tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91502536636471488262024-03-04T23:37:03.205-08:00Straightfork FarmCathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-45497600192592491332019-04-25T11:19:00.000-07:002019-04-25T11:19:22.929-07:00April is Almost Over...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvK8oKket_dQ4aq1paYLxXWC5GgLZQJFlsUK1vUzEiP49wVFmLQhc9ZZDvcyhB_w6obZYR26uoWhyx_Kh3-08JRUpuC61ECHy66vfAiawtlnPy8EeKsgS5sLigQoGERQNPZZ1ZWnYiBc/s1600/rowdy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvK8oKket_dQ4aq1paYLxXWC5GgLZQJFlsUK1vUzEiP49wVFmLQhc9ZZDvcyhB_w6obZYR26uoWhyx_Kh3-08JRUpuC61ECHy66vfAiawtlnPy8EeKsgS5sLigQoGERQNPZZ1ZWnYiBc/s400/rowdy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in just 5 days this beloved old dog will be 14 years old. I have many days had my doubts that he would make it this far, but every time I think he is nearing the end of what he can tolerate, he seems to rally and I see in his eyes that he is not quite ready to leave us yet. His appetite is great, it's the getting around that is tough. And yet, true to this dog's stubborn, independent nature, he wants no help. However, since he can no longer get up on the couch, he very much seems to enjoy my spending time with him on the floor in the evening. Sam and I wonder if Rowdy is just biding his time until our new puppy comes home in 3 weeks. Maybe he needs to let us know it is okay in his own way.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EHe9MWYl4YS902fn7wk8tcX7tOpO9a34GYBBZBIF_yLi940U6VGTTCO-0848sVDv11gHlMJRU3YowF1j2qI74b7aW0l_CLWWfAb90dfZ8357FF4j9BvGLwW2JOcXdnJmYcWk1q30M7A/s1600/Rufus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EHe9MWYl4YS902fn7wk8tcX7tOpO9a34GYBBZBIF_yLi940U6VGTTCO-0848sVDv11gHlMJRU3YowF1j2qI74b7aW0l_CLWWfAb90dfZ8357FF4j9BvGLwW2JOcXdnJmYcWk1q30M7A/s320/Rufus.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting a new puppy? What I did not mention in my last post was that while Missy and I were driving through downtown Indianapolis (well I was driving, Missy was looking at Facebook) on the way home from Tulsa last month we got notice that a litter of puppies I was looking forward to had arrived!! A dog named Miranda, a red merle Australian Shepherd, who I know from agility trials, delivered 9 puppies, one of which was to be mine. This was such exciting news. In the intervening 5 1/2 weeks, I have visited the puppies twice and have chosen one to be my next agility dog. He is a red tri in color, which means he is red with white and copper, which can be seen in the photo to the left. His daddy is also a performance dog, doing herding and dock diving as well as being shown in conformation. So this litter was purpose bred for performance puppies. Not having had a puppy in the house since Rowdy joined us in July of 2005, this will cause a huge change in the Moore household for the foreseeable future. Oh, we will be calling this little guy Rufus. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwY5_mi4xnFlc9GmqUSJSgwgXd7-PON1v1SIbOWcgww6hK-VlTnTrvJA46qRqSnAsE4xpt1oomlnk6pHkXbkqZ7C4RYTndxAm87vfZhTsOfHxD79I6RRyprYMBIPG1C5AgiJRRKcZOj9g/s1600/boys+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwY5_mi4xnFlc9GmqUSJSgwgXd7-PON1v1SIbOWcgww6hK-VlTnTrvJA46qRqSnAsE4xpt1oomlnk6pHkXbkqZ7C4RYTndxAm87vfZhTsOfHxD79I6RRyprYMBIPG1C5AgiJRRKcZOj9g/s320/boys+fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The boys enjoying hot dogs and s'mores on spring break</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last week of March, my nephew brought 2 of his friends to the farm for their spring break from school. They are all juniors in high school, and they had a wonderful time. They stayed at the guest house and were responsible for their own meals as well as taking care of my nephew's family's 2 dogs who came along with them. Sam and I were greatly pleased with how they kept themselves busy and enjoyed their "off grid" mini vacation. They also left the house in very good shape and are welcome back anytime. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Immediately following the boys' stay at the farm, I left for a girls' weekend </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with my cousin Tracey, who was on spring break from her teaching job in Michigan. I met her in New Orleans and we </span>spent 3 days eating, drinking and laughing. New Orleans is a great city and the food was wonderful! Tracey and I always have fun when we get together, which doesn't happen as often as we would like. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRtYRLzxPY2OcFz1fYDiA_SBBxtvadrSWlW0sqduFCvUTLoFs_GIKAuJGfOZ5ojN3kuelqnlU-itmZwzNnHN-Viz4tySsSrBHNzpMdvrPLuZbOhYquIlZVyTRBbcavjxVcEUI1KDJi_A/s1600/cleanup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwRtYRLzxPY2OcFz1fYDiA_SBBxtvadrSWlW0sqduFCvUTLoFs_GIKAuJGfOZ5ojN3kuelqnlU-itmZwzNnHN-Viz4tySsSrBHNzpMdvrPLuZbOhYquIlZVyTRBbcavjxVcEUI1KDJi_A/s320/cleanup2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And when I arrived home it was April and the weather was starting to warm up. I finally had some nice warm sunny days to do the clean up from syrup season. I had 4 dozen buckets and lids to bleach and put away and also 38 taps. I do this outside because I have no good indoor space in which to do it. So I wait for warm, sunny weather which also aids in everything drying after being cleaned. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHS9XEdI_SwD4fGX6WdB4sBXMJSfEB77BLpqp51s6kWAMs0kut80fnHF1IUl4LK_VGgIkSzsLiVuRh6o8qUIVGUZp67uhqPFgv0wds4eAlqcUrq4ZtE_YdmJMcatcwVwyQEf5M1IJBQc/s1600/cleanup1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHS9XEdI_SwD4fGX6WdB4sBXMJSfEB77BLpqp51s6kWAMs0kut80fnHF1IUl4LK_VGgIkSzsLiVuRh6o8qUIVGUZp67uhqPFgv0wds4eAlqcUrq4ZtE_YdmJMcatcwVwyQEf5M1IJBQc/s320/cleanup1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQGxG4azpW9Qz40H7jNRg6NXNM2tAYqSoSldti611vKf3cZxV1ORXQiXRFO7kVvxq-Corp47K7SMujj0-oxcel6pyGE6h7YduTyTTMRLG6YK6SyTXO1i818nLHWyRsSoTmUmqGCQ635U/s1600/cleanup3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQGxG4azpW9Qz40H7jNRg6NXNM2tAYqSoSldti611vKf3cZxV1ORXQiXRFO7kVvxq-Corp47K7SMujj0-oxcel6pyGE6h7YduTyTTMRLG6YK6SyTXO1i818nLHWyRsSoTmUmqGCQ635U/s320/cleanup3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This is a job I like getting finished because until I do, those buckets just sit on the back deck reminding me every day that they still need to be done. And now it is finished for another year. The buckets get stacked and stored in the sugar shack and the pan and taps and other things we use get stored in the basement at the guest house until next February.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course the warmer weather has lead to more and more time outdoors. The garden has been tilled and I have planted lettuces, chard, kale and beets so far, most of which are coming up. There is still a lot to do there, though. I also cleaned out the summer kitchen, which had become a catchall and repository of alpaca fleeces that were not the best quality. I put most of those out for the birds to utilize in nest building and in the process found a few nice ones I would like to clean and spin. When I get time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBHbUUrZzDc_rRX1Q7KJ01Xk72K4OM77enpXgDOzomyYVxb5pISDGY1haka4j5dTPrSRzfXp6eyazqn4S4c9IO9x8pmIa01UXJJk7zq4I-2Hy-rJlvzYybkaU64j2aoCvtF_GvEZeppM/s1600/redbud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBHbUUrZzDc_rRX1Q7KJ01Xk72K4OM77enpXgDOzomyYVxb5pISDGY1haka4j5dTPrSRzfXp6eyazqn4S4c9IO9x8pmIa01UXJJk7zq4I-2Hy-rJlvzYybkaU64j2aoCvtF_GvEZeppM/s320/redbud.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Nature is also waking up around us and everything is in bloom. The bee hive has made it through another winter and the bees are very busy. This week should be a great one for pollen.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maple tree in bloom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The maple trees in our yard are in bloom and there is a yellow coating of pollen on the table on our deck. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmY_ebsG3snScIGcK6L25JitZdiBmfv9BbfTvnFvwkLzzNZzC3tcflI7xwp5oajyuqvmywZAAZobXt9OLDbj0ZN-gUJbrFXYvbiFNORWrPZnYwhcWwh33UPCVJlEBYHYwZ6DBLXTJpPs/s1600/fungus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmY_ebsG3snScIGcK6L25JitZdiBmfv9BbfTvnFvwkLzzNZzC3tcflI7xwp5oajyuqvmywZAAZobXt9OLDbj0ZN-gUJbrFXYvbiFNORWrPZnYwhcWwh33UPCVJlEBYHYwZ6DBLXTJpPs/s320/fungus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fungus in the woods</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brings us up to this past weekend, where Grover and I had our first agility trial since Nationals last month. It was our club's final trial of the season in Zanesville. We had a pretty good trial, though we did break our Double Q streak, but only after QQing on both Friday and Saturday, bringing us to 11 QQs in a row at trials. Nationals didn't count because even if we <i>had </i>gotten a QQ there it would not have counted toward our MACH. So Grover and I now have 19 QQs toward MACH2, but we still need 420 points. I predict we will be running for points for several months. Maybe in December we will get that second MACH. We are consistent, but not overly fast. This means we need to go to a lot of trials this summer.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_6n2IyLbXN-9Am0ToSMOZ3PWf1d5XR9d8goz-8QRCk9clsc2rWeFe5Be_qoWj2_JnI4HXyuH6fLnEohiDuzS9R5-FZadPi2va-zhjy6doteAx4Kp7wyvj-RpHldG-qXq_zXFBK_AcKM/s1600/overshot+scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_6n2IyLbXN-9Am0ToSMOZ3PWf1d5XR9d8goz-8QRCk9clsc2rWeFe5Be_qoWj2_JnI4HXyuH6fLnEohiDuzS9R5-FZadPi2va-zhjy6doteAx4Kp7wyvj-RpHldG-qXq_zXFBK_AcKM/s320/overshot+scarf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I am now spending more time outside, but I have still been able to get into my studio most days for a little while. I have both looms warped and weaving in progress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have scarves on the small loom. I finished the one to the right and cut it off and re-threaded the loom for a different pattern. This one came out a little shorter than I intended. That's what I get for counting pattern repeats instead of measuring as I go, which you can see I AM doing with the second scarf. The warp for these is tencel and the pattern weft is handspun merino/tencel. I am so happy with this color combination, though I did not dye the yarn myself, but I did spin it. It is just beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Scarf 2 is still on the loom. This weave structure is called overshot and there are 2 different yarns being used in the weft, one of which is the same yarn as the warp. The other is called the pattern weft, and that is the on that creates the pattern you see. It is a heavier yarn than the pattern and background weft, also known as "tabby". </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuIB3Bx5jRIw5hSKm4YLzSAV-Eanpb41viLAGFMEjlZKErwE86liFTa8XM4vrNcda0ry6NK32vKP4vPJOUldUfJiMEGjNN4xD8NQI6CfWorPTK7WFKvTxBsHSj2zkgSBKg6gEMXt0LFo/s1600/bathtowel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuIB3Bx5jRIw5hSKm4YLzSAV-Eanpb41viLAGFMEjlZKErwE86liFTa8XM4vrNcda0ry6NK32vKP4vPJOUldUfJiMEGjNN4xD8NQI6CfWorPTK7WFKvTxBsHSj2zkgSBKg6gEMXt0LFo/s320/bathtowel.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is an informal weave-along in an online group and I decided to join in and weave bath towels. I used some yarns I had gotten a few years ago in a large purchase of yarns from a weaver's estate. I am having fun with this project and hope that the towels will be nice to use. They are 100% cotton and will have some texture since the weft yarn is rather slubby. These are going much more quickly than the overshot scarves since the pattern is much simpler.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upcoming: Our grandson will turn a year old in less than a week and I am flying out to Oregon for his birthday party next Friday. Sam would be going with me, but Rowdy is still with us and until that is no longer the case, Sam and I just can't travel together. I really wish he could accompany me, but at this point I don't think it will happen. Nor do I want it to at this time. I will be seeing younger son Sam/Zac/Satchmo there, as he is coming up from the Yosemite area for the party as well. That will be nice. And once I arrive home, from Portland, I will have only about a week before Rufus is ready to come home. I plan to stay around the farm for the first month we have him, with no plans to be away until mid-June. It will be a nice respite from all the travel I have been doing so far this year!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there are sheep (and goats) grazing on the pasture across from the guest house once again!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-25263058676317596062019-03-25T09:17:00.000-07:002019-03-25T09:17:02.955-07:00So Far Behind! So Much Has Been Happening!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life has just been crazy busy, I'll blame it all on that! When last I posted we were in the midst of a very good syrup season and I was getting ready to head to Oregon with my mom to visit son Ian and his wife, Michelle, and of course grandson, Wilder. We had a great visit, which of course included a trip for Mom and me to the Pendleton Woolen Mill Outlet, where I bought more selvedges for weaving rugs. Mom also spent some money there and agreed it was a fascinating place. While we were visiting, Michelle spent a good bit of time getting Wilder's bedroom ready so that he could move into his own room and out of theirs. I understand he loves his room and is adapting well. He was on the brink of walking while we were there and has just started to really walk within the last few days. Just shy of 11 months old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam stayed very busy with maple syrup production while I was away and once home from Oregon I jumped back into it as well. He was ready for a break by then. So this year we tapped trees on 2-9. We collected our first sap on 2-13 and started cooking on the 14th. Our final boil was on 3-11-19 after pulling the taps on the 10th. Had I not been leaving on the 13th for AKC Nationals, I think we could have left the taps in and done at least one more good run, but we had reached our goal of 10 gallons and it is such a hard job for just one person. The season isn't really finished until all the cleanup is done, however. All the buckets, at least 40, are stacked on the back deck awaiting a day warm enough to get out the bleach and the hose. Not my favorite job, but it's not bad as long as the sun is shining and it is at least 60 degrees.</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/52796997_10205813815302232_2745541243919400960_o.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=8093ae63af47d7223a465e39dbd4b4c1&oe=5D1753A8" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/52796997_10205813815302232_2745541243919400960_o.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=8093ae63af47d7223a465e39dbd4b4c1&oe=5D1753A8" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Sometime during all this craziness, Sam had time to smoke a moose eye
of round roast. That was really good. We had it with au gratin
potatoes, salad and a Brut IPA Homebrew. It was excellent. He is
planning to do a moose rib roast today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that covers the end of February, which we are always glad to see, and the beginning of March. Grover and I attended a 2 day agility trial March 9th and 10th. We had a fabulous weekend, Qing in 6 out of our 7 runs and adding 2 more QQs to our total toward MACH2. So we still need 3 QQs, but a lot of points. At the rate we are going, we may have enough points accrued by October. Really. That is what I have calculated. We are consistent, but not fast. I know that. I'm okay with that. Grover is almost 8. I don't think I can speed him up now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was home less than 3 days and Grover and I were back on the road with our friend, Missy, and her 2 border collies. We headed out Wednesday morning for Tulsa, OK. We drove as far as St. Louis, where we spent the night, meeting up with one of our stall mates there. We arrived in Tulsa around 1 pm on Thursday, just in time for check in. I had an amazing time! We had a practice run and 4 other runs spaced from Friday morning to Sunday morning. We Qd in our standard run Saturday afternoon and our Hybrid run on Sunday morning. It was so much fun just being there.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/53851681_10205900119099773_2132666169742589952_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=64158d7367ee9f6a786185189b361c8f&oe=5D0C405A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/53851681_10205900119099773_2132666169742589952_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=64158d7367ee9f6a786185189b361c8f&oe=5D0C405A" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the road in windy Missouri</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/54353486_10205902726964968_781464643762651136_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=a8aab0f60bb4d68524c46e489a6be69d&oe=5D1A27C8" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="444" height="320" src="https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/54353486_10205902726964968_781464643762651136_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=a8aab0f60bb4d68524c46e489a6be69d&oe=5D1A27C8" width="177" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In addition to agility, there was a lot of shopping opportunity and also a chance for Grover to get his Trick Dog Novice title. He really seemed to enjoy doing it. It was simple stuff he already knew like rolling over, high five, getting in a box, getting in a crate, running through a tunnel , etc. Treats were involved and he had an audience, so he excelled. He got a ribbon and they had a medal to photograph him with. </span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With my "stall mates" in front of our stall </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was the view of rings 1 2 & 3 while we waited in the check-in line. We were going to run there the next morning! Our names would be on the big screen! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdOu77WuRWsO3HHQWv0euCA8UUQ9ybolyyreeK3v6JwPybA6vU_1CO6Roq-Ab1zrs892KMAyr8Db4LC-8qkgWMLlW_RHmQROAVIfFm7JoJkGdvlVWAcZCdv8D-sAPZSmPAeWR8JiACg8/s1600/7cf19031510_2419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdOu77WuRWsO3HHQWv0euCA8UUQ9ybolyyreeK3v6JwPybA6vU_1CO6Roq-Ab1zrs892KMAyr8Db4LC-8qkgWMLlW_RHmQROAVIfFm7JoJkGdvlVWAcZCdv8D-sAPZSmPAeWR8JiACg8/s320/7cf19031510_2419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIM3voSnZsMIQTn8aPG5IrTnsdk72tBInewMkJyWXlgcvXPpUHaRO6q_5WU2jwXLGtd8Cg-tF6ECjOkFUepsuplqLIipK4u7WWuNaPW9CF3EEPvfWmQg9IFCtAwsO5nP-XznReO1CSHrY/s1600/grover+jump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIM3voSnZsMIQTn8aPG5IrTnsdk72tBInewMkJyWXlgcvXPpUHaRO6q_5WU2jwXLGtd8Cg-tF6ECjOkFUepsuplqLIipK4u7WWuNaPW9CF3EEPvfWmQg9IFCtAwsO5nP-XznReO1CSHrY/s320/grover+jump.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL54gSknS8TaGQWaBt4beHrbrMqO36YHEgjqm-QLJMIrHkbfKchgywwhw2n9rXPfkLVvtZCWu5SUBycDf2N2uLKs3snPTHq7BKXA_dR1B19PurG0yhrrEKHCcQdpSZHfTrmpqv05w7p8I/s1600/3dh19031609_1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL54gSknS8TaGQWaBt4beHrbrMqO36YHEgjqm-QLJMIrHkbfKchgywwhw2n9rXPfkLVvtZCWu5SUBycDf2N2uLKs3snPTHq7BKXA_dR1B19PurG0yhrrEKHCcQdpSZHfTrmpqv05w7p8I/s320/3dh19031609_1985.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My goal for this trip was to have at least one clear run, so I could get a ribbon from AKC Nationals. Well, my little rescue Aussie and I got 2 ribbons and they are hanging on my display on Grover's wall out in my studio with his MACH bar and MACH ribbon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While none of us West Virginia </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">teams</span>(I train in WV, all my stall mates are from WV) made finals, we all agreed it was a wonderful experience and we hope to all qualify again for 2020 which will be in Georgia. A little closer to home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And hard to believe, but I am heading out again this Saturday to meet my cousin in New Orleans for 3 days. We planned this over Thanksgiving. We only see each other a couple times a year and she will be on spring break. I'm looking forward to it. That will take us into April! Already!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a photo of a rug I recently wove on commission for a customer at the Arts Center in Woodsfield. They wanted purple. They got it. It's alpaca and wool. 28" X 36" </span></div>
