Rewilding. Wildswimming

Water plant

Drawn to green, aquatic plant.
Feeling calmer and afloat
after currents went strong,
for long, murky waters,
loud silence,
broken by greetings
of unexpected visitors
who looked at me
from the mirror.

Joy

Today's weather is unbelievable! A sudden Southern wind arrived and rose the temperatures until 20 degrees!!! The house was colder than the exteriors. Despite the weirdest situation I must admit that it was welcome, I enjoyed feeling my bones dry after so many days of rain and cold (which I also enjoyed!). What was better was to stay longer in the water; the air temp really enabled me to drop into the rhythm of the river, and swim seeing the birds. Wonderful and atemporal

Sending love ...

Movement

Transmutation. Emergence. Resilience.

I started this Patreon account with a post about this place i call Home, about rewinding the space between the garden and the river... Months of work, passion, joy, excitement... Seeing this place grow, blossom, fruit ... Creating a magical place with my partner.

Yesterday and today put a dramatic end to our project as some tree surgery took place and crushed it down with the dragging of a couple of dead trees.

Days before the action we managed to save many beloved plants....

Imagining snow

Today the feeling at some points was that of snow falling... Something in the air, that stillness, crispness... I'm seeing lots of pictures of snow, ice, frost and I'm really savouring that vicariously! Water is icy cold here, but nowhere near needing to break ice to get in!

Rainbow Friday!

Heavy rain today... And skies cleared up for my swim! Dramatic tones, rainbow... Delightful cold dip, with more birds than usual. Strong current. Catching a few sun rays before more rain arrived. Air temp of 6 degrees.

Necessary dip as this week is being full on and more to come tomorrow - I'm delivering a couple of nature sessions in a new location! Looking forward to it and nervous too; forecast is wet and cold- I hope people turn up!

May you enjoy your Friday night!

Leaf romance

Stronger current today brought kissing leaf.
Kissed by two leaves mirroring each other.
So much love 💚

New home, the burrow

Finally last night we slept in our new home! Far from ready and still no hot water, fridge, washing machine... but it feels very cosy and grounding. And I can just imagine the river from the living room and kitchen 🙏🏽 after many back and forth bringing stuff this dip felt amazing, and even sun greeted me briefly 💙

Starting the week energised

Admiring full moon last night, being reveiled and covered by clouds, followed by cosy sleep, followed by movement and river times... Nice, gentle flow to start the week 🙏🏽

Pink flesh is becoming more noticeable in the water, freshness to the touch...

Two mallards were in the river this morning, and a dangling leaf from willow, suspended by spiderweb thread, spinning around, dancing with breeze just above the water. Beautiful images this morning 💙

May you have a...

Buenos días!

Another day of gentle yoga and cold water to start the day. For me, getting into my body and senses as I wake up is the perfect transition from the dreamworld...

Today, a lovely blend of worlds... I dreamt of being outdoors with a group of people, mainly children, doing funny and tricky postures, surreal animal yoga... Kids keep calling me in my dreams; and I'd like to tend to this more. It's a portal longing for me to engage with consciously.

When I worked in a Forest School ...

On faery island

Literally on faery island!!! I went to my former swim spot earlier and faery island is deeply underwater... I hope the plants growing there will make it once the level lowers again...

Juicy leaves!!!

What a joyous dip this morning... Not much movement at all as, after the downpour during the night, the current was strong and the level rose at least 40cm!

So I dipped by the shore and really enjoyed feeling the textures underwater... leaves crossing paths with me, flowing downstream, and a bed of decomposing leaves on the bottom of the river...

So many sensory treats and delight! At the beginning I was a bit disappointed about not being able to go across or swim, but it turn...

Rainy Monday!

I nearly posponed my swim this morning as it looked cold, grey, humid, wet from the window. As soon as I stepped out I felt the call of the river and I had a lovely swim under the drizzle.
Leaving the comfort zone, in safety, is a lifelong journey 💙

Sea escape

Last night I made the spontaneous decision to drive to the sea and spend the night by the beach on my van. I needed to be embraced by stars and wave sounds and night, swim at sunrise and be in solitude for a few hours.

Many reflections on solitude, companionship, aloneness crossed my mind... Grief for having my soul friends far away, and deep longing for more human connections on the same land... Sea helping me to release, ground, connect with joy... This life is such a journey eh?
...

Rhythm II

Some more pics of today's delicious time in the river. I love my river-home 💙

Rhythm

I lost track of time today in the river (within self care of course, as air temperature was 7-8 degrees Celsius). I sang, danced, was still, in flow, in reverence... really atuned to the river's rhythm. Pure bliss.

I dedicated my dip to a member of this Patreon community who shared with me a scary moment in cold water recently, and who is taking some time to get back into cold water. A gentle reminder to all of us to listen to our bodies and the elements, to be gentle, to not force if...

Same day

Today I had two swims, one early in the morning in the mist, the other at lunchtime in the sun. In both occasions I felt drawn to these postures, heron-like images of stillness and balance; maybe expressing inner qualities of the moment...

