Why I'm Really Taking a Break - I Need to Mow My Meadow

I'll be back after August refreshed, with hay ricks and some new writing

Hi there,

I’m taking four weeks off in August, so for that month, you won’t receive any emails or posts from me. I’ve written an article or an essay every week for eight months, and taking four weeks off will help me recharge and write better things for you from September onwards.

Lounging © Jaimie Rogers

But don’t worry, I won’t be lying around.

What I will be doing:

I’ll be interviewing May-Rose Craig, a.k.a Birdgirl, and Ben Goldsmith about his rewilding project for my Wilderness book, so watch this space for their words of wisdom, coming soon!

With a team of volunteers I’ll be attempting to scythe our woodland pasture and orchard at Wild Pinebeck, and then raking all the hay. This helps reduce soil fertility and encourages more wildflowers. It’s also wonderful for our chickens to nest in - and I get to breathe in the smell of summer all year long.

Learning to scythe last year

I then need to run an electric fence round our yew tree so when we borrow sheep in September, they won’t poison themselves and die. Yup, sheep are stupid enough to eat toxic berries.

If the scything doesn’t work, I may need to revert to power tools… © Sanjida O’Connell

Next up will be adding wood chippings to the paths through Lilac and Bluebell Woods and removing a few tonnes of nettles. Soup anyone?!

I will also by trying to entertain my teenage daughter (otherwise known as dodging bombastic side eyes).

It’s always good to use child labour…my daughter raking hay last year. It took us a week. She was so happy about it. © Sanjida O’Connell

And hopefully tackling some pressing IT issues because the IT Department round here is f***ing useless (a.k.a me).

When faced with IT problems, the IT Dept. tends to go on epic procrastination benders, and when confronted with catastrophic failure, has been known to lie in a dark room with a pint of wine hoping the problem will go away.

But then maybe I’ll lounge around a little.

Drinks in the garden © Sanjida O’Connell

Here’s what you can look forward to in September:

Wilderness: my book on rewilding and my search for belonging, chapter 7 onwards. Chapter 3 is my most popular so far: The Tale of Two Fathers.

Wilderness notes: Nature notes from the countryside, such as, Dormouse Day, our rewilding project and interviews with some of the incredible people I’m meeting on my journey, including Isabella Tree and Wilfred Emanuel Jones, a.k.a The Black Farmer.

The Process: Continuing my deep dive into how one writes a story - we’ll be looking at writing, editing and dealing with editorial feedback from agents and publishers without topping oneself.

Plus - How do writers really make a living? (guest post for

Emma Darwin

), thoughts on how character and plot interact, how to achieve a flow state, fairy tales in fiction, what is genre all about, my writing routine and what books you really need to read to become a better writer.

And - coming soon - some online writing courses and mentorship opportunities!

I hope you have a lovely summer, and can’t wait to catch up with you after the meadow is mown.

Sanjida x

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