The Forest Path - November 2020
Autumn was in her full glory in November! We had so many days of sun, shining golden through autumn leaves. The sheep seemed to grow inches of wool a week and almost look like they’re floating through the grass because you can hardly see their legs!
Like so many months before, there was a bittersweet quality to November’s beauty because there were no homeschool classes here to share it with us. Around every turn of our paths through the forest were mushrooms, colorful leaves, blooming flowers, and other delights that we would usually be enthusiastically sharing with kids and families here. It will be so lovely when we can safely open up for programs again!
Even though the days are getting shorter every day, the chickens are still laying eggs. The only challenge is figuring out where! This is a cache we found nearly buried in the hay. It’s like an Easter egg hunt every day around here.
A more exciting bird experience is that we had a beautiful barred owl visit the bigleaf maple tree in front of our house. We hear these beautiful birds frequently but they are so camouflaged that unless we happen to see one fly, they stay hidden in the forest. This owl stayed in this same spot for several hours in the morning until deciding there was better luck finding something to eat elsewhere and he few away on his large, silent wings. Can you spot him in the first picture?
We had our first frost this month. After having icy weather forcasted for a week, we finally woke one morning to a beautiful frost-covered landscape.
As pretty as it was, it meant the end of the Japanese indigo plants. They don’t survive frost so I cut an armful of the flowering stalks and brought them inside. Not many flowers set seeds but there are enough to save for next year. I can’t wait to grow more beautiful blue dye from my own saved seeds!
I spent a lot of time creating stitched indigo designs over the month and there are still some of the dishtowels that I dyed available in my shop.
A lot of gathering has been going on. We found the last hidden patch of elderberries in the forest. They are destined to become immune-boosting elderberry syrup. I’ve also been gathering up handfuls of leaves as they fall to the ground. I’ll store these and use them for botanical printing until there are new leaves next spring. The stacks of leaves look almost like little art pieces themselves!
Speaking of botanical printing, I dyed and printed a lot of scarves and other fabric for the first time since February. Because there haven’t been events all year I had no need to make a lot of new inventory but I sure did miss it! Using mushrooms, lichen, leaves, and all sorts of beautiful natural materials from this land to create colors and patterns on fabric is just a delightful, magical experience. I truly miss teaching workshops and can’t wait to get some scheduled in 2021. In the meantime, my work can always be found in my online shop.
This video shows leaf prints created on silk that was dyed with goldenrod that we grow here. Isn’t is amazing?
On the animal front, Mike put in a new gate so that our male sheep can have easier access to other grazing areas. Flint, ever the troublemaker, took his job as supervisor very seriously! He even taste-tested the new gate. Hahaha.
Outside, the sun sits low in the sky as we are nearing the solstice and the golden leaves from the beginning of the month are nearly gone. Inside, it’s beginning to look pretty Christmasy with these wool gnomes whose stuffing and beards are made with our sheep’s wool. I like to think that each one I make is infused with a little of Flint’s playful, mischievous nature.
It’s hard to believe that we’re already approaching the final weeks of 2020! I don’t know what “back to normal” looks like anymore but I hope we start to travel that direction in the new year.
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