“Our bodies are our gardens…our wills are our gardeners.”
-William Shakespeare
It is not new news that we in central Texas are experiencing record-breaking heat and a serious drought. There have been over 100 days that we have experienced triple digit temperatures. It has been grueling. Blood is boiling… frustrations and anger are rising to the surface.
People are HOT! El Fulego! And it makes you want to stay inside and do nothing but sleep, read and keep cool. Barton Springs and Deep Eddy are what makes Austin bearable during this crazy hot summer.
So what inspired me to attend a grape harvest out in the hill country at my friend’s vineyard in Pontotoc, Texas– where the closest watering hole to take a dip in was about 30 miles away in a river that was most likely dry?
I needed to get out. I needed to get out of the city, out of my environment and mix things up…experience something new.
I needed to be in community. I had never been to a harvest before and I fell in love with Pontotoc on my first visit out there. In fact, we hosted a
Weekend Painting Retreat out there last year and are going back again this year
the weekend of November 9th.
Carl Money-The Visionary
I was amazed at what the adventure showed me. Several of Carl & Frances’s friends and family, including local winemakers and people from the community, came out to contribute. It was so inspiring to be a part of someone else’s dream! I felt re-connected to myself and my own dreams by connecting and contributing to theirs.
And the harvest was bountiful! I could not get over the lushness of the grapes. The local winemaker said this was one of the best harvests in central Texas and many vineyards would not even have a full harvest! The heat and the drought was too stressful on the vines. But with lots of watering and loving care from Ronnie (Carl’s uncle who manages the vineyard) the temperanillo grapes were perfect for wine making!
The Vinter, Don...Changing the world, one grape at a time!
Yes, during challenging times like these we all need to be gentle and take care to nurture ourselves as we are invited to embrace change. The more we take loving care and feed our body what it needs, rest when we need to rest, play when we need to play, feed ourselves healthy food when we need nourishment—the more ripe we will be to harvest the gifts that come from seemingly difficult times that challenge the very core and bones of our being.
I had such a wonderful time in Pontotoc this weekend harvesting not only the grapes but my own insights. My own ability to reach out in community and ask for support to manifest my dreams ripened along with the harvest. It was time to nurture my own vines.
Me picking grapes
with love, peace and abounding creativity,
Melissa
nurture your vines.
(starts september 11, 2011)
Top 10 Reasons why YOU want to come join us on the Martha’s Vineyard Painting Retreat next month:
1) You need to invest in time for yourself. If you won’t, who will?
2) Investing in your own well-being positively affects the world around you.
3) You feel as if your creative well is dry.
4) You’re stuck. You need to move through that block that is holding you back from realizing your vision.
5) You are tired of the status quo. It’s time to leap off that creative edge and get comfortable in the unknown…
6) You want to grow your ability to trust and listen to your intuition.
7) You desire to expand your consciousness to a higher vibration.
8) You crave to connect to your authentic self…discover & express YOUR VOICE.
9) You want to experience what it is like to be in a truly sacred, intimate creative community.
10) You need to reconnect to nature and your connection to the flow of life….and well Martha’s Vineyard rocks.
- 24-hour art barn painting studio
- individual and group coaching
- gourmet, organic meals
- massages
- direct access to a private pond
- gorgeous beaches & bike trails
few spaces left
beginners are welcome!
Please call 512 524 0687 or email melissa@firetreestudios.com for additional information.
