What to Do BEFORE Power Outages

by | Jan 19, 2023 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Energy Efficiency, Home Improvements, Preparedness

Power outages. They happen in an instant. Most are only a flicker but some can last for hours when the wind’s whistling and the temperature’s dropping outside. Or in summer when the heat rises.

What’s the best thing to do in power outages?  Well, it’s best to anticipate it and be ready by having a few things ready to pull out of the closet when the lights go out. Here’s a  short list:

Cooking and Food:

  • Propane or gas camping stove with plenty of fuel stored away from the main residence. (i.e. in a stand-alone garage) If you live in an apartment or condominium have less volatile fuel options ready.
  • A few days of nonperishable or dehydrated camping food.
  • Several gallons of water stored where it won’t freeze.

Power Outages and Light & Heat:

  • Important items to have along.

    Solar chargers help keep people connected when the power goes out.

    Camping-style, battery-powered lanterns. Older gas lanterns work but are dangerous inside.

  • Quilts, sleeping bags, blankets and warm clothing in case the power fails in the winter.
  • Several packs of chemical hand warmers. Open the plastic wrapper and the inner pouch gives off cheery warmth for hours. Check yearly and switch out old ones, as they do have a shelf life.

Electronics:

  • Cell phones and other electronic batteries drain quickly. A backup power source and solar-powered phone charger keep the phone working.

One More Important Item:

  • In a widespread power failure credit and debit cards don’t work. Cash always does. Keep some cash in small bills to use during emergencies.

Many other items readily available in case of emergencies help keep life comfortable. Read about them on our other blogs. The list above covers only the most basic and sometimes overlooked, emergency items to keep on hand. Get ready now for power outages.

 

Winter Trees

by | Jan 12, 2023 | Nature, Trees

Winter trees. We love ‘em even though they don’t sport their cooling green summer leaves or October’s color.

When autumn leaves fall, trees look wonderfully different. Their nakedness reveals sights that are difficult to notice during summer. Here are some of the delights we discover when walking through January woodlands and looking at the winter trees.

Pods, Seeds, Textures

Pods and Seeds:   Just what are those long string bean-looking pods hanging from the branches? They are the seed pods of the catalpa tree. Nearby are flattish, twisted, crinkled black pods upwards of six inches long. Some are still hanging from branches, while others litter the path. They’re honey locust pods. Pry one open to find large black seeds inside. Box elders have typical maple helicopter seeds that stay on the trees much of the winter unless devoured by hungry squirrels or cardinals. Sycamore trees hold their round ball seeds on the ends of branches well into winter.

Twig Texture:  Elms and sugar maples sport zillions of finely textured twigs toward their tops, while walnuts, box elders, catalpas, and ailanthus have far fewer but much thicker twigs. Ash trees are somewhat in between, but their twigs radiate out at nearly right angles from branches.

Bark and Shape

Bark:  Young maples, ailanthus, and Siberian elms have smooth bark that becomes darker and more textured as the tree grows. The most intriguing bark pattern is always on hackberry trees. The bumpy bark makes it unmistakable.

Shape:   The profile of leafless trees often is a clue to the species. Pin oaks have a central trunk with lower branches that sometimes slope downward or radiate out at nearly right angles. The tree is spruce shaped in great contrast to wide-spreading white and bur oaks. Box elders always seem to be leaning one way or another, while American elms often show a thick buttress close to the ground beneath a vase-shaped upper. Siberian elms shoot straight for the sky.

Color

Color:   Although winter tree bark is mostly gray to black sometimes color comes through. Spot a subtle orange bark and it’s likely a mulberry tree. Large Scotch pines also have pumpkin-colored bark towards the top.  Sycamores are distinctive in their pale, flakey bark. And, white birches are easy to identify with their smoother, white bark that tends to curl as the trees age. Their cousin, the river birch, has shaggier bark and often grows larger in damp soil.

Winter trees are always fun to see and often are easy to identify. As we walk through the snow, we love discovering many tree shapes, textures, seeds, and bark. to help identify Google something like shape of (name of tree) in winter. The images will help you identify the trees before you go for a walk.

Harvesting Snow

by | Jan 5, 2023 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Nature, Trees/Shrubs, Weeds

A raging blizzard roaring over Winding Pathways just before Christmas showed us the power of HARVESTING SNOW. We love catching it.

Well, we didn’t really catch the snow, but our prairie did. It has a talent for harvesting snow and other forms of moisture. It taught us how prairie and other taller plants – grasses, forbs, shrubs, vines, and trees – help themselves grow next summer.

Our prairie has a thick growth of two-foot-tall dead stems from last summer’s growth.  Each stalk is brittle, but thousands of them working together slowed the wind just enough for it to drop the snow it had swept off nearby lawns and roads.

The deep drift that settled on our prairie will melt and give next spring’s plants a jumpstart in moist soil. Nearby shortly sheared lawns can’t catch snow and will start the spring on dryer soil. Nature delivered irrigation water to our yard for free!

Nature’s Wisdom in Harvesting Snow

Growing up in the East, we are used to Nor ‘easters that pummel the landscape and create great skiing conditions. Until we moved west, we were not so familiar with how nature replenishes soil moisture, well, naturally!

In dry areas snow also helps next summer’s vegetables. During college, Rich worked weekends at an Idaho ranch. He was surprised one January when Lucille Pratt, part owner of the land and an outstanding vegetable gardener, asked him to shovel snow from a nearby drift onto the garden.

 For a Jersey boy, this seemed like a weird request, but melting snow oozed water into the soil. That helped get the vegetables going and sustain them through the dry summer.   

Snow may seem like a bother but it’s also a blessing to dry soil and the plants it sustains.

Over two blizzardy days, our prairie gently caught snowflake after snowflake. We already are looking forward to bright prairie flowers dancing in next summer’s breeze. Thanks, prairie for harvesting snow. Nature’s wisdom to catch winter’s snow and help next summer’s growth is amazing.

Do You Know a 99-Year-Old Teacher?

by | Dec 29, 2022 | Reflections/Profiles

Henry is still a teacher.

Henry's school photo

Henry taught middle schoolers more than shop.

Our feature today is different. It’s about an amazing teacher. Winding Pathways blogs are normally about yards, backyard chickens, labyrinths, and occasional touches of home care and energy efficiency.   It’s about a 99-year-old who retired from his formal education career in 1996. Yet he continues to be a teacher for the fortunate people he encounters.

Henry Patterson, Rich’s father, was a teacher in the Florham Park, NJ, public schools for many years before retiring to his home in nearby Denville to spend senior years with his wife, Claire. Age caught up with them and they moved to a senior community, The Oaks of Denville, in 2018. Claire died the following year. Despite the grief, Henry has nurtured his sunny disposition as he has approached being a centurion.

“Look On the Sunny Side of Life”

He’s adored by the staff and residents at The Oaks as well as his family and friends in Denville. Everyone’s happy to see him, chat for a while, and enjoy his smile. Many help with daily functions that increasingly challenge a man who has lost most of his vision and some mobility. Regularly, former “shop” students dropped by the house and still visit at The Oaks.

As many people age, they become bitter, frustrated, and angry.  Think mosquito repellent. We put it on to keep the pesky bugs at bay. It works but isn’t confined to chemicals in a jar.  Abrasive behavior repels people trying to render kindness and assistance.

Crafting Beyond “Shop”

Henry has refined the opposite model.  He’s appreciative, thankful, understanding, kind, and always pleasant to everyone at The Oaks. From the high school students who work in food service to medical professionals who help him, and fellow residents Henry has a smile and a joke. His sense of humor shines so warmly that it takes him a while to walk down the corridor. This is not because 99 years of age slows his pace but because everyone he encounters he pauses for a kind word and usually caps the brief visit with a joke.

Henry taught thousands of middle school students how to craft amazing creations in his school industrial arts shop, but education didn’t stop on retirement day. He continues to teach everyone in his orbit that a warm personality and expressions of thanks and appreciation are rewarding and life-enhancing.

