Photo: podgardening.co.nz
“Impatience is a great obstacle to success; he who treats everything with brusqueness gathers nothing, or only immature fruit which will never ripen.” Napoleon Bonaparte
We were young then, not quite ripe,
so green but O so eager,
as we dipped into each other,
and with a little sugar and spice
the recipe has hung together quite well.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Paul, pvcann.com
Filed under Five Lines, Free Verse, Gardening, life, love, poem
Manifestation – Word of the Day
Planted from tube-stock, so quite small, but in this photo twelve months old and tripled in size, and since ten times in size. This is an Isopogon cuneatus (Proteaceae), a low growing plant endemic to Australia – 35 species, of which 27 are found in Western Australia.
Such an extrovert,
you have no shame at all,
always flirting,
so brazenly displaying yourself
for all to see,
disrobing at every turn,
nothing hidden,
plying your natural wiles
as mermaids singing their hypnotic song
drawing me down, down,
to gaze upon your beauty
and stay with you in an eternity
of longing and,
as you hold my every breath,
and steal my eyes and my hours,
my senses are captive
to your incomparable charms.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under Free Verse, Gardening, nature, poem
Moon’s Crossing, Pemberton, a place where nature flourishes. Here the winter creek flows and sings over the rocks. I flourish here too, the smells, sounds, sights, sensations and feelings that arise here are all part of my living.
One of the earliest thoughts about flourishing came from the great philosopher Aristotle, he thought that flourishing was the highest good of human endeavours, and that flourishing was the aim of all our actions. Somewhere that got derailed. Just as the Greek culture showed potential to pursue its own thinking, the Romans happened with their civic culture focussed on empire. And, as they do, empires come and go, not unlike plagues.
Happiness became the human endeavour, a purely hedonic pursuit according to Martin Seligman. Seligman prefers to talk about Authentic Happiness and he has pinned his career on Positive Psychology, and its ideal of human flourishing. Seligman based flourishing on “Perma” which is:- positive emotion (happiness, pleasure, gratitude, joy), engagement (a state of flow), relationships (feelings of support, familiarity and security), meaning (belonging to and serving something other than self) and accomplishment (having goals no matter the size).
In the mid 70s David Holmgren and Bill Mollinson developed permaculture, a relations or ecology system of farming and gardening. Permaculture’s three main principles are:- care for the earth, care for the people, setting limits to populations and consumption. Permaculture is more wholisitc whereas Aristotle was focussed on the benefit to the community, and Seligman’s Perma is focussed on psychology, but the three work together, they are not mutually exclusive.
For me flourishing is having a personal ecology that consists of mutually suportive relationships, a positive relationship with nature, a spirituality, creative expression, learning, and reflection. These are the things that sustain me, give me pleasure and enable me to flourish and be creative. This is my manifesto, my mantra if you like, it has taken some time to learn the health of it, but it is a gift of life for me now.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under community, farming, food, Gardening, history, life, mindfulness, nature, permaculture
A nest we found in the garden. The incubation over, the eggs all hatched, the fledglings all flown, the nest redundant.
Incubation is that long period of waiting after the eggs have been laid. The mother’s body heat progressing the maturation of the chicks, then feeding the young till ready to fly and gain their own independence.
The end of incubation is hatching. But incubation is only an entree, a door to life, the nest merely a stageing-post that must be departed. There must be a letting go or incubation is wasted, at best stalled.
