Blog
Winter has fallen!
Most of the peach tree leaves have fallen straight down without changing color.
Hiding in the leaves
The temperature fell to 17 overnight. The rhododendon is a good weather gauge - it really shrivels in the cold.
The first snow has fallen. As usual, I'm in the middle of an indigo dyeing project. The cold complicates this a little - mostly it's just less pleasant to work outdoors.
There are still dozens of daffodil bulbs to plant. Winter is beautiful, but I'm just not ready yet.
First snowflakes
The first snowflakes arrived this morning. The Japanese indigo is finished growing.
Dogwood bush
Redbud leaves and bits of snow
Frozen indigo dyed linen on the clothesline
Cold feet!
November
It was quite cold this morning, with beautiful yellow sunlight.
Sparrows warming themselves on the windowsill and mock-orange branches.
Maple tree in the neighbors' backyard
Late rosebuds
Almost ripe
Houseplants in!
The annual bringing in of ihe houseplants has begun. The nighttime temperatures have been in the 30's.
Old blankets help, but it can;t go on for long. Carrying them in is a heavy and tiring job. Figuring out where to place them is too.
Most of them are great-grand-children- plants from Mom and Granny. They are living heirlooms and connections.
This picture shows about a third of the houseplants settled into their winter headquarters, Now for at least 6 months of plants indoors.
Walnuts
Every summer for many years, I've collected a supply of black walnuts for dyeing from a huge tree in the neighborhood.
The fruits of this tree usually ripen and fall to the ground around middle of August. This year each time I visited the tree I found barely any walnuts. The ones I did see were tiny. They gave very little color. I resigned myself to waiting another year for the beautiful browns and creams of walnut hull dye.
October
There's something about the light in October. that makes the world almost too beautiful. Even on a cloudy morning there's extra richness in the colors.
Flying saucer morning glories
Red nightshade berries and yellow Virginia creeper leaf
Silk dyed with indigo
Virginia creeper
Perennial sunflowers
Virginia creeper
Elm tree
There is an old elm tree growing between our house and the neighbor's house.
This tree is beautiful. It's branches are like an umbrella, giving deep shade on summer days and even some cover from the rain. Ive seen so many birds in the branches - woodpeckers, thrushes, nuthatches, robins, cardinals, blackbirds, finches,warblers,and of course, the sparrows. The squirrels race up and down and use it as a pathway to their home in the hole they've made under the gutter. One day I saw a racoon sleeping on the edge of the roof.
August 29
Moms' Birthday
Goldenrod (Solidago)
My Mother was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 29 1930
I miss her every day.
August
In some ways, August feels hectic and difficult. School is about to start. When my children were younger, it included the stress and expense of shopping for school supplies, bookbags, uniforms, and shoes. With 10 children, this was a big deal!
Annoying, insects, (fleas, pantry moths, yellow jackets, fruit flies and mosquitoes), seem to increase, multiply and thrive in August. Maybe they know their time is growing short.
Tags
- garden (54)
- natural dye (42)
- indigo (31)
- silk (21)
- madder (19)
- June (13)
- snow (12)
- dye garden (10)
- november (9)
- wool (9)
- May (8)
- August (6)
- coreopsis (6)
- milkweed (6)
- silk thread (6)
- spring (6)
- walnut (6)
- April (5)
- birthday (5)
- January (5)
- morning glories (5)
- woad (5)
- cats (4)
- cochineal (4)
- elm tree (4)
- hemp (4)
- Japanese indigo (4)
- linen (4)
- March (4)
- October (4)
- shibori (4)
- dye garden seeds (3)
- lac (3)
- rain (3)
- roses (3)
- snowdrops (3)
- spiders (3)
- winter (3)
- bloodroot (2)
- cherry tree (2)
- chicago (2)
- Christmas (2)
- Christmas stockings (2)
- crocus (2)
- dahlias (2)
- Daisy (2)
- december (2)
- delphiniums (2)
- destash (2)
- dye plants (2)
- february (2)
- february 12 (2)
- flowering cactus (2)
- grand daughters (2)
- hawk (2)
- kittens (2)
- Mom (2)
- moon (2)
- morning (2)
- Navajo Churro fleece (2)
- night blooming cereus (2)
- pansy dye (2)
- peonies (2)
- seedlings (2)
- seeds (2)
- september (2)
- tulips (2)
- vintage fabric (2)
- weld (2)
- azalea (1)
- baby bunny (1)
- baby quilts (1)
- batman (1)
- block prints (1)
- bloodroot. silk (1)
- blue dye (1)
- blue jeans (1)
- bright lights cosmos (1)
- buttercups (1)
- celandine (1)
- clematis (1)
- columbine (1)
- conservatory (1)
- containers (1)
- coreopsis flowers (1)
- cotton (1)
- delphinium (1)
- epiphylum (1)
- felting (1)
- fermentation process (1)
- first blog (1)
- flower (1)
- flower buds (1)
- flowers (1)
- fragrance (1)
- fragrant (1)
- fresh indigo (1)
- fresh indigo leaves (1)
- garage (1)
- garden august (1)
- garden. natural dye (1)
- garfield park (1)
- geese (1)
- goldfinch (1)
- Grandmother (1)
- green (1)
- hemp/silk (1)
- honey bees (1)
- hot (1)
- ice (1)
- impatiens (1)
- isatis tinctoria (1)
- july (1)
- june 14 (1)
- lake michigan (1)
- learning (1)
- lilac (1)
- logwood (1)
- mayapples (1)
- mistakes (1)
- natural dye. indigo (1)
- natural dyes (1)
- new years eve (1)
- old fashioned (1)
- onion skins (1)
- orchid (1)
- orchids (1)
- organza (1)
- organza silk (1)
- osage orange (1)
- oxypetalum (1)
- pear (1)
- piano (1)
- pillows (1)
- plant dye (1)
- poppies (1)
- potatoes (1)
- potholders (1)
- purple (1)
- rainbow (1)
- robins (1)
- roses catalpa (1)
- sari silk (1)
- scilla (1)
- selenicereus. night blooming (1)
- service berry (1)
- serviceberry (1)
- servicerry (1)
- slinky (1)
- spinning (1)
- squirrel (1)
- summer (1)
- sunflowers (1)
- sunrise (1)
- sweet peas (1)
- trillium (1)
- Valentines (1)
- violet (1)
- webs (1)
- wildflowers (1)
- wool batt (1)
- wool. felting (1)
Archives
- June 2025 (1)
- May 2025 (1)
- April 2025 (1)
- March 2025 (2)
- February 2025 (1)
- January 2025 (1)
- September 2024 (1)
- August 2024 (1)
- June 2024 (1)
- May 2024 (2)
Elsewhere