fresh from the woods

 
 We've been on the hunt for a week now.  This weekend we were finally rewarded for our constant forest floor watching. We found about a pound of morels , in fact Felix was the first one to spot them.  They present themselves to you and all of a sudden pop pop pop, you start seeing them all over, it's like magic.  And so is the woods, we are soaking up all of the outdoors we can this spring, because we know, like the morels, it's fleeting.



 thanks for all the great feedback about Red Bird Farm,  we're going to plant those onions this weekend, and we'll probably bring the fiddle too.

Addicted to annuals

Spring this year in Wisconsin is absolutely the most perfect spring we've ever had.  That perfect sunny 60's weather that begs you to have your coffee outside.  It's so nice in fact that I am terrified by the idea 40 degree weather again.  How quickly I get spoiled.  We've planted our kale, beets, potatoes, spinach etc. and are eager to get more into the ground.  And I caught the annual bug last weekend, from my mother.  I arrived at her house & saw flats of annuals ready to put into window boxes. Already??
So I did the same.  I know I know we're risking it, it's April 20th for gods sakes !  But I'm rollin' the dice. 
More garden photo's coming once things come up, we have a whopping 4 going this year ( in different locations) I guess this early start was a good thing.  


I love this season. 



( meg that dirty feet photo is for you ;)

New inspiration

Restless cleaning up energy made me see all these things today,  lots of red huh.    I'm paring down the inside from toys, books & piles of projects, trying to get to a clean, fresh ( spring ) feel.  Moving our life outside is so pleasent but it does take a toll on our floors.  Random thoughts on a sunny windy friday afternoon.  Hopeing to have a productive gardening weekend,  cross your fingers for me.
Happy weekend everyone.

photos:
1) a print I bought here, finally found a good spot for it this afternoon,  great words to live by.
2) these fantastic red boots that have been though so many little feet, finally made their way back to Oscar just in time for mucky gardening.
3) Another piece acquired this winter from Adam, a great musician & artist.
4) The first tulips bloomed this morning.  Our house guests are horse folks, so I thought this bottle would be perfect.
5)This crazy book with fantastic illustrations.

April

A few views from the morning.
 This electric blue is wonderful isn't it?
















A shelf in the kitchen, which is collecting yellow pretty things.  While cleaning up I realized this was oscar's birthday candle, thought I would save it.  A good friend has her children's birthday candles in little jars, which I think is the sweetest thing.   I think this vintage duck banjo tea cup is perfect to hold oscar's wish. 













A beautiful piece of maple veneer Todd dyed a while back.   I planted sweet peas under this little structure last week in he herb garden,  I hope they come up soon.




We're making some changes around our house so I may not see everyone for a while, back to work for this mama.  I feel so thankful that I've gotten to sped 4 years with my guys.  When I get a moment I'll post what's new in our neck of the woods.  Be sure I'll be looking at what you all post everyday.
Happy April everyone.

cook book organization

We tend to cook three meals a day in our kitchen, so our cookbooks got a lot of use.  My Joy of Cooking is looking a lot like my mom's, broken binding and sugared pages. But they were getting a little overwhelming lately, normally piled on top of the fridge looking as if they might fall at any moment.  So this is my little fix up.   I like that we can still access our books when needed but the clean space above the fridge makes me calm. 

in the morning

A quiet moment,  before the cereal and lost socks, boots & a sword, no one is awake. 

back on the porch

It's that time again,  to get these two rambunctious kids out of my living room and onto the front porch.  I'm realizing this is an annual event.   A great time to purge, tidy up and give new energy to old toys.  It's also a perfect opportunity to gather toys to sell at this event.  So out with the old and hopefully not too much new.  This year I've added a larger folding table so we can have meals out here and I can work while they play (yeah rite! ).  I've also added an art box,  I've seen them at friends houses and loved them.  My two are not the most art orientated guys, but maybe this will be a good way for them to explore on their own because I realize that I am the one who ruins art time.  ahhhhh, anyway.


More art from me coming soon I hope.  I have some embroidered covered buttons I'm finishing and I'm taking a screenprinting workshop this weekend and I have high hopes it will result in a whole new direction.

I hope to post about Elizabeth's 'Snippits' project this week too.  Check it out, a great idea to get the creative juices flowing.

spring-ish

Carhartt coveralls,  a spring must.  Found this pair on accident at a thrift shop, I'm not sure what we would have done without them.  The boys have been outside much much more these days.  I'm starting to feel OK with the fact that we're not that into winter outdoor play, so we're making up for lost time. 



Spotted the first snowdrops in my yard today, thrilling.

















At my in-laws place, a majestic crumbly old barn.  I feel like a kid again exploring each corner, looking for treasure but finding a surly barn cat. 









Sap, hoping to get lots of it.  It's our first try at collecting maple sap from our yard & across the street.  Feeling very optimistic that we may get 1 gallon of our own syrup. 












but that would mean that we would need 30 gallons to boil down.    maybe we should change it to a 12 oz. jar?















chickens scratching up the yard, unearthing our spring for us.  Hope you're having a good spring-ish week. 

cleaning up

Spring cleaning came early this year, or unplanned really. Felix went on a sleepover with his grandparents so we had the morning to move the rugs, dust, sweep.... well you know. So, I put my many projects on hold ( like a CHICKEN COOP!!!) and put the baby on my back and got the mop. Now, after a fun filled weekend, kids in, kids out, games, walks and lots & lots of pots of coffee we're finally quiet. Here's our brunch table, cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, chocolate cherry coffee cake and...coffee. Maybe next week will be more productive in the studio, but it's hard when there's so much action going on upstairs. Here's to hoping.

on a roll

homemade granola bars : fig, chocolate chip, walnut, almond, wheat germ, honey, oats, quinoa, & dried cranberry. OUT OF SIGHT!!
Seeds for this year, bought from our local coop !! Yeah, no shipping
My orange bakelite dolphin pin from my husband. This was one of those " you better bring me back something ! " presents. Yippee

Ham, Borccolli, Sage & Carmelized Onion Quiche for the freezer.

I had coffee this morning with some mummy friends after dropping our kids off at nursary school and I declared that I " just got happy." And it's true, I've been in a funk and I was waiting for my husband and kids to cheer me, but this morning I did it myself. Here are a few of the things that made me happy today.