Simple joys pop up when we are paying attention. A few weeks ago while walking the dogs with my grandson, we discovered a patch of crackle ice. If you live in no freeze zone, you may be unfamiliar with crackle ice. It’s a thin layer of ice that forms across sidewalks or pavement … Read more
Flax to Fiber One of my many garden goals for the new year is attempting to create fiber from flax…fiber as in thread, string, or whatever I can manage. I was inspired to explore this idea after reading The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History by Clair St. Kasia Humans have been making fiber from flax … Read more
New Year’s Resolution Re-Do. Have your new year’s resolutions faded from view? Most evaporate quickly. Maybe you are in the anti-resolution camp and never set any to begin with. If your resolutions have faded or you are just looking for an intentional practice you can get excited about, I have a suggestion. It’s an easy … Read more
Nothing says hopeful like the arrival of seed catalogs in the mail or in-box. No matter how bleak the weather or world affairs, seeds mean new life and beauty. They represent fresh starts and endless possibilities. That’s not a metaphor. Seeds actually mean life goes on. We plant a tiny kernel and a new plant … Read more
A blur of fur, a large fluffy tail, and a red ribbon trailing behind was moving quickly along my fence. It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing. A squirrel had pilfered one of the pine cone bird feeders we made at Solstice. Coated in peanut butter and rolled in bird … Read more
Early this morning I was out in the cold and dark for a winter solstice sunrise walk at the Plains Conservation Center. A small band of us watched as the sun came up over the plains and illuminated the mountains to the west with a pink glow. It was the beginning of the shortest day … Read more
It’s been six weeks since I retreated to Middle-Earth. At that time, I was immersed in too much negative reading material. On my long slog to work I was listening to Hamilton, a book not only about Alexander, but the whole cast of founders with all their mis-steps, mis-deeds, and outright back stabbing. … Read more
There’s a post-it note on my back door that reminds me as I leave the house to “Invoke Joy”. Because, why not? It’s a challenging planet and we can each do our part to create more joy in a million small ways. Yesterday, while walking Luna, we discovered a tiny mandala[1] created right in front … Read more
The time of New Year’s Resolutions is upon us. Many people think it’s a fruitless practice, as we know most resolutions dissolve in the first few weeks of January. However, I like the idea of this intentional practice. Resolutions embody a hopefulness and a willingness to try a little harder, do a little better, … Read more
Happy Winter Solstice! (arriving at 3:35 PM Mountain Time today) For us in the northern hemisphere, winter … Read more
