Yet more belated thanks Nathan, I've nearly caught up with the papers which turned into a whole writhing pit of chimera and a frighteningly vast number of comments here too!
Belated thanks Stacy, after a month (almost) of no WiFi, and the aftermath of that wretched storm, I am only now finding a few spare minutes to reply to missed comments.
I do hope the trees gave you a coherent answer regarding the birds!
"French administrative necessities are a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape, not even marginally simplified by digitalisation, indeed, in many cases they are made worse." This is what my job is about, so I just took a much-needed break to read about your lovely wanderings in the nature that surrounds you. Do enjoy your holiday!
Yes, I work for my husband who is an attorney and specializes in farming law, especially agricultural companies, and I do all of the administrative work. I'm sorry you had so much storm damage!
Paperwork done, what better celebration than a river walk 💛 so lovely to join you on your meanderings dear Susie and wildly jealous of your weeks of freedom (also knowing they’ll be filled with a different kind of work and looking forward to reading of it). I am conflicted about the weather, glad to not have blistering heat, but equally missing the sunshine and honestly fed up of rain. I would dearly love to see a kingfisher, perhaps I will be lucky one day. Sending love and wishes for a peaceful and sunshine filled holiday 💛💛
Hi Emily, once again my apologies for such a very late reply, we have had a week of utter chaos here (I'm about to write about it) the result being no wifi connection and worse, we are reduced to a 3G mobile connection - outside only - which has limited my time on line significantly! I can't even begin to tell you the relief I have felt at having finished the paperwork beforehand! I also can't (although you can possibly imagine) how blue and thick the air has been with bad language! The only plus side is that my son has been away for the week camping and has missed it all, however he returns this evening and will not be happy about disconnection from his friends... the joys of living in the country!
I do hope your week has been calmer lovely? I am beginning to harbour (secretly) rather pessimistic thoughts for this summer. which is not like me at all. we shall see, I pray only that I'm wrong.
Happy Sunday hugs to you, as I sit here on top of the hill (the only sure place of 4G) typing this reply to you, the sun is actually trying to shine! Whooppeeee! 💛xxx
I think we must make a pact - no apologies necessary, ever. As it’s now my turn to apologise for taking a while to respond 💛 I can imagine the thick blue air with 3G only for any amount of time. As nice as it sounds to disconnect, our lives are so interwoven with connectivity, it’s hard to function effectively without for long without it. My week was an improvement on the last, marginally, but the weather is getting me down. My husband (sometimes grudgingly aided by me and the kids) is building a summerhouse, which will be wonderful, but the torrential rain we’ve had yesterday and this morning has been traumatic, as, despite the pace at which he is working, the roof is not yet felted and waterproofed. I hope the rain will stay away long enough for it to now dry out so the roof can be finished! I hope that your week is progressing a little better and that connectivity is restored. Sending love xx
Thank you dear Lisha… I’m so happy to touch your heart with these words 🥹apologies for the delay in replying… we have no internet here still and no sign of a repair man..!
Heck, I am going to say that birds do dream. I found out just yesterday, that ‘our tiny friend’ the the Ruby-throated hummingbird, actually flies from its winter home in Central America, to join us in Vt. And even more unbelievable, studies have shown they have human facial recognition. They are also likely to return to the same place every year. I can almost attest to that. But that is another story. After all that, sure, dreaming, why not.
Susie, I absolutely love how you can verse in such exquisite poetry ;
“…surrounded now, by a ring of golden liquid light.” And end with a glorious dog defining moment. Memories of my dog, he couldn’t decide whether to eat it or wear it.
“…the light transforms ash clouds to smouldering cinders, fiery red light leaks onto the valley, slowly climbs the hill with us, always just one step ahead…”
Cleansed by the beauty of sunsets. I believe we both share a passion for
collecting sunsets.
I hope the mood shift you gift to your readers, comes back to you tenfold.
P.S. I’m not so sure it is wise to turn your back on a season. She may remember you know.
Damn Lor, I think you must be right! MN must have heard my ramblings, this week has been hell on earth! She sent us a storm of giant hailstones in revenge... the likes of which we have never seen -three skylights ruined- and certainly don't want repeated - 'dearest MN, I take back my bad words, my negative thinking, you are forgiven!'
