Family Farm Day was a watershed moment for me as a dyer. A friend had given us some japanese indigo (persicaria tinctoria) seedlings in the spring and now was the time to harvest the leaves from the mature plants. I decided to follow the method described on the Botanical Colors website, and to make this experiment into a demonstration.

Ride the Wind at La Basse Cour

Summer is Heating Up at La Basse Cour

Summer begins at La Basse Cour.

Although you'll find me often at La Basse Cour, my official "studio hours" for this season are Fridays 10 to 2 p.m. What do I mean by that, and how are those hours different than others that I spend at the farm?

This season when you visit my space you see that I am now selling under two labels: Jules Wrenne and Kortright Handworks@La Basse Cour. I expect I will be asked more than once to explain the difference between one basket and the other. The answer is engendered in the question I am most often asked at fairs and markets: "Where do you get your yarn?"

Enjoy our May newsletter with all the happenings at Hepner Hollow.

Today, May 19, is the very first World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day, launched this year by Bob Matthews of Rochester, NY. Bob is a lifelong gardener and owner and author of The Gardener's Network, Garden Hobbies, and Pumpkin Nook. World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day was created to encourage people to get out and enjoy gardening with their families and friends, and to help provide delicious and nutritious fresh vegetables for people all around the world. A home garden can help stretch our family food dollar and offers the opportunity to eat food grown without harmful chemicals. Fresh vegetables taste best and taste makes it that much easier to eat those recommended veggie servings each day.

Celebrating Earth Day, Every Day, at La Basse Cour and Kortright Handworks

Coming of age in the 1970s I was acutely aware of the degraded state of our environment and the impact that was having on people here and around the world. Thanks to Gaylord Nelson, I also began to understand the power we have as a people to create large and lasting change for the good.