Moss-colored Glasses

Image by woong hoe from Pixabay 

We’ve spent a long time knowing each other, mosses and I. In telling their story, I’ve come to see the world through moss-colored glasses.-Robin Wall Kimmerer

We have harvested a number of specialty forest products, or non-timber forest products, from our own land over the years. Conks, a type of mushroom, was popular a few decades ago, and we sold Douglas fir seed cones for a time. Cascara bark and moss were other items we engaged in foraging and marketing. 

Moss is actually big business. Folks, beginning with local indigenous tribes, have long found good uses for the many varieties of moss found in the Pacific Northwest forest. Currently moss, as an industry, is centered around the floral and decorating markets, used in gardens, aquariums and various types of décor. 

I would like to offer my Etsy shop customers more in the way of moss sustainably harvested from our own private forestland. There is a small hiccup, however. Moss is slow growing. Back in the 70’s the state of South Carolina banned the wild harvesting of moss from Pisgah and Nantahala National Forest because they realized too much was being taken and it was detrimental to the health of the forest and the creatures that depend on it. 

Wild harvesting moss in the Pacific Northwest and Appalachia for commercial purposes is a world unto itself, a sort of underground economy. Honest moss collectors will get the required permit or contract to harvest from national or state forestland or get permission from a local landowner. Not all collectors go to the trouble of doing that, however, so the amount of moss actually collected is uncertain. Estimates run in the millions of pounds, though – and millions of dollars. Because of the uncertainty of how much is actually being taken, and how much can safely be taken, permits for federal or state lands are restricted in many places, if not banned. 

Which, of course, does not stop those who would harvest without a permit. We still have a huge underground economy, often shrouded in secrecy.

As a private landowner, what issues are there if I want to sell to the floral or decoration market? What do we face? 

Theft? We have a large, isolated tract of land and security is an ongoing concern. Not only have we had game poached off our land, but we had a rash of vine maple thefts a few years ago, which would have been sold to the landscaping market as native plants. We haven’t made patrolling for moss thieves a high priority, but it is something to keep in mind. 

How much is too much? For landowners with a stake in the health and sustainability of the forest, learning more about the secret life of mosses is paramount. We could harvest some moss for floral sales, but how much and how often?

Image by NaoYuasa from Pixabay Moss ball

Agro-forestry? Moss, while slow-growing, is actually pretty easy to grow. Perhaps part of the solution is agro-forestry rather than foraging. And how does that look?

One proposal is to grow moss in nursery-type settings instead of wild harvesting it, but what does that require in the way of investment and support? 

A great deal of study and research needs to be done: a moss inventory to determine how much actually grows in our forest, testing to determine how fast it grows back…

In the meantime, we enjoy the lush moss carpet beneath our feet, the witchy strands of old man’s beard flowing from alder branches. 

Moss is worth getting to know.

Margaret

Pine trees

Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay

Between every two pine trees is a door leading to a new way of life. 

- John Muir

We have a couple of stands of Ponderosa Pine trees on our property. The vast majority of our timber is Douglas fir, but the pine is a nice touch and creates a more diverse forest, a mixed-species forest, which, by the way, helps mitigate climate change. The wood, while currently not bringing the higher prices of Douglas fir or alder, is valued for furniture, window frames and other specialty uses. 

Our pine are relatively young, and eventually will be harvested for lumber. In the meantime we have begun using the boughs, needles and cones in various ways. We sold pine boughs at Christmastime, although there is not a big market for that. Still, in our own wreaths, we found a touch of pine adds some variety to the look. The cones we use in

pine cone flower wreath

various crafts, making everything from wreaths to Easter bunnies. The needles can be used – and I believe some of ours were – for essential oils. Ponderosa pine essential oil can be found here.

pine cone bunny

Pine essential oil has a number of benefits. With its clear, fresh, “Christmas tree” scent, it is often used in diffusers for aromatherapy or as an air freshener. Used in massage oils, it is known to benefit the skin and is an antibacterial, promoting healing of cuts, bruises and other skin problems. It can sooth inflammation, soreness, aches and pains and will promote circulation. It’s best not to take it internally and be careful around pets. 

My mother, years ago, learned to make pine needle baskets. Although she used the southern long-leaf pine and raffia, we have learned our pine needles are long enough for basketmaking. 

Pine needles are also used for pine straw, a sort of mulch used in yards, flower beds and gardens to hold in water and prevent weeds from growing. In the south the forest floor is flat and the needles can be easily raked. In our forest there is a thick understory and even under the pines the grass and bushes create a difficult terrain to even walk, much less collect pine needles in the amount needed for straw. But we can collect enough for baskets...

Pine is a very versatile as well as beautiful tree. Glad to have them in our woods!

Margaret

Macrame

If I were to rank my skills in fiber arts, I think crochet and sewing are my “best things.” However, macramé has long fascinated me, and I’ve created a few things over the years. In working with the cones, mosses, flowers, sticks and boughs of our timberland, macramé has reintroduced itself, a long-neglected cousin in the fiber art world. 

