Tasha Tudor, the quiet life....

  Today is Tasha Tudor's birthday.  Born August 28, 1915 was a beloved American illustrator who lived a simple, full life to the ripe old age of 93.  Her first story was Pumpkin Moonshine, published in 1938, but my favorite Tasha books are 1 is One, a child's counting book, and A Time To Keep which tells about the changing seasons.  Her books are the kind that I plan to read aloud to the grandchildren and give for special birthdays and holidays.  (It's almost time to order some Pumpkin Moonshine)

 Tasha was not only a writer/illustrator, but she was a homemaker in every sense of the word.  She loved handcrafts like weaving, knitting, candle dipping and doll making.  She also enjoyed keeping goats and chickens and made cheese from her own goats' milk and cooked delicious, wholesome foods from her eggs and from fruits and vegetables that grew on her land.  Every season had its pleasures and its work to be done, and home was the core of Tasha's life's work. 

Working in the garden in autumn is delightful, with the clean smell of frost-bitten ferns and witch hazel in the air and no insects to bother about.  There are always great numbers of bulbs to be put in the ground -- over two thousand this fall, counting the lilies.  The other day I heard the first Canada geese go over as I was planting.  Their calls give me such a primordial feeling.  And to see a flock of snow geese flying over the white birch trees by the mailbox on a fair day is a sight to take the breath away.   ~Tasha Tudor from The Private World of Tasha Tudor

 It is precisely a comment like this that makes me appreciate her.  Perhaps it's because I live on the land, live in the country, and because I see so much beauty in my own surroundings.  I won't be planting two thousand bulbs this fall, but I will put a few in the ground.  I won't be spinning wool this winter, but I'll be feeding my sheep.  I probably won't be illustrating a children's book, but I'll be drawing little crayon sketches with my grandchildren.  I appreciate what I call Tasha's "quiet life." Not glamorous, not overdone, but instead -- quiet, simple, beautiful.

Tasha Tudor, you've always inspired me.  Happy Birthday!

For more interesting posts about Tasha Tudor Day, click Storybook Woods.
Tasha Tudor & Family