Just Humans Being...

We are back in Devon on one of our regular pet sits and after arriving a couple of days ago to torrential rain and flooding...we woke this morning to blue sky, sunshine and a beautiful mist across the valley.  After our early walk we jumped into the hot tub to make the most of this glorious weather, soaking up the warm rays from the sun and marvelling at the clear blue sky - a rare occurrence these days! We are here for 6 days and arrived with everything we need for our stay - our intention being to use this time to completely chill out and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's great that we both feel the same way and neither of us has a desire to race around sightseeing. Instead, it is a real joy to get into a rhythm with the animals, walking, cooking on the Aga, eating, reading and spending time in the snug by the fire in the evenings. Every day is pretty much the same and that's just fine by us...we always bring lots of books with us and the dogs love to snuggle in the snug... Th...

  We are coming to the end of our stay in Hampshire and the last 2 days have seen autumn arrive, so it sort of feels right to be thinking about leaving. A bit like Vianne and Anouk in Joanne Harris' book "Chocolat" - our work is done, though I think it's a south westerly here, rather than a north wind.   It is always a joy to be staying in this beautiful thatched cottage with our furry chum, to totally unwind and relax. The woodland walks are peaceful and we feel that we've reconnected with nature and got into a lovely rhythm.  The great thing about regular pet sits is that they feel like our very own holiday home, everything is familiar...especially the pets and with this particular sit, we have got to know the neighbours and their pets too over the years, so there is much merriment when we arrive and see everyone.     We have enjoyed our quiet morning walks, as well as the pack gatherings every afternoon with the crazy furry gang running around the big fi...

  We have been in the Exe Valley for a week, on one of our regular pet sits and apart from venturing out to the farmer's market in Dulverton, we are very content to be here on the farm. Have to say, we met lots of lovely folks in Dulverton and spent a very pleasant afternoon chatting and purchasing a few bits and bobs...delicious home made preserves from The Selworthy Pantry,  Pain du Campagne from Lucho Bakes and we couldn't resist sampling some vegan beers from the Cottage Beer Project. Sime was also told that he should visit the music shop...Oggies Music and although it had closed for the day when we arrived at the door, a family turned up and said we can actually ring the bell and they were right...the friendly owner greeted and welcomed us all in. A wonderful shop full of second hand instruments, books and records. It is always a joy to be back here with all the animals, walking on the land, through fields and woods. In this truly peaceful place, we embrace the remote qui...

We are gradually coming out of our winter hibernation and two weeks of pet sitting on The Roseland in Cornwall has been a wonderful way to slowly "wake up" and enjoy being with one of our favourite furry chums. We are all enjoying being outside more and after 5 years of caring for our little pal - we have finally made progress with her ability to listen, focus and follow commands! She has always been a delight to be with, but her excitable behaviour tends to get out of control...perhaps she is calming down as she gets older or maybe we are more relaxed around her. We have certainly felt our bond with her has strengthened over the last two weeks and in turn she is eager to please. She can now have time off her lead and is thoroughly enjoying beach play time, with excellent recall.  We had almost given up on the idea that Mabel could enjoy such freedom, so it is a joy to us all! We do hope that she will continue with her Mum, but are confident that we will slip back into our ne...

When we think about all the wonderful opportunities that come our way, we sometimes have to pinch ourselves...what an incredible life we have created together! This is the beautiful place we are taking care of at the moment and although it's been a while since we were last here, it has felt like coming home and our furry friend has been very happy to see us. The huge garden is a peaceful haven for wildlife and it's a joy to wake up each morning to hear and watch the birds and squirrels feed, potter and play. There is also an abundance of butterflies and bees...being surrounded by nature is very much home from home for us, as our Cornish home is also a quiet haven with many birds, bees and butterflies.  Woodpecker Red Kite Our lovely furry buddy... enjoying some snuggles. Our roles here are to firstly doggie sit (feeding, walking and snuggling), then take care of the vegetable garden, feed the birds and look after the house. We do love all our work - helping others comes natural...

 Holidaymakers are swarming down to Cornwall, so we are enjoying a couple of days being homebased and it's finally warm and dry... instead of the cold, wet and windy weather we have had over the last weeks or is it months? We have much to do in the garden  jungle, and after being crazily busy for what seems like forever - we were dreaming of spending some quality time at home with the kitties, pottering about outside...and now we have exactly what we have been craving. Yesterday we visited our local farm shop and for the first time we bought some Green Wheat Freekeh from Palestinian company  Zaytoun  and we love it! We cooked up some spicy veggies and added the soaked Freekeh at the end and served on a bed of salad and topped with chopped coriander. We have also been experimenting and decided to have a go at making our own version of a vegan frittata using silken tofu and buckwheat - it was delicious! We'll make it again and share the recipe soon. The weekend wouldn'...

Do you live in fear of growing old, of becoming ill and dying?  Or do you enjoy your life; living with purpose and seeing the beauty all around you? Our work has evolved in the last year and has taken us on a path which felt right...caring for others.  Going into the homes of older people who have needed help and human contact.  We started with 2 clients, people we have been supporting with housework and pet care for many years and as the months ticked by, they both asked if we would go into various friends too. We are now working pretty much full time, doing whatever is needed...housework, gardening, dog walking, food preparation, sometimes just sitting and chatting over a cuppa.  We feel we have calmed those who were fearful and helped them to see things more logically...there is little virus here in Cornwall and it is very doubtful anyone will catch it while sitting in their house. Those who had become frightened of the outside world, have now started going out ag...

