Taking in a deep breath I can smell the moisture, the parsley, the thyme, and the sun-warmed linen. The birds are calling, somewhere a lawn mower is meditating. Later summer, perhaps.

Lately everything seems there yesterday, gone today. For the moment, there was a silence, a stillness. The whole world catching a breath, taking a moment. And then the curtain ever-so-slowly, gently, drawn out by a restless breeze.

I breathed out.

Manifesto
02. Every day is an opportunity for a new beginning.
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
48. Every day there are things you can’t change. You can change the way you think about them and deal with them.

Every time I try to combine colours in some painting or drawing – any kind of colour design work – I come up with colour combinations that are somehow frightening – I think they’re not going to work together. And then I look at some of the amazing colour combinations that show up in the fish and other marine life on coral reefs, birds, butterflies, and flowers. Beautiful, odd combinations that are so vibrant, so elegant.

I just want to swim in their colour ocean.

Manifesto
17. Every day look through a new lens.
22. Every day refine, clarify and simplify.
41. Every day use your mind. It is the greatest technology ever created.

They always cheer me up.

Manifesto
15. Every day make a difference to yourself and others.
18. Every day express love. Some people need to hear it. Most people need to see it. Don’t take it for granted.
32. Every day have a laugh.

It took a birds a few days to discover the food, and then suddenly we were on the A-list for food supplies. I’m such a sucker for helping out the birds, and I feel so happy when an occasional stranger drops by – in this case a hen Chaffinch. They’re not exactly hugely common here but they’re not exactly every day either. I really like the sultry pink of the male – very oo-la-la – but we didn’t see the male.

We were standing in kitchen admiring the flocks of little birds and basking in the love when to our complete horror a rat bounded along and straight up the shrub. Without the faintest hesitation the rat started scoffing the bird mix, looking around for a moment and then back into it. The atmosphere in the kitchen ranged between shocked horror – (yeek a rat!), fear – (mercy for the little birds – our new friends), outrage – (you greedy barbarian), relief – (thank God it’s outside), suspicion – (can it get inside?), guilt – (did our putting out the food attract this abomination?), accusation – (that rat is definitely from the neighbour’s place – couldn’t *snif* have come from our place), and the killing rage – (I keel you and your family’s family!!). Luckily by the time I’d got a hammer and returned to the scene of the robbery the rat had eaten its fill and had departed.

We all calmed down, and the birds returned.

Update: I put out a few nice blue/green coloured snacks for Mr Rat in an old drain pipe. A few days later the snack had entirely gone, and I do hope Mr Rat is seeking more convivial feeding options elsewhere.

Manifesto
23. Every day retain your personal power. It belongs to you. No one else.
26. Every day take action. Every small step counts.
32. Every day have a laugh.

High drama on the back lawn early this morning. A hen blackbird had somehow managed to land a rather large earthworm. And like the rest of us, the bird was determined to keep the worm away from me. Like I really want to start off the day with a nice fresh worm – although I probably would’ve been interested to stage a rescue bid – the worm could be doing good work in our vege garden.

The battle with this kind of thing – ecology is so complicated – everything is connected to everything else, so denying the bird the worm probably will have some other negative result somewhere else down line. You have to be careful about connections.

Manifesto
11. Every day do something for someone else.
16. Every day looking at the order of things gives you power.
28. Every day you will be tested.

What a simple joy today to spot a small troupe of goldfinches, in full winter regalia, foraging for food on the street among the cigarette butts and other city detritus. I don’t know what they’d be able to find – not much in the way of seeds there.

I came home tonight and made a cake for the birds – rendered beef fat melted, with sunflower seeds and oatmeal mixed together, now chilling down. When it’s all set hard I’ll turn it out of the bowl and into a mesh bag recycled from some mandarins. I can then hang this up safely in a tree out of the reach of cats and other bird hunting vermin, and hopefully the local bird life will manage through a little easier. Bonus for me if I get to see birds feeding…

Manifesto
25. Every day your light shines for others to see.
33. Every day try something new.
37. Every day fight for what’s worth fighting for. Pick your battles.

Para Matchitt’s masterwork – the City to Sea Bridge – has recently had a very worthy update and face-lift with the addition of another bird form on the southern side. I rather like the head part, however the wings and tail are also rather better than the tatty old pieces. I assume the work has been completed by the artist.

Wellington has a fantastic range of birds to be spotted. There’s always a fine range of sea birds to be found along the waterfront, especially after a winter gale – a little bit of shelter and accessible food to be snapped up. A few meters away the land based birds start with the usual introduced species – pigeons, sparrows, starlings, and very quickly the native species can be seen – tuis, fantails, and more. It’s such a joy.

Over time I want to grow our garden into an ever more native bird friendly site. Some explanations may have to be sent to the local cats – a high speed delivery mechanism may be required.

Manifesto
28. Every day you will be tested.
31. Every day mend bridges, bury hatchets, say sorry and move on.
49. Every day is a good day.

Take a breath, people. Chill out! (We say that, we just think that means, “All you other people.” But you know us. Aroha mai.)

Manifesto
06. Every day you make choices.
29. Every day eat, drink, rest, work, exercise, play, love, create for your own good. And the good of others.
48. Every day there are things you can’t change. You can change the way you think about them and deal with them.

This afternoon it was totally still in the garden. Not a breath of wind. I could hear the bird calls echoing from across the valley and ‘our’ tuis were deep in conversation. Bird internet. I took the moment to see if our veges had any jewels from the overnight showers. I love the way the water droplets act as mini magnifying glasses. The delicate colours of the red cabbage leaves are elegant. Simple. Beautiful. Fresh water is so precious to me.

Manifesto
14. Every day the ordinary can be the extraordinary.
20. Every day say thank you.
49. Every day is a good day.

If we were the size of butterflies, we would be able to rise up in the cool stillness of the early morning. We would be able to take our first breaths of the morning air and we would be able to breathe as if it were the first day ever. We would feel the clean air rushing into our bodies and with each escaping breath we would release the staleness from our souls freely. Gratefully. Calmly.

We would feel the warming day and the cooling night parting company. We would smell the dawn rain and the damp earth and we would feel vibrantly energised and alive.

If we were the size of butterflies we would be able to sip the cool water and be cleansed and we would drink and drink again until our thirst was quenched. We would feel the refreshing purity of the water reaching the very essence of our being.

We would hear the hum of bees and the rustle of insects and the birds calling the way that they have forever and our world would be filled with the joyous noises of life. We would hear the stems of plants squeaking, rubbing, stretching as they grow past each other.

If we were the size of butterflies we would care a great deal more about the vibrations of green – the tone-on-tone harmonics – and our world would seem like a very, very large, mysterious, and beautiful place indeed.

If we were the size of butterflies.

Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
39. Every day trust that there is a bigger picture. You are a part of it even if you may not know what it is.