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a muddy road
  • about us
  • stories
    • Pottery
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    • Travel
    • Living
  • photography
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India
Sri Lanka

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February-scapes: the garden coming back to life an February-scapes: the garden coming back to life and the birds filling our mornings with birdsong. It's a beautiful time of year 💚🦚
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#gardenlife #garden #earlyspring #earlyspringflowers #spring #february #himalayas #indiancottagecore #india  #flowers #stonecottage #permaculture #permacultureindia #permakulturgarten
Moon jar No⁰1 🌕💛 . . . #moonjar #handbuilt Moon jar No⁰1 🌕💛
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#moonjar #handbuiltpottery #handbuiltceramics #handmade #handwork #handbuilding #stonewarevase #stoneware #ceramic #ceramicprocess #ceramics #pottery #keramiek #keramik #homestudio #handcrafted #clay #earth #ceramica #ceramicstudio #cerámica #ceramicdesign #céramique #ceramicindia #indianpottery
Made another raised bed for our dream herb hill. I Made another raised bed for our dream herb hill.
In this section we'd like to grow sage. Sage being my favourite herb and collecting its varieties and cultivars a secret hobby. 
This area extends out from our cottage verandah and has recently become the place we eat our meals, in the winter sun. So we'll also slowly create a more permanent space to eat and enjoy the view, sitting in a herb garden 🌿 That's the dream.
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#herb #herbhill #permakultura #permakultur #permakulturgarten #permacultuur #permaculture #permacultureindia #sage #salviaofficinalis #salvia #raisedbeds #stonecottage #herbgarden #herbs
Revisiting how best to prune shrubs and trees and Revisiting how best to prune shrubs and trees and what to avoid.
It’s important to have the right tools to ensure a good clean cut which is integral to the whole pruning process. We’ll start off with recommending a good pair of hand pruners (secateurs), a lopper and a pruning saw: these are the basics.
The first image shows what a good cut looks like; the bark is intact, the surface is even and the edges are smooth. A clean cut will callus faster.
The second image is what good healing looks like. This is approximately a 7-8 month old cut. That beautiful rounded rim will gradually occlude the cut surface.
The third image is a fully healed and healthy cut. A new protective wood layer has formed over the once cut surface.
The last two images show a badly hacked branch with a fungal infection. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed this practice of hacking is rather common.
A rough cut with torn and jagged tissue, such as in the images, can not callous and form a new layer of wood over the open wound. Therefore, it easily gets infected with fungal pores that cause rot. The infected wound often leads to the formation of a cavity in the trunk and has the potential to endanger the whole tree. The diseased wood decreases the fruiting productivity and overall life and health of a tree.
It is better not to prune a tree at all, than to prune it badly.
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#pruning #prune
#permakultura #permakultur #permacultureindia #permaculture #horticulture #trees #treecare
Bathed in sunshine // Jaisalmer . . . #jaisalmer # Bathed in sunshine // Jaisalmer
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#jaisalmer #sunshine #holiday #familytime #yellow #roadtrip #rajasthantourism #rajasthan #familyholiday
The Blue City - had our heart . . . #jodhpur #jod The Blue City - had our heart 
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#jodhpur #jodhpurdiaries #bluecity #bluecityjodhpur #rajasthan #rajasthantourism
Photo dump: 24 hours in Jaipur. . . . #jaipur #pin Photo dump: 24 hours in Jaipur.
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#jaipur #pinkcity #india #travel #travelgram #traveldiaries
Banana harvesting mood 😝🍌 The banana grove i Banana harvesting mood 😝🍌
The banana grove is full, the birds are thrilled and we thought it a good time to harvest a few.
Things we learnt about bananas this year:
• You harvest a stalk when the bananas look "full" but are still green. Then you hang the stalk in a shaded place and watch them turn yellow.
•  When you're done harvesting from a plant, you chop it down entirely from the base. This way a pup shoots out to take its place. Apparently, once a plant fruits, it won't fruit again. 