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<br />Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-54919676540776092832019-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:002019-02-18T08:14:43.601-08:00Syrup Season Once Again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMKIJqzSgRzDZ1LKmyG4NxNLRnEZoas4nLum-bXm_-0uAO2abQ12yU4GmCGsm6TVk2AF_raUQzR4JwNDDKOnAA5KlczqS8u38ZVRH02tzvijKqizsuzzfS0-CZ4je7VOsdS1mj4bWLIs/s1600/apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMKIJqzSgRzDZ1LKmyG4NxNLRnEZoas4nLum-bXm_-0uAO2abQ12yU4GmCGsm6TVk2AF_raUQzR4JwNDDKOnAA5KlczqS8u38ZVRH02tzvijKqizsuzzfS0-CZ4je7VOsdS1mj4bWLIs/s400/apples.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apples is such a pretty girl. The muddy weather gives her a whole new look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February is more than half over. Late February means Maple Syrup Season gets under way. And it is definitely under way here now. Our last two years were very poor. Last year it got very warm very early and I think 2017 was similar. We need nights below freezing and days above freezing to make the sap run. I don't know how 2019 is going to shake out, but it is off to a big start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam put out 38 taps while I was at the agility trial on the 9th. Some trees he puts 2 taps in, and many just one. He runs tubing from the taps to holes in the lids of 3+ gallon buckets. There are many ways to tap trees and gather the sap, but this works for us. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0-RsxTRV2ktlug9-HE33HKWSWTJbbJTNtynW_jMzE9L3Z5Ee_vjrwamEkV5qMqA8zgLI4l_4DXnhM-zE2dbMxaQzfDGmBZlSUU4xLjAjja3dbYYi4RTEx0jthneb7LR0RvDEToX7rSA/s1600/gathering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0-RsxTRV2ktlug9-HE33HKWSWTJbbJTNtynW_jMzE9L3Z5Ee_vjrwamEkV5qMqA8zgLI4l_4DXnhM-zE2dbMxaQzfDGmBZlSUU4xLjAjja3dbYYi4RTEx0jthneb7LR0RvDEToX7rSA/s320/gathering.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The conditions were not right for the sap to run until Tuesday, when it rained pretty much all day and was around 50 degrees. Wednesday afternoon I went up to the maple grove and discovered full buckets under every tree! I collected 21 buckets and hauled most of them to the sugar shack. In a nutshell, we started the evaporator early Thursday and ran it Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We gathered another 22 buckets of sap on Friday, 6 more on Saturday and only 4 on Sunday. This wonderful sap run yielded 3 gallons of finished syrup.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-mwiVBEuBSsGffCdoIWF6W8kOVsSpeklHGDLEix8AokFTVO1W-2cdu3r13C9OrszCbp_dNls8itOGejfKvc0-EG1YA8n72KyI0y4OXcryby_O6vi46HMuC8AnRKBLvRh94Vrc7G-drg/s1600/panbuckets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl-mwiVBEuBSsGffCdoIWF6W8kOVsSpeklHGDLEix8AokFTVO1W-2cdu3r13C9OrszCbp_dNls8itOGejfKvc0-EG1YA8n72KyI0y4OXcryby_O6vi46HMuC8AnRKBLvRh94Vrc7G-drg/s320/panbuckets.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the sap is gathered, it goes into the sugar shack, which is where our wood-fired evaporator is. We stack the buckets and load them one at a time into a warming pan on the top of the syrup pan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the right, the syrup pan is full of fresh sap that has not yet been brought to a boil. It looks and tastes like water at this point. Once we bring the sap to a boil, we will add wood to the fire about every 15 minutes. All Day Long. We use pine because we have a big supply of it and it burns hot. It is split fairly small and stacked outside the sugar shack.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyREyZaNhv956FwWB8X5I884UR8WfTHrfV2I7cK-cxbExuWu4GzejnnSNrWpMJ7_mpBEnocSaEOowvoqknW3TSH36YamVpJi-8xywOwKzPlNqLvBgUk-_A77x4oDGacXSfs4shSocRG8U/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyREyZaNhv956FwWB8X5I884UR8WfTHrfV2I7cK-cxbExuWu4GzejnnSNrWpMJ7_mpBEnocSaEOowvoqknW3TSH36YamVpJi-8xywOwKzPlNqLvBgUk-_A77x4oDGacXSfs4shSocRG8U/s320/fire.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We slowly add fresh sap to the pan as the water in it boils away. We put 14 buckets into the pan on Thursday and it took pretty much all day to accomplish that. There is an opening in the roof of the sugar shack to allow all those gallons of water to escape in the form of steam. And there are great huge clouds of it. When you consider we boiled approximately 150 gallons of water away to end up with 3 gallons of syrup, it kind of boggles the mind.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXMkYsd-FbKmV5EiPpJvyXkNeZuqhZZgksEow-XTVcQFFxHP3ippSnu5BeUnI_5b9jN-IeAZsu_IjF5DKY52TAcNSUj3V3R1Ld-JFfxWXlmjbLrByNHlLEI-Nu2pcEeBIQGIPxdGPtRU/s1600/fullboil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXMkYsd-FbKmV5EiPpJvyXkNeZuqhZZgksEow-XTVcQFFxHP3ippSnu5BeUnI_5b9jN-IeAZsu_IjF5DKY52TAcNSUj3V3R1Ld-JFfxWXlmjbLrByNHlLEI-Nu2pcEeBIQGIPxdGPtRU/s320/fullboil.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our sugar shack is a mile from our house. Uphill most of the way and the road is a sea of mud this time of year. So one of us stays at the sugar shack to keep the pan full and the fire going. We read, do Sudoku puzzles, games on our tablets, etc. We have no electricity up there, but we have a comfy van-seat couch and there is always something to do. Yesterday I cleared a lot of brush and briars on one side of the pond and piled them up to burn. Grover is always with me, as Rowdy used to be (and still would be if he was able to go). If it is warm enough I have been known to sit in the sun and knit and listen to an audio book. Oh, there is also an outhouse. All the comforts of home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The season can run until mid-March and we hope we get a few more good runs so we will have syrup to sell. I already have a gallon of syrup in jars set aside for our use and some for my boys. When we decide we aren't likely to get enough sap to run the evaporator again, we will pull the taps and clean everything and put it away for next year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been keeping a paper Syrup Season Journal since 2013. it is fun to go back and look at daily temps and weather and see if we were getting sap runs and how much and how long we cooked and what the yield was. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRMXUUIjyfSA-joSleW8JOZMwDtP8azpeCfu9hszcHCBT4s5FebY09yarVWPrIekmfI80ViHrLz8VWJ-Ovc0Dn8IiG22soZC6acOIwDg6hmBn8sbm19zKYRrb_Zc0PgGdU-G5WgPC0Ho/s1600/tractor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRMXUUIjyfSA-joSleW8JOZMwDtP8azpeCfu9hszcHCBT4s5FebY09yarVWPrIekmfI80ViHrLz8VWJ-Ovc0Dn8IiG22soZC6acOIwDg6hmBn8sbm19zKYRrb_Zc0PgGdU-G5WgPC0Ho/s320/tractor.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had some more snow early this month. We got about a 6" snowfall maybe the first weekend of the month and Sam was able to use his new tractor to clear the driveway. he has also been using it to load round bales on his trailer and deliver them to his dad for his cattle. I think he is happy with the tractor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I attended an agility trial in Zanesville on the 9th and 10th. We had 6 runs and Qd in 4, earning 2 more Double Qs toward MACH 2. That brings us to 15. We only have a third of the points we need however. We will trial in Zanesville again March 9th and 10th and then head to Tulsa, OK for AKC Nationals. I am very excited about that.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpmUzhGqXZCkBG0JefTBatxt_-IkULKz8d1Mr1HXtaGZypUAB4U7Yz8prg74T0eyF4Y0FqanudHcu7lgCoQPGdkNuWE6Cnz-wGUIARwHALLq7QBo9qnLI2lHe2LeajuBlm_PkiRxV_40/s1600/banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="427" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpmUzhGqXZCkBG0JefTBatxt_-IkULKz8d1Mr1HXtaGZypUAB4U7Yz8prg74T0eyF4Y0FqanudHcu7lgCoQPGdkNuWE6Cnz-wGUIARwHALLq7QBo9qnLI2lHe2LeajuBlm_PkiRxV_40/s320/banner.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the people I am going with said last time she went everyone decorated their stalls with banners, so I had a banner made. It is 2' X 2' and is vinyl with grommets for hanging. I will go this week and order similar ones for the other 3 people with whom I am sharing a stall. These will be fun to display and will make nice souvenirs for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But before all that, my mom and I are heading out to Portland in just a few days to visit my son, Ian, and his family. My little grandson will be almost 10 months old. He looks like he will be walking any day now. Mom has not seen him since June so I know she is looking forward to the trip. Ian was <i>her </i>first grandchild, so he is special to her as well. Like all her grandchildren. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did finish my other thrummed mitten, and I started a hooded vest, and have a warp on the big loom for a custom order rug, but when it is really cold, I don't spend much time in my studio and I have been busy doing other things as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spring is just around the corner! But meanwhile, here are 2 snow-loving dogs:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm-c3qpgEoT8HWRFKhgyEhD7hg3ki5bu6qmyXDAaW9Vu_NLjufp4m5lYZe46LsnhT675GR68vcQUZziqSluVgrTLIEPabPPqYOXPzNCBX9C5GM-DK2hXdGfBihInJsjt3_FPjVBUx4KA/s1600/groverrunningsnow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm-c3qpgEoT8HWRFKhgyEhD7hg3ki5bu6qmyXDAaW9Vu_NLjufp4m5lYZe46LsnhT675GR68vcQUZziqSluVgrTLIEPabPPqYOXPzNCBX9C5GM-DK2hXdGfBihInJsjt3_FPjVBUx4KA/s320/groverrunningsnow2.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-64502930918971395212019-01-29T09:00:00.000-08:002019-01-29T09:00:00.441-08:00Snow, Cold....It's January.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOLZ1hMrVJR59LQwVasihdwyZk9_YiC-EoJ90YOEPJkNPJ_lpvPJRVbMvDj3tdiLmat-cHDEwW0AG2qFgKRwEBYmTk8U89wbQG9Rv7vHPE893Y8V-0VKlB8t1vvSybAfZqfjDvqSf1Gw/s1600/Rowdysnow19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOLZ1hMrVJR59LQwVasihdwyZk9_YiC-EoJ90YOEPJkNPJ_lpvPJRVbMvDj3tdiLmat-cHDEwW0AG2qFgKRwEBYmTk8U89wbQG9Rv7vHPE893Y8V-0VKlB8t1vvSybAfZqfjDvqSf1Gw/s400/Rowdysnow19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This old dog LOVES just laying in the snow.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9B-oqDsVGH6EbHoRYzhugb0ndAxa_BsCsz__t811dlfjB-wgHDunWbNJzFDROcJiDD7QlqZY8-qEbjQzybywKM5hTxrSc8uuZoJYwdllNnznBN8iqwjkXXnSNymSkm6Rm4b5Ca58_RCk/s1600/chicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9B-oqDsVGH6EbHoRYzhugb0ndAxa_BsCsz__t811dlfjB-wgHDunWbNJzFDROcJiDD7QlqZY8-qEbjQzybywKM5hTxrSc8uuZoJYwdllNnznBN8iqwjkXXnSNymSkm6Rm4b5Ca58_RCk/s320/chicks.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlxc-exeZeVp7jUhg6jzTbFRnF_HRoY-Q5K4JccJ_508BaT5FX9OyhqoLAbUN8lBgua6WUGli_aSxjjS01of594avqAVhQZSlMdVkKmG16C_s8ov0QHcLKMEHDpu1z5mD_o51EDi4FSs/s1600/apptruff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlxc-exeZeVp7jUhg6jzTbFRnF_HRoY-Q5K4JccJ_508BaT5FX9OyhqoLAbUN8lBgua6WUGli_aSxjjS01of594avqAVhQZSlMdVkKmG16C_s8ov0QHcLKMEHDpu1z5mD_o51EDi4FSs/s320/apptruff.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have had a couple of good snowfalls, 5 to 6 inches, which is plenty to make one feel like they have experienced winter and are ready for spring. Unfortunately the coldest days are yet to come. It seems to me that the coldest weather occurs the first week of February. And this year is no exception, though the coldest days are expected at the tail end of January, so starting tomorrow. They are telling us things like the "coldest weather in two decades" and "wind chills well below zero". I hope they are wrong again. I remember in the mid-90's when we lived in Indiana having almost an entire week when the temperatures did not rise above 0*F. You tend to remember that kind of thing when you have to take care of horses before going to your 8 am job in the morning. At least we lived in a new house there. Here in our 120+ year old house with no insulation we have to worry about frozen water pipes, frozen drains and more. The good news is that this cold is only expected to last about 3 days. And we have LOTS of firewood just outside the door.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my last post I have managed to keep busy. No agility trials this month, though I did ride along with a novice handler and her dog to Incredipaws for their debut in the ring earlier this month. I went for moral support and to help her navigate trial protocol. They did quite well, though they did not Q in either of their runs. But the very first time in the ring is kinda scary for the handler and can be somewhat overwhelming for the dog. They really did a great job and they are entered in our trial in Zanesville coming up in just under 2 weeks. I can't wait to see how they do. They are a great team. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent a good part of yesterday prepping for the cold weather to come. I bedded the stall area in the barn for Apples and Truffel and Grover and I used the Gator to take a couple loads of hay and dog food for Star to the barn. I do worry about the chickens in the cold weather to come as their coop is large for 3 chickens, despite having a heat lamp. I have been debating putting them in a dog crate in the barn and piling hay around it, but then I can't use the heat lamp. I haven't decided yet.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07Uioj-Jds86ALOeSnbxKi52NNbFwg9NCLCyBrSMZ6Hc4Xsq9JiMWSJEFSrVZk00cWZqgVnYVnb87hqxxo3WDF2_Or01QQXY_2gIsFhEhNfxJDDok7yxCe3V7w9b2xnFmJSEE-vVjiD4/s1600/haydelivery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07Uioj-Jds86ALOeSnbxKi52NNbFwg9NCLCyBrSMZ6Hc4Xsq9JiMWSJEFSrVZk00cWZqgVnYVnb87hqxxo3WDF2_Or01QQXY_2gIsFhEhNfxJDDok7yxCe3V7w9b2xnFmJSEE-vVjiD4/s320/haydelivery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past weekend, starting Thursday and going through Sunday, I took a class for certification in Canine Massage Therapy. I ended up being the only student for the weekend and so I got more hands on training than I would have had there been 2 other students in the class and I came away with my certification. I am contemplating what I plan to do. I still feel like I need a lot of practice, but I have Grover here to work on. Rowdy has some physical issues that make him difficult to work on, but he may get some massage as well. I wanted to learn this to work on my own dogs, but people keep telling me they think there would be a market for it around here, so I need to have some cards made up. Tomorrow Grover will be my first client.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAytFaM1PimMZeI97E89zjceJPrBuy2nvzGYqu2-KNR-9uKBgFmFyM6UzcqJEph8Rp1KYYaUf8m7cqNamrKxLNyNH913BQvgbPGfllrXcwgStuGphLN2L73QFPS1glv9Wm9mo_Kdf8wjA/s1600/wintertowels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAytFaM1PimMZeI97E89zjceJPrBuy2nvzGYqu2-KNR-9uKBgFmFyM6UzcqJEph8Rp1KYYaUf8m7cqNamrKxLNyNH913BQvgbPGfllrXcwgStuGphLN2L73QFPS1glv9Wm9mo_Kdf8wjA/s320/wintertowels.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than that, I have been working on finishing up some projects and have started a new one or two. The towels I had started in the last post are off the loom and just waiting for hemming. Well, one is hemmed the other 4 are waiting. One of the black ones was the request from the Arts Center that prompted my weaving these. There are 2 black, 2 red and 1 green. I am happy with how they turned out. The black and red ones will go to the Arts Center and I will keep the green one or possible gift it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also made a second baby sheep hat for my grandson, Wilder. The first one I made him was much too small. I was very pleased to see that this one fit him and may fit him for a little while. Isn't he adorable in it? I will be back out to Oregon to see him in only 3 weeks and 2 days. Not counting or anything. My mom will be going as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to get all of us in my family I have knit these hats for together for a photo. But there are 2 of us in Ohio, 1 in Oregon and 1 in California, so it won't happen soon. Sadly. Maybe I will get 3 of us when Mom and I are in Oregon next month.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMVwyGwIV3M78Lu1koiMXo22N3NWctsE9e0iCMkrGjxtIEDdWroxIZcpKzP5bp_znFp83Zn6Uj6p8g95AhgpZvdtQuX92f85AACsOdx3SfVdpipqZGNYC3Qe0Tb_hpIQr4a9xVoo2n8g/s1600/guitar+strap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMVwyGwIV3M78Lu1koiMXo22N3NWctsE9e0iCMkrGjxtIEDdWroxIZcpKzP5bp_znFp83Zn6Uj6p8g95AhgpZvdtQuX92f85AACsOdx3SfVdpipqZGNYC3Qe0Tb_hpIQr4a9xVoo2n8g/s320/guitar+strap.