"Memories of my dog, he couldn’t decide whether to eat it or wear it." This made me smile, Wolfie is fussy about his canine habits, for example, cows leave behind the perfect pile for rolling in and wearing like a medal for days afterwards... however hedgehog, rabbit, hare and mustelid (never mind which he is not fussy in that) make the perfect between meal snack, he has tuned this to a fine art!
I love that perhaps my words are capable of transportation, this is all I wish for as a writer 5can I even call myself that?) and yes! I too am a collector of dawn and dusk skies, they feed me in ways nothing else can and I try never to miss either, meaning in summer I have little sleep - but this is what siestas are for right? I could write of both ad infinitum!
When your Sunday begins Lor, I hope it is inspiring, I hope MN is kind..
Oh and yes, I have been researching the 'do birds dream?' question too, it is a huge subject it seems, and evidence from surveillance leans to my Jay being absolutely right!
Ok, I certainly hope you don’t think I was sending messages on the thermals . Whispers to MN , tattling on you.I would never .Wait, wasn’t hailstones one the plagues in Egypt? Hmm. I will not blame you for the catastrophic flooding that also hit VT. Exactly on the anniversary of a major flood one year ago. Only the third time since, I believe , the early 1900s. Rivers overflowing banks. Water etched out homes , demolishing and carrying them in ruins down the current. The Main Street of our state Capital, flooded out almost every business. Some still trying to find the funds to reopen. Crops destroyed. And never a given statistic of wildlife loss. Not quite as devastating as last year but, nevertheless. My home, my people, and Ranger, are thankfully safe and dry. My Summers are spent lakeside and the water did rise higher than we’ve ever seen it in the 16 years we’ve owned a camp. MN showing a sense of humor? Or more likely, she has no say over climate change. Every evening, weather permitting, I watch the sun slowly sink behind the mountain as it shimmers in undefined colors across the lake.
Wish I could share the best, but alas, and thank goodness, this is not Facebook. Susie, your writing is just beautiful . Soothing, peaceful and you are so very gracious to your readers, old and new. “I love that perhaps my words are capable of transportation…” They certainly are. And Ranger, at 16mos. he has yet to display the wearing or the rolling . You know, that telltale sign that happens in slow motion. The shoulder folding , the head follows suit, until the rest of him is writhing in it . Wish me luck.
I'm so happy you're enjoying a well deserved holiday starting with a wandering into your beloved nature, soaking in the golden rays while listening to the myriad of musical tones emanating from birds, water and forest. Utterly delightful my Sweet Susie. Love n Light xoxo
Thank you, Susie. You are very generous about my writing and it means a lot to me. Also, we're really hoping to retire to France someday, and you'll start getting emails for the chimera.
I feel your shoulders releasing in the warmth Susie. Yay!
I was with you on your walk right from your first sentence - "the river sings, birds sing, crickets sing and I am inclined to join them." The lightness and joy made me smile.
Thank you for transporting me. May the gold and turquoise shine on your holiday. 💛🌻
Many thanks for reading Jo, I have yet to really touch those halcyon days of freedom yet but my shoulders ache less after a few days of sunshine and I can see a twinkle of light at the end of my list!
I am happy to have made you smile, hold that thought for rest of your week xx
Dandelion dusk now sets in my being, thanks to your always deeply attentive prose. Your gift of awareness is a guiding light in our world. I’m on vacation right now in Vermont and saw one firefly in our bedroom in the middle of the night. Half asleep, his luminescence like a single Christmas tree light dancing around a quiet room, not dissimilar to your heart, illuminating magic wherever she happens to land.
That dandelion dusk feels like an age ago now, the week has passed in a cloud of chaos, resulting in no wifi, sporadic electrical problems and a general feeling of losing control of this small space we live in. All with thanks to dear Mother Nature for pounding this corner of the planet with her rage and discontent... I forgive her tantrums, I understand her wrath, but I do so wish she would change location for a while at least!
It is for this reason I have walked to the top of my hill, with spare charging battery in hand, to find a signal on my phone in order to catch up a little... it is actually not unpleasant, there are swallows up here, they are unsure of my presence, are swooping low and squeaking their curiosity as the pass, or perhaps it is displeasure?
