I get ideas all the time. Last year, while attending a local winter market a few minutes from my home, the idea to be a vendor the next time around planted in my head. Back then, I didn't know I would be applying for an artist grant (which I did get!) and that my summer would be consumed with harvesting, spinning, and weaving in preparation for a show in Oct. As soon as the show was over, I turned my sites on weaving up a few scarves. My goal was nine. What I have is eight! Eight different scarves - unique patterns and a range of colors. I let the designs create themselves...where the whim to try houndstooth or variety of check patterns comes from I can not say. I mostly just want to see what they will look like. Once the warp is on, I have to work it out on the loom. I am looking forward to the event! Not only because I am proud to share these works, but also because it is exactly the kind of hyperlocal market experience that I love. I enjoyed it selling veggies in town when I worked on the farm - and now I will get to sell purely my own ideas and work. And if I am lucky, I may get to see someone wearing something I made. For a weaver, that is  akin to a musician hearing their song on the radio. My weaving practice will continue to take shape after this month but I hope that I can always set aside some time in winter for scarves. They are a practical and enduring accessories that I believe hold wonderful memory and can become associated with a person. If you are local, I hope you will come check out my wares! 

I'm a bit of a pop culture mulcher and a lover of musicals. So, yes, I have seen Wicked: For Good and yes, I loved every moment of it.  Spoilers ahead, so stop reading now if you don't want to know!

The short of it is that I emerged from the theater relating so much to Elphaba - someone with magic, and compassion, and a real fight to change things that are unfair...but serious limitations in popularity and appeal. I have not found it easy to express my feelings...about why I don't eat animals, how I feel so connected to trees and landscapes and even people. I am emotional and sentimental and passionate. I care a LOT. But I feel so limited. 

I have often said that I feel more like Dian Fossey than Jane Goodall. Perhaps they are the Elphaba and Glinda of the primate rescue and advocacy world. Born within a year of eachother, Dian was murdered at age 53, the Jane died in her sleep at age 91. Both absolute legends, but Jane was able to capture the hearts and minds of the people into supporting her work while Dian forged a path and got the things done. I admire them both but I have aways felt more like Dian. 

Popularity. There is a certain kind of magic that those people have and a reassurance that looking the part eventually leads to having the part. Like anything, it can be used for bad or good. 

In my work to preserve local Trees, I hold back my sentimentality around certain audiences...most people actually. It is such a personal and intimate topic to me that I really struggle to connect about it even though I want to. I want to share how I feel trees are my family members and friends...that there is a difference between a loving haircut and lopping off a limb. One is care and the other is harm. I often find that when I stand up and speak my thoughts, people find me strange and eccentric, and ultimately do not want to support my projects. Worse...I get blocked and outcast. 

I relate to Elphaba. I have been accused of being a 'wet blanket' of being 'too sensitive' of feeling entitled for wanting the truth and transparency. I suspect many people do feel this in different areas of life. There is so so much going on.  

Seeing Wicked: For Good helps me appreciate the Glindas in life. Those that make it through the transformation and come out the other side with purpose for good. And I wish I could say I know someone like that. I would like to. Maybe I already do but do not realize it. One can not manufacture the kind of relationship Elphaba and Glinda have, it has to be natural. But I will be saying a prayer moving forward...please send someone popular my way to help me. Someone who can inspire people to protect nature. Someone, who when placed in front of people shines and amplifies with their support...doesn't become stern, blamey, or exasperating as I often feel. 

So, I leave with the lines from the song 'For Good'. May this notion be true and may I have an opportunity to grow alongside someone who possess far different magic than I - the magic of charm, for good. It would be hard, it would be a journey, but by golly it would probable have better results in the long term.

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives 

For a reason

Bringing something we must learn 

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return. 

I am a busy busy bee - even in winter. There are many ways of managing cold temperatures, hibernation being one of them...but alas, humans do not hibernate. Winter is for creation. For art. For gatherings. For community. It seems this month and next are chock full of many wonderful projects and plans - one after another. Tree plantings, Jelly making, Chorale concerts, pop-up shops, winter markets, movie screenings, baking, and hosting dinners, celebrations, commemorations, catching up with family and friends, ice-skating, workshops, planning events, and weaving weaving weaving. There is almost too much to remember and recall! I am feeling happy with all of this activity that make up my winter experience. It really is all the small things together that make up the whole, and variety, it is said, is the spice of life. In this case, my spice cabinet is full of possibilities! 

There are so many things I think about doing...I have always been this way. As a child, I was insatiably curious about all kinds of activities...I danced, sang, played musical instruments, wandered around nature. For a long time, I thought that I have flitted from one thing to the next, unable to stay committed or practicing. Now, as an almost 40 year old, I realize that is not true. My idea of a full and rounded life is all of these little things I enjoy...they include dancing, singing, musical theater, cooking, ice skating, weaving, caring for animals...etc, etc. If you know me at all and anything about my story it is one of picking up new threads everywhere. 

Sometimes these activities come easy...I just start doing them. I take an opportunity that comes up and follow the inner voices. 

