Birdhouse Gourds, Compost and Cold Frames

la salle county, illinois

hello and happy march 1st!

richard grew these birdhouse gourds  a couple of seasons ago and we made them into homes for our feathered friends last winter. i really appreciate how utilitarian growing and using this particular gourd can be. we didn’t get too fancy by painting them, although,  i think a coat of  some sort of weatherproofing  might be a good idea. however, i don’t think i would be able to put them in the compost heap if they were treated with some sort of paint or  varnish. the birds moved in last spring and seem to like them very much and that gives me a good feeling.

we are starting to work on a 3 bin composting system made from standard wooden skids which we have on hand. large amounts of compost are essential for a healthy, fertile, soil and plants. along with the compost bins we have also set up a simple cold frame made from bales of straw and old single pane windows that were laying idle in the attic. i have planted various lettuces and some spinach as well. of course, i’ve got the elusive (for me anyway) corn salad in there as part of my desire to learn how to best make that delicious herb grow.

peace,

julayne

Winter’s Retreat

la salle county, illinois

greetings!

i thought i would post one more of my snow pics. what a difference a few days makes! the snow is gone and i’ve been busy happily spreading beautiful horse manure on the garden. this is a busy and exciting time for gardeners. i enjoy preparing the garden in the spring. last fall i read  the gardening memoir grow the good life by michelle owens. i truly enjoyed it and was definitely inspired by her gardening experiences. i’m always so interested in learning from those who have boldly gone feet first into gardening and are not afraid to admit all of the crazy mistakes they’ve made so that the rest of  us may learn. thank you michelle!

A late winter poem courtesy of  www.poertyfoundation.org

Hunger Moon

BY JANE COOPER

The last full moon of February

stalks the fields; barbed wire casts a shadow.

Rising slowly, a beam moved toward the west

stealthily changing position

until now, in the small hours, across the snow

it advances on my pillow

to wake me, not rudely like the sun

but with the cocked gun of silence.

I am alone in a vast room

where a vain woman once slept.

The moon, in pale buckskins, crouches

on guard beside her bed.

Slowly the light wanes, the snow will melt

and all the fences thrum in the spring breeze

but not until that sleeper, trapped

in my body, turns and turns.

peace,

julayne

Perspective

vermillion river, la salle county, illinois

hello!

i took this photo earlier this winter while hiking along the vermillion river. i guess that my natural curiosity got the better of me and i had to bend down and look into the hollow log. not an unusual thing for me to do. looking at the world from a different perspective from time to time can be healthy  in that it may spark creativity or unique thoughts; your own personal way of thinking outside the box.

peace,

julayne

Love & Winter

la salle county, illinois

greetings!

i took this photo janurary 1 while wandering around richard’s property.

weather-wise, when this photo was taken, we had just had a warm up; it was a balmy news year eve and several inches of snow had just melted. winter and relationships are similar in that way; they warm up and then cool down. i like to say that mother nature likes to let us know who’s in charge.

 what i like about this barn is that even though it’s slowly falling down due to neglect, the frame still looks quite sturdy and it’s possible that with a little tlc the barn could come to life again and have many more years of use.

 it’s this that stands out to me even on a cold, bleak winter day; tender loving care can cause positive change, all we have to do is be brave, trust our intuition and believe in the healing powers of love.

stay warm.

peace,

julayne

Cabin Fever

la salle county, illinois

happy sunday morning!

a few more inches of snow has fallen on the prairie and i’m starting to wonder if spring will ever arrive. because of the weather, i only worked 1 day last week and am hoping that this last snow won’t delay us going back.

i don’t know that i’ve made the best use of my time. there is still some laundry to do and household chores to get to, although, it’s nice that the kids are so helpful, it makes it much easier on me. i’ve spent a lot of this free time focused on yoga and thinking about the yogic lifestyle. i’m quite inspired by the core principals  of  abhyasa and vairagya. practicing non attachment is very appealing to me and i feel i have a good start in that direction. but now that i look around i feel as if i can do better. i want to focus on my abundance of clothing. purchasing all of my clothing second hand, i sometimes get carried away because i find some very nice clothing for very little money. why not only take what i really need and leave the rest for others?

i’m also working on an erosion bundle. i think it’s a fun idea even though i just found out about it and am a little late on starting it, i think it could be a fun ongoing project through the year. wish me luck.

