Stalking The Woodpile

As the heating season warms up, I'm paying homage to my heating source - wood. Do you heat your home with wood? One hundred percent of my home is heated by wood. The heart of my house is a hot-pumping workhorse - the humble woodstove. It's been cranking out heat for years. We have three woodstoves – one for the main house, one in a detached studio and one that we fire up for our wood-heated hot tub. On the right is a picture of my son sizing the wood for our stoves last spring.

I have a fair amount of yin/yangy feelings about the environmental impact of heating with wood. I discuss my quandary, and present the cost-saving pros, as well as the ecological cons of heating with wood here.

Having just taken the wood carrier and fireproof gloves out of hiding for their first spin of the season, I headed outside last evening and admired my woodpile. Seasoned, cut and stacked, I could have sworn that luscious pile of wood winked at me.

Take a look at these images and please tell me: Can a woodpile be sexy?

Photo Credits: Gemma Comas via Sweet Paul, Swiss Miss, unknown , Design Milk, Freshome, unknown, Casa Cara, A View To, House & Home, Freshome

Art From The Deep Woods: Mushrooms and Moss

Inspired by the crispness of fall, and an invigorating trip to the Adirondacks to visit my friend Eliza, I’ve been noticing mushrooms and moss. While shells and driftwood reflect the brightness of summer, umbrella-topped mushrooms and velvety deep green moss set the mood for fall.

Shelf mushrooms are probably my favorite type of mushroom to forage for. They illuminate the woods of the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks with their salmon color and oversized caps. Deep inside fertile forests, shelf mushrooms can be found jutting off live trees and downed limbs. These mushrooms thrive in damp, dark spaces. They make hunting for non-poisonous, non-edible mushrooms a treat to find because these shelf mushrooms can be easily transformed into an interesting piece of art. Read more about these wild mushrooms here.

My family has fond memories of visiting Keene Valley and hiking the trails along the Ausable River to collect these fungi to make art with. Shelf mushrooms change color when bruised. My kids would draw fine lines on the inner surface of the mushroom by etching with a sharp pointy object. It's like soft carving on a block of wood. I spotted a fine example of shelf mushroom art (above) sitting on the mantle of a grand fireplace at the Ausable Club.

Another natural wonder found along Adirondack trails is moss. This lush plant rises in moist places and cushions the rock faces that anchor the forest floor. Moss is beautiful to look at, but did you know moss can be painted with too?

Images of moss wall art graffiti have been making the rounds of the blogosphere for a while now. Every time images of moss graffiti pop up on my computer screen, I find it delightfully whimsical to see the words and murals painted with moss. It's the ultimate garden wallpaper. Moss graffiti can be spray-painted onto a surface. It creates a naturally organic paint, as opposed to traditional enamel based aerosol sprays. If you love the look of moss graffiti, try this recipe (adapted from this Apartment Therapy post):

Moss Wall Art Graffiti

What You'll Need: Handfulls of Moss 1-2 Tablespoons Sugar 1/2 cup Buttermilk Water Blender Covered Container Paint Brush Chalk Spray Mist Bottle

What To Do: 1. Collect moss. 2. Clean the dirt off the moss. 3. Sketch out the image onto the surface with chalk. 4. Place moss in the blender. 5. Add sugar and buttermilk 6. Blend until thick like a milkshake. If it gets too thick, add some water. 7. Pour into container. 8. With the paintbrush, create your design on the surface. 9. Leftover moss can be stored in the refrigerator and reapplied if needed. 10. Spray your moss wall art daily with water. 11. The design should start to spread over the area.

Here is another recipe from Stories From Space that uses beer instead of buttermilk.

Let's celebrate fall in all its natural beauty! What inspires you in autumn?

Main Photo: Ditte Isanger Moss Graffiti: Environmental Graffiti

Living With Green Music

Green-leaning musicians have been on the forefront of the environmental movement since its inception. From staging benefit concerts, rx to converting tour buses to biodiesel fuel, buy cialis to creating solar recording studios, creative eco-conscious musicians have been reducing their impact on the planet.

My son is a musician, and I’ve been trying to infuse eco-friendly elements into the space where he plays music. I find when I design a living space, it’s best to go back to green basics – reduce, reuse and recycle. Check out how to recycle guitar strings, make a headboard from album covers or find eco-friendly soundproofing: CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Main photo credit: via 2Modern

Do You Live in A Slow Home? Take the Test...

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means." ~ Albert Einstein What is a Slow Home? Think of a Slow Home as you would think about Slow Food. Or, thumb think about the opposite of Slow Food – processed food. That would equate a fast home to be a standardized, hospital homogenous, hospital wasteful home that is not advantageous for the environment or healthy for our bodies. The interiors and exteriors of Slow Homes tread lightly. They are simple to live in, designed with intention, and a benefit to the environment.

Take the Slow Home Test to find out if your home is fast or slow. CLICK HERE FOR MORE (and to find out why I need to slow up even more)

Credit: J. Morgan Puett via Desire To Inspire