Feathers, Through the Eyes of an Artist

The other day, I made my husband do a u-turn and pull over to the side of the road so I could collect a hawk feather I'd spotted from my window. I simply had to have it. I've been collecting feathers for years; there's something about finding one upon my path that delights me beyond reason. I cherish these beautiful gifts from nature, each one carrying its own symbolic message. So I was happy to share my collection with my mother last week for an art lesson with the kids.

She had each child pick out a a few feathers they liked and showed them how to sketch them with pencil, starting with the quill. Next, they created the outline of the feather's shape, or the vane. Finally, they used colored pencils and watercolor to add details and color. The picture up top was done by my talented nine-year-old nephew; and my own little artist painted this sweet pink and brown feather (maybe from a young ibis?).

An artist by profession, my mother began capturing some petite, downy plumes, as well as a colorful peacock feather, for a new series of feather paintings (available on her Etsy shop very soon!).

My mother had me creating art inspired by nature from a very young age, a lesson she is now handing down to her grandchildren. Her teachings encourage children (of all ages) to start looking at their environment through the eyes of an artist, allowing them to connect to it on a deeper level. With these creative eyes, the shapes, colors, textures and patterns of nature just jump out at you whenever you're outdoors, begging your attention. Like a feather on the side of the road, just waiting to be noticed...

Orange Blossom-Calendula Body Cream & Lip Gloss

I've begun dabbling in making my own beauty products. It started last winter with large batches of peppermint body butter and lip gloss. It was a hit with friends and family, and I only recently went through most of my stash. So with a jar of homegrown calendula-infused oil calling to me, I got to work on a summer beauty blend.

Before I share my creation, let me tell you how it all started. Last November, I planted Calendula flowers in the garden, from seed. By early spring, I had big yields of yellow and orange hued blooms, which I pinched off and dried whole on my back porch. Once the petals were dry and straw-like, I picked them off and let them dry some more before adding them to a lidded glass jar.

Once the jar was half full of petals (it didn't take long), I topped it off with some unvirgin olive oil, sealed the lid, and set it out in the sun to do its infusing magic. Every now and then I'd shake it... and after about six weeks the oil became a sunny, golden color. I strained the oil into a clean glass jar, and tucked it into a dark cabinet where it awaited its fate.

Which brings us up to date. This week, I transformed my oil into orange blossom-calendula body cream and lip gloss, based on a few different recipes and some improvisation! I'm sharing my recipes here, but please keep in mind, this is my first try at this folks. It smells divine and feels heavenly on my body and lips, but I'm no expert... so let me know if you try it, and how it works out. Also, if you have experience in this arena, and want to share any tips, fire away!

Orange Blossom-Calendula Body Cream

2 oz. coconut oil

5 oz. calendula oil

2 oz. orange blossom flower water (sold at middle eastern markets)

2 tsp. beeswax

5 drops sweet orange essential oil

Melt coconut oil, calendula oil and beeswax in a double boiler over low heat, stir until blended. Remove from heat and stir in essential oil. Allow mixture come to about room temperature. Put flower water into blender and agitate; while blender is still spinning, slowly pour the oil-wax mixture into the water. Continue mixing until emulsified (the cream will congeal). Pour cream into clean containers and allow to cool. Store in a cool dark place up to one year.

Orange Blossom-Calendula Lip Gloss

3.5 Tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 Tablespoon calendula oil

1.5 Tablespoons beeswax

3/4 Tablespoon raw honey

15 drops sweet orange essential oil

Melt oils, beeswax and honey in a double boiler over low heat, stir until blended. Remove from heat and stir in essential oil. Allow mixture to cool, stirring quickly until it begins to thicken. Pour lip gloss into containers, and allow to finish cooling and set up.

Wet Felted Snakes & Rocks

Last summer, I gifted my eldest a wet felting kit for her birthday. Our first project - felted snakes - turned out to be our last. It was a bit frustrating for my little chicks, then 3 and 7, requiring a lot of rubbing and rolling and patience. The finished snakes were super cute and got a lot of play. But the felting supplies were tucked away for another day.

So, a year gone by, I pulled the basket of wool roving back down this week with an easier project in mind - felted rocks. Together, my girls and I watched a video on how it was done. We gathered rocks from out back and started the process. My youngest dropped out after about five squeezes of her wool-wrapped, soapy, wet rock. And my other gal, well she stuck it out to complete one. I, on the other hand, thought it was great fun and went on to do three of my own! I really like they way they look and feel.

The girls are enjoying making scenes and playing with the snakes and rocks. And the felted rocks will be beautiful on a nature table, or displayed in a basket. It's a great, easy project for a crafty mama. And a nice patience builder for little ones who will sit still long enough!

Click the links above for tutorials on wet felted rocks & stones.

"How Did I Get Here?" and Pickled Baby Leeks

So, this morning I found myself in my backyard garden wearing only a wet bra and a towel, turning compost in the blazing heat. After a moment, upon hearing a close-by neighbor's voice, it dawned on me that, uh... I'm in my underwear, um... in my backyard... ahem...holding a shovel and standing over a pile of composted, well...garbage. How did I get here?!

