Bundling India Flint style and pounding with the second graders again and again.
Talking of the many many ways plants are useful and magical.
Singing "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow" and "Inch By Inch".
Grateful for overhearing "This is even funner than I thought it would be!"
The second graders are studying plants. After sharing India's book, we went on a gathering walk in a nearby park...after a talk of being gentle, only taking one, and thanking the plant. Plants were piled on the cloth - pussy willows, ferns, rose hips, weeds, even pinecones. Layered until...
hardly any cloth was left showing.
You should have heard their squeals as we rolled up this bumpy lumpiness with blackberry juice squashing into the fabric!
Then into the pot, with the lucky horse shoe, of course.
We have no idea what will happen, but what's happened so far has been thrilling!
(Thanks to Erica for taking photos & indulging my wild whims)
See that woman? She is being patient. She didn't just look at the pretty pictures of India's book, she read the words. She soaked the muslin in iron water. She then bundled it with plants around a stick and steamed it with a rusty hinge found on the beach. She is now waiting. She will keep waiting. She will not open it too soon and be thrilled with what she sees only to wash it all away because she was not patient. SHE will wait. I do not know this woman well, but I think she could be a useful friend.
And can I tell you about that pot? Thirteen years ago I was in the middle of labor with Blue, waiting for the birthing tub to be filled, hoping it would alleviate the back pain. The house ran out of hot water. Midwives called out, "Boil some water!" (just like in the movies!) K, my guy, was on the job...as he approached the tub with the heated water, I asked, between contractions, "Wasn't there a label on that pot?" "Yes, I pulled it off." "Didn't you READ it?!" "No." The label said, "For dyeing only, NEVER use for food". (I guess it didn't say "NEVER use for birth". There was more scrambling to start a different pot of water as I yelled out, "Do I have to do EVERYTHING in this birth?!" I laugh every time I use this pot.
pansies...
frozen...
in a jar with fabric...
This was not something I expected to get into. Was just going to check it out of the library. To see what everyone was talking about. The photos...they are stunning, rich, inspiring. I renewed it. And again. Had to return it. Bought it.
India Flint's book, Eco Colour.
Don't know if I can wait 24 hours...
