Of pussywillows and blessed rain

It’s raining, thank goodness. In fact, it is pouring down like a sonofagun. Naturally I left some shoes outside, oh-well-oh-well, but at least we’ve staved off the serious threat of wildfires for a bit. I’m sorry for everyone who came up for the weekend expecting a continuation of the lovely summery weather we’ve been having.  Perhaps you can find some nice indoor things to do today. Perhaps tomorrow it will be sunny again. Think how nice and green it will be now that the rain has come.

It will be good for the pussywillows down on the beach. Lovely things, pussywillows.

My grandmother and I used to bring them home from our walks.  We’d put branches in water.  We’d strip off fuzzy little catkins and paste them to paper.  Then we’d draw ears and tails and voila!  Cat pictures!  Usually we’d draw in a fence, too, to give them something to sit on.  Maybe I’ll make one when I get home from the day job, just for old times’ sake.  It’s almost too late.  They’re beginning to flower and go to seed.

They look like sock puppets, don’t they?  Rather fierce sock puppets now that I think of it.

I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to willows ever since Carsten wrote a post about willow weaving. I went happily googling about and found out all sorts of things about weaving willows into living fences/hedges (“fedges”). I believe I’m going to try to talk Daugherty Johnson into taking up the craft. I’ll help. I’m putting a list of sites here because I want to remember where they are.

• Living Willow Structures
• Julie Starks, Environmental Artist
• Willowworks
• David Gosling, Environmental Art

Have a lovely weekend, whether you’re listening to the blessed rain on the roof, remembering the flight from Egypt, or celebrating the season of resurrected hope. To life!