Dancing peacocks, dirt and each other ...

First thing friday morning,  Dakota and Jyra and I had ten minutes to ourselves before Ted and Magnus joined us.

We got to enjoy the spectacle of the peacocks dancing and the rare site of the largest male dancing for an actual peahen.   The farm peacocks are re-knowned for strutting their stuff for anything with feathers or two legs ... least often an actual peahen.

As I got down beside both girls, Jyra was oohing and aahing and I could feel how much she wanted to express what she was feeling.  It was quite magnificent and at Jyra's height, a peacock with it's tale up is enormous.  'Oh, ah ... ' she went with a little thrill running through her body and finally she looked at me and said with immense passion for the beauty she was beholding, 'It's very big!'

A 'teenage' peacock, with only one long tail feather to show, doing his best dance for two very disinterested ducks.

Magnus began the day on friday like this ...

'Nella I want to tell you something.'  He then held his hands up in front of his face, palms towards himself and the backs of his hands to me and said with great enthusiasm, 'My sister Sienna painted my toenails pink!'

Then things got pretty cute ... everyone sort of snuggled in with each other and then sat on the seat in the sun taking turns at 'being in the middle' ... all just because it felt really good to be together.  The sense of belonging and love amongst this little crew is large and lush.

Later in the Witches Garden, everyone started to dig in the dirt.  Dakota led the way announcing, 'I'm going to dig.'  Magnus watched and joined in follwed by Ted and then Jyra.   As things got underway, they all got really happy about just being able to dig.  Animated conversations were happening and sticks for digging were being sorted.  Dakota and Magnus decided they needed an extra stick for Ari who was away for the day.   It was like they were marking his place among us.   Ted grabbed the stick for Ari and things got a little heated.  Ted hadn't quite realised what was happening and Magnus was trying to explain.  As things heated up, Jyra stood up, looked at everyone and said, 'What you fighting for?'   She kept watching, got no answer and said quite firmly, 'Stop fighting.'  All heads went up in her direction ... everyone took her in, the heat died down and on the digging went.  

One by one, over and over, each of the children came to me and had something to say ... 'I'm digging'  ... 'I'm digging dirt' ... 'I'm making a big hole with my digging'  They were all in sheer delight at having hands in mother earth and the freedom just to dig.

Another treat for us all was a trip to the vege garden.  We picked heaps of spinach to feed the chickens and some carrots and beetroot to eat. 

So good ...