art – Penny Reilly Artist Beyond the Gate

Dreaming the future…

What does your core tell you about the current way of living?

How does environmental and human distress, impact on your daily consciousness?

Do you get out of bed each day and continue the same old same old that no longer satisfies any but your basic income needs but too panicked to realise any alternatives? Are you living your life in fear or joy?

If you tick yes, to any of the above, what are you doing to navigate the pitfalls of continuing on the same path versus those of changing to a more holistic approach?

Can you envisage an alternative route that still pays those unavoidable bills, brings you joy, fulfils and covers your basic needs without the stress of the tick tock world we live in?

Take a moment… slow down and listen to birds calling, trees rustling bare branches… can you smell late winter scents… breath… or can you only hear traffic and smell car fumes?

I’ve been talking to trees
they reply
in rustling commentary
Listening to birds
along the promontory
They whisper and scream
but the message is the same
Go to the hills
find the silence
…leave the noise again
Where will you be
when the earth makes her escape
Where will you live
with earth’s shuddering earthquake
What good is a sterile life
fed from supermarket stores
What will you eat
when they have closed their doors
You cannot eat
your botox lips
or taloned fingertips
You cannot feed your soul
stale bread and chips
Take stock as winds change
What do the trees whisper
…do you listen
to their wisdom of old
Where will you be
when solar winds set you free
safe in your bed
…or outside in the cold

I woke up this morning recalling vividly a long dream I had last night. I was walking the boundaries of our land, trailing delicate long sticks, one in each hand. In my left was Willow and in my right, Alder. I was humming a tune that I don’t consciously know or remember, but it still resonates with me as if I know it well from somewhere deep inside.

Moisture rose from the ground in the grooves the sticks were making as I trailed them behind me. Our land disappeared into the mist, a canopy forming like a dome over and below it. I woke feeling nurtured and protected from the everyday madness of the world.

What does your core tell you about this current way of living, so many cling to and yet so many are lost and entangled in, some, without truly knowing why?

What does your future dreaming consist of?

What can you do, even on the smallest scale, to create a sense of community and unity with neighbours, family and friends?

We dream… we all dream, sadly mostly of ‘one day when,’ with little appreciation of today, this moment and the fact that we’re here, alive, sentient and uniquely individual. We can become disheartened, forget that we can make a difference wherever we are on this beautiful earth home simply by needing/wanting less… not playing into the hands of the 1%.

What I refer to here isn’t about pottering in a garden or even taking a stroll in the park, rather more, finding a deeply rooted connection with all that is and looking at why we left or as many seem to think based on religious stories, kicked out of the garden for being naughty… well right now we are more than naughty and not just in the biblical sense, because the world that sustains us is diminished and creatures who have as much right to be in this proverbial garden as us, are dying out in droves and we are apparently blind!

Where
do you go
when the enormity
the tragedy
gives you no space
to breath
I wish at times
I was at one
with the breeze
…not the winds of war
knocking at every door
…without exception
No, this breeze
mischievous
wild
grants hope
without perfection
Simply raw
asking for nothing
giving more
than the tangled framework
of twisted minds
playing at kings and heroes
in a countdown
of digital ones and zeros
…stealing the light of souls
as the world rolls
leaking corruption
into oblivion
No
this breeze lifts me
away from the gloom
no sense of doom
filtering light and life
through the room
expounding courage
for others who need
yet, the 1%,
aware of their deeds
we all must confront
Stand up
let there be
no escape for them
…or thus
on that playful breeze
there will be
no escape for me
…for us

It’s not about hoarding as some have said about self sufficiency, rather about not having to dash to the shops for things we have no idea of re their origin, treatment (sprays and gassing) or road miles/fuel consumption but the feeling of satisfaction, when you know exactly where your produce is coming from.

If every person did just a little, we could feed the world.

So while I craft away at my art and the next book that’s very slowly taking form, and winter vegetables are harvest ready in the greenhouse, I think of the rat race life once led and commiserate with those caught on the proverbial treadmill. In order to leave said rat race behind, one has to want more in terms of peace and freedom but less in terms of status, things and more, more, more of everything.

