Lately

Things have been really summery here, lots of visiting, and lots of things to do. But that feeling of longing for the other, slower, seasons is creeping in on me. This is the time of year that I start to think about sweaters and jackets and scarves, and boots, and the joy of baking bread inside while hibernating.

 But also there is this sweetness that comes with August, with almost fall, because you know it's going to be over soon. Every hot afternoon starts out with a cool morning, and the sun is setting earlier, and the idea of a campfire is welcome, and not entirely ridiculous (like the one we had on a summer day that was so hot, the baby and I had to go inside to cool down, and we all sat about fifty feet away from it- darting in to roast marshmallows, wet cloths hanging from the kids necks to keep them cool). And also things are starting to happen in the garden, big things, tomato harvesting types of things, blanching and freezing types of things, Zucchini the size of baseball bats that must be turned into chocolate zucchini cakes- but there's no cocoa in the cupboard- types of things.

Ah- summer, so fleeting, and yet so intense, just like early childhood.

Lilacs

Since starting this blog I'm sure I've posted photos every year at this time, featuring the Lilacs,  (yep- 2010, 2011, and 2012, and wow- have my photos ever changed over those few years). I love summer milestones like this, and as the girls grow I look more and more towards these yearly events to record their progress. This year, this dreary, drab, cold, is-it-ever-going-to-be-warm? type of year we've been having is really getting my spirits down, and the Lilacs as always seem to be promising abundance, and warmth, and beauty, and just general goodness, it's hard to feel down when the Lilacs are in bloom.



 *the slightly dreamy, blurry effect in the first four photos are the result of tiny greasy fingers smearing my lens, which I didn't notice until after I'd taken the photos, Is that what old Hollywood starlets would mean by a "Greased Lens"? I think the flower photos are great, the children a little too blurry for me, though you do get the general idea- and there is this hilarious outtake:

which happened when I asked N to look like she was thinking "Oh, wow the Lilacs are beautiful", and all the  blurry dreaminess took it a bit too far into the saint in ecstasy realm, can't you just hear the angelic choir?

More Ice and Snow...and Mud

mud, glorious mud

we are nothing if not bright when it comes to colour and pattern on our clothes

the snow is still strong enough to hold her three feet above the ground

Springtime in Manitoba

:: ethereal hoar frost on my favorite tree
:: the yard wreathed in white
:: a mysterious melting hole
:: the lacy crisp edge of a melting snowbank

Equinox

A lilac branch that N found broken off in the yard- it's so far produced leaves,
which I think is all we can hope for, and they are such delicate, lovely, leaves.

I'd just like to point out that on the official first day of spring, it was -27 degrees in our part of Manitoba, how's that for harsh weather? On the bright side the sun is lovely today, shining directly down our hallway, and in our bedroom windows, I love tracking the way the sun shines through the year- and am trying to find hope in the way that it's slowly tracking it's way towards the garden, to shine on that northern part of the yard all day long in the summer, also from this point in the year there is more sunlight than darkness during the day, guaranteed.

Cold

Environment Canada (the weather source I favor  as they seem a little less optimistic,generally, than the 'weather network', and I prefer a pleasant surprise), says it will get to -4 this afternoon, but that it is currently -25 outside. It's already 11 am, and it's usually warmest at noon at this time of year, so.... yeah....I think they're lying just to make us feel better. It's darn cold this winter, and it usually is in Manitoba, I also usually welcome the colder weather, I like the seasonal aspects of northern living, despite it's harshness I like Manitoba's climate. But this year I'm really noticing the effect it has on my 3 yr old. For optimum sleep she needs a good run now and then outside, but it's usually too cold to do that this year- especially with the babe. Last night N was up at 5 a.m and besides the serious baggage she's got under her eyes, not too many ill effects, me on the other hand- not so chipper. Three year olds are so. much. fun.

Solstice

I usually try to feed some birds on solstice, I don't worry about it too much before that date fro some reason, and it's turning into a nice little family tradition to start it up on the shortest day of the year. This year we made 'Bird cookies'- which will probably feed more squirrels than birds actually, but whatever. They were really easy to make and N really enjoyed helping me hang them up outside.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday season, I'll see you back here in the new year.

Winter Wonderland

It seems as though this little munchkin doesn't get so many outdoor shots-
that because she's always strapped to my chest- see there is a price to being held all the time.

It's been snowing here, light fluffy, storybook style snow, the kind that has distinct icy flakes in it. It;s also been really cold lately, so we took advantage of the warm weather today (-13!) to go for a walk. It was not long before the baby had enough, and so I had to drag the 3 yr. old into the house, (funny how she can walk so well away from the house- but always always needs me to hold her hand on the way in).  It is very glum outside, despite the brightness of the snow, this is the first year I've seen so many overcast skies in Manitoba, and I'm starting to feel the seasonal shift that begins with the winter solstice- a real need for the dark days and nights to become lighter again.

A Seasonal Approach

  

Lace mugs in my new glaze colours- I love the way they look together.

I have been working with clay again this past month- after a hiatus in which I focused on seasonal needs and demands; the garden, preserving, cooking, sewing. I missed art making, not at first- not right away- at first I reveled in the apparent freedom of giving myself the space to think up new pieces, new ideas, but in the fall I started to get twitchy- I felt the need to make some art- somehow. I had the idea that I would try to manage my pursuits in season, summer for gardening winter for art- in an attempt to manage that craziness that goes with trying to do it all simultaneously. I think it's a good idea, still- but I think I need shorter seasons.

Lace Mug with the glaze rubbed in to design, and wiped- gives the texture much sharper contrast.

I have felt very happy and peaceful seeing these pots go through their firing process, I made them last spring, and they've been nagging at me to get fired, but I knew I wanted some bright glazes, and I didn't have it sorted out yet. I'm pleased with these mugs, they are simple to make and quirky, and unique, and they are bright I think, they make me smile. I have learned a little bit from these mugs too, they need to be a bit smaller, and I'm itching to see how the colour will look if I rub it into the pattern, and then wipe it off, instead of letting it go thickly over it, which obscures the texture a bit. I also am pleased that my Chicken souffle dish worked out, It was the first time I tried an applique method, inspired by Wedgwood's Jasper ware ( I got the chicken impressions off of old toys of K's, which I made plaster moulds of,  I plan to make more with more farm animals, I love them)

 Souffle Dish with Appliqued Chickens, pretty good for a first attempt.

You see I have many hobbies, and I tend to turn my hobbies into more than just that- I will try to live solely off my garden, and to make everything we eat, and to sew my own clothes, and make my own dishes, and.... well you get the idea, I get carried away. I'm usually well able to do all those things, and to put in the effort that makes it possible, but I'm just now learning that it's not necessarily possible all at the same time, and not always with a young child in tow. The thing that I am loving about this seasonal approach is that it seems to afford me a little mental space, where I can focus on one thing at a time, and I think that allows me to grow more within each hobby.  Also, I feel renewed each time I start again, and I am astonished at how capable I am in that particular activity (the flip side of this is that worry slightly before I begin, that I have lost my knowledge), I am loving that experience of having to trust myself over and over again.