Whare Kōtare, Levin (2025)

07/12/2025

Discovering the Three Sisters planting method has brought me nourishment far beyond the physical eating of and the growing of food.

It’s also given me a way of seeing how knowledge sets can support each other. They tell a story.

If we look at the Corn as the holder of the Land Based, Indigenous Knowledge sets. The provider of Structure. It’s important it goes first. Leads the way. Gives a frame of reference.

Then follows the Beans. Filling the spaces and nourishing the Corn with Nitrogen. It’s the Western Science knowledge sets. The ‘How’ behind the ‘Why and the What’ of the Indigenous knowledge.

If we leave the Beans to grow without structure. They take over, sprawling and formless. And if added too soon, it takes over the Corn before it can get strong enough to provide the structure.

When done well, the two pair together outstandingly well.

So today I sowed more Corn. With whakapapa back to the Incan and the Navajo.

I’ll let it go, and then in awhile, add the Beans.

05/12/2025

In case no one told you lately,

You’re Doing Great!!

Younger you is so proud of you, and you’re exactly where you’re meant to be x

Oh, and if you haven’t yet, go get a new Planner for next year and start loading some fun things into 😉

(And how cool is Asparagus when it goes to Flower)

01/12/2025

I was super proud to turn the page on our ART Confederation Maramataka Calendar this month and find my photo connected with this month’s Rongo / Peace messaging.

I was out at Kuku Beach one morning and was gifted a Rainbow that lay along the whenua in the wetland as the Sun rose. A moment I’ll never forget.

So I offer you this image. To imagine in your own space. I invite you to read this, and then, close your eyes to bring it to life.

Breath in the fresh scent of a day just beginning. The night has done its resetting work, and a new Dawn is coming with a fresh start.

Feel the air caress your cheeks with the crisp freshness of the pre-dawn feel.

Hear the waves, rolling in the distance.

Breath into this a moment.

And then, open your eyes.

To receive the gift of seeing the soft mist rising off the wetland, the shift in temperature bringing in a pre-dawn haze. And as the sun rises above the Tararua Ranges, it lights up the morning mist. Giving life for a short time to this Rainbow Blanket. As it lay, embracing the whenua in soft colour. So comforting and wonderful. A tohu for a delightful day and a reminder to look for the moments that tell you you’re on the right path.

The soft gold of the sunrise held the blanket there for a short while, in that liminal space between night and day.

Breathe into this now. The balanced space between Night and Day. Light and Dark. The moment in between. Stay here as long as you need.

And then. Notice as the Sun strengthens and lifts.

Burning away the Mist, and removing the last traces of the Night. As the cycles of Nature continue.

A reminder to bring with you the memories of the joyfulness of times you can’t see anymore, but are a part of you.

And to look for the reminders and signs, that there is constant transition around you.

So amongst it all.

Seek the Peaceful moments, and allow yourself to feel into them. So you can return to them in your thoughts as often as you need to.

Go Well

B 💚

29/11/2025

So excited about our Kumara patch.

First time growing them for me, so was neat to learn through this process with Mama so we have our own crop ready for Matariki celebrations next year.

From gathering knowledge from others we’ve made use of our Comfrey crop to plant with as fertiliser, and the manure and blood and bone.

Plus pointing the root stock toward the East to capture the energy of the Rising Sun each day.

To plant something with such a long growth window is such a cool way to connect with my future self and already thinking quietly of future Ceremony times.

The gift of living on multi generational whanau land is the tangible connections found through the soil. We spoke of Grandad Harold, who always had the best Vege gardens near where we’ve put this one. And my Great Grandies Henry & Evelyn, as pieces of old thick glass bottles came up as we worked the soil. Traces of daily life lived here.

Makes sense, that an ancient crop with such a long growing window brought in the Tupuna to create the Future timelines 💫💫💫

And that the depth of the Winter Ceremony of Matrariki is supported by a crop sown in Spring.

28/11/2025

An absolutely delightful way to spend the afternoon.

Sunshine, great kai, yarns and laughs.

Some fab takeaways from Lisa’s knowledge share, always great to hang out with people who speak the same languaging around living a full and vibrant life.

25/11/2025

How good is this beauty going to look in the Rongoā Studio 💚

What a treat it was to receive a Kawakawa Print from SJ as my Secret Santa gift at the .nz Christmas soirée last week

Turns out SJ received the handmade ‘Grounding Candle’ that I’d popped in from the Whare Kōtare range.

