quiltersmuse.com Blog

Early this morning, Jim and I decided hike in an area where we had never been before. Passing many of our favorite antique stores in Northwood, New Hampshire’s “Antiques Alley,” as well as a quilt shop that was not open, we reached a natural area called, “Northwood Meadows.” Jim brought his camera and captured some of our favorite views of the day. I hope that you enjoy these photos, particularly if you do not live in New England.

Stream at “Northwood Meadows”

Who doesn’t love a baby? This “baby” pine tree is only a couple of inches high now and looks out of place with all of the taller trees around.

This is a pond that we could have hiked all the way around. Isn’t it a peaceful view?

Just across the road from the pond, one of several, was this backwater with dormant pond lilies and interesting shapes of leafless trees. I love swamps!

For some reason, this photo reminds me of the Beatles’ song, “The Long and Winding Road.” I asked Jim to take this shot because I like the texture and shapes of the weeds.

Throughout the woodlands of New Hampshire, one sees stonewalls that were once used on cleared acreage to keep sheep from roaming. Stonewalls are a remnant of a time when raising sheep was an integral part of New Hampshire’s economy.

Here you see evergreen Hemlock trees, but to the left, is a deciduous tree, with rosy leaves, that neither one of us recognized. I like the shape of its leaves, in some instances, almost like a tear drop.

Jim enjoyed the mix of red and green and the textural effect of these low-bush blueberry bushes and teaberry plants, growing together.

This Yellow Birch tree can be identified by its distinct smell of Wintergreen when its twigs are rubbed together.

The textural effect of these weeds is just stunning. We can copy Mother Nature, but when you come right down to it, she “does” it best!

This pine tree attracted me because of its bright, lime color, an oddity at this time of year, but also it’s strange pattern of growth.

We came across one large stone with so many embedded pieces of mica, they looked like glistening little diamonds. Unfortunately, the full effect was not caught with the camera. One side of the rock featured quartz, so it was clearly a rock with interesting features!

When we returned home, we found another surprise:

Of all things! This is a Periwinkle (sometimes called, “Myrtle”) flower blooming on this warm November day (60 degrees Fahrenheit).

Bad weather is in store for us tomorrow, so most likely, it will be an indoor day of cooking and quilting. We certainly enjoyed exploring new trails today and hope to return to the site another time to follow more trails. We heard birds and saw a red squirrel, but saw no deer, just imprints in the dirt that appear to be hoof marks. Thanks for coming along on our journey, today and always. You are kindly welcome!

Patricia and James Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Antique bird drawing, one of many for Outline Stitch Embroidery (Redwork, etc.) from the e-book, Redwork Renaissance Revisited, available on the Products Available page of Quilter’s Muse Publications website.

Who doesn’t thrill at seeing the first Robin of Spring, with its ear so finely-tuned as to detect worms just under the surface of the ground? Sometimes, like last year, Robins have appeared in my yard, while snow was still on the ground. Just recently, I learned that Robins are changing their migratory patterns. Some are remaining year round in heavily-wooded areas of New Hampshire.

We all love to see birds, and in New England, there is an abundance of them. My favorite bird is the Puffin, although I have never been to the rocky area off the coast of Maine where they live. I have just viewed them in videos and in photos. I remember seeing a picture of an outstanding quilt that depicts Puffins. The birds live in colonies, as do seals and sea otters. They travel together, as do Cedar Waxwings, another very social bird.

It is no surprise that photographers have wanted to capture the beauty of birds, scientists have wanted to study them, and the ordinary citizen has joined the Audubon Society to be with other birding enthusiasts. Some people decide to help the birds survive the winter by putting up bird stations. This seems like a wonderful thing to do, at first glance, but think again.

In New Hampshire, our state bird, the Purple Finch, has been dying off, perhaps due to the diseases they are picking up from other birds who visit feeding stations. Birds are not exactly clean creatures, especially while eating. Feeders pose a danger that are seldom or never washed or sterilized with Clorox bleach.

Authorities warn about the fact that outdoor feeders can and do attract Black Bears to yards, even in residential neighborhoods. Bears have a keen sense of smell, which is why they will tear their way into tents that have food inside, and will sometimes, even break windows to get into houses. I have not heard of that happening in New Hampshire, but I have seen videos of bears entering homes in Colorado.

Nature is always in a fine balance and whenever man inserts himself into the picture, changing food sources, or habitat conditions, there is always a price to pay. In the case of wild turkeys, just a few years ago, there were few of those in this state. They have made a comeback, due partially to restocking, and partially to no wolves or natural predators that can “take them,” except for man, in a limited turkey-hunting season.

The result is that we see turkeys in fields and by the side of the road, all the time. The other more serious result is that they sometimes fly in front of motorcycles and cars, unexpectedly, and in some cases, have caused fatalities.

In the dead of winter, we feed the birds with suet. When it is freezing cold outside, there is no chance of the animal fat becoming rancid, and birds happily utilize this food to help them keep warm and survive New Hampshire’s dire cold. As soon as the “bear alert” goes out, or as soon as the weather warms, that is the end of our bird feeding efforts. Birds are beautiful! I love them. To preserve them, it is best to leave them alone and let them feed on the natural seed pods and other forage they find for themselves.

In textiles, birds have been an endless theme of celebration in lovely old chintz fabrics and in more recent bird prints, as well as in Crewel embroidery kits, and in quilts, both antique and new. Have you made a bird quilt? If so, we’d love to see it! As birds are one of my pet subjects, I could say much more, but will leave you for now, with the suggestion of a book title that seems most interesting.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications website

Autumn Maple Leaves, collage by Patricia Cummings

A saying goes like this, “A good woman gives you shade in the summer and warmth in the winter.” A tree will do the same. The Maple tree is awesome! Not only does it provide shade, firewood, and wood for fine furniture, the Maple yields sap that is boiled off to make a wonderful pancake syrup. (”Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby!”) As if that were not enough, the Maple tree yields leaves of many colors, some orange, some red, some dark red, and some yellow, and sometimes more than one color in the same leaf!

