Fleeting, Breathing, Earthly, Deeply Human Things

( & wishing upon a star)

Hello out there. I am so happy that you are taking a moment to be here with me. It’s a brand new thing, and of course I am a little nervous about it. It’s interesting to me that I am beginning this adventure today. It’s been one of those days where I keep going back to bed and burying my head under the pillow—and I’m not someone who has very many days like that, but the world is a hard place right now, isn’t it? However… onward.

Onward.

I come to Substack often. It’s a place I like to roam around, dive in, wonder about things, learn from the words and creations of others. For many years I had a subscription-based newsletter called Unweaving the Nest that I emailed to about 400 people every week. Those kind subscribers paid me and I wrote for them and took beautiful photos for them and it got me through some pretty lean times. From what my subscribers said in their feedback, it got them through some harder times, too, like a shining sliver of crescent moon after the sky had been without it for a few days. I don’t know about you, but I am looking for places to find that hopeful crescent moon in my sky more and more during these trying times.

That is why I am here. And that is why I am starting today.

What do I write about? Fleeting, breathing, earthly things. Deeply human things. The things that make up our entire span of experience, all along that luminous and fragile thread we call a life. I write prose, poetry and fiction. I write fairy tales and fables—sometimes I might read them to you. I make videos and digital images. And I paint. You can find some of my work HERE. I will be sharing it all. Except, I promise I will not play my recorder flute or sing. Promise.

I have decided to make all of my posts public, at least for a good long while. I believe we should all have access to the words and images that feel like friends, and I also believe that if we can afford to pay a little something for those things, we should. My hope is that those who enjoy being here and can afford $6 a month will do so, and that those who would like to be an extra support for my work can join as a founding member. Founding members receive, as my heartfelt token of great appreciation, an original tiny watercolour landscape (I’m kind of known for my tiny landscapes) sent to them in the mail once a year upon subscription or renewal at the Founding Member rate.

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More than anything else, I would love this space to be a soft place to fall. A place for real and intimate conversation. A place to feel bolstered and ready to face the world from our very best place, even when we are having those go-back-to-bed-100-times kind of days. I believe we find our way to that place through sharing our stories, our hope and fears, and by always always looking for the beauty and the wonder in the ordinary world around us. So… I invite you to leave comments. I will be reading them, and responding. At this time I am leaving comments open to all, with faith that we can all remain respectful and deeply kind.

So…I’ve done it. After months of thinking about, I’ve just done it and on the most unlikely day. Welcome. I’m so honoured that you are here with me. Onward.

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