Capturing Nature

Well it seems we are in rutting season. For those who are hunters or just people like us who have had a love/hate relationship with deer for years, the rutting is akin to mating. Early last evening, I noted a doe followed by two bucks in the front yard making their way down to  the back of our property. I slowly opened the door to the patio and was able to get a photo of the first one. The spooky eyes are a reflection of the flash.

He then turned and continued down the hill, followed by this guy.

This was a photo from a few days ago of one of the two.

Once they got down behind the evergreens off our patio, we couldn't see them but we did hear what sounded like branches in trees smacking together. Rather, it was the sound of the two bucks having a shoving match with their antlers. The great photo below depicts what we heard, along with a lot of snorting.

Photo by Alex Robinson

We always say you never know what you are going to see around here, like this red tailed hawk that I've been hearing a lot all summer, but finally caught him sitting on the roof of Tom's shed.

Never a dull moment!

Weaving 101 Revisited

Many of you will have noted that I have recently updated my website. It wasn't possible to transfer my previous blog posts to this website, but I have saved many of them which I will intersperse throughout these blog pages. This one is a favorite because of its interest to so many. Hope you enjoy it!

I've been asked the question "how long does it take you to weave a rug?" at least a hundred (more like a thousand) times. Invariably, people respond to my answer by saying " I would have thought that it would take longer." My follow up is to say that the actual weaving is the creative and fun part. Before you can get there, you have to set up the loom. Ok class, are you ready? Here we go!

Winding the warp (vertical threads.) The sections are wound one at a time.

The warp has been wound on the back beam.

Threading each thread through each heddle.

Threading completed!

Now we pull each thread through the dents (spaces) in the reed.

Threading completed.

Warp tied to apron on the front of the loom.

Side view of loom.

Weaving in the header.

Header completed.

Cutting the fabric into strips.

Winding fabric on the shuttle. (Are we there yet?)

WEAVING! Let the fun begin!!

One rug done, onto the next.

There's another loom to set up. Are you ready to try your hand?

Heron Visit

After a very busy weekend, Tom and I were sitting by the pond enjoying the amazing activity taking place. It seems that early evening is prime time for the birds, fish and frogs. The birds are bathing and drinking in the stream, the frogs are bug hunting, and the fish are begging to be fed. The bluebird fledges  like to come back to check out their house to make sure everything is in good order for next spring, and probably to stake their claim.

A chickadee in the stream.

Frogs and fish.

All in all, it's a pretty idyllic setting. That is, until I went to open the gate to the pool area last night at about 5:00 and was stunned to see a Great Blue Heron taking to the sky from our covered pool! For those who have never seen these rather majestic and BIG birds, here's a great photo from the web.

My first thought was to check the pond. Heron are the bane of pond owners as they can empty a pond of all of its fish in very short order. Since this was feeding time, it would be normal to see all of the fish at the surface. Last night, there were none in sight. After sitting and talking (yes, they recognize me as well as my voice) I finally began to see them swimming about two feet below the surface. They obviously had been spooked by the presence of the heron and stayed at the bottom. This blog post by Full Service Aquatics, is one of the most informative I've read on the subject of protecting your fish from Herons. I felt it best to grab some netting and construct a make-shift barrier.

Feeling somewhat better, I went inside to start dinner. Noticing a lot of bird activity outside the window, I went out to see (this time with camera in hand) what might be going on. The heron had returned but  was outside of the pool area walking in the grass. I was able to get this photo of it as it flew over the pool and pond.

I don't think we've seen the last of this "visitor"......

Updated Southern Beauty

The home on this 350 acre farm in Williamsport, Tennessee was in  disrepair until beautifully transformed by hs2 Architecture. The main part of the home was restored and a wonderful open space was added to the back.

I love that they opened  the traditional living and dining room spaces while maintaining the structural beams and vertical framing.

The kitchen combines contemporary and traditional elements.

The kitchen opens onto the screened porch.

Love the stair treads!

Every feature of this house appeals to me, including the simplicity of the pool setting.

Perfect studio in which to set up our looms and start weaving!

Our Rugs at The Tenement Museum

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a wonderful re creation of the lives of immigrant families during the first part of the 20th century. We have been delighted to have been asked to weave a  rag rug for the Rogarshevsky apartment. Here is a what the parlor of the apartment looked like before the addition of our rug.

