Transform into a shepherds heart shaped leather purse
That holds your treasures.
Cached minuscule seeds to be tossed to the wind.; or spread by songbirds to become next years flowers. Or a source to grind into speck of grain flour,that awaits only your imagination.
Conceive the joyous happy molecules that swell with pure water.
Then oven baked into your tiny nutritious (but rises to an enormous)
Happy Birthday cake made with bountiful joy and love. One heart to another to share with the world of caring friends.
Richard, thank you so much for your thoughtful message, it feels almost serendipitous to read “life is a blessing—captured in a herb” and then, “Transform into a shepherds heart shaped leather purse, That holds your treasures.” If only more of us knew the powers we can derive from this tiny almost insignificant flower…
My cakes will be brimful of seeds, to share on my next birthday…
Marvelous, Susie! I'll read with more care soon, just popped on to say I'm envious of your copy of "Lost Words," and you are going to love NatureStack journal next week - I've got one of the "Spell Songs" cued up. 😊
Julie this was the post I was telling you about, I’ve done my best to edit out everything that looked too carbon copied from yours… it’s taken me days! And I’ve only finished today because I’ve caught a flu bug from my students and have had to curl up for the afternoon with plentiful hot honey and ginger… small mercies! 😂
Thank you for reading, it ended up far longer than I anticipated! I am poised and excited for NatureStack landing in my notifications!
Thank you, I saw this just as my eyes were closing. They weren’t closed for long, so today is all about R&R and a much needed day off, my students love to share their little bugs and viruses…
This is such a beautiful piece of writing Susie with such an important message. I write and I photograph in the hope that my words and images will convey my love of the natural world and all the wonders it contains. If my work inspires someone else to venture out, to take notice and ultimately to care then that has to be a good thing.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your beautiful images. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading through my rather long letter Gill, I wholeheartedly agree with you, with every day I spend in class with adolescent children, so many of whom see no further than their tiny square screens, the more so. I think it is vital for us to share every tiny detail we can… the more numerous we are the better. I wish every day, I could teach nature lessons instead of maths and French grammar! 🍃x
First, thank you so much for the mention Susie, I am so honoured. Not only because it comes from you but also because of the nature of this piece.
Because I am also a far from wealthy writer with no one but Substackers to count as readers. I also recently embarked on expressing my thoughts here. But also because I so agree with your sentiment that finding community and paying attention and sharing kindness and describing this fleeting moment of consciousness, all create such value, real human, deep, uncountable value, the kind of value that no one regrets on deathbeds.
I’m so grateful to have found such beauty and thoughtfulness and honesty in so many writers (including you of course) which has given me such confidence, not only in prose but also in general. It’s a privilege to dare to be part of this democratisation of writing here. And it’s a privilege to find myself tumbling along in this avalanche of ideas and stories and experiences. It’s enriching and inspiring for sure.
Hi Jonathan, you are very very welcome, thank you enormously for all your amazing support, I would share every word you write with very great pleasure.
Someone said to me this evening that the communities we are forming here are like a warm and welcoming village, the sort we all wish we could live in… those words fit perfectly in my imaginings of what we are trying, dare I say even succeeding, to achieve here. I too feel very honoured and humbled to be here writing words beside and with even, so many talented, amazing and conscientious writers.
It is a very real pleasure to know you are here and a part of that village. Thank you.
You write and photograph from the heart, never doubt or question yourself. Any ill comments you've received from people are not worth one second of your precious time. They will never connect to the world of beauty you present and share for they are not your "tribe." Your writing and thoughts are precious gifts that bring joy and happiness. Big hugs and love my Sweet Adorable Susie. xoxo
They are not my tribe, I must write this down somewhere to remember your words darling… they are the truth. The words weren’t written to me specifically, I just felt so utterly sad for everyone that writes about nature and believes in its importance as we do that I felt a need to retaliate… believe me, my first draft was less pretty! 🫢
On wards and upwards though, because we are numerous and together we are getting stronger! Sending you love and joy back sweet soul ♥️xxx
Literally right at eye-level sits Lost Words, and I cherish and honor every endeavor big or small a human makes to reclaim, restore, and realign our minds and hearts with the natural world. Your inspired (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word) prose is leading the way for many others to bow down to simplicity and beauty and the ever-wonderfilled seasons of this great earth.
