Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Wandering

Hi, folks!


Today was a scorching hot day, which is pretty unique for mid-september. Oh well, it's better than rain and cold!

Remember my last blogpost, a few months ago? I wrote about Kralingsebos, a forest/lake in my city. Today, I went there and visited the small botanical garden next to the lake.


The botanical garden


Small, but cozy and quite pretty!



I don't know why, but this statue really appealed to me.

The yellow flowers in the centre are from the Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). (Click!)

Common marigold (Calendula officinalis) (Click!) in the medicinal herb garden.

One of the most spiritual trees in the word: the fig. Here the common fig (Ficus carica). (Click!)

Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Actually not a crocus! (Click!)

I met this beautiful frog, today. Frogs symbolize peace, fun and transformation and are often related to emotional healing. The frog is connected to the healing ceremony of water.


The lake


During my wander around the lake (not the entire lake: way too hot!) I ran into a massive amount of hops! Naturally, being a true hedgewitch, I couldn't resist and harvested some strands to take home. They are now drying for medicinal use in herbal teas.


Hops (Humulus lupulus). (Click!)

One of the most charismatic herbs. Aren't they pretty?




When the sun shines in th clear water and you can see all those water plants and small critters... Oh, boy!


For questions and comments: leave a message below. I always respond!


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Thursday 8 October 2015

Catch your dreams!

About two years ago, I decided I wanted to make my own dreamcatcher and bought the necessities. Metal rings, string and beads remained unused in a drawer for far to long.

But today, I finished it. I'm so happy with the result, it turned out exactly as I had pictured  it!

The dreamcatcher is made of jute string, cotton lacing, tooled wooden beads, buffalo bone beads and kestrel feathers. And now: let's dream nice dreams!


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Tuesday 6 October 2015

Arboretum adventure

(scroll down for Dutch / scroll naar beneden voor dit artikel in het Nederlands)


Hello, everybody!


Yesterday, a friend and I went to Trompenburg. Trompenburg is a botanical garden and arboretum (strictly speaking a trees collection, read more about arboreta here) in the Rotterdam district 'Kralingen'.

I am so grateful for the stunning Indian summer we experience here in the Netherlands!

Overview / Overzichtsfoto

Although it was the first time for me going to a botanical garden / arboretum, it was a really, really good experience! There were loads of different plants and trees to admire and we didn't even see everything, because it was so wide.

Plants are a great hobby of mine (therefore I own a lot of houseplants) and it was really great to see al those exotic and native species in one garden. They even had a greenhouse full of succulents, a small patch of forest (chock-full of mushrooms), a kitchen garden, a tearoom and an aviary with Java rice birds and Zebra finches!

The garden was beautifully planted and arranged, with small bridges, mixed plants, patches of grass with park benches and a lot of art. I definitely look forward to my next visit!

And now: less talking, more pictures!

Wrinkle leaf goldenrod / Guldenroede
(Solidago Rugosa)

Most plants and trees had labels with the name of the species on it. /
De meeste planten en bomen hadden bordjes met de naam van de soort erop.

A chilling Java rice bird. / Een chillende rijstvogel.
(Lonchura oryzivara)

A gathering of Java rice birds and Zebra finches. /
Een verzameling rijstvogels en zebravinken.
(Taeniopygia guttata)

A Parent bug on a mint plant. / Een gewone broedwants op een munt.
(Elasmucha grisea)

An idyllic small pond waterfall in the forest with the mushrooms. /
Een idyllisch watervalletje in het bos met de paddestoelen.

A beautiful variety of the Maidenhair tree. /
Een mooie varieteit van de Japanse notenboom.
(Ginkgo biloba 'variegata')


A cute little succulent in the greenhouse. / Een schattige kleine vetplant
in de kas.

Nederlands:

Hallo allemaal!

Gisteren ben ik met een vriendin naar Trompenburg geweest. Trompenburg is een botanische tuin met arboretum (strikt gezien is een arboretum een bomentuin, lees hier meer over arboreta) in de Rotterdamse wijk Kralingen.

Ik ben zo blij met de mooie nazomer in Nederland!

Hoewel ik gisteren voor de eerste keer in een botanische tuin was, vond ik het een fantastische ervaring! Er waren superveel verschillende soorten planten en bomen te bewonderen. We hebben niet eens alles gezien, omdat de tuin zo groot was.