The rug is 9' wide by 6' long, We ascertained that if the rug was woven by someone in the community, they probably would not have a loom much wider than three feet, therefore we wove it in panels and seamed it together.

Another of our rugs, a 4'x6' is in the kitchen of the saloon that would have been owned by John and Caroline Schneider. It is part of the "Shop Life" exhibit at the museum. 

Click here to learn more about this wonderful museum!

Welcome Fall

Shorter days, longer nights, alas, the closing of the pool, as we head into fall. The Autumn Equinox, as pictured in this NASA Observatory photo, is caused by the tilt of the earth's rotating axis.

Back here on earth, there is still some great color in the perennial garden. This cleome plant has sprouted four new flower heads. Last year I ended up killing the cleomes I planted!

The Lantana is big winner, and the rabbits don't touch it.

The Flower Carpet roses mix well with the gentian blue of the Plumbago

An ornamental grass in full bloom!

Even the frogs are enjoying the cooler weather.

Happy Fall!

Barn Loving Part 2

I love this barn which is on the property of the MacMurray ranch in Healdsburg, California. Fred MacMurray's daughter describes her love for the property that her dad, star of many movies, and "My Three Sons" fame bought in 1941: "The Legend Behind the Wines"

Rolling hills. Treasured traditions. Breathtaking vineyards. This is MacMurray Ranch.

At MacMurray Ranch, our wines reflect our passion for the special places that give us extraordinary grapes. Beginning with our home vineyard in the heart of the Russian River Valley, we also select grapes from other premier vineyards in the Russian River Valley and the Central Coast to craft exquisite Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

Our roots in the Russian River Valley run deep. In fact, our majestic ranch has been a homestead since the 1850s. Our modern history began when actor Fred MacMurray bought the ranch in 1941 and began raising cattle here. Today, Fred's daughter, Kate MacMurray, is intimately involved with MacMurray Ranch, helping us share the incredible story of our world-class wines.

Once again, I am drawn to the timeless beauty of a barn structure.

I love that the home on the property has been kept as it was when Fred MacMurray and his wife June Haver lived there. How could I not love that they had a rag rug in their living room!

As we head into the fall here in the east, how great is this spot on the ranch to enjoy a wonderful dinner, and of course some wine, with friends!

Little (and not so little) Jewels

We just discovered a new addition to our pond. Another little frog to add to the mix. Right now, he/she is about the size of a quarter. The photo below offers a size comparison between the larger frog in the foreground and the little one in the back.

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This new inhabitant joins the other five or six (or seven..) frogs and fish that call our pond home.

Our very entertaining "jewels" of nature can be rather mesmerizing. Equally so is this exquisite brooch that I saw on a blog post from Quintessence. It is from the jeweler Seaman Schepps. 

Intrigued, I went to the website and found these two lovelies.

Just a few baubles that every owner of a pond with frogs and fish should own!

Barn Loving

It seems like I have always loved barns. I love passing by barns on country roads, standing inside of working barns in awe of their beautiful skeletal structures, and being saddened when I see barns in various stages of neglect. My earliest memories of working barns are from when my parents took my sister and me to their friend's the Anderson's dairy farm in New Milford, Ct. That farm along with more land and an adjoining farm later became Hunt Hill Farm which was the home of the late Skitch and Ruth Henderson, as well as "The Silo" cooking school and gallery.

Years ago, my mother gave me Ruth Henderson's book "Season's in the Country" and I was so pleased to see this sketch among the pages. In the center of the sketch is the former home of the Andersons. To the left of the house in what is now the cooking school and gallery are the milking barns that we visited to watch the milking process. Since it was evening, we always had to remember to step over the "meadow muffins" that the cows left on their way from the barn yard into the barn. Another of the barns adjacent to the milking barn held a huge mound of sawdust used as bedding for some of the animals. It was a smaller barn and I remember that the sawdust nearly reached the horizontal timber frames. We used to scale the mound to the beams and jump off of them back in the sawdust. The hay barn is the one at the top left of the photo. I have fond memories of the Anderson's son Carl showing my sister and me how to climb the bales of hay which were stacked like huge stairs to nearly the top of the barn. We couldn't believe how high up we were!

Many years later, Tom gave me this wonderful book and I am still mesmerized by its pages.

by Eric Endersby, Alexander Greenwood, and David Larkin.

I love the fact that I work in a space that Tom converted from a horse barn to a studio. We also would love to someday live in a barn! Take a look at some of my favorite barn homes by clicking on my pinterest page here.