For once, perhaps the first time even, I am replying without delay! I have had to take a day of rest due a strange feverish virus - I hope it passes quickly but I cannot deny relishing having time on my hands for a change…
I had a strange feeling you would be the owner of The Lost Words Kimberly, my own copy is never far from my line of vision either… a reminder that I can never rest in my crusade, a very lone crusade it would be too, if it weren’t for Substack and it’s astonishingly supportive and encouraging community.
To “realign our hearts and minds with the natural world…” those words break my heart, it shouldn’t be a necessity, I despair that so many have to make a conscious effort to even just step outside to realise where the air we breathe comes from.
Thank you from my heart beautiful soul, you are always so very generous with your kind comments… I am deeply touched. X
“realign our hearts and minds with the natural world…” -- THIS! This have been my quest for years and never saw such a simple, elegant statement of it. Thank you, Kimberly. 💚
It's astonishing to me that they would take words out of the dictionary! What a strange impulse for whatever reason. I would think it would be the best time to have more words about nature.
That any word would be removed from a dictionary seems decidedly strange to me Deirdre, do we not need references to origins any more? That those words are nature words from children’s dictionaries is scandalous!
RIGHT? I keep thinking, just add a few pages if that's what it takes. What a fool's errand to think the language our children are learning needs to be pruned. It's a mission for a cartoon villain.
This is perfect … and perfectly timed. Our grandkids arrive next week. We have ‘Lost Words’ to hand and nature all around us. Now to convince my lad to let the kids spend their time on the farm and not at a local attraction with all its unnatural entertainment.
Your writing is such a gift for us all, an immersive, beguiling trip into noticing and intentionality. Love it. And so happy that you have found a place where you can be at peace with the inspiration you find and the words you wrap around that inspiration. Onwards. In the manuscript of my dystopian musings, the counter to an urban regime is a pressing urgency to return to the countryside. The ‘rebels’ whisper ‘It is in our nature’ … perhaps you’ve nudged me to look again at the thinking to see if there’s something of worth there.
I’m sure you have secret super powers of persuasion where your grandchildren are concerned Barrie, enjoy every second no matter where you end up being with them…
I am eternally grateful to you for the gentle guidance, not exclusively for for this piece but in Notes and previous comments, thank you again. I feel terrible that I removed your quote, I was up to 3500 words, I had to cut whole chunks out and couldn’t see where it would fit in the end… I’m really very sorry.
Now I am even more intrigued and impatient to read your novel, are you close to publishing? I dare say grandchildren will be quite some distraction!
The great thing about friends is you don’t need to keep thanking them - they know! No worries at all over here. No sorry needed!
Ah, the (let’s call it for the sake of argument) ‘novel’. Mm. 76,000 words, some of which might be okay. Some not bad ideas (and a notebook of other thoughts that could make it a whole heap better). Maybe this Autumn/Winter I’ll dust it off and see what’s what.
Not planning much writing over the Summer. A few Notes from the Road and the odd short tale … monthly newsletters for July and August and then see where I’m up to.
That is very gracious Barrie, thank you - I am honored to be considered a friend.
I was wondering how you might fit in all you usually do into your summer cycling schedule? It does sound very exciting and enviable… not that I could cycle such a distance but the idea is definitely appealing. All that wonderful free time, adventuring.. yum!
That’s the wonderful thing about writing isn’t it, we can, if we need to or want to, just put down our pens for when the time suits.. the words won’t wear out ever!
What we don't name with precision and attention and care, gets lost along with the words -- so important that we have the words -- thank you for yours, Susie
That is so very true Jan, the whole world needs to be aware of the importance, I wish I had more clout! I wish, we, all of us that care and share, did! Thank you for reading… I wish you a beautiful weekend. X
Amen to that! Your words made my mind spinning wildly (in a good way), Susie. And I have so many things to say, but this Terry Tempest Williams's excerpt from "Winter Solstice at the Moab Slough" sums it up for now: "Our lack of intimacy with each other is in direct proportion to our lack of intimacy with the land. We have taken our love inside and abandoned the wild."
A post in response to yours seems to be on its way, but please, bear in mind that I am a slow reader/writer :)
"Our lack of intimacy with each other is in direct proportion to our lack of intimacy with the land. We have taken our love inside and abandoned the wild."
I may have to steal that quote Fotini, it sums up precisely our desperate and important need for sharing more of our knowledge and love for the wild and beautiful world we live in. People have become so very insular, almost scared of discovery… and really, what is there more exciting than an adventure into the wild and beyond, to discover and share what we find? I struggle to understand so many people, sometimes even those I love dearly…
I too am a slow writer, lack of time plays a huge part but also a need to be eloquent and elegant in what I say.. I will look forward greatly to your response no matter the length of time it might take.