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This particular project was on the loom for almost a year. I decided it was time to finish it. Yes, it's a guitar strap. It was meant for a gift when I started it and it will still be a gift, just a year later than planned. I don't think the recipient reads my blog. But I won't say who it is for. Handy that I was even able to find a guitar in my house. And it goes so well with the strap. I would be willing to make more of these straps. Just let me know what colors. We'll see who reads this.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCuz_btqN0P2hdslJxrxi2B_YWH2LXfBq0umO1Fn1TaCqW4Rxx9FJU_4HOcEHXtIbvcj87ZlJlKaqgThk6MawkfBIQBav_1b6QT2BvOTmPMKGuXntm11svuhd1_nsiTC6wKQM_7kpAfs/s1600/goth+angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCuz_btqN0P2hdslJxrxi2B_YWH2LXfBq0umO1Fn1TaCqW4Rxx9FJU_4HOcEHXtIbvcj87ZlJlKaqgThk6MawkfBIQBav_1b6QT2BvOTmPMKGuXntm11svuhd1_nsiTC6wKQM_7kpAfs/s320/goth+angel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also finished my lacy beaded Mystery Knit-Along shawl that was for the month of October. I wonder who had time to knit this entire thing in one month? Not me. It is beautiful! This is my favorite kind of knitting, though the finished item is very impractical, especially for someone whose daily wardrobe is jeans and a hoodie. Can you see Rowdy over by the creek? I love this photo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjBZrDCc10uFgQdmlyHhJgq0Gsq3Pvocvbv3PjU4RqT6bvEDRx3sLqTgXs8iDTYtSRY-9tHj69lm2LGR-oq3u8B7yV-k4C6CM8LKpsdaebXQogZXRLLq2-cJa-_vH6aFHiHteSyyUTo8/s1600/thrummitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjBZrDCc10uFgQdmlyHhJgq0Gsq3Pvocvbv3PjU4RqT6bvEDRx3sLqTgXs8iDTYtSRY-9tHj69lm2LGR-oq3u8B7yV-k4C6CM8LKpsdaebXQogZXRLLq2-cJa-_vH6aFHiHteSyyUTo8/s320/thrummitt.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I have knit ONE "thrummed" mitten. The white "hearts" are actually chunks of carded wool that are knit into the inside of the mitten, so it is kind of like one of those fleece lined jackets, only a mitten. I am sure the wool will felt to the shape of my hands once I start wearing them, after I knit the second one of course. It was kind of hard on my hands working with the yarn (handspun by the way) and the wool together, so I will finish up my towels and another project before I get to the second one, but I will. After all what good is only one mitten? Too bad I don't have them ready to wear this week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that is about it for now. Upcoming events include Agility in Zanesville Feb 9th and 10th, then a trip to Oregon with Mom Feb 21 through 26. And somewhere in that period of time, we will be tapping trees and making maple syrup as well! We are due for a good sap year. I do like syrup season, especially now that I have a new Gator to use, as our Honda is getting pretty rough and not always dependable. We have some pretty serious hills to deal with in snow and mud during syrup season and I haven't trained Apples to pull a sled, so I'm glad I have the new Gator. So is Grover. </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-12718190081529693992019-01-10T08:45:00.001-08:002019-01-10T08:45:47.869-08:00Wrapping Up 2018 and Looking Forward to 2019!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivElabx58ADsh_0XS47xmZZUhz1Yx29S87voDoCNpNgdRMIQzeY60ENQ9su58ggC7Uu0n0C5ipbLjoNfyLYLQ0uZZI3xns1K05iKtx7yKAeJaPbkZgtoCfWzTf7rdmLciGGxzRXUaEpps/s1600/Sam+and+dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivElabx58ADsh_0XS47xmZZUhz1Yx29S87voDoCNpNgdRMIQzeY60ENQ9su58ggC7Uu0n0C5ipbLjoNfyLYLQ0uZZI3xns1K05iKtx7yKAeJaPbkZgtoCfWzTf7rdmLciGGxzRXUaEpps/s400/Sam+and+dogs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2019 is upon us. I'm not sure how 2018 went by so quickly. I must be having fun, right? Time flies when you are having fun. Lots of fun.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyA-Vfbbv1I4FkElvgsLz33mwRmDCHtkmroGPPXtnwKGId74NPf4lYoGYyutUARY_saaZJGdjKEJAO7xw3zPK56Y6QQHA-t_-AejZlPSmoKLEWw-r_wSTOxODc0-ID_wf4lHzGFvNG4g/s1600/ianwilder+stroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyA-Vfbbv1I4FkElvgsLz33mwRmDCHtkmroGPPXtnwKGId74NPf4lYoGYyutUARY_saaZJGdjKEJAO7xw3zPK56Y6QQHA-t_-AejZlPSmoKLEWw-r_wSTOxODc0-ID_wf4lHzGFvNG4g/s320/ianwilder+stroll.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2018 was a huge year for our family. We had some momentous events. I think the very most important one was the birth of our grandson, Wilder, in May. The news that I was going to become a grandmother came to me in late August 2017 and was one of the biggest surprises of my life as my son and daughter-in-law had told us previously that having children was not in their plan. They did not tell anyone that they had, in fact, changed their minds until it was confirmed they were expecting. And Wilder arrived in May. Here he is, now 8 months old with my son, Ian. I have been out to visit him in Oregon twice, and will be there again next month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Speaking of my son, Ian, the second huge event this year was his graduation in June from Oregon State University's College of Forestry with his bachelor's degree in Recreation Resource Management, also earning the honor of being named "Outstanding Senior" in his major. Way to go, Ian!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And of course we have had yet another year with our beloved old dog, Rowdy. He will be 14 in April and every day with him is treasured. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26J9dkA7DYW8MlF5SdQLEqSvUOPPLwGBOWHlGVcgS09Zj7T2Z1xoMtB9ZPCw7ODhf5exeSvwfTjBUYiJkrsu-RSQYFynAzQoPMJSA8_0_D0Ffic0cd4PIdNdh8HV8x5GKtTzER6XAqQc/s1600/NAClist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26J9dkA7DYW8MlF5SdQLEqSvUOPPLwGBOWHlGVcgS09Zj7T2Z1xoMtB9ZPCw7ODhf5exeSvwfTjBUYiJkrsu-RSQYFynAzQoPMJSA8_0_D0Ffic0cd4PIdNdh8HV8x5GKtTzER6XAqQc/s320/NAClist.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Officially on the list!</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And speaking of dogs, we certainly cannot forget that Grover and I earned a huge title in agility in September, our (first) MACH, or Master Agility Championship! We worked 4 years for it and I am so very proud of what my goofy rescue Aussie has been able to do. We both had to learn so much! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then of course we also qualified to enter the AKC National Agility Championships being held in Tulsa OK in March. We are entered and we plan to be there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In April, Sam and I closed the Real Estate business we had taken over from Sam's Mom back in 1999. The shale gas industry coming into our area and drilling and paying landowners to lease their land really hurt our business and we decided it was time to retire and spend our time on other things. It was rather a 2 edged sword, as the gas industry that hurt our livelihood in real estate also allowed us to retire a little earlier than we had planned. But having a 200 acre farm, one is never really "retired". There is always so much to do! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have also had losses. One of the first alpacas we bought back in late 1999, Peg, died at almost 19 years of age in June. She was the last of our first alpacas and a special favorite of mine. This leaves us with only one alpaca, Truffels, who is now 15, and she shares the barn and pasture with Apples the Welsh pony and Star the Italian Maremma. We also lost most of our chicken flock to hawk predation this past fall and have only 3 hens as of this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think in all, we have been very blessed this year. There were things that could have been much worse than they turned out, such as my mom breaking her humerus in Italy in March and the flooding we experienced here in late May while Sam was off on a fishing trip. We had the rainiest year on record here, with over 57 inches of rain in the area, which is 20" above average, according to the Wheeling Intelligencer. This made it a rather poor year for the garden, with some of my veggies being flooded out. I will be hoping for a year of better weather in 2019, but otherwise, 2018 may be hard to beat.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTpMkGWdVIywfckSuyDaj0yDMJOSqAbgzcHORGfZEW-XgxIx_wT42SgHYv-HpAJIgKsM4a4fkiVSqp9Rr8S7FpiaqxzVfR9MLnaQpCG6ZH2OHvV_53RORtR1g9ieapONzhVQti6iNgTw/s1600/mom+socks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTpMkGWdVIywfckSuyDaj0yDMJOSqAbgzcHORGfZEW-XgxIx_wT42SgHYv-HpAJIgKsM4a4fkiVSqp9Rr8S7FpiaqxzVfR9MLnaQpCG6ZH2OHvV_53RORtR1g9ieapONzhVQti6iNgTw/s320/mom+socks.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can now post some photos of projects I have been working on that were gifts this year. Socks for Mom for Christmas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Steelers blanket for Mary, my mother-in-law. I was disappointed after fulling the blanket that the colors became somewhat blended and muddy. This photo is pre-fulling. I learned that wool blankets and small checks do not work well in the finishing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I also knitted this Death Star hat for my son in California. He loves it and says it is "ridiculously warm". He lives in the mountains, so it will get used.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQl71z6U8r5xwIzkVjcJ7FYuUiT1mVR1HMVvynYQCvoqL9KMSrRgNPu2P3nYLYE-082vnbVP2PxCfbQH5uQNGUSP6fn84wKjmDqssKAiZepnfBJ-W9ItBDabaLuetKqmg_tB-v6U6f5ik/s1600/gold+black+towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQl71z6U8r5xwIzkVjcJ7FYuUiT1mVR1HMVvynYQCvoqL9KMSrRgNPu2P3nYLYE-082vnbVP2PxCfbQH5uQNGUSP6fn84wKjmDqssKAiZepnfBJ-W9ItBDabaLuetKqmg_tB-v6U6f5ik/s320/gold+black+towels.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And currently on the looms are some black and gold towels, which were a request from a customer at the Arts Center in town. I will do 2 in black and gold and 2 in a dark red and gold, I think. I do love the way the colors and pattern are working together so far.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOZNlTunHPmAMbe2Eu4LsvUsACCBvSgCuqnwLn-vqclQnEacrFiHpoXPdPHpfHjEWY7BAvnUvvPWFmCNSFlf-5dpL-bIQ26Psp5T5niTspCTcRa4zVlY9J5uk1ThB4JZz0EyCg6masiI/s1600/silk+scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOZNlTunHPmAMbe2Eu4LsvUsACCBvSgCuqnwLn-vqclQnEacrFiHpoXPdPHpfHjEWY7BAvnUvvPWFmCNSFlf-5dpL-bIQ26Psp5T5niTspCTcRa4zVlY9J5uk1ThB4JZz0EyCg6masiI/s320/silk+scarf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And also some silk scarves in natural and navy blue with just a tiny
bit of wool in the blue yarn. The threads are very fine so these are
taking a little longer than the towels. But they will be lovely, I think.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am almost finished with the lacey beaded mystery shawl from October. I should have that done and blocked by my next post. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have also been working on re-knitting the sheep hat I made for Wilder which was MUCH too small. I have now started it and ripped it back out twice and re-started it. I am hoping the third time is the charm. It would be nice to finish it in time for him to wear it this year.</span><br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-18243223614567145572018-12-20T12:11:00.001-08:002018-12-21T05:13:40.648-08:00And Just Like That Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8g-4hyphenhyphenbT4mW8EAKFkYMU-eirDcsgrXvt8Dn6GmZI6Of-PP7QORZt-c_z4ohb2ZWFG4NRiyyqgpDhOVTu9SoIzfi3XA5p2TKsqnti2bvPN6nbGve8eo8Nf4LNZ10hywkVR3xhPKF6vog/s1600/First+Christmas+Santa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8g-4hyphenhyphenbT4mW8EAKFkYMU-eirDcsgrXvt8Dn6GmZI6Of-PP7QORZt-c_z4ohb2ZWFG4NRiyyqgpDhOVTu9SoIzfi3XA5p2TKsqnti2bvPN6nbGve8eo8Nf4LNZ10hywkVR3xhPKF6vog/s400/First+Christmas+Santa.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Christmas is in less than a week. I wish I could be in Oregon for Wilder's first Christmas, but let's face it, it'll be more fun next year and the year after, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like to do blog posts when I have photos to go along with it. I have been having camera problems and there hasn't been a lot to photograph anyway, so this will be short and to the point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I last posted, I was somewhat reticent about attending the Woodsfield Christmas Festival due to poor turnout last year. I have to admit, I had a very good time and sold quite a few items, including that lovely alpaca/silk scarf and a couple of other hand woven scarves and of course alpaca socks. So it turned out to be a good day and I am glad I attended. I will likely do so again next year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The following weekend, Grover and I attended a 3 day trial at Incredipaws just outside Columbus. We had a fantastic weekend, Qing on 8 out of 10 runs! We had 3 QQs, a Q in Premier jumpers and a Q in premier standard. This was an unprecedented weekend for us, never having had 3 QQs before. Our next trial is next week, Saturday and Sunday between Christmas and New Year's Eve. It is in Zanesville and Grover and I will go from there to my Mom's for a short visit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the biggest agility news is that Grover and I have qualified for the AKC Agility Nationals, which is in Tulsa, OK in March. Are we going? You better believe we are! I know that we don't stand a chance of making it into the finals but I feel like I need to take this experience with my first agility dog as far as I can. Who knows what might happen? This may be our only chance to do this. Grover will be 8 next year. I am keeping my goal simple: I would like to have at least one qualifying run so I can bring home a ribbon from Nationals. Anything more than that will be icing on the cake. And we are attending with good friends. Even better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As for fiber-y stuff, almost all my projects are Christmas gifts, though I did just warp the loom for some scarves in navy blue and white stripes. I am using natural colored 100% silk and 70%silk/30%merino wool in navy. I haven't even photographed it yet because I just finished warping. I have never used this fine of yarn before, much less this much silk content. We'll see how it goes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did most of my Christmas shopping online and had items shipped right to Michelle and all the guys. Sam and I will spend the day with his mom and dad and brother, like usual. It will be quite and nice. And then I will spend time with my side of the family and ring in the New year with them. It is hard to believe another year has passed. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fomrMZJJI70TbZpeXiYrn-_N5ufrKzJC1hHdbOrOd69C2NSFPRVSh5MAXJfcwLgfpCPFfagDTI_B4nyBjgfE_sjz11eQREuj-i6CE9locfOFmHpvk2uR0ScnieoLCR_bHBfNMbPA3Wc/s1600/grover+x+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1329" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fomrMZJJI70TbZpeXiYrn-_N5ufrKzJC1hHdbOrOd69C2NSFPRVSh5MAXJfcwLgfpCPFfagDTI_B4nyBjgfE_sjz11eQREuj-i6CE9locfOFmHpvk2uR0ScnieoLCR_bHBfNMbPA3Wc/s400/grover+x+2.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I call this one "Grover Squared"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Merry Christmas to you and yours and I wish you a Peaceful and Blessed New Year.</span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-6747735785277883802018-11-30T09:41:00.000-08:002018-11-30T09:41:59.582-08:00Squeezing in Another Post This Month, In Which I Talk About Dog Food, Among Other Things.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEY3A_oNO-UMWeysBrhYageN5Xls0D_rW9GRFbleogJULxQj6CkeGeBKMyVWC4iJFO85B6xB-4-yJj8BRRDhR3bSjUt7yL-wGHaalWyJP4Ht2NcXZNRWANAREKlKfXIaxpUkqmiODCWps/s1600/dogskitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEY3A_oNO-UMWeysBrhYageN5Xls0D_rW9GRFbleogJULxQj6CkeGeBKMyVWC4iJFO85B6xB-4-yJj8BRRDhR3bSjUt7yL-wGHaalWyJP4Ht2NcXZNRWANAREKlKfXIaxpUkqmiODCWps/s400/dogskitchen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving means dogs in the kitchen</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah yes, another Thanksgiving has passed us by. Sam and the dogs and I drove to Dayton on Thanksgiving day, thankfully without the excitement of last year's deer caught in the fence and flat tire on the truck <a href="http://straightforkfarm.blogspot.com/2017/12/thanksgiving-trial-new-farm-resident.html" target="_blank">http://straightforkfarm.blogspot.com/2017/12/thanksgiving-trial-new-farm-resident.html </a></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2863O5e4V7n2ltDAcGA42ptGicfsg2uay50s7mNiUOdRxO2UStk6e78Y-x4QvGKz0a1cR_VrgKJLLCqZEqldY7_QgkC_gjBLj5pzocjaJvIchRlcEiCms0sjNFoU6G5mYjBqcprhwRw/s1600/pies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="432" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2863O5e4V7n2ltDAcGA42ptGicfsg2uay50s7mNiUOdRxO2UStk6e78Y-x4QvGKz0a1cR_VrgKJLLCqZEqldY7_QgkC_gjBLj5pzocjaJvIchRlcEiCms0sjNFoU6G5mYjBqcprhwRw/s320/pies.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before Thanksgiving, I baked 5
pies, 2 raspberry, pictured left, for the Crossed Paws Animal Shelter
(previously the Monroe County Humane Society) bake sale on Wednesday,
and then 2 apple and a pumpkin to take to Mom's.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> On the way to Mom's we left </span>the truck at the Fieldhouse in Zanesville because Grover and I were entered in our trial there for Saturday and Sunday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanksgiving was nice. My aunt Elaine and her friend, Jim, and my cousin Tracey all came from Michigan for the first time in several years, which was great fun. My brothers were there with their families and it was just a good time. I do enjoy everyone getting together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam and the dogs and I left very early Saturday so Grover and I could get to the trial. I had signed up for 3 runs on saturday, but figured I would be too late for our standard run. However, we got there just in time to do our walk-through. I was kind of surprised. We even Q'd and then Q'd again in jumpers later for our 28th QQ, or 8 toward our MACH2. Sunday we NQ'd in standard, but got jumper's so it was a good weekend in all. We have another trial a week from today in Pataskala, Ohio at Incredipaws. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcgycQhPL2GiA6e1z-gB_1izZWoedsJTVzCuk0yPX1IjaWXD1AJjxPaWW8mbf1aWYbCTY8fwQhpd99Jou757ms5JSB_arDMJU94ZroeK_uKy5FPl96ZduSYYh_C4gfN-5c-3nOCirnSA/s1600/alpacasilkscarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcgycQhPL2GiA6e1z-gB_1izZWoedsJTVzCuk0yPX1IjaWXD1AJjxPaWW8mbf1aWYbCTY8fwQhpd99Jou757ms5JSB_arDMJU94ZroeK_uKy5FPl96ZduSYYh_C4gfN-5c-3nOCirnSA/s320/alpacasilkscarf.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Tomorrow is the local Christmas Festival and I will once again have a booth at the craft sale, which is being held in the elementary school for the second year, instead of the courthouse as it once was. Last year was pretty much a bust for me, but I decided to give it another chance. I have hand woven scarves, towels, pillows, and napkins, etc along with my hand-dyed yarn and of course alpaca socks. My stuff is not inexpensive, but it is unique and is not what most people are thinking of when they think of "craft" shows. The photo to the right is an alpaca/silk scarf I recently finished. I took it from the raw alpaca fiber to the finished product, blending the alpaca with silk, dyeing it, spinning it and eventually weaving it. I am very happy with it. Most of my rugs are at the Arts Center for sale, along with some other items and I decided to leave them there as they will also have traffic through there tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the festival, I have the Christmas party for the dog club on Monday, then the agility trial next weekend and just random other events until after Christmas. I have also enrolled in a Canine Massage Therapy Course, which is in late January, but I already have materials to study for that. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf8kzCPuk_L9ImadVe8eRfzYI0N0vEOC3IbVA0whDLMt1nWW15hvPJq85IxWLB6K7TW5LBQ6e1f6qaKEtxQgBSI0U6smnMEB_rNZsfPChV-elcVYtqbxw-CMwjOG4DtoWZIYLYA46R5w/s1600/rowdyoutsidce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf8kzCPuk_L9ImadVe8eRfzYI0N0vEOC3IbVA0whDLMt1nWW15hvPJq85IxWLB6K7TW5LBQ6e1f6qaKEtxQgBSI0U6smnMEB_rNZsfPChV-elcVYtqbxw-CMwjOG4DtoWZIYLYA46R5w/s320/rowdyoutsidce.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday I took Rowdy up to the alternative vet for an acupuncture appointment. He has been seeing her for 4 years, first for arthritis and then for his Cushing's disease. She called him the Miracle Dog yesterday. I don't think we expected him to still be around a year and half following his Cushing's diagnosis, especially since we decided not to go with drugs and try to treat more holistically, which meant changing Rowdy's diet and using Chinese herbal remedies.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYefYkHp_XPuQW13_obmIgcfMpltmVpSXlj1GVzrTw7WP4fMLkNgEPme13l34SFKpYk_2fPIHH4NC8Eu5v10XsHNO6p-_1GsSzfe9PnxKOFyLWBDvnIqoGiZWfqcUi0-GdgtHtgSEufTU/s1600/recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYefYkHp_XPuQW13_obmIgcfMpltmVpSXlj1GVzrTw7WP4fMLkNgEPme13l34SFKpYk_2fPIHH4NC8Eu5v10XsHNO6p-_1GsSzfe9PnxKOFyLWBDvnIqoGiZWfqcUi0-GdgtHtgSEufTU/s320/recipe.jpg" width="262" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have been writing this, my latest batch of dog food was in the oven and I just took it out. It will now cool for an hour and I will then portion it. Rowdy gets 9.5 oz of this twice a day and I mix his supplements into it: an herbal mixture, vitamins and melatonin. Grover is still getting dry dog food, but only a little over a cup a day split into 2 meals, each with 4 oz of the homemade food mixed in. Each batch of dog food I make lasts about 9 days, so I spend a lot of time figuring out when I will need to "cook" again and making sure I have everything I need on hand. Here's my basic recipe, to which I can add or change things depending on availability. I based my recipe somewhat loosely </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on this one : </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.drjudymorgan.com/how-to-make-homemade-puploaf/" target="_blank">Dr. Judy's Puploaf</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I source a lot of my ingredients from right here on the farm. Venison is in good supply and it is all gotten within state laws. Sam is a hunter. Right now it is deer season and in addition to getting the legal limit he is allowed,he will also collect meat that some of the other guys don't want to bother with. He then runs all this meat through a meat grinder and portions and freezes it. I ask the guys to bring me hearts and livers and I portion those up and put them in the freezer. Eggs come from my chickens. I grow squash and pumpkins and cut them up and freeze them. I grow the greens in the summertime.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkRloOOgH18s1mq42yvSansmjlWRanDhS9uS6Hy3_ou6BfzMpU6Q4WLREXTbdG9_vqFhjDbbMzBvXibkR1ITjMhyyxlWWjO9gEXmb7UJd0AxNic73hiODeaBT0wXiZz2zELZMke6e_2g/s1600/pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="1600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkRloOOgH18s1mq42yvSansmjlWRanDhS9uS6Hy3_ou6BfzMpU6Q4WLREXTbdG9_vqFhjDbbMzBvXibkR1ITjMhyyxlWWjO9gEXmb7UJd0AxNic73hiODeaBT0wXiZz2zELZMke6e_2g/s320/pot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a grinder for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer that I put much of the ingredients through and then I mix it all in a 5 gallon stock pot, literally by hand, and bake it for an hour in baking pans. I have this pretty much down to a science by now and it doen't take too long, unless I forget to take the 6 pound package of meat out of the freezer a couple days ahead of time. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9bg2FAneRT0Py_O_nsr0W5z1MN6mzBjBfBtfmuwB8QVFGZkKom457MwurJyy1Srdx9zrXR5P-PcSZk56cleLEZYhhyphenhyphenFRm9HwtlH9WFKXA0g9XyiaetHGQdac-YgOJvLdjQScksNSuCI/s1600/ready.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9bg2FAneRT0Py_O_nsr0W5z1MN6mzBjBfBtfmuwB8QVFGZkKom457MwurJyy1Srdx9zrXR5P-PcSZk56cleLEZYhhyphenhyphenFRm9HwtlH9WFKXA0g9XyiaetHGQdac-YgOJvLdjQScksNSuCI/s320/ready.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Here are the 3 pans ready to go into the oven. It takes me most of a morning from start to finish, though I have down time while the pans are in the oven and while they are cooling. I use this time to clean up from the preparation process and then I have to clean again after portioning. It's a lot of work, but I don't mind it. I know Rowdy's time with us is limited, but even when he is no longer with us, I will still be making dog food. Grover and whoever comes after Rowdy will still get good homemade food mixed with commercial food like Grover does now. I just won't have to "cook" as often. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaU7rMytW5gOnzmhSdE03_ndNtba0dFmTP0RU84rBmrC_xJCEWBwi_5W6hKvC81GOt7S-Azp6ouSiozAwUwFhXETTbUznc3S0b71RoShYNrayxnbx3SFMjPiRnyC8t2dhNdOMGZ7Pq3E/s1600/applestruffels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaU7rMytW5gOnzmhSdE03_ndNtba0dFmTP0RU84rBmrC_xJCEWBwi_5W6hKvC81GOt7S-Azp6ouSiozAwUwFhXETTbUznc3S0b71RoShYNrayxnbx3SFMjPiRnyC8t2dhNdOMGZ7Pq3E/s320/applestruffels.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been rather wintry here. A little snow and ice and a lot of mud. Apples is not as clean and pretty as she was almost a year ago when she arrived here. She and Truffels the alpaca seem to get along all right, despite speaking two totally different languages. I think Apples and I would both rather have another pony, though. Oh well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It is hunting season, so Grover and I have limited our daily walks to the roads. We both wear orange (when I remember) just to feel a little more visible. Grover is so deer-colored. He usually stays within sight on our walk, though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have some Christmas gifts on the needles and on the loom, but this rug I just finished for Mary. It is made with Pendleton Wool selvedges and she knows I am making it for her, so I can post it. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2K_NLxMRXVSy2NrsQcyDm4wSM9nO60Bcl3MNW1XelLxny1n1wm1DuSQItR0gWF8cSoXYByX3i2Lj1eawJS-q4RN7O0dUgYMxs8IqwIZd8V5OpVOAv2tVG1vgmtpS07eK3auEx5gcsiAk/s1600/yellowsocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2K_NLxMRXVSy2NrsQcyDm4wSM9nO60Bcl3MNW1XelLxny1n1wm1DuSQItR0gWF8cSoXYByX3i2Lj1eawJS-q4RN7O0dUgYMxs8IqwIZd8V5OpVOAv2tVG1vgmtpS07eK3auEx5gcsiAk/s320/yellowsocks.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also knit a sock while she and I were traveling, which was meant to be for my mom for Christmas, but despite ripping out and starting over with fewer stitches, it is still quite large. So I set it aside and will maybe make the second sock for myself after Christmas is past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also decided to dye the alpaca/silk batts I had carded recently before spinning. I am very happy I did. I just used navy blue in 3 different dye to water solutions and I am very pleased with the results. It is so much nicer to spin when the colors are changing than just endless yards of white, even if it is lovely shiny white.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-57806730183267900142018-11-13T08:49:00.000-08:002018-11-13T08:49:30.740-08:00The Time Just Flies, That's My Excuse!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTqrLZSsWiN7Ms6Da4RR0Uwejiew3cYsWkLjxAJPCA2ewP69zEDcsTEpfBqvGlegrQ-H_oGo9AU_qCX8vmNk3TgQV4lqt9erW8i2Vde8Q6NWMpoCgQer7-5siTxjNwg7aUsIGn_jLxkA/s1600/memarywilder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="432" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTqrLZSsWiN7Ms6Da4RR0Uwejiew3cYsWkLjxAJPCA2ewP69zEDcsTEpfBqvGlegrQ-H_oGo9AU_qCX8vmNk3TgQV4lqt9erW8i2Vde8Q6NWMpoCgQer7-5siTxjNwg7aUsIGn_jLxkA/s400/memarywilder.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam's mom, Mary, and I flew to Portland the first of November. She had yet to meet little Wilder, who was 6 months old on the 2nd of November. Wilder thought his great grandma was just wonderful! He is such a happy smiley baby. Ian and Michelle are truly lucky. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIcPF_83_MMUEHeMhFO9_8XyZ9CYvdRxpfCbjUy4nrMn_O4frMfZSIjnuzuPRMGxm_XLLlzEgEUR1w7kEqkzWJXK5zCz-6qeUv3at5rCAi3-pz9-08iMPTj5b1EwRK4_3zj5h5kd1OYg/s1600/monsterbutt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIcPF_83_MMUEHeMhFO9_8XyZ9CYvdRxpfCbjUy4nrMn_O4frMfZSIjnuzuPRMGxm_XLLlzEgEUR1w7kEqkzWJXK5zCz-6qeUv3at5rCAi3-pz9-08iMPTj5b1EwRK4_3zj5h5kd1OYg/s320/monsterbutt.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were there for 5 days. The weather was mild, cloudy one minute and overcast the next. Ian and Michelle's apartment faces east and they have a view of Mt Hood in the distance on a clear day. We were favored with a glimpse of it one day only. The MAX (train) station is right across the street and Ian takes it to work downtown every morning. And Wilder will be able to watch him coming home when he gets a little older. It's kind of neat. Mary and I babysat Wilder on Friday for a few hours while Michelle worked. On Monday, Mary stayed at the apartment with Michelle while I took the MAX in to downtown and went to lunch with Ian. So I got to experience what his commute is like and got to see the building where he works, if not his office. Had it not been raining, we would have taken lunch to the rooftop deck area, but it is November in Portland. All in all it was a very nice trip. I already have plans to return in late February and this time <i>my</i> mom will accompany me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I made Wilder some "Monster Butt" pants. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO9Uj6-sIlscur_IZi0PeDxzvwbXMCKKXTS3SEtN-uCuSZdeQliB74G2HGiRVlnC57eO4d71Wn22Yl3lg-DJU_2guG1JlrHEQMtxDTGF2Eeukxr6SAWyk_DpCq9r2qaESvfHrS6oi_sQ/s1600/smallhat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO9Uj6-sIlscur_IZi0PeDxzvwbXMCKKXTS3SEtN-uCuSZdeQliB74G2HGiRVlnC57eO4d71Wn22Yl3lg-DJU_2guG1JlrHEQMtxDTGF2Eeukxr6SAWyk_DpCq9r2qaESvfHrS6oi_sQ/s320/smallhat2.jpg" width="293" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also made him an adorable hat, but it is WAY too small for his noggin! It may have fit him 6 months ago, but who needs a wool hat in May? I have promised to make one just like it only bigger. Sheesh. Can you tell I am not used to knitting for babies?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even going out to eat this kid is a delight. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhZAasLL40Gsr-fllvIGgekUvjjlF5zQ-FON_mPlXlieeyX-LKov4DYWXqGGJ0jtQBJ-vTNqjktSD4wb3sN1vwrYOk2-oAb_1p_rwA740U8spoJUuPtzxjVZzJ6QmNBsTY9YzAkBT4W4/s1600/wilder+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="432" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhZAasLL40Gsr-fllvIGgekUvjjlF5zQ-FON_mPlXlieeyX-LKov4DYWXqGGJ0jtQBJ-vTNqjktSD4wb3sN1vwrYOk2-oAb_1p_rwA740U8spoJUuPtzxjVZzJ6QmNBsTY9YzAkBT4W4/s320/wilder+family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, standing in line at Ikea for 45 minutes (!) was enough to test anyone's patience. I have never had to wait so long in line there before. It was a Sunday, but I have been there on Saturday before with no such trouble. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mla3hs5-GPEXzJ8KenQBD7zqA5Glt8A4MFGUnjkqNyuMTBIO5EolXdN1nRHo0k4rjdryyIxGZwXEv_q4W-HoFsCjBr4pQsEH_GoDGe_OUE36m8BNrNHqzNOJtAZWW5Fij3C4kQvF7TE/s1600/grover+trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mla3hs5-GPEXzJ8KenQBD7zqA5Glt8A4MFGUnjkqNyuMTBIO5EolXdN1nRHo0k4rjdryyIxGZwXEv_q4W-HoFsCjBr4pQsEH_GoDGe_OUE36m8BNrNHqzNOJtAZWW5Fij3C4kQvF7TE/s320/grover+trial.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When last I wrote, Grover and I were heading off to our October agility trial in just a few days. We had a successful 3 days, earning 2 more QQs towards our second MACH and a first place in Premier standard on Friday. I even took a photo of the placement because we usually do not place and especially not first place!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In second place is T-Bo, who is one of the dogs who was in our beginner agility class 4 1/2 years ago. T-Bo got his first MACH in March this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Additionally, we earned enough points this trial to qualify for the AKC Agility Nationals in Tulsa,OK in March. Plans are in the works to go! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhEsw2g7Lpyvf6UhBhBvxtpcF9IHR5hmsBcq2BTbZ_zoxqg0dLYG1jmYLnm-Y0PQrnfl0eafV7oLokComO43s0stIff-6O1SzcV7LjDQvgUBn47XTAXruHxgTS_QQJhMhirBDd4FifS8/s1600/scoresheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1440" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhEsw2g7Lpyvf6UhBhBvxtpcF9IHR5hmsBcq2BTbZ_zoxqg0dLYG1jmYLnm-Y0PQrnfl0eafV7oLokComO43s0stIff-6O1SzcV7LjDQvgUBn47XTAXruHxgTS_QQJhMhirBDd4FifS8/s320/scoresheet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our fall turned cool and rainy. Rainy. Enough already. My birthday was the 23rd and it was a gorgeous day. A perfect fall day and I requested that Sam go hiking with Grover and me at Lamping Homestead. It was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. I just wish we had had more days like that in October. I feel like fall didn't really happen. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iaBJhd5Yux2lstH8m3qvu2AMImCyONq-UKjWCthdLrgRkzLkN1wv2yNKptWiDZqRqkfBE9daGnq-9AIcHS5IpNDe1_tvGusfpWdjEJ82EfN1YeJcONdB4hU8wm4isGS5sF2jCCjsKzU/s1600/towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iaBJhd5Yux2lstH8m3qvu2AMImCyONq-UKjWCthdLrgRkzLkN1wv2yNKptWiDZqRqkfBE9daGnq-9AIcHS5IpNDe1_tvGusfpWdjEJ82EfN1YeJcONdB4hU8wm4isGS5sF2jCCjsKzU/s320/towels.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">off the loom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the weather is a perfect excuse to sit and knit or spend time in my studio weaving. Of course there are some secret things in the works this time of year, but I have mostly finished the Candy Cane towels that were on my loom last post. Once off the loom they must be washed, ironed and hemmed. 3 are yet to be hemmed.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_dRiKAqo7D4QYnar1JuQPiB1aYesyirV_H2Ed5uJ4qoJlGvW4aTFD-lopdL2xOEmdwzFLzNDwSLAPivzCXE9Gm0s0Ko7MjXIUqd9RFT1uXL78fiu4iFAs9S5SjVXvP7t2vZJft48Ohc/s1600/cctowels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_dRiKAqo7D4QYnar1JuQPiB1aYesyirV_H2Ed5uJ4qoJlGvW4aTFD-lopdL2xOEmdwzFLzNDwSLAPivzCXE9Gm0s0Ko7MjXIUqd9RFT1uXL78fiu4iFAs9S5SjVXvP7t2vZJft48Ohc/s320/cctowels.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hemmed</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have 6 towels and 2 little dish cloths. These will be for sale at the Christmas Festival in Woodsfield on Dec 1st.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I have a lacy beaded shawl on my knitting needles. I have made little progress because I had to finish stuff to take out to Oregon with me. It doesn't look like much at this point, but it will be so pretty when it is done. </span><br />
