Spring is coming. That is what I tell myself as I watch the snow fall and cover the ground. It is beautiful and even this late in winter, I get so excited when it snows. This is a beautiful light, fluffy snow. It transforms our world and brings a sweet silence to the forest as everything sort of hunkers down to stay warm. Tom and I are no exception. We hunker down by the wood stove and enjoy the fire. I work on a weaving project that I started last week with found objects.
We were walking in the woods not long ago and forest “gifted” me an antler. I was so amazed. I have walked miles upon miles through the woods, but never found one even though they are shed every year by the many deer that live here. I think this is because the other little critters find them very tasty, so they get snatched up pretty fast. I felt quite honored to find this one and wanted to do something special with it.
My friend, Delaney Smith of Eyeland Studio in Marshall, NC invited a guest teacher, Taylor Barnes to teach a class on making looms with found objects. This sounded perfect so I signed up. What a great thing to do on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon! Both of these teachers are excellent and I highly recommend their classes.
Up here in the mountains, we have a lot of what I call folk schools. These are places where we can go and learn traditional ways and new ways of creating with nature. I love learning to use things from nature. In this project I used sassafras saplings, grapevine bark, wool, yucca fibers, crystals and hemp to weave with the deer antler.
Yesterday, the sun came out. When this happened, the snow began to melt and the birds at my bird feeder went crazy. The whole forest seemed to sing in exultation! Spring is on the way!
Tom and I went hiking. We chose a new trail and we had ford a few creeks. Now Tom just bounces over these crossings but for me it meant taking my boots off each time. By the time we got to the 4th stream, I decided to just go barefoot for awhile. Even though it was cold, there was something quite wonderful about walking in the forest with no shoes on in late winter. Our forest floor is covered with the many different kinds of leaves that grow here and they make a soft landing for the bare sole. The sun warmed the leaves and this warmed my feet in between the icy creeks. There was something magical about this time, a slipping off of winter if you will.
I want to leave you with this video from last year as it gives me the ultimate hope of Spring. This happened last year in the little garden behind our house that we lovingly call GrandMary’s garden as it was created outside my mom’s window when she was alive. She loved to watch the birds and the flowers come alive this time of year. So this video is in her memory. It speaks to the love of motherhood and the promise of Spring. Enjoy!