But sometimes the inner voice is there and takes a long time ripen. The opportunity doesn't come up naturally - they sit in my mind going through some kind of percelation. I call these musings 'Banana thoughts'. 

Some current Banana thoughts: 

• Reiki - what's that all about and would I enjoy learning how to do it? 

• Horse-led Therapy - could this be why I have been chasing horses for a decade? 

• Bookkeeping Certification - if I became certified would I make use of it? 

• Open a shop - potted plants, hand-weaving offerings, etc. 

I don't know what the future is for these. Some Banana thoughts I have had take a long time to ripen and then they do and quickly disappear (like in 2018 when I explored if going back to school for Primatology might be for me - it was not!) 

I like to be aware of them and keep track of their progress and temperatures. Even better would be if they all weave together somehow. 

Time will tell! 

Well, it has been over two years since I touched this space. I was completely sucked back into Instagram and Facebook. I thought the temporary stories and posts would feel good - but it has left me feeling somewhat hollow. As if all of the work I have shared is lost to the algorithm, or that I have been hiding behind the platform itself - mixed in and amongst all my friends and other 'influencers' content. The longform gone. But it does appear that I still have a desire to write and perhaps most importantly, to do so on my own terms, away from all of the advertising and AI generated content. 

 So I return here to this space. A space that is all my own, but that I have barely touched since 2021. It already feels better to be back here writing. 

I come back here very much inspired by a local couple where I live in Cambridge, NY: Maria Wulf and Jon Katz (I love their names together!). I met Maria while working on the Cambridge Community Weaving project. 

Maria is a local fiber artist who makes many delightful sewn items and cares for a herd of friendly animals.  She writes about nature, sewing, craft, and friendships. Maria included me in her blog about the 300-year loom we worked on together this past summer. I was extremely hesitant about being filmed and photographed. She talked to me about it and helped me feel more comfortable with what I termed 'exposure'. I really still have work to do there.  After the project, I sent Maria a thank you bookmark  in which I incorporated  MIlkwild fiber and she seemed to love this because she picked up two more for her friends! She sent me a card with a sheep sticker that I added to my 2025 vision board. Her blog is a delightful step into her daily life...covering caring for her sheep, books and podcasts, photos from walks in the woods, and more. Life stuff. The good life stuff. 

Maria's husband, Jon, has written many books across genre's and now writes a delightful blog about his day-to-day life living on their farm. He takes pictures of flowers, Maria, their farm, and just generally has interesting reflections on life. 

Here are their blogs: 

Maria's Blog: Full Moon Fiber Art
Jon's Blog: Bedlam Farm 

I just love thier photo-journal approach and that they do this in their own space and way. I don't mean to be a copy cat...and I do hope they recognize this as the flattery it is intended to be! Their blogs remind me that there are still ways to share online and feel authentic / not owned by the platforms and apps. I am on a journey to simplify the layers of noise that enter into my life through digital interactions. Turning to local newspapers, blogs, community cork boards, front porch forum feels better. 

Honestly, I am having a great time right now. Maybe I will seek out an actual blog format....much to consider. To be continued! 

The seasons where I live are shifting into autumn. The leaves are drying and dropping. They blow all around in the chilly wind. The light dims into darkness at 7:30pm. My baby goes to bed earlier than she did before. 

As I lay down with her to whisp her gently to sleep - I started thinking: 

"Why I am I sleeping on a rectangle in a square? Name me one other animal who sleeps this way. Who is responsble for this?" I asked myself. Rather than realistically being able to place blame on any given designer or architect - I finally reasoned...it's me. I am responsible for this! 

That was an empowering invitation. 

For most of this week, I have been engaging in a visualization when I lay down with my baby. I called it 'The Squirrel Tail'. Inside a Squirrel Drey or Den, Squirrels utilize their very prominent and very warm puffy tails to keep cozy and warm. When I lay down, I imagine that I am wrapping my tail around us both. We drift off into sleep in our cozy round drey. 

Each year I devise in my head a creative challenge for a 'winter bed'. In previous years it has been "Cappuccino Bed" decked in dark brown flannel sheets and a creamy comforter next to a glowing faux fire or lamp. It's been like jumping into a warm coffee with frothed milk - surrounded by chocolatey brown woods. 

This winter, we are going for the Squirrel Hollow. A cozy round in the room with lots of soft fluff and a big tail-like blanket that envelopes us in a round. 

Visualizations are powerful and I truly believe that what lives in our imagined dreams and desires is good inspiration to create in our physical lived spaces. The physical space we move in have an immense impact on our perceptions and well being. 

This autumn, I extend the challenge to you. What would you like to change? How and where would you like to be? Close your eyes, visualize that experience and then invite that into your reality. 

Libraries have always been sacred spaces for me. As a young child I would wind my way through the mysterious and cavernous shelves, never knowing, but anticipating all the new knowledge I might come across. Sometimes I would find a how-to book...some secret I wasn't supposed to find. I could learn how to make a shelf? Conduct an experiment? Grow a garden of lush flowers? Experience another culture or take an adventure? I relished in the possibilities. 

