Monday, January 15, 2018

End of Winter Break Wherein All Hell Breaks Loose

On January 2nd they went back to school with a setting wolf moon.  Then we had a number of cancellations and delays due to frigid temps, icy roads and not enough snow to sled upon.  The man cub  had a sleepover and the following day he landed in the ER from an unexpected asthma flair.   We hunkered down and photograph the visitors in our well stocked feeders.  The flowers from our solstice party bloomed, and over the course of these cold, wintry weeks,  I baked a peach tart, chocolate banana tea loaves and a Palermo Pizza.  And, as is our tradition when we are lacking sled worthy snow, we took a day trip to a ski lodge to go tubing.

Full wolf moon setting at the bus stop








Robin Goodfellow



Eastern Bluebird

The finches

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Titmouse, Finch & Junco

Sassy Wren


Nuthatch and Dove

Ms. Cardinal

Mister Cardinal
















Dark and decadent chocolate banana tea loaves: I had a tropical nightmare of overripe bananas that I didn’t want to waste so I made this treat from one of my favorite bakeries in NYC named Once Upon a Tart. I remember walking down the street one summer day and seeing a man burning decades of paint off the old and beautifully carved woodwork that donned the storefront door and window. I sat myself down on the sidewalk and watched while chatting him up. He told me they were restoring the shop for their new bakery. I came back the next day and watched him remove paint from the metal ceiling tiles. The thought of a tiny bakery on my block made me swoon and it quickly became my haunt. Many years later, when I moved to VA, I discovered they published a cookbook and in it, the recipe.






* Sfincione sans anchovies: When I lived in NYC, my most favorite pizza joint was Ben’s in SoHo. It was the only place I knew that made the Palermo pie aka Sfincione. Traditionally served on New Year’s Eve, it’s topped with tomato sauce, caramelized onions, sheep’s milk cheese and breadcrumbs. Here in VA it was a challenge to find good pizza in general, let alone Sicilian, and there is NOT a single sfincione to be had anywhere. I nearly forgot about it until my friend Marybeth posted a photo of one that she made and the memories of the bliss filled bite came flooding back in vivid detail. I hit the interwebs and searched for a recipe, determined to make that slice of heaven. And I did. And now I’m eating a left over slice for breakfast before we head to the mountains to go snow tubing with friends.








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posted by Wendy at 10:37 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 01, 2018

Happy New Year & Wild Reciprocity for 2018

Farewell 2017!!!


Happy Hogmanay, Silvester and New Year!

What a beast 2017 was! Of course we tried to make as many beautiful memories as we could and in those moments it helped lift our hearts above the state of the nation and the unmasked bigotry.

I made a list (in random order) to remind myself of the many beautiful things that happened in spite of the darkness:


1. We hiked the falls on the first day of 2017 with our dear friends the Mann family.

2. I went to the Women's March in DC with a new friend.

3. I took Social Justice Training to help be a better ally and advocate.

4. We took a road trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and were completely ensorcelled.

5. The man rode his first upside down rollercoaster, and my beloved niece came to join us at the park.

6. We visited Animal Kingdom with our dear friends the Smith family.

7. We went to two owl releases at sundown. 8. I made a lovely new friend and walking partner.

9. I graduated the Master Naturalists program.

10. I took a basic wildlife rehabilitation course.

11. We climbed Stony Man Summit several times.

12. We spent Easter on the Chesapeake looking for fossilized shark teeth.

13. I made my own almond milk.

14. We drove to SC to watch the solar eclipse and flew a giant octopus kite on the beach.

15. The Bolasci tribe came for visit and sleepover

16. We learned real life potions with dear friend, Erin Fairlight.

17. We went to a fabulous DakhaBrakha concert.

 18. We had many sunset picnics at the lake.

19. We went apple picking with our friends the Heinold family and picnicked in the orchard.

20. We had several celebratory bonfires with friends and neighbors.

21. We had our 10th annual winter solstice party and lantern walk with beloved friends.

 22. We flew a kite at sunset on a mountain top.

23. We watched the super moon rise from a hill in the middle of a golf course.

24. I finally got around to making shibori cloth napkins.

25. The man cub was certified in CPR and First Aid.

26. We took a road trip to Lewis Ginter Bontanical Garden, saw breathtaking butterflies and climbed a 100 yo Mulberry tree