Dear Susie - this led me to such a peaceful place, thank you! Reminded me of this, from the Dalai Lama: "It is only when we find peace within that we will be able to live in peace with our environment."
I’m bowled over daily by this community Julie, somebody said to me yesterday Substack is like the friendly village you’ve always wanted to live in - I couldn’t agree more!
What a beautiful and inspiring piece, not just for nature writers but all writers. You have an amazing voice and are so right to believe in yourself. I'm not surprised it took you a long time to write it. Bon weekend...
I’m always terribly unsure of myself when writing something that isn’t my normal journal writing Betty, your words are like a huge congratulatory hug… thank you so much for reading.
My voice is small but all voices count in my humble opinion so I really hope it gives encouragement to all of those people who feel they have something to say but are too fearful of the reaction to say it…
I hope your managing to dodge the showers - isn’t this weather mad!
Beautiful and inspiring Susie, always. Yesterday morning after reading this, I played Blackbird while cleaning the kitchen and it was then followed on my player by more wonderful melodies of joy. Thank you for the inspiration 💛💛
Ahh Emily, thank you lovely, I love that you had a joyful kitchen cleaning session, music inspired by that song! Had you heard it before? I’m not sure it’s one of the Beatles best hits but as children we loved it! Probably because the words were simple but we loved the fact that it had a blackbird in it…
Wishing you a magical evening and rest of your weekend 💛🍃xx
Shepherds Purse
“Dakah-Brakha” Ukrainian: give and take
Life is a blessing—captured in a small herb.
The tiniest white flowers found in sunny fields;
Transform into a shepherds heart shaped leather purse
That holds your treasures.
Cached minuscule seeds to be tossed to the wind.; or spread by songbirds to become next years flowers. Or a source to grind into speck of grain flour,that awaits only your imagination.
Conceive the joyous happy molecules that swell with pure water.
Then oven baked into your tiny nutritious (but rises to an enormous)
Happy Birthday cake made with bountiful joy and love. One heart to another to share with the world of caring friends.
Richard, thank you so much for your thoughtful message, it feels almost serendipitous to read “life is a blessing—captured in a herb” and then, “Transform into a shepherds heart shaped leather purse, That holds your treasures.” If only more of us knew the powers we can derive from this tiny almost insignificant flower…
My cakes will be brimful of seeds, to share on my next birthday…
I wish you a blessed evening.
Marvelous, Susie! I'll read with more care soon, just popped on to say I'm envious of your copy of "Lost Words," and you are going to love NatureStack journal next week - I've got one of the "Spell Songs" cued up. 😊
Julie this was the post I was telling you about, I’ve done my best to edit out everything that looked too carbon copied from yours… it’s taken me days! And I’ve only finished today because I’ve caught a flu bug from my students and have had to curl up for the afternoon with plentiful hot honey and ginger… small mercies! 😂
Thank you for reading, it ended up far longer than I anticipated! I am poised and excited for NatureStack landing in my notifications!
Oh, I'm sorry you've been under the weather. Hope you're on the mend. 💚
Thank you, I saw this just as my eyes were closing. They weren’t closed for long, so today is all about R&R and a much needed day off, my students love to share their little bugs and viruses…
This is such a beautiful piece of writing Susie with such an important message. I write and I photograph in the hope that my words and images will convey my love of the natural world and all the wonders it contains. If my work inspires someone else to venture out, to take notice and ultimately to care then that has to be a good thing.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your beautiful images. 🙂
Thank you so much for reading through my rather long letter Gill, I wholeheartedly agree with you, with every day I spend in class with adolescent children, so many of whom see no further than their tiny square screens, the more so. I think it is vital for us to share every tiny detail we can… the more numerous we are the better. I wish every day, I could teach nature lessons instead of maths and French grammar! 🍃x
First, thank you so much for the mention Susie, I am so honoured. Not only because it comes from you but also because of the nature of this piece.
Because I am also a far from wealthy writer with no one but Substackers to count as readers. I also recently embarked on expressing my thoughts here. But also because I so agree with your sentiment that finding community and paying attention and sharing kindness and describing this fleeting moment of consciousness, all create such value, real human, deep, uncountable value, the kind of value that no one regrets on deathbeds.
I’m so grateful to have found such beauty and thoughtfulness and honesty in so many writers (including you of course) which has given me such confidence, not only in prose but also in general. It’s a privilege to dare to be part of this democratisation of writing here. And it’s a privilege to find myself tumbling along in this avalanche of ideas and stories and experiences. It’s enriching and inspiring for sure.
