The air is heavy when we awaken, there must be a storm coming. I open the skylights and a sudden gale whistles down the stairwell. My autistic 11 year old, still in pyjamas, is absolutely delighted. He sets up directly underneath the velux with an old Thomas the Tank Engine book and watches as the downdraft turns the pages for him.
Everyone else slowly gets up. We can feel the storm creeping into our bones. No one is much for moving this morning, except our littlest family member. She is standing at the back door with her boots on, holding a football; only a year old, but very determined.
Ten minutes later, my daughter and I are out in the fields. She finds a hollow, discarded corn stem from last year’s crop. As she holds the treasure aloft triumphantly, the twenty mile an hour winds whistle through it. She squeals as the magical singing sword comes to life.
There is a sprig of cow parsley on the footpath. My daughter rushes over to the hedgerow and spends quite a while trying to encourage the plant to rejoin its friends. I tell her that she can keep her find if she wants.
Clutching the flowers tightly, she heads off purposefully towards the darkening clouds on the horizon.
Soon, I am carrying these and many further treasures for her whilst she hunts around for yet more. A feather that was caught on a bramble. A snapped branch. A tiny stone. She pauses to draw faces into the soft ground with a twig.
The clouds, distant just moments ago, are shepherded towards us with increasing speed. The gale is picking up.
My little explorer carefully collects brittle fragments of fallen leaves from the path; opening her palm, she watches them take flight.
Our voices also fly away from us. I show her that we can shout as loud as we want into the storm and it sounds like just a whisper.
My daughter loves this game. She stands firm, bracing herself against the harsh weather, “HELLO!” She holds her corn-sword aloft and yells her favourite words; “RABBIT! FLOWER! FOOTBALL!” Her voice comes out as the tiniest squeak. She thinks. Looking up at the sky, she roars her fiercest tiger roar … just as the wind drops. Her eyes are wide with delighted surprise, did she do that?
She is full of smiles as we turn towards home, her hand in mine. I confide to her that only the bravest and strongest can send a storm back to where it came from.
—Keep safe and well everyone. With heartfelt thanks to all those who are working to keep us safe, especially those on the frontline in the NHS and hospitals around the world.—
Visit my Little Art Shop: www.tinypotager.shop
Commission Enquiries: tinypotager@hotmail.com
Tiny Potager 
She is not less than storm…. Bold girl….
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Beautifully put x She is a very determined tiny person 🙂
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Good….
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How delightful! A wonderful walk with a darling girl before the storm!😊
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Thank you Susanne x
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Just about the cutest thing, ever…
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Thank you very much Tina 🙂
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I loved reading this 😊
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Hello Yasmin, thank you very much 🙂
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What a cutie and I love her little jacket. 🙂
janet
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Thank you Janet 🙂 The jacket is brilliant for up here on the hill, the hood stays up really well and with all the padding it’s like she is wearing safety gear if she tumbles!
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You create a lovely atmosphere!
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Thank you Becky 🙂
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I love this story. I love the image of your little girl standing with her football by the back door until someone goes out with her. I love your children’s delight in natural things. I love the magic of your everyday world.
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Thank you for leaving this lovely comment. My daughter is really good for me, because she insists upon going out even when the weather is awful, and then reminds me that bad weather makes you feel alive.
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A happy walk that brought a smile to my face this morning thank you 🙂
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I’m so glad – that’s the same effect your farm blogs have on me 🙂 Best wishes to all of the family Eddy
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Utterly delightful. I trust you carried a bag for all the treasures 🙂
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Yes – with five kids, I always have a bag handy for the oddities we pick up 😀 Everything from the storm walk has been carefully placed around the garden by my daughter, except the old crop husk, which she insists needs to stay in her room.
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I can well imagine – brings back memories 🙂
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This is such a lovely read
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Thank you Gottfried 🙂
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I just nominated you for the Awesome Blogger Award! Please see my latest post on the award if you want to participate and keep up the amazing content! 😃
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How kind! Thank you very much for thinking of our little site, we really appreciate it 🙂
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Absolutely! I love your content, it’s very uplifting and positive and we can’t forget about all of those beautiful pictures! Keep being amazing 😊
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Thank you 🌿 x
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The little girl who turned back a storm. Nice fiction potential, don’t you think?
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Yes! I think you should be writing my blog titles Laurie, I love the sound of your version 😀
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A-w-w-w, thanks!