Planten zijn een grote hobby van me (daarom heb ik ook zoveel kamerplanten) en het was heel gaaf om al deze in-  en uitheemse soorten samen in één tuin te zien staan. Ze hadden zelfs een plantenkas vol met vetplanten, een klein stukje bos vol paddenstoelen, een moestuin, een theehuisje en een volière met rijstvogels en zebravinken!

De tuin was schitterend aangelegd met kleine bruggetjes, veel gemengd groen, stukjes gras met parkbankjes en veel kunst. Ik kijk nu al uit naar mijn volgende bezoek!

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Wednesday 30 September 2015

Hawthorn and medlar

(scroll down for Dutch/ scroll naar beneden voor dit artikel in het Nederlands)


Hello everyone!

This afternoon, I had a wonderful walk in the park nearby. I consider this park to be my 'home', because it's the nearest patch of green for me. When I feel blue or just when I feel I need some air, I go to 'my park' and everything is in perfect harmony, again!

Today, I went on a mission: I had to bring something home I had never brought before. Nature would tell me what it was. And it did!

First, I came by a single-seeded hawthorn. Hawthorn berries are edible and known for their healing and supportive properties in favor of the heart. I recognized the tree immediatly: its dark green, deeply lobbed leaves and -in this time of the year- its small, dark red berries (which are botanically speaking pomes, like apples!) (read more)

The tree was packed with ripe fruit, so I decided to pick some to make whatever would come to me. I picked about 80 grams; enough for a bottle of hawthorn-infused wine.

Single-seeded hawthorn / Eenstijlige meidoorn
(Crataegus mongyna)

Hawthorn in my field guide / Meidoorn in mijn veldgids

At home, I rinsed them and put them in the freezer. After a few days, they will have a sweeter taste and will be easier to work with.

My harvest / Mijn oogst

Medlar

A few minutes later, I discovered another peculiar tree on the side of the path. I noticed long, felty leaves on a large shrub. As I touched the leaves; they were soft as baby skin. My curiosity grew and I scanned the tree with my eyes, looking for flowers -or even better- fruit.

After a couple of moments, I saw a small, globular formed... thing. Astonished and enthusiastic as I was, I gently plucked the 'thing' from the tree... It was medlar fruit! I never expected to find medlar in the park so near to my home, but I did!

Common medlar / Mispel
(Mespilus germanica)

Medlar is a very special kind of fruit; you can't eat it fresh from the tree. They become edible after being 'bletted' by frost or given enough time to soften. Bletted medlar is ready when de skin is browned and wrinkled. (read more) 

So let's be patient (or shall I put them in the fridge for a few days? I'm dying to try these little 'soft apples'!)

Medlar at short range / Mispel van dichtbij

(Nederlands)


Hallo allemaal!

Afgelopen middag had ik een heerlijke wandeling in het park. Ik beschouw het park als mijn 'thuis', omdat het het enige stuk groen is in mijn buurt. Als ik even niet zo lekker in mijn vel zit, of gewoon als ik zin heb in frisse lucht, ga ik naar 'mijn park' en dan is alles weer goed!

Vandaag ging ik op pad met een missie: ik nam me voor om iets mee naar huis te nemen wat ik nog nooit eerder had meegenomen. Moeder Natuur zou me wel vertellen wat het zou zijn. En dat deed ze!

Eerst kwam ik langs een eenstijlige meidoorn. Meidoornbessen zijn eetbaar en bekend om hun hartversterkende eigenschappen. Ik herkende de boom meteen: de donkergroene, diep ingesneden blaadjes en -in deze tijd van het jaar- de kleine, rode besjes (wat botanisch gezien een pitvrucht is, net zoals appels dat zijn!) (lees meer)

De boom zat vol met rijpe besjes, dus ik besloot wat mee te nemen om thuis het eerste mee te maken wat in me op zou komen. Uiteindelijk plukte ik ongeveer 80 gram; genoeg voor een fles geïnfuseerde meidoornwijn.

Eenmaal thuis waste ik de meidoornbessen en stopte ik ze in de vriezer. Daar blijven ze een paar dagen. De vrieskou zorgt ervoor dat ze zoeter van smaak worden en makkelijker te verwerken.

