' or maybe 'stone by stone'. 

Sharing ideas

"Carrying an idea, even one that seems full blown, in one's thoughts

is far different from writing it down or

trying to speak it to share with others.

 

Taking the abstract to concrete carries its own challenges

and offers the rewards of connecting with others who are looking,

who have already discovered and want validation, or

who have arrived but like to remember the trip.

 

Sharing in writing or speech is a fundamental building block

for community."

 

Tammy Vitale

I really like this piece of Wylde Women's wisdom that arrived in my inbox yesterday. It particularly speaks to me I think because of the number of years I spent with big ideas that I seldom shared with others. 

I receive a short piece like this each day and mostly find I really like them and relate to them. To read more about Tammy Vitale's work or to sign up for your own piece of wisdom daily go to www.tammyvitale.com. There is amazing artwork there too!