☼ Forest & Field Happenings ☼

It has been pretty rainy and cold around here lately, but, better than snow!  There was a brief bit of clearing so Runa & I got out for a walk.  Spring in Maine is a slow affair.  The world feels like it is at a stand still, somewhere between life and death.  It takes quiet to feel the earth waking.  It is easy to become distracted by all the things to do.  There are dead things everywhere, branches, remains of gardens that were forgotten in the fall. I found a dead porcupine that just look as if old age had taken him.  The scent in the air is not fresh, there is too much mud and rot.  Nevertheless, I felt the awakening today.  I hushed the to-do list and went to a still place in my mind.  As I walked, I opened to the aliveness around me.  I could feel the ripple of life pass through my body.  I took the time to relish this inbetween time before the soon to come hustle and bustle of gardens and lively life!

Last of the Snow

Raven Offerings

Slow Greening

Garlic

Soon Enough

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Pause & See ~ haiku

spring! peepers, puddles

sprouting, flowing water, mud!

to do list can wait

orah

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Sewing Thread Solution ~ Tuesday's Tip!

Spring has sprung with all it's new activities like raking!  Before I go too far down the rabbit hole of spring life I wanted to be sure to share with you a great thread organizing solution I devised this winter!  If you sew you know that thread organizing can be quite a challenge.  I use a lot of different colors with my puppet making.  I tried to keep things organized in these shallow drawers.  Hard as I tried, in the flurry of creating, they would turn into a jumble. Also, I often ended up purchasing duplicate colors because I couldn't find what I needed in the thread chaos!

I had been thinking about some shelving for my sewing room this winter when I came across this baker's rack on Amazon.  I "saw" a solution!  A bunch of wooden thread racks hanging from the back!  I found the thread racks at Joann's.com, on sale (they seem to be out of stock right now).  The bakers rack was easy peasy to put together.  I only needed a rubber mallet and my self...no enlisting DH for help!  The rack is nice and sturdy.  The shelves are adjustable.  Mine came with a bamboo wood butcher block that I like too.

Here is the fun time organizing my threads by color groups!

Super Tidy!

I lowered the utensil bar to hang the lower thread racks with the "S" hooks that came with the unit. I hung the top racks from the upper shelf using some 14 gauge wire.  I love this solution!

Also, purchase this shelf unit at Amazon for all my puppet felt.  My sewing room right now is a bit messier but, I am in a creating mode!  But, now I can spend less time and money finding the right thread color and the felt square that I need!  Do you have any great studio organizing solutions?  I would love to hear about them!

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Pause & See

breathing earth & pine
what is greater joy than this
grounded by sunshine

Orah

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Hello Spring!

FINALLY!  We have an emerging spring!  The ducks are able to make it over the snow to the big pond.  The phoebes have returned with their lovely buzzy name calling.  I saw a Gyrfalcon yesterday, a fairly rare bird in these parts.    Runa found a Long-Tailed Weasel swimming in our pond.  After she pestered it for 20 minutes it finally escaped the pond and I hope decides this is not the place to raise a family!  It is so exciting to be moving more freely about, outside.  I am trying to spend as much time in the sun as I can....before the bugs arrive.  Some folks call this mud season, and yes, there is plenty of delightful mud, but I call it pre-bug season!

This is the pond yesterday...

...and today...pretty sure ice will be out by tomorrow!

though we still have ice on the morning puddles...

1st time in 2015 the laundry is outside!

Vern & Runa enjoying spring :)

Today

BY BILLY COLLINS

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,

so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw

open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,

indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths

and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight

that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight

on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants

from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,

holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,

well, today is just that kind of day.

Pause & See

April snow...again

windowsills, fluorescent lights

where I find my spring

orah

little tree 

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Narnia

I am beginning to wonder if Maine is under the spell of the White Witch of Narnia, never ending winter?  We received another 3 inches of snow last night...ho hum.  A grey day with a chill in the air.  I, optimistically, put my winter scarves in the laundry pile thinking they wouldn't be needed anymore.  I swore I won't put my snowshoes on again until next fall.  But after a walk the other day on old snow without snowshoes I "post-holed" and hurt my hip.  Runa & I needed our walk so snowshoe we did.  Once I got going I did enjoy my time outside.

The duck pond is open.  I haven't been able to get a photo of the girls in the water.  They are taking very quick dips.  The water must be pretty cold still.  Even with the fresh snow there are signs of melting. The bench by the pond is looking more like a bench than a slab in the snow.  It was a good day to hang out in the sewing room and work on some new ideas.  Thread was flying and the day passed well.  I have always loved winter and wished it would last longer when it leaves on time.  I must be careful for what a wish for or some magical Witch may grant me my desire! ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Pause & See

spring fertility

giving egg gifts to raven

wait...see what might hatch

orah

***UPDATE***

Last Weeks Tree!

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Snow Sparkles

April 1st was sunny and cold.  I was able to walk on the snow without snowshoes and not sink also, known as post holing. Ever so slowly the snow is melting.  I am ready for a change but, I still enjoyed the beauty.  The snow was sparkling like glitter.  It is hard to capture the refracting rainbow light with still photography so today I give you a link to a very short YouTube video of a moment in my back field.  

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoyemporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEcoCutie

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/injoytreasures

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

http://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyGatherings

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

http://instagram.com/injoyemporium

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry