A New Friend

Kitty and I go on walks a lot in the mornings, and I bring my camera along just in case. Usually, the animals that we see run before I can pull it out: deer, snakes, birds, etc.

But yesterday, we made a new friend:

This is Mr. Frog (we got really creative with his name. It was early)

He just sat there and posed for all sorts of pictures . . .

RIBBIT!!!

 We said good bye to Mr. Frog, and moved on to get a good shot of some wildflowers with morning dew still on them.

Orange Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not

I'll have to go check what kind of flowers these are. I'm not really good with wildflowers. Anyone know?

Update: I looked it up! This is orange jewelweed, orange balsam or touch-me-not; it's a member of the impatiens family. It gets it's touch-me-not name from its explosive seed pods! We'll have to head back in a few days to play with the pods. I remember popping regular impatiens as a kid! Want more info? I hot-linked the photo to Wikipedia.

These are the reasons I'm so happy that we live in the country. The beautiful mornings, the beautiful life, the beautiful air. I think I need to make morning walks part of our regular schedule once the older kids go back to school.

Check back here tomorrow for a great tutorial on a kid-friendly dyeing project!

Fancy Kitty Drum Carder

I love my husband. He is a wonderful father, partner, provider and builder. He can make anything with his bare hands and all our kids think he can fix anything they may have broken.

He even made my spinning wheel. I think it deserves its own post, so I won't go into too much detail, but just know that it's beautiful, reliable and spins like a dream. I rely on him for all our house work, car work and farm work; he really works two jobs (the office and home) and does them well.

However. (yup, I had to start with "however") This past Christmas he decided to make me a drum carder, and I cringed. My reluctance did not at all come from a lack of confidence in his ability. Absolutely not! I knew he could make me a drum carder. One that would be bigger and better than anything I could buy. It would be electric and able to make 5 oz. batts!

No, my reluctance came from his inability to gauge time. Sometimes I'd like to live in Mike's alternate-time universe. I would get soooo much done in no time at all! Not only does he over-plan his time, he also takes his time doing things very carefully. We call it "lacking a sense of urgency" around our house.

At this point, I'd like to refer you back to the long list of things I rely on Mike for: house, car, farm, etc. We had just had a baby, we were planning to move (again), all of his tools were in storage or at his parent's house and he thought he could make me a drum carder for Christmas. I love him for that. I really do. But I still cringed.

And so began the Great Drum Carder Battle of '10. I won't go into all the bloody details, but it ended in a truce and the purchase of my Fancy Kitty Kitten 90/120 Drum Carder this July. The carder Mike started for me is in the basement and will be finished, with a motor, when he has time. Hopefully in correspondence with the first shearing of our sheep--I'll need it!!

So this is it:

Fancy Kitty Kitten 90/120 with BrushWith piles of batts all around. I think I'd had it about 2 days at this point. (you also get a glimps of my spinning wheel)

And here's a sad state of affairs:

Kitty in her corner.See Kitty in her corner?

Close up of KittyI blocked her in with the ottoman and a toy basket so that I could concentrate on carding while she played. Cruel or good use of resources?

Birthday Journals

I love journals. Maybe even more than actually journaling. A new journal, blank and empty, just calls to me. I think it's the vast possibilities that it holds. Much like undyed yarn, raw fleece and empty boxes. I want to fill it up, carry it around, and make it a good friend.

So for my birthday a few weeks ago, I asked for two journals. One from my parents to use as a business/dye journal and one from my husband for my morning quiet time. I picked them out from etsy shops and sent my parents/husband the links (I'm not good with surprises!). And here they are . . .

My journal from ECStewart Designs and Very Bradley pen

This is my new business journal (and my birthday pen from my wonderful friend Jen). The cool thing is that it's actually a moleskine cover. So when I fill it up, I can get a new moleskine and keep the same look. Love that. BTW, ECStewart was wonderful to order from and includes the journal with the cost of the cover.

My journal from Baghy on Etsy.And this is my handmade journal from Baghy on Etsy for my morning quiet time. It took a little while getting here because it came from Bucharest! She was great to work with--she actually custom painted this design for me! It's buttery soft and I pet it a LOT!!

Am I spoiled or what?

Gratuitous Eye Candy--Chickens

I know, chickens make for silly eye candy. But I know chicken lovers everywhere will agree that these are some mighty fine looking chickens! Enjoy!

Golden Willow

Every morning, as I'm having my quiet time in my back studio, I can look out and see our pond through one set of windows and our lone willow tree out another set. As the sun rises, I get to watch my willow turn golden and glow. It's breath-taking every single morning.

This morning was very misty, and the rain from last night still covered everything. The fog moved up from the valley to cover the pond.

And as I turned to check on my willow, I was a little disheartened that the mist would inhibit the glow. But what I saw was just as beautiful in its own way.

The sun was struggling through the mist and my willow was working hard to glow. I decided it was ok that I'd miss the show for one day because today was so beautiful. But a few minutes later, I realized I hadn't missed anything.

I love where I live.