Autumn Splendor in Our Ancestral Vermont Near Tasha Tudor!

Celebrating Tasha Tudor's 100th Birthday Year!

A Lovely Autumnal Country Road
in Vermont where once my ancestors lived!
It is not far from where Tasha Tudor lived.

Click Here for Lovely Music

Dappled light on a quiet, non-paved Vermont road; a road less traveled!

From "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery:

"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.

Anne revelled in the world of colour about her.

"Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill - several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them."

One of our old ancestral family cemeteries in Vermont.

Spectacular Vermont Autumn Colors!

In "The Real Pretend", several of Tasha Tudor's illustrations are bordered with colorful autumn leaves. My daughter Sarah of Corgyncombe was Tasha Tudor's model for the illustrations of the little girl Kathy in "The Real Pretend".

"Seasons of Delight, A Year on an Old-Fashioned Farm", written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, shows the beautiful autumn season and such tasks as raking leaves, picking apples, and making cider.

In "A Brighter Garden", Tasha Tudor illustrated several of Emily Dickinson's poems regarding the various seasons. Our favorite Autumn illustration shows a small old New England town with a church against the Autumnal hills. Emily Dickinson was a cousin to my great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard.

The 100th anniversary of Tasha Tudor's birth was on August 28th, 1915.

We at Corgyncombe will continue to be celebrating this, the 100th year since Tasha Tudor's birth!


Our email:
atthecottagegate@yahoo.com


http://corgyncombecourant.blogspot.com/2015/11/autumn-splendor-in-our-ancestral.html
copyright © 2015 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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The Gathering of the Sage

Emily & Ethlyn's Potions & Perfumery

Sage from the Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs, gathered in a Shaker carrier and photographed in "Emily & Ethlyn's Potions & Perfumery". "Emily & Ethlyn's Potions & Perfumery", also known as "E. & E.'s P.& P.", is the corgyn's pretend apothecary in Diane's old kitchen at Corgyncombe Cottage and Corg'ery. Sage is used in poultry dressing throughout the year at Corgyncombe Cottage.

Corgyncombe Cottage & Corg'ery is a little farm in the valley where the corgyn dwell. Corgyn is the word Tasha Tudor used as plural for corgi. A combe is a valley, dale, vale, or hollow. Diane and Sarah made up their own exclusive word: "Corg'ery" ....... a corg'ery being a farm where an abundance of delightful corgyn dwell. Some spelling variations of their own word Corg'ery include: Corgiery, Corgi'ery, Corgery, Corg'ry, Corgi'ry.

According to the "American Dictionary of The English Language" by Noah Webster, 1828, a potion is: a draught; usually, a liquid medicine; a dose.

We named our Corgi Ethlyn Maria (pronounced Mariah) after Diane's great grandmother Ethlyn Maria Weaver who descends from a long line of Welsh Kings. Ethlyn's first Weaver to come to the New World by the 1630's was Clement Weaver and his wife Rebecca (Holbrook) Weaver. Ethlyn's husband descended from the 1st Earl of Pembroke.


Ethlyn Maria Weaver


We named our Corgi Emily after Diane's great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson.

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Spencerian Script

Such a Lovely Way of Writing!

An old autograph book from around 1887 is on display on the art stand in the Corgyncombe Library.
The script resembles Spencerian Script.

"To Tom"
"January Eighteenth 1887"

"Meanness shun and all its train,

Goodness seek and Life is gain"

"Your Friend and Schoolmate"
Elmer S. White
Wurtsboro
Sull Co
NY


Behind the autograph book is the February 1989 issue of Victoria Magazine. In this issue there is an article about Spencerian Script. Platt Rogers Spencer, born in 1800, was the founder of Spencerian Script. He published instructional books that taught his lovely penmanship style.

Another autograph book, with the February 1989 Victoria Magazine behind.
The next pages after have the article "Emily Dickinson, An Ecstasy in Living".

The cover of the 1887 autograph book.


A "Spencerian System of Penmanship" book.

An entry from the Braddock Bible, made by Henry's grieving wife Juliaett, recording his death.
At the bottom she wrote:
"My darling is waiting for me"

Diane and Sarah have always loved beautiful penmanship.
Diane always enjoyed practicing her letters and in 3rd grade won an award for her penmanship.

 

Joan Donaldson wrote a book inspired by Platt Rogers Spencer, called "A Pebble and A Pen".

Joan also wrote "The Real Pretend", illustrated by Tasha Tudor.

Sarah of Corgyncombe was Tasha's model for the illustrations of the little girl Kathy in "The Real Pretend". It is a true story about a little girl who goes round to her neighbors, taking pretend orders from the Larkins Catalog.

 

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Autumn's Warm, Mellow Apricot Glow!

Autumnal Sights and Sounds...

