my oh my, mushrooms

A walk through the woods revealed something that I've been waiting and waiting for...

mushroom season.

With the dry weather we missed out on some of my favorite edibles - lobsters, chanterelles, black trumpets - but after a bit of rain it was really encouraging to see this:

That's a sulphur shelf mushroom aka a Chicken Mushroom growing on an oak stump.  I've harvested Chickens off of this stump before, most recently this spring, and never before has it given me two fruitings in a year.  I'm feeling pretty special.

These guys grow really quickly so I'll have to check them daily to be sure I get them when they're still young and tender.  Trust me, it's a task I don't mind doing.

Sharing space on the same dead oak were these little shelf mushrooms which I believe are mustard-yellow polypores.  The yellow and white edge caught my eye as they reminded me of the dyer's polypore in miniature.  When I pulled one off the stump I noticed the pretty ochre interior and thought I'd better see if it would give dye.

I picked a few, tore them into pieces, and put them in a jar of water with a splash of ammonia and bam! color.  I'll let it sit a few days before I try to dye with it but I'm excited at the possibility.

There were some other little lovelies popping up to say hello from the leaf litter.

But most special of all were these amazing specimens that flew all the way from B.C. to be with me.  

Aren't they gorgeous?  Handmade by the immensely talented Kristy of fog and swell.  If you don't already know, in addition to being a talented maker, Kristy also captures some spectacular images of her wild surroundings.  You can find her blog HERE.

The stitching on the gills is just fantastic.

They make me so happy.

Hope you all have a happy day too.

nestled

 Their own nest, carefully cobbled together from ferns and twigs (and is that poison ivy? yep).  Like little momma birds.  Slightly itchy momma birds.

Acorn eggs and a cap to represent the shell of one that already hatched.  Nestled together.

Their imaginations soar when their toys are nature and time is their own.

That's probably true for a lot of us.

We should do that more often.

a natural rainbow

 

The threat of near-frosty temperatures on our overnight made me a little nostalgic.  I'm not quite ready for the cold.  We only just got over the scorching hot and now... 36?  Really?

It's only temporary, our temps are supposed to be back in the normal early-fall range again for the rest of the week but regardless, the threat of frost was enough to make me want to clutch a little tighter the days of gathering leaves and twigs, barefoot mornings in dewy grass, and the dyepot humming.

 

This rainbow represents a full year's worth of gathering; leaves, bark, mushrooms from last fall, kitchen scraps, walnuts from Illinois, and more.  I tend to hoard my natural colors, only pulling them out when I have a special project to work on. 

 

 

Though I do think perhaps I could hang them on the wall, I like them so much.

Hope your week starts off beautifully.

naturally dyed stones

It's been a busy week.  I'll be back soon, but in the meantime here are some naturally-dyed stones to look at.  (you'll be seeing them again soon)

Have a lovely weekend, all!

Lisa

from the cuff

 

I found this perfect little pebble in my pant cuff.  A stow-away from my trip to the Lake last week.

 

I thought it would be fitting to incorporate it into the first of my stones from that trip, something I'm working on this morning while waiting for the rain to clear.

Speaking of stones...since I'm in the process of doing my next edition for Art-o-mat, I thought I would also make a small edition to share.  There are a few $5 stones in my shop now.

Have a good start to the week, everyone.

 

fullness

 

Yesterday I spent a glorious day on the shores of Lake Superior with a friend.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The weather was wonderful and the company equally so.  We didn't have anything on our agenda except play on the beach, which we did.  For many, many hours.

 There was rock-picking.  Oh yes there was.  We spent much of our time picking up the stones, feeling their texture, marveling at the different shapes and colors and how warm they were from the sun.

 

I skipped a few, kept a few more, and played with some too.

 

A number of agate-hunters were combing one of the beaches we visited.  Some of them walked where the water met the shore, some crawling on their hands and knees digging in the stones, and some of them right in the water with their shoes on. 

 

So when I found a nice little agate among the smooth stones I snuck down to the water and left it, hoping it would make one of those agate-hunters happy.

 

 All of the stress of earlier in the week had been forgotten and replaced with a fullness that comes from a day with your feet on stones and lake breezes.

I hope this weekend give you a similar fullness.

Happy Friday, all.

wordless wednesday

sweet

 

Life is not easy for any of us, me included, but yesterday was especially tough.  It seemed everything was a battle, everything was a struggle, nothing came easy.  It was just... hard.  The kind of day where you lose your perspective and start to feel a little sorry for yourself.

I hate those days.

So after wading through a handful of chores for hours that should have taken me minutes, I headed outside.  I fed the chickens and watered the ducks and checked on the guineas, and there behind the guinea coop were blackberry bushes still with a few ripe fruits on them.

