Change

Another grey, murky day in Maine.  The weather forecast is predicting a change and the sooner the better as far as I am concerned!  My gardens are suffering, slugs, mildew, and blight.  I am looking forward to fall!  The first signs are starting to appear.  Asters are in bloom and the wild apple trees are loaded.  This little tree's apples are pretty good.  Looks like I'll get some applesauce this year!

 

A bit of natural spookiness too!  Dreaming of halloween! 

My Etsy life in a bit of an uproar.  I am in the process of emptying my 2 rooms so we can continue the cork flooring project.  It is quite a project!  It is always amazing during a move all the discoveries one makes.  Definitely using the process as an opportunity to purge physically and metaphorically.  I plan to make some changes in the coming year.  I have been photographing tons of vintage items so I can keep listing during the construction time.  I will be setting up my sewing machine so I can sew but something tells me between harvest & floor laying I won't get too much done.  I have set up my office in the living room.  I hope to stay in touch and share some to the floor work.  Here are some photos of some new vintage finds as well as the moving in progress!

I am keeping the photo station up until the last minute!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/240655421/vintage-red-pitcher-tumbler-set

https://www.etsy.com/listing/243246502/vintage-bandana-scarf-backgammon-fabric

https://www.etsy.com/listing/244311599/great-dane-tractor-trailer-emblem

The sewing room is next!

Runa loves the new cork flooring!  Well maybe not, she is just a love!

Living Room Office

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

I Spin Yarns, Weave Dreams, & Sew to Mend the Soul

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

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

Hand Made Eco-Friendly Home Decor, & Toys

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

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

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

Beach Finds & Copper Wire Ornaments

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

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

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

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www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

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

Letting Go

There is this time every summer that, as a gardener, I just sort of let go.  What can be done is done or it may just be a weariness from all the work.  It is a time for a bit of respite before the harvest and garden clean up are in full swing.  That time is now, especially helped by a heat wave, it has been in the high 80's for days!  I got up before 5:00am this morning and took a walk with Runa, trying to beat the heat.  For the first time in a long while I grabbed my camera.  It has been some time since I came to this blog "place".  It has been a challenging summer.  My son broke his leg in the spring.  There have been many trips back and forth to the college campus.  Surgery, crutches, then complications so more travel for me and times of tension and worry.  Things are, finally, settling down.  The boy is on the mend and so is my psyche!  What has brought me peace during these times besides a supportive partner, is this place on earth.  I have often thought of starting up "here" again but I couldn't come up with a good segway for return.  So the time of "letting go" seems as good as any.  Here is a little photo journal of my dawn stroll with a bit of news from around the land.

The pond has been wonderful this summer!  I took a dip right after my walk.  I jump in everyday sometimes too tired to swim so I just float and look up at the heavens and relax.  The pond is quieter too.  We found a new home for our ducks so one less chore and little more freedom to travel.

A couple of photos of the "let go garden".  Plenty of dill!  Dilly beans will be processed soon!

A rare Vern sighting.  Except for meal time we hardly ever see him.  He is off on his own adventures these days.  Runa is my ever present companion!  Here she is begging for a bean.  She is such a lovely creature.  I am very grateful for her friendship.

 Still battling the beetles.  But they aren't making me so mentally crazy this year.  I sort of enjoy my evening of beetle collecting.  I might not be motivated to get outside around 8:00pm if I didn't have the beetles...who knows?

My favorite kind of flower is the one that creates a vegetable and can be tilled under in the fall!  This is a Long Pie Pumpkin flower surrounded by crimson clover.

A new experiment this year is letting a friend have a garden spot here.  It has been a very nice addition.  I have learned a thing or two from this beginner gardener.  Like I might not need to do quite as much work to get a good harvest.  Her garden is producing well even with being "neglected" more than my patches!

Well I have found my path back.  I will try to show up a bit more often.  All is Well~
wishing the same for you~~~~

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

I Spin Yarns, Weave Dreams, & Sew to Mend the Soul

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

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

Hand Made Eco-Friendly Home Decor, & Toys

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

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

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

Beach Finds & Copper Wire Ornaments

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

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

http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com

http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium

www.facebook.com/injoyemporium

https://twitter.com/InJoyEmporium

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/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.

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

~~~Gratitude~~~ Health

As of today, I have been home for 15 day without leaving!  My record is 16 days and it looks like I will beat that this week.  I try to go to town once a week to swim at the Y, do errands, and be with other people.  But everyday that I could leave lately, I have either been bound here by a snow storm or by the lack of a plowed driveway.  I am not complaining, just sharing an interesting fact about my existence.  I do not feel cabin fever at all.  I have been quite busy. I also, I maintain my sanity by getting outside each and everyday.  

My chosen fun activity is snowshoeing, as you know if you follow this blog.  You will also be aware of the fact that we have quite a bit of snow.  A few days ago I blogged about my snowshoes here: http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com/2015/01/snow-snow-snowshoes-x3.html  I talked about our old gut snowshoes that have been on the wall for years.  Well, folks they are off the wall!  The snow is too deep for my lightweight modern shorties.  So I have been packing trails with the old gut ones.  I have been packing down a bit every other day and using the light ones on the off days.  It is a pretty good workout!  These snowshoes are 60 inches long...yes 5 feet!  I am 5 feet 8 inches.  Each step includes a bit of snow lifting.  I have to say it is fun to be using them again!  They are quiet and beautiful.  I feel connected with days gone by~~~

We purchased these snowshoes December 1979 at Ed's Surplus, Lynnwood, Washington for $39.99 each.  At the time it was a pretty good chunk of change for us.  We had just returned from a hitch hiking trip around Alaska and the Yukon.  We had made vows of relationship commitment while we were there and these were "wedding" gifts to our Selves.  

Here are some scenes from todays snowshoe....

Unbroken Trail

Turning Around with these Shoes is an Interesting Side Step Dance!

After Turning I Go back and Re-Pack

A Nice bit of Trail....Until the Next Storm!

I Am GRATEFUL for my Healthy Body that Allows me to Snowshoe!
Today I know my heart is healthy...
I nearly stepped on a Ruffed Grouse that exploded into the air out of the snow!!!

It is my intention, each week, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your moments of Gratitude. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~

Snow, Snow, Snowshoes X3

Finally, some sunshine on Thursday!  Finally, I got to try out my newest snowshoes.  Wednesday I was just a bit too tired after the shoveling workout!  Snowshoes have come a long way since my first pairs.  The ones in the photo below were what we used for many years.  They are about 4 feet long and great in deep snow, a definite workout for your legs but, a bit hard to maneuver with in the woods.  The bindings were always a problem too.  

At the beginning of the winter I bought these snowshoes from LLBeans to replace the ones I wore out last year.  I didn't not care for these bindings.  I had a real hard time keeping them on and adjusted.  So I returned them...Thanks LLBeans for your great unconditional return policy! 

 Here are my new ones.  I had some trepidation since they are only 24 inches long.  I have been using 30 inch snowshoes since I graduated from the gut & wood.  With only 2 straps I wasn't sure they would stay on but they have super nice ratchet mechanisms!

Ready for the first test walk in post fluffy & deep Juno snow!

They are super! In about 3 feet of powder I only sunk about 8 inches which is to be expected in this fluff!  The bindings stayed on well and are easy to remove with gloved hands!  Thumbs-up!

FRIDAY'S SNOWSHOE 

Friday brought clouds and more snow but also, warmer weather...in the 20's!  Felt like a heat wave!  Spent a good deal of time outside getting some air...oh the work will still be there~~~

Pond Bench!

 So nice out the duckies even went for a snowshoe!  Here is where my new snowshoes received another test.  As I was "jumping" over the stream to take this photo I took a tumble.  I ended up in a position that would best be described as snow twister.  I was sort of stuck.  My left leg was behind me in the snow and I couldn't get up.  But my right snowshoe was nearly in my face.  I easily removed my right one and used it as a pole and pushed my way up.  Then strapped it on again and I was good to go!

Friday Night a Mini Blizzard

Friday morning more snow to shovel and plow....

Short little snowshoes worked perfectly for doing the morning chores!  Besides duck care this morning, included a trip to the mailbox with an Etsy order headed to Ireland!