We lack for nothing, despite high rates and the general cost of items we simply cannot grow or make ourselves, but then they’re not the throw away kind of things… not prestigious, not empty and sterile but full of life, (we party too), community and simplicity…

When did we decide we didn’t need nature?

I know there are many like-minded people “out there,” I speak to them daily and see the regular posts of information on climate conditions, which means nobody can claim ignorance and yet, governments approved more coal and gas harvesting, more old growth forest pillaging and as a result many creatures have lost their home territories and we feel we have the right to this… the end result may well be that we will lose ours!

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON DATA CENTRES!!!! Yes that’s me yelling, then.

Well… that got that off my chest but, that said, does anyone else feel as if there is no return from the horror of the world right now… and I won’t get started on the war, madness and mayhem?

I ask you again… when did we decide we didn’t need nature?

When did we disconnect from her energy and bounty. When did we believe her resources were infinite and that we could plunder them endlessly? When did we allow bees to die for the convenience of being fed by conglomerates rather than farmers, gardeners, local produce merchants or from our own back yards?

When did food, created practically in science labs, become more important than the growing of food in a garden or wild crafted gently from the environment in season. Yet, everything, absolutely everything comes from nature. Even man made creations have their foundation in her and she is the only planet we know of where we can survive… so why are we destroying our unique, crazy paradise when there is no Planet B?

Start slowly… deeply analyse your needs. What are you waiting for that delays taking those first steps?

You don’t need a squillion acres of land to begin a journey of rediscovering what our ancestors always knew and with today’s kitchen and garden books/videos and a few simple aids, we can quickly become garden and kitchen pros. At least enough to fill a pantry with healthy fare, enough to share.

A small garden, a verandah or balcony, a little greenhouse, or even a kitchen bench is a place to begin a new journey of discovery.

Yes, we planned ahead by observing the trends evident to all and we made the time earlier on (despite raising four children and working full time for many years), yet here we are, dedicated to the natural world, enjoying our life with no need for influencers, dedicated only to their own self image and sales quotas.

Dare to dream the future… dare to dream there will be a bright one for your children, grandchildren… great grandchildren…

Walk softly… edit the dream when it no longer describes your purpose… blessed Imbolc or Lughnasadh… Awen /|\

Penny

What dreams are made of…

Naturally, there are those things we need for basic comfort and safety… a roof over our head, clean water and fresh food, loving relationships, community and family friendships… this goes without saying but objects do not bring lasting happiness.

Just for a moment, in that ‘wherever’ space you reside in this moment, stand still. Close your eyes and simply focus on your breath… then consciously shift to a four count breath in and eight count breath out, which allows the lungs to clear the stale air from the bottom of the lungs fully. You may feel a little dizzy if you’re not used to truly emptying out your lung capacity, but then there should come a sense of euphoria at being in ‘clean, full breath’ mode…

When we find this space on a more constant level, we begin to relax into our day more easily and no matter where we travel through the day, we remain more and more in this space of awareness until we no longer have to think about the getting there, we just are there.

The hum of bees can bring you that same feeling… the purr of a cat, wind in the trees, the tap, tap, rhythmic tap of a branch against your window, the mournful cry of curlew… even a gentle snore of a close partner can soothe and relax the diaphragm and release breath deep from within… stress held in our very bones…

Today’s stresses puts a burden on us… changing our way of being constantly in angst and easing the way to a more conscious approach leads to simply being… in our work, in relationships, family crisis… all emotions are better handled… more kindly and intuitively handled, when we come from a place of inner peace, leading us on into inner strength.

With our mind clear, we better know what action to take rather than acting on impulse in sticky situations from a base of fear.

Simple thoughts and actions, yet simplicity is the key to everything, whittling down complexity into bite-sized pieces. Tackling the frustrating need for things, perceived to be out of reach… realising objects are mostly on a want not need basis, especially if they don’t come under the simpler needs of life, which in turn releases the fear lack.

