RURAL Winter Love

RURAL

IT'S NOT WHERE YOU LIVE IT'S HOW Issue No. o3 • WINTER LOVE • 2016

In this issue

Frosty Narratives - Winter Exercise - Cold Weather Camera tips

RURAL VOL. 1 ISSUE 3 WINTER LOVE JAN/FEB 2016 COVER IMAGE JEN VANDERVOORT EDITORIAL JEN VANDERVOORT COPYWRITERS CAROLYNN ANCTIL DONNA DONABELLA ADVERTISING RURAL2016@GMAIL.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS VISIT WWW.RURALMAG.COM

WWW.RURALMAG.COM PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED :: COPYRIGHT 2016 JEN VANDERVOORT/RURAL MAGAZINE ALL CONTENT AND IMAGES ARE USED WITH THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS.

RURAL

IT'S NOT WHERE YOU LIVE IT'S HOW

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Contents INFO

P. 4 EDITOR'S NOTE P. 5 CONTRIBUTORS P. 30 FENCE LINES WRITTEN

06 RURAL REFLECTIONS

WINTER HENS

COLD HANDS, WARM HENS AND A BASKET OF FRESH EGGS Page 10

07 BELONG

THROUGH THE GLASS BIRD WATCHING BECOMES A FAMILY TRADITION P17

08 WINTER PLAY 09 A BLANKET OF COTTON 12 FLOWER POWER 14 YOUR MOVE WINTER 24 WINTER CAMERA TIPS

PHOTOS

16 JEN VANDERVOORT 18 KAYLA JEPPESEN 25 BODNEYBOO 26 LINDA CARLSON

FEED THE BIRDS A LITTLE FOOD CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR SURVIVAL P 19

YOUR MOVE WINTER WINTER WEATHER PLAYS A TOUGH GAME P. 14

27 KRISTIN PEHL 15 GRACE VANDERZANDE​

WWW.RURALMAG.COM Page 3

Hi there!

How's your Winter going?

Whether you love Winter or just put up with it until your favorite season comes along, it's here for a little while longer. Since it's hanging around anyways why not find something to love about it?

We've gathered a collection of beauty shots [winter giving us the cold shoulder doesn't phase us] and icy moments that warmed our hearts.

Ever considered Nordic pole walking? Need camera tips for cold days, or imagined the warmth of a just laid egg radiating in your cold hand? What about brightening your days with indoor blossoms? It's all in this issue of RURAL magazine.

Winter Love, from our world to yours.

Jen @ RURAL magazine Page 4

Contributors Jen Vandervoort is dreaming up the next issue of RURAL, she blogs at The Light Laughed.

Carolynn Anctil is an artist and writer blogging at Tin Rooster Farm

Donna Donabella retired after 35 years in education.

She is now pursuing her dream as a writer/poet.

Judith Rogers is a freelance garden writer blogging at Lavender Cottage Garden.

Grace Vanderzande is a farmer, writer, and blogger at Buttons Thoughts

Sarah Huizenga is an explorer, photographer, and writer. She blogs at Paisley Rain Boots

Lillie Normile is a writer and blogger at Notes from Napanee, living in South Eastern Ontario.

PHOTOGRAPHYÂ CONTRIBUTORS Kayla Jeppesen Bodneyboo Linda Carson Kristin Pehl Grace Vanderzande Hayden Jeppesen Jen Vandervoort

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@Freethinkingrat

@scubagirl67

RURAL Reflections Instagram feeds with a RURAL appeal

@Bodneyboo

@e.liin

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Belong

The hustle, and bustle of a month of living in a busy city now a fading memory, I focus on the beauty that surrounds me. This is the peace my soul had missed. The coldness of the air mixed with the beauty of the emerging sun, a welcome gift. I make my way slowly down the fence lined, icy lane.

My heart pounding, as if it was going to burst through my chest, my heavy breath freezes as it drops to the ground. With those muscles screaming an undescribed calmness settles in.

The forest that seemed so far away now welcomes me like an old friend, embracing me in its arms. Standing under the whispering pines, I smile. This is my place of happiness, where I truly belong

Written by Grace Vanderzande Photo: Grace Vanderzande

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Winter

In play in the garden Yes, you read that right. But there is snow in the winter, you say. Well not to worry because that is the best time to play when there are no blooms or leaves left. Just soft evergreens. And peeling, beautifully colored, or deeply grooved bark and loads of seed heads. Perfect for catching snow, and creating beautiful winter scenes.

