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

The Best Day Ever Part 2

la salle county, illinois

i just couldn’t help but post one more eagle photo. i’m so thrilled over my good fortune.

peace,

julayne

The Best Day Ever

la salle county, illinois

oh happy day!  my first eagle photo!

on our way home from town this morning richard and i spotted this beauty on the back road in a pasture. he (or she?) seemed to be a little bit off the beaten path , for an wintering eagle anyway, as i think they tend to stay near the river. we stopped to admire him for just a moment and then zoomed home to grab the camera. when we returned , he was still there. what a thrill!

whatever the reason this beautiful creature was brought to our neck of the woods, i’ll be forever grateful :).

have a great weekend!

peace,

julayne

Hidden Door

la salle county, illinois

there are a couple of barns bordering the back of our property, and as i was wondering around this past weekend with my camera i noticed, for the first time, this door. the barns are now just used as storage for large equipment, but i wonder what this door was used for back in more productive times? who used it?

richard and i have been busy starting pepper seeds and tomato seeds. unless we start receiving large amounts of rain, i think we should be able to get the spring garden put in very early this year. last year the spring garden was very successful planted in march. tomorrow the weather is predicted to be sunny and high of 51! if it’s not too muddy, i’d like to sow some lettuce seed. i’ve tried for years without much success to grow corn salad (also known as mache). it’s very tasty  but only thrives in very cool conditions (so i have read). i did plant some last fall to overwinter in the garden, and thought since we have had such a mild winter i might have had some pop up, but so far, no. i haven’t given up and have some more seeds ready to sow this spring.

if you have a powerful blender or smoothie machine a great way to get your greens is to make a green smoothie; a staple for raw vegans. it’s like springtime in a glass:

handful of spinach, kale, chard, arugala or any tender green that you favor or have on hand

1 banana

1 apple

1 orange

you could also add grapes, blueberries, pineapple or any other fruit you might like or have on hand

water or fruit juice. just enough to get it moving around. a few ice cubes if you want.

whirl away and enjoy! an excellent end of winter tonic :).

peace,

julayne

Hiking. Gardening. Yoga.

margery carlson nature preserve, la salle county, illinois

hello!

here we are into february and still we’ve had no real snowfall to speak of. it’s not that i’m complaining, actually, i’m grateful in many ways for the mild winter; anyone who heats with propane could appreciate that. luckily, we have a wood stove that helps to supplement the high cost of heating with propane.

i took this photo last week while hiking in the margery carlson nature preserve; it’s my across the road neighbor. i like how the little bit of green moss peaks out in the sea of brown leaves.

richard has started seeds for this years garden. it’s always exciting to be able to get to work on the garden. we saved a lot of seeds from last years garden so this is a bit of an experiment for me. i’ve never done much seed saving before, but i think it’s definitely the right direction to go. richard is a member of  seed savers exchange . it’s a great organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. we have started a few variety of pepper seeds and also some ‘mystery’ seeds richard found in the basement; it will be interesting to see what (if anything) sprouts up from those. i love a good mystery :).

i have tried a new yoga dvd featuring teacher jason crandell. i shouldn’t be surprised that he credits rodney yee as one of his influential teachers. i recently heard an interesting interview with william broad on npr’s fresh air about the science of yoga. broad mentions that there is a new movement in yoga that makes yoga more assessable and safe for all of us. he cites the iyengar method of yoga as  yoga that uses props and modifications to make yoga safer. i can appreciate this as someone who , at almost  age 50, wants to get the most benefit but with less risk of injury.

i’ll leave you with a link to a recent video i found on you tube:

peace,

julayne

St. Louis Canyon

st. louis canyon, starved rock state park ~ near utica, illinois

happy wednesday!

what a great winter it’s been for being outdoors.

i took this photo just a couple of weeks ago. it was hard to believe it was janurary; the weather was so warm that day. today, we woke up to a temperature of 10 degrees. brrrrrrr

i can tell that the days are getting longer little by little, which is very encouraging to me this time of year.

peace,

julayne

 

Gold Medal!

alejandro ~ 10 meter dribble

happy sunday!

it’s been a fun weekend. lot’s of kid stuff going on around here.

alejandro competed in his 2nd special olympics competition yesterday and came away with a gold medal in basketball skills!

good job bubba!

peace,

julayne

Root Veggie with Mushroom Soup

richard, tresspassing - abandoned cabin - winter 2010-11

hello!

we finally did get snow. yesterday. since it’s been so warm and dry  this winter, i kind of like the snow pelting me in the face. it made me feel alive.

