Every Blade of Grass

When I told a friend that I’d be spending another sunny weekend exploring the Isle of Wight she replied ‘You must know every blade of grass on that island’. Far from it! The longer I live here, the more hidden corners I discover. Whilst it’s only 28 miles across, there’s still so much yet to explore.

Even familiar spots feel new as the seasons change. The brilliant mustard yellow is already fading from the fields, and the wild garlic doesn’t hit your nose like it did a week ago. The bluebells are still out in Borthwood Copse, and I soared above them on the rope swing to my dizzy heart’s content.

This recent read discussed how children are taught about icebergs and rain forests, without ever knowing the name of their local wildflowers. We risk making conservation a too-big-to-tackle problem when really it can begin with a bug hotel in your back garden.

We have a book of Isle of Wight wild flowers, full of beautiful drawings. I’d like to be able name a few more, and avoid future heated hawthorn v cow parsley debates (don’t ask!) Then perhaps I’d be a little closer to knowing every blade of grass.

Five Things I Learned at Blogtacular

A weekend filled with my favourite things: bicycles, brunch, sunshine, and interesting people. Given my excitement, the inaugural Blogtacular event, would be hard-pressed to live up to expectations. And yet here I am, full of the afterglow from having a seriously good time. I couldn’t help but fall in love with a conference so full of inspiring ideas, beautiful scenes, and lovely people (and learn a few things along the way..)

Online hops offline with ease. What a friendly crowd! It was great to meet online friends face to face for the first time. From the front door queue, to the last round of applause, people were sharing stories, ideas and twitter handles. Naysayers may claim that social media pulls us away from real interaction, but one peek through the doors of the Royal Institution reminds us that social media can also build real, meaningful connections.

Pen and paper will always have its place. #blogtacular chat was abuzz with people buying new stationery for a weekend of scribbling. Recently inspired by Mike Rohde, I tried a spot of sketchnoting. Doodling was great fun and helped me remember details. Others shared their sketches too: Natalie Lue her wolfie cartoons, Isa Seminega her hand-drawn slides. What glorious contrast to the usual corporate death-by-power-point!

Everyone loves to create. The place was awash with colour: painted pots, balloons on string, yellow pockets, and pink bows. Be it fabric, yarn or film, the urge to make was pretty clear. Anne Ditmeyer reminded us to value our creativity and make money too. Natalie urged us to make creativity a habit. As Xanthe Berkeley told us, no one starts out perfect; we must do a volume of work to reach our goals. Now I’m itching to try several new projects: maps, movies and dresses.

You make your own opportunities. Joy Cho shared her history of business ventures; from tweenie calligrapher to adult professional slashie, Joy has always gone after the work she wanted, and viewed the ‘nos’ along the way purely as a new path to take. Anne called us to “Do what you want to be known for.” Reaching out to others is the only way they’ll know what we can do. After all, “Bloggers are awesome!”

Enjoy what you do. We were all at Blogtacular because we we love the creativity, connections, and confidence that blogging gives us. But I suspect we all occasionally catch ourselves spending too long pulling a post together and question what the hell we’re doing (right?!) Natalie urged us to “Embrace your accomplishments.” As Tilly Walnes argued that having a small niche is no bad thing, it gave license to write about what we enjoy and enjoy what we write, rather than doing it for the crowd. If we recognise and revel in what we achieve, then I’m pretty sure we’ll all live to blog another day (and have fun while we’re at it.)

Rock & Thread

A 70th birthday wouldn’t be complete without a little handmade goodness. For the geologist in your life, a rock and a bad pun are all you need for some fun gifting.

A needle and some bright threads, a bit of tracing and gluing, and there you have it: a ‘Geology Rocks’ box. And what else to fill it with than rocks? Tom used small brushes and acrylic paints for a geological pebble-map of the Isle of Wight.

For a week our table was covered in projects: paints, pebbles, thread and fabric. Rainy spring days are made for a spot of crafting and Radio 4.

Having given a few homemade gifts recently, I’m not sure what will be my next project. Maybe a spot of selfish knitting is in order!

IW Randonnee 2014

Blue skies and spring flowers peppered this year’s perfectly sunny Isle of Wight Randonnee. The few puffy clouds and breath of breeze made conditions perfect. We sailed through a morning out east, whizzing round corners with other riders, and bingeing on tea and flapjacks at the Bembridge checkpoint.

Tom borrowed a speedier bike than his usual Dawes (thanks Dad!). His super-skinny tyres urged us on and we rode faster than any previous year.

With so many cyclists on one route, there’s always someone to slipstream or overtake in a rash moment of enthusiasm; but everyone gave each other plenty of room (bar the one gentleman who swung wildly in to the middle of the road, almost causing a lycra-clad pileup.)

The sun shone shone all day and, thinking back, I don’t know how I didn’t find the excuse to have an ice cream. Next year I must remember to stop at Compton Beach for a Mr Whippy before the big climb up the Military Road.

Muddy Shoes and Messy Gardens: April Reads

The secret that all runners keep is that they don’t do it for their bodies, but for their minds. Slim legs can get boring, but a clear mind never does.

April was the month for purchasing new running shoes and spending a week running around in Pembrokeshire. So it seemed the obvious time to read a little bit about my new favourite thing. ‘Hemmo‘ writes in a charmingly realistic way about her hobby- from her devastatingly difficult first run to her marathon habit. Filled with practical advice and surprisingly emotional moments, this is a race-through-in-a-day read that I’d recommend to anyone who likes to leave the couch occasionally..

I also read The Sea, a perfect book to savour in a quiet week by the sea. Banville is an author I think I’ll be returning to. Last but not least, I read a beautiful little book that Tom gave me: A Gentle Plea for Chaos. Osler takes a meandering trip through her own garden, via a little history, philosphy and geography. Her premise that we should embrace the wild edges and stop trying to neaten nature really rang true.

With the sun breaking through at this time of year, my reading has turned to warmer climes and for May I’m reading Ghana Must Go. I chose this book for its cover (the indulgence of a non-kindle reader!) but the pages inside are proving pretty fantastic so far. Check out what other people are reading for the year in books over at Circle of Pines.