Snow enhances the winter garden, but it still looks lovely in its bare bones and tattered, shabby chic state too. Essential to the look are the seed heads. In fall do not cut down those plants. Instead, leave many seed heads for the foraging birds in winter, not to mention some lovely views.

Yes, you will be amazed at how much beauty can be found in the winter garden whether you capture it in pictures or just gaze at it lovingly, dreaming of spring.

Written by: Donna Donabella Photo Donna Donabella

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Blanket of cotton Cascading down Cocooning, enveloping All as it surrounds. ŠDonna Donabella 2015 Page 9

Winter Hens

It’s dawn and time to bundle up in warm clothing to make the short walk through a fresh layer of snow to the hen house. It’s warm and cozy inside the coop, heated by the hens’ bodies and their breath. It’s a welcome contrast to the frigid weather outdoors.

Early rising laying hens are already snuggled in nest boxes, busy at work, while their sisters are just waking up on the roost. Feathers are ruffled and legs stretched while Pearl, our rooster, crows enthusiastically.

A breakfast of warm oatmeal awaits them and is incentive enough to entice them down to the floor, deep with a thick layer of fragrant straw.

Written and Illustrated by Carolynn Anctil

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What goes in must come out, and while the birds are busy about their morning rituals, the coop must be cleaned and fresh pine shavings laid on the droppings board.

Pearl keeps a sharp eye on everyone, including me, and when the hens have eaten their fill, he steps in to satisfy his own hunger. All the while, the hens keep up a steady clucking like old friends catching up on the latest news after time spent apart.

The hens that are laying churl an admonishment when I peek inside the nest boxes to check for eggs before leaving. I let them alone and collect those eggs that no longer have a hen sitting on them. They’re warm in my chilled hand and I tuck them gently in the basket I carry for just that purpose.

It’s boring literally being “cooped up” for months at a time and with nothing to forage for during the winter months, our hens receive regular servings of treats throughout the day. Greens like cooked broccoli and peas, sunflower seeds and apple slices help to break up the monotony and supplement their diet.

As the day draws to a close, Pearl leads the hens back to the safety of the roost for the night. It’s a noisy, riotous time, as hierarchies are reestablished and minor squabbles break out. The rooster, among the first to get settled and ready for bed, growls a low warning deep in his throat and the hens swiftly quiet down.

Snuggled closely together for warmth, they puff out their feathers and settle over their feet on the roost. The hens emit soft cooing noises like gentle snores, lulling everyone to sleep in the dark. Peace is restored and all is well in our wintery world.

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Flower Power Written by Judith Rogers

Winter days

tend to be bleak with a monochromatic landscape of white and overcast grey skies. Bring a little sunshine into your home and boost your spirits with colourful flowers.

Create an early spring tabletop garden by purchasing miniature daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, muscari and primroses and grouping them together in a basket or box large enough to hold several..

Line the bottom with heavy plastic and place the pots in the container where they can easily be moved around or lifted out and replaced when blooming is finished.

Add leafy houseplants to use as fillers. Moss tucked around the pots will help hold moisture in and offer a natural looking covering.

Consider some whimsy with small statues, birds or whatever you fancy.

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To get the most out of your flowers Divide the bouquet into smaller vases to spread their beauty to more rooms

A bouquet of fresh cut stems on a table passed by frequently will exude their fragrance for several days.

Photos: Judith Rogers

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Your move Winter Wispy bits of snow ducked under the gate to skate across the glare ice. Like a thief in the night, winter had crept in and made off with the warmth of yesterday. It had left in its place an icy grip, filled with biting winds. To this girl who likes to venture out and explore, it was a good move on her part.

Should I make that bold move to conquer that long icy lane? Ignore those blustery winds, and head to the woods?

The sun shone through the trees as I entered the sheltered beauty. Exhausted, I lie on the cold icy ground after battling the obstacles you had hurled. The trees above my head bent and swayed, snapping and groaning. The wispy snow swirled around me. There, the perfect shot was found.

Your move winter. You thought you had won didn’t you?

See you tomorrow.

Written by Grace Vanderzande​ Photo Grace Vanderzande​

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Photo: ​ Grace Vanderzande​

Photo: Jen Vandervoort

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Through the Glass My mother’s idea of bird watching was through the glass of our dining room window. Her engagement with the birds consisted of replenishing the seed in the half dozen feeders that hung on the lower branches of the red pine tree outside the window.