Autumn is in the air as wild geese can be seen and heard calling from above. There is a chill to the air and the wool blankets are brought out from storage. As leaves begin to change and fall and the cornfields are turning brown, the countryside takes on a warm mellow apricot glow.

The log cabin quilt is an antique that is pieced with mostly wool fabrics.

Tasha Tudor illustrated "A Brighter Garden" a collection of poetry by Emily Dickinson. We named our Corgi Emily after Diane's great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson. Tasha did such lovely illustrations in "A Brighter Garden". There is one illustration of a little country church with beautiful Autumnal landscapes round.

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Cousin Emily Dickinson's Herbarium

Wandering Through "A Brighter Garden" with Emily Dickinson and Tasha Tudor

When Emily Dickinson was a young lady it was very fashionable to make an Herbarium. Specimens were pressed until dried, then put in a book and labeled.

The fresh cut rose on the flower press is Diane's old fashioned rose that never fails to bloom around Independence Day. After the photograph was taken it was put in the flower press to be used later in The Corgyncombe Herbarium.

Corgyncombe Cottage has several flower presses in use for pressing and drying flowers that will be used for making The Corgyncombe Herbarium.

A simple and lovely white geranium.

Emily Dickinson would bake the gingerbread for the "neighborhood children" and transport it down from her window with rope and basket to the eagerly waiting children on the lawn below. Diane used Emily Dickinson's receipt to make Gingercakes.

 In "A Brighter Garden", the illustrations by Tasha Tudor go through the seasons, as does Emily Dickinson's poetry. The poetry in the book was collected by Karen Ackerman. Setting in front of the book are Emily Dickinson's Gingercakes and a cold glass of Corgyncombe Dairy Goat Carmella Lucille's good milk to enjoy at elevenish whilst wandering through "A Brighter Garden" with Emily and Tasha. The Gingercakes are delicious with milk!

We named our Corgi Emily after Diane's great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson.

The old fashioned rose by candlelight.

The pink rose tussie-mussie above also has forget-me-nots, baby's breath, lavender, lady's mantle and thyme. Diane oft' times makes a tussie-mussie with the pink rose to take to evening Independence Day festivities.

Because of her love and interest in flowers Emily's father built a conservatory for her. Like Emily, because Diane found such pleasure in gardening, her father built her a greenhouse.
Here is a link to: Diane's Greenhouse

Charlotte also did some baking using Emily Dickinson's receipt.
Here is a link to: Emily Dickinson's Gingerbread ReceiptHere is a link to: Emily Dickinson and Cooking

Emily Dickinson's Herbarium is viewable online.
Here is a link to the first page of pressed specimens in Emily Dickinson's Herbarium.
On the left is a list of pages that you can click on to view Emily's Herbarium further.

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Winter Splendor and St. Distaff's Day!

Snowflakes, Birds, and A Return to the Spinning Wheel!

Afternoon tea with Chirpy Cheerful.

The book of Emily Dickinson poetry, "A Brighter Garden" illustrated by Tasha Tudor, is open to an illustration of a farm with a horse and sleigh approaching in the snow. It reminds Diane of Corgyncombe Cottage and barn in the snow. It is one of Diane's favorite illustrations, but all of the illustrations in this book are just lovely! We named our Corgi Emily after Diane's great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson.


Two dear little birds, relatives of Chirpy Cheerful, find shelter in the snow under an umbrella.

A beautiful Corgyncombe Snowflake!
There are zillions of these beauteous snowflakes at Corgyncombe!
Like my shiny new Tasha Tudor reproduction tin kitchen, I love, love, love the sparkly shining snow!

Snowflakes

Fall all the night-time,
Falling all the day,
Crystal-winged and voiceless,
On their downward way;
Falling through the darkness,
Falling through the light,
Covering with beauty
Vale and mountain height, -

Never summer blossoms
Dwelt so fair as these;
Never lay like glory
On the fields and trees.

Rare the airy wreathing,
Deftly turned the scroll,
Hung in woodland arches,
Crowning meadow knoll.

- J. V. Cheney

It has been snowing and blowing at Corgyncombe as of late. Chirpy Cheerful looks with sympathetic interest at the two trudging through the blowing snow. Whilst going to and from the barn at Corgyncombe it has seemed like the Tasha Tudor illustration in "A Brighter Garden". There are times when you can hardly see anything. In Laura Ingalls Wilder's books she speaks of blizzards and how they would have a line from the house to the barn to have something to guide them to keep them from getting lost and to find their way in the blinding snow. Chirpy Cheerful is not a Blue Jay, but is a Blue Tit that can frequently be found in England.

Song of the Snowflakes

Round and round
With never a sound,
Hill to hollow
Fall and follow;

Thicker, faster, merry flakes!
Over the land and over the lakes,
Here and there, everywhere,
On the wings of air.

