Mother the Mountain Farm

29/11/2024

Happy and Snug discuss magic ✨

28/11/2024

Etna the sheep passed away this week, we think she was bitten by a snake :( her daughter, Panini is safe but she is heartbroken that her mumma is no longer here. Aphrodite (the flock’s leader) has taken Panini in, and treats her like her own daughter. She has twins already so now she has three big lambs following her everywhere she goes. Etna was 6 years old and a goofy, fierce, loving mumma sheep 🐑💚

21/11/2024

A year ago today was one of those big moments that completely changes the course of your life. Our book was published, and as it was read in homes all around the world—this beautiful movement of likeminded people coming together over a shared connection to this earth began. I feel emotional even thinking about it; the story we tell is something very personal—about finding great hope in the face of adversity—but a year on, it finally feels like we can reflect on what it all means 🌱💚

Our experience of living as artists and farmers as we restore the rainforest is the kind of story that changed the way we understand the natural world and our place within it. But in the thousands of conversations, reviews and messages we’ve received about our book, we’ve come to see that the words and images instil this same sense of interconnection in anyone who reads it. For two girls who grew up in the rainforest, this feels pretty big 🥹💕

If you want to learn the secret to creativity, of how to paint and sew and work with your hands, of how to grow and tend and build; if you want to feel hope that humans can live in harmony with this wondrous earth—then this is the book for you. Hehe, we’re feeling a bit reflective and emotional and have so much appreciation for you all! With love from Julia and Anastasia 💛🌝

15/11/2024

In another life 🐥🐥

12/11/2024

In the middle of spring, just like magic—the black sapotes ripen. We always climb this tree and peel apart the heavy heart shaped fruit to find its chocolate center. Loaded spoonfuls straight from the creamy heart taste just like chocolate pudding—pure magic from a tree. (Although, a homegrown raw avocado and black sapote cake decorated with flowers from the garden can be pretty good too! 🌸🥑)

Our parents planted this sapling years ago, and each fruit acts as a reminder of the change you can make with a single seed. They planted this north facing ridge with black sapotes, mangos, avocados, starfruit and custard apples; spreading the orchards that our grandparents once planted across the farm. Their actions still guide us, especially when we pick this incredible food straight from the tree—each bite feels like an eternal gift passing through time 🥹🌱. So we’ve been planting this orchard even more, with figs, lemons, limes and more avocados; hopefully they will grow and provide gifts for those who’ll come after us.

It’s a beautiful thing to think that years after you are gone, someone will pluck fruit from a tree you planted and feel immense gratitude for this wondrous earth. 💚

04/11/2024

Always be inspired by nature’s reciprocity - Cradled by the old rainforest fig tree, you can see it all so clearly. Her thick buttressed roots collect water to feed the furthest branches but they also hold the banks of the creek in place, protecting it from erosion in floods. Reciprocity is an unwritten rule in each rainforest interaction; no tree, vine, stream or moth takes without giving something in return. The curling roots are teaching me to do the same 💚🌳

28/10/2024

A few years ago, we built ourselves an art studio in the old farm shed. It’s a little wonky, deep in the bush and filled with wild rainforest vines. But we had a dream; to build ourselves a little sanctuary of creativity, a place where we could work with our hands—sew, paint, build and craft—and find that beautiful freedom that creativity always brings. In the years that passed this is exactly what we did! So many beautiful projects have been born from this space (our book and all its paintings, so many films, handcrafted fairy gowns and magical up-cycled dresses). 🪡

We built the space using only recycled materials, crafting every tiny detail with zero waste. But lately, it has become a little more ramshackle than it already was; the second hand doors leak water and have started rotting—they even grow mushrooms in the wet season!! 🍄😯 And there are a few too many snakey friends that sneak in through the cracks 🐍 So, we’ve decided to renovate again and replace the old doors, fix the holes and stop the roof from leaking 💛🌝 hehe ~ it’s going to be a big journey of teaching ourselves new skills that are very daunting, but I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun along the way. Join us on YouTube for the first episode of this zero-waste renovation series!! ~ Julia & Anastasia 💕

28/10/2024

This week we start a huge new building project! (And encounter some wildlife along the way 🐍) 💚 join us!

Thanks to EcoFlow for sponsoring this video! Visit EcoFlow’s site at https://bit.ly/4eGFBtY to check out the solar hat ☀️This week we start an exciting new b...