Mispel

Een paar minuten later ontdekte ik aan de zijkant van het pad een andere bijzondere boom. De lange, viltige bladeren die aan de hoge struik zaten, vielen me meteen op. Toen ik de bladeren aanraakte, voelde ze als babybillen zo zacht! Mijn nieuwsgierigheid nam toe en ik speurde de boom af op zoek naar bloemen -of nog beter- vruchten.

Een moment later zag ik een klein, kogelrond... dingetje. Verwonderd en enthousiast als ik was, plukte ik voorzichtig het 'ding' uit de boom. Het was een mispel! Ik had nooit verwacht dat ik mispel zo dicht bij huis zou tegenkomen... En dat in 'mijn eigen' park!

Mispel is een bijzonder soort fruit; je kunt ze niet vers van de boom eten. Ze worden eetbaar na het 'bletten' door vorst of door ze een tijd te laten liggen. Geblette (gefermenteerde) mispel is eetbaar wanneer de buitenkant bruin en rimpelig is. (lees meer)

Nog even geduld hebben, dus! (Of zal ik ze gewoon een paar dagen in de vriezer stoppen? Ik ben zo benieuwd naar deze 'zachte appeltjes'!)

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Tuesday 15 September 2015

Back from being gone!

Hi folks!

For almost two years my study and off-line life gobbled up almost all my time and energy. For almost two years, I totally forgot about the existance of my blog. Sometimes, I used it to show people some stuff I made, or an example of something, because there was a picture of it on my blog.

Today, I'm making a fresh start. With new idea's and a different kind of approach. Moreover, I am two years older and my life is changed in this period; I met new people, I decided to leave some behind, I gained other interests, more knowledge, I moved to a new place... All those things changed me.

In the following days, I will work on the appearance of my website, so it will be on construction for a while. Hopefully, I can catch some time to post a new article any time soon!

See ya!

p.s. For other items, look in the blog archive on the right.


Sunday 18 August 2013

Hodgepodge

Todays blog is a hodgepodge of different things; things I found, made and inspire me.

Collection of things, waiting to get put into work. From left to right: tail feathers from a North Holland Blue rooster, earrings (which are finished, but inspiring), beads with seeds, feather shaped pendants.


A dead bumblebee, found in the garden. I put it on this piece of wood, with pins around his body, so it will dry with his paws and antennas in the right position.


A Pachnoda marginata peregrina, which I found in an old terrarium where they used to live in. It was completely dried, but unfortunately it missed it's paws and antennas. It's still a wonderful creature, though.


Last week, I worked on several new power stones (also see my previous post about power stones). 

This one has a mole in the front, which stands for contact with Earths energy, knowledge about herbs, roots, seeds and rivers and love expressed in nature. Brown is obviously the color of earth and contains beneficial energy. The symbol on the other side is the basic element of earth.


This stone has a spider with its web in the front. The spider stands for wisdom, creativity and inspiration. The web is added, because spiders are master weavers. Yellow stands for wisdom and creativity, purple for spirituality. The symbol on the other side is from the American Natives and means wisdom.


Last but not least, a power stone with the bee. The bee stands for prosperity, reincarnation, communication with spirits and concentration. The blue color stands for truth, sincerity, spirituality and calmness. The bee also connects with the goddess Diana. The symbol on the other side of the stone is from the American Natives, and means happiness.


Tuesday 6 August 2013

At the feet of Mother Earth

Today, I took a walk through the park near my boyfriends place. The center of the park consists of artificial, low hills in a female body shape, and is called 'Mother Earth'. So actually, Mother Earth is surrounded by her own park full of trees, ditches and swaying reeds. Although the park is made by human hands, it slowly gets it's own character. Trees grow tall and nature goes it's own way. The farmers mow some paches of grass, so everyone can picknick and play with his dog on the fields, but that's it. I once saw a Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) and when you look closely to the ground between the trees, you can find feces of foxes. I love to just sit on the grass and meditate, at the feet of Mother Earth.

The sky and the clouds were wonderful, today.




Bridges keep your feet dry. All the bridges are made out of wood, so they fit perfectly in their environment.


A branche of an English oak (Quercus robur).


Moss on the bark of a tree.


I picked chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). When the flowers are dry, I use them to make herbal tea.