The Well-Gardened Mind….
September…
Here we are….September! A while back I mentioned the idea that it would be fun to have two puppies. Our little guy, Tani, an English Springer Spaniel, was eight weeks old, cute as a button and oh…that feeling. Guess what? I changed my mind. Tani is six months old, still cute as a button and a handful just as he is.
Last week we had a trial run of the double trouble concept with our lovely ‘city cousin’ puppy, Winston. Day in and day out, Winston and Tani, played with more enthusiasm than I could have ever imagined. Winston is six weeks older than Tani, close enough in age that they have the same notion of fun….run! When one flew through the screen door on the first day with the other in hot pursuit I knew it would be all hands on puppies for the next seven days.
We all had fun, you just can’t beat when family and dogs come together. It’s easy for me to say now… with Winston back in his NYC digs, running through Central Park and Tani, here, running through the woods of Tahilla Farm. The good news is..the fields and woods await…Tani and Winston will run together again and if we are really lucky, another Springer ‘cousin’ will join them, eight week old ‘Bran’ from Colorado. He is as cute as a button too…and I can’t help but wonder what three dogs will be like together. Perhaps I should remove all the screen doors before that visit! ;)
The photos above were taken last week. We tended and cooked from the garden, hiked, enjoyed beautiful weather and in between the puppy runs, talked about life.
The gardening mind…..
I recently started listening to the book, The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith. It is one of those deep and profound books that gets you thinking and before you know it you are in the garden or wandering down a wooded path thinking about the restorative powers of nature. The author, Sue Stuart-Smith is a distinguished English psychiatrist and avid gardener who has applied her scientific training and in-depth research in this insightful book. She writes about the power of gardens to heal the mind, providing the quiet necessary to hear your own thoughts. My favorite analogy is how she connects the power of the weed bucket to her thoughts… “jangle of competing thoughts inside my head clears and settles as the weed bucket fills up.” I often wonder why I have more weed buckets than is necessary…now I know why!
It is worth noting that the author is also the wife of Tom Stuart-Smith, an English landscape architect, garden designer and writer. My gardening friend, Maude, sent along the video clip at the end of this post, of Tom Stuart-Smith sharing the family garden, The Barn. It is a beautiful sanctuary and worth watching when you have a few minutes to spare. I felt the power of their beautiful garden within the first minute!
Sharing…
In between the puppy antics, I was delighted when a blogging friend reached out to share something she thought I might like…I love when that happens.
Edie, shared a lovely poem that she recently discovered tucked away in her grandmother’s photo album. Reading it, I also wonder about my grandmothers, what would they have thought about this poem and if they had a choice, which one would they have slipped into their family album. Thank you Edie for sharing your ‘Grandma’s Poem’.
Alone, Aloud
At times when all alone am I,
Remembering youth and unfulfilled dreams,
I feel so sad, yet peaceful too,
Still glad to be alive, it seems.
Before a mirror I might stare
Or touch my face, though wrinkled it be,
And wonder how my outside aged
When old I don’t feel inwardly.
Aloud I speak for walls to hear
The inner thoughts, my mind knows well
I’ve still not shared with anyone
For fear of laugher if I’d tell.
It’s good to have a private place
That’s yours for childhood and when grown,
Where pretense plays a role quite real-
a spot to talk aloud alone.
Louis Greene Stone
Inner thoughts and birthdays…
I am a few days shy of 63 and find myself thinking back to life in my fifties. It came about as I read a recent blog post by Heather of Lost in Arles. Heather celebrated her 51st birthday and found herself asking questions about age and life, something we all do from time to time. I left this comment for her….
From me to Heather…..
Dear Heather, let me first say a Belated Happy Birthday, you are truly gorgeous at 51, still a babe in the woods of life. I so enjoyed your soundcloud clip, especially listening to it as a woman in my early 60's. "When you are young, beautiful and bold and you make choices that are incredible"...to me that is as true today as it was when I was in my 20's, if not more so. I think we make far better choices with wisdom and age, we get spunkier...in a good way. ;)
You signed off your clip saying that when you were young, you were exceptional, today...you do not know. Well, I know we can all agree that you are EXCEPTIONAL! I love your thought process and where you are going. I think I spent my 50's asking the same questions, keep asking and thinking them through. For me, there came a point in time when I knew which direction I was heading and I felt stronger than I had in many years.
This is one of those conversations you need a few glasses of champagne for...I hope one day we can do that! Stay well my friend, think deep...stay, the beautiful, bold, incredible person that you are. Jeanne xx
Heathers thoughts sparked ones for me as well. Reflecting back on it, I think I spent my fifties “finding myself” by writing Collage of Life. All those big questions we often ask ourselves are woven through ten years of blog posts. Over time, my thoughts shifted and I discovered an inner strength in my sixties. Perhaps I am a late bloomer or too deep a thinker but we have to start somewhere. I have great expectations for the years ahead!
On a different note, I was heartened to read this post by Melissa of The Permanent Tourist who writes about what it means To Love Again after the unimaginable has happened. Melissa writes about deep loss, ‘widow brain’ and taking a leap of faith. Thank you Melissa for sharing your story.
And that’s life, the heartache, mystery and beauty of it.
If you have a moment…step into this beautiful garden by Tom Stuart- Smith and consider reading The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith. I highly recommend both!
For the love of a garden…
Wishing one and all a wonderful week….
as always, if you would like to comment below or write to me ,
I would love to hear from you!
Jeanne xx
