Vähän pakkaskuvia, kaunista, jos ei ajattele, että tätä samaa voi olla vielä yli kolme kuukautta.Puutarha on kasvien kannalta onneksi lumen peitossa, mutta rusakot ovat nälissään kaivaneet kuoppia lumeen morsinkomaahan saadaksen edes jotain syötävää. Mielummin tietysti morsingonlehtiä kuin ruusunvarsia:) Miten ihmeessä ne osaavatkin haistaa lumen alta, missä kohtaa morsingot ovat?
Kolmen kuukauden kuluttua pääsen taas kylvämään uusia morsinkoja ja väritattaria (japanilaisia indigoja) sisälle ja neljän kuukauden päästä on viimeistään kevät! Tällä välin on hyvää aikaa lukea kaikenlaista värjäyksen liittyvää, ja Naomi lähetti minulle tällaisen mielenkiintoisen linkin japanilaisille sivuille (onneksi englanniksi) liittyen tutkimukseen eroista väritattaren ja synteettisen indigon välillä. On niin hienoa, että ihmiset jakavat tietoa ja sitä voi löytää ympäri maailmaa! Kiitokset Naomille ja Ichirolle!
In English
Some pictures of our winter this year. It is beautiful if you don't think that it has been between -10C - -20C for a month now, last night it was -25C! And that the snow could last for over three more months, that is too long for me. Lucky for the plants that the snow covers them, but the wild brown hares are hungry and they have been all over my garden looking for food. They have dug holes in the snow to get to the woad leaves underneath, and good for them. I prefer they eat woad which grows again in the spring than my roses:) But how can they know exactly where to dig, do they smell the plants under the snow?
Still three months before I can start to sow woad and japanese indigo seeds indoors, and four months until the spring. Meanwhile there is good time to read more about natural dyeing and indigo and Naomi sent me this interesting link to Japanese pages (in English) about a study of differences between japanese indigo and synthetic indigo. The wonders of internet and just how great people are sharing this information. Thanks Naomi for the link and Ichiro for posting the information in English!
You really have very long and "deep" winters. I would get bored, much as I love winter on the sunny side of the Alps (Slovenia).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of the snow. Dream of future dye experiments and perhaps of gardening adventures. I will look forward to your experiments with indigo as I want to start my first vat...but will not grow indigo ...at least not this year.
ReplyDeleteI can quite see why you get fed up with snow-that is a long time to be in a white world! Thanks for the link which I ma going for now. :) Dream of colour. bw Helen
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments:)
ReplyDeleteLast couple of years our winter has not been so cold and snowy, but this year it looks bad. 2003 we had a really long winter, too, I hope this isn't like that.
You are right that winter is a perfect time to plan new projects and experiments and of course knit:)(and read seed catalogs)
I have a book about Hellebores and I learned from it that they grow wild in the mountains in Slovenia:)
hi Leena- it's been a while since i stopped in for a visit. your winter there while long and cold is also incredibly beautiful. one of my desires this year is to further my knowledge and practice with indigo and in my climate (southern california) i am testing my skills at growing some indigo. so far, i have managed not to kill off my two test plants which were grown from seed beginning about 4 months ago. they are ready to be transplanted and i am deciding where in my yard would be most suited.
ReplyDeletethank you for posting the link regarding the indigo- i have saved it for future reference.
breathtaking photos!
ReplyDeletegood thing the hares went for your woad.i'd like to grow some indigo this year.
That is so cold! The poor dear bunnies and I hope they do find enough food.
ReplyDelete