Find your place at Spring Bird
It’s fun to creatively engage with Fall leaves! Beyond marveling at their beauty or collecting them for inside adornment, there are more simple ways leaves can inspire beautiful creations. For instance, you can choose a leaf that is interesting to you, and then trace its …
I have to say, there is a certain sadness that comes with the conclusion of Summer harvests. The exhilaration of growing food – of witnessing what worked – what didn’t – what worked too well (zucchini and tomatillos this year) is all coming to an …
Tasha Tudor was on my mind as I planted a mere fifty jonquil bulbs in the “island” between the house and the cottage. I used my little trowel and hacked away at the hard earth trying not to disturb the oak roots. I thought about …
Yesterday, Pat and I mapped our final trees on our property as we prepare our agroforestry and conservation plans. This process of meeting and greeting each tree has been enlightening. (I will share more about that later.) One fairly basic way that it expanded our …
When propagating oak trees, the very best is to plant an acorn in the fall – directly in the ground and allow it to grow. Unfortunately, over winter, your planted acorn may be feasted on by rodents, and the acorns planted by birds and squirrels …
Propagating Succulents! Another trial run in plant propagation. This time I wanted to attempt propagating this particular succulent. (I don’t know its name.) In the past I have propagated jade plants and aloes, but I had yet to try snipping a leaf from a succulent. …
Walnut Dyeing! It’s been a couple years since I boiled walnuts for fun, but the green orbs were calling to me this year. About three weeks ago, I collected 15 lbs of fallen walnuts. This was easy to do because we have plenty of black …
Happy Labor Day! Today, I am grateful to all of the people who grow our food. Farming is intense and laborious work – especially if you are practicing regenerative farming techniques. Farmers farm because of their deep connections to soil, environment, plants, and animals. I’m …
I dried some mint for tea this morning! This was my first time doing so, and I am fairly content with my results. We grow mint at several locations not only because it is a yummy herb, but because it spreads easily as a ground …
Okay, Part 2 of the cornelian cherries saga continues with homemade jelly. This jelly, which Patrick made with a hefty amount of lemon juice, is just delicious! It’s tart and bright and lovely on buttermilk biscuits or as a topper on a scoop of vanilla …
This was a fun process to explore on this beautiful, sunny day. Artist Janelle Rae (former artist in residence at Spring Bird/current creator of the honeysuckle meditation hut featured in the blue bench meadow) recommended making hammer prints with the zinnias that we are growing. …
This is cornelian cherry juice. Pat made it by boiling cornelian cherries (with pits) in water for about a half an hour. Then he strained it and heated the juice with sugar until the sugar dissolved. (This is the ratio: 5 kilo cherries – 6 …
This week, Pat and I began a practice of walking the “boundaries” of the property. In reality, we are trying to touch feet to ground on as many paths as possible without doubling back. Each day, we choose a different route. The main purpose behind …
I’m so pleased to introduce our new installation made by artist Janelle Rae! Janelle, a former Artist in Residence at Spring Bird, wanted to construct a place for meditation using invasive honeysuckle and willow. She was inspired by artist Patrick Dougherty who makes large stick-built …
During May and June, I took time off from regular duties to connect more intently with nature at Spring Bird. It was a dreamtime of greeting each day with a question – what needs to be done on the ground? – Who is calling for …