Erazim Kohák

The Ancestors Noweta

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Laura

Before Tiny House Ontario was built, I thought I would build back a lot farther on my land than I did.  Perhaps it was the Pukwudgies, that made me dream about building?   I don’t think so, I feel that the ancestors have a plan for me. I dreamed a few nights before I was to build that my Grandma Moreland was standing there in the forest and she said that I should build it, there where she stood, so I did what she said.

I had been living there about a week last summer and while I sat writing I felt that there was someone watching me.  It did not scare me, but rather I felt it was someone familiar who would protect me, who made me Noweta (welcome).  When I looked up, I saw a face looking at me from a Maple tree that sits VERY close to the corner of the Tiny House.

I call this my Ancestor tree and I give the Ancestor treats like cheese, coffee and tea and I also burn sweet grass and white sage near the base.

This afternoon, I caught the Ancestor smiling at me and I decided to take his photo of the face in the tree and also to take a photo of the tree, from the upstairs window… I was very surprised to see such a straight line of trees in the forest!  Funny that I had not noticed it before but it really is right at the corner of the house so I cannot see in this due South-West Angle, at all, because of the corner beam.

I think I have to give a little bit more research into my Native Delaware Folklore!  Does anyone know about tree spirits?

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Categories: Erazim Kohák, Forest, Nature, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View, Writing | 1 Comment

Battersea Beautiful at Loughborough Lake Ontario

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Laura

I  have been pretty fortunate in my life to have had the opportunities that I have had.  Travel being one of the privileges I have enjoyed.  For me, there are places that are just so breathtaking and unique that they stay with you forever.  I have not been around the world but I have seen many places.  Few are as enchanting as Battersea, Ontario.

Right where the Canadian Shield meets the South, water, rocks, inlets, trees, sky, and marsh, are beyond beautiful.  It seems shady everywhere there, except at the store’s parking.  It is funny how mostly we don’t notice this when we come from the area, and only remember when we leave.

This, my friends, I am going to share, is the best place in the world to sit and have an ice-cream cone, or a Popsicle (for my Vegan friends).  The cars drive slowly past, the boats make their way into this little harbour to go to the store or the local hang out for a beer or something.  I don’t know why exactly, but it is just a place that you want to sit at and breathe for a bit.

I think that Erazim Kohák might say that this is a place that holds it’s history and when you are there, you can almost feel the lives of those that have been there before you, sitting right there, eating an ice-cream.

I hope that I have done it some small justice.  8×10

Categories: Art, Erazim Kohák, Kingston, Laura Moreland, Ontario, Original Art work of Laura Moreland, Simple living, Time | Leave a comment

Crooked Floor Cottage

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Laura

In order to purchase the land where Tiny House Ontario sits, I had to sell land with a very crooked little cottage on it.  It was a fantastic spot in beautiful Warkworth, Ontario.  You could walk to the village and yet you were secluded so much that you could bathe naked in the Mill Creek that ran around the ten acres.

This is the inside of the crooked cottage.  I started painting it about a year or maybe two ago and lost focus on it.  I pulled it out today and ta-da, it is done, like magic.

The stuff in the painting all has a story.  The tall cupboard was retrieved from the garbage in Germany when I lived there.  It is called a chimney cupboard.  The wash basin and pitcher are made of enamel and were handy (still are) because either there or Tiny House Ontario have running water.  The Victorian sideboard is from Eaton’s and cost ~$3.89 to order it from the catalogue about a hundred years ago.  I had the catalogue but I donated it a while back so I can’t look it up.  The sideboard now sits in my sister’s home, I gave this to her when she bought our great, great, great grandparent’s home. It is nice that it is there and it looks great in her kitchen.  The stairs stool was built by my grandpa and the kettle in the other room belonged to him and grandma.  The green footstool was also taken from the garbage; it has storage inside and I kept my dogs stuff in there.  The candle holder on the wall was made by the Philoxian hippies at their commune in Marlbank.  I bought it years ago when I was there with a group of friends from my youth; we were teeny-boppers then… I guess that this painting could just as easily be called waste-not, want-not or nostalgia.

I finally finished it today.  It is 18×20.

Categories: Art, Erazim Kohák, Laura Moreland, Off Grid, Open your eyes, Original Art work of Laura Moreland | 3 Comments

Home Sweet Home

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Laura

It was wonderful to get back to Tiny House Ontario even though it was just a Friday to Monday trip.  The weather was perfect!  I am very comfortable here in Hamilton in my small house, which has lots of light and a wonderful small studio for me to paint in; evenso, my home is Tiny House Ontario.  This is not just because I love it there, but it is a place where people know my name.  Mostly everyone.

My husband was also down with me and we brought the dogs out for a few walks while we were there.  Unfortunately Honey got a tick and since that particular area of Ontario is awful for Lyme disease… we have to keep our eyes on her.

On one of the walks we went to the bottom of our escarpment and I found a wonderful old tree which made me think about how simple places can be and still be home.  This single tree, rotting and twisted is the home to so many creatures.  Additionally in the top there is a little nest.

Tree House Condo?

Categories: Environmentalism, Erazim Kohák, Forest, Nature, Ontario, Open your eyes, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

Evenings for the Powerless

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Laura

In his book, The Embers and the Stars by Erazim Kohák, he correctly says that we believe shadows fall, but we are wrong.  Shadows raise up from the forest floor to meet the night.  When this happens at Tiny House Ontario, the candles are lit and the dogs are sent out before the shadows raise completely.  Sometimes, the crows blare out the last warnings of the day.  The evening brings the howl of the coyotes and the screech of the fishers.  Many find that their imagination allows fear to rise with the shadows.

For me it is a peaceful time of day where faced with too little light to read, or paint, I write or simply reflect on the day while I watch the bees wax burn.  Due to this time of the day, I am relaxed all summer.  All of the days difficulties are smoothed out before I rest.

Categories: Environmentalism, Erazim Kohák, Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment