glad

All I had to do was “ask”

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Driving to work this morning, while sipping my regular strong black ‘coffee with 2’ from my travel plunger mug, I was thinking I really need to get going again and write another post. About what? It seems that keeping busy with work and other projects had stolen my inspiration! I could not think of anything that had happened to me lately worthy of sharing for the purpose of making my readers happier.

Well, I did write, a course. “How to get happy and healthy”, https://www.coursecraft.net/courses/z9QvH/splash, but don’t think my blog audience would like to read about me advertising that here. I am in the process of setting up a separate page for that, but it is taking me longer than I thought to make it happen. There are still some minor details to be improved to the looks of the course, like the picture of me acting like a Galah in Spring snow and ski boots. It is taking me a bit of time to get the hang of my just acquired graphic design program being totally new to that sort of thing. The important part, the content, is all good to go, so why not tell everyone?

Just in case anyone reading this is feeling a bit down lately and would be interested in enrolling, enter the special coupon code “Esther” and you will receive a 50% discount, just for reading my blog 🙂

Ok, I’m getting sidetracked here. It was a beautiful still morning with a blue, albeit a little hazy sky just after sunrise with a forecast temperature of a pleasant 26 degrees Celcius. The drive to work was smooth with only a bit of slow traffic at a merge of freeway’s where the sun was straight in your face making it difficult to see the road. Because car sun visor’s are designed for taller people, I wear my cap to be able to have a clear enough vision of what is happening in those situations.

It was promising to be a beautiful day and I was assigned the task of moving and weeding all stock from one of the shade houses in the whole sale nursery to another area. The light changes a lot very quickly at this time of the year when the shadows are getting longer heading towards Winter in Australia. It was nice to be working outside again for a change as lately I had been doing a lot of fun jobs in the potting shed. Pushing the heavily laden trolley around and squatting to pick up the pots and weeds is great exercise for my legs to get strong for the snow season, so I don’t mind at all being paid for getting fit in a beautiful environment!

The downside of wearing a cap is that sometimes obstacles are not seen before feeling the impact with the head and after nearly loading up a full trolley I hit a hose. Thankfully this was not as painful as the metal protrusion that gave me a bruise there last week. The hose however was part of a retired overhead watering system and sagging badly off its wire, in need of a cable tie or two. It was really in my way there and I scanned the gravel to see if I could find a bit of metal wire maybe, that is often discarded by technicians around the nursery. No luck though, so I carefully hooked it as best possible a bit higher up.

Within five minutes of keeping at weeding and loading my trolley, I heard the familiar sound of my boot hitting a bit of…metal wire in the gravel! It was too thick and short to bend into a small hook to serve the purpose. I laughed at myself for “forgetting to specify” in my earlier thoughts that it had to be bendable and stuck it somewhere out of the way, just in case I found a use for it later. It had not even crossed my mind that I had actually “asked” for it to appear and the finding reminded me of the thought again.

Not long after this incident I heard another bit of metal rattling on the gravel from my boot hitting it. As I looked down I found a perfect piece of fencing wire that did the job beautifully! It reminded me of the beach walk I wrote about in the story about the wind chime in my book, where nature just kept providing me with whatever I was thinking of next I needed to make this wind chime!

Morning tea time came and one of the other ladies remarked about my vibe, asking why I seemed so chirpy. I told her I felt so good, because I just found the inspiration for another blog story!

That was of course not the only reason, for the event also reminded me of the fact that we are always supported and all we have to do is “ask”. I have seen so much proof in my life now that thoughts become reality and it still catches me by surprise all the time. I love and am so glad about those small positive surprises!

All this from a simple bit of discarded fencing wire 😉

Next time you don’t hear from me here for a while, please message and remind me to read this post again!

With gratitude,

PollyEsther

 

 

The sneaky flower

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Last Summer one of my larger cacti was about to flower just before we left on a mini trip over the holidays. I asked my watering friend to keep an eye on it and snap a picture when it opened. She forgot…

This Summer that same variety again had a flower bud just before our annual mini holiday of 5 days. I have many pots and am still unsure how often they all flower, but not every year! I had never seen the flower and owned this cactus variety for at least 3 years!

