When it's time to celebrate a holiday, reach for The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, by Ree Drummond (HarperCollins Publishers. New York, 2013). This book is packed with delicious recipes, illustrated instructions, and a homey narrative about family and holidays. With the July Fourth celebration close at hand, there is bound to be something delicious to add to the holiday spread!
The cookbook includes twelve chapters, covering the main holidays such as Valentine's Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as important occasions like Mother's' and Father's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Halloween and New Year's Eve. Recipes start with Resolution Smoothies (green, orange and purple) and end with Chocolate Mint Shooters, with everything in between, from Salmon Scrambled Eggs and Buffalo Chicken Bites, to Pasta Salad and Skillet Cornbread. The recipes are scaled for the holidays, so no need to calculate portions for a crowd. The steps are illustrated with beautiful photographs that instruct the new cook and delight the seasoned chef.
Instead of "homesteading in the city", Drummond is a city girl who married a rancher in Oklahoma and became a "homesteader" (sometimes pioneering just means trying something new)! She is a writer, photographer and entrepreneur (www.the pioneerwoman.com). I have really enjoyed learning more about her story in this book, and trying out her recipes. Since the book is all about holidays, I especially appreciated her "Do-Ahead Game Plan" sections, with strategies for starting preparations a day or two ahead of the event. Now, back to the upcoming July Fourth holiday - I've got my eye on a recipe for Key Lime Pie (and already have a three-pound bag of Key limes in the fridge)!
Join me for more bird watching in our urban yard. Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) are in the dove family, Columbidae. They are native to North America and their range spans the continental United States, extending north into Southern Canada and south into Mexico and the Bermuda archipelago. They are in shades of gray, brown, and tan, with black spots on the wings and sometimes on the neck.
Mourning Doves make a distinctive mournful call by puffing up the throat while keeping the bill closed. The wings make a whistling sound upon take-off and landing, using sonation (sounds produced by bird body parts other than vocal organs).
Where California scrub jays have moxie, mourning doves seem serene, sedate, and wary. They spend a lot of time foraging in grass and wood chips for insects, and even resting on the ground. Mourning doves approach the water dish stealthily, taking their time. They drink, and then often fly straight upward as though startled (or, are they startling the observer)? Enjoy time with our local wildlife.
In Elements of the Chinese Gardens we learned that walls are an important element of Chinese gardens for capturing shadows and displaying poetry. I'm always on the lookout for good shadow play, whether on an outside garden wall, an inside wall with a garden projection, or an interesting architectural pattern almost anywhere. Enjoy this gallery of shadow play from everyday life.
Blinds cast a shadow on a notebook
Blinds and plants blur together
The the old Chinese Elm casts a shadow
An outside garden scene projected into a dark stairwell
Architectural pattern in a parking garage
Blinds are fascinating
Architectural shadows from a large skylight
Another outside garden scene projected into the stairwell
For our next adventure in dyeing, we're eco-dyeing two silk scarves with spring flowers and leaves. This is our first attempt at eco-dyeing, also called eco-printing, and our first time using protein-based fiber. The mordant-treated fabric may absorb interesting textures from the plant material, as well as color. Eco-dyeing also fits in nicely with this year's theme of "homesteading in the city".
For this project, I’ve been inspired by the techniques of two fabric artists. Laura Mead of Prairie Hollow Productions, eco-dyes with prairie grasses and flowers. Theresa Brown of The Silk Thread, eco-prints with dried leaves.
Silk scarves - scoured and mordanted
The Weight of Fabric for two silk scarves is 4.4 ounces (or 125 grams). I used the silk scarves that I purchased from Dharma Trading (see Studio Updates: New Fiber). The scarves are ready-to-dye, but I still scoured and mordanted the fabric, following instructions from Maiwa Textiles. The fabric was scoured with Orvus paste and soda ash, and mordanted with gallnut. I’ll cover that process in a separate video.
Daffodils, blue bells, a bougainvillea bract (separated), maple leaves, and ferns
For one scarf I dried daffodils from our neighbor, and collected bluebells that have naturalized in our yard. I also had a single bougainvillea bract. For the second scarf I collected young green maple leaves from a tree in our yard, and several types of ferns. Some of the ferns had marvelous spores on the underside of the leaves. For this project I’m not interested in the weight of dye material since I am transferring color and texture.
Basic supplies
Supplies for the project include:
Plastic-covered surface
Prepared silk fabric (scoured, mordanted)
Plant material
Heavy rolling pin
Clean sticks for rolling
String and heat-proof rubber bands
Heat source
Large stainless-steel pot (with room for sticks)
Water to cover the sticks
NOTE: For safety, use a face mask and rubber gloves.
Workspace ready for eco-dyeing
Set up your workspace, ideally outside. I covered the work table with a plastic yard waste bag. First, presoak the prepared silk for at least 30 minutes or overnight. This helps ensure the fabric absorbs as much dye as possible, and as evenly as possible. Squeeze out excess water.
Arrange flowers on wet silk scarf
Eco-dyeing with Spring Flowers and Leaves
Lay the first wet scarf on the work table surface, shiny side up. Arrange the plant material on half the scarf. I placed the flowers in an alternating blue and yellow pattern, with a single row of bougainvillea near the end. Fold the scarf over on itself. Use the rolling pin to press the plant material into the fabric. Roll the fabric around one of the clean sticks. Cinch the ends with rubber bands; wrap the string around the roll; and secure. This holds the plant material tightly against the silk for better color or print transfer. Set aside.