27. My niece came to visit and we went to the Abstract Landscapes exhibit in DC and Stonyman Summit.

28. We grew some food.

29. I facilitated another two seasons of Mighty Girl Art and presented at Maker Faire.

30. I held space for a girl who transitioning to an angel.

31. We expanded our hummingbird feeders and with it our feathered guests.

32. We toured the historic Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary and it was magical.

33. We visited 30 acres of sunflowers at McKee-Beshers.

34. We spent a day wandering Harpers Ferry with our friends, the Mann family.

35. We took a day trip to visit the set of my favorite childhood tv show Hodgepodge Lodge

36. We had a visit from a Clymeme Moth and a Leopard Moth.

37. I went to my first interfaith Iftar.

38. We had two seasonal block parties.

39. The man cub won another fishing derby

41. We went to the Owl Moon Raptor Festival.

42. My dear friends Melissa performed fire poy at our pink moon bonfire and mystified the littles.

43. I spent time with the magical Erin Darcy and Ophelia at the airport during their layover to Ireland.

44. I finally learned to knit a cat bed, but none of our cats will use it so I donated it the cat clinic.

45. I fell in love with the works of some new to me writers.

46. The man cub made his first stop motion film.

47. I finally learned how to play Backgammon.

48. I spent time with a dear lifelong friend Debi at her bayside cottage and watched the sunset from her treehouse. She lifted my heart from the sadness of my visit which was the memorial service for a friend and mentor. And there I also visited my longtime friend Di, shared dinner, hugs and laughter.

49. I created and printed 2 years worth of photos into 2 hardback memory books.

50. We spent an evening at a local water park with our dear friends the Mann family.

51. The man cub decided that he now enjoys sleepovers and has had many to make up for lost time.

On New Years Day, we took advantage of a noteworthy cold snap to make ice lanterns.  Instead of the traditional Hoppin' John, I decided to lean toward my Italian roots and make Pasta Fagioli which I like to think of as the Italian version of Hoppin' John.  I think this shall remain my New Years tradition from now on.




Lastly, here is a poem that I wish to carry forth in to the new year...

Wild Compliance by Ben Weaver

I’ve got maps spread out
all over the kitchen floor
headwaters splintering into deltas
whose braids are hollowing
my spirit of its untruths
the snow blowing down my collar
the rain leaking in through my boots
the river depositing silt into my hair
whittled down to sap
I’m letting the light in
however it wants to get in

Out in the darkness of the frozen lake
there are fish suspended
in the top six inches of ice
who will hold the dreams
of last summer’s water
through the winter,
and then pass them along
in the spring when the ice melts
and water again begins to flow

The part of me that is Watercress
Wolverine, Lark Sparrow and Bluestem
has been waking
in the middle of the night
near the fork of a creek
at the foot of a hill
and cannot return to sleep without asking,
how far away are we
and what must we do
to collectively imagine
a liberated future;
where the way we live
does not compromise life
where watersheds are not choked
where human beings
are not wage slaves
and our value system
is based in generosity
not accumulation?

These questions howl through me
like rivers and runaway witches
my life the voice to ask them with
my heart the tool shaping
the resilience and renewal they reveal

As the tamarack bogs never refuse a Moose
my resistance is an act of love
and my questions come not in judgment
but in service of life, as an invitation
to hear all that is silent in the river
all that clings with the burrs and sunset
to the Coyote’s tail
that does not require one to
comply with an economy
willing to sacrifice the braids of our ecosystem
Red Fox, Monarch, Hawk,
White Bark Pine, Salmon,
Bears Ears, Lake Superior,
Kawishiwi, Menomonee, or Yellow Dog
for a deluded version of wealth
that enriches supremacy,
fear, complacency, and disconnect,
but instead complies with
the entangled lives of
Box Turtles and thunderstorms
ancient forests and the joy of
Earths’ wild reciprocity.



And I must remember this

“...throw roses into the abyss and say: 'here is my thanks to the monster who didn't succeed in swallowing me alive.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche


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posted by Wendy at 10:06 AM 0 comments