Permission to Be Loud
I was painting watercolors in my sketchbook—chaotic, wild, absolutely no plan. Then I went back in with my Caran d’Ache Aquarelles and made…
Appalachian Ground
A Love Story
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ArtAll posts
Permission to Be Loud
I was painting watercolors in my sketchbook—chaotic, wild, absolutely no plan. Then I went back in with my Caran d’Ache Aquarelles and made…
Riverstone Musings
I’ve been painting river stones. I know, rocks. So what? I find them irresistible: the shapes, smoothness, colors. The ways they fit together.…
Signal in Gold
When I started this little 8″x8″, I meant to paint the snow. In the process photo below you can see it easily: a…
HikesAll posts
Woods Walk with Beezus
The weather is so beautiful that sometimes I have to stop what I’m doing and go walk about in the woods. Beezy never…
Indian Pipe & Blue Crawdad
It rained here for most of a week, so when the cloud cover let up and the sun came out, I headed down…
Cat Hike with Woodland Phlox
It’s simple, but these little regular hikes make a big difference in how well I breathe and function. I wish everyone could get…
Sweet Cicely, Wood Nettles, & Wild Bouquet
I love when my days include walks in the woods. It’s a pleasure to be able to nibble on the gifts I find…
The Mountain Gives More Than I Expect
I built my first website in 2006—and have been building them ever since—but this week I started building a new one and I…
Short Walk in the Woods
Pippi said “Let’s go for a walk in the woods!” so I did, just a bit. Our trails are pretty well obstructed from…
Consolation Jellies on a Snow Earthstar Hike
I have hardly been out on our mountain since the hurricane. The trails are gone in many places, uprooted trees are blocking paths,…
Hanging Rock State Park Hike (after 10 years!)
We were trying to figure out how many years it’s been since we camped and hiked at Hanging Rock State Park, and we…
From Salamander to Saxifrage (A Lucky Day)
It’s my habit now to hunt for a salamander before setting off on a hike. It’s my version of starting with a win.…
Wild BouquetsAll posts
Late Summer Bouquets & Buckeyes (Plus Pippi)
We’re in that stage of golden light-filled afternoons, and the temps are dropping into the 40s at night. Our jewelweed, also called touch-me-not,…
Bouquet with Bottlebrush Buckeye
Growing right next to our firepit is a magnificent bottlebrush buckeye. Buckeye trees love our mountain, and there are hundreds of them everywhere.…
Bee Balm, Branch Lettuce, and Pippi
We went out to see if we could harvest branch lettuce this late in the season. Like a lot of lettuces, it’s best…
Layla, Barn, & Bee Balm Bouquet
I don’t know if you can see it, but there’s a tiny bump in the road up ahead. That’s Layla, sunning herself. As…
Wild Onion & Mint Bouquet
I’ve been eyeing these monstrous onion flowers for a week or more now. Presumably they once were intentionally planted up the mountain behind…
Daylily, Foxglove, and Yarrow Bouquet
I went out on the mountain to get yarrow. I had in mind to make some yarrow tea, but in the end got…
Cat Hike with Woodland Phlox
It’s simple, but these little regular hikes make a big difference in how well I breathe and function. I wish everyone could get…
The White Irises Made It!
Right now wild irises are blooming in ditches everywhere in the High Country. The ones in our ditch (Isn’t that sweet? OUR ditch!…
Sweet Cicely, Wood Nettles, & Wild Bouquet
I love when my days include walks in the woods. It’s a pleasure to be able to nibble on the gifts I find…
Skullcap, Rocket, and Wild Geranium Bouquet
A few days ago I happened across one of our little stretches of skullcap blooming. I’ve missed so many things this spring—I’ve been…