So thanks again.
Hi Jonathan, you are very very welcome, thank you enormously for all your amazing support, I would share every word you write with very great pleasure.
Someone said to me this evening that the communities we are forming here are like a warm and welcoming village, the sort we all wish we could live in… those words fit perfectly in my imaginings of what we are trying, dare I say even succeeding, to achieve here. I too feel very honoured and humbled to be here writing words beside and with even, so many talented, amazing and conscientious writers.
It is a very real pleasure to know you are here and a part of that village. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for reading Lisa, and for sharing too 🤍🍃
You write and photograph from the heart, never doubt or question yourself. Any ill comments you've received from people are not worth one second of your precious time. They will never connect to the world of beauty you present and share for they are not your "tribe." Your writing and thoughts are precious gifts that bring joy and happiness. Big hugs and love my Sweet Adorable Susie. xoxo
They are not my tribe, I must write this down somewhere to remember your words darling… they are the truth. The words weren’t written to me specifically, I just felt so utterly sad for everyone that writes about nature and believes in its importance as we do that I felt a need to retaliate… believe me, my first draft was less pretty! 🫢
On wards and upwards though, because we are numerous and together we are getting stronger! Sending you love and joy back sweet soul ♥️xxx
Literally right at eye-level sits Lost Words, and I cherish and honor every endeavor big or small a human makes to reclaim, restore, and realign our minds and hearts with the natural world. Your inspired (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word) prose is leading the way for many others to bow down to simplicity and beauty and the ever-wonderfilled seasons of this great earth.
For once, perhaps the first time even, I am replying without delay! I have had to take a day of rest due a strange feverish virus - I hope it passes quickly but I cannot deny relishing having time on my hands for a change…
I had a strange feeling you would be the owner of The Lost Words Kimberly, my own copy is never far from my line of vision either… a reminder that I can never rest in my crusade, a very lone crusade it would be too, if it weren’t for Substack and it’s astonishingly supportive and encouraging community.
To “realign our hearts and minds with the natural world…” those words break my heart, it shouldn’t be a necessity, I despair that so many have to make a conscious effort to even just step outside to realise where the air we breathe comes from.
Thank you from my heart beautiful soul, you are always so very generous with your kind comments… I am deeply touched. X
“realign our hearts and minds with the natural world…” -- THIS! This have been my quest for years and never saw such a simple, elegant statement of it. Thank you, Kimberly. 💚
It's astonishing to me that they would take words out of the dictionary! What a strange impulse for whatever reason. I would think it would be the best time to have more words about nature.
That any word would be removed from a dictionary seems decidedly strange to me Deirdre, do we not need references to origins any more? That those words are nature words from children’s dictionaries is scandalous!
RIGHT? I keep thinking, just add a few pages if that's what it takes. What a fool's errand to think the language our children are learning needs to be pruned. It's a mission for a cartoon villain.
This is perfect … and perfectly timed. Our grandkids arrive next week. We have ‘Lost Words’ to hand and nature all around us. Now to convince my lad to let the kids spend their time on the farm and not at a local attraction with all its unnatural entertainment.
Your writing is such a gift for us all, an immersive, beguiling trip into noticing and intentionality. Love it. And so happy that you have found a place where you can be at peace with the inspiration you find and the words you wrap around that inspiration. Onwards. In the manuscript of my dystopian musings, the counter to an urban regime is a pressing urgency to return to the countryside. The ‘rebels’ whisper ‘It is in our nature’ … perhaps you’ve nudged me to look again at the thinking to see if there’s something of worth there.
I’m sure you have secret super powers of persuasion where your grandchildren are concerned Barrie, enjoy every second no matter where you end up being with them…
I am eternally grateful to you for the gentle guidance, not exclusively for for this piece but in Notes and previous comments, thank you again. I feel terrible that I removed your quote, I was up to 3500 words, I had to cut whole chunks out and couldn’t see where it would fit in the end… I’m really very sorry.
Now I am even more intrigued and impatient to read your novel, are you close to publishing? I dare say grandchildren will be quite some distraction!
The great thing about friends is you don’t need to keep thanking them - they know! No worries at all over here. No sorry needed!
Ah, the (let’s call it for the sake of argument) ‘novel’. Mm. 76,000 words, some of which might be okay. Some not bad ideas (and a notebook of other thoughts that could make it a whole heap better). Maybe this Autumn/Winter I’ll dust it off and see what’s what.