Macramé is the art of knot-tying and is believed to have originated in the 13^thcentury with Arabian weavers who used it to make decorative fringes on rugs and other woven items. Sailors adopted it, and it was quite popular with the Victorians. More recently it has been associated with the bohemian style of décor which has seen something of an upswing since the “hippie” era of the 60’s and 70’s.

There are two basic knots in macramé, the Half Knot and the Half Hitch. Variations on these two lend themselves to a wide variety of designs. Beads, shells, rocks and other items are often woven into the pattern. 

How do we incorporate macramé into crafts made from forest products?

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

Plant hangers are a good place to start. They are often made simply with a ring at the top and three or four strands of cord knotted in square knots or another variation of basic knot. Beads are often used to enhance the hanger. The cords are gathered together and fastened at the bottom, and the plant container is nestled above the gathered cords. Simple. 

We have been cutting thin slices of alder logs and branches and would add an alder-round platform to the hanger.  

Wall hangings of macramé can be quite stunning. Looping the cords over a dowel or straight stick, then knotting the cords to create a pattern is a simple way of creating a dramatic wall hanging. A finished store-bought stick is fine but foraging for one in nature adds an element of the wild and creates a more rustic bit of décor. A quick look on Etsy indicates the macramé owls of the 70’s are back (or never left). They often have two sticks, top and bottom, with the owl fashioned of knots between. 

Possibilities are endless! How many ways can knotting be used in conjunction with sticks and twigs, cones, plants, and various other forest foraged objects? 

Let your imagination go wild!!

Margaret

Stressed? Try Crafts

workshop

What a challenging time for us all. I am attempting to follow the guidelines to avoid exposure to the Covid-19 virus, while doing other things to stay healthy and boost my immune system as well: home-cooked meals, extra vitamin C, enough rest. 

Stress, research has shown, impacts the immune system and makes your body more prone to illness. While the social distancing, hand washing and staying home are to limit our exposure to the virus – and rightly so - the whole situation is fraught with extra stress, from financial concerns to worries over the safety of loves ones to the anxiety caused by social isolation. Just going to the grocery store has become a challenge with the long lines, the tape on the floor to enforce social distancing, the need to wipe down carts, and the empty shelves. 

While making the effort to avoid the virus, we also need to counter the detrimental mental and physical effects of the stress caused by those efforts.

How do we do that? 

crochet

There are a lot of stress-busting tips, but here we are going to focus on one: crafts. 

There have been studies done showing the mental and physical health benefits of arts and crafts. Working with your hands is not only fun and relaxing, it releases endorphins in your brain and boosts your immune system. Arts and crafts can lift you out of depression, has shown to improve memory for those with dementia and enhance treatment for those fighting cancer. 

adult coloring book

It really does not seem to matter what type of craft. I dealt with my own cancer treatment by turning to crochet. Knitting, painting, woodcarving and woodworking, ceramics, coloring books…anything. All of it is beneficial, including the sense of accomplishment when a project is finished. 

wood art

Start with something simple like an adult coloring book - or just commandeer a child’s. Get some play dough. Start a sewing project. Dig out the knitting needles or the crochet hook and that old stash of yarn.  

Protect your immune system and do your part to fight the virus by painting a picture. Build something.

As for me, macramé looks interesting….

Margaret 

WildingsWhimsy

Nature Crafts for Kids - Sticks

 

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay 

Sticks. My grandson, who loves sticks and has kept a special collection on the family’s patio, is very imaginative with his twigs as long as it involves swordplay (“schwords”) or knives. And the occasional dinosaur.

For the rest of us, sticks can be non-lethal sources of creativity. 

Once you have gathered your sticks, prepare them for craft use by trimming with clippers (or a saw if they are very large). Bringing outdoor flora inside always includes the risk of bugs or dirt riding along, so prune your sticks to manageable size, then soak in a pan or sink of warm water with a splash of vinegar to take care of the bugs and remove any dirt or debris. 

They can be left on paper towels to air dry. It is safe to dry sticks in a very low oven (200-degrees) for 30 minutes to speed the process. 

Further preparation depends on the project. You may want to strip off bark, or even sand and paint or stain your sticks.

For some ideas on making stick toys, check here.

This twig-boat is cute, too.

Stick Wall Art

We’ve been collecting old picture frames from Goodwill to make low cost stick wall hangings. Remove the backing and glass from the frame, if included. If you wish, spray paint the frame your color of choice.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay 

Cut the sticks the same length as the frame plus a couple inches longer. Leave the sticks natural, or spray paint them to coordinate with the frame. Place the sticks on the “wrong” side of the frame and fasten in place.

Our fastener of choice is glue, and hot glue works well on this project, but children will need adult supervision for this part. Another alternative is to use a staple gun to fasten the sticks to the back of the frame. Kids need supervision with this as well.

