Haven't been around blog space for a while due to my trip to Chirthurst monastery, West Sussex. I volunteered to work in the forest for a couple of weeks in what turned out to be glorious weather. Not having many skills in the forest management department, my job was to haul logs of sweet chestnut and neatly pile them in rows. This was hard work but it was made easier with a handy log grabber tool. Over the course of the two weeks I learned the names of quite a few trees and got to grips with brush cutting, heathland promotion and tree planting. The forest is being returned to it's original state with the replanting of oak, ash, hawthorn, blackthorn and beech. This is an ongoing process, but has already produced some good results. There are a quite a number of badgers, deer and owls around!
While I was staying in the monastery, I joined in with the routine, which involved a 4 am wake up gong and lots of meditation. Together with all the sunshine and fresh air, it was quite an experience.
At the week ends I got in some running through the woods and managed a few sketch paintings.
This is a kuti called Brahma Vihara, I stayed in for five nights, just me the badgers and the owls
A view of the grounds below Chithurst Monastery
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