Wednesday June 9th I woke to an incredible thunderstorm.  I immediately raced outside to check my rain barrel and inspect the yard, I love a good thunderstorm.  The energy, the excitement, they’re just fabulous.  

 

The rain was cool and wet to my skin, it invigorated my body as it stung the flesh.  I welcomed the cold and it quickly became enjoyable.  

 

There is something magical about cold water.  It has a way of kick-starting the body.  One only needs to look at Wim Hof or have watched the documentary, “My Octopus Teacher” to know that cold water is something special.  

 

I spent only a short period outside before returning inside to begin my meditation and stretching.  

 

This morning's practice was very gentle and soothing.  I stood close to the window and faced southwest, the direction of the incoming storm.  I watched out to the horizon and inside to my body as the storm surged closer.  I've learned that when meditating it is beneficial to stand near a window and gaze inwards as well as outwards.

 

At one point in my standing meditation I felt my arms urge me to bring my fingers together in a triangle shape.  Just as I did that the sky opened up and lightning struck where my hands met on the horizon.  What an incredible feeling and gift mother nature shared with me.  I was invigorated and cleansed all at once.  As I write this I am trembling with excitement.  What a show Mother Nature put on this morning.  I feel truly blessed to have had such a rare experience.

 

My meditation and stretching practice continued peacefully and deep.  There was not much moving but more tapping today.  Tapping all over the body to release my muscles. 

 

Tapping is a great form of waking up the body, it’s a form of self-massage.  If you feel something deep you can tap into it and release the tension.  This is a common technique that I like to practice.  As silly as it sounds, sometimes in the tapping you can be urged to burp or fart, this is a good sign of release.  Go naturally with it, do not force.  Allow the body to breathe naturally to cure all that ails you.  If you have never practiced tapping I urge you to try it out.  I would love to hear your feedback.  Simply make cranes beaks by connecting all your fingers in each hand together, when you see the cranes beak, tap it all over the body.  

 

Once I was sufficiently warmed up for the day I headed for a shower.  Having a shower to me is a blessing.  I feel fortunate to have the ability to turn a tap and have hot and cold water.  I can dial it into the perfect temperature and stand in total comfort.  Having a shower is a luxury and one way to honour that is to turn the water off while you’re soaping.  This is a liberating experience because this is another chance to give a self-massage.  You will really be able to go over the whole body scrubbing all the areas clean before putting the water back on.  (Not going to lie, it’s kind of awkward to turn the water back on.)  Take note that something that is awkward is a form of getting outside your comfort zone.  I strongly encourage you to get out of that comfort zone and try it.  I’d love to hear your response to this self-love technique.

 

After my shower I went outside again to check the rain barrel and after only a couple hours we got over 500L of water in the big barrel.

 

The rain eventually filled the 1000L barrel which was good enough to water our gardens over the past few weeks, however the lack of precipitation since that great storm has left them once again empty.  The irises have come and gone now, our roses are in full bloom along with the peonies and the mach orange tree.  I wish you could smell all the delicious fragrances these flowers bring.  Phyllis and Krystle asked me to buy two big flower baskets to compliment the bed.  I headed over to Paul’s greenhouse to grab the two beauties and Krystle popped into St. Leon across the street.  I love those two shops.  Paul's greenhouse is quickly coming to a close for another season so if you need anything definitely go check them out!

 

In the back of the photo you can see my new rain barrel set up.  It’s a bit of an eye sore right now but soon enough I’ll hide that 😉.  I got the barrel from a colony who had canola oil in it.  It was a pain to wash it all out but it's good now.  I still have to wrap it in black plastic to block out the sun to prevent algae growth but hey one step at a time.  Big thank you to Shelmerdine's for the pallets the rain barrel rests on (she has more if anyone needs 😊). 

 

 Just a reminder we do still have a couple openings for our regeneration project.  If you have place for a fruiting tree, please get in touch  😃 

 

Alright that’s enough for now.  You all have a wonderful day.

Xoxo

Lennard