Oh, it's hither and thither,
Everywhither!
Blithe to hurry and flurry and shine;
You take the spruce; and you, the pine; 
While the tips of the hemlock I'll make mine.

White, all white,
Come, spirits of light,
Hill to hollow
Flock and follow!

Thicker, and faster, flake to flake -
First to the forest across the lake!
Softly, softly, drop we now,
Into the warm, dark bough.

- John Vance Cheney


The Blue Jay flew over the Corgyncombe Corg'ery where the Corgyn Eliakim and Lydia played in the snow, and then landed in the old apple tree. After some loud squawks, the Blue Jay caused a kerfuffle at the bird feeder and pushed it's way in.
The Blue Jay puts on a good show but, as "A Year with the Birds" by Wilson Flagg says: "He is a thief and a disturber of the peace." Wilson Flagg continues on: "While searching for food in the field or in the open plain, he is extremely noisy; but when he ventures into a barn to take what does not belong to him, he is silent and stealthy and exhibits all the peculiar manners of a thief. It would be no mean task to enumerate all the acts of mischief perpetrated by this bird, and I cannot but look upon him as one of the most guilty of the winged inhabitants of the wood." Wilson Flagg also wrote: "Like the Magpie, the Jay has considerable talent for mimicry, and when tamed has been taught to articulate words like a parrot."



Corgyncombe Kaleidoscope "Blue Jay Blue"



A Blue Jay that visited Corgyncombe a previous year.

Snowshoes, all the white that can be seen is snow.

The Snowstorm
Winds from the north do blow;
See whirl and dance of snow;
Now driving, leaping down,
And whitening farm and town,
And, from the leaden clouds which crowd the sky,
Hiding familiar things from foot and eye.
The paths are lost and gone;
The streets have no one on
Their hidden, soundless stone,
Where piles of flakes are blown
From fields of gray, where move the viewless stars,
And smokeless battle leaves no telling scars.

Still come the flakes of white,
Like blossoms pure and light,
From heaven's great orchard trees,
Which feed no humming bees,
Borne by the wind which shook them from their hold
Down on the hills, where flocks all seek their fold.

- J. Hazard Hartzell


A Corgyncombe January morning moon.

Today, January 7th is St. Distaff's Day!

For St. Distaff's Day I posted back in 2005 on an online group the following post:

January 2005
Subject: St. Distaff's Day

Greetings All,

Yesterday was St. Distaff's Day. I spun into the late hours. Traditionally St. Distaff's Day was the day when spinners returned to their work at the wheel after the Christmas festivities. I just love to spin, knit, and weave. I spin wool, flax, angora rabbit, mohair, llama, alpaca, silk, cat, corgi, and anything else I can get my hands on. I'm learning to spin a very fine thread of cotton. It's so different from spinning the rest of the fibers.

We hope all the spinners on the list have also returned to their wheels. We strongly encourage those who have not learned to spin to give it a try as it is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying of activities!

Take care,
Diane and daughter Sarah

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I was dismayed and disgusted to find that last year the leader of an online group had taken my post almost word for word, put it on her blog, and claimed it as her own. It was like she was making believe she was me, in a strange and creepy way.
Before she finally removed it from her blog, she had altered my post a bit more to try to make it less obvious that she copied me, but alas, the altered post that she copied is still on her feed in "Google Reader".

Update: She has recently changed her feed in "Google Reader" to a short feed showing only the first few sentences of her new posts. Sigh and alas, the altered St. Distaff's Day post that she copied from me and claimed as her own, is still on her long feed in "Google Reader", further down past her short feed posts, well into her long feed, in her "Google Reader" feed.


Cotton to be spun on Diane's Charkha.
Below is one of Diane's Charkhas. Diane also has a Journey Wheel. What a joy they are to spin on!



Natural coloured fleeces to be processed and spun here at Corgyncombe Cottage. I truly like the smell of the unwashed fleece. Spinning in the grease is not for everyone but I do not mind the smell of the fleece, in fact I find the smell comforting as it reminds me of when I was a little girl going into the old barn with the beautiful stone foundation and seeing all the lambs with their mamas.

"Tasha Tudor's Old-Fashioned Gifts" by Tasha Tudor and Linda Allen, has many things to make by hand including patterns for knit slipper socks, mittens, and a tutorial to make a wool rabbit! Things look marvelous made with handspun yarn!
Beatrix Potter illustrated "Three Little Mice" as they "sat down to spin" with distaffs and spinning wheels.

In "Mother Goose" Tasha Tudor illustrated "Cross Patch" with a girl spinning flax.

Tasha Tudor spinning on my wheel.