Beautiful sunrise

Dawn light today was glorious, and so was the dip. I enjoyed a lot being in the cold water and I didn't feel it as icy as other days; maybe because I've just started my menstruation and my temperature rises during the days. It definitely feels like I have a mini radiator on.

As soon as I went out I could notice the mist coming down the river, and gradually my breath too.
May you have a sweet Tuesday! 💚

The call of the woods

Yesterday we spontaneously decided to explore some well known beech woods we hadn't visited before as the weather was sunny and warm and the colour of the trees is so inviting. A lot of people thought the same and we couldn't park where we thought. Made our own route off track and it was so wonderful, the colours so intense, the air so clean ... and we bumped into a stream!!! The cherry on top 🙏🏽🍂🍄🍁♥️

Yummy

This morning swim was deeply yummy. The sycamore on the other side is turning into gold, the rays of sun were touching my swimming area... I went in and out a few times and the last time I managed to stay inside swimming against the current for quite a while... Even my hands acclimatised better to the cold water; it my most sensitive spot. I've been considering getting some neoprene gloves so I can swim for longer... Do you wear them in your cold dips?

May you have a yummy Sunday 🍁�...

Releasing

The river today bringing my playful side after feeling a bit crossed with spontaneous events to handle today. Grateful for this moments who help me put things into perspective and release the structuralist part of myself who wants to get things done in a specific order and by a self imposed deadline... I guess my motto of 'embracing the mystery' is that for a reason...
May you have some time to play, be innocent, silly, a trickster... today! May you have some lightness 💚

Water mint, water nymph

Today in my dip I was really drawn to the area with water mint and other plants that inhabit that liminal space between being submerged or not, depending on the currents... It looked like the truly magical otherworld!

Kingfisher and calmness

Today I really sensed a change in the amount of light that gets into the river, definitely many leaves have fallen in the last few days, having an impact on the quality of the air, almost like a winter halo...

As soon as I got out, friend kingfisher rushed down 🙏🏽 love them

After the excitement of getting in and being in the icy water, I felt really calm drying out and getting dressed, even though the skin and body hair suggests something different 😂

May you have...

Back to my now icy river! 🥶

Back to my river after a few days away without the possibility of dips... Wow, what a change in water temperature. Now it is winter wildswimming 100%, icy feel. Today I went in for a couple of minutes, then briefly out, and in again for a couple of minutes, and repeat... A challenge to be still in the water, blade feeling on the skin, keeping the breath steady and slow. Wonderful sky and morning light. Wagtails were glad to see me again, rushing upstream with their jumpy flight.
The cherr...

Can you spot the bird?

Writing from the airport on my way to the UK for my ecotherapy training... Braving the storms there I go!!! For those of you in the UK I'll be greeting you in spirit on my arrival!

These pictures are from two days ago, such a lovely dip! Freezing cold, with sun at least! And unidentified bird on the apple tree near my swim spot.

For birds lovers ... It was tiny, but not a wren, it wasn't so dark... White/clear chest, jumping from branch to branch, single frequent sound... Any ...

Moody weekend

This extended weekend was not an easy one... it involved a lot of driving, reflections, communication, sadness, self-sorrowness, numbness, uneas, tiredness... thank goodness encounters with the sea were there to soothe, to wash headaches away, to wake me up, to hold me... the trip felt like a rite of passage. Synchronicity with lunal eclipse and nearly Samhain... not surprised about this conjunction... have you been feeling special tension in areas of communication, relationships these days?<...

Currents

Such a lovely dip feeling the current!
May you have a great weekend!
Now I'm off to explore some coastline!!! Yay!!!

Level rising

Yesterday's consistent rain had a quick effect on the river... I had two swims, one in the morning the other in the afternoon, and the river was very changed... the level rose around 20 cm (you might be able to see the difference, as I took a picture standing in the same two rocks from yesterday's post, this time they are underwater), the crystal clear waters became a thick soup in which I could feel lots of leaves, algae, and plants flowing down the current... a leaf massage. Also quite a lo...

Evening swim

These are some pictures of my evening swim... mysterious atmosphere, getting dark quickly, very warm wind during the whole day which made easier to stay in the water after the initial contact. A very peaceful way to end the day - or to start, as in Celtic tradition darkness marks the beginning of the day... I love this, and I hope to cultivate it more offen, it's a way of starting 'the day' by slowing down, nourish oneself, dreaming...

As I write this, I hear rain on the roof, still bl...

Tree

Today's series is a standing one... as strong winds are passing by I am more in touch with the dead trees. I explore the qualities of sturdy, fragility, flexibility in the water...
I'm still avoiding my usual entry point to the river, by the faery islands, for safety reasons, so these pictures are from my current entry point for a swim. Here the entrance is much more shallow, until I get to a swimmable depth... I'm enjoying the change too, however, I'd like to feel that I can go back to m...