Saturday 12 December 2009

winter trinkets, snowy elk & tree ghosts


we have a stream near our house that swans drift down.
(thats where i find my swan feathers. they float like boats)
the bank of the stream is lined with giant trees. some of them
are so old that they lean over and drag their branches into the water.

yesterday when i was walking molly i noticed
that two of the biggest trees had been cut down.
i brushed the wood chips away from their stumps,
then i stepped up onto them and made myself as tall
as i could. i stood very straight and still in their place.
it felt like i was inside the ghost of a tree.
i could even feel my arms and cheeks turning to wood.

then i collected some of the abandoned
branches and brought them home.
i pinned them to the ceiling and
hung little crystals from
the branches ♥

what is a sugar plum?
i definitely always thought i knew what one was.
but now im sure that i have absolutely no idea.

16 comments:

Vanessa. said...

Those are lovely photos, they have really put me in an extra-special christmassy mood :) xx

Mirabelle Dupont said...

This is a lovely collection of pictures and thoughts. The hedgehog is cutest. And I envy you; I used to collect swan feathers and fancy turning into a tree...

-Mirabelle

E said...

that is a beautiful way to honour the memory of an old tree <3

Emily's Moose - Karolina Kubikowska said...

The hedgehog really is cute. I found one today and am going to buy it for my mum for an early xmas present.
It's wonderful that people still notice such things like you did with the tree.
beautiful pics :)

anji-jane said...

wonderful pictures, wonderful post. I love what you did with the tree. x

Erimentha said...

hello miss owl in the dark,

:( bummer that you cant watch you tube in the uk!
oh well maybe you can just do the tag anyway. it's not completely essential to watch it!

anyway, it's up to you!
xoxo
eri

ps thanks so much for at least trying, i still cant believe stephanie dosen, my fav artist, is YOU!

Nicomi Nix Turner said...

What a lovely collection~

Mirabelle Dupont said...

Also: I think a sugar plum is definitely a Medjool date. Mhmmmm...

-Mirabelle

Lets_go_find_a_Rain_beau! said...

What a cute post it's like out of a fairytale book!

:)

Have a lovely sunday.

S*

cloudgathererholdmedown said...

how sad that they cut down the trees. and how beautiful the way you described standing there in it's ghost.

sugarplums are tiny pieces of deliciousness made from dried fruit, sugar, mixed spice and cherries

Wild Keiki said...

Oh I hate that they cut the trees down. That's so sad! But it's a very imaginative thing to do, pinning them to your ceiling. As if you're living inside an enchanted forest. The ornament in the top right photo, I have one of those! They are so cute! I have one that looks like my cat, as well. And I'm afraid I'm not sure where to find an actual sugar plum! But I'm sure they must exist somewhere.

x
Jess.

loucieee said...

I felt I was in your shoe.

k.spear said...

A sugar plum is made like this:
Take lots of different dried fruits (including plums if you have them) and chop them up in a food processor. Add toasted nuts and spices. Process until you have a big ball of sticky stuff. Then you roll it into bitty balls and then roll the little balls in turbinado sugar. Now they are sugar plums. Yay!

stephanie dosen said...

ah! thanks everyone for telling me what a
sugar plum is.
i wonder why we dont make them often.
i bet they .. are not that good.
heh heh heh
its like getting an orange and apple
in your stocking at christmas.
um.. thanks.. i could have gotten that
out of the fridge. but.. ok..
we have to keep these things
authentic i guess :D

Linda said...

Wonderful pictures!
I thought of you today because I was in this shop in town and it had the most wonderful angel wings, big ones, made of white feathers. I have never seen anything so lovely and white!

malin said...

I saw a fox on a field my the road today, it doesn´t happen often, so it´s kinda special. First I thought it was a cat, but it wasn´t...
I´ve found some beautiful swan feathers too, big ones, and then my cat found them - they aren´t quite as beautiful now... But I still love them, they are really pretty.
I haven´t been knitting a lot the last couple of years, now I´m trying one of your patterns, the some cloudy day leg warmers - I hope they will turn out as nice as yours... And then I will wear them with the beautiful white fur collar I´m buying tomorrow...