Moonlight from the Dye Pot

For the past couple of weeks, I've been dyeing silks.  Last week the colour was from Brazilwood, and I got a range of beautiful corals and pinks.  This week, I'm working with Logwood.  The first pieces out of the dye pot were a gorgeous purple with gray undertones.  The next group?  One of the most magical colours I've ever coaxed onto fiber.  It's soft plum with a silver shimmer.  It looks like moonlight.  One of our massage therapists started to weep when she saw it.  This photo can't really convey it fully, but you get the idea.  There are camisoles, chemises and scarves...

Luscious Night Serum

I'm working this afternoon, making a batch of Luscious Night Serum.  It's a gorgeous, breezy day, and somehow quiet, so my mind began to wander as I made the delectable concoction...

Several years ago, a longtime faithful user of my Luscious Face Cream came into the shop with a nearly-empty bottle and asked if I could re-create the contents.  A friend of hers had given her a nighttime moisturizing oil from an exclusive New York salon.  She had loved using it, but discovered the prohibitive cost (nearly $100!) when she called the salon to order another bottle.  So, she came to me.  And I thought I could develop something comparable for much less.  So, as you've probably guessed, Luscious Night Serum was born. 

Thanks, Jacqueline!

Really, Spring is Coming...

This morning I heard songbirds.  Really.  And a huge flock of robins covered the ground in front of my little house.  Listening for worms.  Which means, of course, that worms must be moving around in the soil.  And, when I walked out to explore a bit in the rain, I saw that the young Willow has put on her chartreuse.  New color!  And look, buds are forming on her branches.

While I was admiring the Willow, I noticed that something tall has been breaking and eating some branches nearby.  I'm guessing deer, but am not sure.  They aren't eating the Willow, though. 

I once learned that young Willow trees emit a substance that tastes offensive to deer, in order to protect themselves.  Once the trees are older and better established, they only produce the substance if they are under stress, which often is from overfeeding by deer...  They're willing to be food/medicine unless their own health or survival is threatened.  Then, the trees change the boundaries. 

Relationship is fascinating!

And, Spring is coming!  Really!

The Power of a Seed

Here it is, mid-February, and even those of us who treasure living by the seasons are starting to daydream about Spring.  So, here in the throes of Winter,we've just scheduled a seed-starting workshop.  The timing is calculated so that you will have seedlings ready to go into the ground as early as we can safely do that here, without danger of frost...

The Power of a Seed:


Starting Your Vegetable and Herb Garden from Scratch

Saturday, March 26, 2-6pm

Want to grow your plants from seed but don't know how to begin? Join Natasha Herr, co-owner of Homegrown Edible Landscaping Co., for this hands-on workshop. Topics will include starting seeds indoors using a grow-light, in an outdoor cold-frame, or in a greenhouse, preparation of seeds and soil, care of seedlings and transplanting. Discover how easy it is to start your plants from seed! Go home from this class with your own egg carton flat of starts!

Saturday, March 26, 2011, 2-6pm. $35 includes all materials and seeds.

Class will be held at Radiance, 9 W Grant St, in downtown Lancaster, PA, across the cobblestones from Central Market. To register, stop in or call 717-290-1517.

Natasha Herr is co-owner of Homegrown Edible Landscaping Co., a company dedicated to helping people learn to grow their own food.

Ice Valance...

This morning I looked out my window just in time to see this sheet of ice pause before sliding off the roof.  I had just enough time to step outside & take this photo before it crashed to the ground.  A lace valance of ice...

The ground is covered with gray, slushy snow.  The air is filled with cold, grey mist.  The sky is one enormous, gray cloud.  I'm thinking it's time for a pot of Spring in My Step tea... Holy basil, Lemon balm, St John's Wort & more - an herbal mood lift!

Ice!

Snow, sleet and freezing rain started falling here overnight. I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of ice hitting the window. Ice. Beautiful and dangerous. A reminder that we are still in the grips of Winter.

Finally, Hafiz has something to say to me today:

O my heart, make a wish for the coming of Spring.
That in every field there will be a thousand birds and a hundred roses will grow.

Earth and Straw

In the morning, as the light begins to spread across the meadow, I am delighted by the shadows and illuminations around the window in my sleeping room. I lie still and watch the walls move and breathe. The structure of this little house is so simple and organic – she lives.

The bones of the house are bales of straw, stacked like bricks for stability and balance. The outer walls are a lime plaster to keep the wind and wet at bay. The inner walls are sculpted of clay and straw. The scent of earth is always here. Sometimes I think I live in an earthen womb…

Hafiz is irritating me. I have read a dozen poems waiting for lines of joy and delight in the experience of being alive. Page after page hands me one critical thought after another. I’ll keep reading until I find something worth sharing…