I do hope your holiday is glorious in every way, Vermont I have never visited but my dear papa talked non stop for a week after he returned from a business trip, he was smitten!
I have only ever seen fireflies once in my life, one sultry evening in the south of France with some young buck who had ideas of romance, it was indeed romantic but my thoughts and heart were elsewhere... here we have glow worms by the dozen instead, less romantic but surely as magical!
with love and thanks always, I wish you peace and calm and sunshine that is just warm enough to make your Sunday perfect. xxx
Thank you Michela, I'm glad to be able to send a few rays of sunshine out, it was touch and go though - we too have had the most ghastly weather but I'm hoping its on the change... I hope your days hold some sunny hours too...💛
Thank you Jan, to be quite truthful, I have so much to catch up on through these holidays it is likely that all I will have is the odd short burst of aimless wandering… much as it irks me!
Autumn holidays are my favorite time, there is less to do and the colours are at their very best in the forests…
Where are you planning to go? Or is it a home based holiday? X
Definitely home based. I'm hoping to work on some writing, prepare for my final herbal exams and have a friend to stay for a bit. Otherwise it will be time to be in the forest. x
"A chimera of paperwork." What a wonderful saying (despite what it alludes to).
Thank you for your beautiful, calming words as always, Susie.
Yet more belated thanks Nathan, I've nearly caught up with the papers which turned into a whole writhing pit of chimera and a frighteningly vast number of comments here too!
The light is getting closer at last!
Glad to hear it! 🤗
So beautiful written. I feel able to slow down and walk in the changing light. How lovely - "I ask the trees, “do birds dream?”
Belated thanks Stacy, after a month (almost) of no WiFi, and the aftermath of that wretched storm, I am only now finding a few spare minutes to reply to missed comments.
I do hope the trees gave you a coherent answer regarding the birds!
May your weekend be calmed by their songs...
What a gift to receive your beautiful newsletter each week. Thank you, Susie. ❤️🌸
Thank you for kind words Trivarna, I hope your weekend is beautiful ♥️
"French administrative necessities are a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape, not even marginally simplified by digitalisation, indeed, in many cases they are made worse." This is what my job is about, so I just took a much-needed break to read about your lovely wanderings in the nature that surrounds you. Do enjoy your holiday!
Your job, as in work work Betty…? If so ‘chapeau!!’ I only have to say the words French administration and I feel faint..!😂
I haven’t had much chance for holiday yet… hoping next week will be calmer - the storm has caused untold and unanticipated work…xx
Yes, I work for my husband who is an attorney and specializes in farming law, especially agricultural companies, and I do all of the administrative work. I'm sorry you had so much storm damage!
Paperwork done, what better celebration than a river walk 💛 so lovely to join you on your meanderings dear Susie and wildly jealous of your weeks of freedom (also knowing they’ll be filled with a different kind of work and looking forward to reading of it). I am conflicted about the weather, glad to not have blistering heat, but equally missing the sunshine and honestly fed up of rain. I would dearly love to see a kingfisher, perhaps I will be lucky one day. Sending love and wishes for a peaceful and sunshine filled holiday 💛💛
Hi Emily, once again my apologies for such a very late reply, we have had a week of utter chaos here (I'm about to write about it) the result being no wifi connection and worse, we are reduced to a 3G mobile connection - outside only - which has limited my time on line significantly! I can't even begin to tell you the relief I have felt at having finished the paperwork beforehand! I also can't (although you can possibly imagine) how blue and thick the air has been with bad language! The only plus side is that my son has been away for the week camping and has missed it all, however he returns this evening and will not be happy about disconnection from his friends... the joys of living in the country!
I do hope your week has been calmer lovely? I am beginning to harbour (secretly) rather pessimistic thoughts for this summer. which is not like me at all. we shall see, I pray only that I'm wrong.
