Marking Virgin Snow

It might not look like it but the RP's and I are the first ones here!

It has always astonished me how much one car, one human

and two Rusty Pups can disturb the ground they move upon.

One of the joys of early morning walks on virgin snow

is the visual proof of who has been there before me.

The Rusty Pups know all year long

with their noses to the ground.

rabbits live here

squirrels live here

A tiny jumper of some sort?

Bobcats live here

Mice headed for shelter before we got here.

If one takes too long to get a shot of new footprints

Rusty Pups come rushing over to help

and of course destroy any chance of a photo!

Wherever one goes....

 ....the other is bound to follow.

And finally remembering

the Beaver footprints from last year.

Huge aren't they!

Knowing that these creatures share this land with us

fills my soul with joy.

I hope you have a joy filled day.

Moving Toward Year's End

Beaver Moon Dreaming

Still in progress but moving along

Thinking that they live in a watery world....

....I'm stitching swirls around the edges.

Sometimes those swirls break through stick walls

for I also know there is danger beyond their refuge.

Peace and companionship resides inside their lodge.

They even allow muskrats to share their home in Winter.

I am enjoying this stage of adding

and sometimes removing....

....as I work through my encounters with our local beavers

and the fact that they are no longer close by

because the bobcats and coyotes think they are delicious.

I miss them and the simple joy of 

finding their footprints

and worn paths on our early morning walks.

But they will surely be back in a year or two

to build up a new community.

As Winter Settles in and the New Year fast approaches

I have to admit I am no longer a 'winter person'

but I do love sunrise any time of year.

And walking with my Rusty Pup youngsters

is always a joyful adventure.

What a world we live in!

The RP's know exactly where every wild apple tree is in these woods

They think the rotten frozen windfalls are delicious!

Have to say I will be glad when the snow is too deep!

Snow snuffling

to see who is hiding beneath the brambles.

Could be a bobcat or a mouse

a snowshoe hare or perhaps a pheasant.

But the pheasant would have made his noisy escape

way before we arrived here!

Anyhoo, RP Ginger says

enjoy your day!

Walking on Stoney Ground

Walking on Stoney Ground

Stoney ground makes no difference to Rusty Pups

Who just stream over rocks of every size

I, on the other hand, have started using a hiking stick

to steady me over rough stoney ground.

My stick is just a tree branch but it sees me through.

This piece I thought was finished months ago

but sometimes a piece has more to say

and so I have added to it and renamed it.

Is a piece ever really finished?

Our morning walk beneath heavy laden skies

had the Rusty Pups blending with 

the beautiful rusty marsh grasses

that disappear under the sea at high tide around here.

Surrounded by Works in Progress

Beaver Moon Dreaming

Found a few hours to stitch a few more sticks

into my Beaver damn remembering our Springtime adventures

trying to discourage a family of beautiful Beavers from

moving into our tiny pond

which would have ended up occupying our entire

eight acres had we not persisted 

every morning with dismantling the three dams

they would build every night!

This is how most of my work begins

An encounter with Mother Nature

Something that has affected me deeply

no matter the size or significance.

The Rusty Pups and I walk at the crack of dawn

Just as the day is becoming a work in progress

We walk down a meadow towards the rising Sun

and into woods that I have named the Soggy Bottom Woods.

Beware anyone who doesn't wear 'wellies' along this wet and muddy path!

As we enter the Soggy Bottom Woods

I can look back over my shoulder and catch sight of the moon

as it fades and falls towards the West.

And here's our four legged pair of works in progress
who have recently discovered the bay window in the kitchen
is a perfect place to view all comings and goings.
It is hard to believe they are only seven months old!

Walking on Stoney Ground Again

Yes, working with stones again

Stones sitting on stoney ground

We walk gravelly paths every day

the Rusty Pups and I

Young pups just fly over any rocky impediments

I, on the other hand, at my silver-haired age

have to carefully navigate my way over such obstructions!

Working with needle and thread is a commitment in time

It is like bringing up and loving a child

It all takes time but not only time

It takes love and patience

Loving the back as well as the front

Loving the mistakes as well as the perfection!

And so it flows

The colours of nature are sheer perfection

At this time of year here we get final burst of colour

Winter will bring whites and greys and soft blues

and happily Spring will bring us young greens and bright daffodil yellows.

 The Rusty Pups don't care what colour anything is

They just want to smell it....

 and eat it if we let them!

Sleeping Circles

Curling up into circles after a long walk

is a good thing to do

 Fixing a puppy bed circle

They take great delight in ripping out the stuffing

Fixing it was an hour I'll never get back!

Duct tape next time?

I reckon puppies would win over mighty duct tape!

Sometimes we prefer a semi-circle

I've found snippets of time to work on my beaver dam spiral

Working out how to best express the feeling of

water flowing through it.

Before I decide there will be some unpicking I expect

Always part of my process

Blending into autumn's woodland

Sniffing early morning smells

Not a circle

Nor a semi-circle

Just a bend in the road

The Solomon's Seal looking very yellow on a misty misty morning

 Leading the way back home

along an avenue of brambles.

Happy Thanksgiving to too of us in Canada.

We have so much to be grateful for

One generous person unknown to me

has been mowing the top of the dyke all summer long

Thank you for that.

It has made walking so much easier!