UPDATE FOR THE YEAR OF FAST FORWARD

I havnt written for a while.
The days have flown by at a rediculous speed.
Been spending time working in the forest and on the land.

Each day I ve been getting up at sunrise and going out in the van collecting cow pats to mulch the garden.
As we re so high up here on a limestone ridge the soil is thin so I always take thick bags and buckets with me when I m our walking to collect extra soil and dung !

The days have been absolutely glorious.
My mother came to stay and I savoured each precious moment that we spent together.


The forest is transforming daily.
I ve been planting more rhododendron bushes and dozens of bulbs to come up as surprises next year.
New grass seed has been sprinkled on the earth and the cuttings that I have taken from fruit trees and bushes are doing well.

We finally have good news re the bus that is blocking the entrance to the forest and has been unable to be moved as it is so enormous and a bidet stands inplace of a steering wheel.
Its been there for forty odd years and we ve rung every scrappy in the area and no one wants to take on the task of removing it.

Finally we have an answer to our prayers !
Nicola s friend Harold will be arriving mid october all the way from the North of England with his
" JAWS OF LIFE ".......... A devise of fire used to rescue bodies from car accidents.
He works for the ambulance service and at car rallies to rescue people from car crashes and will be carving the "monster " up into pieces so we can clear it and open up the mouth of the forest and let the light back in.
So " Watch this Space ".

Smiling people

Himalayan Smiles

Source: www.youtube.com

http://blog.chinmaya-dunster.com/2009/09/smiling-people-an-appeal/

UNIVISIONS

UNIVISIONS

Shared via AddThis

OMGmovie.com/blog

Smiles from off the road 3 - travels with a hat

I just wanted to share this video with you all as it so touched my heart.
Its on u tube but I m not sure how to link the u tube with this blog.

Please go to U tube and type in
Smiles from off the road 3 - travels with a hat

and listen.....................................

If anyone can let me know how you connect videos on u tube to blogs please let me know.

PAINTING WITH NATURE SPIRITS AND ANGELS

In this week we will be spending time in the garden and forest of Igue Que Ratzo.
Gaining our inspiration from nature and stillness we will be leaving our busy minds behind and re connecting with our true creativity.

Inspirational artist Rana J Rodger (www.ranapix.co.uk) will facilitate this week sharing her experiences and connections with nature spirits and angelic beings.

Each day starts with a meditation under the guardian tree.
The studio will be open all day and night with an assortment of various paints, media and plenty of paper.

Please bring an open heart and mind and no expectations.
Have no fear if you have never painted before.
Igue Que ratzo is a safe and supportive space of simplicity, non judgement and unconditional love.

There is an artist inside everybody just waiting to express itself.

TRIBAL ART WEEK

TRIBAL ART WEEK

With Artist Rana J Rodger www.ranapix.co.uk

The work of artist Rana J Rodger is influenced strongly by her connections with Africa , Australia, Native America and the art and culture of all these regions.

In this week we will be looking at the designs, colour, texture and symbols of these regions.......connecting with the sounds and rhythms and having fun in the studio.

Please bring an open mind and no expectations.
Have no fear if you have never painted before.
Igue Que Ratzo is a supportive place of non judgement, simplicity and unconditional love.

There is an artist inside everybody just waiting to come out.

CREATIVITY / REJUVENATION WEEKS IN THE HEART OF THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE

PAINTINGS OF THE AREA

To see more paintings of the local area by artist Rana J Rodger you can visit the website:
www.jennirodger.co.uk

MORE ABOUT THE CREATIVITY WEEKS

There is a studio/workroom with a vast range of paints and different media and plenty of paper for when you feel inspired to paint, draw or write.
There are also two guitars and a variety of different percussion instruments and flutes.