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I love her incantation of favorite words; football! Perhaps her growl did scare the storm away. 😉
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Oh I like that very much – an incantation of favourite words. Beautifully put! 🙂
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Thank you. Power of the spoken word by the newly speaking child. 🙂
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This is so adorable! I just love the energy in the air as a storm rolls in!
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Thank you so much Anna! I’m glad you know the feeling too, of that palpable energy. We live at the top of a hill, and the wind just roars over the fields from the woodland – I love it 🙂
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A lovely post.
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Thank you 🌿
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Thank you for taking me along on this delightful walk! Your daughter is so precious & adorable! and you obviously have empowered her with a strong respect for the power & magic of words and nature. Such an awesome gift you have bestowed on her.
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Thank you very much! She loves being outside more than anything – I’m looking forward to taking her out in the summer months, as it will be her first summer being able to walk by herself🌿
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You make even a storm magical with your pictures and words!
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Thank you very much! 🌿
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What a well-told little adventure. Delightful.
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Thank you Gerard – I hope you are keeping well 🌿
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Oh my goodness how sweet that she tries to encourage the plant to rejoin its friend! Your daughter is so darling!
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Hi Tierney 🙂 She’s always trying to stick blossom back on trees, or flowers back on steams 🌿
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Awwwww
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A wonderful read and your little explorer is delightful! 🙂
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Thank you very much Ann! 🙂
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Just fantastic… what a wonderful walk, and what a teacher you are to your little girl and all of your children…. So wish more could share these kind of treasures with their children.. ❤
Sending love and well wishes dear Mrs TP…
Take care and much love in your direction..
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Ah thanks Sue 🙂 We’re very lucky to have fields just a minute from our front door. I hope you’re enjoying all this lovely sunshine ☀️ Sending lots of love in return x
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Thank you Mrs TP…. Yes the allotment plot is getting lots of loving care.. 🙂
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Lovely, atmospheric post. What a brave little warrior you have there, and I have an autistic 9-year-old, so I know how interesting life can be in a neuro-mixed family. 🙂
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Thank you very much Alli – and you must be able to completely imagine how life is here – very interesting and fun … and lively! Our autistic sons are 8 and 11 🙂 Sending lots of best wishes to you and your family x
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Hi there—this is just lovely. Thank you for sharing and brightening the world🙂
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Hello there, thank you for stopping by – and for the lovely comment 🙂 x
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I had no idea about how you can shout into a storm and it become a whisper. I will have to try that. We have thunderstorms in our forecast for the next few days. Thanks.
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It’s a lot of fun … I think it works here because the winds coming off the wood and blowing along the high fields just steals your words away. It’s a big open space too, so you can stand in a storm with no worry of trees falling. I hope everything is well where you are LuAnne x
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My goodness what you have sown into her soul this day.
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You have such a beautiful way of putting it into words, thank you very much x
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This is such a beautiful post and the way you write along with your gorgeous photos is like poetry. I will have to share a link to this post with my followers at the end of the month. Too pretty not to share with others…thank you.
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Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to share and comment – how kind 🙂 x
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Beautiful post!
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Thank you very much x 🌿
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I love your storytelling style and your daughter is adorable. I look forward to following you here from Maryland. I miss England but was fortunate to spend a month house and pup-sitting in Cambridgeshire in February this year. Lots of country walks and living simply. One day I hope to return to one of my favorite countries when it’s safe to travel and return for a long-term stay. In the meantime, I’ll look forward to hearing more from you. Thank you. Vera
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Hello Vera, thank you for visiting and following our little blog and for the lovely comment 🌼 Cambridge is a lovely part of the country – about 1.5hrs away for us here in Leicestershire, so we try and visit at least once a year. I’m equally intrigued by America and love reading blogs from there, so if you keep one, do please leave a link 🙂 I hope you get to come back here before too long! 🌿
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Thank you for the kind response.
I do have a blog but right now haven’t posted as often since I’m working on a small book, stories of my Mum and me, for my son and niece and her children. If you look under Trips and Tramps, archived, older posts, starting in 2014, there are a few U.S. trips taken in years past. Antietam civil war battlefield trip, Virginia Christmas time, Kykuit mansion in NY, Monticello in Virginia, former home of President Jefferson and so forth. I hope the photos and stories give you a little glimpse in places along our East Coast.
I’m looking forward to reading all of your posts.
KInd regards, Vera
https://amusingbeartales.com/
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What a doll!
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Awwr thank you 🌿
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🙂
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It’s worth reading!
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Thank you very much 🙂
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