Again I asked my (other) watering friend to keep an eye out, urging to check every day because it is no more than a 24 hour event! I made sure my camera was easy to find and charged up.

Coming back I was eager to see the pictures, but my friend was convinced the flower had not happened yet and was still to come out. The bud did look a little sad to me and proved me right as days went on and it only shrivelled more…

sad flower

sad flower

Fortunately, this year seemed a good one for flowering cacti and I was treated to another bud coming out. This time I checked it two, three times a day! Surely I was not going to miss seeing this what looked like a promising magnificent event again! The previous ones from another variety were the size of an outstretched hand. The stem of the bud started stretching faster and longer on Friday, but surely the weather change was going to put a spanner in the works, I thought. Serious thunderstorms forecast for that night.

It was indeed a good, well needed downpour for the garden creating pleasant cooler temperatures in the morning along with some fascinating lightning.

I woke up early and refreshed and walked as per usual straight outside into my garden to wake up to the day and let the dog out. Of course my lemon tree check to gather the newly fallen ones for my morning juice and wander past my cacti…

Cactus flower after overnight rain

Cactus flower after overnight rain

It did not look like it had fully opened yet, so I resolved to come back with the camera after breakfast when the sun might be closer to lighting it up a little more for me.

This one does not like the sun!

This one does not like the sun!

Now it all started to make sense, how my watering friends and myself had never seen this cactus flower. It likes to do it in the dark, overnight! It has a beautiful sweet fragrance that to me comes close to jasmine or frangipani. And another bud underneath…

Budding Cactus

Budding Cactus

A week later it opened up at night after I gave it an extra drink to ensure this flower coming out. It was the first one I saw this close to opening!

Cactus flower opening just before dark

Cactus flower opening just before dark

I made sure to take plenty of photo’s and even though the night time ones are not good enough to publish, I did get some very early morning beauties!

It is so easy to feel gratitude for being witness to this special, just 12 hour flower that is not only beautiful, but smelled like heaven too!

Finally fully flowering!

Finally fully flowering!

Cactus flower in full glory

Cactus flower in full glory

With gratitude,

PollyEsther

I am grateful for…

Water lily
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All the kind people that are helping me with my book marketing, for without them things would be a lot harder for previously unknown authors ! I am so glad to be living in this era of social media and networking on line! It sure opens up a lot of previously hard to find opportunities for people like me. I know if it was not for computers, I don’t think my book would have ever been published!
Check out this wonderful blog that kindly listed “Looking @ Life” among some fantastic books!

https://brittneysahin.wordpress.com/authors-to-read/authors-to-read-multiple-genres-here/

Who knows, you might find your new favorite read or best Christmas gift idea amongst it!

With lots of gratitude,
Pollyesther

PS I would love to hear, and for you to leave a comment if you found a book to your liking there!

Mother’s Day and Forgiveness

Bunch of Tulips
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While most people are celebrating Mother’s Day today, remembering all the good things mothers do and have done in their unconditional love for their children, I saw a post on Face Book by someone who did not share this experience. It was obvious that the mother in question had caused a great deal of pain and Mother’s Day reminded her of all this past hurt, rubbing salt in her wounds.

I felt for her as I saw some connections with her previous posts and looked for quite some time on google for the right article expressing the thoughts going through my mind to make her feel better. From years of research to find answers and solutions for my own (different) issues, I felt I may have some insights of interest to her, but failed to locate an article able to express everything I wanted to tell her.

Many years ago a Tibetan Buddhist Monk told me that they believe that stress creates poison arrows in the body. At that time I was going through a stressful period and did not understand the mechanics of this, however could see the negative results it had on my own health. In my quest for answers I read many articles based on scientific research and learned that the body produces very different chemicals in a state of stress than when feeling happy and in harmony. These chemicals cause indeed a lot of havoc from digestive problems to psychological disorders and can eventually even lead to terminal illness, if not corrected in time.

In my case most of my stress was caused by habits absorbed into my subconscious during my early childhood. How this exactly works is very well explained by Dr. Bruce Lipton, (https://www.brucelipton.com/about and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pJwYcK08iQ) for anyone wanting to understand the mechanics better. I absorbed these habits by observing my mother and yes I did blame her a bit for raising me into a stress filled person, until I looked at our family history in more detail.

