Taking time to pause

There is a spot on my kitchen table, where the vase sits. I fill the vase each week, with flowers from my garden. For the past few weeks, the vase has been filled with roses. Yesterday, when I went out to cut flowers for the week, there were no more roses to fill the vase with. I was reminded of the quote about taking time to smell the roses, because however trite that quote may be, there is truth to it.

We are at that time. That time, that we should pause and notice the time. Hal Borland said it this way:

"We are at the time of the longest daylight, earliest sunrise and latest sunset, which will continue with only a few seconds of change for another week. Time, if we would only pause and let it flow over us, for a little while partakes of the deliberation that is the mark of summer in almost everything except human affairs."



"The berries ripen in their own time. The bees replenish the hive. Clover comes to sweet blossom, then to seed. Daisies whiten the roadsides."



"Fireflies sparkle in the evenings. Time flows like the brooks that must have leisured through Eden when summer blessed a young and innocent Earth."

And so I notice that the roses in my vase have been replaced with black-eyed susans, and hollyhocks, purple coneflowers, and monarda. Time flows on.

Some of my hours have been filled with making a couple of distaves for a friend.



I wove the bands for distaves on the double hole tapeloom.



I modified an old rigid heddle frame and it worked out well for those times that I don't wish to use a band lock. The pattern for the bands came from the book about Norwegian Band Weaving.

the indicator

Goldenrod...there are over 100 perennial species of this plant in North America..this one grows in my garden. I'm not sure which one it is...

Goldenrod, of the genus Solidago....it often gets the blame for hay fever. The real culprit for hay fever is Rag Weed..a different plant entirely. Rag weed is wind pollinated. Goldenrod depends on the insects for pollination. If you want to meet some interesting and beautiful insects, Goldenrod is good place to look....some of the late season pollinators are sure to be there.

Goldenrod contains bioflavonoids.. If you cook it, some parts may be eaten. It may be dried for tea or decoration. It makes a beautiful yellow dye for wool. Recently, I spoke with a dyer who said the trick to a vibrant yellow is to pick the flowers just as they are beginning to open.

Sadly, they are considered by many to be weeds.

For me, Goldenrod is an indicator plant. An indicator of the season...it is a sign to me that frost on the pumpkin is just around the corner...

Don't forget..the Pennsylvania Endless Mountains Fiber festival is this weekend...Stop by the Antique Spinning Wheels booth and say hello! I'll be there, offering my handmade buttons for sale --and doing some flax and Great Wheel demonstrations--and having fun!

walk with me wednesday millipedes on the march

...the fall migration commences...did you know they live seven years on average? ....diplopoda

They are so large, I can see them walking across the road. I drive around them. They are beneficial to the environment. They are detritivores...and a good help in the compost pile.

The word 'milli' is latin meaning thousand and 'pede' meaning foot. I don't think this one has a thousand feet...I suppose I could count them... if I were still a child I would, but there are grown up things that need doing today....

thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine...

who are you?

The moisture in the woods has called the toadstools up.

Some have been nibbled.

I came upon this caterpiller, near the river.

At least he wasn't sitting on a toadstool!

....but he did inspire me to pick up my old and tattered copy of Alice's Adventures...

one of my favorite books to read and reread...

Caterpillar: Who are YOU?

Alice: This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. I -- I hardly know, sir, just at present -- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.

advice from a caterpiller or chapter 5

....(YOU ARE OLD FATHER WILLIAM)

...takes on new meaning for me these days....

effeuiller la marguerite

"now gentle flower, I pray thee tell..."

"...he loves me, he loves me lots..."

"...the decision of the flower..."

on becoming an idiom

this past weekend found me in the city. each time i visit a city, it is startling to realize how fast the overall pace of living can be there.

my senses where overwhelmed, there is so much to see and experience in the city... the sights and sounds and smells are so different from what i have become accustomed to in the country.

i did have a wonderful time seeing loved ones and celebrating-- but in the background, the landscape was a constant reminder that i was out of my element....sigh...

on the way home...

