Some are shallots and plenty still in the ground. But oh do they carmelize nicely.
Onions, baby.
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Category Archives: Nature
Sunset Over the Midwest
Peace.
Meanwhile, back at the garden…
David Austin rose in the front yard.
Knockout roses by the mailbox.
Peonies and roses
Purple Iris by the bird feeders.
Another purple iris
Already harvesting zucchini at the community garden.
Raspberries on the way.
Little Rascals
I terrorize the feeders, sometimes jumping 10 feet to get to them. Also, I own this yard.
I ate all her lily bulbs and ferns. Last year I ate the blooms off her peonies too. I am mayhem.
Rainy Day
Quiet moments at our bird feeders today.
Needle Punch Peonies
As I wait for this years’ peonies to find the courage to rise and bloom, I am inspired by a picture of last years’, and so I pulled out some wool, some roving and decided to needle punch a bouquet of peonies. If you are not familiar with needle punch, it is the process of using needles to insert colored fabric into another fabric. The process of punching the roving into the wool actually creates a whole new fabric because both fabrics become one.
Here’s an example of some roving, which is essentially semi-processed wool or cotton fibers.
Samples of dyed roving.
Needle punching on the sewing machine.
Using special needles on a machine and a needle punch foot, you can use your sewing machine to “punch ” the roving down into the wool fabric below. You’re not using any thread, and if you have thread sensors on your machine, you’ll want to turn them off. After that, the process is a lot like painting with watercolor, or more precisely, like charcoal drawing, using the different colors of the roving to create shading, shapes and color.
My intent was to capture the carefree way the flowers moved and “relaxed” into the group. I always want to loosen my style. Sometimes my art is uptight. One of the reasons I enjoy working with fiber over paint is the amount of control that one must give up to the medium. That’s exciting and unpredictable. (Some people love precision and this may be frustrating for you.)
After punching out the basic shapes, just add some background texture.
Adding texture through small quilting patterns. Add batting to the back for stability.
What it looked like before topstitching.
As the final touch, add topstitching to the whole arrangement. This brings a bit of dimension, with a “pen and ink” feel. All of this is very textural. Interesting to look at, interesting to touch.
Anyone can do this with a little inspiration, some wool, and some roving. You can purchase hand needle punch kits at any craft store and I’m sure most sewing machine manufacturers have some form of needle punch accessory. (Bernina does, for certain!) After that, the sky’s the limit.
Machine tip: Be sure to clean out your sewing machine really well after doing needle punch.
Now get out there and have fun!!
Final piece. Not sure if I’ll turn it into a pillow cover or garment or something else entirely!
The Beauty of the Cranes
In almost any culture, crane sightings are meaningful. They are signs of joy, life, wisdom, beauty, elegance, and grace.
My family drove out to see the Great Crane Migration. In case you are not familiar, every year between mid-February and mid-April, 80% of North America’s Sandhill cranes come to eat and bulk up in a 50 mile span of the Platte River in central Nebraska. The area is estimated to feed around 500,000 cranes. This year, the experts thought there were even more than that.
Jane Goodall rated it as one of her top ten nature attractions in the world.
The birds spend every night in shallow water – the Platte River. It offers them protection because any predator could be heard splashing as it approaches. But during the day, the cranes spread out to all the local farmer’s fields. They will gain approximately 32% of their body weight in preparation for the rest of their journey. Eventually, the cranes will spread out over North America, including arctic Canada and Alaska and some will travel as far as Siberia to roost and lay eggs. The young will grow to full size in the summer and travel the whole distance back with their parents in September. Like many birds, cranes mate for life.
Sandhill Cranes in flight. Keep in mind, these birds are almost 4 ft. tall.
We spent time in a bird blind, waking at 4:30 am. This experience itself is almost supernatural. We awoke in the dark and joined others at the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary. It was 17 degrees outside with a straight 20 mph wind. The sanctuary has no lights outside, as that might disturb the birds. The guides walk you down the half mile to the river in pitch blackness, with an occasional red light so no one falls. Everyone must silently enter the blind making as little noise as possible.
Unfortunately, on our day, someone the night before had used a flash camera and so the birds got spooked and were a bit of a distance from the blind.
But as dawn approached, the birds began to stir. The sound is incredible. As they take flight, their sheer numbers are nothing short of amazing.
During the day, you really see them everywhere. In the sky, in the fields. The behavior is fascinating, as they never seem to change. This has been going on for 600 years, maybe more.
If you’d like to see them yourself, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rowe-sanctuary-s-crane-cam
Watch the crane cam around 7-8 pm at night as they gather to rest, or 7-8am in the morning as they take off for the fields. You get a real feel for the auditory experience as well.
The lesson for me is to recognize our role in nature. We belong, but we don’t own. We can celebrate it, but never control it. Peaceful harmony is the goal. And it only took 500,000 cranes to remind me.
Sandhill Cranes eating in corn fields.
Taking flight in the morning. My view from the blind.