• All that organic matter from the cut down plant is great mulch. Unless of course you are cooking with it.
• Ash (potassium) and urea are fantastic fertilisers for bananas - so periodically Yannick will pee into the grove (I kid you not). 
• You can practically eat every part of a banana plant. Its stem, fruit and flower are all edible and in fact very delicious. 
• Lastly, there's something oddly satisfying about Machete-ing a banana plant. Who knew 🤷🏾‍♀️🫶🏽
So that's bananas for you 🍌🍌🍌🍌
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#banana #backyardgardener #bananabread #bananapancakes #bananapudding #bananas #bananaplant #harvest #fruit #foodforest #growyourownfood #growyourownfruit #orchard #permakultura #permakultur #permacultureindia #permaculture #permacultuur #permakulturgarten #fruits #edible #farmtotable
We met the cutest parrot recently 🦜🌿🥭 We We met the cutest parrot recently 🦜🌿🥭
We spent this last week caring for what we think is a Blossom Headed parakeet. A young female that too. Parry as we named her, was found by Birindar who is helping us cut grass. We're not sure how Parry ended up on the forest floor but we realised that she wasn't able to fly.
Thankfully, we had a large breathable enclosure (an old dog box) to keep her in. Yannick spruced it up with grass and several perches. And we kept her happy on a diet of ripe fruit and legumes. She was absolutely bananas for guavas - she devoured them with a feverish enthusiasm. 
Today we wanted to see if she was ready to fly so we took her out. She made several attempts and a lot of fuss but eventually she got there and took off. The last we saw her was on the top of a high tree, sitting in the shade. "Come visit us" we shouted out to her before turning to leave. Although we wouldn't dream of keeping a bird captive, we miss her. She was so cute and such a diva.
«The last image is from the book: 'Birds of the Indian Sub-Continent' by Martin Woodcock»
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#parrot #blossomheadedparakeet #foresthome #forest #junglecottage #junglelife #jungletales #guava #birds #bird #birdphotography #birdlovers #parrots #parakeet #indianbirds #parrotsofinstagram #parrotsofig #lifeoutdoors #jungle #foresthome #liveauthentic #livingwithnature #indiansubcontinent #indiansubcontinentbirds #martinwoodcock
Wildflowers, always a reason to smile 🌾🌺✨ Wildflowers, always a reason to smile 🌾🌺✨
Finished the window over the weekend 🪟. The wea Finished the window over the weekend 🪟. The weather is getting cooler and we realised we needed to focus on finishing the window which was missing glass frames.
This window had been badly attacked by white ants so in March we changed the entire main frame. The old wood was broken out of the wall and the new frame cemented into its place. But the glass panel and its frames remained unmade...until this weekend that is. 
Nasir the carpenter made us four  glass frames which we enthusiastically sanded to perfection. In preparation for Nasir we also sanded and oiled the main frame, painted the grills and spent a grueling day hunting for brass handles, latches and hinges to match the ones already in the cottage. That is a story in itself. 
Needless to say, to genuinely call it finished we need to stain the wood a rich dark colour. Before we can sit back and stare out the window 🤣
If you've read all this, you gotta swipe to see the completed window 😉
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#window #cottagechic #cottagestyle #cottagedecor #cottage #cottagelife #cottagehome #cottagecore #cottagecorecommunity #cottagecoreaesthetic #cottagediaries #junglehouse #junglecottage #handmade #madewithlove #madeinindia #indianhomedecor #carpentry #cottageliving #cottages #cottagefarmhouse #indiancottagecore #woodwindows #diy #diyhomedecor
A before, mid and after of the floor work done yes A before, mid and after of the floor work done yesterday. 
It was the last thing on our list to accomplish before we could move back in again and oh the relief. 
It's so comforting to have a clean, cosy, inspiring space to call home. It's where we unwind after a grueling day, it's what greets you in the morning, it's where we sit to collect our thoughts over a cup of tea, it's a space for little rituals that set us up, it's a place of sanctuary and comfort - and now we have it: this feeling of being 'home'. 
