Snow on Oaks

As promised, we had several inches of snow on Thursday and I had a snow ball fight with my fellow students (MFI-ers) and a gorgeous walk in the woods today before leaving Lied Lodge and Nebraska to fly home.  This has been a phenomenal experience for me and an invaluable investment in my professional (and I would say personal) development.  I feel incredibly lucky.

The front entrance to Lied Lodge.

The Morton Oak at Arbor Day Farm.

Over the river and through the woods, from Lied Lodge to Arbor Day Farm we go!

One of many quotes in the lodge from J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.

The lobby of Lied Lodge.  What an amazing place to spend a week!

Planning for Planting in Nebraska

This week I'm immersing myself in trees and tree people at the Municipal Forestry Institute at the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Nebraska.  It's a week of intensive training on how to be a leader in the field of urban forestry.  It's pretty rad, and it comes at a perfect time for me in my career.  Plus, this place is gorgeous!  Check out the sunset pics I took yesterday.  It's supposed to snow pretty hard on Thursday, so I may have more photos of an entirely different nature at the end of the week.

Visit from Jaja

Jaja came to visit this weekend and we had a blast!  We went to an incredible workshop at the Center for Art in Wood, in Old City where we created a "cabinet of curiosities" out of a cigar box and with great instruction and inspiration from the staff at the center.  We created a portrait for the front, and of course I chose to draw my cats.  Yes, I'm a cat lady.  I really like how it turned out:

 

They had great supplies for us to use, and the boxes already had elaborately patterned paper around the edges that we could use as a jump off for inspiration.  Apparently cigar stores just smash these boxes and throw them in the trash, so it's easy to get them if you're there at the right time.  Which I will obviously be doing now that I know how beautiful these boxes are without any decoration at all.

 

We also went to a work day at Farm 51, which is run by my friends Andrew and Neal.  We destroyed some raised beds and harvested broccoli, then had a bonfire and ate delicious home made coffee cake and cookies.  Their house next door is gorgeous and another constant source of inspiration:

 

 

 

An amazing and inspirational weekend and a great way to start the new year!

Leaf peeping weekend

This is the last weekend I have free from work until Thanksgiving, so M and I decided to head outdoors and enjoy the incredible fall weather. We managed to catch the end of a grass-fed beef competition at Wyebrook Farm in Honey Brook, PA, enjoy a housewarming party at a friends' farm in Southwest Philly (complete with marshmallow roasting!) and peep some leaves at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge near the Philadelphia airport.

* Heinz NWR *

 

 

 

 

 

* Heading out to the Farm *

 

* Our jack-o-lantern didn't make it to Halloween :( *

 

* Wyebrook Farm *