25Jan 2024 by catbird No Comments
Frost Moon Sun Catcher

Frost Moon Sun Catcher

Craft Project, Frost Moon, Full Moon, Play, Winter
This sun catcher uses the exact same solution as my frost paint, but creates a thick layer in a clear lid instead of a thin layer on a piece of paper. It's extremely simple to make, but will take several days to dry out completely. It is a super saturated salt solution which will grown into crystalline feathers as the water evaporates. Because it's trapped in a plastic lid instead of expose to the air on your paper it will take longer. It’s fairly unpredictable and it’s best to embrace that and enjoy the process. The way the crystal grow is similar to the way frost forms! Materials: 1/2 cup epsom salt 1/2 cup water jar with a lid a clear plastic lid watercolor (optional) Method: Put the epsom salt…
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25Nov 2023 by catbird 1 Comment
Rosehip Syrup after a Frost

Rosehip Syrup after a Frost

Frost Moon, Full Moon, Recipes, Winter
Rosehips are one of my favorite things to forage. The woods around me are overrun with invasive multiflora rose and while its hips are quite small, they still make a delicious rosehip syrup. In North America, Rosa multiflora was originally introduced from Asia as a soil conservation measure, a natural hedge to border grazing land, and as a hardy rootstock. It proved much too hardy and quickly escaped cultivation crowding out native species with dense hedges and popping up in wooded areas. Multiflora hips can be harvested without concern, as they are invasive and not a preferred wildlife food. They are also fun and easy for kids to forage- the hips are bright red and easy to spot! Like all roses, the multiflora produces hips that are edible. Rosehips are…
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23Nov 2023 by catbird 2 Comments
Crystalizing Frost Paint for the Frost Moon

Crystalizing Frost Paint for the Frost Moon

Craft Project, Frost Moon, Full Moon, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Winter
November is the time that the really frosty mornings start for us. The Assiniboine and Creek people call this moon the Frost Moon, the Anishnaabeg and Passamaquoddy call it the Freezing Moon, and the Algonquin tribes call it the Much White Frost on Grass Moon. The Abenaki refer to the Freezing River Maker Moon, and the Arapaho people call it the When the Rivers Start to Freeze Moon. This is a great time to explore outside and look for different types of frost. I always seem to find myself taking pictures of leaves that look like they are dusted with icing sugar. If you have old wondows like us you'll start to see beautiful feathers of frost form on them in the morning. There are even "frost flowers" that is…
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21Jan 2023 by catbird 3 Comments
Frost Lanterns

Frost Lanterns

Craft Project, Frost Moon, Full Moon, Midwinter, Nature Art
Midwinter is a snowy sleepy time. The days are 42 minutes longer and brighter than then were on the Winter Solstice, but they don't really feel like it yet. In one of my favorite winter nature books, Grandmother Winter, Grandmother shakes her down comforter out and the feathers become snow. This image is actually drawn from the Grimm's fairytale Frau Holle, which itself is drawn from a much earlier myth. In early Germanic and Nordic folklore, Frau Holle controlled the weather and kept children safe in the winter. In modern lexicon she is a kindly old woman who makes it snow by shaking out her quilts. I like the idea of a sweet old woman who makes snow and looks after children. It follows to me that giving children lanterns…
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