We were clearly meant to trade taonga that day 💚

Now it’s all framed up, I’ll get it up on the wall, fun

24/11/2025

So excited about this, it’s Elder flower season 🥰

They have such a brief flowering window, and they’re such a delicate flower.

We did a harvest today to make Elder Flower cordial. Deeeeeliscious.

And the last of the harvest will go into our annual small batch of Goat Milk and Elder flower soap that’ll be ready in early January.

I love these brief windows of time that our Plant Friends give us. Reminders to be present and grateful. To Notice them. To pay attention to the Seasons.

To know that in Nature, things aren’t available all year round. So that when they are Present, I can be more Present myself for the observing of them.

23/11/2025

Rongoā - The Actualisation of Peace

When I learnt of the etymology of the word Rongoā it just made so much sense.

Rongo = Peace
Ā = Activating the Peace

To walk with Self and Others to do the daily Doing of living a balanced and peaceful life.

It’s a call to action though. A way of Living. Not as ‘gentle’ as it may sound.

It’s a Brave thing, to make the adjustments needed to bring in Peace.

Sometimes we actually need to lean into something we’ve been avoiding, so that we move past it.

Other times it’s intentional check ins on our alignment, internal and external. Above and Below.

And adjust as needed.

The daily ‘Work’ of Being at Peace.

A wonderful way to Live.

📸 The Acheron River in the Molesworth Station. Absolutely Righteous country in there

21/11/2025

I’m remembering the rōpu from the Te One Haumako retreat I got to hold Hauora space for earlier this year. We spent a lot of time clearing and sowing ideas for the future.

Like the shoots on my Bonsai Tōtara starting to bud into Spring, I hope all the ideas you’ve had through the introspective time of Winter, are starting to find traction.

Take a moment over the weekend to pause and reflect on where you’re seeing movement towards your visions.

And take the time to honour the new shoots.

Sometimes we get caught in the Promise of the Future, that we forget to see the beauty in the Present Moment.

Make any adjustments you need to.

But mainly, just make some time to notice what IS.

Feel free to share any progress you’re seeing towards goals you may have set earlier in the year . . .

20/11/2025

That time we started a Run Club in Horowhenua 🥰 and got a little write up in the paper 📝

Almost 1 year of weekly Saturday meet ups. Yeow.

Four of us from the Horowhenua community met up in January to see if we could make a local grassroots ‘run club’ because there wasnt anything we could find locally that met our needs.

We each shared a vision to create a space focused on Connection and Motivation to empower people to get out moving.

And so Jog to Run Horowhenua was born.

We now have runners, joggers and walkers in our Squad.

And the Squad has been absolutely smashing out PB’s and taking on distances at events and in training runs that make us all so proud of each other.

I absolutely love adding the vibrancy of the post run coffee meet up into Levin early on Saturday mornings and supporting our local hospo venues with our social get togethers.

If anyone’s keen to jump in for a 5km walk or run, we meet in Levin area every Saturday morning at 7am. The location moves around the region and we organise adventures out of town every few months.

Touch base if you want more info ❤️‍🔥

19/11/2025

‘Ceremonial and Spiritual Poverty’ is phrasing posed by Stephen Jenkinson in a book I read recently.

And that if we were to fill our lives with honouring these aspects of Individual and Village life we’d be in a much better place as a species and as Guardians of this Planet.

It really resonated with me. Such a simple and profound way to describe what is lacking in our modern world, and if leaned into, is such a wonderful way to live.

Honouring Nature and Self. Intentionally.

It’s a New Moon today, a time that’s well suited for sowing seeds. Literally and Figuratively. A great time to set out intentions for the next month. And to Clear anything that might be in the way.

I use Fire to help me here.

I make the time to write or draw what I want bring in, and what I might need to clear to attain that. And then send it out by giving it to the flames.

What ways do you bring Ceremony into your life?

📸 recent double rainbow I spotted at Sunset 🧡

07/11/2025

‘She Lived until She Died’

I heard this phrasing recently, and absolutely loved it.

A reminder to Live into this Life that we are gifted.

For just being Alive does not equal Living.

I constantly seek ways to notice, to be present, to look beyond, to expand into the space I’m in, to cherish the moments of experience I’m gifted, and the ones I seek out.

It just landed so well for me, this guiding phrase and is a life goal indeed.

To truely Live.

Joyfully and Deliberately

Whare Kōtare

07/12/2025

05/12/2025

01/12/2025

29/11/2025

28/11/2025

25/11/2025

24/11/2025

23/11/2025

21/11/2025

20/11/2025

19/11/2025

07/11/2025

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