tomorrow is emily dickinson’s birthday (december 10th), the title of this post is one of the lines of her poem, which was on top of my old blog for a long time.. ten years? i composed little something about a ghost pipe this summer and wanted to share it tomorrow. the words lined up by themselves in my head and i was about to fall asleep. it was nice. but if i won’t find a proper way to show it, this little heather celebration will be here. i did not know that date until quite recently. just happened to see it in november. i was supposed to be born on the 11th, but it happened of the 1st of december. we are so close. one and zero is one. and after this movie i suddenly felt such a strong connection to emily. deeper than the words, profound and clean. like when you feel the exact feeling, with no doubts and questions, even to yourself. oh! happy happy heather birthday!

and here is one of the forest watercolors for such an occasion, it’s called ‘low spruce – high heather’. this botanical composition is like a poem, don’t you think?

forest was rich in heather this year and my mom gathered a little bit more than usual, so we made these sets.

‘…the medicinal properties of an infusion of heather tops were used to treat coughs, consumption and to soothe the nerves, and heather tea and ointments were used to treat arthritis and rheumatism. ‘moorland tea’ made from heather flowers, was reputed to be a favourite of robert burns. the soporific aroma from the dried flowers was also put to use to make heather mattresses, by packing long lengths of dried, flowering heather together in the bed frame, flowers uppermost and leaning slightly towards the bed head…’ (paul kendall)

в этом году мама собрала чуть больше вереска, чем обычно и поэтому сложились такие наборы: вереск в чай, мешочек из старинного хлопка с розовыми полянами (мама их сшила тоже на озере!) и две открытки с веточкой вереска. его можно заваривать отдельно, а можно смешивать с другими травами или зеленым чаем и хранить в том мешочке. в эту осень к моей большой радости и удивлению люди выбирали дома на камнях, больше, чем обычно и с домами вместе часто упаковывала вереск. берег онежского озера, где собирали камни, совсем близко к лесу, который подарил нам вереск!

и вот ещё страницы из этой хорошей карманной книги валентины астаховой ‘клады на болотах’ 1976 года.