Sticks and some stones

It looked warm and toasty the other day, but looks can be deceiving. I went for a walk into the valley because it was so windy 'on top' of the ridge.
I was browsing for some interesting 'sticks' for my winter collection of 'stuff'.

I sat by the creek and listened to the wind above. By sitting very still I was able to glimpse trout again. I wonder where they go when it gets really cold?
I thought about how my Grandmother Pearl used to take us for walks and we'd collect milkweed pods and nobbin' knockers.

I gathered a bunch of small stones from the creek bottom to take home. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd do with them, but I took them anyway.

Yes, a self shot. Camera on a tripod with a timer.
I was filling my pockets with small stones.

I did figure out what I would do with them later. I painted a plastic flower pot gold and put the rocks in it. They will help stabilize the small branches I put in them.

These are some of the branches I've already done. I'm stacking them in a corner right now until I figure out how to work them in with the Christmas Chair and old crates I have.

I found one bunch of Milkweed pods and need to find another. I'd like to give some to one of my friends so she can have a 'winter bouquet' too.

I discovered that spray paint holds dried Yarrow together and keeps the Self Heal plant together also.

I have a couple of more ideas for some leftover boards. "Ho Ho Ho!", "Snow", and "Thanks".
I think I rearrange my little bundled sticks every day. I haven't settled on how or where I'm going to use them. However they look pretty neat inside an old wooden sewing machine drawer.

I will have to get a photo of that soon.

MugWumps and Knobbin' Knockers.

Just before the snows started I decided to go out and take a walk to find some 'knobbin' knockers.

What on earth are knobbin' knockers? Well they are those beautiful dried stems of golden rod that have a bump in them from some worm that the stem grows around in the summer.

My Grandmother used to gather these along with milkweed pods and other dried 'weeds' to make a winter bouquet.

They may not look like much, but put them together in a bouquet and add a bit of glitter and it looks quite nice.
I added a them to my old wash pitcher with some fox tail and got a nice 'free' natural bouquet.

Grandma used to paint her knobbin' knockers and milkweed pods in silver and gold if I recall correctly. I think her wild bouquets were her Christmas decorations.

I think mine turned out beautiful and I was ready to go collect some more wild things when the first snow storm hit.

I think still may make good use of my cross country skis and go find some more on the ridge this week.

I mentioned Knobbin' Knockers on FB and one of my cousins replied that she recalled them also.
Then she told me not to forget about the MugWumps.

Indeed I had forgotten that term. MugWumps!
She reminded me...
Those were those things that sat on phone lines with their Mugs on one side and their Wumps on the other. One should not walk under MugWumps back side.

It brought back such fond memories of being a kid in a time and place where we had our own language.
Oh.
Knobbin' Knockers?

We used to grab them and knock each other on the noggin' with them as kids.
Thus that name.