Happy Sunday hugs to you, as I sit here on top of the hill (the only sure place of 4G) typing this reply to you, the sun is actually trying to shine! Whooppeeee! 💛xxx
I think we must make a pact - no apologies necessary, ever. As it’s now my turn to apologise for taking a while to respond 💛 I can imagine the thick blue air with 3G only for any amount of time. As nice as it sounds to disconnect, our lives are so interwoven with connectivity, it’s hard to function effectively without for long without it. My week was an improvement on the last, marginally, but the weather is getting me down. My husband (sometimes grudgingly aided by me and the kids) is building a summerhouse, which will be wonderful, but the torrential rain we’ve had yesterday and this morning has been traumatic, as, despite the pace at which he is working, the roof is not yet felted and waterproofed. I hope the rain will stay away long enough for it to now dry out so the roof can be finished! I hope that your week is progressing a little better and that connectivity is restored. Sending love xx
Absolutely brilliant writing, Susie! I cried so much at the beauty I saw through your eyes ❤️
Thank you dear Lisha… I’m so happy to touch your heart with these words 🥹apologies for the delay in replying… we have no internet here still and no sign of a repair man..!
Love always ♥️xxx
Heck, I am going to say that birds do dream. I found out just yesterday, that ‘our tiny friend’ the the Ruby-throated hummingbird, actually flies from its winter home in Central America, to join us in Vt. And even more unbelievable, studies have shown they have human facial recognition. They are also likely to return to the same place every year. I can almost attest to that. But that is another story. After all that, sure, dreaming, why not.
Susie, I absolutely love how you can verse in such exquisite poetry ;
“…surrounded now, by a ring of golden liquid light.” And end with a glorious dog defining moment. Memories of my dog, he couldn’t decide whether to eat it or wear it.
“…the light transforms ash clouds to smouldering cinders, fiery red light leaks onto the valley, slowly climbs the hill with us, always just one step ahead…”
Cleansed by the beauty of sunsets. I believe we both share a passion for
collecting sunsets.
I hope the mood shift you gift to your readers, comes back to you tenfold.
P.S. I’m not so sure it is wise to turn your back on a season. She may remember you know.
Damn Lor, I think you must be right! MN must have heard my ramblings, this week has been hell on earth! She sent us a storm of giant hailstones in revenge... the likes of which we have never seen -three skylights ruined- and certainly don't want repeated - 'dearest MN, I take back my bad words, my negative thinking, you are forgiven!'
"Memories of my dog, he couldn’t decide whether to eat it or wear it." This made me smile, Wolfie is fussy about his canine habits, for example, cows leave behind the perfect pile for rolling in and wearing like a medal for days afterwards... however hedgehog, rabbit, hare and mustelid (never mind which he is not fussy in that) make the perfect between meal snack, he has tuned this to a fine art!
I love that perhaps my words are capable of transportation, this is all I wish for as a writer 5can I even call myself that?) and yes! I too am a collector of dawn and dusk skies, they feed me in ways nothing else can and I try never to miss either, meaning in summer I have little sleep - but this is what siestas are for right? I could write of both ad infinitum!
When your Sunday begins Lor, I hope it is inspiring, I hope MN is kind..
Oh and yes, I have been researching the 'do birds dream?' question too, it is a huge subject it seems, and evidence from surveillance leans to my Jay being absolutely right!
Ok, I certainly hope you don’t think I was sending messages on the thermals . Whispers to MN , tattling on you.I would never .Wait, wasn’t hailstones one the plagues in Egypt? Hmm. I will not blame you for the catastrophic flooding that also hit VT. Exactly on the anniversary of a major flood one year ago. Only the third time since, I believe , the early 1900s. Rivers overflowing banks. Water etched out homes , demolishing and carrying them in ruins down the current. The Main Street of our state Capital, flooded out almost every business. Some still trying to find the funds to reopen. Crops destroyed. And never a given statistic of wildlife loss. Not quite as devastating as last year but, nevertheless. My home, my people, and Ranger, are thankfully safe and dry. My Summers are spent lakeside and the water did rise higher than we’ve ever seen it in the 16 years we’ve owned a camp. MN showing a sense of humor? Or more likely, she has no say over climate change. Every evening, weather permitting, I watch the sun slowly sink behind the mountain as it shimmers in undefined colors across the lake.
Wish I could share the best, but alas, and thank goodness, this is not Facebook. Susie, your writing is just beautiful . Soothing, peaceful and you are so very gracious to your readers, old and new. “I love that perhaps my words are capable of transportation…” They certainly are. And Ranger, at 16mos. he has yet to display the wearing or the rolling . You know, that telltale sign that happens in slow motion. The shoulder folding , the head follows suit, until the rest of him is writhing in it . Wish me luck.