There are two "Magical Mystery"days per week ( optional )
where we can visit local medeival villages and markets, go canooing on the beautiful Aveyron river or visit the breathtaking waterfall at Cazals that comes from a spring in a large cave and flows into a crystal pool of ice cold fresh spring water ( great place to visit on sweltering hot summer days )

ACCOMODATION DETAILS

One of the most delightful features of the house is the way it opens out through large french doors from every room to give immediate access to the garden,swimming-pool area, the shady verandah and the outside fire-place barbeque.
Surrounded by shady trees, it is never too hot even on the hottest days.

The weekly courses can accomodate one person, or a couple sharing a room.
There is a bathroom next to the bedroom, and a laundry with washing machine.

Three delicious healthy meals a day are provided. Vegetarian or vegan if required.
Most of the vegetables are grown organically from the garden and fresh vegetable or fruit juice is served daily.

CREATIVITY / REJUVENATION WEEKS IN THE HEART OF THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE

COURSES

REDISCOVER YOUR CREATIVITY

EMBRACING YOUR INNER CHILD

PAINTING WITH NATURE SPIRITS AND ANGELS

TRIBAL ART WEEK

Igue Que Ratzo

POOL AND GARDEN

PHOTOS OF IGUE

THE LOCATION

This secluded country house is set in the rugged plateau landscape of SW France.
The delightful " bergerie " has been transformed into a simple but spacious and comfortable single-storey house with immediate access to nature.

IGUE QUE RATZO in Occitan means " the watering hole that flows " and is named from a spring or " source " just off the grounds. " Ratzo " means the "running "of the soul toward true nothingness... and "Igue"... a cavity below ground level. Altogether connecting us with the contents...the flows and sources of life and inspiration always to be found in the unconscious.

It is located centrally on it s own eight acre patch, and there is a 500m dirt track leading up to the house.

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN

The land immediately surrounding the house is unique.
Three lay lines meet at a spot in the woods and the pool has been filled with blessed water.
The garden has been sensitively landscaped with rock features, little stone pathways and beds of beautiful flowers.
There is a stone roundhouse not far from the lodge surrounded by zinnias and marigolds.
35 different species of butterflies and moths have been spotted on the lavender bushes and wild deer occasionally come to visit.
The woods are full of nature spirits, ancient pathways covered in moss and magical shady glens.
From there you can walk out into the countryside for miles without meeting another person.
The whole garden merges seamlessly into the indigenous Oak, Juniper and multitude of other shrubs that make the "garrigue " of SW France so unique.

There are no immediate neighbours other than a lovely French couple who live in a stone cottage at the end of the track.
IGUE is far removed from the intrusion of traffic.
You can enjoy the natural sounds of the cuckoo in spring, and later the nightingale, cicadas in the heat of the summer and a host of other birds to the full.

Great Spirit.

Help me to be an open vessel through which your love can pour.

Help me to accept the things I cannot change...

To change the things I can...

And the wisdom to know the difference.

THE STUDIO IN ANDALUCIA

PHWEEEEEW

............That was quite something trying to work out how to download all those images.
They re all jumbled up by the way so if anyone knows how to change the order of the photos on the blogpage please let me know.
I ll introduce you to a friend of mine ( see next image )

Welcome to my Blog

This is all completely new to me.

My first blog and i m blogging my way through all the various stages.

I will introduce myself:

My name is Rana J Rodger. Initially Jenni Rodger from Smarden in Kent England.

I changed my name to Rana about 18 years ago, but that is another story.

I am an artist/singer/songwriter.

You can see some of my work if you go to my website:

www.ranapix.co.uk.

The picture that you see on the front page was taken in Andalucia S Spain where I built my studio earlier this year.
The studio is built of wood and arrived in two flat packs at the top of the dirt track the same day as those raging winds that tore through Southern France and Spain began at almost hurricane level and lasted for over a week.
I managed to get all pieces of my studio and house -to -be loaded into my VW van and down the long steep winding track to the location and anchor it all down just intime before the raging winds set in.

The building took a few months to put up...........the electricity from solar panels and the water from the spring way up in the baranco and arrived to my house by means of plastic tubing joined together by pieces of inner bicycle tube and hollow cana.

I m going to pause now as i have some breakfast but will try and work out how to send photos of the house.