So grateful today for this home and all the homes we've had: in Germany, Slovenia, Netherlands and the world over. So many beautiful homes and beautiful people without whom life would be meaningless.
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#beforeandafter #floorcleaning #cottagestyle #cottagechic #cottage #cottagelife #cottagecore #cottages #cottagefarmhouse #cottagecoreaesthetic #cottageliving #cottagediaries #cottagedecor #cottagehome #cottagecorecommunity #stonecottage #cottagestyledecor #junglelife #junglehouse #lifeisanadventure #lifeisgood #liveauthentic #indianhomedecor
We may have started something. The snooze inducing We may have started something. The snooze inducing chill out balcony. For cuddles, snoozes, books & tea, Netflix and listening to the rain. 
So happy to have a little rest space back after so much of camp living.
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#cottagestyle #cottagechic #cottage #cottagelife #cottagecats #cottagecore #cottagefarmhouse #cottagecoreaesthetic #cottageliving #cottagediaries #woodbalcony #woodencottage #stonecottage #snooze #snoozefest #homesweethome #homeiswheretheheartis #simplicity #simpleliving #liveauthentic #loftdesign #loft #loftstyle
Living on coffee and flowers lately // From the ga Living on coffee and flowers lately // From the garden with love...
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#flowers #flowerstagram #flowersalways #fromthegarden
A warm chai when it's pouring out is the sweetest A warm chai when it's pouring out is the sweetest pleasure ☕🌿🌧️🦚
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#chai #monsoonvibes #monsoonseason #monsoondiaries #monsoonjungle #monsoonchai #rain #tropical #torrentialrain #cottagelife #cottagecore #cottagediaries #herecomestherain #chailover #chaiandchill #barish #jungleview #junglelife #jungle #junglebook #junglevibes #outmywindow
A snakes tale: Yannick removed a small snake that A snakes tale: Yannick removed a small snake that had just eaten a lizard from the guest cottage. Being unsure of the snakes ID and the middle of the night, we kept it in a bucket cushioned with leaves. In the morning we called the Forest Institute for assistance. They quickly ID-ed the snake as the mildly venomous, commonly known cat snake or the Indian gamma snake (Boiga trigonata). And having told Yannick off for reckless behaviour they realised we were "snake friendly" (I'm saying friendly not enthusiasts 🤣). A warm friendly discussion over chai ensued; tales of dangerous wild animal rescues were told, photos were shared, contacts exchanged, invitations to volunteer were offered and ended with a genuine feeling of mutual fondness. Kindred spirits. I think they liked us for our love of nature and we certainly like them for their love for and work with animals.
I think we'll be seeing a lot more of these two in the future 🐍💚
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#snake #snakes #snaketales #cottagediaries #cottagelife #inthejungle #junglelife #jungle #junglebook #forest #foresttales #forestlife #schlange #foresthome #forestinspired #forestinstitute #forestfriends #snakehead #snakelover #snakesofinstagram #snakeskin #india
Dream like state ✨🌌🌕⛰️ . . . #sunset # Dream like state ✨🌌🌕⛰️
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#sunset #divine #mountains #magic #cottagelife #cottagediaries #magical #nofilter
East & West. Starting the week off with this magi East & West. 
Starting the week off with this magical sunset 🤌🏾🌌
Hope everyone has a fabulous week ahead ✨
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#happymonday #itsagoodweektohaveagoodweek #sunset #cottagelife #cottagecore #cottagefarmhouse #cottagediaries #cottageliving
Nila approved staircase into the jungle 🐾🐈🤌🏾✨🐆🌿
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#brickbybrick #brickwork #brick #bricks #brickstairs #bricksteps #intothewild #intothejungle #stairway #cottagelife #cottagediaries #cottagecats #cottagechic #cottagefarmhouse #cottages #cottage #hippie #hippie
And just like that it's now antique white 🏳️ And just like that it's now antique white 🏳️
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#cottagestyle #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic  #cottagelife #cottagediaries #cottageliving #ceiling #woodceiling
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