Muffy, Our New Rescue Cat

Muffy, our new rescue cat, came to us in August 2020. Still very sad about Teddy, I fostered a cat and after initial doubts, I said "Yes". But within a few minutes of being introduced to Muffy, an all black cat like my first cat, Miffy, I fell in love with her and her super-affectionate ways. She has a way of buffing you with her head and p...

'A little girl named Ferne goes on magical adventures with her best friend, Chocolate, her dark brown cat. The book contains five stories, one for each season of the year plus one for Christmas. On their travels Ferne and Chocolate meet some amazing characters – seagulls who sail a b...

It is National Poetry Day today and I was watching the news and the awfulness of the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, where young girls who were pregnant, or just classed as 'flirty' or 'attractive', were incarcerated in buildings where they worked as slave labour and treated harshly for what was perceived as their sins by the Catholic Church.  I wrote this poem in 2004, but wanted to include it here on this special poetry day and also because this has been exposed in the media.

Sea Friend

The sea, hissing sibilantly,

wanted me to come in and play,

wrapping its foamy fingers

round my rubber boots, tugging.

“I’m not coming in today. You’re freezing.”

The seals were happy,

lying like furry mermaids on stone sofas,

exposing tummies to be tickled.

The dog otter, sleek and stream-line,

ate his shell-enclosed lunch,

discar...

Love is...

Love is putting your best friend to sleep

to end his suffering,

knowing that your suffering

is only just beginning...

Anonymous

Beautiful Mittens Christmas 2015

Pets come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new p...

Alone ~

drenched in water jewels,

emerging from stream cleansed

to face sun, Giver of Fire, Giver of Life,

offering praise unspoken

to the Great Spirit breathing through

greenness of green,

blueness of blue,

rockness of rocks,

inspired to listen ~

all in abeyanc...

Soma

I unfurl vast rolls of black velvet

scattered with silvering stars

shooting across midnight skies.

Soft winds blow music from the spheres

into tired eyes and ears

restoring peace and calm.

Perfume of flowers mist

from clouds of dew,

falling onto quiet earth

while spume of dark rivers

press your hands with softness of foam.

Honey-sweet drips onto your lips

as you...

Harebells by Vivi Steels

A report from the Royal Botanical Gardens from Kew has said an estimated 140,000, or 39.4%, of plants are under threat of disappearing. This is up 21% from 2016. There are also currently 723 medicinal plants facing extinction. Harebells, along with other Native species such as Chamomile, Juniper, Pennyroyal and wild asparagus are under threat. Harebells are one of my and my mother's favourite flowers and I pai...

Teddy was only with us for just over three months. Teddy was slim, more white than black, with amber eyes. He had very large ears, long legs and a long thin black tail. He was quite vocal with a soft, high-pitched squeak. He had a black patch over one eye. Although Teddy loved our gard...

Crater Life WW1

Listen.

Silence.

You know what it’s like when your Mother,

soft as rose petals, stops your aching ears

with warm cotton wool, don’t you?

The world stops talking.

Reverie:

I am lying in Green Ridge Meadow,

grass tickling my head,

staring at cotton wool clouds,

soft as sheep, sauntering by,

time dr...