Wild Rose Path
For the ones who can see the life they want but can't yet find the path to it. For the woman who suspects the way back to herself might be through something older and slower and closer to the earth than anything she's tried so far. Each week I write about life transitions, plant wisdom, and seasonal rhythm... real letters, not polished advice. When you join, you'll get The Stile, five honest questions that show you which landscape you're actually standing in right now, plus the plant ally that grows there and a small five-minute practice to do.
Trusting the unfurling
Hey Reader, Today I'm dancing that balance between having the time and headspace to get going with things... alongside the oft-begrudging acceptance that I have to trust the process (which is rarely on my timeline). Yes, more lessons from the fells. Last week I decided to go up the other side of Crook, because the maps tell me there's a way to get up there and get onto Sickers Fell, which I've been wanting to get onto for a while. So I go onto the very wild and bracken-covered fell wall path...
September Energy Forecast: The Hedge Is Coming Into Berry
Hey Reader, Welcome to this month's Energy Update. A little later than planned thanks to the school holidays, but we've made it here to the beginning of September. I'd love to know, in the comments or by reply to this email, how you're feeling moving into September. There were some really big moves in the sky over July in particular, and August too. We've had a few eclipses. How are you feeling after that? For me, it feels like things have shifted. Not in a really obvious outward way, but...
It has a name now (sort of)
Hey Reader, I've not been able to write much on here the last couple of weeks, school holidays, and at this point of the year I'm always pretty much running on empty. Full of ideas I want to get on with, but not much time or space to myself to actually do anything about them. There've been refuelling moments though. Walked up to the summit of both Crook and Arant Haw. Got properly lost in thought down by the river at one point and just... stayed there a while. And in between all that I've...
The tunnel was shorter than I thought
Hey Reader, We went on a narrowboat holiday. The idea was to slow down. What actually happened was three kids in a very small moving space and me having never been on one before, wondering why I'd agreed to this! Home, it turns out, is the slow part of my life right now. Not a holiday to escape it. One of the days we went through the Preston Brook tunnel. Long one, about fifteen minutes end to end in the dark. I braced for it the way you do. All that not being able to see, engine noise off...
What if you’re not actually stuck?
Hey Reader, It’s the summer holidays here, and time to do ANYTHING alone is minimal. Three children with very specific needs, plus my own neurodivergent brain means that whole ‘schedule the hell outta every day’ does not fly. It is rare to get all three of them to agree to go somewhere, and quite frankly I’m not up for wasting an insane amount of money on the off-chance that we can have a ‘typical day out’. Besides, hanging out by the riverside is much better than some overcrowded Soft Play...
August Energy Forecast: Standing in Your Own Light
Hey Reader, It's already starting to feel very different to the beginning of this month here, not only with the dismantling of 'normal routines', but that shift in the air and hints of Autumn seem to come ever-sooner each year. I realise that's not the case in many other parts of the world where heatwaves are still causing chaos, but the land here really feels like the season is shifting. Which is exactly what I've been sitting with in this month's energy forecast. In this week's video I'm...
Lost in the bracken
Hey Reader, I've walked the path along the front of Crook quite a few times now - but since the last time, the bracken has grown. And not many people go that way. I started out in the right place...but after a while I realised I was getting quite high up and the fell wall was getting further away. Then the path got worse, until it wasn't really a path anymore. I couldn't see where I was standing because of the bracken, and everytime I put my right foot down the ground underneath sort of slid...
The unglamorous bit nobody sells
Hey Reader, This week's letter is a little late, due to painting and decorating! And no, I've not finished yet... If you've ever decorated then you may know not only the amount of time it takes up, but also the fact you have all. that. time. to. think. It's a practise in presence alright, because otherwise your brain ends up down some extremely deep rabbithole... And I was thinking (yep, using it as meditation practise didn't work), there are parallels between painting & decorating and life &...
The shower count is rising
Hey Reader, Ok, it's getting hot. No fell walks today, I did manage down by the river after dropping the kids at school...but that's resulted in me having to have a shower by 10am. Now I'm having a coffee despite knowing full well it heats me up like an oven... so it probably won't be long until shower #2. Hope you're keeping cool where you are. We are in full Wild Rose season right now, so a lot of this week's content on YouTube/Substack is about the medicine this plant can bring. I've also...
Everyone looks the same now
Hey Reader, You've probably noticed the slew of AI-generated images, AI-written captions, all starting to look and sound the same, especially on Facebook! And before I start, I'm not knocking it - I use AI myself and it deffo has its uses in helping sharpen and refine ideas. But something's happening where everyone's putting in all this effort to stand out, and it's somehow making us all look identical. Which means there's less and less to actually differentiate one person from another (this...
For the ones who can see the life they want but can't yet find the path to it. For the woman who suspects the way back to herself might be through something older and slower and closer to the earth than anything she's tried so far. Each week I write about life transitions, plant wisdom, and seasonal rhythm... real letters, not polished advice. When you join, you'll get The Stile, five honest questions that show you which landscape you're actually standing in right now, plus the plant ally that grows there and a small five-minute practice to do.