16/10/2024

Together with we’re sending a global message of hope - from our little rainforest home to the farthest reaches of the earth, we’re reminding you to see the wonder of our incredibly diverse and resilient world.

When we are asked about the future of this earth, it’s important to see that in this time of uncertainty there is potential for great change - with action, nature could thrive and the future could be better than anything we can imagine.

We draw from our own experiences of finding hope in the regenerative work we do here in the rainforest. In the simple action of planting a seed and protecting the earth, we have personally witnessed the immense change that this hope can have on the future. Alongside we want to harness the power of this feeling of hope and share it with our government and world leaders meeting at COP16.

So, we have a question for you: We ask for you to imagine this better world, to visualise this hope 🌱

Do you have a vision of utopia? A wish for the future? What does it look like? Do you have a story of hope? A place where you go and see the vibrant beauty of the world? A hike that you’ve been on that made you stand in awe of our earth? A favourite flower, season, colour, animal or place? Have you ever looked at the world and felt the power of hope? And imagined a brighter future?

We’d love to hear where you find hope, so please comment below or add your voice to thousands of others who are sending a “Message of Hope for Nature” to our government. Let’s use our collective hope to demand that they defund nature’s destruction and fund its protection, restoration and renewal. You can do this by following the link in bio!

As we can see with disastrous hurricanes, floods, fires and other impacts of the climate crisis, our lives depend on it. Now more than ever, we need urgent political action. World leaders are soon to meet at the UN Biodiversity COP16 to talk about how to secure our future on this planet by safeguarding nature, so now is the time to share your message of hope. There is so much power in standing together in the shared vision of a better earth

26/09/2024

Lemon up high in the tree, watching the leaves shift and change with the season 🍂

22/09/2024

Swimming in the rainforest with ducks by my side, herding goats through the misty mountains and contemplating 4 years since moving home to this magical place 🐤🌳 some scenes from this week’s YouTube video, live now 💚💚 alongside special songs by

22/09/2024

A special week of herding goats through the misty mountains, harvesting abundant loquats and caring for baby lambs 🌱

Me and my ducks, swimming in the rainforest stream. A special week, herding goats through the misty mountains, harvesting abundant loquats and caring for bab...

17/09/2024

I learn to sit still like the mountains, unbothered and enduring; resilient between each season that falls across my skin. But I also learn to move like the mist, traversing and expanding, evolving and shifting my shape as I move across gullies and rugged forests of the unknown. Mostly, I learn to move like the sun, carving the mist and painting the mountains gold.

Stills and words from our latest YouTube video made alongside the incredible music of 🌞

09/09/2024

The fireflies are always the first sign of the shifting season; their ethereal light throbbing beneath the canopy seems to illuminate the forest into a spell. The dragonflies adorn our skin like jewels, the last hazy light blankets the cliff faces and the water flows soft from the mountains above 🧚💚 Scenes of springtime and stills from our little rainforest films 🪲 (set to the always magical sounds of 🤍🤍)

01/09/2024

Some stills from this weeks YouTube video + some reflections 🍊🌞 Through the forest, there is an orange tree that is more than a hundred years old. It was planted by the man who cared for this land before our grandparents. I don’t know many stories or facts about this man who lived here in the early 1900’s but as I harvest, I imagine him planting this tree a hundred years ago, under the same sky, looking onto the same mountains. I wonder if he knew that his simple action would feed generations to come. That a century later, his small sapling would have grown into a thriving orange tree with the juiciest fruit. It’s always a funny feeling to realise that in a few generations we will be forgotten. But it’s comforting to think that the stories we weave into the world can remain. The art we make, or the trees we plant - continuing to spread meaning. 🍊🌳 the video is alongside the incredible music of 💖💖

30/08/2024

On Anastasia’s birthday, the first hot days have come. The birth of spring is always sudden here, the mango flowers open and the hills become the smokey blue hue of these dry days. It feels as if the cycle of the seasons have reset again. So, we’re celebrating Anastasia’s birthday as we always do, eating the native raspberries and dodging the sleepy snakes as they slowly awaken. A big happy birthday to this shepherdess, flower grower, duck queen 🌙 x Julia

18/08/2024

15/08/2024

Bee the duck watching the sunset through the flowers 🌷🐥 Bee’s feather condition means that she can’t go outside on rainy days. It’s been raining for the last couple of days, so while her friends play in puddles she has been waiting patiently inside. Tonight the rain stopped and her little quacks of excitement are the brightest joy in the world 🌞💛