  I could capture the breathtaking views from this cabin, wrap them up and send them out as gifts to folks who need some beauty in their lives, but our camera just doesn’t cut the mustard! This morning is quite magical and is one of those occasions where I want to share the joy... I had to get out there - not just content in seeing the beauty from the warmth of the cabin, but I wanted to be out and to feel it. Witnessing the world awaken is quite an incredible experience and although this morning is probably no different than any other, I feel excited for the day ahead. We know that being in nature recharges us...perhaps living in nature supercharges us! As our feathery friends arrive to feast on the goodies we leave out, my rumbling tum is telling me it’s time for our breakfast too. Enjoy the photos! Love Kay (and sleepy Sime) xx

  Our GP first introduced us to homeopathy in 1988, when our eldest offspring, Sal was born. Our family doctor was not only a general practitioner, but a midwife (or should that be mid-husband?) and a homeopath. He enthusiastically attended the home birth of our second born as an observer, along with our usual midwife and a student midwife. It was the first planned home birth in our town in 13 years, so there was much excitement and it was wonderful! As our little Rosie Matilda was born, her beautiful big eyes opened wide as we all sang happy birthday...much to the delight of her big sis, who was two at the time. Six years later, when our third born, Hugo came along – we were very happy to discover that the student nurse from Rose’s birth was to be our midwife and she was thrilled to be on duty that night - delivering not just another baby at home, but to be sharing another birth experience with us. The health system had changed though...the midwives were no longer attached to ...

The natural rhythm of life for humans and many other creatures we share this planet with - is to be busy during daylight hours and to sleep at night. We think of sleep as recharging our batteries and it is when the nutrients in our body have a chance to replenish and our nerve cells regenerate. If we don’t get enough sleep, then we will gradually become deficient and then sick as our body struggles to recuperate.   By living simply and following nature’s lead – we should be waking at dawn, winding down again at twilight and going to sleep as soon as darkness falls, but instead most of us resist our natural rhythm and fill our evenings and nights with much stimulation...bright artificial lights, TVs, internet, gaming, music, processed food, alcohol and drugs. We often hear people saying they don’t need much sleep, but are they a picture of health? What about the folks who struggle to sleep? Or wake in the night for long periods? Has our dependence on electricity caused...

For some strange reason Blogger has decided to censor this lovely quote from James Allen... If anyone out there can tell us why, we would be very grateful.   Cherish your visions;  Cherish your ideals;  Cherish the music that stirs in your heart,  The beauty that forms in your mind,  The loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts,  For out of them will grow all delightful conditions,  All heavenly environment;  O f t hese, if you but remain true to them,  Your world will at last be built. ~ James Allen ~ We have written many posts about how we have always spent time together "scheming an' a dreaming". We still have the book we wrote our list of 101 goals from over 10 years ago and we are always pleasantly surprised when we dig it out that we can tick off a few more! Amongst the completed goals we have: Live by the sea  Own a house in France Live on a mountain Live in a wooden house Grow our own vegetables Recently, we thought again abo...

Please take some time to watch this video. Take some time to look at your life and learn how to live differently. If  you are unhappy, make changes to your life. Find gratitude in each day. Try not to criticise others and instead feel compassion. Enjoy time in nature. Be quiet and calm. There is so much anger and stress surrounding many of you out there at the moment... Take care of yourselves, take time out from the news and stop worrying about how many times your neighbours are venturing out. Occupy yourselves doing something new and interesting instead. Most of our days are spent weeding, planting, cooking and eating. We go to bed earlier than we have done in years, usually aching...pleasantly so though! We are learning about growing vegetables, enjoying playing with soil and it feels good spending lots of time out on the land. Sending you all much love, Kay and Sime xx

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." ~ Rachel Carson ~ Isn't it beautiful how nature has a desire to cover up abandoned human junk? All our stuff lying around roadsides, in driveways, gardens and waste ground slowly being absorbed by nature. We find it fascinating and although it's sad to see so much discarded stuff around, we love how nature always fights back. Luckily, we both share similar views as to what we consider to be beautiful because otherwise, we probably wouldn't have our little house. It needs lots of TLC and was so overgrown when we first saw it - as it was again this visit, but we both absolutely love it and don't see it like others do...our new neighbours think we are crazy to have bought the house, although it's more the size which makes them laugh rather than the condition.  We think it's rather sad that so many folks don't...

We need to understand that all species are related to each other, all of us have evolved together. The sun heats the soil, the soil feeds the trees, the trees feed the birds, the rain feeds the trees. All beings nourish each other. This is ecology. ~Satish Kumar~

Our garden yesterday. Tall Nettles TALL nettles cover up, as they have done These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough Long worn out, and the roller made of stone: Only the elm butt tops the nettles now. This corner of the farmyard I like most: As well as any bloom upon a flower I like the dust on the nettles, never lost Except to prove the sweetness of a shower. ~ Edward Thomas ~ Every time we venture out to pick nettles, Sime always goes on about this poem! Anyway, thought I'd share with you the article I've written for next month's Parish Magazine... Our hedgerows are coming alive with food aplenty, but hardly anyone really notices the nettles that surround us, they grow quietly while using their juices to produce a medicine that can bring health. Anaemia, arthritis, rickets, tuberculosis, respiratory diseases, colds, catarrh and lymphatic problems can all benefit from this wonderful wild and free super food. Nettles are rich in ca...