18Jun 2023 by catbird No Comments
Summer Solstice Fire Wheel

Summer Solstice Fire Wheel

Campfire, Craft Project, Garden, Nature Art, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
One of my favorite things to do is to sort through traditional observances from all around the world and find things that resonate for me and my family. My own celebration of the wheel of the year is generally secular, but I enjoy drawing on these ancient practices that have been celebrated for as long as we have records. This turn of the wheel I was struck by a Germanic/Slavic tradition of lighting an actual wheel on fire and rolling through town into a river. I initially discounted this for being ridiculously dangerous, but I kept thinking about it. I was then reading that people spread the ashes from their solstice fire on their gardens to make them extra healthy and productive. I have been having a pretty terrible garden…
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16Jun 2023 by catbird 1 Comment
Plarn Sun Catchers

Plarn Sun Catchers

Craft Project, Nature Art, Play, Recycled Materials, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
I am always trying to think of new ways to make sun catchers this time of year- it's the perfect easy craft to celebrate the sun. I also try and stay away from the contact paper method and excessive waste plastic (no shade though we've all been there.) This is one of my favorite sun catchers to date-- it's simple enough for littles and engaging enough, well for adults honestly. It makes use of waste plastic in the form of those terrible plastic grocery bags that just never seem to go away. (My county has banned them and yet they are still everywhere?) You first cut the bags into strips and make a type of yarn (plastic + yarn = plarn) and then weave them around sticks. It's a very…
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04Jun 2023 by catbird 2 Comments
Summer Wild Berry Foraging Hike

Summer Wild Berry Foraging Hike

Foraging, Hike Ideas, Play, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
This is probably my kids favorite kind of hike... built in snacks! In fact, we love foraging for wineberries along hiking trails so much that I named my business Wineberry Wood Press. There are tons and tons of different types of berries that grow wild all summer, find a good field guide or a knowledgable forager in your area and get a sense of what is available when and or course what is safe. Wineberries and blackcaps are a particular favorite of ours, but there are so many others! bring a basket and collect berries to make a treat later, or do what we usually do and just eat and walk. Either way it will stave of the frequent protestations of "I'm hungry!" strawberries wineberries mulberry & honeysuckle tart wild…
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30May 2023 by catbird 2 Comments
Summer Solstice Flower Crowns

Summer Solstice Flower Crowns

Garden, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Play, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
One of our favorite traditions on the Summer Solstice is to make and wear flower crowns! In our part of the world this is when flowers really start to bloom and show off. You can weave crowns with the same technique we used to make May Day Garlands here, but this is best done with things that have long stems like dandelions. Our preferred method is to make a wreath from honeysuckle or other vine and then embellish with other flowers. That way you can use things with shorter stems and it's a bit simpler. Weaving Flower Crowns Materials: flexible vines-- we always use honeysuckle flowers Method: Loop a few vines into a circle that fits on your head. You'll want 3-4 loops and can use more than one vine…
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