Not planning much writing over the Summer. A few Notes from the Road and the odd short tale … monthly newsletters for July and August and then see where I’m up to.
That is very gracious Barrie, thank you - I am honored to be considered a friend.
I was wondering how you might fit in all you usually do into your summer cycling schedule? It does sound very exciting and enviable… not that I could cycle such a distance but the idea is definitely appealing. All that wonderful free time, adventuring.. yum!
That’s the wonderful thing about writing isn’t it, we can, if we need to or want to, just put down our pens for when the time suits.. the words won’t wear out ever!
Have a great weekend both of you X
Bon weekend to you too, Susie. We’ll be mostly pedalling - and eating cake! 💛
What we don't name with precision and attention and care, gets lost along with the words -- so important that we have the words -- thank you for yours, Susie
That is so very true Jan, the whole world needs to be aware of the importance, I wish I had more clout! I wish, we, all of us that care and share, did! Thank you for reading… I wish you a beautiful weekend. X
Amen to that! Your words made my mind spinning wildly (in a good way), Susie. And I have so many things to say, but this Terry Tempest Williams's excerpt from "Winter Solstice at the Moab Slough" sums it up for now: "Our lack of intimacy with each other is in direct proportion to our lack of intimacy with the land. We have taken our love inside and abandoned the wild."
A post in response to yours seems to be on its way, but please, bear in mind that I am a slow reader/writer :)
"Our lack of intimacy with each other is in direct proportion to our lack of intimacy with the land. We have taken our love inside and abandoned the wild."
I may have to steal that quote Fotini, it sums up precisely our desperate and important need for sharing more of our knowledge and love for the wild and beautiful world we live in. People have become so very insular, almost scared of discovery… and really, what is there more exciting than an adventure into the wild and beyond, to discover and share what we find? I struggle to understand so many people, sometimes even those I love dearly…
I too am a slow writer, lack of time plays a huge part but also a need to be eloquent and elegant in what I say.. I will look forward greatly to your response no matter the length of time it might take.
I stole it too, but I don't remember from where. My bookmarks are a vast mess, lately!
We share the same struggles it seems, but I feel we have found a place to work things out through writing and a community I never thought possible. 🖤
Haha, as are my own bookmarks, I think this is a maladie of the conscientious writer!
I believe too we have found a place here to feel comfortable…
Have a very beautiful weekend Futitni, thank you again for kind words 🍃
Enjoy your hill, Susie!
Thank you, I am just about to! X
Dear Susie - this led me to such a peaceful place, thank you! Reminded me of this, from the Dalai Lama: "It is only when we find peace within that we will be able to live in peace with our environment."
I’m very glad Julie, thank you for reading through this unanticipatedly long essay, it reminded me of your note I commented on the other day
https://substack.com/@juliegabrielli/note/c-57721310?r=1mrn9s&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
That took quite a bit of scrolling!
I am well acquainted with that quote Julie… the truest of words.
Yes! I remembered that, too, and also went back to find your note about it. Love these interactions. 💚
I’m bowled over daily by this community Julie, somebody said to me yesterday Substack is like the friendly village you’ve always wanted to live in - I couldn’t agree more!
So good to find people who love nature like me!
Thank you Kate, I’m glad to find people who love nature too! I don’t know what I’d do without…🍃
What a beautiful and inspiring piece, not just for nature writers but all writers. You have an amazing voice and are so right to believe in yourself. I'm not surprised it took you a long time to write it. Bon weekend...
I’m always terribly unsure of myself when writing something that isn’t my normal journal writing Betty, your words are like a huge congratulatory hug… thank you so much for reading.
My voice is small but all voices count in my humble opinion so I really hope it gives encouragement to all of those people who feel they have something to say but are too fearful of the reaction to say it…
I hope your managing to dodge the showers - isn’t this weather mad!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend xx
No showers here today, but it is darn cold this evening!
It’s been like that here all last week Betty, we’ve had to light stove on several evenings !!
Beautiful and inspiring Susie, always. Yesterday morning after reading this, I played Blackbird while cleaning the kitchen and it was then followed on my player by more wonderful melodies of joy. Thank you for the inspiration 💛💛
Ahh Emily, thank you lovely, I love that you had a joyful kitchen cleaning session, music inspired by that song! Had you heard it before? I’m not sure it’s one of the Beatles best hits but as children we loved it! Probably because the words were simple but we loved the fact that it had a blackbird in it…
Wishing you a magical evening and rest of your weekend 💛🍃xx