2022 Labyrinths – Walks and Experiences

by | Dec 22, 2022 | 1080 Labyrinth Blog, Labyrinths

2022 Labyrinths

What about labyrinths draws us? The unique patterns? The locations? The need to center? Perhaps all.

Labyrinth walks of 2022 varied from ordinary to recognizing the structure needed attention and Love, to being “surprised by Joy!”

Home

The Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth in the front yard was graced by groups and regular or random walkers. Sometimes we interacted with a wave or a chat.  Other times we were simply aware people came to walk. All winter the solar lights glowed above the thin topping of snow. By spring N helped gather in the lights that we cleaned and stored.  Then, come fall, P helped place them again at turns delighting in the changing reds, greens, blues, and whites of the solar lights at night. Rich and I reset the welcome pavers and trimmed the center oak that is stretching to the sky. One regular walker mentioned how tall the bur oak had grown this year. The autumn burn followed by Rich’s amazing weed whacker left the labyrinth walkable and rather sad looking.  We need snow to cover the burn marks and replenish the soil! When I gather the morning paper or evening mail, a stroll through the labyrinth refreshes me.

Four local labyrinths called for a visit and all but one needs attention and Love. The director of Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center enjoys the 11-circuit Chartres labyrinth and recognizes its need for renovation.  Together we are exploring ideas and resources as the labyrinth is a sweet one. The top-of-the-knoll Regis labyrinth has lost its luster yet the memory of walking it stays sweet. Some walkers have mentioned that the Nature Center’s while maintained is more like a long march over uneven ground than a tender commune with nature. New Bo’s is simply lovely. Separate. Private. Yet with and within the vibrant community.

Nassif Community Cancer Center. Tom H and Lynda B-S are such great colleagues and friends to again help create a labyrinth to inspire giving.  After the supervisor, Matt S, cleared having the floor used for a temporary labyrinth, Lisa H. Matt and I drew some dimensions.  Then, Tom and Lynda created their magic.  It’s always a challenge to figure out the centers – yes two! Then, to begin the spirals that lead into the center, around a corner and out past the other center to the exit.  Somehow they do it and with such a lovely spirit, too.

Each day new items appear along the labyrinth from canned goods, to household products, to clean clothing and backpacks.  At the end of the season, we will gather these up and donate to organizations that Matt researched.  Thank you all!

Derecho Labyrinth

Leslie W created this diminutive labyirnth of derecho 2020 wood.

Derecho Labyrinth. Tucked into the corner of a yard is a lovely diminutive labyrinth constructed of Derecho 2020 rounds. Linger and feel the creative energy fueled from a destructive event.

 

 

Across the Country – West, and North

Mountains beyond the labyrinth.

A serendipitous find!

Taking a break from the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s annual conference held this year in Casper, WY, Rich and I strolled along the meandering multi-use path on the North Platte River. Across the River, a copse caught my eye. The trees seemed to embrace an opening.  After crossing the River we walked back up the other side and found a delightful labyrinth! Well-marked and maintained it is a welcome respite for people needing some quiet. It is listed on the World Labyrinth Locator.

Alaska’s labyrinths were a mix. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church off Tudor Road in Anchorage is a lovely walk beside the main building.  Gently held by trees that screen it from the busy road, it is Accessible, Charming, and Soothing. Always a good stop.  Christ Episcopal Church’s is absolutely sweet. Created in the summer of 2020 perhaps in a burst of enthusiasm associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic it remains quite nice once you get there and can find the entry. It lies beyond a garden and greenhouse and is set in some young trees.  Approaching it to walk, the entry was unclear. I simply stepped on a circuit and began to walk. When I discovered the entry nicely set between two guardian trees but away from natural access, I noted that the path was overgrown. Basically inaccessible. Disappointing. A touch of maintenance is all it needed.

