Three Weeks of Very Serious Cuteness

 1 week old.

2 weeks old.

3 weeks old.

 

Sending sweet & fluffy bunny love... from my nest to yours.

Happy Weekend!

2-for-1 :: A Sense of Place, a Nature Journal eCourse

As summer starts to wind down, I can feel subtle shifts announcing the changing season - dusk is arriving a little earlier each day; the insect orchestra is growing louder; and the air temperature is gradually dropping. I'm ready! This time every year, I begin to dream of pumpkins and pinecones, apple butter and bonfires, blazing sunsets and cool breezes... what about you? Are any signs of Autumn starting to show up in your natural world? Do you feel yourself being pulled toward the changing season?

Bursting with color and bustling with activity, fall is a perfect time to explore

& connect to the natural world around you with a seasonal nature journal.

 

Registration is now open for the fall session of

A Sense of Place, a nature journaling eCourse! 

Join me on a six-week journey into nature and self that will walk you through

 the basics of keeping a seasonal nature journal, including:

~ discovering and observing your place in nature,
~ learning to record your observations through words and images,
~ exploring your own personal forms of creative expression,
~ and journaling as a form of mindfulness.
 
Plus, we'll be reveling in the season and all that's autumn with seasonal exercises
and journaling prompts. This fall, we'll be exploring, observing, and recording:

sunrise & sunset ~ bird migration ~ seeds, leaves, & fungi

harvest foods ~ fall rituals & celebrations ~ and more!

I really want you to join me... so I'm running a

2-for-1 Special through September 3rd! 

 

Register for A Sense of Place between now and next Tuesday,

and bring a friend along for FREE (or you can split the cost between you).

Register yourself here and be sure to include your friend's email

address in the "instructions" area at check out.

*I will follow-up by email to confirm both attendees.*

 

Register now, or learn more about A Sense of Place: Fall.

A Feather on Your Path :: August

Across cultures and decades, feathers have been objects of admiration, reverence, and wonder. Some believe when you find a feather on your path, it represents a message from a spirit guide, or angel. Some say it's a symbol of luck; and others claim it's a reminder that you're "on the right path."

I find a lot of feathers on my path. And every one of them brings me joy. Sometimes, however, a feather will jump out at me, begging for my attention by showing up in an unexpected location, or flashing spectacular colors or patterns. When this happens, I try to pay attention to its meaning, and how it pertains to me, and/or the moment. Recently, I found a small blue jay feather in my driveway. Its beautiful blue hue stands out from the many neutral-toned plumes I've picked up this summer.

A quick online search revealed a meaning that really resonates with me right now: The blue jay reflects that a greater time of resourcefulness and adaptability is about to unfold. You are going to have ample opportunities to develop and use your abilities. The jay does not usually migrate, staying around all winter, so look for there to be ample time to develop and use your energies to access new levels. It will stay around and work with you as long as you need it (source: Ted Andrew’s Animal-Speak).

All this got me thinking about all the feathers, and their respective special meanings and messages, that I've collected* over the years. Wishing I'd kept a record, I've decided to begin a journal for just this purpose. I also thought it would be fun to share a special feather find here each month, starting with August and the blue jay. 

 

If you're a fellow feather spotter, or collector, I'd really love to know what shows up on your path (leave a comment here, or post a picture on my Facebook page). If you're not... perhaps you'll start watching for a little feather magic to come your way!

 

* In researching a few things for this post, I learned about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which essentially makes feather collecting illegal for most all bird species. What?! With this knowledge in mind (ignorance was bliss), I'll have to rethink my future feather gathering habits. Are you familiar with this law? What are your thoughts on collecting found feathers?

End-of-Summer Daze + Sand Dollar Snickerdoodles

The last couple weeks zipped by, as we wrapped up summer break and geared up for back to school. In between haircuts and school supply shopping, we sneaked in a few last projects from the At-Home Summer Nature Camp, including making the Watermelon, Mint & Lemon Sorbet and Herbed Nuts from camp counselor Heather of Shivaya Naturals, from A Spot in the Shade week. These were perfect accompaniments for an end-of-summer poolside picnic.We enjoyed a final Tuesday beach day with some homemade, Gluten-Free Sand Dollar Snickerdoodles (from At the Beach Week, recipe below); got hands-on at our local marine aquarium; and made some collected-seashell-sun prints using solar print paper.