She had been through a very stressful period in her own life not long before I came along. She was the sole caretaker of 3 elderly men, including my quadriplegic grandfather, after her mother passed away from a stroke at the age of 53. My grandmother also had been through a lot of difficulties during her short life.

Most people react from their subconscious the majority of time (research suggests 95%) and are unaware of the origins of most of their responses, because they relate to a part of their life that has very few conscious memories left! This is due to the fact that the mind works in a different state after the age of 6, compared to when a lot of these memories were made and “recorded” into the subconscious before that.

Understanding this, it becomes clear that my stress response habit was subconsciously “inherited” from at least 2 generations before me, if not more. Thankfully I also absorbed a lot of good habits, that show to me that subconscious habits are extremely important for functioning well overall.

I am grateful that nowadays access to this sort of information is so easy using the internet and that I found an understanding that there was really no one to blame for my predicament because the people that had passed it to me were in reality victims themselves! The good news is, I was able to break this chain by educating myself and work on changing my subconscious patterns.

Going back to the start, how can this post help the situation of the person suffering pain from the childhood memories? The understanding that this mother inadvertently may have been a victim herself, reacting unconsciously out of subconscious habits, can possibly transform her pain and grudge into compassion and forgiveness.

Pain and grudges cause stress resulting in disease, whereas compassion and forgiveness lead to health and happiness! Education, understanding and awareness are the key to healing the past! Maybe today is a good day to break the chain of past suffering and start healing?

Happy Mothers Day!

 

 

Flower Passion

Passion Flower
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In some of my previous posts I have hinted at my love of nature. Spending time outdoors is good for everyone, especially on a nice sunny day in Autumn. I am very grateful for the generous size garden around my home and love tending to it. So in this post I’d like to share my passion with you.

The chore of weeding has become a form of yoga as I am tiptoeing through the garden beds, stretching to reach that sprig of grass that self seeded from the neighbors yard through a crack in the fence. I have learned to be mindful of my body and move in beneficial ways that leave me feeling great afterwards.

There is not a lot of thinking involved in weeding and with the improved blood flow to the brain from bending over, inspiring ideas come in freely. I regularly walk outside, away from the computer, to have a play with the dog, appreciate the garden and find weeds and inspiration.

Hosta in flower

Hosta in flower

It is interesting to see how my garden has grown with me, from as easy as possible to maintain when I was working full time, with lots of natives to attract local birds and minimize watering, to the current state.

My vegie patch

My vegie patch

Nowadays, working part time and having more days off, I have added a vegetable patch to save money and have a supply of fresh organic vegetables to pick from any time at my leisure. I also planted some small yellow Marigolds for a little color and pest control along the edge.

Fuchsia flowers

Fuchsia flowers

I have added a lot more flowering plants everywhere else as well, bringing the ones in pots into the house as a temporary indoor plant or craft cut ones into flower arrangements to brighten up the room.

I have started collecting a variety of Fuchsias, which have always been high up on my favorite list ever since loving the Fuchsia flower fairy in a childhood picture book the most.

Pansy baskets brightening up a shady area

Pansy baskets brightening up a shady area

The more flowers I see in my garden, the more I come to appreciate my own piece of nature surrounded by high fences for privacy. This is my own patch of paradise. There is something special about a flowering plant that highlights the impermanent nature of everything. Looking closely at a flower makes you appreciate it while it is in its full glory, before it will be gone in a day or so…

Cacti flowers only last one day

Cacti flowers only last one day

One of my smaller Cacti in flower

One of my smaller Cacti in flower

One of natures little miracles

One of natures little miracles

Another collection I have kind of stumbled on is my Cacti range. Even though they are a little nasty to handle without gloves, the flowers are an absolute miracle of nature and just looking at them takes me on a fantasy journey. The centers of these flowers are like looking into a different universe. Imagine if you were seeing them from a bee’s perspective…

Every Summer I look forward to one or more of them displaying their magic, which does not happen every year and only for one day!  One of the varieties I have yet to see flower, decided to time it right on a day we were not home, so I will be keeping a close eye on that one for the next few years to get a photograph of it too.