It started with those famous words: "I'm just gonna run out to the garden to snip [insert random vegetable/herb/flower here]." Today, it was collards that had to be harvested. And they really did; I cut off the last salvageable leaves and then pulled up the spent plants. While I was out there, I realized it is July. And it is HOT. And I am a fool to believe I will keep producing food through a Florida summer of heat, humidity, bugs and weeds. So I harvested most anything left: a handful of leeks started too late (so small, I'll call them baby leeks), a few tiny onion bulbs and some hot peppers. I cut some herbs to try and root... and some thyme blossoms to research if I can eat them. I yanked up some non-producing tomato and pepper plants... you get the picture.

After my frenzy of dismembering the garden, I was spent and drenched in sweat. So, still wearing workout clothes from a morning tennis match, I stripped down to my undies on my back porch and quickly jumped in the pool. Ah, sweet relief!

Revived, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed into the kitchen to rinse off my harvest. Herbs into jars of water, leeks rinsed and cleaned, collards washed... towel around my waist now, in the privacy of my kitchen. I took a handful of discarded leaves out to the worm bin on the back porch and was greeted with a huge plant growing up from out of it with a massive root system taking over the whole bin. After picking through roots and worms and vermicompost all compressed together, I discovered a corn cob was the source (a discard from my failed corn growing experiment). Well, I thought, I'd better get this out of here into the bigger compost bin out back...

But last weekend, I'd dumped all my pretty-much-finished compost into an empty raised bed where I can better turn it and finish it off. So there I was, in the middle of my backyard, wet, in my underwear & towel, holding a wildly-sprouted corn cob in one hand and a shovel in the other. And that, my friends, is why you should never judge that "crazy lady next door" ... she might just be a fledgling homesteader!

Here's what I did with those baby leeks, onions, and hot peppers...

Spicy, Pickled Baby Leeks

6-8 ounces ramps or cleaned and trimmed baby leeks
1 cup brown rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
1 cup water
1 T kosher salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
1 tsp. black peppercorns
3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Trim the roots from the ends of the leeks. Cut the dark green ends, keeping them as close to the same length as possible. Pack the ramps or leeks in a clean canning jar, or jar with a tight fitting lid. Combine the vinegar, sugar and seasonings in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the leeks and let cool. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or up to several weeks.

Homemade Pizza Night

We eat a LOT of pizza here in my nest. Most of it, I admit, we bring in. It's my fall back for a quick, dinner that can be delivered to my door, or swung through and picked up. Occasionally we'll make our own using the ready-made dough at the bakery. However, I've been on a real make-it-myself kick lately, so last night everyone helped to make totally homemade pies.

For the dough, I followed the recipe in Feeding the Whole Family, using a multi-grain pastry flour and unbleached all purpose flour. It was really easy to make and delicious - even my pickiest chick gobbled up four pieces of this wholesome pie. (Do you own this cookbook? If you don't, you should... it's by far my most used and loved kitchen resource.)

Next primary ingredient: pizza sauce. I kept this simple too, following a foodie-favorite tomato sauce recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen (another fave kitchen resource) that's been all around the internet for years. This is all I had to do for a buttery, rich sauce: dump a jar of my homecanned tomatoes in a pot, add 5 tablespoons of butter and an onion, halved. Simmer 45 minutes. Remove the onion. Done! I also pureed it with an immersion blender, as my littles like it smoooooth.

Everyone got a dough ball to shape into their own personal pie with choice of toppings, which included mozzarella cheese, fresh basil from the garden, pepperoni, Italian chicken sausage, sauteed mushroms and onions, pepadew peppers, and some leftover ricotta cheese. The kids kept it basic, but look... DaddyBird made a calzone!

My pie was very "rustic" looking 'casue I couldn't get it off the paddle and onto the pizza stone. In frustration, I flipped and flopped it off and it went all wacky. Not my best kitchen moment. Nor my best lead-by-example parenting moment. 

But it was delicious, none the less. The final verdict... homemade pizza night was a win! Aside from my brief meltdown, it was a great, fun way to get everyone involved it the kitchen. Now, if only the clean up had the same mass appeal (many thank yous my love!).

Happy Summer Solstice!

It's heating up here in southwest Florida, but my garden's still growing! Here's a peek at what's blooming and growing...

Sunflowers and zinnias.

Bananas in bloom.

Baby watermelon.

 Thriving collards.

 Basil.

 Rosemary & chives.

Cosmos.

When you can, stop by and view the full Summer Garden photo album on my Facebook page. And please, share some pictures there of what's growing in your summer garden!

Going Bananas, Part 2

Thanks for the yummy banana ideas, ya'll! I spent my morning monkeying around in the kitchen and made these delicious "monkey muffins" - half are whole wheat banana chocolate chip and the other half are the same, plus raspberries. The basic recipe comes from my dear friend's blog, appropriately named The Laughing Monkey. Thanks Rose!

I also canned 10 jars of Monkey Butter, which is just bananas, pineapple, coconut, lemon juice & zest and lots of sugar. This stuff is sinful, folks! I plan to stash most of it away for gift giving. See what's left of my bananas in the background? There are 8, which are getting peeled and going in the freezer for a"banana milkshake" and a "kalicious smoothie," ideas courtesy of readers (see comments under Going Bananas). Thanks Cathy & Laura... can't wait to try your healthy concoctions!