The Life and Times of the Plume
I Love Your Soul
This is a belated preview! I’ve been working on Jackrabbit and Dune Earrings in my studio. I like this design so much I finally made a pair for myself! I think there’s currently one pair left on my shop shelves tonight — thanks to everyone who claimed a set.
I have a few things to share with you today! I’m going to start referring to these sorts of posts as “
Herne’s new lineup! I wear wool almost every day, usually layers of it, and this company makes the best wool jackets I’ve ever worn (and I own a good number of wool jackets). What makes their pieces special is that they are
I recently enjoyed the thoughts shared here about Julian of Norwich. You might, too. All shall be well.
I’ve been enjoying Tyler Childer’s newest album lately. It’s been made famous by the last track on the album which has lyrics, however, the rest of the album is instrumental
I’ve been reading! I’ve been reading a lot. Here’s the look of my current reading stack:
1984
Rilke’s Book of Hours
Art + Faith
Soil and Sacrament
Letters of a Woman Homesteader
No Time To Spare
The Starless Sea
Modern Huntsman Volume 6 is now printed and shipping. It’s beautiful, full of incredible images and storytelling. I always like to remind you that this book isn’t just for hunters, it’s for everyone. My piece in this volume is a humble little story about our farm and elk country. I hope you like it!
I think I complained about the state of Hollywood script writing a couple posts ago but I want to tell you about how much fun we had watching old movies over our Christmas holiday. We went on a Hayley Mills kick with The Parent Trap, The Moon Spinners and Tiger Bay. Then we chased our Hayley binge with Cleopatra which is a serious commitment. Old movies are such treasure. I love the set designs and costuming and knowing that the actors are all real, nothing was computer generated. I like how people used to speak. I love the way Hayley Mills always grabs her head in two hands and then says “Oooooh!” We also have started “old westerns night” with our neighbors which we kicked off with Lonesome Dove. Classic!
If you are looking for a truly (not greenwashed) non-toxic
As many of you know, we grow some of our garlic under contract for a small fermented garlic company based in Ketchum, Idaho. You can now buy Sundries Farm fermented garlic through the Scratch Black Garlic website — grown by us on our little farm here on the Snake River and fermented by our friends in Ketchum, it’s Idahoan through and through. Bon appetit!
I hope your week started off wonderfully and that the sun is shining where you are. Go outside! Feel the sun and wind and let your heart fill up with gratitude.
XX
The other day while bird hunting in the fog I said to Robbie, “Doesn’t it seem like the ocean has been drained away and we are standing in the middle of a coral reef?” There is nothing more magical than the steppe draped in a heavy blanket of hoar frost. IT. IS. EXQUISITE. Whimsical. Crystalline. Delicate. Holy holy holy. Otherworldly. I live to be out on the land on these impossibly beautiful days. I break my own heart when I brush past
The lichens and mosses have turned plump and electric in the damp and cold of winter. The spring creeks rustle beneath sheets of thin ice. The
It is such a relief to go outside, to walk in these wild places, to see the way all things come together and exist here in a swirl of life and death and energy. The same and different. Like all things.
Happy new year, wonderful people! It seems to take me longer and longer to emerge from my Christmas break with each passing year. By the time I shut my studio down and finished packing and shipping orders on December 20th I was past the point of exhaustion. Though we both would cherish a visit with our families, it was a blessing to not climb into a truck or sit down in a plane on December 20th to travel home to Saskatchewan or Northern California for Christmas. We stayed home and filled our Christmas holiday with bird hunting, cooking wonderful food, baking, visiting with neighbors, watching old movies (is it just me or has
Yesterday we were out bird hunting and I found myself crossing a boulder field at a good clip which is precarious work. The volcanic rubble I danced over was draped with slick patches of lichen, snow, ice, frost, and every now and again a big stone was unseated and wobbled beneath my boot adding a little haste to my stride. But old lava rock is gloriously textural, it has teeth that bite into boot soles like coyotes on cow femurs
I love to move through the broken lava spills as fast as I can, daring my legs to hammer harder while I balance with my shotgun in one hand. I don’t look right at my feet, it’s dizzying,
Lastly, and importantly, Robbie and I celebrated our 17 year anniversary at the end of December. I can’t believe we’ve been married for so many years, we still feel so young. It’s been so much fun growing up together, even during the long stretches when the fire season keeps us apart. I am most thankful for Robbie’s love and friendship in this life (and Tater, I’m thankful for him, too).
I’m always thinking of you all, praying your hearts will be filled with peace even in the midst of
Love,
Jillian