We have some ancient Maples in New England that are thick in diameter. A hardy tree, they appear to be disease-resistant. On the farm where I grew up, my Dad made a tree swing on one old Maple tree. Struck by lightening in later years, it is no longer there, just its memory. Near the porch on the front of the house, there were three very large Maple trees, home to birds, and tapped by neighbors who were collecting sap, in the spring. What beautiful, cool breezes those trees provided.

I have lived among the Joshua trees of the high desert in California, and among the Saguaro cacti of Arizona. Vegetation has its beauty in other places, but New England is home for me. So today, I salute the mighty Maple trees of New Hampshire, and share some beautiful leaves with you.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Moose as seen in Charlotte Croft’s yard. This photo was quickly snapped by her, through the window. Charlotte saw this particular moose in Vermont. He quickly realized that she had spotted him and went trotting off into the woods.

As we drive the highways and byways of New England, we often encounter “Moose Crossing” caution road signs. I have often thought that these were strategically-placed to thrill the tourists into thinking that a moose might soon appear. In the many years that I have lived in New Hampshire, I can count on one hand the times I have seen a real moose wandering around.

Once, I saw one nibbling water weeds in a culvert in Jacksonville, NH. Another sighting was in a swampy area just north of Keepsake Quilting in Centre Harbor, NH. The third sighting was when a moose appeared in the middle of the road in my hometown of Deerfield, NH. So, actually, I would need only three fingers to hold up, to account for these sightings.

Moose are called the “gentle giants of the North.” They are amazingly tall. I am amused at how ungangly they seem and how awkward they are in their stride. Every now and then, especially during rutting season, male moose will expand their “territory” to the streets of Boston. Usually animals who stray that far afield of usual habitat are put down, and an autopsy reveals that the animal suffered from brain worm disease.

Many people enjoy eating moose meat. I remember meeting a family who had just “run into” a moose (with a vehicle) in Maine and were told they could keep the animal. They said it would feed them well, all winter. Every year, a limited number of moose hunting permits are granted. They are coveted.

The photo shown here looks like a statue. It was the real McCoy. Additional photos, that were not posted, show him running off. These kinds of wildlife sightings are just one of the reasons why residents love New England. Hope you enjoyed seeing the photo. Thanks, Charlotte.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Looking back to the Stone Age, we can see how very important stones have been to man, especially in early tool making and as weapons.

We have always liked to rearrange stones, moving them to make stonewalls to keep the sheep in; building bridges; and positioning them, as at old Stonehenge, perhaps for burial rituals.

Stone Arch Bridge, visible from Rt. 202 in Stoddard, NH, looks beautiful with cascading water and surrounded by autumn leaves. photo by James Cummings

This roadside marker tells about the Stone Arch Bridge.

The Stone Arch Bridge is composed to two Roman arches, an arch that is quite different than those built in Moorish-occupied, southern Spain. The bridge has stood for many years!

We do not have to look far to see stones in the New England Landscape. Some are giant boulders, left by glaciers of the Ice Age, that cannot be moved easily, or at all, by any conservative means.

View of a NH stream in October 2009

Stones are markers. Stones of granite or marble for cemeteries provide occupations for stone cutters in New Hampshire and Vermont. In the past, many more stone fireplaces and chimneys were built, an idea supplanted by bricks.

Stones can take on a religious meaning, such as Celtic cross monuments. There is one in New Brunswick, Canada that was put up as a tribute to the Irishmen who reached those shores.

Indeed, the word “rock” has become symbolic of “strength” as in, “My friend was my rock during that terrible time.”

A traditional hymn, “Rock of Ages,” refers to God. The term “rock” is used a number of times in the Bible. Matthew 16:18 states:

And I also say to you that “you are Peter,” and “on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not ‘prevail against it.”

Matthew 7:24 says:

Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.

My house, for example, is built on granite rocks, a hard rock that has held up the house since 1821. New Hampshire is known as, “The Granite State.”

There is a real skill to working with stones to build a stone wall that will continue to stand. We see so many stone walls in the woods today and anyone new to the area would ask, “Why were stone walls built in the woods.” The fact is, New Hampshire used to have a lot of cleared land for grazing. As farming dwindled, the forest has taken over again and we have secondary forests growing now.

Rocks or stones that seem commonplace to us here in New England are a big deal elsewhere. In fact, there was a law passed to prevent the dismantling of existing stone walls, and the trucking of stones, out of state.

The other point I will mention is that New Hampshire would not have had a many textile mills along flowing rivers throughout the state, in the nineteenth century, were it not for the strength of the underlying rock formations that supported them. Many places in Vermont do have not the same kind of hard rocks that New Hampshire possesses, thus, there were not the same quantity of mills built there.

I remember reading a charming book for children titled, “Stone Soup.” Of course, we had the musical rock group, The Rolling Stones; and Bob Dylan’s song, “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Have you heard the saying, “A rolling stone gathers no moss?” Have you kissed the “Blarney Stone” lately, or read about “The Sorcerer’s Stone” in the Harry Potter novel? Do you recall the childhood saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?”

Perhaps, your heart is cold as stone? Have you seen “The Old Stone Face?” Can you think of other references to stone?

Funny how one photo can get me rolling on a certain theme. I think I’ve exhausted my knowledge of stones. Over and out.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications