Simplicity of Nature

My sister got me a book last year called Japanese Ikebana and it is about how to create flower arrangements from just one or two beautiful flowers and a very scant amount of fill.  It also gives and idea of how to slow things down and just enjoy simple beauty.  She even got me a dish - really its not a vase - its more of a dish to do the arrangement in.  

There is also a little "frog" in the middle of the stones in the dish to help with the arrangement.

We had talked about going back to a simpler time after Rye passed - just back to a place where it is easier for a broken-hearted mom to breathe and rest.  Not so busy.  A "Human Being" instead of a "Human Doing".  She thought this might be a step  in the right direction - she is right.

You all know I love flowers to go along with my fruit trees, berries and herbs.  This is an easy way to use blooms that have to be cut due to an incoming storm, fierce rain or (gasp) snow!

Sister did this arrangement for me overt he last summer.  The flower is a "Stargazer" Lilly and the white is a little bit from an angelica frond.

It is a simple breath of beauty.  

It allows us to slow down while gazing upon it and just take it in.  No rules.

It has been too cold this spring and my Stargazers have not poked their heads up yet for the summer, nor the angelica, but I know that they will, slowly but surely we emerge into spring from the cold, dark winter.

Simply Be.

One More Mile...

It is the end of a long winter here at Wicked Raven Farm and the end of a long school year as well for all of us at Houston High.  I grow weary from all of the struggles that I have and that I see around me!  I struggle every day again to get out of bed and only do so because I have another child here with us who needs to see that we can all march on and that we can stay another while on this side of the veil.  I find small things to keep me going and to keep me getting out of bed other than that I'm a serious Badass and that I'm out of leave from the school job!  I have friends there who are also struggling and who I feel would be let down if I didn't keep going, as well as kids there who have to see that the struggle has value somewhere, somehow.  I have the song of the day and sometimes the random text from my sister saying "Chips and Dip - Roger that"!  Out of nowhere at 4:00 am!  I have bananas on my banana tree (they dont look too good right now but that's a story for another post), and I have green things planted for the gardens and greenhouse.

I have a boss who gently reminds me (often these days it seems - and bless her for it as well as the others who keep me going too) that I can go one more mile.

The above is a picture of a picture and not a great picture but.... I'm not a fantastic photographer and you will get the point regardless of the photo.  It is a picture of an underground mine horse.  It is by Ross Taylor.  The placard reads:  "The photograph was taken in about 1917 in an underground mine shaft.  This horse was totally blind as were all such horses due to a lifetime in total darkness."

"It is the most impressive image I have ever seen.  It depicts the American way of life and the effort it took our forefathers to build this great country.  Often, when I have been discouraged and despondent beyond words, I have looked at this picture and said to myself  "I will pull it one more mile". With that attitude in mind and with an average amount of intelligence, any person can certainly make a success of their life in this land of free enterprise."

I too can go "one more mile".

I hope the load is light and the tunnel is bright for what ever needs pulled one more mile in your life!  Blessed be.

Let your Crayon light shine on!

Here at Wicked Raven we are always trying to keep up with the "survivalist" hacks that pop up all over the place.  It's not so much that we are afraid of the apocalypse or anything, we just have lots of opportunities to have emergencies it seems, and so we like to have all the options available we can. We saw one recently on Facebook that we just had to try.  It said that you can light a Crayon and use it for emergency light just like a candle!  What???

So we got one out of the giant Crayon box that was a little worse for wear and we gave it a try.  You have to leave the paper on the Crayon it seems.  Ours wouldn't stay lit if we tore the paper back too far.

They are bright little suckers too!

We put it in a candle holder and it was brighter than any little tea light we have used even.  We did have to make a hole in the wax at the bottom of the holder to get the crayon to stand up straight but it was a super simple emergency light and worked great!  Let your light shine on!