 

The fruits on our wild bushes aren't pretty and voluptuous like the cultivated varieties.  They're guarded heavily by thorns, kind of misshapen, and undeniably small, but when you get enough of them they're just as sweet.

And it hit me.

That's kind of how it goes with life, isn't it?

Maybe it isn't pretty and perfect or quite as big as you'd like it, but when you gather up those misshapen moments, those hard-fought pleasures, it's incredibly sweet.

 

And often, you find wonderful things along the way that you weren't expecting at all.

And that's the thought I'll carry with me.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

mushroom installation at its end

 

I took a little time yesterday to get out to the woods.  I was in need of some one on one time with mother nature and I was hoping there would be mushrooms up.  Sadly, the dry weather has left us without mushrooms for now, and it seems my mushroom installation has gone that way too.

The last time I looked, some little critter had pulled the mushroom out of the hole and dropped it at the base of the tree.  I expected to find it still there but it was nowhere to be found.  I can only guess that said creature hauled it away to line its nest for winter.

So thus ends my project.

You can see how it progressed by visiting these posts:

Starting here in October 2012

then here at the end of October

and 

then here in early December

and

again in snowy April 2013 

 

 

acorn season

 

 There will be a few new sets of wool acorns in the shop today.

'Tis that time of year.

  

I hope everyone enjoys the long holiday weekend.

walnut wednesday

Along with the wonderful memories, I also dragged home a bag of black walnuts from my trip a few weeks ago.  I've had them fermenting in a big dye jar on the porch since I got back and yesterday seemed a good time to see how the dye liquor had progressed.

That gorgeous brown in the middle is the first dye bath with plain, undyed wool.  I love it!  Totally love it.  The mocha color on the far right was the next bath, and the many hues to the left are other naturally-dyed pieces that I over-dyed with the walnut.  It makes me eager to work with them, these earthy, natural tones.

And work, I shall.  I hope to be able to share a naturally-dyed piece that I've been working on, soon.

What sorts of oddities do you drag home in your suitcase when you travel?

pottery and wine

 

Last night Haddie Hadachek of Black Bear Pottery had an open studio night and I spent a few hours sipping wine and chatting with some really great people.  It was just what my soul needed after a busy week.

Because of some of *you* really great people who gave homes to some of my stones, I was able to treat myself to one of Haddie's amazing cups and bowls while I was there, and kept the artist love flowing.

My breakfast has never looked so good.

If you're ever in the Brainerd Lakes area, do follow the signs and stop in to Black Bear Pottery, she does beautiful work.  And while you're there, ask if she has a chicken on wheels to show you, they're spectacular.  Just be sure to call first if you're planning to stop in winter because she spends the coldest months in Nicaragua working with Potters for Peace and wearing flip flops while we're wearing snow boots.  Clever thing.

She has a facebook page too, check it out HERE.

Happy Weekend, all. 

stones in the shop today

A quick note to say there will be a few stones in my shop later today.

Sorry for the short notice, but oy life has been busy.

Back soon.

bat whisperer added to my resume

 

I'm back from chasing the rainbow.

I got home late last week from a marvelous trip to see family and friends.  Though I love my home in the woods it's awfully hard to leave sometimes.  Lest I get a little too nostalgic and sad, I kept myself busy upon my return.  I've been dyeing wool (samplers will be in my shop shortly), hatching more guineas, climbing to the summit of Mount Washmore, and being the bat whisperer.

 

This little guy, who I believe is a Silver-haired bat, was clinging to the side of our pool.  The kids spotted him when they went out to swim and THANKFULLY they knew not to touch him and came to get me.

 

Poor guy couldn't get a grip on the slippery wall so I put on a flannel coat and some thick work gloves and approached him cautiously.  I tried to scootch him up the side, hoping he'd take off on his own when he hit the top but he started sliding down again.  I urged him to crawl into my gloved hand and carried him over to a tree in the shade (and here's where the bat whisperer comes in) whispering "please don't bite me in the face and give me rabies".

 

He didn't show any interest in biting me and instead climbed up the tree with his saggy baggy bottom looking like a little kid in a sleeping bag.

 

Last night I sat at dusk and watched his relatives swooping over the front yard and hoped that he was among them.  Marvelous little creatures.

Happy Monday, all.  I hope your week is off to a good start.

chasing the rainbow

The kids and I will be headed out on a trip next week, leaving the husband behind to hug the duck and mail the packages so if you order something from my shop, know it will be shipped promptly by his manly hands.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

See you soon.

it's about priorities

 

I didn't get it all done, but at least the duck got hugged yesterday.

A couple of times.

 

Priorities, you know.

Happy Thursday!