Find your place at Spring Bird
Last week, I really enjoyed watching a yellow-bellied sap sucker pick at the bark of the yew tree outside my office window. I was reflecting on this happy observation when walking back home with Lucy after our post-lunch stroll. Lucy surprised me by planting her …
I made this mushroom illustration for the Spring 2020 Issue of Woolgathering, my quarterly ad-free magazine about seasonal mindfulness. And, then, today I realized that the limerick that I wrote for the April Woolgathering Podcast was also about mushrooms. Our shiitake logs have not produced …
At Spring Bird we are steeped with an invasive honeysuckle, with which we are probably going to be at war forever. But, aside from constructing dead hedges with the fallen soldiers, we are constantly trying to invent other purposes for it. Last year, I turned …
Patrick and I are so excited to announce that illustrator Diana Sudyka is Spring Bird’s 2020 Artist in Residence! While at Spring Bird, Diana will be working on finishing her own picture book manuscript and its accompanying illustrations. Diana’s work is so heavily connected to …
Happy Full Moon! This month’s moon is typically called the pink, grass, or egg moon. I have chosen to depict the first two here. This moon is about the new life that Spring brings to us. I love the image of pink because it is …
Welcome to the April Episode of The Woolgathering Podcast! This episode features a short story about three raccoons emerging from a winter of hunger. This story was inspired by the three raccoons that my daughter and I would watch from her bedroom window. Last April, …
This illustration came from the Spring 2020 Issue of Woolgathering. It was for a piece about three miracles of spring – the first duck eggs, the morels, and antler growth. We received our first egg on the 17th, Patrick’s birthday This is the second time …
Way back, on the first day of March, Pat found this little snake warming itself in the hoop house. I decided she was a good omen for a bountiful growing season. I keep thinking how lucky we are to be in this season of Spring. …
Happy Spring Equinox! This is the season of rebirth and renewal! We are so lucky to be here – to have made it through the winter. Many of us – probably most of us are in some version of isolation. I wish for you to …
Today you might be feeling restless, afraid, nervous, bored, secluded, happy, sleepy, or some mixed cocktail orchestrated by these uncertain times. For me, this uncertainty of emotions mirrors the uncertainty of the weather that we experience in Spring. A Spring day contains multitudes – bitter …
These are illustrations from the Spring 2020 Issue of Woolgathering. I wrote about the origin of naming Spring Bird – Spring Bird. After much searching, Pat and I each offered a bit of us to the name! Read the whole story in the latest issue! …
Are you beginning to feel the thaw? The earthworms are definitely feeling more room to wiggle as the ground softens and melts. This month’s full moon, which is happening today, is often referred to as the Worm Moon! Today, I am definitely smelling mud and …
Welcome to the debut episode of The Woolgathering Podcast, which in turn welcomes Spring! This episode features a short story about a migrating flock of robins and a limerick about snowdrops. Also, see an illustration from the story and download a Spring word search! Have …
I am very excited to announce a new project from Spring Bird – The Woolgathering Podcast – a podcast presentation of monthly nature stories for the celebration of seasonal mindfulness. On the first Thursday of each month, we will be releasing a short podcast featuring …
Even though we are in the final days of February, I am delighted at some signs of Spring – including my darling Snowdrops, which have been popping up for about a week now! Have you spotted any Signs of Spring near you?