All is Fair

 Woodchuck and I went to the land on our scheduled day this week, and instantly knew something was happening by the chewed up driveway. It is not unusual for peeps to use the end of the driveway as a turn around, but if that was the case with this situation, the person was a tad off 😂 and when I say that, I am just playing! I doe why did find out quickly why this happened, so don't come at me 😁 This is something that will happen a lot moving forward! 👇

Woodchuck has anxiously been waiting for the excavator to arrive, but had not received any phone call about the work starting, but we looked at the driveway, glanced up, and we could see it through the trees. Woodchuck nearly ran from my car to the machine, and I have never seen him look so lovingly at a piece of equipment before! 😍

While he jumped out of my car to get pictures of the machinery, I could see that the deer flies were out in full force again. I almost always wear long sleeves at the land. So many things are out to get you here. 👿

This was just going to be a quick trip, since we had plans afterwards, and the temps were hot again. He was going to change the oil in my car while I walked around pulling invasives, marking good things, and taking care of the SD cards. I found a mixture of good stuff and otherwise. So grab your long sleeves and bug spray and let's take a walk! 

                                                                Tall Anenome, native 👇

                                                    Croton Glandulosus, non-native 👇

I could not believe I had an interaction with this little creature! The caterpillar form of the Snowberry Clearwing moth! I was pulling invasives and thankfully it landed on my glove and not in the bag! I watched it for a bit, took pictures, and then helped it onto another plant next to where I came into contact with it. What a gift on this day! 😍👇

It's funny how I can find ONE of a plant. Just one. And in the weirdest spots. Whorled Milkweed, native. 👇

                        I am a sucker for Lichen. The color, the texture, all of it. Swoon. 💚

I know it's the right time of year for the wrong type of bush to be sprouting again, and yep, found Burning Bush sprouting and leafing out. Compared to what I worked on previously, this amount is manageable for me. Some sprouts I was able to gently pull them (root and all) from the ground, but others were from cut main stumps that I will need to cut and treat again. PSA, there are native options of plants that give you the same beautiful, showy colors of the Burning Bush. 👇

I got to enter the world of the two Harvestman arachnids! I used to handle these when I was a child, loving their long, slender legs. It's funny how we were so fearless as children, and as we grow older, so much brings us fear. 👇

                                                        Spiny Sow Thistle, non-native 👇

Tick Tre-foil, non-native. Only found one blooming so far, which is about the only way I can identify them right now. 👇

I found the Spotted St. Johns Wort and caged it. It is not in an area right now where it would not get mowed, but I wanted to be able to find it again and track its progress. It may also be in a spot that might need some clearing when we build the house, so if that's the case, I want to be able to harvest this, the seeds, and replant it later in a safe spot.👇

I filled up one bag with invasives and it's almost time to go, so I need to walk to get the SD cards switched out, and take a look around. 👇

The Spotted Joe-Pye weed, native, is starting to bloom. Unfortunately, most of this will be damaged when the pond work starts, but I remind myself that these good things are capable of coming back again, and if they don't, I have local nurseries that sell native plants and I will be able to put them in places where they won't be harmed moving forward. But let us hope that they come back on their own. 👇

In the same area, along the blueberry bushes, I found the first Jewelweed flower, native. These will always remind me moving forward of my friends Julia and Fred. These will likely be damaged as well, which is heart-breaking for me because I've fought Woodchuck for years to not mow in these areas, but I do understand that fixing the pond is so important in so many ways, and that these too will come back. 👇

Dozens of Blue Vervain, native, have moved farther away from where the mower roams, but again, might be damaged in the excavation process. 👇

I love these spider webs that are built between the stems of plants and look like bowls! 👇

The Heal-all, native, is in its glory right now. Though low to the ground, the colors are vibrant enough to catch my eye. 👇

I believe this is Boneset, native, starting to bloom now (there is another plant that I get this one confused with), with long-horn beetles of some sort. 👇

Farewell for now, land, and trees, and wildlife! Woodchuck and I are going on our yearly date to the fair for lunch! With money being lean right now due to some crazy, stupid scenarios and bills we've been getting, we decided that we would get one meal and split it. Not only would that help save on money, but would also prevent us from overeating. 😂 My cholesterol is coming in too high, and my body is holding on to 20+ extra pounds no matter what I do, so I am trying to make better decisions. As usual, we picked The House of Garlic. Lebanese food, fantastic flavor, large portions, family-ran. WIN! We got the Vegan Falafel Wrap (minus tomato and onions), with some fries, baklava, and each of us got a Lebanese Lemonada. To.die.for. And just the perfect portion (except for the drink, that could have been a tad smaller. We were sloshing as we walked, lol). 👇

We ate as soon as we got there so we could walk the food off, and we started in the ride area. Local flowers were staged throughout, including very, very tall sunflowers! 