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the photo posted here was taken at richard’s when i was visiting him in december. i’ll dedicate this one to seth as richard mentioned that he liked this one.

peace.

namaste,

julayne

Beginners Mind

la salle county, illinois

 hello!

post winter storm greetings from the frozen prairie. the kids and me fared very well through this past winter storm. we only lost power for about 7 hours which is much better than the last big ice storm we had in 2005; instead of 7 hours without power it was 7 days!

with all of this time off of work, what’s a girl to do?  thankfully this girl has electricity (for my dvd player), so i’ve spent a big part of it on my yoga practice. i have been feeling restless in my yoga practice as of late and have been thinking that i’m ready to progress. i recently acquired (through netflix) a beginners practice dvd for ashtanga yoga. i tried it and found it to be quite challenging. it really opened my eyes and taught me a lesson that i should already know: to do well at something you must first master the basics before moving on. in my basic beginners practice i have avoided learning back bend asanas (postures/poses) and it was quite obvious to me when attempting ashtanga yoga.

now that i’ve been humbled by my arrogance, i realize that yoga is teaching me exactly what it is suppose to: to  still the restlessness in my heart and mind. now i’m back at my mat practicing back bend asanas with patience and joy.

 

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the photo i’ve posted was taken last weekend when i was visiting richard. this is the windbreak on the north side of his property. we took a wonderful walk while i was there and i hope to share more of those photos with you soon.

peace.

namaste,

julayne

Winter Light

margery carlson nature preserve, la salle county, illinois

happy winter!

this photo was taken today on my first official winter hike. i  love the pinkish winter light and the stark shadows when walking through wooded areas in winter. i’m spending the week at richard’s; he happens to live across from a nature preserve. i know, how lucky could a gal get to have a boyfriend live right across the road from a nature preserve? i am very lucky indeed, in more ways than one.

i like having time off in the winter, it gives me time to appreciate nature in a very different way than in the warmer months; trees with their bare branches, covered in snow instead of leaves, frozen streams, and especially the quiet and stillness. it’s amazing to me how nature adapts to the changing seasons.

what do you appreciate about winter?

peace,

julayne

Welcome Summer

la salle county, illinois

 hello!

summer has arrived! i’ve had some wonderful adventures to begin one of my most favorite seasons; seeing new places and making new friends. the garden is planted and even though it’s been difficult to tend to it (due to an abundance of rain), things are going well.

i’ve read a wonderful story that i think would appeal to all ages: The Curious Snowflake  by james struck. it’s available in the amazon kindle store for an extremely reasonable price. the good news is that you don’t have to own a kindle to purchase it. there is also a link to The Curious Snowflake blog listed in my blogroll. take a look for instant inspiration.

a change of scenery is just what i needed to revive and inspire me.

what revives and inspires you?

peace,

julayne

ps happy birthday dad

The Last Place on Earth

delaware county, indiana

i have a big crush on roald amundsun. i guess you could say i have a thing for rogue polar explorers from the late 19th, early 20th century; especially if they are of scandinavian decent.  i’ve just finished watching a series from masterpiece theatre; the last place on earth, made in 1985 (available on dvd through netflix). it’s based on the book by roland huntford by the same title. it tells the story of amundsun and robert falcon scott‘s antarctic expeditions as they race to be the first to reach the south pole (circa 1911).

 as scott and amundsun race to the pole,  their story unfolds into a tale of adventure and misfortune.  amundsun and his team of 3 men plus their invaluable dogs and skiis did it with superhuman strength and will. scott (who was an officer in the british navy) with his team of military men and scientists, siberian ponies, mechincal sleds, giant ego and arrogance, perished on the ice barrier with the 4 men who went with him to the pole. reaching the pole a month after amundsun,  scott’s expedition was miserable and was a series of one disaster after another.

in the end, amundsun is made to be the bad guy and scott is hailed as a hero. amundsun is portrayed as a simpleton by the british and humiliated to the point that he flees england during a lecture/book tour, calling the british  ‘ignorant’. he goes to america continuing to work toward repaying his debts and to raise funds to finish his work in the north. while there, he visits an old friend and fellow arctic explorer frederick cook.  cook is behind bars for some kind of fraud\ scandle involing texas oil.  he brings his good friend a book;  scott’s last journey.

that is my kind of man.

 i was born in the wrong century!

peace,

julayne

just a note about the photo published in this post:

 i first published this photo titled  sunset silhouette in the winter of 2009.  it has proved to be the most popular photo on the blog according to my stats. i took this when the temperature had dipped below zero. in subzero temps, colors appear much more vivid.

all i got to do is to love you
all i got to be is, be happy
all it’s got to take is some warmth to make it
blow away, blow away, blow away.   ~ george harrison

julayne

Favorite View

delaware county, indiana

i have photographed this view many times.  i pass by here often as i head out for work, the hill, the library, and various other destinations. for me, it’s one of those idyllic scenes  i wrote about in an earlier post. i took this on a foggy morning and i just love how the tree’s branches are highlighted. also, it’s always nice to visit my cow friends, who on this morning, were quite vocal. i think they were complaining to me about the cold and the snow.

i wonder, how many more days until spring?

peace,

julayne

p.s. a few more inches of snow on the prairie. i’m so grateful i have a friend who can plow me out when the snow gets deep.