#TutuTuesday...
for Knots in the String...
(Apologies to anyone who legitimately follows #tututuesday on Instagram. This was written, after my ballet class on Tuesday! )
So, the ewes received their 6-in-1’s ready for their imminent due date. (6 in 1’s are preventative innoculations for ewes and their progeny). I looked at their big bags (udders), heavy bellies and girths and wondered if many will actually make their spring due date.
I wanted to rub their heads and tell them what a good job they’re doing and how all will be well. But the reality is something else. Nature’s tough, with predators, difficult births and maternal rejection, but by and large those mums are good at what they do – popping out lambs and nurturing them in the semi- or pseudo-wild.
It's a busy time for my husband and son – the flocks are checked daily and our son builds a nursery in the barn for any ewes and lambs requiring extra watchful care. But there’s something so very hopeful as little white spots appear in the green paddocks and the ewes begin mothering.
We observe the wedge-tail eagles who nest on one of our hills, hoping they take no notice of defenceless newborn lambs. We also note that we now have a pair of sea eagles (we’re not far from the ocean as the eagle flies) and I feel it’s good fortune – the ghostly birds are my totems after all.
It’s been a few days of thaw after the Long Freeze. There’s always the threat that we might drop back into frost and cold, but we’re surprised by warmth, sun, by the shy reveal of buds.
Dainty white crocus unfold like long white ballet skirts and I’m reminded of the sylphs of Les Sylphides or the willis from Giselle. The florettes of white daphne burst open like tutus and smell like the most expensive French perfume. If one is a gardener and perhaps even if one is not, getting up on a mild morning means surprises. And comforting confirmation that the seasons continue ad infinitum.
Ballet class began again this week after a two week recess and despite that we don’t wear tutus, we stretched hammies, tendons and glutes.
In actual fact, we practised pliés, fondues, tendues, grand battements and more, then danced simple, lyrical adagios. Brilliant patterning for our brains but in truth, just beautiful movement. At the end of class, we always perform a révérence to our teacher, but it could be to an imagined audience on the other side of the floor length mirrors and we always applaud at the end. Applause for the dedication of the teacher, but to ourselves too, that our minds and bodies have made it to the end of the class, because we’ve all seen 60 and some of us have seen 70.
Reading:
On Kindle – Juliet Marillier’s Viking duet, Saga of The Light Isles – Wolfskin and Foxmask. Brilliant writing from one of the world’s top fantasy writers. These were written in 2002 and 2004 respectively, well before the current swathe of Norse hist fict. I can’t recommend these books more highly for their strong story and lack of gratuitous violence. Why is it that writers and their editors these days think a story needs pages of blood and gore to advance a narrative? Marillier does it in a page and it’s much more powerful for the implication.
In magazine format – this month’s Australian Country Style which features Tasmania almost totally. Beautiful tree- and sea-changes with descriptive word and image, making me more than glad that I live on this unsophisticated and sometimes raw island so far from mainstream life.
I’m also reading Chinese myth and legend for my current WIP. Sometimes I think I live in a land of myth and legend. One can find a valley or a cove that is utterly deserted and laced with land or seamist. It has its own magic.
Watching:
Re-watching some of Great Canal Journeys because the partnership between Timmy and Pru reminds me of my husband’s and mine. She said he fitted her and that they were perfectly matched souls. Quite. It resonates. And I love the scenery and occasional high literary performances. So sad that they were unable to continue to film because of her escalating dementia and deafness. I’m in awe of both.
And on that note, so sad too that it’s called ‘dementia’. One has visions of wild hysterical behaviour and yet Prunella was none of that – gentle, lost in more youthful memories and still a functioning human with a sense of humour. It’s good to see there are different types of the condition.
Boredom Busters:
Writing of course – switching genres for a while has electrified my writing. I find for the first time this year, that I love escaping into the manuscript. It’s been a tough year, full of incident and that rather flattened my writing. This was such a good decision!
Embroidery. I’ve found my niche with the new piece that I’m learning. Settling into my comfort colour scheme (blues and taupes) helps. More hearts too, for http://1000hearts.com.au These will go to people in need.
Cooking. Made delicious choc-chip biscotti. Really lovely with a cup of camomile tea. And today, I discovered a rich triple-choc brownie recipe from my daughter that I haven’t made for perhaps 18 years. Golly, it’s soooo decadent! So glad I had ballet class (sans tutu) and three dog walks!
So here I am. Regirded and unfettered by tutus. Getting closer to our spring and two hours of ballet weekly. Thanks for coming with me and thanks to those who contact me through my website. I value your comments and interest and hope you will continue to enjoy for free what comes your way.
See you next week!