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<a href="https://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/straightfork/541260942/20180818_093457_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/straightfork/541260942/20180818_093457_medium2.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also made this hat for Michelle. At least it seems to fit.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the main thing that kept me busy was this sweater. I wanted to finish it in time to wear it to Oregon and I did. I finished it 2 days before our trip and I was able to wear it on the plane. It is so comfy! I just love it. You may have noticed I am wearing it in the photo at the top of the blog page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week is Thanksgiving! How can that be possible? We will travel across the state to Mom's, once again leaving the truck in Zanesville because Grover and I will be dropped off there on Saturday to attend our agility trial Saturday and Sunday. My aunt and my cousin Tracey will be at Mom's for Thanksgiving this year. It has been a few years since they were there, so I am really looking forward to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After Thanksgiving, gun season for deer starts in Ohio, so Sam will be out with the guys all week. Then it will be December. I have the Christmas Festival on the first, followed by the Dog Club Christmas party 2 days later. I will likely manage to keep busy the rest of the month as well.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hanging out on the deck in the fall.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-72761036230483511432018-10-17T09:08:00.000-07:002018-10-17T09:08:57.184-07:00Mid-October and Fall May Finally Have Arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vW-7FuqFTamjf-by6mL2CFpO6RJU-lIGIl4xreQNJptTAZUzCvWKyb5D6Gi6UiPx4_RSQ_ntXHjucasTecrZOLiFJBKAGOYSTahJ5aHvIBp4sGhKj-b5EGCgk1ya_kxRDKWDpZsEYCI/s1600/rowdycreek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vW-7FuqFTamjf-by6mL2CFpO6RJU-lIGIl4xreQNJptTAZUzCvWKyb5D6Gi6UiPx4_RSQ_ntXHjucasTecrZOLiFJBKAGOYSTahJ5aHvIBp4sGhKj-b5EGCgk1ya_kxRDKWDpZsEYCI/s400/rowdycreek.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here he is, Rowdy, once again gracing the top of the post. The new medications he is on, while not making him as spry as he once was, have at least made him able to enjoy his life once again to a certain extent. This photo was a week ago when we were still experiencing high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. When Sam was working on the new bridge, he dug the dirt he needed out of what was then the dry creek and made a "swimming hole" right behind the house. I know he had Rowdy in mind when he did that and Rowdy took advantage of the belly-deep water a couple of days last week. It makes me happy to see him enjoying himself.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCQnqaiTmlZpRg85rcijUL012UzceHu47oTP23pWJk3gQxYNe4SxSKS_Y152CDbjZBxygxh2gJfK6Dvp1dhEwPzy4dZeN5S-ub65BrBEvgcMCJ-gN1zOco8KbYLyH7EHxKoCpsn8tUBo/s1600/bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCQnqaiTmlZpRg85rcijUL012UzceHu47oTP23pWJk3gQxYNe4SxSKS_Y152CDbjZBxygxh2gJfK6Dvp1dhEwPzy4dZeN5S-ub65BrBEvgcMCJ-gN1zOco8KbYLyH7EHxKoCpsn8tUBo/s320/bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is how the new bridge looks at the moment. Cement trucks leave really deep ruts in one's yard. The cement was poured around 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and at 5pm the very next day, there was so much water going over this bridge that you almost couldn't tell it was there. Some of the dirt was washed away and some repairs need to be made, but we were lucky the cement had 24 hours to cure before the deluge. It ain't the prettiest bridge ever, but it suits the purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I mentioned, we had very unseasonably hot weather up until about a week ago. The big change came last Thursday and we abruptly went from highs in the 80s to highs in the 50s. And we have had mostly rainy overcast days since then. But yesterday, it was at least sunny, as is today. I hope to get in a good hike around the farm this afternoon.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-1n3ufF36YRcf46u1UG0TANsOdHdxBmaTLXlDYQv0boNklFhphwMebhKXJNtU7QLnKfIXPWdiT9fOw3X3anQBsYz1IbF7yi0IdwfaQ5JMdJs10-YLR2J6Tg2dlmxtwpVcwZ2jmIKlf4/s1600/moosehunters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy-1n3ufF36YRcf46u1UG0TANsOdHdxBmaTLXlDYQv0boNklFhphwMebhKXJNtU7QLnKfIXPWdiT9fOw3X3anQBsYz1IbF7yi0IdwfaQ5JMdJs10-YLR2J6Tg2dlmxtwpVcwZ2jmIKlf4/s320/moosehunters.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam and five other guys returned home Sunday night from a ten day trip to Newfoundland on Canada's eastern coast, where they went on a moose hunt. Each of them came home with a moose and Lee even came home with a black bear as well. They drove out in two trucks, one pulling a trailer with chest freezers to bring back the meat. It was a long drive and there was a ferry ride of several hours each way to Newfoundland, which is actually an island. It sounds like a place I might like to visit someday. Then Monday four of them got together and ground and wrapped several hundred pounds of moose meat. Lee is on the left and Sam on the right in this photo. I think they all had a really good time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I held down the fort here while Sam was away, though I kept pretty busy. I volunteered at a Bingo fundraiser for the county K9 officers, which was a huge success. I did my usual Tuesday agility class, had lunch with Sam's mom, made applesauce for the freezer and did some knitting and weaving. On Thursday Mom arrived with some of the ladies from her book club for a two night stay at the newly remodeled guest house and Friday I went to Marietta with them. They were a lot of fun to spend time with and I think they enjoyed their visit to the farm. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, Grover and I took our daily walks and here are some photos from those:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGm221LcE_WcRT4eKQ36r0k2Bpc7mhWY-yUi2AvWNEV4Xn8vm6-h50k0NrupOhGk_EMSM58sPO3sgJXMIQ7XSLF9P21HGTFMxD-X55UFfB1NJFhdG0gbtTBnNd5hkfYs9tjuiDujgj38/s1600/fungus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGm221LcE_WcRT4eKQ36r0k2Bpc7mhWY-yUi2AvWNEV4Xn8vm6-h50k0NrupOhGk_EMSM58sPO3sgJXMIQ7XSLF9P21HGTFMxD-X55UFfB1NJFhdG0gbtTBnNd5hkfYs9tjuiDujgj38/s320/fungus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KmOINBm_NEBa7DjpEuHvzv_BlrdTjT2-lRBbwlMiwBVgXwbV2ox_nFFel2cBKJjFIdWe7Yi_wJFrRJResu9MvoaQU3Udr8mr8F_mZG-Atlq5131UBBl3Dg4TEvDzJyyl0KGFJCXgaO0/s1600/grover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1093" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KmOINBm_NEBa7DjpEuHvzv_BlrdTjT2-lRBbwlMiwBVgXwbV2ox_nFFel2cBKJjFIdWe7Yi_wJFrRJResu9MvoaQU3Udr8mr8F_mZG-Atlq5131UBBl3Dg4TEvDzJyyl0KGFJCXgaO0/s320/grover.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MxsspVAZXz1LmtEE7dwG26UwGdGuoogpIKYtGwD6vrb83tKV4NwW12pI-v-ssJJpz4TZibxaNI1q58HAcHfJJGkdtKjSMkyjm6P13tCaKsK-oKkAblFT-DTZUxpHxbSFOHoXMo1lT58/s1600/applestruffel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MxsspVAZXz1LmtEE7dwG26UwGdGuoogpIKYtGwD6vrb83tKV4NwW12pI-v-ssJJpz4TZibxaNI1q58HAcHfJJGkdtKjSMkyjm6P13tCaKsK-oKkAblFT-DTZUxpHxbSFOHoXMo1lT58/s320/applestruffel.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9ribfjJ_-ZpDDNDV2f5qAh729R4zbJzmGTjeOzrpHqLh_87yyrUyPeaH1igpbnqSUJV1RmIon31KZRRke35wPzQvxqsQkxxKXjFCbAFW7oxmHU1uZj6lUUJTf5RUxSRGo1w2StsMKxw/s1600/xmastowels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9ribfjJ_-ZpDDNDV2f5qAh729R4zbJzmGTjeOzrpHqLh_87yyrUyPeaH1igpbnqSUJV1RmIon31KZRRke35wPzQvxqsQkxxKXjFCbAFW7oxmHU1uZj6lUUJTf5RUxSRGo1w2StsMKxw/s320/xmastowels.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While we had temps in the 80s, it was still a bit hot during the day to spend much time in my unair-conditioned studio, but I did manage to get out there on many evenings. Yesterday, I spent most of the day out there. I did some mending of a pair of Sam's coveralls and a pair of my barn mittens as well as some weaving. Here is what is on my looms: Christmas towels on the 8 shaft loom,</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yemdGQ4Ko0-fIoqcpulWVbj3-cPLUF2sCu2irrMM8Gk9TDvXB4UhyphenhyphenIFbtuoAz24BM-FeNDuCQ85oefXwJ0JDFgAq06mxjF6a730qWMJ06NOHBGqUKLMe2QFMv1UG7H3xreAMercgg1M/s1600/rugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yemdGQ4Ko0-fIoqcpulWVbj3-cPLUF2sCu2irrMM8Gk9TDvXB4UhyphenhyphenIFbtuoAz24BM-FeNDuCQ85oefXwJ0JDFgAq06mxjF6a730qWMJ06NOHBGqUKLMe2QFMv1UG7H3xreAMercgg1M/s320/rugs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and selvedge rugs on the 4 shaft loom. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, I did not make a long enough warp for the rugs, so I think I have decided to not finish the second rug and just unweave it and re-use the selvedges at another time, when I do a better job of planning my warp. I'm not sure what I did wrong. It may be I just made rug #1 longer than I should have. So it is a waste of warp, but that's cheaper than the selvedges and easier to get.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upcoming events include a 3 day agility trial for Grover and me this coming weekend in Zanesville. All the pressure seems to be off since we got our MACH last month, though we do need to accumulate some points in order to qualify for AKC Nationals, which we would like to do. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I have a little over a week at home and I head off to Oregon with Sam's mom, Mary, to see Ian and his family. The last time I saw my grandson, Wilder, he was only about 6 weeks old. He will be 6 months old the day after we get there, so I expect him to be a lot different than last time I saw him. Sam's mom hasn't had the opportunity to meet him yet and I know she is very much looking forward to doing so .</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's it for now. Will I post again in October? We'll see. Meanwhile, here is pretty Apples the Welsh pony:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOfEjgHEFoBTjhHj2Bws7brm5i7Z2KasL4wR0ZH8tqXalxFE8I0xdBSQnswcCgtDd6C08YEMEBmnuXXoaHSeLc9ZxZOaLh3TB2xNEgK7ksVePyIzP0eaWcW2-31al7NIzU6v8jhseNC0/s1600/prettyapples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOfEjgHEFoBTjhHj2Bws7brm5i7Z2KasL4wR0ZH8tqXalxFE8I0xdBSQnswcCgtDd6C08YEMEBmnuXXoaHSeLc9ZxZOaLh3TB2xNEgK7ksVePyIzP0eaWcW2-31al7NIzU6v8jhseNC0/s400/prettyapples.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-23421448250080481732018-10-05T11:00:00.002-07:002018-10-05T11:00:49.742-07:00And Its October and I'm Wrapping Up September.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A month ago, when I last posted, Grover and I were about to attend a trial where we were anticipating earning our Master Agility Champion (MACH) title. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBkJbtTCZrMXzJoSKgbCZE44TZ6KZaDfNPhUgqHRkk7MzEDr_8I4G9KHD2ci9-b2hpCRYvX4QpUHQBs4E41NSmhkl86inQHiAb9Wk4zicNOfiB3XPWzzdypp2ru_maa8S-YjwFEQRU1I/s1600/Grovers+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="373" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBkJbtTCZrMXzJoSKgbCZE44TZ6KZaDfNPhUgqHRkk7MzEDr_8I4G9KHD2ci9-b2hpCRYvX4QpUHQBs4E41NSmhkl86inQHiAb9Wk4zicNOfiB3XPWzzdypp2ru_maa8S-YjwFEQRU1I/s320/Grovers+wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover's wall in my studio</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> So the exciting news is that <b>we did it!</b> We needed only 18 points going in, which for us meant we had to have 2 clean runs. We did not have a qualifying run in standard on Friday, so the pressure was off to get the MACH that day, but we <b>did</b> Q in Jumpers that afternoon, earning 11 points, which meant we needed only 7 more. So I called Sam that night so he was on alert to be there early Saturday morning and he arrived just before our walk through for standard around 10 am . Grover and I had a great run in standard, with the last 4 obstacles being a tunnel then 3 jumps. When we were still clean going into that tunnel, I just knew we could do it and we did! It was SO exciting. When you get a MACH you and your dog get to take a victory lap around the ring and someone brings you out a bar and ribbon and the judge congratulates you and it's pretty amazing! Everyone tells me there is no feeling like that very first MACH and I believe it. I am so proud of my goofy little rescue Aussie. He has been such fun and we plan to go on and see how long it takes us to get MACH 2 and maybe even 3. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKvbUk_m-HBwuQSwZ0CAIl4YCiOwZAdLOP0nh7Ednyi1N_-39Q3p8VJN0BcYBxmZ3AOPCd6mtqNgvJjB_MdcpQ3VKSvs7-coO4cKsWexQrTsd290CsefzK991pcLUwbRYVPwPWyicB_c/s1600/labordaykidsbetter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="477" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKvbUk_m-HBwuQSwZ0CAIl4YCiOwZAdLOP0nh7Ednyi1N_-39Q3p8VJN0BcYBxmZ3AOPCd6mtqNgvJjB_MdcpQ3VKSvs7-coO4cKsWexQrTsd290CsefzK991pcLUwbRYVPwPWyicB_c/s320/labordaykidsbetter.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the week prior to our MACH weekend, we had our 21st Annual Labor Day party here on the farm. It was a very hot weekend, but I think we had one of the best labor Day weekend parties ever. Our friends Lee and Viktorija brought along 3 families, all of whom were international but living currently in Dayton. Viktorija herself is from Lithuania, so the Lithuanians were well represented, but there were also a man from Nepal and 2 other people from France and a whole lot of kids. The kids had a great time.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZkNfDie8enCYdbWdbUUQ1zrSLaAeSCO8HK-3g4qu0zq4Hdxwthhyjvlf4vbXmWsgWKdtQIGz6kZG1anEmtzyUICEGJBrOxy6DNpjz8swYeqKfZHJdd4lYTgQWF0PNlOwfJV9NKx5LrE/s1600/pond2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZkNfDie8enCYdbWdbUUQ1zrSLaAeSCO8HK-3g4qu0zq4Hdxwthhyjvlf4vbXmWsgWKdtQIGz6kZG1anEmtzyUICEGJBrOxy6DNpjz8swYeqKfZHJdd4lYTgQWF0PNlOwfJV9NKx5LrE/s320/pond2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> One of the women from Lithuania arrived and took over the grill and cooked some wonderful food and just as it got dark, the guy from Nepal produced a guitar and he and my brother Larry took turns entertaining us on the back deck. It really was a great time. That was Saturday. On Sunday, we headed up to the pond with nieces and nephews and our whole group for swimming and zip-lining and maybe a bit more partying. It wasn't long before more people started to arrive and I think the final count at the pond that afternoon was 31 people! SO MUCH FUN!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35VeCsPjCDZyPgeDuihsgTa4ATvDxMPi8l6IJfB94MeTQ2WfhbfYTSix3vr_T3HskiFNPHBusoCGUgTtmWchJwjhpIxFLItjuQesJ0C_rEqrOd9fEqkrtG10AmouP_dE2nbUlfzaC4SI/s1600/pondlaborday1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35VeCsPjCDZyPgeDuihsgTa4ATvDxMPi8l6IJfB94MeTQ2WfhbfYTSix3vr_T3HskiFNPHBusoCGUgTtmWchJwjhpIxFLItjuQesJ0C_rEqrOd9fEqkrtG10AmouP_dE2nbUlfzaC4SI/s320/pondlaborday1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It was a great weekend in all and somewhat exhausting, but I know those kids will never forget it and we will remember it for years as a great time had with great people. Thanks to Lee and Viktorija for bringing their friends and to the rest of our neighbors for joining the fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The garden is pretty much done for the year, though there are still some roma tomatoes and a lot of peppers out there. My friend Tari gave me some heirloom tomato plants and some were these beautiful yellow cherry tomatoes which really thrived in my herb garden. And the tomatoes were fabulous! I ate a lot just off the vine. I will save seeds and replant these next spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the excessive rain we had all summer and spring really hurt the garden. I got almost no butternut squash and no pumpkins at all. My pumpkin plants just died after the second time the garden was under water. Maybe next year will be better.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iFF5pHW7mUXBvg2LvFnkYz6NEcvFA7eE3Ivq23Yl2jTnq8KdUBEDEvp_ErOLolCC8Sz00PoexbNaGQ-3ZtEgkIQBRAfHD_xQlyDkogH4viXMH9D0e2bUOOuV95hHr854DWoQcBIiTsI/s1600/bridge1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iFF5pHW7mUXBvg2LvFnkYz6NEcvFA7eE3Ivq23Yl2jTnq8KdUBEDEvp_ErOLolCC8Sz00PoexbNaGQ-3ZtEgkIQBRAfHD_xQlyDkogH4viXMH9D0e2bUOOuV95hHr854DWoQcBIiTsI/s320/bridge1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of underwater, Sam has worked diligently to try to get a new bridge finished before winter. Usually September is rather dry, but since we needed dry weather, we got lots of rain. And more rain. Two days ago, we were finally able to get cement delivered to top the bridge with.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzJ4vejPwQpW6A6da8PZATn28mWBUgzRezFgoAwZ6BsB7ZtfJTo4x2J1PAJWN4WtX9glLzBScY5xJyqIb0nOppC5xWqqKWe7xYrCSif_KMdQ4bDfyksVwqaT2UCg5Usy16j3r2ZRFLO0/s1600/cementtruck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzJ4vejPwQpW6A6da8PZATn28mWBUgzRezFgoAwZ6BsB7ZtfJTo4x2J1PAJWN4WtX9glLzBScY5xJyqIb0nOppC5xWqqKWe7xYrCSif_KMdQ4bDfyksVwqaT2UCg5Usy16j3r2ZRFLO0/s320/cementtruck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It stayed nice and dry for the rest of the day, thankfully, but at 5 pm yesterday, the whole thing was once again underwater. At least the cement had over 24 hours to set before it poured rain, but it would have been nice to have a few dry days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam left early this morning to go to Newfoundland, Canada, with 5 friends to hunt moose. He will be away for at least 10 days, which is one reason he wanted to get the cement done on the bridge. We will be into mid-October by the time he returns home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other farm news, we are down to only 4 hens now. The month of September was rough on the chickens. There were a couple of hawks that seemed to think our chickens were some sort of free dinner buffet, and we lost 4 in about 4 days. Measures were taken to discourage the predators and for a few days we did not lose any more, but then it started again and once again, we had to intervene on behalf of our flock. By then we were down to 5. And just this past weekend, the last old hen we had died of natural causes. She was about 4, which I think is pretty much a normal lifespan. So we are out of the egg business for now. I will decide in the spring whether to get more chickens or not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mom and I took a trip last weekend to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to visit my aunt and cousins there and also to attend Artprize, a yearly 3 week long art contest in the city of Grand Rapids. We spent one day downtown looking at art and we did some shopping as well. It was a very nice visit. My cousin Matt and his wife have a new baby who is about a week older than my grandson, Wilder, so I got to meet him. Sure hope we can get those 2 kids together when they get a little older. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's about it on what's going on around here. I just want to post an update on Rowdy. We decided a couple weeks ago to talk to the vet about putting him on medication to make him more comfortable, even if it shortens his time with us. So far, he is doing really well and much more like his old self. He is not pain-free, but I think it is now at a tolerable level. It makes us happy to see the spark back in his eye and to have him greet us once again when we arrive home. I hope it lasts a while longer, but I am at the point where if he were to just pass on in his sleep, I think I would be okay with that. I wish he could be healthy and happy and live another 20 years, but I know that isn't possible, so I will deal with it. He is 13 1/2 now.