After seeing my yarn, Tasha Tudor declared me "The Queen of Spinners". She always loved my spinning and evenness of spin and ply and frequently said to me that she was "shockingly envious" of my "spinning skill". Tasha Tudor was inspired by my spinning to again take out her spinning wheel after several years of not using it.



Diane and Sarah descend from generations of spinners and shepherds. Diane's 5th great grandmother was Martha Lyon May, wife of Eliakim May. Diane and Sarah have inherited a natural ability for turning fiber into thread. We think that Martha Lyon May was "The Queen of Spinners"! "The Lyon Memorial, Massachusetts Families" says: "The Hartford Courant, Jan. 6, 1766, had this item: Miss Levina Lyon, daughter of Capt. Nehemiah Lyon of Woodstock, and Miss Molly Ledoit carded and spun in one day 22 skeins of good tow yarn and a few days after, Martha Lyon, sister of Levina, spun 194 knots of good linen yarn in one day."

An old linen label with a pretty picture of a lady spinning.

I spin flax and I just love it. I made a distaff out of a branch of a tree. To dress the distaff I wet the distaff a little. I hold the distaff over the flax that I have layed out on a table and as I turn the distaff the flax fibers start to cling to it and I just keep winding it on until it is full. I hang a little cup of water on the spinning wheel and I keep moistening my fingers as I draw the fibers down. To me it seems so graceful to spin flax.

St. Distaff's Day, a day for returning to the pleasurable and satisfying task of spinning!

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Autumnal Splendor!

Charlotte and Sarah Delight in Autumnal Beauty

Charlotte dons her cape and bonnet and loves to go out and about in the beautiful Autumnal weather. Above, she is sitting on a moss covered log near Corgi Creek. Behind her, leaves can be seen falling from the trees. Charlotte was made by a very talented doll maker who also made the old fashioned clothing that Charlotte is wearing.

Lovely Autumnal leaves at water's edge on Corgi Creek. Green forget-me-not leaves can be seen under water.

Charlotte has found a purple aster and lavender in The Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs. Isn't the moss on the log lovely?

At the stone wall Charlotte stops to admire the Hen and chicks that has put forth most delightful and unusual pink flowers.

Sarah with her basket of apples, walking in the crunchy and fragrant Autumnal leaves. The leaves rustle about the skirt of Sarah's frock.

A collection of Autumnal loveliness next to Sarah's shawl.

Charlotte has wonderful shoes and stockings made by the talented lady who made her.

Above, a favorite Autumnal landscape.

Charlotte likes to observe the Autumnal apples and leaves. She is considering what she can make with the delicious apples she has picked.

How pretty Charlotte's bonnet is.

Tasha Tudor illustrated "A Brighter Garden" a collection of poetry by Emily Dickinson. We named our Corgi Emily after Diane's great great grandmother Emily Jane (Jones) Shepard and Emily (Jones) Shepard's cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, as well as Emily Dickinson's mother Emily (Norcross) Dickinson. Tasha did such lovely illustrations in "A Brighter Garden". There is one illustration of a little country church with beautiful Autumnal landscapes round.

In the photograph above, Tasha Tudor's book "A Brighter Garden" is displayed in the Corgyncombe Library with Sarah's antique bonnet, antique shawl, and a basket of apples from the apple tree that the little wren calls home. The illustration in the book has a lady wearing a bonnet and shawl, holding a basket of apples with her faithful dog alongside, pausing to enjoy the Autumnal beauty.

Above, some of our favorite Autumnal landscapes.

Below, Sarah is picking some apples from the tree where the wren built a nest in the bird house this past summer. Sarah reminds us of Jo in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women". Diane's 5th great grandfather was 1st cousin to Louisa May Alcott's great grandfather Samuel May. When told that Diane and Sarah were related to both Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson Tasha Tudor said that it was to "no end impressive". Tasha also illustrated "Little Women" written by Louisa May Alcott.

Charlotte's stone wall and pumpkin.

The antique vest that Sarah wears reminds The Corgyncombe Courant of the old fashioned wool garments worn by the March girls in the 1994 movie version of "Little Women". Sarah's Mum handspun and knit Sarah's wool mittens. Sarah holds a turkey feather that she has collected for her Mum's straw hat. Turkey families can oft' times be seen whilst walking about the acreage.

Mellow Autumnal leaves make you wish Autumn could last forever!

Charlotte sitting on her stone wall holding her pumpkin.

Tasha Tudor called carved and lit pumpkins "pumpkin moonshines". Above is a sweet pumpkin moonshine that the Johnsons carved and photographed several years ago. He reminds the Johnsons of their boy Eliakim May Corgi when Diane was about to give him his tummy elixir and he decided not to take it! The pumpkin also reminds the Johnsons of the moon! The Johnsons prefer to carve sweet pumpkins.

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