Wordless Wednesday

Frosty Landscapes

A light covering of frost was on the ground this morning as I walked to the chicken coop for my morning egg from Betty. My eyes kept scanning the ground and noticing the leaves outlined in frost, tiny landscapes of color and texture, sugared in ice. I pulled my camera from my pocket and captured a few of them. As I slowly made the walk back, I noticed that the frost was disappearing in my path, the leaves being warmed by the rising sun. It was quiet and still and I was thankful for the bit of peace before the day began.

I hope these quiet pictures find you all feeling peaceful and still as well. (if only for a moment)

Oh the many colors captured in a dying leaf....mother nature is an artist.

You Never Know What You're Gonna Get

A while ago, I had the pleasure of running into Lynn Bowes' work. Her shop, Silverwork, on Etsy features beautiful handmade silver jewelry that she describes as "simple :: modern :: everyday". I couldn't agree more.

I had the pleasure of purchasing this lovely chalcedony necklace from her and it truly is simply gorgeous, modern in design, and something I can wear everyday.

I had also spotted a beautiful agate necklace in Lynn's shop and asked her if she would have any use for Lake Superior Agates, as we're lucky enough to find them in our yard daily here in MN. She took me up on my offer of a box of rocks, and promised to make me something out of these lovelies. How exciting! A piece made just for me out of rocks I had dug from our yard. She told me what her old lapidary teacher said about picking up stones from the dirt: "Picking up parking lot rocks is like picking up women in bars - you never know what you're gonna get."

Well, this is what I got. I got two amazing necklaces, and the chance to know this generous and talented woman. She polished two of the agates, setting each in silver, and added beaded touches that compliment the pieces perfectly.

You can see on the back of this piece a slice of the crystalline quartz in this agate. I love that detail!

I plan to wear one, and give one to my daughter when she's a bit older. The rocks were gathered on the year of her birth and will be a rememberance of our little patch of land here in Minnesota.

I am so lucky and thankful. Thank you, Lynn. You rock.

(pun intended)

**** Links ****

Lynn's Etsy Shop: Silverwork

Lynn's 1000markets shop

Lynn's blog

Wordless Wednesday

A Rainy Day Hike

Our snowy days have given way to slightly warmer temps and rain. We've all been cooped up in the house for too many days now so I bundled the 4 kidlets up (yep, even the baby) and we hit the woods today. We jumped in puddles, spotted mushrooms, picked up acorns, and got good and muddy. We made sure our fingers got a little cold too so we could warm them up with hot cocoa when we got back to the house. Not a bad way to spend a rainy day.

We found this strange twisted little mushroom amongst the leaf litter.

These bright red berries are attached to a plant that looks very much like False Solomon's Seal, but I'm not absolutely certain. If they are, they're beautiful, but poisonous. Oddly enough, one of the poisonous berry selections that my 3 year old hasn't tried to eat yet. Let's all knock on wood that he doesn't give it a go, now that I've actually said it out loud.

These sweet little tinies are about the size of my sewing pins. They trail in and out of the brush, like someone marking a map.

Rock vs. Boot. We encounter huge chunks of quartz wherever we wander here. If only I could find a use for them...

So now we're going to make cookies and snug up by the fire and enjoy our Friday. I hope you and yours do the same.

Oh! And I'll be having a wee shop update on Tuesday so please pop in my shop and have a look.

Happy Weekend!

Blog Action Day '09

Today is Blog Action Day '09 for Climate Change, a day when thousands of bloggers raise their voices on the issue of climate change.

Here's why:

Action to limit greenhouse gases and build a clean energy economy is needed to achieve a sustainable solution to our global climate crisis. This December world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a global response to climate change. As a world leader in greenhouse gas pollution as well as clean energy technology, the United States needs to take action by implementing comprehensive clean energy policies to curb emissions. Nobel Peace Prize Winner and President Barack Obama has said that climate change is an urgent threat, and now is the time for him to lead the United States in confronting the climate crisis.