I remember many winter afternoons seated across the kitchen table from her. Nose buried in a book eating my Chicken and Stars soup, she would rattle off the names of each bird that landed at one of the feeders. I never looked up.

It wasn’t until I was a mother, with a daughter of my own, that I found my enthusiasm for bird watching. I would take my little girl’s hand as we wandered the wooded paths near our house, pointing out to her the chickadees as they flitted from branch to branch of the red pine trees.

Written by Sarah Huizenga Photo Sarah Huizenga

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Photo : Kayla Jeppesen

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Please!

Feed the birds

Winter can be a difficult time for birds as their natural food sources become scarce. Supplementing their diets with protein-rich peanuts and black oil sunflower seeds at a bird feeder helps them through this period and attracts them to your yard to enjoy watching.

They also benefit from the seed heads of purple coneflowers and other plants left standing in autumn.

Suet cakes, often studded with a mixed birdseed blend are a treat for many varieties of birds and attract woodpeckers in particular.

Water is still required during freezing temperatures for drinking and bathing that bigger birds such as starlings and blue jays like. A heated birdbath will fill these needs but sometimes they just eat snow.

Make yourself cozy with a steaming mug of tea in hand and watch through a window the antics of chickadees flitting about or dark eyed juncos digging with tiny feet to glean seeds from the ground.

Written by: Judith Rogers Photo Judith Rogers

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Photo : Kayla Jeppesen

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Photo Hayden Jeppesen

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Move it Have you seen ladies walking along the street with what appear to be ski poles? No they are not looking for snow but are part of a Nordic Pole Walking Group.

Walkers can reduce High Blood Pressure, improve sugar metabolism and reduce insulin resistance. Equipment is minimal. Poles can be purchased at sporting goods stores and walkers require a good pair of walking shoes.

Nordic Pole walking is not limited to one season. With care walkers can layer up and continue walking in the winter on clear sidewalks, usually found in subdivisions.

Using Nordic poles incorporates 90% of all body muscles, increases heart and cardiovascular training to 25% and burns up to 46% more calories than walking without the poles.

It is an exercise that can be a solo adventure but walking with a group adds a social component bringing ladies together to share their worries and joys.

Written by Lillie Normile Photo LIllie Normie Page 22

I'm a country girl and can't get enough of the great outdoors.

Walking is a simple way to experience the fresh air, hear the birds and watch the seasons unfold.

Recently, I was introduced to a new way to enjoy my walks by using Nordic walking poles.

While the poles increase the exercise level it relaxes the mind.

It is delightful to see the first snow drops poke their heads out of the snow or the first colourful, maple leaf drifting downward.

On solitary walks I often meditate, letting my mind wander along the path with my feet. Walking with friends is an adventure as we explore new trails and share our thoughts.

The cold of winter is stimulating, nipping at my nose and pinking up my cheeks leaving me energized and ready for the rest of my day.

Photo: Lillie Normile

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Written by Jen Vandervoort

Don't let the cold weather keep your camera captive. We've put together a few hints on how to get the best out of your frosty photos this winter.

Keep those fingers warm when texting, and taking photos by using touch screen gloves that have a special fiber woven into the fingertips. No more frosty fingers or fudged photos.

Condensation can kill a good shot.

Battery life is limited in cold temps.

Remove battery and slip it into your pocket if you plan on being outside for a long time. Replace it to take that winning shot.

Photo: Jen Vandervoort

Avoid sudden extreme changes in temperature which cause moisture buildup on the lens, and inside the camera body.

Move from outside to a cool spot inside to allow your camera to warm up slowly.

Keep your camera and card dry.

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Photo: Bodneyboo

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Photo: Linda Carson

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Photo Kristin Pehl

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Asparagus, strawberries, and a wide variety of farm fresh produce available this spring

Okanagan Asparagus Farm www.okasparagus.com Armstrong, BC

Book your spot now to advertise in the spring issue of RURAL magazine www.ruralmag.com

Opening soon

Turkey Track Winery

tinroosterfarm.blogspot.com www.etsy.com/shop /aglowingember

Armstrong BC

SPRING ISSUE COMING MARCH 2016

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FENCE LINES We've named the last page of RURAL Fence Lines...signifying an end to this issue, but also because it allows you to see beyond to the next one.

Just like fence lines do.

RURAL SPRING will be available online in March.

We've planted it with the seeds of spring and we can't wait to see them grow.

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