Succulent in flower

Succulent in flower

Yes, looking around my garden, seeing the beauty of nature, it is rather easy to be Glad about life while appreciating the flowers I have allowed to blossom in my little patch of Paradise!

What is your favorite flower?

Valentines Day, considering a different way

bowl of orchids
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“Did you get a bunch of red roses this morning?” was a question posed to me by a friend on the phone early today. Not that long ago this would have made me feel neglected, unloved and insecure for the reason that my significant loved one never buys me flowers or remembers special days.

He does not need to, for I have fresh flowers in my home everyday from my own garden. They are free to pick and fresher than purchased from any shop. I arrange them in a floating bowl if the stems are too short for a vase, or use a single flower with some green leaves in a piece of ikebana if the pickings are slim. You don’t need a lot to have an effective display. I am currently looking at three orchids resting on a large green bed of foliage in a floating bowl, which gives my home a tranquil spa like feel. My loved one shows me his love and gratitude in different subtle ways every day!

This brings me to the subject of Valentines Day. Many years ago, on Valentines Day, I bought my husband a coffee mug with a cute picture and loving message on it. He bought me a new TV! We both laughed at the ludicrous contrast and resolved not to fall for the commercial and social pressure any more. I have a history of working in a retail sector for twenty years, where Valentines Day was a major selling day. This fact put me off the way it is commonly celebrated, by buying gifts. We are led to believe by the media that we are not showing our love unless we spend money on gifts! It seems the more expensive, the more we show our love. I feel that by doing this a big factor is overlooked. That factor is gratitude for the other person to be part of our lives. Do we want to show gratitude one day a year (with an expensive gift) or every day of the year (with subtle messages)? What is more powerful for our relationship?

Do you want to be a victim of the “commercial brainwashing machine” or could you come up with your own unique way to make the loved one in your life feel special today (or any day of the year) and show your love and gratitude for them without spending any money? What special talent do you have to draw on? Are you a poet or writer? You could write a special message. Are you a painter? You could paint a picture with a special message. Are you a good cook? Cook a special favorite dish today. The options are endless and individual. The fact that these don’t cost extra money makes it possible to do it more often and not just on Valentines Day.

I feel a personalized message of love and gratitude is much more powerful than going to a shop and buying an exuberantly expensive bunch of flowers or gift. I am glad and grateful for the love in my life, especially because it is shown in a very different personal way, that is far more subtle and frequent than just one day a year.

How do you show your loved ones they are appreciated and special to you? Please share in the comments below:

Be water, my friend

Pansy in my garden after rain
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The flower looks up at the sky where dark clouds are gathering. She is feeling a little limp and tired after the hot sun dried out the soil around her. It gave her a lot of warm energy and growth for a while, but now all the moisture has gone, her energy is vanishing quickly with it, her leaves shriveling.

A loud thunder crashes the silence of the moment, followed by a rain drop falling on one of her petals. She breathes a sigh of relief. More drops are now refreshing her leaves. As she enjoys the cooling water she once again feels alive and stretches up to the sky. The dust is washing off her and with that taking away her weakness. She can breathe fully now and quickly regains her strength and readiness for another bud to develop.

So often I get inspired on a rainy weekend day to write another blog post. I love rainy days now, for they allow me to relax and contemplate. No need to worry about doing the washing or watering the garden today! I am glad to have some time out! This morning we got 15 millimeters of rain with some thunderstorms and the above scene came into my mind, creating a feeling of awe and wonder about how a thirsty, limp plant can spring back up and stand tall and strong, by just absorbing water! It made me think about the amazing power of water, commonly taken for granted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4n-rw6vq-4 The mystery of water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS0d5gyE7PE The healing power of water H2O – the memory of water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59iuelCL0MQ The mystery of water, scientific proof

Just in case you are pressed for time and don’t want to watch these links, they all point to findings that there is an unexpected powerful energetic factor to H2O that is a little trickier to scientifically explain besides the chemical composition we can measure. It appears water gets affected by our thoughts and feelings as well as the rest of the environment it comes in contact with.