Here's what you can do:

• 
  Sign the Tck Tck Tck campaign's "I am ready" pledge supporting an ambitious, fair and binding climate agreement in Copenhagen this fall: tcktcktck.org/people/i-am-ready

• 
  Register for the 350.org International Day of Climate Action October 24: http://www.350.org/

• 
  Join the UK Government's "Act on Copenhagen" effort to promote a global deal on climate change: www.actoncopenhagen.decc.gov.uk/en

• 
  Learn and act with The Nature Conservancy's Planet Change site: change.nature.org

• 
  Watch and help promote Current TV's green-themed video journalism at: current.com/green

• 
  Support strong climate legislation in the US by making calls to your Senators with 1Sky: www.1sky.org/call

• 
  Put yourself on the Vote Earth map and upload your photos, pictures and weblinks to show the world future you want to see: www.earthhour.org/home

• 
  Put yourself on the Vote Earth map and upload your photos, pictures and weblinks to show the world future you want to see: www.earthhour.org/home

• 
  Join the Greenpeace cool IT challenge campaign to turn IT industry leaders into climate advocates and solution providers: www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it-challenge

• 
  Add your personal story and tell the world what you will miss the most when you lose it to climate change with the United Nations Foundation Climate Board: www.unfoundation.org/global-issues/climate-and-energy/its-getting-personal

• 
  Find the latest and most popular climate change actions online at globalwarming.change.org
  Join the Causecast community and find new ways to get involved with organizations working to end climate change.

• Watch videos, read news and support one of the many environmental nonprofits on Causcast. www.causecast.org/environment
• 
  Post to your blog or Twitter account about the impact of climate change on the world's poorest, and then take action with Oxfam International: www.oxfam.org.uk/climate

*source blogactionday.org

Saturday Snow

Mother Nature gave us our first taste of snow this morning. It seems we've just entered Autumn and here she is, sugaring our trees already. I wandered out, still in my pajamas, and snapped a few pics before the sun and wind took away the dusting of white. As I'm sitting here, shaking off the cold from my hike, clumps of snow are falling from the trees like dandelion puffs. It won't be long until this is gone, but it also won't be long until it's replaced by a true winter snow. Winter comes early in Minnesota and stays far too long.

Sweet little ferns held their own against the white, and the marigolds are wearing little wigs. I guess I'll be picking the rest of them today if I want to do any more marigold dyeing.

Hey little acorn, where's your cap? You're going to catch cold.

Have a lovely and warm weekend, everyone.

Wordless Wednesday

Just For Grins

I made this little punkin/acorn today for a friend who needs a little smile.

I hope it does the trick.

On the Mend

I had a small burst of energy today and though my cold symptoms still linger, I am feeling largely on the mend. For the first time in two weeks I worked on a project today. I needed some special buttons for it and wanted wooden buttons so I hiked out in the woods and came back with an armload of branches and roots and hit the bandsaw. I cut a number of button hopefuls and after sanding them down, rubbed them with beeswax. The colors just popped right out! These are so smooth and colorful that they almost look like stone and I'm really pleased.

I'm planning to reopen my Etsy shop on Monday and am hoping to add some new things (just one or two) later in the week.

Checking in on the Acorn Rainbow - October 2009

A month ago I started my little acorn project. I made a small offering upon a moss-covered oak stump in order to watch its progress. I checked in on my little circular rainbow of wool acorns on this rainy October morning and saw more change than I had expected.

I'm not sure what has been moving the acorns, likely a squirrel or other nosy-body animal, but I'm curious how they managed to arrange the acorns in a line. I'm also curious whether they've eaten the blue and yellow acorns or if they're lining a nest somewhere. Maybe they were hauled off by a curious furry visitor who just had to show his friends what he found in the woods today. "Dude! Check this thing out."

The orange acorn appeared to have tumbled off the edge of the stump and lays partially covered by moss and leaves but the yellow and blue are nowhere to be seen.

I can't wait to see how this progresses.

See you in a month, little acorns.