...as the landscape changes...

it is obvious... i have become the girl you can take out of the country, but...

falling for smooth solomans seal

Earlier this week, when I was out walking, I fell.

I was walking along the river near the old canal wall...in a mossy area. I was admiring the blue violets, and looking for certain insects that should be hatching out about this time of year.

My footing was secure, but the riverrim was not. I was walking on the bank, when suddenly, the mossy earth beneath my foot gave way, and my leg went down into a hole up to my shin. It seemed to happen in slow motion, and I rolled onto my hip and then my shoulder. I was holding my camera up, so that it wouldn't hit any rocks and get damaged, and in doing so, slammed it into my neck...

I was not hurt..just bruised and a little startled, but nothing broken or sprained. The moss cushioned my impact.

When I opened my eyes, because I always shut my eyes when I fall..I saw this...

Smooth Solomans Seal. How ironic! If I had not fallen, I would not have seen the plant...I wanted to laugh out loud that I had stumbled and fallen into a patch of Smooth Solomans Seal.

In case you do not know Smooth Solomans Seal, (not to be confused with False Solomans Seal)...I will tell you that the plant has a long medicinal history of being used for various muscular traumas or weaknesses. Bumps, bruises, torn ligaments, joint problems, inflammations? Smooth Solomans Seal is your friend. The rhizome is the important part, but I was not about to dig these plants, they were growing on top of bones, and I don't disturb bones.

In "The Book of Herbal Wisdom" by Matthew Wood, there is a interesting paragraph about the roots of Smooth Solomans Seal:

"They usually have a ninety-degree angle in their construction, indicating an affinity to making profound changes or turns in life. They help bring a person to a transformative place or help them go through the change, or help them adapt to a change that has already occurred. The ninety-degree angle represents joints in the organism, and key-joints in the path of life.”

I found another reference in an article by Deb Soule here:

"In the winter when the leaf stalk dies back and becomes completely removed from the rhizome, a scar remains which is said to resemble the Seal of King Solomon, who reined as King of Israel from 961 - 931 BC. The seal is a hexagram composed of two overlapping triangles to create a six pointed star, commonly called the Star of David after King David, father of Solomon. The seal became synonymous with Solomon who apparently used the symbol to cast away demons and summon angels."

For such an unassuming little plant, it sure has a lot of lore associated with it. I am happy to have fallen where it is growing. And I will come back in the fall and collect some seed to start a patch in my garden.

frozen moments

Many times, when I am observing the river- I think of what Davinci said, "The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming. Thus it is with time present."

Staring at the water, I study the contrast between water in its frozen state, and water in its liquid state. The frozen water accumulates in little lines...time lines...moments where the flowing water stops and freezes...frozen in time. Visible moments.

There are other moments that are frozen in time. Visible moments. I look at the stitches on my needles. They represent the hours, minutes, and seconds of time captured in thread.

Are my thoughts focusing on time because the end of the calendar year is approaching? Probably. There are deadlines to meet.

indicators

There are 13 weeks of winter, and 13 color bands on the woolly bear caterpillar. This one looks like the global warming trend is spot on.

The crickets are chirping a little bit slower.

leaves are changing color...

and the leaf peepers arrive. All of these things indicate change.

As the end of September approaches, my pheneology reports are incomplete...not that I haven't noticed.. I just didn't take time to enter the data.

Apparently, others are more dedicated to record weather and track data.

What about you? Do you record data? What kinds of things signify the arrival of autumn in your backyard? I invite you to record your data here - in the comments!

As things are shaping up, it appears that we will escape a first frost in the month of September. Long live the garden!

frog migration

The frogs are on the move. I have been noticing them more and more.

Each day there are a few more green frogs, and they gather together... This could be due to the nice spell of dry weather we have been having.

Or perhaps, they have other ideas....

I have been taking advantage of the dry weather. The cabin shutter windows need attention. They are high maintenance. So, I scrape, then re glaze and apply a fresh coat of paint. To finish the job, I scrape again...you know..the places where I didn't have a steady hand and got the paint on the window...and finally, I pull out the Windex. Nice new windows ready for the indoor season! The south face of the cabin is finished. Hopefully, the weather will hold out and I can get all the windows done in the same year.

