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Writer • Stories & Reflection

@dawnpunterwrites

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followers

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Stories from rural Andalucía 🇪🇸
Life, nature, food & finding the extraordinary in ordinary days.
📚 Free books ↓

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As I've had quite a few new followers over the last few days, I thought it might be a good time to introduce myself a little more. 🙋🏼‍♀️

So, first things first... where in the world am I? 🌍

I was born in England, on the outskirts of London, and spent most of my early life moving around the South East, predominantly around Mid Sussex and the coast.

Then, 14 years ago, my husband and I decided to take a year out and go travelling.

Except the gap year never really ended. 😂

We travelled on and off for several years, using a place on the Almería/Murcia border in southeastern Spain as our base. It's a beautiful part of the country, but also one of the driest places in Europe, with a landscape that can feel almost desert-like.

Then a birthday trip took us further west, to the Granada coast.

The difference took me by surprise.

Here, the mountains of the Sierra Nevada rise behind the Mediterranean, and the water that flows down from them has helped create a surprisingly lush strip of coastline. Avocados, mangoes, Chirimoya and other subtropical fruits thrive here, which is why this little corner of Spain is known as the Costa Tropical. 🌱🥭🥑

But what really fascinated me was how much history sits beneath the landscape.

Granada was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain, and the influence of Al-Andalus can still be seen everywhere, from the magnificent Alhambra in Granada city to the ancient acequia irrigation channels that have carried mountain water through the land for centuries. Those same channels still supply the water to our farmhouse today, something I've written about in an earlier post.

We came here for a birthday trip.

We went home wanting to live here.

And eventually, that's exactly what we did. 😊

So when you see my posts about tropical fruit, mountains, ancient irrigation channels, whitewashed villages and our slightly unconventional life in rural Spain, that's the little corner of the world I'm writing from.

For those who've been following me for a while, you probably know parts of this story already. And for those who are new here, welcome. 🤗

I'll be sharing more over coming weeks... 🙋🏼‍♀️ by @dawnpunterwrites

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6

2 months ago

It's a wet stormy day here, so I'm continuing to add my books to my blog at dawnpunter.com 📚

🔗 Accessing them for free is easy: simply scroll down to the book you want and click the link. (If the link isn't underlined yet, I'm still in the process of adding it.)

📌 No sign-up, no ads and no tracking. You won't be asked to create an account, sit through adverts or be tracked. I genuinely have no idea who's reading my books!

📱 Choose your view: depending on your device, you can switch between portrait (one page) and landscape (two pages).

👉🏼 Turning the pages: on a touchscreen, simply hold and pull the page across, just as you would a paper page. Depending on your device, you may also have a scroll bar or arrows to move backwards and forwards.

🔍 Need the text bigger?
Use the + zoom button, or simply double-tap the page to zoom in.

⛶ Want a better reading experience?
Try Full Screen. Especially on your phone, it gives you a much bigger page to read.

❤️ Enjoying the book?
Why not share it with friends or family? The books are free to read online, so the more people who discover them, the better!

I hope these little tips help... and happy reading! 📖😊

Remember to access them via dawnpunter.com by @dawnpunterwrites

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10 days ago

Getting back home, the first thing I did was pull on my wellies (it was irrigation day!) and head to the orchard to see how my dragon fruit were doing. 🌱

They are growing well, but definitely taking their time to ripen, shaded by the chirimoya trees, which are also laden with fruit. I've never grown dragon fruit this late in the season before, and they're still flowering!

I'd planned to finish off the vegetable patches this weekend. I would have loved to have planted the onions by now, but it looks as though the weather may have other plans… storms are forecast! ⛈️⚡ by @dawnpunterwrites

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2 hours ago

The Stories We Tell Ourselves 😉

After three days of walking along the coast from Málaga towards home, I’ve been thinking about mindset.

Day two left me trudging along the hard shoulder of the N340, determined to finish but certainly not enjoying myself.

By day three, I was already talking myself out of walking before I’d even set off.

Do you really want another day of this, Dawn?

Followed by: You said you’d do it, so bloody well do it! 😆

Then I stopped, took the day as it came, and gave it a chance.

And it turned out to be a beautiful walk. ❤️

Perhaps mental strength isn’t always about pushing through. Sometimes it’s about challenging the stories we tell ourselves and leaving room for things to turn out differently.