This is the space within, from which I write and/or paint. Connected to nature allows a quasi download of information to flow. I recognise it by the ease of it and by not needing to stress about the process or worry that if I don’t get it down quickly, it will disappear. Thoughts disappear but this space remains. It’s a combination of seeing and listening that goes beyond stressing about a particular context. Editing comes much later, after the whole piece is written.

To be in this space most of the time here at home on the farm amongst the wildlings is where it all begins and ends. It can be naturally triggered by a sight, a scent, a sound, or a fleeting feeling of something ‘other’ occurring. An image can trigger words and words can trigger an image to form in my artwork… nothing happens in isolation and thus, we find a wholeness in all of our senses combined and individually. When we apply this to our ability to dream, we create whole new possibilities for understanding our existence, which includes acceptance of the fact that we are creating our own life and purpose… hopefully giving us the reason for being rather than constantly asking the universe to tell us what to do or to make our ‘purpose’ known to us.

in this space, we get to decide and create that purpose…

Deep within
the wild dreamer stirs
awakening from slumber
as change occurs
Be willing to sense
how your own needs are met
Stay awake… be aware
lest your dreams you forget
You are the dreamer
and you are the dream
One and the same
it’s within to be seen
You have slept long enough
wake up human-kin
Awaken the wild dreamer
find your truth
find your magic
…within

Walk softly… edit the dream when it no longer describes your purpose… Awen /|\

Penny

We dream… we all dream, sadly mostly of ‘one day when,’ with little appreciation of today, this moment and the fact that we’re here, alive, sentient, uniquely individual and that we can make a difference wherever we are on this beautiful earth home by needing/wanting less…

It’s not always a bed of roses… or carrots…

As self-sufficiency and homesteading skills are shared (and methods sold) across social media, verging on hysteria, I need to say, please don’t get sucked in by the romanticism set before you. It’s not about going backwards to the Middle Ages, rather to embrace old ways of being and bring them into this century. Many apparently, don’t understand the concept of off grid living, assuming we are completely without any form of electricity at all… this is a myth. A good solar unit generates as much power needed to run a normal household. Fridge, freezer, computers, TV, lighting, power tools, my studio tools, etc., etc… we live simply but not in the dark ages and are careful not to overload the system with unnecessary gadgets. We don’t, for instance own a dishwasher (water catchment and storage are more important)… and, we have two pairs of hands.

Words are often thrown at me, such as, ‘you’re so lucky’. Well, sorry folk, there’s no luck involved, it’s methodical planning. It’s sometimes extraordinarily hard work to feed a community from a veggie patch, greenhouse and orchard. It’s weather dependent; seasonal, so it means planning ahead… it means growing what you like but also what grows well and in season, in your particular area. It’s no good my attempting to grow mangoes in a cold climate anymore than Brussel sprouts grow well in far North Queensland… and then there is the pests and predator balance to uphold.

We dreamed for many years as our children grew and set out on their own life path. We grew our own veggies and fruit to some extent and had a few hens but with four growing kids and us both working full time… you know, rates, mortgage, utilities, car registration, insurances, school fees and uniforms and running around madly taking the kids to one place or another. It was a busy life and our dream was on hold to own acres of rural land. Where we lived was like a mini trial run for the farm.

Things suddenly changed… the kids were gone, we both had jobs that we weren’t particularly content with and as things would have it, we found ourselves on the brink of making that change.

Many years ago, we found our acres in Victoria in the forested and rolling green hills, with an old derelict, 100 year old plus, barn and a derelict dairy. It’s a long tale as to how we found and acquired it, but I’ll save it for the book, currently in the writing process. (Watch this space, as the saying goes.) Needless to say, it’s a magical tale, but luck really has nothing to do with it, and we still had to work to pay for the land and for setting up the farm.

We dreamed and fulfilled our dream and then the hard work began… renovating, building greenhouses, planting an orchard and fruit vines… none of which was free. Self-sufficiency is a hard won lifestyle… we saved and had a state of the art solar system installed, which we never regret spending our money on. Even so, there are still rates to pay, a tractor, fuel for tractor and hay/grass slasher, hen feed for winter, storage containers for produce, a freezer, a dehydrator, a water pump, a generator for auto-backup in uber-cold winters, when the sun is a bit light on, (despite a battery array for storing electricity), and not to mention the cost of building everything, (and we used as much recycled timber and iron as we could lay our hands on) such as bathroom, kitchen, a plumber, a solar electrician. (A must to do properly for certificates.)

