Tumble Weed Invasion

Clarence the ocopus

Hi, I'm Clarence and I will be posting about nature and how amazing she is. I am an ocopus(octopus), just in case you were wondering  :-)

Here is a video of some 'umbleeeds (tumbleweeds) that I have posted for my friend E.


XXX

We Stand as Mighty Oaks

We stand as mighty oaks kissed by the Lady Spirit of Nature, just as leaves are kissed by the breeze. Father Sun sending loving shards of light deep within our souls, nourishing our roots. Slowly, patiently we take time to experience the flow of life, like sap in the trunk spreading to every branch and each and every twig. We stand as a bridge to the elements, rooted in the earth, flowing like water, the air our breath and the sunlight our soul. As does the oak, we stand as guardians to nature’s great paradise. We bow in reverence to her great spirit. We shed our clothes, our worldly lives, our hectic existence, just as the oak sheds its leaves, standing tall. In this deep connection we find our true strength, our deep roots and the joy of simply being. We drink of her spirit in a divine union as she welcomes us into her magical embrace.

Tree Breathing

This exercise allows you to experience the life of a tree and can be performed with or without a real tree. If you have a real tree, sit next to it with your back leaning against its trunk, if you don’t have a tree just visualise it. If you can find a suitable tree, try sitting in its branches.

Breathe in deeply and imagine energy welling up from deep within the earth, travelling up the roots of the tree, the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves. At the same time the energy fills you from head to toe.

Breathe out and imagine energy from the sun entering the leaves of the tree and travelling into the tree. Imagine the breath of the tree sinking into the ground through the branches, trunk and roots.

Continue this breathing pattern until you feel deeply connected to the tree. Expand your awareness to the processes happening in the tree. The sunlight shining on the leaves causing photosynthesis, the production of oxygen, to occur. The sap rising in the trunk.

Expand your awareness to all the life that lives on the tree- birds, insects & lichen.

Slowly bring you awareness back to your own breath and thank the tree (real or imaginary) for its help.

Nature spirits

Nature spirits are all around if you just look out for them.  They often appear in trees, water, rocks, etc.  Some would say you are just imagining things and looking for faces in everything, but I beg to differ- PARDONLY! 

Here are a few that we have seen

This creature, called Moglewoof, is a nature spirit with energy a little like a dog.  It lives in an old tree offcut in a local forest.  As spirit beings we are more in touch with the inner spirits of things, so to us it is obvious, but 'umans often do not sense them.

This water sprite was caught on camera when we were taking pictures of a waterfall, notice the head and wings.  When zoomed in you can even see a face.

Clouds often contain faces and figures- is it your imagination, is it something else?  Could it be nature communicating with you throught your imagination?  If you like clouds, visit The Cloud Appreciation Society
there are galleries full of clouds that look like things.  Do you have any pictures of nature spirits, if so we would love to see them :-)

Fridge Cake

Another nice recipe, especially if you use really good quality chocolate

Ingredients
8oz biscuits (try ginger nuts or digestives)
4oz margarine
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 dessertspoon cocoa
2 dessertspoons drining chocolate (for something a little different try an individual sachet of options)
1 dessertspoon of sugar
100g chocolate (green and blacks is good)

Method
Smash up biccies into small bits- rolling pins work well (this is the fun part)
Melt everything (except the biccies and chocolate) together in a saucepan
Add the biscuits to the mix
Press into a baking tray (or 8 in cake tin)
Melt chocolate (in microwave or by whatever method you like)
Pour over the mix and spread out with a knife.
Put in the fride for a while to cool and set (or just eat it if you really cant wait)

Variations
During a spreading accident it was found that if the chocolate was mixed in with the biscuit mixture, it tasted really good, it just looked like a dogs dinner
Try using white chocolate instead of dark or milk

Below is Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall's version

Peanut Butter Oaties Yum!

PBOs or Peanut Butter Oaties are scrummie, here is the recipe

What You need
55g (2oz) Margarine
55g (2oz) Peanut Butter
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar- I use dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons of water

How to make them
Put the oven on to 190 Deg C (thats 375 F)
beat the margerine and peanut butter together in a big bowl
add the salt and cream in the sugar (at this point I sometimes add cinnamon becasue it goes with anything and everything)
add the flour, oats, bicarb and water
MIX MIX MIX really well with a fork
turn out onto a greased baking pan (or cake tin) and press it down firmly
Cook for 15-20 mins in the oven
slice, cool and eat...  amke some more!!!

Things to be careful of
- don't use a tablespoon of bicarb, like I did once, or they will be nasty
- they taste very nice when still hot, but crumble everywhere

Trivia
PBO have their own theme song (music to come soon)

P B Os PB PB Os

It is traditional to sing it whilst they are cooking

When I next make some I will post a picture :-)
(but here is one I found on google)