Scenes from November

A brilliant, ephemeral sunset from our home hill.

Sometimes trains frustrate me. Usually I'm needing to be somewhere and on the other side. But they are a great reminder to slow down and look around, enjoy a moment to sit. Look around. Don't mind the rumble and the screeching whistle. I'm a kid again, fascinated with my favorite locomotive.

I've been seeing huge groups of blackbirds over golden fields lately, these guys stopped for a break.

Dangling persimmons ripe for the all the forest creatures. We have several persimmon trees about our land. I don't recommend eating them unless they are super ripe. Ripe ones taste like orange flavored candy. Around here people cut the seeds in half to reveal a spoon, fork, or knife. I think a spoon = snow. A fork = mild winter. And knife = cold.

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Mushroom Monday: Boletes

[PLEASE NOTE: Anything here I've attempted to identify is an educated guess but by no means fact. I'm no expert] Bolete Mushrooms are the giants of the mycological realm, lurking in the damp woods but not at all hidden because they are, well, giant most of the time. It was Boletes that shocked me a few summers ago with their enormity - mushrooms bigger than dinner plates, some near a foot tall. I like to call the pale ones pancake mushrooms because they look and feel like pancakes to me. The great edible Porcini mushroom is a bolete but sadly doesn't grow in Missouri. This summer I have seen a great many boletes though not as giant as I have in the past. They are incredibly fun to spot - even a small bolete is a giant among the other modest mushrooms of the woods. Many are very dense and sturdy, too, which helps them last many days longer than other mushrooms. What makes a bolete unique, and a good way to identify a bolete, is it's underbelly: beneath that cap

Customer Appreciation Giveaway !!

Etsy is a great community in which to belong. I love interacting with my customers and other artisans and getting customers reviews from all over the wide world. It helps me gauge the quality of my wares and my customer service. I really appreciate your business and your reviews. If you've purchased something from me in 2013 or 2014 please leave me a review. The sooner the better. If you leave a review by Valentine's Day, February 14th, your name will be entered to win a pocket journal from Traveling Chariot. If you purchased something from me in person, leave a review in the comments section of this blog entry and you'll be entered, too. If you comment below be sure to include your email so I can get address info if you win. If you win, choose between Orient Express (red) and Silver Dreams. Thanks for supporting this teeny-tiny business.

How Do You Unplug?
Pocket Journal Giveaway

1. Read my post. 2. Leave a comment. 3. Wait until Halloween (with your fingers crossed) when I'll announce a winner of this 2 1/2 x 3 inch pocket journal with red, embossed leather. Do you ever find yourself suffering from digital overload? Phones and computers, tablets and tvs seem to invade so many hours of our days. Do you feel a vague sense of longing for something pleasantly tactile to do with your hands or just to be utterly unplugged? I certainly do and this can be easily remedied by reaching back into your memory for those lovely activities that the modern age has nearly forgotten. For me, I write a letter to a friend – on carefully chosen paper, with a favorite pen, at my wooden desk with a cup of tea or some Irish music to accompany me. Or else I walk over to my vinyl collection and put some Dylan on the record player. Perhaps I am more nostalgic than you for physical things, physical movements. So I wonder, in what treasures of yesteryear do you l

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