poultry playpen

Though the weekend has been rainy, earlier this week mother nature gave us some lovely warm days, perfect for letting the new chicks have time out in the chicken tractor.

The chickens are already starting to hit that "awkward" stage, aren't they?

A chicken tractor, for those that aren't familiar, is just a pen that is moveable.  Kind of like a poultry playpen.  Ours is nothing fancy, just a frame of pvc pipes surrounded by netting and wire.  I pull it around the yard a few times a day, giving the chicks new patches of ground to explore, dig in, and sample bugs from.  It keeps them from wandering off and safe from predators.

Naturally, princess poplar was soon to be found inside tending her flock.  Sorry birds, the tractor isn't going to protect you from the huggin'.

The turkeys are pretty good sports about it, the chickens are too slow to avoid being held, but the guineas don't care for it at all and make a racket that belies their tiny size.  They take off like rockets across the pen when they see her coming.

Though I'm eager to see the sunshine return, the rainy weekend has given me a little time to felt. (what with me not being able to work in the garden or haul a chicken tractor around and all...)  I'll have a few new pieces to show soon.

Happy Sunday, all.

a naturally dyed piece and his tiny friend too

I mentioned the other day that I had been working on a new needle-felted scene, and here it is completed along with another tiny piece.

Using only naturally dyed fibers in this piece was a fun challenge for me.  You'll see red onion, acorns, cedar, creeping charlie, strawberry leaf, bedstraw, pomegranate skins, all blended in here along with some natural grey wool.  The colors are subtle and well, natural.  You can bet you'll see more of this from me in the future.

And of course there are sporophytes.

I dried a piece of oak for the base on this piece and I love the scruffy texture of the bark.

The other piece I completed is much smaller.  So much so that it makes me giggle to look at it.

It's only 4" tall and about 2" across.

This one has two little white mushrooms, a tiny stone, and yup, sporophytes.  I dried a piece of poplar for the base of this one.

I love being amongst the moss and mushrooms.

These two pieces have already found their way to my shop.  I'd love it if you'd stop by and have a look or share with your friends.

Thanks so much, everyone.  Have a fantastic long weekend.

jelly beans and false morels

On the way to feed the chickens this morning I saw a Chipping Sparrow's nest with little speckled blue eggs, no bigger than jelly beans.

I saw momma sparrow too, but only for a second.  I dare not linger too long, lest her eggs get too cool.

I saw that the Pineapple Weed is starting to grow.  Soon the wee ones and I will be picking.  I'd like to dry much more this year for tea since last year's "lemonade" was so tasty.

I saw a couple of False Morels but never the tasty true morels here.  Though I've read it can be done if properly prepared, the false morel is not one I'll try to eat.  Rocket fuel, anyone?

I also saw a big Cecropia moth but he fluttered off before I could fetch my camera.

After a sleepless night, I'm fluttering a little today too.  Another cup of coffee and let the day begin.

Happy halfway day, all.

a little work

As predicted I hit a point where the need to make something was too strong to ignore.  I sat down the other night and started needling a little scene out of my naturally dyed wool.  I'm in the process of drying a piece of wood for the base and hope to have the whole thing completed soon.

It felt good. (no pun intended)

a wet pant legs kind of woods-wander

I love a rainy Sunday morning.  Especially when I can sneak off to the woods for a little quiet time.

Nibble on some columbine.

Smile each time I find more bedstraw. (you'll see why in a few days)

Marvel at the carpet of trilliums beneath the trees, knowing they'll soon be gone for the season.

Squeal at the tiniest red mushroom in the moss.

Wonder at the bellwort with their twisted beauty.

Stretch with the worms.

Get lost in a forest of sporophytes.

Finally see some of those plants in flower that I've been wondering about.

Starflower

Wild Geranium

Bring home a little appetizer for dinner time.

Anticipate tea in my future (wild sarsaparilla),

and grains (culry dock seeds).

Think about the abundance of "weeds" we're so lucky to have here.(absinth wormwood, I think)

And think about how useful this haphazard yard of ours is.(mullein)

Catch the aroma of chokecherry blossoms.

Spot the beginnings of plums on the little trees we brought in from the woods.

And revisit the photos of my walk over a hot cuppa and a rhubarb shortbread bar.  (recipe here) (mine are orange because my girls' egg color overpowered the rhubarb) (lastly, oh so tasty)

Have a wonderful end to the weekend, all.

past stones

I've been so busy with putting in the garden, gathering dye stuffs, tending the gobs of chicks in the brooder, and normal everyday life stuff that I haven't stitched or felted in days.  It goes like this, the ebb and flow of life.  I'll find time soon to feed my muse but in the meantime I thought I'd share some stones I've done recently.  If you follow me on facebook you might have seen some of these already, but if not...

I occasionally offer custom order stones.  Recently I had two people request daffodils, a flower I had never attempted before, and this is what I came up with.

Bending bloom times a bit... daffodils with violets at their feet.

These stones were to compliment each other.

This one has Spring Beauties on it, another new-to-me flower.  This pale green wool was dyed using tansy and beans.

The beach stone was a totally new request and I wasn't sure how to approach it at first.  In the end I went with seaweed, sand, and shells on an ocean colored stone.  Though I hope to use only natural dyes in my work one day I have to say that I love the colors of this stone.  It's a mix of colors I dyed a while ago using procion dyes.

I don't often offer custom work because typically my busy schedule doesn't allow for it, but I love the ideas that were presented to me in this batch.

The garden beckons.  Happy Thursday!

wordless Wednesday

extraordinary - ordinary

There were some extraordinary moments in my ordinary day today.

Spreading straw in the garden, watching the chaff glint in the sun as the wind took hold of it. 

Spraying rainbows in the sky with the hose.

Spraying ourselves with the hose to get relief from the heat, and because that's how flowers grow.

Roasting arfpillows (marshmallows) on a Monday afternoon just because.

And tucking a baby into its crib out beneath the poplar and pine.

Watching my creative, challenging, (grubby-handed) girl cuddle an acorn swaddled in a cup fungus.

She challenges me every single step of the way, but then there are these moments, these amazingly sweet and tender moments and they feel like water on parched skin.  Extraordinary, ordinary moments, for which I am so thankful.