Whether these videos and their claims are true or not, they serve to make us think about it and appreciate this substance for what it undeniably is, LIFE SUSTAINING and ESSENTIAL. What if we took our thoughts a step further and look from different angles? What if water is showing us OUR potential? Is it possible that by expecting we have an energetic influence on water, WE ARE actually CREATING the results that these experiments are showing us? From the video’s I get the impression that it is a two way street with us affecting water and in return water affecting us. Is this a clue in the mysterious dance of life and consciousness, showing us that it does not matter if we consider a substance organic or inorganic, everything containing water is infused with it? What if we are water?

Bruce Lee quote

Are we mere drops in ONE ocean of infinite life and if so, what kind of ocean do we want it to be?

What are your thoughts on this?

Life lessons found in unexpected places

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“When Yates cut the rope, Simpson plummeted down the cliff and into a deep crevasse. Exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, Yates dug himself a snow cave to wait out the storm. The next day, Yates carried on descending the mountain by himself. When he reached the crevasse he realized the situation that Simpson had been in and what had happened when he cut the rope. After calling for Simpson and hearing no reply, Yates made the assumption that Simpson had died and so continued down the mountain alone.

Simpson, however, was still alive. He had survived the 150-foot fall despite his broken leg and had landed on a small ledge inside the crevasse. When Simpson regained consciousness, he discovered that the rope had been cut and realized that Yates would presume that he was dead. He therefore had to save himself. It was impossible for Simpson to climb up to the entrance of the crevasse (because of the overhanging ice and his broken leg). Therefore his only choice was to lower himself deeper into the crevasse and hope that there was another way out. After lowering himself, Simpson found another small entrance and climbed back onto the glacier via a steep snow slope.

inside a crevasse

inside a crevasse

From there, Simpson spent three days without food and with almost no water, crawling and hopping five miles back to their base camp. This involved navigating the glacier (which was scattered with more crevasses) and the moraines below. Exhausted and almost completely delirious, he reached base camp only a few hours before Yates intended to return to civilization. Simpson’s survival is widely regarded by mountaineers as amongst the most amazing pieces of mountaineering lore.[4] “ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_the_Void

Base camp

Base camp

Over Winter my friend and fellow blogger Felicia wrote a post about a movie that had inspired her. If you like to read it here is the link: http://embracethesoul.com/2014/08/05/yes-when-opportunity-calls/. This post reminded me of a movie I watched over a decade ago,  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_the_Void_(film)) that taught me an important life lesson, which has served me well since the day I watched it, that I wish to share here with you.

What impacted me the most about Simpson was his approach to the impossible task ahead of him when he realized that his climbing partner had left. The movie (I can only give you a link to the trailer for copyright reasons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Y6MNyWp6s) goes into a lot more detail about his trip back to base camp than the above article I found on Wikipedia, so if you have the time, watch it first (from your own trustworthy video rental places on line or local stores), before you read on and find me spoiling all the suspense.

At the time I watched the movie I was a different person to what I feel I am today. I was nervous, insecure and easily overwhelmed by the multiple tasks I felt I had to do every day, so you can imagine my awe for Simpson as I watched him crawl his way back to base camp with his broken leg in such extreme conditions! My awe for this achievement has only grown with attending several incidents involving broken legs, seeing the resulting pain first hand in casualties, as a first aider in the last 7 years.

What I remember most was how he dealt with it. Contrary to my own way of looking at tasks, he first set himself an achievable one. He said to himself: “If I can drag myself to that rock over there, I improve my chance of survival”. Then, after he managed to do it, he looked for the next section he could see himself making. He did not dwell on the big picture ahead, but chose to focus on what he expected to be achievable at that moment. The result was an amazing achievement that saved his life!

There are many more benefits that came out of this ordeal as a result of him sharing his experience, that are impossible to see and measure in it’s entirety, with so many people that have seen the movie or read his book. All I can do is share what it has done for me since I have started implementing this life lesson in my own life. I now understand the importance of setting a small achievable task or in other words segmenting the big ones. I do not get overwhelmed any more, feel happier, live more in the “now” and look for more inspiration and life lessons in stories about experiences of others that successfully dealt with their hurdles! You can always find someone who went through more than yourself! This has helped me grow as a person, realize how strong people can be and has even given me better tools to help ease the suffering of the first aid casualties I come across.

I did not realize the full impact this movie had on me until years later, as it took some time for me to change my old ingrained habits, but I am so GLAD I watched it when I did! Have you seen any movies or doco’s that made a big impact on your life? Please share in the comments below. I look forward to your suggestions 😉

With love and gratitude,

Pollyesther

Enjoying the journey

Sunrise in the mountains
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I am looking at the glistening gums outside my window. After a warm, humid sunny day yesterday, I woke early to see a beautiful sunrise surrounded by some patches of blue sky and puffs of streaky clouds. Not long after, the thick and heavy looking cloud band came over the hill and it started pouring. This is not surprising, after all it is Spring in Australia at the moment. It is the long weekend of the Melbourne Cup, when most Australians either fully focus on horse racing, or their weekend away with an eye on the score in country pubs near their camp sites in the bush on a river somewhere.

I decided to drive up to the house in the mountains, where I also spend 3 Months in Winter. Every year we hold our annual Cup Weekend trout fishing competition there among friends. Apart from being an informal fishing competition, it is also an annual social get together and a lot of fun catching up with people you don’t see every day, but have known for years.

Even though it is a fair drive of at least five and a half hours, excluding the necessary fuel and toilet stops, I have come to enjoy it. The first few times I drove it on my own, it felt like a tedious waste of time and I could not wait to arrive and get it over with. Slowly over time my attitude towards this regular journey changed. At first I started to love the last two hour leg of the trip on the narrow winding road, that followed an old river through the mountains for a long way. Occasionally you had to slow down for a small settlement, but it was generally extremely quiet and in the middle of nowhere surrounded by seemingly untouched nature. On some of my late night trips up, I saw more wombats (they look like oversized nocturnal guinea pigs on steroids) than cars on the road. It made me feel like I had already arrived at my destination and was just taking in the views and nature surrounding me.

One day, a while back now, I was stuck behind an over size truck with an unusual load that had me curious in an earlier part of the journey. I think it was some kind of large water tank, but looked a bit like a rocket ship, that was in front for a long way and slowed the trip right down. There was no way around it, so to my relief it finally turned off the main road I was following and allowed everyone to get on with their journeys. That day was a busy day and it took a bit of time to get through the next town, due to congestion. By the time the following town came in sight, you guessed it, the truck was in front of me again! The slow moving truck must have somehow bypassed the busy town where ever it had gone! This made me look up the maps of the area and find my next favorite leg of the journey, so much quieter and more scenic as well! Driving on these secondary roads made me realize I liked driving through nature and on quiet roads and as a result I slowly started finding more and more country roads that did not hold up at all, to break up the boring bits, naturally, without consciously looking for them.

Yesterday was another one of those days! Police had shut off the main road (a half hour long mostly straight and boring drive) between two towns and was directing traffic onto a country side road. I was a little unsure at the start as it veered off a long way in a different direction to where I thought it should go, to get to the next town, and felt slightly nervous this could possibly add a lot of time to the already long trip. There was no need, as it took about the same time and was amazingly scenic and quiet. I loved looking over the rolling hills and long distance views with the sun starting to get low in the sky. There were a few farms and sheep dotted around and the landscape varied so much more than the usual drive! I’ll be back there again!

This event reinforced to me again that if we relax, enjoy the moment, focus more on what we enjoy and trust things to fall into place to our liking, this is exactly what eventually happens. Not just on actual road trips, but also in every other part of our lives. Every road block is at first met with resistance, only to turn into an opportunity to find a better way in the end! I am so glad the road block forced me to find this gem of a D-tour yesterday, for it made my journey so much more enjoyable! Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Storm Lovers

Wispy Clouds
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First I would like to apologize for my lack of action on this blog over the past few months. Between working full time in the snow and managing a busy lodge, socializing with the guest at night time, I have not had much time to dedicate to writing at all. My fickle prepaid stick connection allowed me to post one story I had prepared earlier on a “good reception day” off. Despite that, I was pleased to still see regular visitors reading my stories and would like to thank everyone that stuck by me.

