"The time when dog-tooth violetsHold up inverted horns of gold,--The elvish cups that Spring upsetsWith dripping feet, when April wetsThe sun-and-shadow-marbled wold,-- Is come. And by each leafing wayThe sorrel drops pale blots of pink;And, like an angled star a faySets on her forehead's pallid day,The blossoms of the trillium wink. Within the vale, by rock and stream,--A fragile, fairy ...
Life
Digging In
As a new growing season begins, I find myself digging into new soil. Every morning when I wake up and look around, I am happy to be living in the middle of a farm. Granted, I'm not on a farm of my own anymore, but it feels good to get my boots muddy, my fingernails dirty, and create something with the sweat of my brow. Evenings, early mornings, and snippets of ...
Shades of Green
I saw so many vibrant green leaves popping out in the coastal forest on my backpacking trip last week, I couldn't help but catch a few of them in photographs. The thing I love most about leaf buds when they first unfurl towards the sun is the diversity of color and texture they display. When you think about the cycles that they go through every year, and how they regenerate the same leaves ...
April Backpacking in the Oregon Dunes
I can't recall an April backpacking trip that wasn't characterized by being wet, so when planning a spring break backpacking trip with my kids and friends, I prepared for rain. We brought tarps, we brought ridiculous amounts of spare socks and pants, we brought books and things to pass the hours sitting inside the tent, we picked a hike in the sand dunes figuring the water would seep down into the ...
Spring Blossoms
Living in the middle of an orchard in the Springtime, there is always something to see in bloom. Here are just a few of the flowering beauties that caught my eye this week. ...
Spring Equinox Snow
Yesterday morning, much to our surprise, we woke up to a Spring Equinox snow. The ground was covered in a good four inches, and it just kept coming down. School was cancelled, so I decided it was a good morning to hunker down and make a waffle breakfast. Upon looking out the front door, the kids discovered gifts from the Spring faeries in a basket, including lettuce seeds, hardboiled quail eggs ...
One Grain of Sand: One Mother’s Musings at the Oregon Dunes
With Winter nearly over, I finally managed to find time to head out for one of my yearly off-season yurt camping excursions to the Oregon Coast. Although these cold weather sojourns to the rugged stretch of coastline around Washburne State Park have become an annual occurrence for our family, and often something we do several times in a Winter camping season, this year was different ...
Soak it up!
One of the things I have found to be true in life is that there is nothing quite so refreshing and rejuvenation as hot water on a cold day. In the interest of seeking out this experience for a winter adventure, my daughter and I went with some friends to one of our favorite hot spots, Breitenbush Hotsprings. Normally, I like my hotsprings very remote and un-populated, but for winter accessibility ...
Lady Spring is On the Way!
I just sold this Lady Spring seasons figure on my Etsy shop this week, and it reminded me that Spring is on the way! Out my window I can see some pink plum blossoms starting to burst out, and the green leaves of bulbs are popping up left and right. It also reminded me that I need to get busy crafting up some new Spring items, so be sure to check up on my Etsy shop in the coming weeks for ...
Nettles in Winter
There has been a different feel to the air in the mornings lately. It feels a little warmer, the cold doesn't nip as harshly, and from every direction the birds are singing. I decided it must be time to go check my favorite nettle spot. Last weekend, I took my daughter out to the ancient old maple at the edge of a hazlenut orchard where I found such a jackpot of fresh green nettles last year ...