too much rain, so much gold

thunder and driving rains tonight.
Sheltie dog Kalie paces, hates this.

too much rain, too much water.

yet fall's glory always shines

in hidden places

stitching is done for a dear friend

stitching still to do for
a personal goal

before the rains tonight i gathered marigolds
dry, bright and with purpose
and strung them as the rain
poured on

not new england's finest fall

but oh, so beautiful even so.

a great heart must fly

our dear Katie lived on the farm with us for two and a half years.
she is a beautiful light.

as she worked her way though graduate school we shared an

incredible life here. she taught so much. she gave so much.

and she was just so much fun to be with!

we sheared, we hayed, we detangled skeins, we dyed and we dyed laughing.

and what she gave to our flock was unmeasured.

Katie is in the air tonight somewhere over the Atlantic
on her way to a new adventure in Rwanda, Africa 

where she will give her
knowledge to a noble cause.

i have a huge lump in my throat.

go Katie, our great heart! we miss you.

have dyepots will travel

through Vermont I traveled this morning

on long windy roads

and farmlands

past the ravage of Irene's wrath.

new bridges reuniting towns

so torn apart

to arrive at a fiber oasis

Six Loose Ladies shop

in Proctorsville VT

with a few more than six loose ladies

and a few tricks from my wizard's wand

I helped them conjure some

great naturally dyed colors 

the results were stunning

a bright backdrop to what has been a very

difficult time in their region

it was fun, this is a good place to stop

Six Loose Ladies is open.

Vermont is going to be okay.

come visit.

on my descent into town I stopped to pay a hello to the lovely ladies

in waiting (heifers) at Windyhurst Farm

the farm owners happened to stop by, who I'm pretty darned fond of 

and Roger asked

"haven't you ever seen a cow before?"
with a big smile from him

and I said "yes, but none so pretty as these"

what a fine day for many good ladies

Chill of an early fall

early chill, possible frost.

the days are getting shorter

our friends are in full awareness

grateful for just another pasture rotation

and a few windfall apples

they know to soak up the sun.

a mid-afternoon frolick

pasture still wet from Irene's path

meets the fall sun

Of sheep and geese

the sheep know the days on pasture are waning.

they seize a precious afternoon together with pleasure

quite sure they know much more about the shortening days
and the coming of winter than we credit them for

I took some time amidst regular work in the studio to stick bundle and dye 

some small pieces for pleasure,

in honor of India's presence, and saw my

long necked goose is a feeling kinda loose

Whose woods these are...

...they came to know.
our fieldwork with India is done and it was a profound experience for each and every one of us.

16 women came to learn and soak in what India offered us.
as the days stitched together so did our relationships with each other.

the weather was perfect.
walks in the woods and fields were part of the course line.

and each glorious morning our first event was to open the bundles from nature we had created

and dyed the day before.

here is just a part of one morning's presents.

quietly...both alone and perhaps with a walking mate we wandered

the paths on the farm, sometimes to gather windfall, sometimes just for mindfulness

there is a large stand of milkweed in the far field that my husband and I have preserved for 16 years

to help the monarchs in their life cycle

it's always a joy to find the caterpillars getting ready to make their chrysalis while feeding on the leaves. to learn more about the cycle read here

the days passed, each beginning with opening bundles from the prior days work.

India read us a poem while Luna enjoyed a wild apple

Luna became quite fond of India early on,
in fact she loved the bundle ceremony especially. she couldn't wait to get
to the workshop each morning!
as bundle sticks fell to the ground on unwrapping she happily took them and chewed on them.
then she would rest

making friends was the running stitch between everyone.

 Kalie offers her paw

we shared stories and conversation

sometimes no words were needed

India fetched more goodness for the dyepots

pieces drying on a fence line after unbundling

a bouquet of St. John's Wort and a cheerful string of marigold buds

adorn the barn to dry

          a piece of wool dyed with eucalyptus

after dying our small pieces we started to stitch them together to form a visual

memory of our week

contemplative moments

wild clematis along the trails....fragrance to capture your heart

and as our last day waned, we shared our stitched stories in progress, set out on the fencelines.

the colors we gathered from nature showed the coming of autumn; golds, browns,

 some gentle reds and oranges and still tinges of green.

each of us was proud and awestruck.

our farm was made even more precious with India in our midst.

and each of us who came to learn went away with an intense joy and also

sadness that the week was over.

Long Ridge Farm is on India's wandering list.

a home away from home.

Luna is delighted, as are we.

and yes, she will be back next year to teach.

if interested, sign up on my mailing list for future information as it unbundles!