Fold the silk scarf over on itself
Use the rolling pin to press the plant material into the scarf
Roll up the scarf around a clean stick, secure the ends with rubber bands, and bind the fabric with string
Lay the second wet scarf on the plastic-covered table. Arrange the plant material on half the scarf. Here I placed the ferns and maple leaves in a pattern, keeping in mind the upper and lower surface of each plant. The lower surface of these specimens seems more interesting than the top. Fold the scarf over on itself. Again, use the rolling pin to press the plants into the fabric. Then roll the fabric around the other clean stick. Cinch the ends with rubber bands; wrap the string around the roll; and secure.
Arrange leaves and ferns on the wet fabric
Spores from the ferns in the upper left corner
Leaves from the maple tree in spring
Roll up the scarf around a clean stick and secure with rubber bands and string
Place the two sticks in the pan of water. Heat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (or 82 degrees Celsius) over the period of an hour, and then simmer at 180 degrees for an hour. Remove the fabric sticks from the water, and let cool. Unfurl the silk scarves, carefully removing the plant debris and squeezing out excess liquid.
Heat to 180 degrees and simmer
Rinse the fabric in cool water until the water runs clear. Run the fabric through the washing machines' rinse and spin cycles, using cold water. Let the fabric air dry. Two weeks later, wash the fabric in a pH neutral soap, like Synthrapol or Professional Textile Detergent, and hang to dry.
Remove from heat and let cool
Silk scarf dyed with flowers
The Results
Looking at the flower-printed scarf, I’m surprised how much color was transferred from both the daffodils and the bluebells. The single pink bougainvillea bract didn’t even register, although there is a single line of pink dye. There is only faint flower or seed detail imprinted on the fabric. The silk scarf itself seems slightly yellow, so the daffodils may have dyed the scarf as well. We’ll see how colorfast the yellow and blue pigments are. They may fade over time.
Alternating color from daffodils and bluebells
Looking at the leaf-printed scarf, the ferns didn’t leave color, but may have prevented color from transferring, almost like a mask. There is some detail imprinted on the fabric. You can see the spore pattern, but it is not very distinct. The maple leaves show more promise. You can see quite a bit of detail from the leaves and stems. Possibly that could be accentuated even more by experimenting with mordants.
Spore and maple leaf print
The scarves are quite lovely. The fabric is a little stiff, but I’ve read about Milsoft fabric softener, which returns the softness to silk after dyeing. I had quite a time trying to iron out the wrinkles after dyeing. Professional dry cleaning might solve the problem. I really enjoyed this first eco-dying project. Now I’m eyeing more plants in the yard, and wondering what colors and effects they might produce!
Silk scarf dyed with leaves
Learn More
Laura Mead of Prairie Hollow Productions - eco-dyes with prairie grasses and flowers. https://youtu.be/wHXZg5IbzZ4
I’ve recently returned from a trip to Southern California, to collect personal artifacts from my parents’ place in Hemet, California. They have decided to sell the mobile home, which once belonged to my paternal grandparents and has since served as base camp for many wonderful family gatherings and trips to the dessert. Early in this blogs' history, I reported on Hemet Haven, and then later in Ahead of Their Time. My folks and I have started many an outing from this Hemet haven over the years, and returned gratefully at the end of the day.
Golden evening light along Tehachapi Pass
For this trip, my sister and I and our spouses travelled from Oregon and Northern California. As always, my husband and I enjoyed the chance to be on-the-road again, after quite a few months staying close to home. Many of the farms and orchards along Interstate 5 looked green and productive (others were dry and fallow). We decided to bypass Los Angeles, and spent the night in Tehachapi on the way down. We encountered a major traffic problem on our way through Tehachapi Pass, but enjoyed the golden evening light and the California chaparral landscape. The next day we had a chance to visit the famed Kohnen's Country Bakery in Tehachapi (highly recommended by my folks), and stocked up on bread and treats for our weekend.
Bird paradise
It was a joy to see my sister and brother-in-law again, after several years' separation due to COVID-19. They spent the night in the mobile home, and my husband and I stayed in a nearby hotel that is landscaped with palms, bougainvillea, Bird-of-Paradise and vines, and populated with scores of birds. In the morning and the evening, the air was filled with bird song.
Sale Pending
We spent an extended weekend sorting through photos, letters, and mementos to figure out what to keep. We hosted Zoom and phone calls with family members to help with the decision making. Several generations of artifacts had accumulated in the mobile home, from both our maternal and paternal families. My mom, aunt, and dad have done a great job of organizing over the years. They have also identified significant pictures and had scanned many for family members, with plans to scan more. It’s been a big and loving undertaking, for which I am grateful.
Taking a break at Applebee's in Hemet
Don't think that all we did was work. We enjoyed meeting the realtor, Bob Meadows, and several friends from the mobile home park; and eating at some of our favorite haunts – Los Vaqueros Cantina and Grill, Polly's Pies, and Applebee's Grill. The weather was surprisingly cool for the first several days, so we also enjoyed brisk walks around the park.
Enjoying Los Vaqueros in Hemet
It was an exciting and emotional weekend – seeing artifacts from beloved family and friends from the past, working together to figure out what was most important items for each of us, saying farewell to a place that is filled with memories. Of course these are just physical objects, but they represent the hopes and dreams of the past and evoke many memories. In this modern era, most of us have more items than we need and the minimalist younger generation does not want the burden of carrying artifacts through time, so it is important to be selective. We were able to whittle down the keepers to fit into our cars, but we still have our work cut out for us!