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK4O7QWACjIx8yU6_9w91c056rPbrmhZsgVrkPNQUGp6tGsM72kv5o-ueefds9jYcy-IJ6GXunFpDnUvL5pTa2ns2wmM7pANRBXhR89sVfgp0tPDyl33rYPUQgU4ivjYP04Tc0AdXmGI/s1600/trsceys+towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoK4O7QWACjIx8yU6_9w91c056rPbrmhZsgVrkPNQUGp6tGsM72kv5o-ueefds9jYcy-IJ6GXunFpDnUvL5pTa2ns2wmM7pANRBXhR89sVfgp0tPDyl33rYPUQgU4ivjYP04Tc0AdXmGI/s320/trsceys+towels.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have not had a lot of time for Fiber-y pursuits, though I did weave some kitchen towels for my cousin for her new kitchen. They came out great. Her new kitchen is colors of grey and these matched quite well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also finished a couple of tencel scarves in black and white:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have several ongoing knitting projects, but nothing finished. Now that fall is here, I hope to get some work done on those.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe I can also get another blog post done before November. Time will tell. </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-68539863915790923632018-09-09T08:22:00.000-07:002018-09-09T08:22:50.141-07:00Wrapping Up August<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02sLm-Sr2B_P8Lyrqbf1cxuEOQrshdgSU60aEfp2qztfuqpCFzMPUJZgRhMYPjkoCHteR6RnSfzhtZjYIOTrqFB_lXOtFyuGvXyRwB2anmM5M-FH67oxXgJQqWkhwA0MYvkOHv9LxvFk/s1600/applestruffel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1600" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02sLm-Sr2B_P8Lyrqbf1cxuEOQrshdgSU60aEfp2qztfuqpCFzMPUJZgRhMYPjkoCHteR6RnSfzhtZjYIOTrqFB_lXOtFyuGvXyRwB2anmM5M-FH67oxXgJQqWkhwA0MYvkOHv9LxvFk/s400/applestruffel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know it is September, and it has been over a month since my last post, but it has been a crazy month of so much going on. So I will do a post now, September 9th, dealing with the last 3 weeks of August and hopefully follow in a couple days with the beginning of September.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So to start off, Grover and I were about to head off to Niles Ohio for 3 days of agility when last I posted. We needed 60 points to earn our MACH (Master Agility Championship). From my lack of posting, one could conclude that we did not get our 60 points. And we did not. However, we did get 42 points over the 3 days and one more QQ, so we now need only 18 points. In just 4 days, we will be going to our club's September trial in Zanesville, which is a 3 day trial. 18 points <i>should</i> be easy. We <i>should</i> get our MACH. I will be so excited and nervous that I could <i>totally screw us up all weekend</i>. But my plan is to get that MACH!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0FN1MYHwJgutPxgTqZHDl1whyphenhyphenynYQOURWNj_JDzZOpg7qLTS3VfWvU5xEF3YeoZ0CIiz2fPPsFYsGinbDPpKKMsJGiYe8BmfzOPzLpKyFyxME3_qtpkv4UOoH7rl7YK4523TGYKgKro/s1600/livroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0FN1MYHwJgutPxgTqZHDl1whyphenhyphenynYQOURWNj_JDzZOpg7qLTS3VfWvU5xEF3YeoZ0CIiz2fPPsFYsGinbDPpKKMsJGiYe8BmfzOPzLpKyFyxME3_qtpkv4UOoH7rl7YK4523TGYKgKro/s320/livroom.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The carpet is in in the guest house. It is amazing what fresh paint and carpet can do for a house, not to mention new drywall, a new bathroom, etc, etc. It looks wonderful!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once all that was finished, there was some time to concentrate on my kitchen. The counters were in, but I needed to paint and do the tile backsplash.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQb3W4f72gcIH_ISkenubQ3sZOa8cI3GmUwDt5udHYNX_kcVfFU94lAswuRtIL_h1ez9ry5FNklHsWOGgFcAFFCpWfJwH8CuQ9jKumlaLjG-k39N49EkICrsIKXFrU9dn4EDyN3-TWNA/s1600/kitchen+before2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyQb3W4f72gcIH_ISkenubQ3sZOa8cI3GmUwDt5udHYNX_kcVfFU94lAswuRtIL_h1ez9ry5FNklHsWOGgFcAFFCpWfJwH8CuQ9jKumlaLjG-k39N49EkICrsIKXFrU9dn4EDyN3-TWNA/s320/kitchen+before2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paint first, of course. And of course all this was going on in the middle of canning season. My color scheme is completely different now and I really like it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6SOdALPz_-Z6Ld8kktylwDz3ZjiqUk_pFoS1p_qYZVnaTy9B_qEOIp576FwlVaPyDZcF0mWsQ5oElouJKoLpcyv5P8Umha35KSTICC2uGRZn_fiZkfmH2XSGGjMLMKZlCIBUC4_ctjs/s1600/kitchen+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6SOdALPz_-Z6Ld8kktylwDz3ZjiqUk_pFoS1p_qYZVnaTy9B_qEOIp576FwlVaPyDZcF0mWsQ5oElouJKoLpcyv5P8Umha35KSTICC2uGRZn_fiZkfmH2XSGGjMLMKZlCIBUC4_ctjs/s320/kitchen+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Next, the backsplash went in. This was my very first tiling job and I did pretty well, I think. The only problem was I came up a little short on grout, so while I had plans of being finished prior to Labor Day, I had to wait until afterward to acquire additional grout to finish the back corner, but it was good enough to have house guests.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggO6IN3LlMLcQMq2JOtRnGWasKcNPn3NSsmDEXsUboMBCVAxybOdwv8T4MJpWRBPa_dy0Ajg8QZ4jGU8bNSwxbzI-a7XNVNOVVlP3WsmZpJLrzoc_dKAT8OaLj2OmtVRd4DDWypfdqc-s/s1600/kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggO6IN3LlMLcQMq2JOtRnGWasKcNPn3NSsmDEXsUboMBCVAxybOdwv8T4MJpWRBPa_dy0Ajg8QZ4jGU8bNSwxbzI-a7XNVNOVVlP3WsmZpJLrzoc_dKAT8OaLj2OmtVRd4DDWypfdqc-s/s320/kitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so pleased with the outcome. Considering I had no clue what I even wanted when I went to look at countertops, it has all come together quite nicely. I still need to do something with the flooring, but I just have not had time to deal with that. Maybe soon, though September and October are looking pretty crazy busy as well.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOGTpU4MqJgs4iKAJ_cyMyQ7TWrLgRMEKZz-YfIsfXBsTJFS0IXza1puw_7b-3WEsK9db4Lif4Yc41ZPPNAbTngSaJ4UHTmTL626yX22U0VZz-yZTeE1L3oMAt9lqV0plqRXbDQeIV-k/s1600/peaches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOGTpU4MqJgs4iKAJ_cyMyQ7TWrLgRMEKZz-YfIsfXBsTJFS0IXza1puw_7b-3WEsK9db4Lif4Yc41ZPPNAbTngSaJ4UHTmTL626yX22U0VZz-yZTeE1L3oMAt9lqV0plqRXbDQeIV-k/s320/peaches.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The garden has come along well. Except for my squash and pumpkins which have done horribly. I usually have an abundance of those. My pumpkin plants just died. And my squash plants are not producing well at all. I am placing some of the blame on the garden being totally underwater at least twice early on . That and lack of good fertilizer. I will fix that next year for sure. I have canned marinara sauce, Sam has dried tomatoes, I have made pesto and basil ice cubes. I canned a batch of peach jam and 8 pints of peaches that I picked from Sam's parents' tree. Like I said, we have been keeping busy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Sam has gotten a really important project underway: the new bridge. He decided to go with one bridge that could be driven across and he put it where the old footbridge was. It is on hold right now while he figures out the next step, but it needs to be cemented before October. The creek needs to be dry when that happens. But for now, it is usable. which is really nice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam and I also attended the
annual Mountaineer Brewfest in Wheeling on the 18th of August. As a
member of the Wheeling Alers Homebrew club, Sam is kind of expected to
help out as a volunteer and I like to go along and volunteer as well.
What a tough volunteer job! It is always a great time. I manned the
Alers booth for several hours and then went on to pour beer for one of
the many West Virginia craft brewers who were there. It was a lot of
fun once again. That's me with a couple of the "Alers".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In nature news, I have been keeping my eyes open on my walks for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have seen no less than 16 of them in the 6 weeks. All different sizes. This guy here to the right is almost large enough to "pupate", or make a chrysalis and become a butterfly. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR52P01AfuIKbZLi_Lsd0Y7ZKKe-e4eVmtd1J6iWXLFUE9A5eIyaxQhejPhlaIXq6FIuWLjMXNSlLio8M1Y85hImP-IBMu7kXUifX2YRZ808X498psF1Es7AJuIy4sh-N4-9cNfWg62lA/s1600/littlepillar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1600" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR52P01AfuIKbZLi_Lsd0Y7ZKKe-e4eVmtd1J6iWXLFUE9A5eIyaxQhejPhlaIXq6FIuWLjMXNSlLio8M1Y85hImP-IBMu7kXUifX2YRZ808X498psF1Es7AJuIy4sh-N4-9cNfWg62lA/s320/littlepillar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then there is this tiny little fellow, who still needs to consume a lot of milkweed leaves. I have even had Sam detour with the ATV for several weeks to avoid running over a patch of milkweed in which I have found several caterpillars .</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKjDRBvBxGPsn50WIutBJQyFxwIRrO7jbSv2LLTirrjObKdOS2wmXk0aWICM5iXxrrMSwd_BklLCAOhcnX-usicXMzwx4RSSYL4AqBQtdYg07vV1fm0AXbLp3s_u4iQztQSIqcs_MeNc/s1600/snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKjDRBvBxGPsn50WIutBJQyFxwIRrO7jbSv2LLTirrjObKdOS2wmXk0aWICM5iXxrrMSwd_BklLCAOhcnX-usicXMzwx4RSSYL4AqBQtdYg07vV1fm0AXbLp3s_u4iQztQSIqcs_MeNc/s320/snake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was also surprised by a black snake that moved into a small organizing bin in a cupboard in my barn. It was all curled up in a very small space for about 4 days and then departed, leaving behind a 5' skin. I really didn't think that snake was that large! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0yknDE2pZEuLVYofzcaZkF11PA1TQHuN0UHLdf3dyEx8J3fx-XbJa_KmdH7NE7-i8iw_gT7SVfIY9lK9MOQxLqKc4PiZ5k00pOMOWIqxr_mNXrquUqvT7CKxEyVjmzEmtrx8CEOqWWs/s1600/snakeskins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0yknDE2pZEuLVYofzcaZkF11PA1TQHuN0UHLdf3dyEx8J3fx-XbJa_KmdH7NE7-i8iw_gT7SVfIY9lK9MOQxLqKc4PiZ5k00pOMOWIqxr_mNXrquUqvT7CKxEyVjmzEmtrx8CEOqWWs/s320/snakeskins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The skin on the left is the one from the snake in the barn. Sam found the other in a granary down by the guest house. Black snakes are numerous around here and eat lots of little pests, like mice and birds who nest in barn rafters and crap everywhere. I like black snakes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I do not like critters who eat my chickens! In August, we lost 4 hens to hawks and a raccoon. The raccoon actually got into the coop at night and killed and consumed one hen. The rest just disappeared from the yard during the day leaving nothing behind but a pile of feathers. The raccoon has been dealt with. The hawks are more difficult to control. So by September 1st, we were down to 6 laying hens and one old hen. Very sad. These hens were less than a year and half old and had lots of laying time ahead. I have not decided yet whether to replace them. </span><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have had very little time to do much fiber work. So everything that was under way in my last post is pretty much still being worked on. Since Labor Day is now behind us and the weather has decided to cool off I have had some time to devote to those more leisurely pursuits. I should have more on that soon. Maybe I will wait to post again after the agility trial next weekend. I hope to have big news by then!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-59748157073044401762018-08-08T10:20:00.001-07:002018-08-09T10:43:28.795-07:00August in Ohio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQn7zz5iDUxYce8uz4yWNVCUcrvAr-qpF2FMkRAwZoRu1mQRSc2haBegiOMJgx95GM0Ve88UAsZFqiyGq-3rQLLxSTR8TvC_2sqKsRcdjeWRus2Zy7F_CLINCL25OlJ3K58JqNt_zu84/s1600/Rowdy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQn7zz5iDUxYce8uz4yWNVCUcrvAr-qpF2FMkRAwZoRu1mQRSc2haBegiOMJgx95GM0Ve88UAsZFqiyGq-3rQLLxSTR8TvC_2sqKsRcdjeWRus2Zy7F_CLINCL25OlJ3K58JqNt_zu84/s400/Rowdy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our sweet Rowdy spends most of his time seeking out the coolest spots in the house. I am sure he is dreaming of laying on the porch on a 10 degree F night. Otherwise, his favorite time of day is mealtime. He eats very well and is getting regular acupuncture to help with his arthritis. He has more coat than he has ever had and since he doesn't swim in the pond anymore, it is staying relatively nice. We cherish each day with him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I don't have much to post about, and then I realize I really do. August has arrived since my last post, but before that, Grover and I attended a 2 day agility trial in Dayton. We are "chasing the MACH" as an agility friend put it. We needed 72 points going into that trial and we came out still needing 60. It was not our best trial. Grover was NQd in standard both days by his reluctance/refusal to get on the table, of all things! That was almost 2 weeks ago and tomorrow we leave for a 3 days weekend of agility in Niles, Ohio once again. 60 points is doable, but it will require us to be flawless. Will we MACH this weekend? I suppose anything can happen. If not, there is always September in Zanesville. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have had an ongoing project at the guest house since January or thereabouts and it is about to be finished. Labor Day weekend is a little over 3 weeks away and we will have lots of company. The 2 bedrooms that needed drywall have been drywalled and all 3 bedrooms and the living room ceiling (which needed repair) have been painted. Clean-up has commenced and carpet is scheduled to be installed Friday. While I am away. It will be like a new house. I will post "after" photos next time.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhpz6kC8e4xHPUAgzWfd5oZICdN9OsQdH_bYfyVCM2aFsWpXowmxGxW2kVA7Kep42oEWVTU8y4ircSa6_XZ8vx1N6BEWUH9iVemVJnbpYgMdaGwEeGVdacjj5TLom6jgEItFv-W0XgdKc/s1600/kitchenbefore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhpz6kC8e4xHPUAgzWfd5oZICdN9OsQdH_bYfyVCM2aFsWpXowmxGxW2kVA7Kep42oEWVTU8y4ircSa6_XZ8vx1N6BEWUH9iVemVJnbpYgMdaGwEeGVdacjj5TLom6jgEItFv-W0XgdKc/s320/kitchenbefore.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition to that, I decided to re-do my kitchen, starting with countertops. We remodeled our kitchen in 2002 and put in laminate countertops and an acrylic sink and they were getting pretty shabby. So here's the before >>>>>>>>>></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMg94ZSvXvXcgN0xJTiBnizbIaaHXvS2npul1b6oHRkQA2ArvABuTp2XlH_56QTN3WGI-qAQ3rhTlcS4BMxRPd4YcXm1ymNsyRnPh_6EUdQUh_eFHjC6Er5Nj-ZhZTkOvQuuNyu8Y45Jc/s1600/new+countertops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMg94ZSvXvXcgN0xJTiBnizbIaaHXvS2npul1b6oHRkQA2ArvABuTp2XlH_56QTN3WGI-qAQ3rhTlcS4BMxRPd4YcXm1ymNsyRnPh_6EUdQUh_eFHjC6Er5Nj-ZhZTkOvQuuNyu8Y45Jc/s320/new+countertops.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will be painting and putting up a mosaic tile backsplash. Before Labor Day? Maybe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also keeping me busy has been the garden, though I have neglected it to get painting done. We are now enjoying corn and tomatoes and peppers and cukes, along with fresh herbs. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOFmtnbawobXo45jPGvsFjVJ5nWIldxsojt0xnxosayz3RZifvCWTS3gbeOzKG0XYSasXKctcYKjgehikreUoUSHh6CjsLeSZzDVL5EFBho4iTnrndRDT6yRIRhwbMJuBNObob3u1rDs/s1600/tomatogarden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOFmtnbawobXo45jPGvsFjVJ5nWIldxsojt0xnxosayz3RZifvCWTS3gbeOzKG0XYSasXKctcYKjgehikreUoUSHh6CjsLeSZzDVL5EFBho4iTnrndRDT6yRIRhwbMJuBNObob3u1rDs/s320/tomatogarden.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The tomatoes are just starting to come on and many of the plants are as tall as I am. Or taller. I also harvested garlic this past week, though I am disappointed in how little I got. We got a lot more last year and actually still have quite a bit, so I doubt we will run out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4kZ9vGcgKIuk8P55cChXC3FTnhhTCQHPMvdSMW3wbzL8jm6RoSlScNUnhBeduyyYK14UPrjNjvRzPXZ7KoO-G_whWbyF82DdDh2nekZDIjwra1qjJHDlY5_JvIcx2ovpTw7NbQX47Hw/s1600/garlic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4kZ9vGcgKIuk8P55cChXC3FTnhhTCQHPMvdSMW3wbzL8jm6RoSlScNUnhBeduyyYK14UPrjNjvRzPXZ7KoO-G_whWbyF82DdDh2nekZDIjwra1qjJHDlY5_JvIcx2ovpTw7NbQX47Hw/s320/garlic.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This past weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of our first corn on the cob, grilled in the husk, along with bruschetta made with roma tomatoes, garlic and basil all grown right here, atop toasted homemade baguettes. It really doesn't get much better. Though the next night was just about as good with corn on the cob and BLTs with nice garden fresh tomatoes. Yum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While I was away the last weekend in July, Sam pushed the wooden remains of our 2 bridges that were destroyed in May's flash flood into the now dry creek and burned them, along with the debris pile that was deposited in the wake of the flood. It is amazing to see the wash out on both sides of where the bridge used to be. I'm not sure what Sam's plans are on getting a new bridge put in. He has also been really busy with the construction project at the guest house. It will happen.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBlRODCTzaHa9B3fXVzNLq9HiOO4C152dVduORYmviD-g7cnSPAI7ewA-2p2nyIYHFt2gwG8CToz5YaQQzinesspQU8_bIVRuw9tAmz2ND-IkIb87JxA7ajQ5MVztrzAM3qDAw1MN4As/s1600/bridgehole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBlRODCTzaHa9B3fXVzNLq9HiOO4C152dVduORYmviD-g7cnSPAI7ewA-2p2nyIYHFt2gwG8CToz5YaQQzinesspQU8_bIVRuw9tAmz2ND-IkIb87JxA7ajQ5MVztrzAM3qDAw1MN4As/s320/bridgehole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> In addition to everything else, I have managed to work on some fiber-y projects, though lack of air-conditioning in my studio limits my time out there to late evenings these days.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-puvx0qoQs2MMfFH_08Ma94yOa0OOmSTDVD0wEMeahw-y2B1jRFIxPP9SujYTOf3J9HvwyoJSTXUZa4nbvDUoEiAh_FnVpvO-XsbrWrw9K-ev3GJMsgAUTiso7oKeYx7KOD1Sf-cMlk/s1600/rugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-puvx0qoQs2MMfFH_08Ma94yOa0OOmSTDVD0wEMeahw-y2B1jRFIxPP9SujYTOf3J9HvwyoJSTXUZa4nbvDUoEiAh_FnVpvO-XsbrWrw9K-ev3GJMsgAUTiso7oKeYx7KOD1Sf-cMlk/s320/rugs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have 2 more selvedge rugs off the loom and ready to be hemmed and then I will tie a new warp onto the ends of the old warp and weave a couple more in a different color.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also have black and white tencel scarves on my smaller loom.