Signs of Spring
Found this little marker of new life the other day. Empty egg shells are like nature’s receipts. We are alive – we are here – we are being born! I usually find robin eggs, and I am left wondering who this one housed. Can anyone …
Author: Anna
Bitty Buds Haiku
The buds are back! I love a budding tree or shrub. These new bitty beginnings are beautiful because the tree or shrub looks like a web of lace or a delicately bejeweled or bedazzled decoration. The tree is in between bare and leafed, and color …
Green Onions!
“It’s a good year for bulbs!” Patrick remarked this morning. We seem to have more crocuses than ever – popping up in surprising places – probably planted by squirrels. These bulbs are some of our first plants to surface each Spring, and I like to …
I’m Possible Moon
Happy I’m Possible Moon! In March of 2014, My sister Lisa, my Mom, and I spotted, unbelievably, two screech owls perched on an oak tree limb outside of the Siloam/Spring Bird Cottage. We were spending a retreat there during a time when the owners were …
Living Wall
These first days of Spring have brought some simple and fun activities. We ate our first patio dinner on Saturday. Penelope and I roller skated at the skatepark, and we planted our first living wall! All pandemic long, I’ve been escaping into various shows about …
Spring Equinox: A Balance of All Things
Happy Spring Equinox! A new cycle begins, and we are renewed. What is returning for you? Jonquils? The greening of moss and evergreens? Migratory birds? A sense of hope? Or maybe feelings of being stuck? Or feelings of trauma related to the pandemic and/or these …
Spring Rituals: Mud
As Spring sends up its first tender, green shoots, we begin a new cycle of Rituals. For starters, March’s snow melt brings mud. I really smelled it for the first time the other day, and I just sighed with relief knowing we were on our …
Season 2 and the March Episode of the Woolgathering Podcast
It’s March’s episode of the Woolgathering Podcast -which marks the beginning of Season Two! This second season, we meet a new character, Sweetheart, a little bunny, whom we will follow throughout the year. There will be some favorite characters from Season One making their appearances, …
Cardinal Moon
We are winding up February with a beautiful, bright Full Moon! In keeping with this year’s project of bird moons that connect with Spring Bird, I chose the second full moon of 2021 to be the Cardinal Moon. Cardinals never fail in pulling our attention …
Folk Flowers Painted Stool Tutorial
I love painting furniture geometric designs and folk motifs! In this video, I paint the top of a midcentury utility stool with a rose pattern inspired by Gudrun Sjoden! I use artist grade acrylic paint directly on a sanded surface. I sealed everything with Spar …
Winter Spiders
This image comes from the Winter Issue of Woolgathering, where I wrote about living with spiders during this cold season. Surprisingly, spiders have shown up unexpectedly during these extremely cold days. Several times, I’ve witnessed chickadees fly to the corners of our picture windows, hover, …
Thank You For Your Support
Thank you to ALL who have supported Spring Bird this year! Whether you have been a guest at Spring Bird’s Cottage, attended a workshop, subscribe to the Woolgathering Magazine, or follow our journey virtually, we appreciate your being part of our little ecosystem that only …
Woolgathering Podcast: February 2021
February’s episode features a Winter story about imagination and nature mythology, as well as a limerick about sugar maple syrup. Follow the link below to listen or listen wherever you find your podcasts!
Sewing Closet: Creating Creative Place At Home During A Pandemic
Like so many who are working from home while cohabitants are also working from home and schooling from home, I am becoming increasingly aware of the value of space – in particular creative space. At the beginning of 2020, I painted our small office a …