Sketchbook Peek: Woodland Floor

I have been slowly working on some new sketches

and trying to decide what screens to make next.

I am thinking woodland floor: Ferns and Gastropods!

What do you think?

A great fall day: part 2

Healing through the earth

Powerful and thought-provoking words of wisdom from Paul Stamen.

.....

I have found in my work with plants as not only food, but medicine, that mycology is showing itself to be more and more important to the health and wellness of both humans and then environment.

Powerful and potent, I have seen wonderful healing resulting from using different fungi as part of or as a whole healing modality.

Now, if we can just learn how to listen and continue to stay in that flow, imagine the possibilities?

Ravenswood Park... Part 1

went on a small adventure.

found some lovely treasures.

mushrooms and lichens and moss and leaves.

i could have stayed all day.

I love the colors out in nature this time of year!

The holly is so happy (maybe because it has been let to run completely wild...) and has sprout vibrant red berries!

The leaves on the trees are all turning golden yellow

and there seems to be a whole lot of mycology thriving!

I was excited when looking at the woodpile the other day at how many of the logs had mushrooms growing on them!

It was kind of like a treasure hunt of sorts...

Ones woodpile: utilitarian for sure.

For warmth, for life... for medicine?

I was excited to see turkey tails growing,

they are one of my favorite medicinals!

They are great for the immune system and help to invigorate the spirit.

It is amazing seeing things around us that we never think of as having a purpose, never think of as medicine.

But just like humans thrive on interaction and relationships, so do these plants and fungi.

They like to be used and honored.

They know they have gifts to give.

The ones with the gills are unknown to me, any thoughts?

Do you use plants or mushrooms as medicine?

Do you have a favorite?

Yesterday started out foggy and overcast, but turned out to be absolutely beautiful!

We took a walk in the morning and after the POURING rain that we had the day before and all the dampness there was a whole lot of mushrooms that had popped up!

The colors in the woods are so beautiful and warm,

with all the bright and mustardy yellows,

the vibrant reds

and the burnt oranges...

Plus there is still quite a bit of green which contrasts and explodes,

especially on days where it is damp and wet!

I love the woods when it is raining, or even foggy or overcast.

It is so peaceful and still.

It is like all of the trees are drinking in deep and the animals are all cuddling together,

staying out of the rain and keeping dry.

I like the sound of water droplets on the leaves in the trees...

Hope you are all enjoying your evening!

I am off to get ready for the Essex Clamfest tomorrow...

Wish me luck!

A Morning Collection

Just a small collection of things I found on my morning walk in the woods the other day.

I was really excited to find some jack in the pulpits, but what was even better was when I turned my head and saw the whole forest of them on a little faery island in the middle of one of the swampy puddles in the woods!

Also, the lady slippers are starting to bloom!

What curious and elegant flowers they are.

I will have to get some photos soon.

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

We have friends visiting and helping Andy with puppet making.

Oh, and after a week or more of straight rain and grey skies,

we finally have some SUUUUUN!!!

Happy Saturday!

xo

Part Deux of Le Romp in the Woods...

Sometimes time bleeds together. I spend a lot of time by myself (well other than with the animals) and I kind of prefer it that way most of the time.

But sometimes, when time bleeds together, I forget that today is today and yesterday was just that. Not that that is much of a problem, but it can kind of play games with the mind at times...

Anyways, this is the second half of the previous post and as you can see by how many photos are in each, it really did need to be split up. I just couldn't edit enough. I thought that there were just too many photos that I wanted to share, or at least that I loved and felt I had to have in my post.

I especially the photo of the tree with drips of water going down it making it look like someone threw paint all over it. Isn't it amazing?

When I am outside, I feel like I am in the most wonderful museum in the world!

And of course love the mushrooms on the trees...

And did you see the one of Veda doing the puppy wiggly shake!

(you can see her ears flying like propellers!)

I love that one too!

A little story about Veda and her name:

I got her when she was 7 weeks old.

It was fate.

When I got her, she had been named Dulcinea because dolce means sweet in Italian and her eyes were so sweet! (I mean REALLY sweet! I am not kidding, I will have to find one of the few baby photos to scan sometime)

Anyway, for some reason I kept forgetting her name,

plus I sort of wanted to name her myself.

One of the names I was thinking about for her was Aga Snow, a name that I am still torn about not giving her. I ended up finding the word Veda, as in The Vedas or teachings of knowledge in the Ayurvedic Tradition.

I loved it.

I loved that she would be the embodiment of knowledge, of the universe.

She was the one and only female animal in the house, so the prefix of her name was Princess.

Princess Veda.

It rather fit.

Now she is just Veda, or Veda Lou as I call her (one of her MANY lovingly appointed nicknames) because the princess part seems more like a mindset with her than a title.

So there you have it.

Why and how Miss Veda Lou got her name.

And she is the best Veda Lou that will have ever lived!

Do you have any stories about how your animal friends got their names?