Our barn/build reno, we designed and built ourselves, but then there’s planning and building permits, site inspections…. And, and, and!

Often people are caught up in the pretty pictures on social media of women in flowing dresses and straw hats skipping between overflowing, perfectly manicured vegetable beds, with equally manicured fingernails and full makeup! Photos of buffed, bronzed young men, scything and bringing in the hay harvest, single handed, while children and women, serve lunch on gleaming platters, smiling smugly and all clean and tidy… this is Hollywood style.

Then there are those pics and reels of women in floral aprons, mixing and baking, chopping and filling glass jars, with not a stain or a sticky batch of cores and peelings to be seen, when a very messy kitchen is far more the reality of homesteading. Super clean, but very messy and outside in the garden, nature is messy too, not neat rows of equally sized plants, denuded of weeds around them. There has to be biodiversity, companion planting for natural bug control and a wild garden to me is the prettiest garden but none of the above are reality. Gardening is becoming a part of nature, not controlling it… or a least attempting to and that’s a fools game.

I paused while writing this to take a short break and, lo and behold, there was an ad for an online course on Instagram on how to decorate interiors in farmhouse style. Once again, I collapsed in giggles… this is not a show or a rehearsal for life… it’s real; make it your own!

So below are a few very random shots of our barn interior… clean, often a little untidy with kitchen doings and goings on… the dining room table is covered with greenhouse plans for the new build in progress but I haven’t photoshopped, or teased to make it idyllically pretty… but it is… it’s home, it’s us… and my kitchen window has a view to our northwest boundary and the dam.

Anyone beginning this journey needs to find a middle road between fantasy and reality. Yes, a healthy body is the result of constant work outside in the fresh air, and we may well sit outside at sunset with a luscious platter of homegrown produce, but often by that time, we’re happily exhausted and often quite grubby, so dinner and a movie are often the more likely outcome to day’s end.

But then… I pause again at stove or sink in my very rustic kitchen, to listen to the birds call, admire a vase of fresh-cut roses and bunches of herbs hanging to dry. I watch the creatures that come and go through our farm from forest edge across to forest edge on the other side and I smile… because the hard work, while dreaming, working with and watching, all this life, is worth more than a hefty bank balance, it’s worth the dirty hands, muddy shoes, and wet winters. A constant cycle of observances like seasonal rituals of abundance, (most years) emerge and gratitude overflows for the fact that we dared to take the steps needed to slow the pace of our working years, moving us into a loose, rhythmic dance of life…

Waiting

for the world

to shift a gear

to slow the pace

of a working year

Slow down

let the season

show the way

drifting

into shorter nights

a longer day

Let go

the thought of chores

instead

honour what you have

what is yours

Make each moment count

appreciate the quality

not the amount

Let go

the broken thoughts

the lost dreams

the might have beens

Refocus

your misted-over dreams

as a silken breeze

indicates the change

open windows

take stock

rearrange

Think less to control

allow the flow

meander

ramble on

waiting for a heart response

Hold what is dear

close there

in a silent prayer

of gratitude

then breath

…let all else go

So don’t be fooled… this lifestyle is a philosophy about doing our bit to help this beautiful planet recover from the dreadful things we’re continuing to do as a species, and in full knowing that we’re killing the only place we have to live.

Recycle, refurbish, renew, reupholster, repurpose. Celebrate what you have.

