Last year I visited the fabulous Sydney Flower Market at Flemington. Oh, I love this place and I sure am due for another visit very soon. I bought lovely bunches of flowers which adorned my home for the following week/s, helped a friend choose flowers for her wedding and found myself the cutest little nest made from dried Dodda Vine.

Dodda Vine also has charming common names such as devil’s guts, devil’s hair, devil’s ringlet, hailweed, hairweed, hellbine, pull-down, strangleweed and witch’s hair. Anything with a common name containing devil, hell or weed makes you stop in your tracks. It comes from the Genus Cuscuta and is a parasite which means it attaches itself to another plant and literally sucks the life out of it draining the host plant of nutrients making it weak, vulnerable and eventually rendering it lifeless. I read a forum in which the author of the post wrote that she had received Dodda Vine on a bunch of flowers (not uncommon) and that it had started to produce roots. STOP! I had fresh Dodda Vine too but I didn’t see any roots being produced, thank goodness. If this is you don’t throw your Donna Vine in the bin, get yourself busy making nests, wreaths and all things doddery before it dries.

Anyway, back to my nest. It is the cutest thing and I originally bought it as an Easter decoration. I planned to put spotted chocolate eggs in it and use it as a table center peice for the Easter period. This didn’t happen because I was unable to find Fairtrade spotted chocolate eggs (better luck this year). I did however find the cutest little family of Fairtrade bunnies that happily made their home in the nest before being consumed.

I have also used my nest for Autumn and Winter decorating but my favourite has been using it during spring and summer. Summer is without a doubt my favourite season, I love the smells of summer, from sunscreen and salt on a beach towel, to seafood on the beach with a glass of Riesling. I love warm evenings under the stars and diving into the salty water at the beach. I just can’t get enough of it. Over the years I have collected little bits of nature and this year has been no different, a shell here, a beautifully formed leaf there. But this year instead of my little found treasures, also called Polka Dots, being randomly placed around my home and eventually making their way to the garden, I have put them in my nest. So, cute!

I have collected my finds on different adventures I have had during Spring and Summer and each piece reminds me of a place I visited and enjoyed or a beautiful day. There are leaves, gum nuts, Kangaroo Paw, feathers, drift wood, shells, dried pods and underneath a teeny tiny scattering of sand. It’s easy to do and I am sure some of you do forage when your out and about. Keeping your eyes peeled for little Polka Dot treasures encourages us to be mindful and present because if you’re distracted and rushing your eyes might just miss something worth capturing.

I foraged my little Polka Dots from the ground and I cut the Kangaroo Paw from my garden. I didn’t break branches, steal flowers or damage bushland in order to create this beautiful nest. It’s amazing what you can find when you walk with mindfulness.

Until next time.

Carmel