The same goes for us, we can stay in the procrastination nest too long if we’re not careful, ideas, opportunities, processes, designs, must at some point be accepted and engaged. The procrastination nest can be enticing, it’s warm and comfortable, safe, a place to glory in the thoughts and plans that might be, just some more refining? But at some point we must let go and let the idea fly, test its wings, and make its mark. I wonder what its like for a chick to take that first leap into the void, for us it might be fear, nausea, discomfort, anxiety. For some it might well be positive, exhilarating, but if it’s not, then we resist and risk missing the moment. You might crash a few times but that’s better than curling up and wasting the idea. Don’t fear the risk, take the leap, your idea is worth that much, so let it fly.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Another permaculture garden being constructed, using the same brilliant principle as the Keyhole Garden, with the compost in the center. Newspapers form the compost retention area, straw and waste fills the void, while scraps continue to be added to the compost bin over time, and then, joy of joy, the worms come and do theri bit too. It all breaks down at different rates and contributes to the garden. So all round – win/win. This one worked a treat (though if you notice, there neeeded to be more inner space) and was also a great fun community day. Together we work, together we grow, together we reap, together. Just brilliant.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under community, food, Gardening, life, permaculture
The street we live in is named after this tree, the Nuytsia floribunda, commonly known as the West Australian Christmas Tree. The Noongar name is Moojar. It is hemiparasitic in that it both photosynthesises and is also parasitic – drawing its water from its host plants which it attaches to by its roots. The parasite is a form of mistletoe. Nuytsia always flowers from late November to Christmas, hence its common name Christmas Tree. And that’s how nature relates to Christmas, the flowers announce the cultural season, and the tree does look as if it has been lit up with stunning yellow and orange flowers.
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under bush walking, community, Gardening, nature
Our son Jon and his wife Anna began a keyhole garden some two years ago, note the angle of teh bricks, the photo is just a segment of this vast permaculture process. I have done raised garden beds, but not in this style. The graphic below (from: davesgarden.com) explains the simplicity and theory well in visual form
This photo (api.ning.com) shows what it looks like early on, this one is laid with bricks flat. People have made them out of metal sheeting, plastic liners, cardboard, etc. In this photo you can see the central compost tower which receives your scraps daily and which feeds the garden daily. The raised bed is moisture retaining and ergonomic in that it is ideal for waist height gardening. It is drought resistant too, and water wise. It is a no dig garden, and permaculture is the theory behind it. It works well by every testimony online, and Jon has said before it has worked well for them. What a great theory!
Paul,
pvcann.com
Filed under food, Gardening, nature, permaculture
lifestyle blog
or under the skull - it really depends on the day.
Asia's largest fair, Indian Spring Fair, Indian Autumn Fair 2019
My Story... Jun E!
travel, trekking, hiking, tourism, camping, adventure, Himalaya
Just photos from wherever I go....
Sharing Poetry and Hugs
Nature needs Nurture
personal fashion blog
A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE, INSPIRATION, PHOTOGRAPHY, BOOKS, MEAL PREP & NUTRITION, FITNESS, FOR MOMS, WEDDING PLANNING, ALL BEAUTY, YOGA, MEDITATION, CREATIVE WRITING, & MORE
Holding the Planet to Reason, not Ransom
poetic ponderings...parenting...procrastination...
...my thoughts and style
Good things take time.
US Cars Redesign, Concept, Release Date and Price
Jesus, Holy Spirit, God, Love, Salvation Savior Forgiveness Christianity Theology Blessings Devotional meditation
The Literary and Informative turns of mind....!!
Love yourself...Be yourself... SHINE!
🍃Photography is the story I fail to put into words 🍃
♥ Beyou_tiful inside and out ♥
lifestyle blog
or under the skull - it really depends on the day.
Asia's largest fair, Indian Spring Fair, Indian Autumn Fair 2019
My Story... Jun E!
travel, trekking, hiking, tourism, camping, adventure, Himalaya
Just photos from wherever I go....
Sharing Poetry and Hugs
Nature needs Nurture
personal fashion blog
A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE, INSPIRATION, PHOTOGRAPHY, BOOKS, MEAL PREP & NUTRITION, FITNESS, FOR MOMS, WEDDING PLANNING, ALL BEAUTY, YOGA, MEDITATION, CREATIVE WRITING, & MORE
Holding the Planet to Reason, not Ransom
poetic ponderings...parenting...procrastination...
...my thoughts and style
Good things take time.
US Cars Redesign, Concept, Release Date and Price
Jesus, Holy Spirit, God, Love, Salvation Savior Forgiveness Christianity Theology Blessings Devotional meditation