Start of hemp twine macrame on stick

Once the sticks are secure the wall hanging is complete – no glass or backing required.

Macramé Wall Hanging

I love macramé, and the basic knots are not hard to learn. With macramé cord, or smooth twine, create a simple wall hanging from an interesting stick. See our work-in-progress at right.

For a tutorial on a basic knot technique with a stick, watch this video.

Best wishes with your creative efforts!

Margaret

Nature Crafts for Kids

Image by betinasuarez from Pixabay 

While the Covid-19 virus and the resulting limitations on work, study and travel is unprecedented, most of us can draw on our previous experience with floods, wildfire, snowstorms, power outages and other random acts of nature. Resist fear and panic; we will get through this…

In the meantime, many of you have children at home unexpectedly. Keeping them learning and occupied in a productive manner is important for the sanity and health of everyone. Crafts, while not the whole answer, can be part of the solution. Finding creative things to make with things already on hand is easier than one might think. For example, while not a “nature” craft as such, here’s my old standby, a homemade play dough recipe:

            1 cup white flour

            ½ cup salt

            2 t cream of tartar

Mix together. Add:

            1 cup water

            2 T oil

            Food coloring of choice

Mix together and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and forms a ball. As soon as it is thick, remove from the stove, take the dough out of the pan and knead it on a sheet of waxed paper until the dough is smooth and the color is uniform. 

Play dough if great, but now is a good time to spend outdoors and in the sun, if possible. Creating things from items found in nature is a good learning opportunity and a chance for children to exercise their creative muscles. Collect leaves to press between the pages of a thick book or preserve them by placing them between sheets of waxed paper and using an iron. Detailed instructions can be found here. 

Collect smooth rocks to bring home and paint. Children can paint the scenes of their choice on flat, smooth stones, but an uplifting project might be to create Kindness Rocks. Write inspiring messages on rocks, then put them back outdoors to be found by others who might need a bit of encouragement. More information.

Pine cones, of course, seem to have an endless number of craft uses. In some locations they are quite easy to find, and if you happen to have some in your backyard you will be able to keep your crafters busy for some time.  

Using felt or paper (or both) to turn pine cones into a variety of animals is one of the cuter ways for children to use cones in crafts. Popular pine cone animals include owls, hedgehogs, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, bats and mice.  

One of my grandsons, who just turned four, has a long history (for one so young) of collecting sticks at every opportunity. His mother, for a time, allowed him to keep a limited collection of special sticks on the patio outside their apartment. The craft-making potential of sticks deserves a post of its own, so stay tuned…

Margaret

Coming soon: Adventures in Basket Weaving

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay 

A basket, because of its soul, must never be put in a dark or out of the way place. It must be free to dance around the world each night and to grow old. -author unknown

We’ve explored our forestland for numerous products that could be used in crafts, including Douglas fir, cedar and pine boughs for fresh holiday wreaths and swags. We’ve experimented with numerous ways to use fir, pine, hemlock, and alder cones in wreaths and wall hangings and even jewelry. Another avenue of interest, yet to be fully developed, is basket making.

I love baskets. My house is full of baskets, all sizes and shapes, but the ones worthy of special note are an antique willow basket my grandmother gave my mother when she first married my dad. The basket was old then, and that’s been over 70 years. I’m guessing it is around 150-170 years old. Mom used it as a clothes basket for many years.

Our antique willow basket

Mom made pine needle baskets as one of the many crafts (sewing, crochet, embroidery, quilting, painting) at which she excelled. The baskets were made of long-leaf pine (Pinus palustris) and raffia and we still keep several in her memory. The long-leaf pine grows in the southeastern United States and has needles as long as 18 inches, the longest in the world.

While the pine needles on our tree farm are not long-leaf, they are traditionally the most important pine needle used in basketry: Ponderosa pine. The fiber used to stitch the needles can be anything from raffia, which is imported, to local cedar bark, nettle, hemp twine or linen thread.

Pine needle baskets by Edith Garner

Bitter cherry, a medium-sized tree, also grows on our property. One grew in the corner of our yard when I was a child, and the Y-shaped trunk was my favorite hiding place. The bark can be split into strips and woven into waterproof baskets. 

We also have willow, which comes in many varieties and has a long tradition of being woven into baskets, such as our antique one.

Cedar is another species that grows on the farm, and the bark was used heavily by Native Americans for baskets, mats, clothing and other items. I read something recently that said blackberry vines could be woven into baskets, not something we would have thought to try.

A recent trip to Maryhill Museum in the Columbia River Gorge revealed the antiquity and creativity of the Native American basket makers. Visit the displays there, if you get a chance. This is such an ancient, time-honored tradition and we are looking forward to learning more.

We have a lot to learn! We will post our adventures as we explore creating baskets from the wild materials on our timberland. 

Margaret