Before we knew it, we were scrambling to finish summer book reports and lay out outfits for the first day of kindergarten and the 4th grade! School started on Monday and now we're adjusting to earlier & quicker-paced mornings, riding the school bus, and, for me - the return to work. It's pretty hard to shake the end-of-summer daze, but I'm getting excited for the fall session of A Sense of Place (starts Sept. 23rd) and a couple other new projects I'll share soon! 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup for topping

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons for topping

3 cups blanched almond flour (or almond meal)

1 cup almond slivers

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix together the butter, oil, sugar, and brown sugar until very creamy. Add the vanilla and eggs, mixing until well incorporated. Mix in the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the almond flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

 

Mix the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon rounds, then roll to coat in the sugar mixture. Place the coated dough onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Gently flatten down the dough balls with your hand. Press 5 almond slivers in a star shape in the center of each cookie to look like the design of a sand dollar.

 

Bake 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

 

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

Join in Some Fun "In the Night Sky"

One of our favorite At-Home Summer Nature Camp weekly themes this summer was In the Night Sky. Led by camp counselor Sarah of Imagine Childhood, we created Batik Star Maps, Honey Popcorn Planets and a Star Pin Board. We took a virtual field trip to outer space in homemade cardboard box rockets. We ate astronaut ice cream. And we read constellation myths and night sky stories. (Still to come, we have gathered all our supplies to build our own telescope!)

Need a few fun & easy activities as the summer grows shorter, and the days with kiddos at home grow longer? Explore the night sky with some of our camp counselors... In the summer Imagine Childhood catalog, Sarah featured the Star Mobile and Pins craft that was in the eCurriculum. On her site Jump Into a Book, Valarie jumped into a few stories from a summer night sky, exploring books she recommended for this weekly camp theme. Plus, she offers a bonus constellation mandala craft and a little fun instruction on sky navigation. Finally, take a virtual field trip into space, planned by myself, with this sample page from the eCurriculum (click image below to download).

Have fun exploring!

Homestead Revival + a Homebirth

True to form, August arrived in a hot, steamy cloud of rain, making doing anything outside, beyond floating in water, pretty much miserable. However, despite the heat and humidity, another round of sickness in my nest, and some serious cabin fever, I'm in the midst of a mini homestead revival.

Last week, I made my first examination of the garden after a summer of complete neglect (meaning I hadn't as much as touched the beds in two months). As I began pulling out long runners of grass, high-growing weeds, and expired plants, I discovered - much to my delight - signs of life. Herbs growing wild, pigeon peas and long beans climbing bamboo supports, a couple of new pepper plants, even small starts of purple cabbage, nasturtiums, and swiss chard. My garden was sustaining itself! I completed the weeding; snipped an armload of african blue basil, okinawa spinach, and zinnias; turned the drip irrigation system back on; and was about to head back inside when I spotted two otters in the water behind my house. Throughout that day and the next, the otters were seen multiple times, rolling in the dirt and grass, resting in the shade of a cypress tree, and playing in the water. What a welcome back committee!

Fueled by the realization that I would, in fact, have a garden to return to this fall, I tackled my equally-neglected vermicompost bins too. My girls and some neighbor friends helped separate worms from the dark, rich compost. We shredded stacks of old bills and created a nice new bedding for the bin. I made a huge batch of apple-carrot juice for us to suck down while we worked, and dumped the pulp into the new bin, along with the morning's coffee grounds and eggshells (first turned into a fine powder in a coffee bean grinder). The result of our efforts was a bucketful of powerful, black vermicompost, and some much happier worms.

Next up, it's seed starting time. This week, I'll be starting seeds for my fall garden. Broccoli, kale, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, a variety of herbs and flowers... I want to follow the tradition of planting by the moon this season, if I can, so I've been researching this subject a bit, learning when to plant what. And why. {Look for more on this topic in the future...}

To top off a week of homestead revival, we welcomed a litter of five tiny, furless bunnies to our nest yesterday. Remember meeting Sandy and Marshmallow last spring? Our two girl bunnies...? Turned out Marshmallow is a boy! We decided to let them mate so we could experience the birth process. And here we are. Mama Sandy is doing great. She built a beautiful nest and is caring for her kits well so far. Meanwhile, the already-frisky daddy rabbit is on staycation in a dog crate on the back porch! Although I birthed both my babies at home, and attended the birth of my niece in my home as well, I'm a first time (and accidental) rabbit breeder, and therefore, a ball of nerves and excitement. My girls, of course, are simply over the moon.

 

I wanted to include a recipe for African Blue Basil & Lavender Pesto here, which we've been enjoying since my harvest last week. But this post has grown long and my time has gone short. So watch for it later in the week!