I did find a moment of inspiration again while doing the towies lunch relief shift, sitting in the top lift hut for an hour. That is the only time that I get a chance during my working day to “zone out” and relax to some degree, while keeping an eye on the poma’s and making sure they retract properly and not tangle around the cable, which would stop the lift until the technicians come down to fix it again.  Besides that I also make sure the few midday guests get off okay.

I love looking at the view over the valley’s and the sky from this tiny hut on top of the hill. In all the years I have worked there, I have started to notice a pattern in the weather, about which I wrote this recent poem:

_____________________________

Storm Lovers

Wispy clouds looking like a feather,

talk to me about a change in the weather.

Next, the wind will come,

which can be quite scary for some.

Trees will blow over, branches will snap,

lifts will close and powder lovers… will clap!

For they all know that what comes after,

is the cause of so much fun and laughter.

They weather the storm just knowing,

their turns in the Powder will soon be flowing.

Big airs aloft,

with landings real soft.

Get your bases waxed,

because you know what is coming next!

_______________________________

Yes, we did get some nasty storms this season, with one blowing over at least 6 trees across the track I use to get from the lodge to the main road and back. Thankfully this happened while I was at work and no one got hurt, but it did make for an adventurous trip home, attempting to get through. Lucky there was only one massive old gum tree, that left just enough room around the hole, where the roots used to be, to create a new path around it. Most of the others were small enough to drive over the thinner branches on the end of the trees. I stopped to try and drag one a bit more out of the way, because the branches were a little high and I was concerned they might snap and bounce back up, damaging the car in the process. As I did this, I was surprised to see headlights coming up behind me. Someone else as crazy as me tackling a four wheel drive track with obstacles in the dark! It was my friend and neighbor, who came through to check out if it was passable, because his partner had to go to work that night. I was pleased he turned up and helped me, because the tree was a lot heavier than I would have thought looking at it from the car. After saying my thanks and goodbye we both proceeded to drive home, grateful we made it there safely.

One of the snapped trees along my drive to work

One of the snapped trees along my drive to work

As I looked around the house, it became clear that this storm had been the worst one I had seen in all those seasons I had lived there. I found the cover of the chimney in the middle of the driveway with the pipe almost in the dam below the house. The couch, that used to be under the roof on the back deck had moved itself over to the deck behind the woodshed. The recently emptied recycling bin was completely missing, despite the fact that I had weighted it down with a few logs on top before I left for work in the morning. The old broken washing machine that had been up against the wall on another deck, awaiting a trip to the tip, was almost falling off the edge and the lid had detached itself and was a long way up the drive! There was a tree across the main drive to the house (I came up the other one) and a few more down around the house. I was so glad there was not more damage to the house! After I was satisfied with my efforts of tidying up for the night , I put my torch back in the car and made myself something for dinner.

The next morning I woke up to the pleasant surprise of fresh snow on the ground. Despite now being an adult, this still gives me the same excitement as when I was a child growing up in Europe. For those that have never seen snow, the closest thing to this feeling I can think about is when you wake up early as a child on Christmas Day to find Santa has visited and there are so many presents under the tree, you don’t know which one to open first! Snow on the ground may make the drive to work a little more hazardous, but the fun of playing or working in fresh snow far outweighs this issue. You just know that it is only there for a short time and have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Waking up to fresh snow is always exiting for me

Waking up to fresh snow is always exiting for me

This is not unlike life itself, where everyone has to get through numerous storms, but once the storm clears, we have to see and grab the opportunities it leaves us at the right time. As a result we can get exited about life again and look forward to this new chapter with gratitude. For if it was not for the storms in our lives, we would not appreciate and enjoy the good times as much!

I am so glad the storms of the past Winter season brought us so much fresh snow! It allowed me the to get plenty of work, complete my level 2 Alpine certificate, meet loads of beautiful new friends and guests and ski more miles than in any other season before. Of course practice makes perfect, so I also enjoyed it even more with my newly learned improved techniques.

Please share your thoughts on storms in your life in the comments below. I look forward to reading them!