As you can see, I don't have to look any farther than my own backyard for inspiration.  This sugar maple says it all.  Decked out in snow and waiting for spring to arrive.   Last weekends storm covered the branches with snow, giving it a fullness that is generally absent during the winter months.  This snowy white apparition is much more delicate than the leafy colors of summer and fall.
The snow was gone from the tree after a few days but the bare branches remain, stark against the winter landscape.  A few weeks from now when the temperatures rise, the sweet sap will begin to flow and spring will not be far behind. 
I continue to look for branches and bark for new creations.  I have enough material now to keep me busy all spring preparing for summer and autumn craft fairs, but I always welcome more.  A second generation of tiny tree houses is in the making, and more branch boxes as well.  It has been too cold to work in the shop this week but I look forward to the warmer days ahead.

Think of me when you are pruning your trees and find that interesting branch  growing around in a circle. 
Think of me when you find a maple log with the bark coming off in one piece
just the right size for a little house. 
Think of me when your favorite wool or cashmere sweater somehow ends up in the washing machine on the hot water setting, or in the drier. 
Think of me when you find a jar of buttons or old spools of thread that you no longer have a use for. 
Think of me if you have some big old coil springs from a piece of machinery, or some old hose nozzles or hooks.  

I will take these things and give them a new life.  Turn them into something useful, interesting or decorative.  Maybe even all three!
Think of me.

This is the time of year,  between the rush of the holiday season and the flowing of the maple sap that always seems to lower my resistance to laziness. 
I tell myself that I deserve a rest .  I worked hard in the months leading up to Christmas, and it is time to relax.  Sit before the cozy wood stove and listen to an audio book. 
Actually, this is the best time of year for me to get work done.  It is easy to see into the woods and the brush piles.  There is a lot of  fire wood around, with bark for tree houses.  I can throw my scraps and mistakes into the wood stove.  Insects and small creatures are in hibernation.  I just need to get started.   
True, the -1degrees outside my house yesterday morning did nothing to inspire me, and 6 degrees this morning is not much better.  My shop is cold and I don't want to go out there and turn on the heat.  But it will be 50 degrees on Saturday and then I will have no excuse.  I think I will be lazy for one more day.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/outdoor-articles/astronomy/swirling-polar-vortex-over-nor/21822690
Yesterday, the swirling polar vortex caused a staggering temperature difference of 140 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius) across the country, from North Dakota to Florida. The polar vortex is expected to move northward back over Canada near the end of the week, NASA officials said in a statement.

I say good riddance to you polar vortex!

According to news sources, it is a Polar Vortex that is causing the record low temperatures across the Midwest.  What would an artistic interpretation of a polar vortex look like? 
Artists out there... can you create a polar vortex in whatever medium you work with?  Great subject for a winter call for art!  I am just thankful that it is not 30
or 40 below zero where I live.  I have too much to do and I would not function
at those temperatures.  
Can I stay in bed until the spring thaw?  Or maybe just camp out in front of the wood stove...

A new year and with it comes wild weather and new projects.  Welcome 2014! 
It is snowing and very cold outside.  I am inside by the wood-stove keeping warm.  I have been making potholders from my wool sweater scraps.  I thought about what it would look like to place the colorful wool against a snowy background.  So I went out on the deck to try it with a couple of potholders,  and they looked  good.  Then I left them for a few minutes and they were quickly covered with tiny snowflakes, which melted right away.  When the kids were small we would put a piece of black paper in the freezer for a while, then go outside and catch some snowflakes to look at.  Against the black background the snowflakes were beautiful to look at.  I always found leftover paper in the freezer many months later.
I am relieved that I found a way to use some of the wool scraps that have been piling up around me from my mitten making frenzy.  I was beginning to feel like I would never be able to use all of the scraps.  Now they have a new life.