I've also been busy with buttons....

Kristi had sent me a swatch that she knit for the february lady sweater that she is making. She was looking for some buttons. It was fun getting the swatch in the mail..her knitting is lovely and the button hole fit the button perfectly. The vote was in favor of the square shape in padauk wood..the wood color is a nice match with the yarn, and the square shape will really set off the neckline. I'll be looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Anne had recently ordered a few buttons also. She choose the toggle shape for her Tudora. The toggle shapes are fun! And I think they were a good choice for those "one button" projects.

I'm having fun sending the buttons out, it is a kick seeing what is choosen and where it winds up. I contemplate making the buttons available on etsy.

bully

All summer long I have had two little green frogs sitting together on the rocks beside the little pool in the side yard. I noticed them - almost daily- worried the chickens might eat them. I was always cheered by the sight of them..cute, slim little green frogs.

Last night, we were driving home from an event...and the roads were wet from a passing shower. We noticed many frogs on the road. We commented that the frogs were on the move.

This morning, on my way to let the hens out, I noticed my two little frogs were gone, but one big frog with a smug look of having breakfasted on green frogs, sat in their place. He looks guilty to me. Bully Frog.

milkweed visitors

The milkweed was seeing lots of action this afternoon. This caterpillar will be one of the September Monarchs...taking a trip to Mexico later this year. Just a few inches away from it, another yellow and black fellow...

The milkweed was covered with lots of different wasps. I wasn't sure if they were sucking the nectar from the plant, or eating the yellow aphids that were on the stems. I saw lots of ladybugs on the milkweed too. I'm sure they were there for the aphids.

tymbalation by day, stridulation by night

Things are changing around the riverrim. The noise makers of August are filling the air with songs.

By day, the cicadas drone by means of a vibrating membrane (located in the abdomen) called timbals. At night, the katydids take their turn. They sing songs by way of stridulation, they have special organs at the bottom of their wings which they rub together. Grasshoppers rub their hind legs together to stridulate. Crickets are also stridulators (wait, I don't think that is actually a word--but you know what I mean).

At any rate, living in the woods in August leads to a non stop cacophony- that varies slightly with the temperature. Some would say they enjoy the songs, others complain about the monotonous noise. What are they all singing about? If you believe the old folk tales, they are warning that there are only 6 weeks left until the first frost. Six weeks to get it all done. Six weeks ...humm...maybe they know the ground hog.

They could be singing about weaving. Really. I read about it on the Internet. A study of the diverse field of ancient Chinese literature reveals a great number of farmer's proverbs or popular songs relating to insects. A clear example of people listening to singing insects is found in ancient literature. When the cricket, "Cu Zhi" (meaning encourage weaving) is found singing indoors it is October and the ladies expedite their weaving efforts to ensure sufficient cloth for the coming Winter.

Btw, the cicada shown in the photograph has just emerged from approximately 8 feet under...where it has spent about 2-5 years in its nymph like state. It is not the Magicicada. They emerge every 13-17 years. You can tell them by their red eyes. They will come out in my neck of the woods again in 2013, and are identified as Brood #II.

Plethodon cinereus

Redback salamander- was under the rotten wood that I was cleaning up near the greenhouse. We see them often around here, and I suppose he was feeding on some of the ant eggs that were also in the rotten wood. I was very careful not to touch him with my hands when I moved him to a new location near the stream bed in the rock wall. He breathes through his skin and the roof of his mouth..he has no lungs

The catkins on the River Birch are blooming...and spring has finally arrived along the riverrim. The evenings have been especially pleasant. The air is mild and filled with the first smell of spring. The sound of spring peepers resonates from the pools where they gather. I have only seen a spring peeper once. It was very small, smaller than a quarter. And it was almost white. For something so small it has a very large voice.

The waxing crescent or fingernail moon is beautiful just after sunset. I watch the evening fall, and notice the tiny buds of the maple. All of the trees are now in bud, holding their summer secrets. And I am reminded of how much I love this time of year.