We grow food that is free of any additives, unpackaged, raw foods, full of nutrition, (because we take care of the soil to keep it rich in nutrients) because seriously… there is no Planet B. But, if this life calls you, don’t be disillusioned, get dirty and creative, grow your own food and reconnect with the seasonal tides and shifts… dive in and feel free to chat if you need an understanding of the process we’ve experienced everyday for nearly thirty years and we wouldn’t change a thing… not even for a photo shoot of me in a flowing dress, silver hair loose and tangled, skipping through fields of wildflowers… and although I can/could… it’s done in secret without manicure or makeup, accompanied by hens and a crazy wee doglet… 😀

I don’t need

sparkly objects

…I have the stars

nor heavy, expensive rugs

I have the lush green grass

…a bed of fallen leaves

Man made perfumes

I need not

for wildflowers bloom here

moss and lichen

add their earth tones

on the fragrant skin of trees

Give me this

and the call of birds

…to dive into

With warm wishes and blessings…

Penny

Author of nine books, with number ten on the way, and a professional artist/photographer and herbalist, you can also find Penny on Instagram and Facebook.

A seasonal spin…

Sorry, sorry… it’s been a while… late February and the season is already shifting from summer into autumn… a strangely cool summer and wet, too. A week or so ago there was a major storm in our region but once again, it skirted around our hilltop home acres. Let’s hope today’s storm warning does the same, although a drop more rain now would be wonderful to top up ponds and rainwater tanks. ‘Beyond the Gate,’ feels like a place centred in the magic of the earth and the kindly spirit; the Genius loci, is one of benevolence, strength and protection.

The last few mornings has seen us veiled in peat-scented, eucalyptus-perfumed, mists. Temperatures have been dropping from mid to high twenties, down to five to six degrees overnight… a very early change indeed as February has the tendency to be the hottest, summer month even in our naturally cooler climate. Not so however for surrounding areas, sadly, as wildfires rage, about ninety kilometres away, with great intensity.

At this time of year, creatures begin to go to ground… curling up in the long and probably exhausted sleep, after the courtship rituals and birthing of new generations is complete. That said, I saw the strange sight of a brand new wood duck, duckling family very late in the season. This couple lost almost their entire first clutch in spring to hawk and fox, so second time around is hopefully the charm, with nine wee ones as shown below.

Hedgerows are filled with crabapples, blackberries, rowan, hawthorn and elderberries… sometimes I feel as if I’m back in the Isles on an autumn day, where we would forage along country lanes and across the wild fields of my childhood… perhaps our deep connections from one place to another, links us on the byways between worlds… opening portals to remembered places of well-being and allowing the recall of those days to manifest elsewhere.

All things and places in the pathways of our mind are linked to another… everything is connected, spreading out to infinity like a tapestry of shining threads. Perhaps the Fae of those past days along with our ancestral culture, follow us down these lanes where our spirit was the happiest.

There’s a doorway

that takes us

to a timeless space

where all that we dream

may be found in one place

Offering ourselves

to the byways between

brings truth to our journey

to where we’ve already been

We can never go back

only here in the now

do we remember those times

when we made a sacred vow

to walk the crooked pathways

turning left and then right

beyond pain and pleasure

beyond the fear of night

to journey out of the darkness

into the warmth

…of Her light

…and so the season changes, the year moves on, hurtling towards Mabon/Alban Elued (Light of the Water) or autumn equinox to many.

Our harvest time is abundant… cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, rhubarb, onions, garlic and soon, pumpkin will form on the vines and table grapes, too… not to mention more herbs than we could possibly use, are hanging to dry in the dark, to retain their colour, some to be made into pesto to freeze. I’ve begun the process of making preserves, freezing and drying to top us up with fresh produce for winter.

This year, so much has been achieved already with groundwork done for a second greenhouse and four young hens added to our small flock as the older girls ceased laying… they will enjoy their elder days, foraging in the garden and still providing wonderful nutrients for our soil.

Everything in balance… to harvest and replace, equals renewal!

Perpetual flow

rolling in

season to season

Blessed days

of sunshine

and shadow

reflected

in how

we walk our way

in balance

…wading

through emotional

waters deep

or rivulet shallow

or exhilarated

dive

immersing self

in life

and grounded

let seeds fall

in fields

…once fallow

I promise to attempt to be more regular with my posts… summer/autumn are naturally busy times Beyond the Gate and in the quieter places between, my work continues on the tenth book, Wild Spirits Live Beyond the Gate… a book of days and new art, photography, poetry and text are currently simmering in the creative cauldron.

Until next time… keep well…

Walk softly…

Awen /|\

Penny