I reminisced about going to this fair when I was growing up, and the rides that friends and family and I loved going on. Every year I have to take a picture or video of the swings and send it to my brother because he threw up spaghetti on them in the 80's 😂🤮 My mother always loved the Pirate Ship ride (they change names almost yearly), and I even went on that a few times with her while growing up! 

But my favorite rides were the Scrambler, Tilt-a-whirl, Flying Bobs, and The Gravitron (again, most names have changed since then.)

We were getting a little hot and had seen everything outside that we wanted to see, so it was time to go inside to the Expo building! I always enjoy walking through the handmade stuff, some of those people are CRAZY TALENTED! 😱

Like this gal. She had several different handmade things, but these two were my favorite. I forgot to get her name to give her credit, so I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing this here! 

And each year, they have been having a certain spot for very large items. This year it was this fantastic quilt! I can't imagine how long it takes to make the things that these people enter. 

 In between all of the running I/we have been doing, I've been trying to stock up on certain art. This is the last of the mushie ornaments to be made this year, and the last of the vintage ornament frames in red that my mom recently gave me to use. The Mushie art drop will happen in August! 🍄

I am also trying out some Halloween ideas! 

But overall this week? This how I feel and how I see the state of the world and in some aspects, my little world. 

Thank you for being on this journey with us and hopefully the next post will include pictures of pond work! If you would like to make a donation towards land projects, supplies, and such; you can do so at

paypal.me/badassnaturegirl

Transparency, to date we have not received any donations. Our land is home to deer, many types of birds, Woodchuck, raccoons, Fox, Owls, Frogs, Snapping turtles, snakes, as well as many native plants!

 

25, Day 2

 Happy 25th anniversary, Woodchuck! We actually had TWO days together to celebrate this year, since he decided to take the day-of off. We, once again, were overwhelmed with possibilities for the day, but he was thinking we could travel just over the border into Michigan. I wasn't feeling it this day, though it did sound lovely. I just didn't feel like that is what we were meant to do, and I was starting to feel a little of the "round-down rat race" syndrome I so often feel from burning my candle at both ends. We even headed out on the road with his plan in mind, got about 5 minutes down the highway and I pulled into a gas station and told him that I didn't think that is what we should be doing today. So, we both sat on phones looking for new options. Zoo? That sounds fun, but it's Summer and it might be really busy with families and littles! Outdoor hiking some place natural? Sounds fun, but we weren't dressed for that. So I proposed that we go into Plymouth, Indiana! It's not far from the land, and we will likely be doing our shopping in that area once we move. We were more familiar with the shopping complex area right off of the highway, but less so with the downtown area, so that's where we headed!

I parked on a side street where I wouldn't have to back out into traffic, but it did have 2-hour parking and that meant I was going to have to watch the clock. The downtown was small, but that's how we like it. I am not a big city kind of girl. Small, hometown, quaint is the way to my heart...and doesn't overwhelm my nervous-system 😅 We started at one end of the road and worked our way down that side. We came across a wonderful gift shop/boutique called Simplee Stated. Let me just start by saying that I am an architecture lover, in particular very old buildings and this one did not disappoint! Creaky, old hardwood floors are my jam! The shop was set up so well and is something that I feel like I struggle with in my booth when doing markets and shows. I envy others when it comes to easily to them! 

The shop has so much to choose from, and a lot of it locally made or Indiana made! There truly is a little something for everyone! Clothing (a lot of which was on sale for $10 each this day), foods, home goods, body products and more. What is even more fantastic is this store is a store front on the main road through town, but around the corner (on the road we parked on), there were two other stores fronts...one a frame shoppe and the other an antique shop. Separate on the outside.....but connected on the inside! Fantastic! 😍 From the boutique, Woodchuck got some maple syrup "made by two old guys" in St. Joe county not all that far away, and some old-fashioned hard candies like what we could get at Amish Acres back in the day. The frame shoppe is something I would like to check into for my larger cross-stitch pictures at some point! 

