'Cos' of the compost

A little while ago I planted some Cos lettuce seedlings that I bought from Bunnings. It is amazing how much the one I planted in the pot with some compost has grown so much more than the one planted in the garden bed. That compost seems to be good stuff! I did lose two others planted in the pot thanks to a visiting cat. The photos don't clearly show the difference really but here they are anyway.

  in the pot with compost       

 in the garden bed without compost

The explosion of pink

Here is the explosion of pink. The rock roses in the backyard.

A day of play

I was lucky today to attend a day of Professional Development in the form of a 6hr workshop on The Game Factory PLAY IS THE WAY presented by Wilson McCaskill. A few weeks ago I missed out on attending this workshop and was disappointed when I heard it was a great day. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend the workshop today and what a fantastic day! I was nervous beforehand having heard that it was a very participatory workshop. It turned out there wasn't anything to worry about and I actually enjoyed the games. Wilson is a very inspiring speaker and really easy to listen to. I am looking forward to putting into action some of what I was learning and thinking about today. The most important messages (I think) were about it being necessary to participate to progress, that learning is uncomfortable and it is important to praise the process more than the outcome. 
I finished off the day with a little more play, snapping this photo of a peacock just wandering around the function centre.

My art in CREATIVE IS A VERB

Here are the photos of my artwork in Patti Digh's new book "CREATIVE IS A VERB" 

page 81

and page 202

Last night I had the chance to have a good read. As I expected it is a fabulous book. I love the two essays which my art accompanies - "Listen to tiny fishies" and "Create Life As If". Another favourite so far is "Stand on your rock". More about that soon!

A surprise in the garden

I have not been well for the last couple of days and haven't ventured far from the bed or the couch. Early this afternoon I went to check on the garden, worried about what I may find given the warmer weather and the fact I haven't given it any water for the last few days.
The radish seedlings have emerged and I also noticed some other seedlings where I planted the radishes, rocket and carrot. They are not radishes, rocket or carrot. I think they might be pumpkin from the (almost ready) compost I added to the soil there.

Arrived today - CREATIVE IS A VERB

Earlier this year I submitted art for possible inclusion in Patti Digh's new book 'CREATIVE IS A VERB' and have been (just a little impatiently) waiting to receive my copy of the book. It arrived this morning!I was so excited to see my art on pages 81 and 202. More about that and photos to follow soon!

1000 new pets!

I bought some worms today and set up the worm farm. This is something I've been planning to do since May and particularly since my parents gave me a worm farm for my birthday. One thousand worms (or thereabouts - they were hiding and difficult to count) are now settled in their new home with plenty of our food scraps to sustain them. Brianna has been naming them: Squirm, Squirmles, Worm, Wormles, Wriggly and there are 995 still to name.

That was a good book!

I have recently finished reading 'Trust' by Kate Veitch.

In 2008, I heard Kate Veitch reading from her newly released novel, 'Listen', at Adelaide Writers' Week. Immediately I wanted to read more and bought myself a copy of the book which I enjoyed immensely.

Earlier this year I was in the Noarlunga library picking up a book from the hold shelves when I saw a copy of 'Trust' waiting to be picked up by someone else. (The hold shelves are a great place to discover good books as you get to see books that may not make it back to the shelves between borrowings.) I didn't know Kate Veitch had written another book and definitely wanted to read it when I discovered that she had. I looked it up on the computer and reserved it, knowing it would be a while as a few people were ahead of me in the reservation line. A couple of weeks ago my turn arrived. It has been a while since I've read a novel. I am constantly reading something but novels haven't formed part of my reading material over the last few months.

It took me about a week (including a few later than usual nights) to read. It seems there has been so much to do these school holidays and finding time to read was a bit of a challenge.

If you enjoy books about family relationships and with great character development, I highly recommend this one! Kept me thinking well after I finished the last page!

A reminder to myself

On writing poetry

I would like to tell you

how I write poetry

Maybe you'll be inspired

encouraged to write some too.

For such a special endeavour

I plan some precious time alone

and bask in the solitude.

The room is tidy

but filled with precious treasures.

Beautiful candles are burning.

Sweet scents gently fill the room.

I relax, into gorgeous velvet cushions

and wait for the words

to start dancing in my head.

Gently I grasp some

as they are floating around.

Slowly I move to my special desk.

Words spill from my fountain pen

filling up space

on precious mulberry paper.

OK

So maybe you have gathered

that is not quite true.

In actual fact

I scribble a few words

on paper just grabbed from the printer.

Mess is surrounding me.

Then just as the pleasure

of a gorgeous line

dances in my head

while I attempt to tidy

I am being called

from the other end

of the house.

"MUM"

And it is gone.

I try to remember.

Will the words back to me

as I dodge toys and hair ties

scattered on the floor

step over dirty washing

while the machine keeps beeping at me.

After attending to the calls

I pass the table once again

A frantic search follows.

I look for some kind

of writing instrument.

Scribble a few words, remembered.

Then cross them out.

Then write them again.

I try to remember too, those lines

that sounded so good in my head

earlier in the day

during meditation.

When I was being instructed to

"return to my breath."

When my thoughts just kept wandering.

When I really wanted

to grab a pen and paper

and record them right away.

For now though

I am pleased.

I have something written down.

There will be time later

for revision and additions.

I am happy to have poetry

as part of my everyday life

both to write and to read.

Maybe for you

it can be that way too.

I wrote this poem in December last year. At the moment I am really craving some extended time alone to write but it's currently school holidays and not likely to happen for a while. So, I have posted this poem here today to remind myself how I write poetry (at least some of the time).

The garden - September update

I have begun some planting in the third garden bed. There are Nasturtiums (rescued from Bunnings for $1 for the punnet), basil, chilli and Roma tomatoes. They were all seedlings from Bunnings. The Nasturtiums didn't look very healthy for a while but are looking better now and have begun flowering. I added some (almost completed) compost at the end of the garden bed and have planted some seeds there - rocket, carrot and radishes. In the pot next to the garden bed I have planted some Sweet Allsorts Capsicum and the seedlings have just emerged in the last few days.

Not all of the changes observed in the garden are positive ones! I discovered this Chilli seedling this morning. The silvery trail nearby suggests a night time encounter with a snail or slug!

Last month I wrote a message to myself to pull out the marshmallow weeds. Well, I didn't get around to it and it is now definitely a job needing to be done. Taller than me now, the marshmallow weeds are currently providing shade to the first garden bed.