I started my day off, with a walk to the river. I had an early swim and then I headed off to work. It was such a wonderful way to begin my day. I was there just after 8 a.m and there were only two other people down there. I love to see other people enjoy the river, but I do prefer, when it is less crowded, it's more peaceful.
The river is where I go to revitalize myself, especially during the summer months. The water is always cold and so refreshing. But I don't always need to immerse myself in it, to feel it's benefits. But I always put my feet in, to connect with the water and let it carry away my worries. I just close my eyes and let it all flow away from me.
My first job of the day, saw me working indoors. I was cleaning an Air BnB, I put my head down and worked for almost five hours, which went pretty quickly. Then I was home. It was later in the day, that I went to my second job, this time with my daughter. I had some watering to do and took the time to harvest some Tomatoes and a courgette from the veg garden I have created there.
My youngest daughter was helping me harvest and s she was collecting the tomatoes, she blurted out, " I'm proud of you Mum, for growing all this food". She was eating just as much as she was collecting. But we had a nice variety. Then as we walked home, we took some time to forage, some of the amazing fruits that grow wild here. Figs being top of the list for my daughter.
Then we found blackberries, they have to be near the top for me. The blackberries are smaller here and not as juicer, but when you get a good one, wow they are sweet. We spend most of our time collecting them, navigating the many thorns that adorn the branches. I find it is best to gently lift each branch you wish to pick from and always pick from the top.
I have such great memories of picking blackberries in Ireland, I love that I can get to share in some of those memories with my girls. We are so lucky, there is always food growing around us. Soon there will be many Pomegranate trees to harvest, all growing wild. I feel so blessed, to live in such a place of abundance. We also found some grapes, which you can see in one of the above photos. My daughter walked home with a purple stained face, yeah I did too.
When I read the latest question from The Minimalist Community, a question which asked us to share moments of our minimalist lifestyle in Nature, I thought, well you can't get better than harvesting and foraging, in my eyes anyway. Doing the simplest of things, which keeps me healthy, well and connected to the earth.
The photos within this post are mine, I took them today whilst I was out and about.
