4th February ~ a small stone (and some other stuff)

our silver birch tree has had a trim
I watched in anxiety as her witch’s hair was shorn
wanting to tidy a stray branch left straggling
wondering why I should feel bare

~
 
Today Jake and I watched a young man in a turquoise hard hat scale the silver birch trees on our street in order to give them trims. He had a rope and pulley system and special boots and his chain saw was hoisted up to him on a separate rope by his colleague. It was strange to see so much equipment used to scale a relatively skinny tree.

Last night on Human Planet, I watched in awe as a rainforest tribesman scaled a 100-ft tree to retrieve honey from hundreds of angry bees. He climbed up with his bare feet, using a single rope and a machete. He said, “When climbing big trees, you have to empty your heart of fear. If you have fear you will fall. Many good friends have fallen.” We also saw a group of children no older than 7 or 8 years old hunt enormous tarantulas and then cook them over an open fire as a snack.  What's normal depends entirely on what you are used to.

~

No shred today, did 40 minutes of yoga instead.  After the "Shanti practice", I added a core practice to my routine cos Jake was happily watching trains on you tube.  Thus ensued 7 minutes of the most hilarious attempts at "situ-ups" I've ever done.  Shiva Rea made them look graceful. I giggled through much of it, but definitely felt it.  I'm surprised at my response to all the ab work I've done this week.  I used to hate and dread it and always struggled through it, but this week I've enjoyed every single crunch - athletic or yogic, thrown at me. 
(100 word diary)