How often do you talk yourself out of something before you’ve even begun? by @dawnpunterwrites

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a day ago

Sunday Musings: I've been writing about life, reflections and memories a lot recently, and that led me down the rabbit hole of online articles about how we live.

How much of our time is spent looking at screens, rushing from one thing to another, or feeling that we should always be doing something, filling time?

And how often do we miss the little things happening right in front of us?

I'm thankful that I'm lucky to live in the countryside, surrounded by nature, and I'm fortunate to have the space to grow food, walk and enjoy the changing seasons.
But even here, I can find myself scrolling on my phone for hours when I could be outside enjoying it all.

Which got me thinking about two phrases I've seen popping up everywhere lately: analogue living and slow living.

Are they just trendy labels?
What do they actually mean?
And if these ideas connect with how I (and others) view life, how can we bring more of them into our own lives?

I thought I'd explore these questions through a new series of short stories and reflections on everyday life, from digital overload to staying small, putting down roots and the reality of living somewhere new.

No grand life reset required. Just a few thoughts about finding the extraordinary in ordinary life. 🌱

I'll share the first piece soon. ❤️

In the meantime, I've published an introductory article on my blog and on Substack. If 4you're curious, you'll find it under New Posts at:

🌐 DawnPunter.com

✍🏼 Dawn Punter Writes (both links in my bio)

Have a fantastic weekend 🤗 by @dawnpunterwrites

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5 days ago

Sometimes a story finds you.
The Path We Share 📖
Free to read online at dawnpunter.com

Maybe it will find you too. ❤️🥾 🎒 🐚 by @dawnpunterwrites

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7 days ago

What's Changed in a Year?

There's something slightly strange about going back to somewhere you used to call home after you've been away for a while.

The streets are still there. The accents are familiar. You still know roughly where you're going without looking at a map.

And yet, somehow, it doesn't feel quite the same.

Not the big things.

It's the little things that catch you out.

Like cash.

I usually take a small amount of sterling out of the ATM, but this time I went an entire week without holding a pound coin or seeing a banknote.

In fact, come to think of it, I've never even held a note with the King's head on it. I wonder if I ever will. 🤔

Cards, phones and even payment-enabled jewellery seem to have taken over completely.

And don't get me started on tipping.

There was a time when 10% was the maximum you might discuss, and you'd leave it in cash with a polite thank you to the waiting staff.

Now I see a 12.5% service charge seems to appear automatically on the bill, and if you don't think that's appropriate, you're the one who has to ask for it to be removed.

Cue social embarrassment. Never mind leave it on.

Then there's the matter of receipts.

Instead of a paper receipt, I was asked for my email address so it could be sent to me.

What if I want to return my new pair of jeans from M&S but don't want them having my email address so they can bombard me with spam? 😂

Standing there, I found myself thinking, When did all this happen? I was here 12 months ago, surely!

I guess if I lived in the UK, I wouldn't necessarily have noticed these changes. They creep into everyday life so gradually that they simply become normal.

But whilst I've been away, I've realised that I've come to experience my old country like a visitor.

And that's what struck me.

The things you remember as ordinary aren't necessarily ordinary anymore.

You leave, and life carries on without you.

You come back, and things that once felt completely familiar suddenly feel slightly foreign.

And I suppose the same is true in reverse.

Spain has changed since we arrived too.

But then, so have I.

Life moves on.

📸 Photo of bank notes from eBay by @dawnpunterwrites

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8 days ago

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”
Stephen R. Covey

Last year, for the first time, I discovered a single different avocado fruit growing on a tree that had previously only produced one variety (the same as the other 4 trees). I was both mesmerised and amazed.

Obviously, over the years, two different varieties had been grafted onto one rootstock. Last year, they had decided they would share and prosper together. 0

Unfortunately for me, none of the other trees have any fruit this season. Luckily though, this year, this solitary tree has plenty of both varieties growing, each contributing something different and giving us a personal supply of avocados from now until well into January. When the #bacon variety finishes, #hass will take over 🥑

#avocado by @dawnpunterwrites

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9 days ago

📖 A Few More Tips for Reading My Books Online!

