A Bird's-eye View....Tahilla Farm

Image: Lauren Seabourne

 There has been magic at work around Tahilla Farm, the kind of magic that Katrina Kenison wrote about in her book Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment.

"Perhaps our paths crossed randomly, 

but somehow I think not, 

choosing to believe instead that there is invisible magic 

at work in all our lives, 

magic that sets us down on the routes we're meant to walk, 

magic that lends us to one another, 

magic for fuelling every journey 

undertaken in the name of mystery and love 

and faith in the ultimate rightness of things"

Written by Katrina Kenison 

'Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment"

The magic for me is the photo above. I am standing on our terrace with Katrina while her soul daughter, Lauren, is ably guiding a drone via her iPhone above our property. I don't think it gets any more magical than that! The result took my breath away and her video clip (below) of me walking through the garden collecting herbs and flowers with my trug is dreamy. I want more!

Katrina and I connected when we first moved to Tahilla Farm, she was introduced to me through Maude, who was introduced to me through Joe and Paula who were introduced to me through Lisa who discovered me through this blog, Collage of Life. This is a story I often tell when people ask me why we live in the woods of New Hampshire...and I always reply "it started with my blog". I have yet to discover a shortcut to the story but it began HERE.

A few years ago, Katrina asked me to participate in a blog hop to answer the question Why I Write. That was five years ago and as I read it today, I realized I will be coming up on a ten year Collage of Life anniversary in October. Ten years on and I still write for the same reasons and the fact that I am now embarking on an extension of my blog with Tahilla Gatherings feels like I have come full circle. A delightful circle.

Why I Write

And here we are...Tahilla Farm (below), still under construction (the Carriage House entrance and a little more landscaping) but not far to go before we move out of construction mode.

Someone asked me the other day what I do with my time. What do I do? I don't know, I guess I do what you do...breathe??? I am never quite certain why I always feel perplexed and challenged by that question. I feel a "brain drain" coming on by the time the question is out there and it's my own brain that has left me. But then... I look at the photo below and think...that's it, that's what I have been doing for the past seven years...I have been building a home, from near and afar. And before that, I was moving homes and family from country to country...and breathing.

Image: Lauren Seabourne

Speaking of home, a wonderful blogging friend, Catherine, sent me this poem after reading my blog post on A Month of Sundays and Mr. H. I am always touched when someone takes the time to write after reading my blog...it's a gift. This, a lovely gift by Dutch poet, Rutger Kopland, Under the Apple Tree. Thank you Catherine!

Under The Apple Tree

I came home, it was about 

eight and remarkably

close for the time of the year,

the garden seat stood waiting

under the apple tree

I took my place and sat

watching how my neighbour

was still digging in his garden,

the night came out of the soil

a light growing bluer hung 

in the apple tree

then slowly it once again 

became too beautiful to be true, 

the day's alarms disappeared

 in the scent of hay, 

toys again lay in the grass 

and from far away 

in the house came the laughter 

of children in the bath

to where I sat,

to under the apple tree.

and later I heard the wings

of wild geese in the sky

heard how still and empty

it was becoming

luckily someone came 

and sat beside me, 

to be precise it was

you who came to my side

under the apple tree,

remarkably close

for our time of life. 

1966, Dutch poet

Rutger Kopland

Thank you Katrina, Lauren and Catherine 

for the magic you bring to my life!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!!

Jeanne xx

You can write to me: jeannecollageoflife@gmail.com