Always learning

Maramataka

Our moon is in Orongonui which is a productive day to get out planting kai in the māra, it is also a good time if you fish to get out there and cash kaimoana. This time is also a good time to finish your assignments, complete that to do list in preparation for the dark moons and rest days.

Me Pukumahi! - Be productive!

Don't waste these high energy productive days, plan ahead and tick off those tasks!

We have definitely taken advantage of these days and W and I have been out grounding ourselves in the māra most of this week; more on that below.

Reflection of Plant and Soil Science

In the near two weeks since my last post I have completed the first course/paper of the Horticulture Certificate through Otago Polytechnic and the TTAF government initiative for the COVID response here in Aoteraoa.

If you are here in Aotearoa I highly recommend you research what is available to you through this TTAF funding, it is an amazing way to grow your skills and most is delivered online!

This first course was full of information, I ate up every paper in the beginners botany module; it opened my eyes to how truly connected we are to the world around us!

The pedology papers were a little tricker to get in to a rhythm of learning but I got there and loved it, I know how to check the texture and structure of most all soils and how to improve them to ensure successful growth of plant.

I am still waiting on the results of my final assessment, this one was written where the earlier two were multichoice, I am quietly confident that I will at least have a pass for this assessment.

There are three more courses to come for this certificate and the next one will be Plant Health that opens tomorrow.

Aotearoa and the August second wave of COVID

On Tuesday it was announced we had community transmission of COVID in Tāmakimakaurau which meant our alert levels were raised on Wednesday. Tāmakimakaurau raised to level 3 and the rest of us raised to level 2 for a minimum of three days while it was decided by the government the next steps to take.
This brought back a flood of anxiety and stress that I must have slightly suppressed from our first wave and when we decided to relocate back to Te Wai Pounamu. I kept W home from kindy and placed online orders and click and collect orders that my mother was kind enough to go out and get for us. I went full hibernation, followed every news article and live blog and barely slept each night. My world suddenly felt very small and to be honest a bit scary, I have seen too many dystopian movies, read too many books of that genre and have an active non-stop imagination. All this does not equal a restful sleep...
In the day time W and I were in the māra, or relaxing with Disney+ on the couch. I tried to stay in the moment and keep her calm which was difficult as these were her 'school days'. 
W was and is amazing, I explained that our days are like how they were when we first got here and most places were shut for me and her. She understood and got on with it, however, I am sure she picked up on my feelings as she does not want to be far from me.

We are getting our planting ready for spring, our focus was on what would benefit W if we were to have a second wave full lockdown again.
When we lived in Pōneke W took great pride in her sunflower growing ability, her lavender harvesting and her monarch caterpillar wrangling.
Our shopping list for the garden centre was soil, pots, lavender and swan plant seeds. 
We harvested the sunflower seeds last season so fingers crossed they will work!

Preparing the pots, tutu essential


W misting the seeds

This morning I discovered LinkedIn learning, another form of education I will add to my studies this year. This is amazing and is free through my Horticulture course, another reason to get on to it whānau!

I ticked of a self confidence class and also successful ways to start your day.
This last one was eye opening! It was delivered as an audio file from Hal Elrod and it introduced me to the 'miracle morning' and the SAVERS steps.
  • Silence - 10 minutes of reflection/meditation in silence
  • Affirmations - choose one to repeat to yourself each morning in the mirror
  • Visualisation - see yourself happily completing the tasks you need to to achieve your goals
  • Exercise - get your heart pumping for as little as 60 seconds 10 times a day
  • Reading - we don't read anymore! Aim to read a book a month
  • Scribing - dedicate 5 minutes to writing; goals, gratitude, things that made your day
Moving forward I am going to strive to apply SAVERS to my day everyday 

In saying that my scribing for the day is as follows:

What am I grateful for today?

  1. Sunshine, today the sun is shining and streaming through all the windows. W has been out for a run around in the backyard and I have sat out and reflected on our days past and thought to our days ahead.
  2.  Technology, in the words of Olaf in Frozen II "advancing technology will be both our saviour and our doom". At the moment it is my saviour and has meant I can continue to learn and personally develop while staying at home and parenting full time; it also means we are all virtually connected through these isolating days by the click of a button.
  3. Relocating when we did, I am so forever thankful we listened to our gut and relocated to family down south when our first rāhui was announced. I am so happy that we are where we are and not facing regrets or another relocation.
What do I need to do today?
  1. Water the plants
  2. Start my library book
  3. Breathe
What amazing things happened today?
  1. I found I have access to a whole new world of learning
  2. W put a plant pot on her head and said "I am a robot; do, do, do, do"
  3. I have a new way to start my day
So a lot of things have been happening in my world, huge things have been happening globally and things have been changing locally.

Wherever you are, in the words of Eliza Hamilton 
"look at where you are, look at where you started, the fact that you are alive is a miracle"

We've got this, kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui x








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