Letters from a hill…

Hi, how lovely to have you here, thank you for joining me.

As always, in my hurry to get started, I’ve done things back to front again… but hello anyway, my name is Susie and I welcome you with open arms and a smile to my space here on Substack; before I begin, and this is important, I believe happiness should be shared so if you enjoy what you read here please share my letters with anyone and everyone you think may enjoy or appreciate my wandering words.

A hill and I

Over the 20 years I have lived here with my family I have fallen in love with this small mountain of volcanic rock and it’s inhabitants. So much so that my passion for journaling the myriad magical moments of seasonal change has grown to an obsession equal—almost—to that of my family, a fact my husband would quite like argue! Every spare second I have, which is rarely as many as I’d like, I spend wandering with my camera slung over my shoulder, breathless and overwhelmed at the light, the fauna and the flora, returning to regale him, excitedly, with recounts of my adventures.

The privilege of access to so such wonder though is not not everyones, indeed very few in the great scheme of world demographics and the need to share with those less fortunate the sheer magic and beauty I have the joy of living within daily seemed a valid reason for not only continuing my wandering but writing about them too with the profound hope that all who are less fortunate may, for a few minutes, feel and see what I do. And, so, these letters were born! 

The bit about ‘self sufficient’ chaos!

Self sufficiency is hard… it is a constant battle with the elements and finances and legal necessities so before I mislead you entirely, I have to admit that we fail in many respects.  But, It never stops us trying; the efforts and results are often a chaotic race against time, injury and the ever present and wickedly cheeky Mother Nature.

You can read all about me and what I do here 

A hill and I

Susie Mawhinney - A hill and I

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January 17, 2023

FRESH LAUNDRY... I wrote a comment the other day in reply to a Substack post written by an Instagram friend, she has been encouraging me to write here for months but as I said to her after reading her, brilliantly written, first ever post which I am absolutely not even going to try to match; ‘Words tumble around my head like laundry in a washing machine…

Read full story

And how we arrived from Ireland, lock, stock, dogs n’ all here and here. These posts are a little haphazard. Expect continuing—irregular—new chapters… I know, that’s not wildly professional but they take time which in my world is very limited! I’ll get the whole story out eventually…

Here is what you can to expect…

A Hill and I

Regular updates - reflective journal entries of my haphazard days, photographs—I never leave the house without my camera—will be included in every post. These posts will be based on my ramblings and findings on the hill named Le Paradis.

The Coloured Month

Under the subsection The Coloured Month a special colourful photo filled letter of the month just passed, again most of these will be based on the hill unless I brave going to the city to see my daughter, it happens but not often!

Note; Under this section you can now find one year of photos, I have decided to suspend another twelve for the foreseeable future - they will be back though - meanwhile you can still read Aug 2023 through Aug 2024, there is no paywall.

Obscura

All that doesn’t fit elsewhere - here you will find the oddities and obscurities that don’t come from my hill. The poems, some fiction (mostly in the form of 100 word stories), essays and memories lost in the rubble of years passed. Mostly these writings will be short and possibly added to from time to time also.

Post Cards

One Photo One Phrase - These posts are my stay in touch/fill in posts. For days when time is limited but creativity isn’t. Expect a photo and a phrase, or maybe even just one word and I will add a French translation to each of the photos for those who are interested — Or lots more words… since I tried this and seem to be rather incapable of sticking to the original idea. Either way they will not take much of your very precious time.

AND, please don’t forget - if you enjoy my wanderings and wonderings, please don’t forget to tap the share button at the bottom of the page, the little ♥️ and let me know in comments, or consider becoming a subscriber AND if you really really enjoy what you find, you can upgrade to a paid subscriber for the price of a posh coffee once a month, whatever you decide, it would mean the world to me!

If you love nature and the calm it instills you are in the right place, join me, wander with me and enjoy the symphony, I am delighted you are here!

Susie X