(glimpses) - day break

i can finally see in the growing warmth, a different light ... warmer and more inviting than even the week before ... I think my heart has even thawed so very happy to say goodbye to a winter that has certainly overstayed it's welcome...

right now the seasons here won't be rushed...while other parts have already past their spring and already into steamy heat, we still have the coming weeks to see spring turn the world from brown to green again



even the sweet row houses of once home to textile worker in our little historic mill village stand waiting for the warm light to come their way ...











these first sightings are still rare sights...



these are a few my own littlest of flowers just finished that emerged while the other sleeping ones wait unearth themselves ...



and  my own little stand of toadstools likewise just about done while we wait for a little mushroom hunting to begin after april showers arrive... otherwise,  i've had some little people in the works as well.these last couple of weeks... as usual they are a shy folk, but hope I can introduce them to you soon :)  

thanks so much for visiting!

(at the workbench) - small beginnings

it's true, people do not hibernate... but in some ways, maybe they do. right now more than ever it feels  so much like waking from a dream.





the past six months have been covered in a snow blanket, that only just now is being pulled back to show the sleepy earth getting ready to wake.  strange how much lighter i feel as it all melt away...


this year more than any other spring was seeming that bit always out of reach, but now we really are nearly there ...

and the raised garden beds have surfaced and it's rain instead of snow falling softly today ...

(glimpses) - these things are

while warmer spring time days are oh so slowly returning, we had a really nice weekend with a simple, tasty easter meal (a little different from what's become our traditional fare).

dessert was a strawberry icebox cake made with a very simple homemade vanilla custard... it was very good :)  We made this first as it needed time coming together in our "ice box"

for dinner itself, we made a simple but delicious pairing of roast asparagus and pan-seared portobello mushrooms with rolled chicken cutlets filled with caramelized onions and artichoke hearts. a recipe i put together hoping to make our simple meal a little more special. 

for the rest of our meal, i was reminded of all the good things that are yet to come when spring thaws the rest of the snow banks.  hope this easter weekend was wonderfully delicious for you and your family too! 

(at this workbench) - dala

oh how this time of year has so many hidden surprises ... so very many we could hardly even expect to come our way. these little dala horses are finally in process on my workbench this week after more than a week and half of "surprise" repairs to quite an essential shop tool...

so we make our way like the falling leaves blown in the fury of strong north wind to find our place through these busy times!  they'll be more to come soon, hope you all have a wonderful week!

PS: they're done ... so thought I'd share another quick peek!

(this moment) - autumn stillness

{this moment - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.} 

(at the workbench) - amulet

something new/new i've been working on alongside my rock collection: amulets....

made from some beautiful off-cuts from other projects on my workbench... in native cherry, walnut and maple



wooden crystals and minerals, hand-sawn, faceted, sanded and polished smooth like any gemstone ...  (a few other pretty piece that will be coming along soon as well!)

(glimpses) - fly away

head in the clouds, feet in the sand, moving along the shore in the motions of a ....



sandpiper at the edge of water and racing away from the incoming wave

 she watches as the sun moves below the horizon with one last look into the wide ocean and an even wider sky

thoughts of other days, years as a child of many ages who had been here before playing at the edge of the vast atlantic...



and to think this good kid has reach yet another milestone of 14!

(at the workbench) - light

it's that time of year again.  caught a bit off guard as the days grow so short that my senses try to convince me that it is too late, while a clock says otherwise.



and here is a lantern made as a custom request to accompany a group of children and their teacher at lantern walk this year.  it will help light their way for martinmas and hold kite paper scenes  of the changing season all through the seasons.

(at the workbench) - simple servings

maple rustic cutting & serving board with rustic natural edge

a beautiful natural edge of each cutting board

maple boards shown in the two sizes available

a trio of the three smaller hard maple cutting/serving boards

a trio of the three smaller hard maple cutting/serving boards

longer and shorter maple boards paired together

here are a few pictures of cutting/serving boards I made to take to my local farmer's market. they came from a beautiful, long board of native, sustainably-harvested maple from my area.  i particularly love the beautiful hidden ripple that appeared after I finished planing them! the board has been in my workshop for a little while now, but caught my eye as the perfect one for this project because it retained it's natural edges on one-side!  you can see the living edge in some of the photos above. i've listed a few of them here!  ..... happy weekend!!!

(at the workbench) - at home in the forest

repurposed leather and reclaimed wooden oak leaf bookmarks

repurposed leather oak leaf bookmark

reclaimed mahogany oak leaf bookmark

repurposed leather oak leaf bookmark

through edges of the woods and the seasons, our quiet walks have us noticing the little things, as we find ourself at home in the forest

white paper birch coasters

white paper birch coasters

white paper birch coasters

and these simple ways that our home can take part in our discoveries ...

(glimpses) - finding a place on earth

here is the rippled, bubbled glass window that we looked in from the outside





































at the house where dreamers and visionaries hoped to build a better world





































and the hutch where their simple belongs were kept






















a bedroom where a young girl named louisa may alcott slept as her family thought deeply about the world and all its ways







































the bed where her doll dreamed and the chalk board new discoveries where written and erased many times





































beaded moccasins and the porcupine quilled box that where made lovingly and saw many miles






































deeper meanings written bead by bead in even simpler symbology and color to warm and cloth because beauty does in fact matter

all from a hilltop home that seemed it could view the world below forever