Ditch Girl

I'll take wild daisies and nettles,
Over the perfectly manicured life.

I'll walk with pride for my pretty weeds,
Tread softly around their chosen home.

Let seeds grow free and grasses procreate,
Just to see stalks glisten in the dew of the morning sun.

Appreciate what they offer.
Shatter media driven views of perfection,
for random chaotic beauty.
Their gift.

I'll take dandilions and chickweed
over the perfect
life....

I would consider myself very sensitive to nature. Landscapes evoke strong emotions in me, mostly with a calm loving feeling but sometimes with pain too.

When we develop in a manner that is without thought to our tender ecosystem and will be a permenent drain on our resources, it hurts.

One of the most important webs in our life is our ditches. They have always fascinated me. Mostly just because of their sheer beauty. But, they are so much more.
Like our veins, they carry life.

The Ditch Girl concept came to me while driving through Errington, one of the most beautiful rural communities on the island. In a flash I was envisioning women standing in the grasses wearing the weeds of the ditches.

The concept stuck with me for years. Everytime I saw a particularly bountiful ditch I would think about it. Then, while visiting the Mordin Mine this June, I felt a profound sense of regrowth and new it was time to start this project.

Ditch Girls will be more than just a beautiful book. It will be a testimony to our habitat. I hope you will enjoy the way I look at ditches.