To this day, when I am "stuck" in my creative endeavors, the library is one of my first attempts to wiggle free. I walk through the aisles. I visit sections I rarely stop in on. I wander into the children's section or young adults (which as I get older gets a bit scarier to be honest!) Then I do the same thing I would in a forest...I get quiet and wait for the books to come out. 

I wait for the books that are curious about me to jump off the shelves and come closer. I wait until they jump in my arms. I greet them 'oh hello - I am Adina. What's your name?' I look at their art. I flip through their pages. I invite them to stay with me. I carry these adventurous books home and give them a primary spot next to my reading chair. Then I jump in. As I leaf through, I feel it out...what about this book stood out to me? 

A few tips for the library book cruising: 

• Get present in the space - a library is an intentionally silent space. Enjoy the quiet bubble being offered! 

• Take your time - it's best to do this when you have a good chunk - 30 minutes is great...a little longer is better. Once you zone in, time will go faster than expected. Give it to yourself. 

• Go with the flow - if a book draws you in just go with it. This is a practice in noticing when to 'pick it up' or 'put it down'. Trust your gut and check your energy. You will know where it's going.  

• Get a library card - this is access to community resources and knowledge. Checking out books keeps your home free of clutter and saves money...if you don't have a library card just go for it. Most libraries also have digital resources in the form of audio and e-books galore! 

• Read however you want - someone once told me "you don't have to read a whole book to enjoy it". Years later, I take this to heart. I might read a chapter. I might start in the middle. It's your experience...read the book however you like. 

• Check out, read, return, repeat - do this as often as you need. Become a patron of the library, befriend your local librarians, and enjoy all the library has to offer as food for creativity. 

Happy cruising book worm! 

In search of the hidden pond...

I grew up playing games like The Legend of Zelda and Hero's Quest. In these games, you walk up to a stranger in the town square, have a chat, and they give you a side quest. You can choose to pursue it or not. Often it's important in the game play because it leads to uncovering someplace or some item that will come in handy later on when approaching the main quest.

A few days ago, I ventured into the local artist's co-op and had a conversation with a woman from the town. She delivered me an irresistible side quest. She told me of a beautiful small pond that lie just down a small side street in the village. She said there was a little boardwalk that passed through. She, being a magical kind of person, made it sound so perfect and whimsical...I knew I would be searching it out. 

The next morning was a beautiful day. I strapped the baby on my back and like all good adventurers, we donned epic hats for sun protection and set off. Past the co-op, down the side street, around the corner. We looked and looked - and alas could not yet find the pond, it was not our time. 

We did however stumble right into a polinator garden. Not even a small one...a large one! Full of many different kinds of flowers, and a beautiful bright stand of sunflowers all pointing toward the sun. The garden was abuzz with insects - bees, grasshoppers, and butterflies. All summer, I had never known of this place, and now here I was at the height of the bloom, wandering amongst the flowers. 

We stayed a good long time, joyful at the newfound knowledge of this delightful spot. 

Sometimes I think I've seen all there is to see in this small town, and the surprises keep coming. 

Sometimes life offers opportunities to shake things up, to see something new, to wander into a place that makes all the difference.

Those opportunities may even come in the form of a side quest from a magical, artful shop clerk. 

Will you say yes? 

If you do, make sure to wear sun protection ;) 

I love this song. I love this song so much, I learned how to play it on the guitar. I donned wildflowers and danced it in the woods. A group of deer stopped to look at me. They must have thought it a strange sight - a woman in flowers dancing in the forest...or maybe a welcome one!

The lyrics in this song speak to me: 

"And the flowers I knew

In the fields where I grew

Were content to be lost in the crowd

They were common and close

I had no room for growth

And I wanted so much to branch out"

I've related to this song in different times of my life:
Growing up in my parents home - surrounded by too much stuff.
Going to a school with kids I had little in common with. 
Living in a crowded city that monopolized all my senses.
Navigating out of a marriage that felt like a dying plant sale. 
Knowing, deep down, that if I could just reach out in a way that had nothing to do with competition, I could bloom over and over again. 

The especial Dolly continues... 

"When a flower grows wild

It can always survive

Wildflowers don't care where they grow"

I think there is a good reason I've been walking around all these years, on all my travels, taking pictures of beautiful, vibrant, abundant, and generous flowers! 

Okay, let's get anthecological for a moment. Flowers are the attractive invitation that plants put out to their guests (insects, birds, bats, etc). They are a respite, a welcoming space, a place for rest, a snack to nibble and bring home, and the source from which more flowers are certain to come. When pollinators interact with flowers, they are ensuring the spread of beauty and the abundance of food. 

To me, flowers are the giver and the gift. As much of nature shows us...function and beauty are inseparable. 

I call my place creative idea generation place 'The Bloom Room' because there are so many different flowers and different ways to bloom. Sometimes, it just takes a random visitor to the petals to keep it going strong. 

I hope you'll join me. And go on, don some flowers and dance this one around the room. Wherever you are, bloom!