I'm so happy you're enjoying a well deserved holiday starting with a wandering into your beloved nature, soaking in the golden rays while listening to the myriad of musical tones emanating from birds, water and forest. Utterly delightful my Sweet Susie. Love n Light xoxo
Hi sweetie, would you believe Ive had to walk to the top of the hill to catch up here! I sent you a message on IG too darling, we will speak asap!
With love and light and thanks always xxx
Thank you, Susie. You are very generous about my writing and it means a lot to me. Also, we're really hoping to retire to France someday, and you'll start getting emails for the chimera.
I’ll put on my chimera armour in readiness, let me know if you need any help at all when it happens… thanks again for sharing Adam!
I feel your shoulders releasing in the warmth Susie. Yay!
I was with you on your walk right from your first sentence - "the river sings, birds sing, crickets sing and I am inclined to join them." The lightness and joy made me smile.
Thank you for transporting me. May the gold and turquoise shine on your holiday. 💛🌻
ps Love the Steinbeck quote. Thank you again.
Many thanks for reading Jo, I have yet to really touch those halcyon days of freedom yet but my shoulders ache less after a few days of sunshine and I can see a twinkle of light at the end of my list!
I am happy to have made you smile, hold that thought for rest of your week xx
I am soothed. Thank you 🙏🏼
Well that makes me glad Jonathan, may the feeling persist until you're able to take your own walk... 🐾
Now I see you’ve got your own “the dog”! Good stuff :)
I rarely leave the house without him… :-)
Dandelion dusk now sets in my being, thanks to your always deeply attentive prose. Your gift of awareness is a guiding light in our world. I’m on vacation right now in Vermont and saw one firefly in our bedroom in the middle of the night. Half asleep, his luminescence like a single Christmas tree light dancing around a quiet room, not dissimilar to your heart, illuminating magic wherever she happens to land.
That dandelion dusk feels like an age ago now, the week has passed in a cloud of chaos, resulting in no wifi, sporadic electrical problems and a general feeling of losing control of this small space we live in. All with thanks to dear Mother Nature for pounding this corner of the planet with her rage and discontent... I forgive her tantrums, I understand her wrath, but I do so wish she would change location for a while at least!
It is for this reason I have walked to the top of my hill, with spare charging battery in hand, to find a signal on my phone in order to catch up a little... it is actually not unpleasant, there are swallows up here, they are unsure of my presence, are swooping low and squeaking their curiosity as the pass, or perhaps it is displeasure?
I do hope your holiday is glorious in every way, Vermont I have never visited but my dear papa talked non stop for a week after he returned from a business trip, he was smitten!
I have only ever seen fireflies once in my life, one sultry evening in the south of France with some young buck who had ideas of romance, it was indeed romantic but my thoughts and heart were elsewhere... here we have glow worms by the dozen instead, less romantic but surely as magical!
with love and thanks always, I wish you peace and calm and sunshine that is just warm enough to make your Sunday perfect. xxx
Oh please do try to take a photo of those glow worms sometime and show me! They sound chubby and delightful. :)
I will do that with pleasure..! X
Thanks for the shout 🙌🏻❤️😊
Thank you for the greta writing ☮️
A lovely read, especially welcome on a day of unending rain and northerly winds. Thanks Susie.
Thank you Michela, I'm glad to be able to send a few rays of sunshine out, it was touch and go though - we too have had the most ghastly weather but I'm hoping its on the change... I hope your days hold some sunny hours too...💛
This is gorgeous, Susie,
I love the shift of pace as you walk and immerse.
And I'm envious of the holiday :) -- but we are taking time off in the autumn and so looking forward to the change of rhythm.
Thank you Jan, to be quite truthful, I have so much to catch up on through these holidays it is likely that all I will have is the odd short burst of aimless wandering… much as it irks me!
Autumn holidays are my favorite time, there is less to do and the colours are at their very best in the forests…
Where are you planning to go? Or is it a home based holiday? X
Definitely home based. I'm hoping to work on some writing, prepare for my final herbal exams and have a friend to stay for a bit. Otherwise it will be time to be in the forest. x
That’s sounding like a perfect time to spend just for you Jan… 🍃