Remember all my books are in @dawnpunter.com

If you're enjoying one of my books online, here are a few little tips that might make reading it even easier. 😊

🔍 Need the text bigger?
Use the +🔎 zoom button, or simply double-tap the page to zoom in.

⛶ Want a better reading experience?
Try Full Screen - especially on your phone, it gives you a much bigger page to read.

❤️ Enjoying the book?
Why not share it with your friends or family? The books are free to read online, so the more people who discover them, the better!

I hope these little tips help... and happy reading! 📖😊 by @dawnpunterwrites

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10 days ago

Six years ago today, we visited Salobreña on the Granada coast for a few days to celebrate my husband's birthday.

As we sat looking out over the town, we made the decision to move to the Costa Tropical, from Pulpí in Almería (initially for a year).

By December, we'd rented out our house, crossed the border and moved into our 8 month rental in Salobreña.

We had no idea then quite how much that little three-day trip would change our lives.

Six years later, we're still here. Never would I have thought, that out lives in Spain would lead us to an off-grid farmhouse and a tropical fruit farm.

The rest is history. 🥑🥭🥝

Read the full story on Substack or dawnpunter.com links above in bio 🔗 by @dawnpunterwrites

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11 days ago

Sunday Musings: When I walked the Camino earlier this year, I wanted to find a little something with a daisy on it as a keepsake. 🌼

Daisies had become part of my Camino memories, from the very moment I left Porto, all the way to Santiago. In fields, along the boardwalks and even growing amongst the sand dunes.

Strangely enough, they lined our lane back home the day I returned.

So it seemed obvious that the daisy had become the symbol of my Camino, and I wanted to find something with a daisy in Santiago to bring home with me.

But I couldn't find anything.

Shells, everywhere. Badges, KM fridge magnets and even mini way markers, but daisies? No.

Instead, I found a beautiful ring with Ultreia engraved on it. 💍

For anyone who's walked the Camino, you'll know the word. It means something along the lines of 'onward', 'beyond' or 'go further'.

The ring called out to me from the shop window, so I bought it.

And it turned out to be perfect.

Two weeks ago, while wandering through The North Laine in Brighton with my sister, I spotted a ring.

A silver daisy ring.

Just the sort of thing I'd imagined finding all those months ago in Santiago.

Of course, I couldn't resist it.

Now I have both... together.

The Ultreia ring that I hadn't been looking for, but which became such a meaningful reminder of my Camino...

And the daisy memento I'd originally wanted, which somehow turned up when I'd stopped looking for it.

I had to smile to myself.

Perhaps that's what happens in life. 😉

Sometimes we have a very definite idea of what we want, and when it doesn't happen, we feel disappointed or think we've missed out.

Then life takes us somewhere else, either mentally or physically.

And sometimes, much later, the thing we thought we'd missed out on comes along anyway.

Not necessarily when we wanted it.

Not necessarily in the way we imagined.

Just when it happens.

I'm not sure there's a grand lesson in my two rings.

But I love the fact that I now have both.

One as a reminder of where I've been, and one as a reminder to look towards the future 🌼

Both reminders that things often happen when they need to, and that life doesn't always follow a plan. 💍🌼 by @dawnpunterwrites

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12 days ago

October has arrived 🍂🍁
As I enter a new chapter of the year, I'm looking forward to crisp, cooler days out walking, a different kind of light, filled with golds, misty blues and greys.

Evenings wrapped up in front of the log fire with my notebook and pen. 🖊️

Time to write and reflect.

More stories from rural Spain, life at the farmhouse, the little things that happen in the course of an ordinary day, and the thoughts and reflections that seem to appear when I slow life down a little.

And I think it's time to bring my blog back to life.

I've realised that I have plenty of things I'd like to write about that simply don't fit neatly into a social media post. Sometimes my rambles are just a little too long! 😆

So, moving forward, I'm going to make dawnpunter.com the home for my writing.

You'll find all my books there, which you can now read completely free. You'll also find my longer scribbles, stories, observations and reflections about life here in rural Spain.

I'll continue to share stories here on Facebook and Instagram (and over on Substack too), but the blog will be the place where everything comes together.

A little corner of the internet for my books, my stories and my scribbles.

There's something about the change of season that makes me think about what I'd like to do, see and create over the coming months.

What about you? 🍁🍂 by @dawnpunterwrites

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13 days ago