I’ll have my tea with Mother Nature
April/May 2022
Apologies! We haven’t been publishing newsletters lately because we’ve been super busy moving house!
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Each month we send out a Feature newsletter (week 1) on the previous month’s stories and a Statistics newsletter (Week 3) examining the best performing stories and the overall performance of the publication.
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Here’s my selection of must-read articles from April/May 2022! Lately there’s been more writers signing up to Tea with Mother Nature which is wonderfully inspiring. It’s so good to know that there are others who want to share their love of the natural world and the ways that they connect with nature.
Having said that… with more and more submissions, it’s getting harder to curate a monthly collection.
It starts with a trickle… and yet a flood is coming!
Our April story feature is from intrepid traveller, Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages. She explains why Baobab Trees are Pure Magic.
We already thought that we had died and gone to heaven by being able to see this behemoth up close, but we had no idea what we were really in for.
Our May story is completely different. A. M. Palmer writes with such masterful prose that I am always drawn into his stories. Read a different type of wonder altogether with Coffee at Mount Hope Cemetary.
But it’s the comfort of respectful silence that brings me here, knowing that those who visit — picnicking on the grass and overgrown grave markers — will likely be contemplative rather than loud, subdued and not boisterous. For a morning walk of peace and quiet, replete with a remarkable view to history, a cemetery is ideal.
As soon as I read this story in early April, I knew it would be a feature for the #creativity section. I Call Him the Mud Man from Moryt Milo is delightfully whimsical and lyrical all at the same time.
In his early days, he had a deep dark dewy appearance. He looked content. He appeared to smile. His jowls were filled with delight.
May didn’t yield any submissions tagged “Creativity” so let’s try another April offering. Mel debuted not just in TWMN but also on Medium with sharing her tale of Our Slightly Wonky Walnut Tree.
… occasionally, mother nature would pity me and reward me with an unexpected pairing of colours or a combination of textures. Or something that she had conjured up, of her very own making: A patch of wild yellow primroses. An invasion of wild strawberries. A mix of wild poppies and bluebells. These creations far surpassed the beauty of my attempts at serious, plan-based horticulture.
Julie Ringwood gave us more advice in April. This time she explains how to care for Amaryllis Bulbs, Acers and Aloe.
I had two bulbs: one I forced in a glass vase with only water for indoors; and this one I put in a pot of dirt outdoors. Funny enough, the one I forced bloomed within a month, in time for Christmas, but this one waited until March to bloom. And oh what a bloom!
Carolyn McBride also gave out some useful advice in May. This time she explains 3 Ways to Feed Orchids Organically guaranteeing a measure of success for anyone brave enough to take on these fussy plants!
Too much all at once can irreparably harm or kill an orchid, so don’t do that! But if you follow the steps I’ve outlined above, and are patient, you’ll see a remarkable transformation in your orchids. In fact, using the steps I’ve discussed above, I brought an orchid back from the brink of death!
Suma Narayan took up the “Heroes of Mother Nature” challenge in April and shared the amazing story of Eco-warrior Deepa Rai.
When we were in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, getting kitted out for our paragliding adventure, she was the only one who didn’t begin immediately. No, she was waiting for that time of day when there were the maximum thermal currents, so she could sail and glide as high as possible. Whether it was camel riding, climbing, trekking or hiking, she was always game for it.
Prompts don’t have deadlines in Tea with Mother Nature. We are still looking for Hero submissions. Do you know someone who deserves to be celebrated? I have a couple of people in mind and I need to get going and do something about it! Find the details here.
Of course, all TWMN writers are also Heroes of Mother Nature! So, since we don’t have a May story for this tab. Let’s celebrate one of our most prolific writers who waxes lyrical about her garden and the nature surrounding it. In Around My Patch, Sharing Words also references the times that the wonder of Mother Nature necessitates human heroes to save us from her might.
This is an Area of Outstanding Beauty and the South West Coastal path starts around here. The population triples in summer. There are dangerous cliffs and riptides in the water. Paramedics and police, the Coastguard, and RNLI are kept very busy.