recently, richard  requested that i make a pot of vegetable soup. i started to do just that, well my standard version, and then thought of being a little more creative and try making a root vegetable soup; partially inspired by a few parsnips i happen to have.  i  love  parsnips and carrots together. also, i happened to find several shiitake mushrooms growing (or actually drying) on richard’s mushroom logs. the parsnips should be coming out of my fall garden, but the seeds didn’t germinate……

as it turns out, i came up with a hearty vegan soup. lets call it ‘root vegetable with mushroom’ soup

olive oil for sauteing

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 or 2 parsnips, chopped

1 large potato, chopped

shiitake mushrooms, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup soy milk

saute onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes and add garlic, mushrooms, and other root veggies. cook a few more minutes. add rosemary and thyme. add vegetable broth and simmer vegetables until tender. add soy milk and heat through. if it’s not ‘soupy’ enough add some water.

great with homemade yeast or corn bread!

you could use a variety of root veggies in this recipe. use what you have on hand and experiment. also you could use coconut milk  and curry seasoning instead of soy milk, thyme, and rosemary.  there’s no way you can mess up such a simple soup :).

……………………………………………………………………

on anti-consummerism :

consider buying what you need second hand. second hand charity stores are a great way to find what you need and also help others.

namaste,

julayne

Less is More

winter light, christmas day 2011

happy wednesday!

so far we have received no snow this winter in north central illinois. in fact the last couple of days have been spring-like!  spending time outdoors yesterday, i remember thinking ‘this is how i feel in the spring’ you know what i mean? spring fever? the last 2 nights, richard and i have taken moonlight hikes. last night, we ventured a little ways into the nature reserve; it was easy to see the path under the moon’s silvery light. thanks mr.moon!

i wonder what it would be like to be able to see at night like a nocturnal creature?

 

________________________________________________

here is a list of items i’ve been living without for a while now:

tv

cell phone

my blog!

i really don’t miss tv, but i tend to get too isolated without some sort of news source. right now my main source of news is public radio and our local newspaper.

i do not miss my cell phone at all. it was too intrusive. not just intrusive for me, i’m sure i’ve been intrusive to others too.

what i have missed is my blog.  also, i lost touch with photography. it’s a new and unusual change for me to me not to want to get out with the camera. i’m hoping to take more photos of people. as for nature, there is a huge opportunity here for some very scenic photos. it will be a big moment for me is when i get my first eagle photo.

 

*********************************************

living with less plastic:

ok, i know that sometimes a plastic bag comes in handy. instead of buying those horrible zip lock bags packaged in a paper box (recyclable), try reusing plastic bags that other food items have come in. there are produce bags in a variety of different sizes; all the way from 5 or 10 lb. potato bag down to a radish bag. bread bags are great! i’ve managed to collect a nice assortment of bags that can be used multiple times. just wash them out in some soapy water and dry or hang to dry.

look around your kitchen and see what items can be reused or repurposed.

better yet, leave a comment about how you recycle or repurpose or  (best of all) do without.

good luck!

peace,

julayne

 

Black Walnuts

richard cracking black walnuts, janurary 2012                                                           

hello!

long time, no post.

slowly but surely i’m updating the blog.

to briefly mention what i’ve been doing for the last (almost) year, here’s a summary:

in may 2011, i resigned my position(s) at blue river valley school corp. and then moved 300 miles (a little bit north but mostly west with alejandro in tow) to illinois. now i’m living with richard in his giant farm house. i like to call it the hulking mansion. more about that later.

it’s really been a fresh start for me in that i purged most of my belongings. what i ended up bring with me was what we could fit in the back of richard’s full size pick-up truck and we also made a couple of trips with our compact cars. even for someone who has been working for a while on simplifying and downsizing, it’s quite challenging.  even so,  i’ve managed to get rid of even more stuff.  it’s important to know how to responsibly  discard your things. it’s a lofty goal, but i would one day like to not have to put anything into the landfill.

i’ve made some advances in vegan cooking and baking.

i’ve been struggling to maintain a daily practice of yoga and meditation. in one of our adventurous outings richard and i joined a meditation group. i have learned that this area is a magnet for spiritual practice from the world over.

i have moved to a very scenic area complete with wintering bald eagles. this has been helpful with keeping a camera in my hands. wonderful hiking trails.

a couple of things i would like to write about in future posts:

living in self-imposed poverty.

what it’s like when you drop out of the practice of consumerism.

plastic.

gardening.

film (mostly foreign).

books.

making things.

simple lifestyle.

it’s a frequent sight around here to see richard cracking black walnuts. he also cracks them on his lunch break at work. richard is so industrious! it was a good year for walnuts; we processed a ton of them. i remember many  pleasant late summer and fall evenings spent husking the walnuts on the patio. it’s a very labor intensive process from harvest to walnut butter. one of the best things i’ve ever eaten is our homemade walnut butter and  (also homemade) blackberry jam on a piece of toast.

i’ve updated my blogroll. take a look if you like that kind of thing.

comments please!

thanks for reading. best wishes to you in 2012.

peace,

julayne