"From Orchards, Fields, and Gardens"....A "Must Read" by Kerstin Svendsen

Book, edited by Kerstin Svendsen, on "thrifted", factory-made, machine-stitched quilt.

(Thank you to the quilt's maker!)

Today in America, we are pausing to gather with our loved ones to give thanks with grateful hearts for that  which is good in our lives.  This morning, I am counting my blessings and am full of gratitude for a loving family, good health, warm and safe shelter, good food, and friends---the basics of "richness" that I would wish for every person on earth.   And this minute, I am grateful for the flock of red-headed finch outside my window that are feasting on the hips of the rugosa roses that my husband planted to "ring" our kitchen garden.  And this year, I have something new to be grateful for: the experience of blogging, which I took up in earnest last January.  I am grateful for the friendship and artistic support and camaraderie of fellow artists, artisans and crafters from around the world.  I am so appreciative that they have allowed me to see into their world and learn of new wonders and beauty through the process.  And I am grateful that through the "habit" of blogging, and specifically, photographing, and viewing others' photographs, I have become more attentive to my natural surroundings and the rhythms of the earth.

And recently, I am grateful for "From Orchards, Fields and Gardens," an anthology of beautiful prose, poems, and art that captures the essence of living close to the land, and instills a desire to do so.  I am grateful for Kerstin Svendsen, the editor, for having had the vision for this project and seeing it through, and to the  individuals--many of them fellow bloggers that you will know--who have made, and will continue to make a positive difference in the world through their contribution to this project. One thousand copies were printed in the first run.  I hope it was the first of many runs; hope the book finds its way into the hands of young people in high schools and colleges so that the grassroot "new agrarian" movement builds strength. The book is compelling in all of its simplicity. I hope you will have a chance to read it.

Mushrooms gathered from the field. 

(Many mushrooms are deadly poisonous.  Don't gather them for

consumption unless you know without a doubt that they are edible.)

The trusty garden "companion"

A late bloomer.  White because of the lateness?

Blueberry bushes that my husband and his father planted years ago.

Happy "Day of Thanksgiving" (today and every day).

Gloria