Again, there are no book reviews. We are thinking about getting rid of this tab. We’ll still publish book reviews but tabs are limited and they don’t seem as popular as other possibilities might be.
Sustainability can mean many things and I like to think that enjoying the bounty of Mother Nature in the form of food, sustains our connection to nature. PseuPending (Seu) made her TWMN debut in April and shared her experience of Eating the Rainbow in the City and more Tidbits. I challenge you to read it without getting hungry!
Vibrant purple Australian cauliflowers, crisp yellow Italian summer squash, and crunchy verdant green asparagus — snuggling in spongy white mycelium from Yunnan, jade tips peeking — all bathing happily in a sunlit, tasty broth.
Food for others is the topic of Gauri Sirur’s May piece explaining that Sometimes, All You Can do is Plant a Seed. This read is filled with gentle humour and kindness.
The F&F aren’t always crazy about figs. Sometimes, they make excuses not to take the fruit. Most times, they are too polite to say “No.” They eat a handful of the figs. The rest meet their fate in the garbage can.
In May, Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages shared her inspiration for gardening from one of her elders in My Life as a Gardener. While not technically a Wild Tricks response, we think it fits and it’s a beautiful touching story to boot!
I remember digging potatoes and playing with worms. We picked peas and ate them right from the shell. I was shown how to plant seeds and how to move plants around. She had lots of strawberries and they were so delicious.
But the one thing I remember the most was her tomatoes. There was something about those tomatoes and my grandmother that just went together.
Also in May, Suma Narayan graciously takes us into her world again. This time we are guided with a Handful of Water, Heart Full of Love.
My grandparents lived by this tenet, this dictate of faith, and they passed it on to us. They knew nothing about renewable resources and the like, but they knew that nothing should be wasted. So they made little fables and allegories to teach children the Faith.
What do you think of when you hear “wild tricks from our ancestors”? Please submit and share with TWMN!
Fiction, poetry, nonfiction, listicles — we’ll accept anything for this tab!
Click here to read the prompt call.
We’re seeking submissions for all these sections. If you have an idea, let us know!
Thanks for reading this newsletter. Please give feedback! We’re learning this publication thing and we want to cater to our readers not guess what you want!
Oh and go and join the Facebook group! Need an invite? Let me know via private note or in the comments!
Tea with Mother Nature Writers Under 100
We’re getting more and more “under 100” writers. Please check out their work and if you like what you read, hit follow! Here’s the current list:
Mel, Ivy Shepherd, Promising Poetry, Emma Peregrine, Jahnavi Jethmalani, Sara Giovanna, Ciara O’Brien, Ritesh Uphade,
All our writers not yet mentioned in this newsletter — thanks for your support and we’re looking forward to your future submissions!
Zoë Poulsen, Elizabeth Barnesco, Kim Zuch, Mel Drake, Bronwen Scott, LucianoSphere, Dunelair, Theodora, Ritesh Uphade, Carrie, Tess Anderson, Kam, Nikki Waterson, 🌈LIFE LESSON, Moryt Milo, Uma Sankar Sekar, Ilana Lydia, Cate Harris. cateharris37@gmail.com, Suma Narayan, Roxanne Barbour, Jacob Flanders, Carolyn McBride, Asangika Kuruppu, Jennifer Essary, Shiwangi dwivedi, Nicole Sponsel, Kelly Aluna Martone, Anthony Eichberger, Sharing Words, Juan Anomalocaris, Omy, Charles Waters, Gauri Sirur, Lisa Manzer, E. Ardincaple, Ciara O’Brien, Marmotian, Sara Giovanna, Barbara Mac, Julie Ringwood, Jillian Amatt, Susie Kearley, Jahnavi Jethmalani, PseuPending (Seu), Emma Peregrine, John Brantingham, A. M. Palmer, Mel, Alex Tamchynova, Promising Poetry, Ivy Shepherd
