Water

I love this picture that I took this morning.  It shows a volunteer getting water from one of the ponds to water a tree that had just been planted.

At last the ponds are starting to fill up.

Wet, wet, wet.

I lay awake a lot of last night as couldn’t get to sleep because of the rain.  50mm of rain fell last night so it was very wet this morning.  We had a very busy work time mainly digging holes and planting trees.

I feel I have so much to do but seem to be frustrated in various ways.  Its very hot and humid and I can’t seem to get the internet to work properly on my computer. It makes me feel very agitated but maybe it is just because I am a bit tired.

As the picture shows, jobs do get done, even unexpected ones like dealing with a large puddle on the path.  The volunteers worked so hard on this and it is certainly better than it was. Unfortunately I don’t think they have completely solved the problem, but we will know for certain when there is more rain.

Waiting....

This is a picture taken this morning when we gathered up leaves in the Jalabhoomi.  I can never get over how beautiful it is there.

Had talks with Pierre and Vivek this morning, about Pierre’s ideas for the land he is going to manage and with Vivek about his ideas for bringing art into the garden. I told him about my new website and how that is linking up with new work on food in Auroville.

Rain is expected tomorrow.  This reflects how everything feels very pregnant with possibility in Buddha Garden at the moment.

Kids!

This is the Udavi school project where today the students planted their second bed of vegetables.  In the picture they are all taking great delight in using the shiny new diggers that we bought them.

The excited noises they made were quite deafening!

Bluetooth grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Why do I have so many problems with Bluetooth? In the past when things got really bad I gave it up and got a wire connection instead which I find much more reliable.

This morning I had problems again between my phone and computer which wouldn’t talk to each other.  As usual I had some photos on my phone that I couldn’t download to my computer – grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

After fiddling around for about three quarters of an hour I finally worked it out.  I have to turn off the Bluetooth on my phone before removing the device on my computer. Otherwise the computer gets all confused and remains paired to the phone even although the connection isn’t working.  Once removed I turn on the phone and then re-pair them and it works.  Until the next time I suppose.

Looking up

Today I went to Arka to have my hair done and saw a friend I haven’t seen for ages.  She has had a difficult time recently what with suffering from a stroke and then falling down and breaking her hip.  She was being taken for a walk and she stopped to hug this tree.

I went and hugged the other side of the tree and we had a really lovely exchange.  Despite all the health problems she seemed very much with us.  She told me how much she loved this tree and asked me to look up – it was only then I saw these beautiful flowers which I had missed completely.

Beauty in unexpected places.

At last!

I have wanted to build these raised beds in the Pryog garden for years.  At last they got finished today by a very active group of farm helpers.  They are all extensions of existing beds and will give us a lot more space on which to grow vegetables.

It gave me a great deal of pleasure just to stand at look at these beds and to see one more tiny part of Buddha Garden manifested.

Great change

Today we had an unexpected visit from a group of 12 medical students from JIPMA medical school in Puducherry.  Their professor is very keen that they learn about health and how to keep themselves healthy with good food and exercise. Instead of learning just about illness.  They have only just started their course and some of them were obviously a bit shell shocked to find themselves on a farm rather than in a hospital ward.

With them and the rest of the volunteers we got a huge amount of work completed.  What affects me is the change in the energy.  This morning Buddha Garden felt like a very positive place.

Saraswati puja

Today was Saraswati puja, sometimes known as Ayudha puja when all the tools are blessed.  For the last few years we haven’t had a puja but this year we did.  Some people were a bit grumpy that we hadn’t given more notice, but it went off all right.  We also had an open day/knowledge sharing about organic food growing that was led by Vivek.

Rather a disjointed day but important for moving forward with our new plans for Buddha Garden.

Found flower

This is a flower we found this morning while we were clearing up the new land.  No one knew what it was although it looks very much like what I used to know as a passion flower.

Had a very busy day what with meetings and meeting notes and a lot of things to deal with.  

A blessing

This morning we had a heavy shower of rain followed by very bright sun.  As a result there was a beautiful rainbow over Buddha Garden which I felt was a blessing for us.  Particularly in view of the changes we are making in how we work together which we all feel very positive about.  It is so lovely not to feel that we are at odds with each other.

I sent the picture to Emma as I felt she could do with an extra blessing to help her deal with all her worries.

New website

Today I had time to do a first draft of what I would like the new website to look like.

Very exciting as it makes the whole project feel more real.

New ideas

Today I finally got the time to sit down and think about what the improved Buddha Garden website might look like.

This is what I came up with and I will get Theo onto it as soon as possible.

Babies

Went into Pondy yesterday with Rajan and his family and got to hold Magzhren.  This was taken in the jewellery shop and I held the baby while Rajan and family sorted out jewellery to celebrate that Sangeeta is returning home on Monday.  He was very still, but Rajan says he is much more active in the mornings than the afternoons.

Later I Skyped Emma who wants me to come and help her when she has the next baby at the end of May.  At first I felt a bit conflicted and worried about whether I could manage it. Then I remembered that I have a dual life and both are part of the whole of the life that I live.  I am thrilled that she asked me to help.

Richness

This is a picture of some of the volunteers taking the very rich soil out of the bottom of one of the ponds.  We used it like compost and put it into the holes where we will plant trees in the forest.

I love the colours which I would also describe as ‘rich’ and I think expresses how I felt this morning.  It felt very good to have all of us working together in the garden. It’s a lovely way of being together.  Where it feels as if we tap the richness of the land that we care for by pooling of our energies that enable us to do this.

Exasperated

Nothing seemed to work today.  My phone wouldn’t connect with the computer over Bluetooth to download the photos I had taken.  My VPN connection wouldn’t work properly so I couldn’t download anything.  I also had some very difficult notes to write which took up a lot of the day.

Somehow I got through it all without going crazy.  The picture shows all the beds we cleared this morning. One success to celebrate!

Difficult day

It has been a difficult day dealing with difficult topics in meetings in Auroville and Buddha Garden.  Fortunately I had a yoga class this afternoon which has helped me deal with it all.

This is a picture of oyster mushrooms that someone sent me for the leaflet and poster.  It reminds me that despite difficulties, such as the meeting I went to this morning, positive things are getting done.

First day of the monsoon

Had our first big rain today – it didn’t stop until work stopped.  I think it must be the first day of the monsoon as it felt like monsoon rain.

Pierre’s dog had rabies and had to be put down.  The dog bit my dog yesterday but the vet vaccinated her and said she should be OK.  He also savaged another dog which needs to be vaccinated as soon as he comes back.  Pierre was really upset at how making a small mistake of not getting his dog vaccinated led to him having to be put down.  He said that he would also have any future dogs neutered to stop them running around and picking up diseases from other dogs.

Went to the school project for the first time since I got back.  Its going very well.

Two good jobs done

Got two good jobs done today – coloured my hair and submitted my tax return. As well as all the other things I didn’t have time to do last week.

Another world

I took the whole afternoon off to go to ballet class followed by yoga.

I thought it might be too much for me but I really enjoyed it. I felt I had got completely away from everything in Buddha Garden.

The picture seems to express this, but I didn’t do anything like this in either class!

After the rain

Thanks to Pierre we now have a rain gauge so we know how much rain falls each day.  This picture shows what one of the ponds looked like after we had a downpour of 12mm last night.

We have already had quite a few good rains and this is the first time we have seen water like this. I suppose it has taken this long for the soil to get fully hydrated. 

It is very humid which, since I got back here, seems to be affecting my sinuses as they hurt most days.

A dream

I had a dream last night that made me feel surprisingly rested and peaceful when I woke up this morning.  The dream seemed to be saying that by nurturing the earth I nurture myself.  It certainly felt like it this morning during our work time when we did a lot of clearing up and preparation for tree planting.

This is a picture of another visitor – a praying mantis – that I took yesterday.

Burdened

What to do when the person you work with refuses to engage with what is really going on?

Busy day

Had a very busy day with a meeting in the morning and yoga in the afternoon.

Decided to use a picture from this morning’s work.  I had all sorts of ideas about what we should do but we ended up doing completely different jobs.  And more jobs than I could ever have imagined.  I never thought we would finish mulching the guavas as the picture shows.

We have a really good group of volunteers at the moment.

Confused

There are a number of ‘issues’ around farms at the moment and I am not sure what to do about them. Several of them will be discussed in the meeting tomorrow so perhaps things will become clearer.

Had a lovely ballet lesson and very pleased that I will be doing this in the coming weeks.

The picture is of the snake that Spiros had around his cabin this morning and which ate a frog that happened to be hanging around. Another picture to send to Sam.

Ants away!

Have had an unintended busy day in the house.  I started off clearing out my wardrobe and getting rid of clothes that I haven’t worn for a while.  I now feel I have enough room for all the clothes I do wear!

While doing that I found nests of ants which seemed to take ages to clear up.  When I disturbed them they ran away with their eggs to somewhere else and then I had to clear them up from there.  We had heavy rain last night and that always starts off their nesting activities.

I’m glad I did all this cleaning and clearing but feel that I haven’t really had a rest or a break.  I really must find a way of doing that here.

A visitor

Have had a very productive day today.  Over lunch I talked to Isabelle about the leaflet, which is nearly finished and should be complete by the middle of the month.  I then had a good discussion with three computer whizzes about the websites both old and new.  As a result I now have a much clearer idea of what needs doing.  I will write a time table tomorrow.

Had a lovely yoga class but glad I didn’t go out with Angela this evening as with everything else going on it would have been too much.

When I came in this lunch time I saw this lizard on the grass.  It very obligingly stayed still until I had taken the picture which I sent to Sam.

Blank

Supposed to be a holiday today but I have done quite a lot.

Have tried very hard to think of a picture but am not inspired by anything.  Walked out in Buddha Garden but no inspiration there either.

It was just a blank, but blue.  I wonder what that means…..

Hot and tired

Have been coming over extremely tired at odd times.  I think this shows that despite feeling I am back in India my body has not quite completely arrived yet.  Feel much better if I have a break and snooze for ten minutes than if I try and work through it.

The picture shows me in the garden seeing over things.  Which means I suppose that I am falling into my usual role.  Also resumed my usual role of coordinator of the Green group and had to sit through a meeting that had some trying moments.