Homer, AK’s St. Augustine’s recently refurbished labyrinth is astonishing! Tucked on the end of the Kenai Peninsula, and set behind the small church, it overlooks the waters and mountains. The renovations suit it well with Nell Gustafson and Judy Millikin as two of the prime driving forces. We created a labyrinth program which was both in person and on ZOOM, was a satisfying experience with attendees from Alaska, Utah, and states beyond. An Honor. Fun!

Hot August Days & Nights

August found us in Missouri and Kansas with 109 degrees of heat! Wowzer!  And, the labyrinths in Liberty were wonderful. Grace Episcopal Church’s we’ve walked before. Created for an Eagle Scout Project it still attracts pilgrims with its tender turns and simple setting. Precious Blood Renewal Center’s was new to us and a delight.  Set off a path around a small pond, it’s made of flagstone pavers with a central pit. Depending on the light the path can be challenging to follow.  Just take time.  It is worth the stop.

Kansas City, MO, North Oak Christian Church square labyrinth is so sublimely set that it captivated both of us – the labyrinth and the surroundings.  Trees, walkway, grounds. All combined for a satisfying walk, in spite of the heat.

A well-intended, but neglected school project labyrinth in Lawrence, Kansas, again reveals the importance of commitment beyond initial enthusiasm.

Sweet North End

North End Labyrinth

labyrinth at Cedar Lake, Denville, NJ

On to New Jersey!  By far one of the sweetest tiny labyrinths has been created and maintained by Bianca Franchi on the north end of Cedar Lake in Denville.  Through multiple superstorms and hurricanes, the labyrinth has survived and been refurbished by loving hands. Twylla Alexander, board president of Veriditas visited and wrote about the North End Labyrinth in her book Labyrinth Journeys: 50 States, 51 Stories. Her talk at a labyrinth conference is how we met and shared the delight of this diminutive labyrinth and its journeys. I walk each time we are back East and Rich took a snowy picture of it on his December visit.

Iowa

Iowa hosts a surprising number of labyrinths and we discovered two special ones on a Thanksgiving sojourn to SE Iowa. The backyard of a home in Washington, IA, is a quiet refuge for pilgrims and wildlife. Nestled among arbor vitae the labyrinth feels restful and holy. A few miles down the road at the Crooked Creek Christian Camp, we chatted with the director who shared that the camp hosts families and other groups and the story of the labyrinth. When we walked it, the happy spirit simply bubbled up around us. Fun! Fairfield, IA, labyrinth behind the Methodist Church is sad because the prime advocate for it has died. Hmmm. It is a nice labyrinth and just needs a touch of love. The town, however, is magical with Seven Roses Inn BnB run by the mayor of the city, great eateries, intriguing small shops, The Maharishi University, and miles of trails.  A great overnight!

Maintenance is always the issue.  Good intentions help people create. Diligence easily falls to the wayside when volunteers are expected to maintain structures. Part of the mission of Veriditas Council and led by Chuck Hunner is restoring lonely labyrinths.

Veriditas Offerings

Crystal Heart on Leaf

Veriditas Council the Heart.

The last categories of labyrinths this year are the Virtual Facilitator Renewal Day in January, and the regular finger walks that Veriditas has hosted each Friday since the pandemic began. Council produces the Virtual Facilitator Renewal Days on ZOOM offering a wide variety of experiences for people across the world. The Friday free, hour-long ZOOM finger walks also bring a Global community together. We see familiar faces and get to know people’s stories.  Veriditas Council hosts the third Friday of the month. This year I was honored to present in July from Alaska with the theme “View from the Edge.” The edge of the Pacific rim. The edge of the North American Continent. The edge of the United States. The edge of the Cook Inlet. The view is different. On November 11, I shared “To Everything There is a Season.” Armistice Day, Veterans’ Day, Poppy Day, Remembrance Day, and seasons of the Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth. Veriditas staff is fabulous with their support and choice of music, making presenting a joy. Thank you.

So, that is it! A year of labyrinths 2022. Check out the next Virtual Facilitator Renewal Day # 4 on January 14, 2023.