We went out and started walking again and I wish I would have gotten pictures of the outsides of the buildings! We stopped in a wellness/supplement shop, and then grabbed a snack at The French Press Coffee Co. We each got an iced blueberry lavender matcha, and a slice of almond poppyseed bread to share on our walk. We ran across a fantastic little corner lot filled with native flowers! They were so prolific that you couldn't even sit on the benches nestled in them! 😍

The bugs were irritating Woodchuck, so we kept moving along. I had seen an arch entrance to a park a couple of blocks away and knew there was a river running through it, so we started to head that way and came across this lovely theater! I LOVE these old theaters, and on our first official date, Woodchuck and I went to one that was playing Muppets in Space! 😆 I mean, if he didn't figure out then the type of sense of humor I have, and the simple things that make me happy, that's on him! The Rees theater is from the 1940's, art deco style and renovated. The lighted sign over your head makes you believe that dreams can come true! 👇

We looked at the flyers on the announcement boards and I saw the violinist that I had wanted to see somewhere else recently but couldn't find anyone to go with me (there are some things that you just don't want to do alone, you know?). I pointed it out to Woodchuck and he said he would go with me. Um. Are you sure, Woodchuck? I mean, this is a far cry from The Insane Clown Posse and Five Finger Death Punch that you like listening to. Sure! he says. I did not commit on buying tickets though until he watched some videos of the violinist. He says he's down for it, so tickets have been bought! It's been quite awhile since we've gone to a performance/concert, and I'm looking forward to the evening with him.....but I really hope he doesn't fall asleep! 👇

We are starting to get too hot when we are out in the sun, and finally make our way down to the park where there is more shade! We realize that this was the same park we brought our boys to when they were little for some sort of festival. It had an Abraham Lincoln impersonator there and I remember telling my youngest that AL was going to be there and he was so dubious and I had to keep telling him yes, he was going to be there! As you can imagine, that didn't go over well once we got there. 😶 I'm sure some of this stuff is newer, I honestly don't remember. It's a nice little park, but unfortunately, covered in goose poop. So we had to look at the ground while we walked and dodge all of the piles 💩

                                               The main bridge over the yellow river.👇

The amphitheater. 👇

There were various, new lookout points along the river, with benches! But again, lots and lots of Goose poop. It was really interesting to see how close some of the houses were to the edge of the hill bank. I mean, there was one house that was *right* on the brink and I swear it was just a tree keeping it from going over! Sadly too, there was some garbage in the water, and a drainage tube draining into it from somewhere. 👇

We went back to the coffee house for lunch and we each got a panini and something to drink. I liked everything about the place! The staff, the food and beverages, and the size and vibe of it inside! I could see this being a great place to hold an art class, or creative meet-up!  Woodchuck doesn't do well in tiny spaces, so it was nice for him to have space to move around. I got the turkey club on Asiago bread, minus tomato. 😋

Everywhere we've gone, I've asked about a place that sells incense. I love Sea Witch Botanicals, but I can't afford them and am always looking for something local so I don't have to order online. One of  the staff members at the coffee house brought up a place called Karma that I knew about but hadn't thought to check out! So we headed back to the car, and got there very close to the 2 hour mark and there was a parking enforcement officer there! PHEW, that was close. I think they were issuing a ticket to the person parked in front of us, who I think had been there even before we got there. 😬

We stopped at a grocery store, and then went to Karma and how.cool.that.place.is. Lots of albums, incense, clothing, and more! We ended up buying 5 boxes of incense and some other little things 😃 Now I know where to go when I need more and it's not that far from the land! 

I've also been working my dream of selling art. My most recent make is these turtle earrings, which sold in one day from the new webstore.

The new webstore? Well, I follow a Native beader on FB and she kept posting about this site. As you know, I have been trying to get away from Etsy for awhile now, even have a list of various sites, the specs of each, and the pros and cons of each. I knew I just needed to pull the trigger on one of them, and with her nudging and feedback about her shop, I did it! I am only starting with the free version right now, which limits what I can list to 5 items, and limits some other features I can change or use until I upgrade. As items sell and open up spots, I'll list something new there. Vintage craft books and patterns that belonged to my mother or myself will start to be listed in the eBay shop. The new art shop is:

www.offorestandheather.bigcartel.com

Though I still have some items listed in the Etsy shop right now as well! 

www.offorestandheather.etsy.com

And let us not forget the every other Sunday craft fair market that I do in Valpo (weather permitting). I went through my stock recently and made sure everything was updated with price tags and descriptive signage.

 This market hasn't been going well for me in sales and I am down to the bottom of the barrel in business money. That means, I may need to go down to once a month for this market instead of twice, or even do every other month. With the sale of the turtle earrings, that gives me enough money to pay for the next market, which is scheduled for July 27th, 2025 (again, weather permitting for me to participate), but it just doesn't make sense to keep doing a market that makes me lose money when I could be using the money from the sale of things online towards supplies to make new pieces and more soaps. So if you want to stay in the know about it all, follow our page on FB, Of Forest and Heather.

I appreciate you being on this journey of art, nature, and love with us 💚