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtHlk3HRfMQ37WSaiI-ekCTBcm9hS4WzeAno_ncjwh3RFhINF8tc9tMljXYaYmbErjbzpj3RinNj8OVQrGu1B5eQ-MDgavUjHchf1jfslZEzf2So8WjJRep9cSOirEFt2mDcCYROnBTo/s1600/tencelscarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtHlk3HRfMQ37WSaiI-ekCTBcm9hS4WzeAno_ncjwh3RFhINF8tc9tMljXYaYmbErjbzpj3RinNj8OVQrGu1B5eQ-MDgavUjHchf1jfslZEzf2So8WjJRep9cSOirEFt2mDcCYROnBTo/s320/tencelscarf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There will be 2 of these and I am not sure if I will add a third color into the second one or stick with black and white. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE8afwZpT1EAwVfC623-gLSKvelrk6EJmB14KLp_nzKZ2oPI3Scrh0An38KUlbuizdUwRzbrbUNN9TJQ9_nYvd0pIzX58NzQLExzo-Wa_YxD0xoKmb5BYcIn3Ozw6L9EmsH6ANLt9yoc/s1600/6040alpacasilkbatts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQE8afwZpT1EAwVfC623-gLSKvelrk6EJmB14KLp_nzKZ2oPI3Scrh0An38KUlbuizdUwRzbrbUNN9TJQ9_nYvd0pIzX58NzQLExzo-Wa_YxD0xoKmb5BYcIn3Ozw6L9EmsH6ANLt9yoc/s320/6040alpacasilkbatts.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am also carding some batts of 60% alpaca and 40% silk. Each batt is about 2 oz and I have done 5 of them and should have enough of this alpaca to card up 2 more. I will probably spin that and then dye it. Or will I dye it and then spin it? I have not decided.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_T0rYISRjtrQxTl055xdsgUYFc5MbW7Cqb6V6NuqL9Saa2tbutjo4J77P4tEnbKZIN8iUXKSB2Ys_WKcY9Q8skxkuYRouLUxVI5emFstq8XG_jtUTfX2JDAT5GWiKR8vZrP9km-PLs0/s1600/longdrawwoolenyarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_T0rYISRjtrQxTl055xdsgUYFc5MbW7Cqb6V6NuqL9Saa2tbutjo4J77P4tEnbKZIN8iUXKSB2Ys_WKcY9Q8skxkuYRouLUxVI5emFstq8XG_jtUTfX2JDAT5GWiKR8vZrP9km-PLs0/s320/longdrawwoolenyarn.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also spun up about 4 ounces of some dyed roving I bought at a farm market in Grand Rapids Michigan a couple of years ago. I spun it long draw and it went really quickly and made a nice lofty woolen yarn. I think I have enough for mittens. I also have another "bump" of dyed roving in a different color from the same vendor that I am looking forward to spinning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the last thing I will post about today is a sweater I think I posted about before. I have made a little progress, but not a lot (I can't imagine why!).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3c39Eq0TUz5E8BuMP3gX_ueA1DAMIVwZhzktqk1UmcHVlOXR2sIsIWtykpr9ioFrgtT8eVIG_CEqBEEm5QvWk5-uZWbz-o-yKe9h75v8UZMcEpwRcZbXq6Sv-t72ScGlo8Id63rzAjg/s1600/sunset+highway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3c39Eq0TUz5E8BuMP3gX_ueA1DAMIVwZhzktqk1UmcHVlOXR2sIsIWtykpr9ioFrgtT8eVIG_CEqBEEm5QvWk5-uZWbz-o-yKe9h75v8UZMcEpwRcZbXq6Sv-t72ScGlo8Id63rzAjg/s320/sunset+highway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I am at the point of just knitting in circles with thin grey yarn. It will likely go to the agility trial with me this weekend for hotel room knitting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think that will do it for this post. I will end with a lovely photo of my very first sunflower bloom of the summer.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCNr4xbfZPbkq4DpS1IaaFiFc0JZAaH4pIjPFifgK9soA-mLHm16a2RTvLOREKx-2ws5dtFfJECnEDtpMa0kfh-YVu5utvhP381Go9zSATW_prFJGfo1GHZh1ho2AJd4wPv-5aiSf_MM/s1600/firstsunflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCNr4xbfZPbkq4DpS1IaaFiFc0JZAaH4pIjPFifgK9soA-mLHm16a2RTvLOREKx-2ws5dtFfJECnEDtpMa0kfh-YVu5utvhP381Go9zSATW_prFJGfo1GHZh1ho2AJd4wPv-5aiSf_MM/s400/firstsunflower.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-89969446811379417402018-07-22T11:53:00.001-07:002018-07-22T11:53:27.201-07:00And Now I Am Wishing for Rain.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEtdQjVEASMnNhfawbHxUuEUQWQ4WvUlT7kT388m1dbkQnCmX0IMyHZuQOk0342VKMQ46P0MLqwoIGCtudDwY6QRVvwRW27NEDBvQ92gBI1N5mM3mmp6KSxb3gdArTui3F9RJ24FTpGs/s1600/Groverbuggy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEtdQjVEASMnNhfawbHxUuEUQWQ4WvUlT7kT388m1dbkQnCmX0IMyHZuQOk0342VKMQ46P0MLqwoIGCtudDwY6QRVvwRW27NEDBvQ92gBI1N5mM3mmp6KSxb3gdArTui3F9RJ24FTpGs/s400/Groverbuggy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Co-pilot in the Buggy</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have enjoyed a few days of nice weather in the last couple of weeks, along with some very hot weather. Pretty typical for July in Ohio. And of course the rain has let up. I am now wishing every day for a nice soaking rain for my garden. Again, fairly typical for July in Ohio.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQw1Tt7B8lOVs5PZgIj5KdwPuaxdaS0EO5_TlyUxUJMmz6TpFoQG2CCiyC-rs9z-LEznqt-wXNj_5y65aU71V3R2JLK1741MvNI2_s9fZqLgPV7BN58Q_j5Qp3jS0GjiMl1OV2j0Auy5o/s1600/corn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQw1Tt7B8lOVs5PZgIj5KdwPuaxdaS0EO5_TlyUxUJMmz6TpFoQG2CCiyC-rs9z-LEznqt-wXNj_5y65aU71V3R2JLK1741MvNI2_s9fZqLgPV7BN58Q_j5Qp3jS0GjiMl1OV2j0Auy5o/s320/corn.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My garden is not doing so well this year. Everything was planted late, due to weather and travel, so much is behind where I think it usually is. Something is decimating my corn. I have lost about half of it now to something that is knocking the stalks down at night and chewing up the nowhere near ripe corn. And my newly sprouted lettuce and swiss chard seems to be under attack from bunnies. The tomatoes are doing quite well however and I have a lot of green tomatoes on the vines.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71xZLqDAyTJk15AcTUYG8l_SS9el2b1_b2ogveZu59Lm9KzlWAouUhKrT3k5UgYy1z6AxPXYtOuLHGscN1fL1NuM3NqBPIGRwNrc0SQVnBaK0qXB5Xp-qCsTcUh7CPlcS8ecbmikQuLQ/s1600/beesin+corn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71xZLqDAyTJk15AcTUYG8l_SS9el2b1_b2ogveZu59Lm9KzlWAouUhKrT3k5UgYy1z6AxPXYtOuLHGscN1fL1NuM3NqBPIGRwNrc0SQVnBaK0qXB5Xp-qCsTcUh7CPlcS8ecbmikQuLQ/s320/beesin+corn.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last two mornings when I have gone out to inspect the corn I have been amazed at the number of honeybees collecting pollen from the corn tassels. Dozens of them. It creates quite a loud buzzing just above one's head.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was out with the camera to photograph the bees, I was also able to get a quick shot of a great blue heron flying over. There are quite a few around, but you have to be in just the right place at the right time to get a photo. They don't wait around.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1ksHKOgSjhRqtNQizZCVDhAK5lH6yeqRANr8IHogkcU50VvJDvUafn3kvNmeLrvU2-cngE5Xx7JsTTAzmP_J5O4Zy58-f0Sxp9OiMY13cEejGpqusNKigexyWFWCXSu65VlEn9hw4uI/s1600/heron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1ksHKOgSjhRqtNQizZCVDhAK5lH6yeqRANr8IHogkcU50VvJDvUafn3kvNmeLrvU2-cngE5Xx7JsTTAzmP_J5O4Zy58-f0Sxp9OiMY13cEejGpqusNKigexyWFWCXSu65VlEn9hw4uI/s320/heron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other nature news, this week Sam and I have seen some Monarch butterflies on our walks. They used to be so plentiful, but now are rare it seems. While picking blackberries at the pond 2 days ago, I spotted some milkweed on the back side of the dam and I was able to find 3 monarch caterpillars on two different plants, ranging in size from less than half an inch to well over an inch. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMhujGHfcqmUi1h07Gdj-bqX88x8N6Qu5JaTXpXIsijc8CpotJ8XwxU8QoF2VlsJFYfA6Al-dFhRVJl0cfBY4TpO8JZ7hOlHTGl-u9oR5GhFeM9ZSQhIfcxXmgLOeazEL3cwzXzAVg-U/s1600/monarch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMhujGHfcqmUi1h07Gdj-bqX88x8N6Qu5JaTXpXIsijc8CpotJ8XwxU8QoF2VlsJFYfA6Al-dFhRVJl0cfBY4TpO8JZ7hOlHTGl-u9oR5GhFeM9ZSQhIfcxXmgLOeazEL3cwzXzAVg-U/s320/monarch.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I did not have my camera, but went back yesterday to try to find them again. Unfortunately, I was only able to find one and I think it was the smallest one because it was on the same leaf I had seen it on the day before. It was no longer quite so small. however. I hope the others were just being elusive and had not become dinner for a bird.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last weekend Grover and I attended a 3 day agility trial. We had a successful weekend, earning 2 Double Q's and 1 Jumper's Q for a total of 47 points. We now need only 72 points for our MACH title. We will be attending another 2 days of agility at the Dayton Dog Training Club this coming Saturday and Sunday. Fingers crossed we earn some more points!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been too hot many days for me to spend much time in my studio, which has no air-conditioning, so I have not done as much as I would like. I did finish weaving the two selvedge rugs and take them off the loom. I just need to do the hems on them to call them finished. I also warped my smaller loom for a couple of scarves in black and white tencel, which is a shiny rayon-type fiber that is nice to work with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://images4-e.ravelrycache.com/uploads/straightfork/535477617/20180710_105931_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://images4-e.ravelrycache.com/uploads/straightfork/535477617/20180710_105931_medium2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I also spun 2 bobbins of some prepared fiber I purchased last year at the Great Lakes Fiber Show, It is a Merino wool Tencel blend and I am now plying the singles on the two bobbins together for a 2-ply yarn. I really like how the singles look, but I am not sure if I will like the finished yarn as much since the colors will not be separate like they are in the singles. I will likely weave with this yarn.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fFeGt3x4mnBBtD0x96oQDZSZMjK4vyfSe9VLErgv9P-ec1tpxJIHZXiSP2nEKcnRSO3i2CGdtEaLcVn0gbXno-qyslR9P4O7ueUgjGasMdEv7cRNmCVgf6C-dla1ItZwl0oDbP-AO1c/s1600/sheepceramic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fFeGt3x4mnBBtD0x96oQDZSZMjK4vyfSe9VLErgv9P-ec1tpxJIHZXiSP2nEKcnRSO3i2CGdtEaLcVn0gbXno-qyslR9P4O7ueUgjGasMdEv7cRNmCVgf6C-dla1ItZwl0oDbP-AO1c/s320/sheepceramic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I found this cute little sheep at an antique store in Oregon last month. Isn't he cute? He was only $10 and I am pretty sure he is handmade. He's about 8" long is is living on the antique cupboard in my studio. I just love it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also ordered new countertops for my kitchen this past week, for which they are coming to measure in 2 days. That means I need to clear off the countertops, so I have been purging and re-organizing some clutter and unused items in my kitchen. It seems like a good time to do that. I look forward to a new look in the kitchen as it has been 16 years since we put in the current cabinets and counters. I am keeping my custom hickory cabinets, but exchanging laminate countertops for quartz in a totally different color scheme. It is time for a new look.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VgZ2jYGQG8TExiPjb_RAnKxhOAD4-FZrAMbodKj-WCyjl-xiNpQo7r85nIE9hDJLJKdsRcTrup0iaRLvkh_uL7WDkn3HzZF6btuhpKh8AuxbnFNal5S06l4wuhi8hlwWCJVqIrCELno/s1600/morningsky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VgZ2jYGQG8TExiPjb_RAnKxhOAD4-FZrAMbodKj-WCyjl-xiNpQo7r85nIE9hDJLJKdsRcTrup0iaRLvkh_uL7WDkn3HzZF6btuhpKh8AuxbnFNal5S06l4wuhi8hlwWCJVqIrCELno/s320/morningsky.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beautiful morning sky over the studio</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-67393912014930809802018-07-04T12:31:00.001-07:002018-07-04T12:35:33.523-07:00A Respite From the Rain, But the Heat Has Arrived.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSd_EO-31Zw1rShgxAcMpnnZlKd63wt9dRrFPk7lDz9q202LlvxGHAcwt0zd_SSDYUjdgkIr31bvhAvzIXlPQQJSFeqBSToMBwPW7L7nYWgBFJLiNVM5Zm9G6NkahsAFm22jm8o3cQj3g/s1600/grover+osagelog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1109" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSd_EO-31Zw1rShgxAcMpnnZlKd63wt9dRrFPk7lDz9q202LlvxGHAcwt0zd_SSDYUjdgkIr31bvhAvzIXlPQQJSFeqBSToMBwPW7L7nYWgBFJLiNVM5Zm9G6NkahsAFm22jm8o3cQj3g/s400/grover+osagelog.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grover posing atop Osage Orange log</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The lights sticking up are at the end of the bridge</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It does seem for now that the rain has stopped. But first, it had one last hurrah the day after my last post. We had a late afternoon downpour following another couple of days of rain. The ground was just saturated and once the rain actually stopped, we watched as the creek continued to rise until our temporary bridge was completely submerged. The water also knocked over the beams Sam had moved into place for construction of the new bridge just a couple days before. Fortunately, though several of the boards from the temporary bridge came loose and went zipping away with the current, I was able to retrieve and replace most of them once the water went back down the next day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sam finally gave up waiting for the forecast to call for 3 or 4 dry days and he mowed hay a week ago. It was promptly rained upon and he decided to just let it lie. The weeds had pretty well taken over and it was way past prime time for quality hay. This was the first time in 20 years of haymaking that we have lost a field of hay to rain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been trying to keep ahead of the weeds in the garden. I do not use any herbicides or pesticides in my garden and therefore, I have weeds and bugs. I am not convinced that Round up is not harmful to use in your garden and I don't use pesticides because it is detrimental to helpful insects, such as pollinators. Things are doing well. The corn is about waist high, we have lots of little green tomatoes and peppers, there are flowers on the cucumber and pumpkin vines and we have been eating lettuce and arugula. I have been harvesting kale to put into my homemade dog food as well. I planted Swiss chard for that same purpose, but I think there is a bunny who likes Swiss Chard out there. I caught sight of it scurrying away one day. So I planted more chard, hoping it will do better this time. I plan to harvest some basil today and make pesto for dinner tonight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We did our annual alpaca shearing on Sunday. One alpaca. Setting up and then cleaning up took longer than the actual shearing. I remember the years we would spend days shearing and how ecstatic we were when we got down to that <i>last</i> one. In those days, that was really cause for celebration. It was hot, dirty, itchy, smelly work and never have we finished as late as we did this year. Once shorn, I put Truffels the alpaca into the same pasture and barn area as Apples the pony. They are getting acclimated to each other and I will try to get a photo of them together soon.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8K2Zjsi1A5F26l9h-QAgWyB9cxk25fKzoVohIFVU2jiSkiiBAxi9riXM7fXRu4pmYZJlu_wZlXQF6JQbNZlrVTxD1cCHwg7F21hdHs96Z8MXCmRBEuNimis4BSEam3SiaOQj5rynPNH4/s1600/osage+orange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8K2Zjsi1A5F26l9h-QAgWyB9cxk25fKzoVohIFVU2jiSkiiBAxi9riXM7fXRu4pmYZJlu_wZlXQF6JQbNZlrVTxD1cCHwg7F21hdHs96Z8MXCmRBEuNimis4BSEam3SiaOQj5rynPNH4/s320/osage+orange.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This morning, as Grover and I went for our "morning mile" walk, we discovered that a large tree had fallen across the road overnight. It was an osage orange tree, of which we have probably dozens that were planted many many years ago as a natural fenceline along the road. They are a very slow growing tree with very hard yellow wood. You can see the rich yellow color in the photo to the left. The wood really is that yellow. It makes wonderful firewood as it is incredibly dense and will burn slowly all night long. I am pretty sure the tree fell due to the excessive amounts of rain saturating the soil around its roots. Sam and our township trustee and neighbor, Larry, cut it up. Most of it will be used for firewood, but Sam kept the butt log to saw up on his sawmill and see if he can make something with the wood. I requested a cutting board. He said it would last forever.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7W0wDlPPKl1i1w6sBI4wyBIFsrUdD02l57H2M8g0TFOAx-yN5LaUh7beUgsJNu5QLfnH8ImltjAAghsXANAy3umpOBa2DNaqAAkPfXWaZFINjneuEaiWSLcoUmOF1QXdIL7ydQHVCSH0/s1600/chainsawchips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7W0wDlPPKl1i1w6sBI4wyBIFsrUdD02l57H2M8g0TFOAx-yN5LaUh7beUgsJNu5QLfnH8ImltjAAghsXANAy3umpOBa2DNaqAAkPfXWaZFINjneuEaiWSLcoUmOF1QXdIL7ydQHVCSH0/s320/chainsawchips.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The osage orange also makes a very good yellow dye for wool and alpaca. I have used it before so I collected a gallon bag full of the chainsaw chips to use. I will put the chips in an old pantyhose leg and use that like a tea bag in water to make the dye. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3o_POS4x_Gttf9Rn4LMVmY1sfql3lJY15Q5ZryTo9VN9_SFN627pHW4N3nkwJBgidzF5lHD4Fb5eTtFIjpuPDkWRnpTubJ9bpzCtdRku5RVbi4oTWeevWGcLBB4QIUmheolnvbRWW6no/s1600/fleecedrying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3o_POS4x_Gttf9Rn4LMVmY1sfql3lJY15Q5ZryTo9VN9_SFN627pHW4N3nkwJBgidzF5lHD4Fb5eTtFIjpuPDkWRnpTubJ9bpzCtdRku5RVbi4oTWeevWGcLBB4QIUmheolnvbRWW6no/s320/fleecedrying.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe I will use it to dye some of this </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fleece I washed the other day. There is nothing like a hot sunny day to get a fleece to dry quickly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYGigEKEGP9EVWVywM0AikCPFXn4hey8XR7raPzPoYHDcu5C0gOJyxJZVDoI8Vv50I-5cMRiydnj5RKUaVQHYKHOarjziuo6obkPEIRbOlH-E1fQqXmkWRbsofiWNAxO6CSzoEEDGFiw/s1600/studiodressed+looms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYGigEKEGP9EVWVywM0AikCPFXn4hey8XR7raPzPoYHDcu5C0gOJyxJZVDoI8Vv50I-5cMRiydnj5RKUaVQHYKHOarjziuo6obkPEIRbOlH-E1fQqXmkWRbsofiWNAxO6CSzoEEDGFiw/s320/studiodressed+looms.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Before it got so hot, I did get some things done in my studio. I had both my looms "dressed" and in the same place at the same time. Pendleton selvedge rugs on my rug loom and some cotton/linen kitchen towels on the smaller loom. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9fHhi4EUW7S2sbq_u5w3MWI18z2VK3SCR97VTHMXpQLC3yTJIQZ3TWo4nBdH7pMsWG2y2kKYuB1lQdPNwKxu3qjx8KLA5mQRMylhhmUAxfVT7noz-NvI6ZbFnOLg9zVpmCyxJdVUlqg/s1600/Cottolin+towels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9fHhi4EUW7S2sbq_u5w3MWI18z2VK3SCR97VTHMXpQLC3yTJIQZ3TWo4nBdH7pMsWG2y2kKYuB1lQdPNwKxu3qjx8KLA5mQRMylhhmUAxfVT7noz-NvI6ZbFnOLg9zVpmCyxJdVUlqg/s320/Cottolin+towels.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The towels are now off the loom and finished. I have another project planned for that loom, but it will have to wait for cooler weather as I have no air-conditioning in my studio. The only cool time of day right now is early morning and I have to choose between outdoor work and studio work and since the outdoor work seems more important than the fun of studio work, I tend to do it first.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWsitZoIploGKz3t00RTm7-fRrpoIaUY_ZpjM2tbODrcW3Qn_BbkJGjhm8UT82E4bComh0bnGEeIfaFbMwuvd-i1Yf6-7H1VgeyipmLMmP0HKa1mABcV39E4sc-ZpBZHiSJ3trI8AEqo/s1600/studiodogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWsitZoIploGKz3t00RTm7-fRrpoIaUY_ZpjM2tbODrcW3Qn_BbkJGjhm8UT82E4bComh0bnGEeIfaFbMwuvd-i1Yf6-7H1VgeyipmLMmP0HKa1mABcV39E4sc-ZpBZHiSJ3trI8AEqo/s320/studiodogs.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's another view of my studio. One I just love. The boys seem to enjoy being out there with me as much as I enjoy their presence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grover and I are going to have a new adventure this coming weekend. We are going to go "Dock Diving". At least I hope we are. Grover loves to dive off the creek bank and the pond bank, but I am not sure what he will think about leaping into water he can see through. But Dock Diving is coming to a town near us this weekend and I signed us up to try it out. And I have only ever seen it on TV, so it will be fun to be there and see it in real life. Hopefully a friend or two will show up and can video our attempts for posterity!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The weekend after that, Grover and I will be doing 3 days of agility in Niles (Youngstown), Ohio again. We have not been to a trial since the first weekend in June, before our trip to Oregon. We need to try to accumulate some points toward our MACH. Next time I post, I should have an update on that. Wish us luck!</span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-75444178489904858842018-06-22T09:50:00.001-07:002018-06-22T09:50:11.320-07:00Grandbaby & Graduate!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0JLoXYZ4vq0OdJAPleJs6aH_oCDTd4HWRHhHHZsLNx5w9of3NapjBzO5_VpKq8uedwSfZdVOmpevdq-zNSJ84mi0M1cxBpcfR4D0aAR0kCT0vNsbe63Xxmczu3CEKvhxNbNZm-ChOTg/s1600/wilder+and+us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0JLoXYZ4vq0OdJAPleJs6aH_oCDTd4HWRHhHHZsLNx5w9of3NapjBzO5_VpKq8uedwSfZdVOmpevdq-zNSJ84mi0M1cxBpcfR4D0aAR0kCT0vNsbe63Xxmczu3CEKvhxNbNZm-ChOTg/s400/wilder+and+us.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wilder with his Nana and Papa</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally! Sam and I both got to go and meet the beautiful grandbaby whose birth I missed by hours in early May. His name is Wilder James Delmore Redding and he is just wonderful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my last post, we have been busy on the farm. Not as busy as we would like to be because we have had excess amounts of rain, which has kept us from cutting and baling hay and getting to work on replacing bridges that were washed out in last month's flood. Sam should have done hay a month ago, but it is still standing in the field as we need at least 3 consecutive dry days in a row in order to have the hay dry properly and that still has not happened. At this point Sam is debating whether to try to bale it or just cut it and let it lay. That does not bode well for the second cutting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the day before we left for Oregon we lost one of our 2 remaining alpacas. Sadly she was the last of our original stock, and probably my favorite of all of them, Peg. She came to us in 2000 from a farm on the Oregon coast and had many crias for us. I think most of my photos from her are on old flash drives and I need to go through and find some to memorialize her with. That will have to wait for my next post. Peg would have turned 19 this week. We have only one alpaca left, Truffels, who will be 14 this fall. She and Apples and Star are all that are left in the alpaca barn.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztd96uRRDEw9Px1uZHINZK407UxTxg9P-qFagfmesHETujLdGXUR03jzZLjBomJbVvlbhAocUNU2zLpojJ1NstbPGdoLjwisofJZ6rmOj2KA80s4sBIIK4jk9eddLmd-mRuA_-UKx2N8/s1600/tull+concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztd96uRRDEw9Px1uZHINZK407UxTxg9P-qFagfmesHETujLdGXUR03jzZLjBomJbVvlbhAocUNU2zLpojJ1NstbPGdoLjwisofJZ6rmOj2KA80s4sBIIK4jk9eddLmd-mRuA_-UKx2N8/s320/tull+concert.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jethro Tull in the rain with my boys</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our trip to Oregon commenced with flight delays, as usual, which got us into Portland a good 2 hours late. We stayed in Portland that night and the next as we were attending a Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary concert on Saturday with both our sons. I picked up younger son, Sam/Zac/Satchmo at the airport Saturday morning and when I got back to the hotel, Ian and Michelle and baby Wilder were there to meet us. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbBtRo8iY-PWAeYQmsGHSlNk-lstAMeDdOx0OybUd_fMtoMestS8kH3-uxQsdw5dtnnK1FauopzOW14txTbW_9u_pHd3aayXnniaZLGajN3HTDJ-ZZk-YIUCISyAyPyJqeK00v5Ncq6I/s1600/observatory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbBtRo8iY-PWAeYQmsGHSlNk-lstAMeDdOx0OybUd_fMtoMestS8kH3-uxQsdw5dtnnK1FauopzOW14txTbW_9u_pHd3aayXnniaZLGajN3HTDJ-ZZk-YIUCISyAyPyJqeK00v5Ncq6I/s320/observatory.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we went to Corvallis after checking in to our airbnb accommodations near Independence, OR, about 20 minutes from Corvallis. It was hard to find a place to stay in the Corvallis area because most of the hotels were booked due to the Oregon State commencement which we were there to attend. We lucked out with the place we stayed. It was built as a wildlife observatory on a hilltop on 50 acres and had spectacular views in all directions. The owners were great and while we were there they were putting up 3 tipis that they are also going to rent through airbnb. We could see them from our place.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0Di_28zvRpipxIkDcDV7kSXdp4momz_2SFiRUh3TjopjFMUSEYnnHDA7Va-1HUEjeOXr5EM1ne1jqAZDSIQw2DiQ1WOASw6lbOMrgVige7KC9vusblvOFehWIbsoOpXg0-D6seRVOVM/s1600/vieweast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0Di_28zvRpipxIkDcDV7kSXdp4momz_2SFiRUh3TjopjFMUSEYnnHDA7Va-1HUEjeOXr5EM1ne1jqAZDSIQw2DiQ1WOASw6lbOMrgVige7KC9vusblvOFehWIbsoOpXg0-D6seRVOVM/s320/vieweast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also watched a pair of owls hunting in the field below us and sheep being herded in another field a little ways away. The sunsets were spectacular and there was a hot tub on the roof so you could really enjoy them if that was what you wanted to do. We made use of it only one evening and it wasn't the best sunset evening. We will definitely stay here again if Ian and his family stay in Corvallis.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGXnXSWuA8flHL8PyroN-9tQddBxzyfkn0jFb4JIU5iq6wbQ4Vz3Tvq1YB69I8QuxXWlAqosaM9TM-IbLiHZ4PafqRn-fuWvMcI8SadHi0LOEw9HPB-qPI9_2n0EUZckeKzAIrTBL6ZQ/s1600/sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGXnXSWuA8flHL8PyroN-9tQddBxzyfkn0jFb4JIU5iq6wbQ4Vz3Tvq1YB69I8QuxXWlAqosaM9TM-IbLiHZ4PafqRn-fuWvMcI8SadHi0LOEw9HPB-qPI9_2n0EUZckeKzAIrTBL6ZQ/s320/sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Monday I had to drive younger son Sam back to the airport for his flight back to California because he had to work that night. We were just glad he was able to come and attend the concert and meet his nephew. We are so seldom all together as a family anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then on Tuesday evening, I had to go back to the airport yet again and pick up my mom, who would be with us the rest of the trip.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGIFgV01vKLpL219YbX8xEiX9c3oroR-EH7LAUkIP_B5k-IJqKNPzx3AO7Yhns2gTwwg5yx4KaoDaPMsbAzsg1nxZQB0GRyFUFbsBiwvzj04bPuLSiK-HEf7NdMjbUFvIsio5VCncmp0/s1600/hop+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGIFgV01vKLpL219YbX8xEiX9c3oroR-EH7LAUkIP_B5k-IJqKNPzx3AO7Yhns2gTwwg5yx4KaoDaPMsbAzsg1nxZQB0GRyFUFbsBiwvzj04bPuLSiK-HEf7NdMjbUFvIsio5VCncmp0/s320/hop+farm.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Very close to the Observatory was the Rogue Hop Farm and tasting room. It was way out in the country and there were acres and acres and acres of hops. We went there one day for lunch and some craft beer and to check out the hops, as Sam is an avid home brewer and also a hop grower. It was a really fun place, though on a Thursday afternoon there was almost no one there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a good week. We did some hiking, went out to a really nice dinner at a farm to table restaurant (and Ian cooked for us one night), and then Friday was the commencement dinner for the College of Forestry, which appropriately was held in a tent in the college's research forest. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ian and my Mom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am proud to say Ian was awarded "Outstanding Senior" in his major, Recreation Resource Management. I am a proud mom, indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Graduation was the next day. It was held in the football stadium and was a huge event, lasting about 3 hours. Ian and Michelle and Wilder came over to our place for a cookout later that afternoon. It was a really nice day and I am so glad we were able to be there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I think I have mentioned in past posts that I had been working on a "secret" project. That project was my very first quilt. I saw a quilt kit that made me think of Ian and just had to buy it and give it a try. I am very pleased with how it came out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49Kg8csHmR6IaDNtjxpnf0eloQhyphenhyphenZ4Mz-rykNerDil2r7M1D0BGVuX2WrSXclM0FQC7jrfOLdOXhAPVipUVkLLuOCJCwJxwtMAP1aS2z6myjAWmWt8bNZalYQJ3czJ9oTwCrfRVhgO-8/s1600/quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49Kg8csHmR6IaDNtjxpnf0eloQhyphenhyphenZ4Mz-rykNerDil2r7M1D0BGVuX2WrSXclM0FQC7jrfOLdOXhAPVipUVkLLuOCJCwJxwtMAP1aS2z6myjAWmWt8bNZalYQJ3czJ9oTwCrfRVhgO-8/s320/quilt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has a woodland theme and one of the fabrics is a topographical map. The lumberjack applique even looks like Ian. It was fun to make and I like how it turned out. I don't know that I will become a quilter, but now I know I can do it if I want to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was pretty much our trip in a nutshell. We are enthralled with little Wilder and look forward very much to spending more time with him as he grows. It would be nice if there were not so many miles between us, but at least we are in a place in life where we can go visit when we want to. Ian has yet to find a job, and maybe his career will bring them a little closer to us, though they would really prefer to stay in the Pacific northwest. However, they are willing to move if need be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My brother Larry and his two sons stayed here on the farm while we were away. This was truly a twofold blessing as I think the stress of conventional boarding would be extremely detrimental to Rowdy's health His special diet also requires a bit of preparation at mealtimes. I felt so much better leaving him in his own home. And Larry also got to spend quality time with his two sons. So the animals were well cared for, my mind was at peace and Larry and the boys had a great time. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPNgezrzizWClWEeBpN7auwB2aNBHRzZG6Lcg-mWIlC7bfLUZCwlv0Pg0hW2uMEPL-p4HgNZRL7E0kmfCLvHZD3Gu2cjjdrjrqHS7CK4leMizYH3G0_2C6EzHvkvY70vzyUT1D5tAWi4/s1600/bridgeconstruction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPNgezrzizWClWEeBpN7auwB2aNBHRzZG6Lcg-mWIlC7bfLUZCwlv0Pg0hW2uMEPL-p4HgNZRL7E0kmfCLvHZD3Gu2cjjdrjrqHS7CK4leMizYH3G0_2C6EzHvkvY70vzyUT1D5tAWi4/s1600/bridgeconstruction.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are home and have no big travel plans in the foreseeable future. I do have some agility trials upcoming, but the soonest is mid-July. Sam will be going to the Dayton area in a couple weeks to help my brother Larry with a rather large home-improvement project and right now he is trying to get bridges across the creek replaced. Sam is using the I-beams that used to support the larger bridge to replace the foot bridge and he plans to use culvert and cement for the "drive-across" bridge. It would help to get all this work done if it would just stop raining. But I am afraid that when it stops, it will really stop and we will be dry until fall. I would really like a good garden harvest this year. Last year was too cool and wet resulting in a poor tomato and corn crop. I am hoping for better this year. Time will tell.</span><br />
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<br />Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-8634111857229401962018-06-05T09:51:00.001-07:002018-06-05T09:51:53.646-07:00The Big Flood & June Arrives.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfotjheSXdrIf6QFVT-7U66z67HcdSO5GIo4s_KcoDSgBk_kpjotKIzyQwfaEQRpsR7s5Xpytl4zYF4-r3K2grhWGaoc7UzP03SAfWy8uHk6ojVXYMk_Ja54lFqVPPp2xS0G-FmNscd8/s1600/apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfotjheSXdrIf6QFVT-7U66z67HcdSO5GIo4s_KcoDSgBk_kpjotKIzyQwfaEQRpsR7s5Xpytl4zYF4-r3K2grhWGaoc7UzP03SAfWy8uHk6ojVXYMk_Ja54lFqVPPp2xS0G-FmNscd8/s400/apples.jpg" width="366" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least it is less than a month since I last posted. F</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or the past 8+ years</span> I have written my blog posts while I was at our Real Estate office. It was easy to sit at the computer and organize my thoughts and edit photos between phone calls. When we had a lot going on on the farm (as in breeding, raising and taking care of 50+ alpacas and all that that required) I liked to post on a weekly basis, because something was always happening. As we reduced our herd of alpacas I found there was less of interest (at least for me to write about) on a weekly basis and reduced my posts to about every other week. I would like to keep to that schedule, but now that I am no longer captive at the office a couple of days a week I am finding it difficult to sit at the computer for the amount of time required to do a decent job. I think the fact that it is summer also makes it more difficult to commit to the time because there is so much outdoor work to do. As I write this, I can almost <i>hear</i> the weeds growing in the garden!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRe_qBSectRs9CYohiwnyTmCYqtNzQQdFnknfmslmxnrgxEAg0i4AgT3YfKe-u0pQDrxpAMDJlpMW0jx2hbIdKvGDeOyjnlWe5zYSOFLnDZ23ZkiyIlJrjJdyMnPzyIEBmrgFSx6o4DbY/s1600/spinning+on+studiodeck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRe_qBSectRs9CYohiwnyTmCYqtNzQQdFnknfmslmxnrgxEAg0i4AgT3YfKe-u0pQDrxpAMDJlpMW0jx2hbIdKvGDeOyjnlWe5zYSOFLnDZ23ZkiyIlJrjJdyMnPzyIEBmrgFSx6o4DbY/s320/spinning+on+studiodeck.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much has happened since my last post. It got kind of crazy around here for a while. Really crazy, which had nothing to do with the fact that Sam left on a Friday to go to fishing in Canada with three other guys. He has done this before and I felt I could handle things pretty well since we no longer have the office to man or any baby alpacas due. All I had to do was take care of things at home, which was going to require a lot of mowing, planting the garden and weeding, going to agility class on Tuesday night and spending time on my own projects, such as plying some nice alpaca silk yarn, which is what I was doing in the photo above on Sunday afternoon after a nice long walk. Little did I know that in just over 48 hours, the view from this deck would change quite a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Tuesday, I left in the evening for the 1 hour drive to Parkersburg for agility class which goes from 7 to about 8:20 pm. It was a nice evening and there were possible thunderstorms in the forecast, which is a common evening occurrence at this time of year in Ohio. When I headed home from class around 8:30 it was still light but it looked dark off to the north which was the direction I was going. As I got closer to home, it got darker and darker and there was a lot of lightning going on. About 2/3 of the way home, it started to rain and it rained like I have rarely experienced, and it was truly frightening. The water started covering the roads and I was very happy indeed to be driving a big Ram 4 X 4. I just wanted to get home. I drove through a couple of sketchy places without issue, but when I got to the beaver pond, less than a mile from home, I stopped and contemplated whether I should continue on or turn around and take the high road, which would add 5 miles to my drive. It was dark. It was raining, and the water was rushing across the road and it looked deep. It didn't take long for common sense to prevail, and I backed up to a place I could turn around and went the long, safe way home.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiZONxn4VJuO0kxkCdxCXNGD5wKfEOXlNHQwzLLCmEYdvL3KjehAKPIMJ02G_5bL_RMW6zFF30LSy8yqXuwmoh-srKunagZoUEoN5lCgjnIKdlEvanfHh1cS1eAoE9ZavI7Hyty4QpQw/s1600/duringcoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiZONxn4VJuO0kxkCdxCXNGD5wKfEOXlNHQwzLLCmEYdvL3KjehAKPIMJ02G_5bL_RMW6zFF30LSy8yqXuwmoh-srKunagZoUEoN5lCgjnIKdlEvanfHh1cS1eAoE9ZavI7Hyty4QpQw/s320/duringcoop.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I found when I got home was incredible. I drove past the house to see how high the water had gotten and saw it was up running through the poly-shelter where we keep our tractors and trailers and various other machinery and equipment. This had only happened once before when we were hit with the tail of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. That time we got about 5" of rain in one day. And all this had just occurred in less than 2 hours! I parked the truck and went on foot out to see how high the water had gotten. It was 10 pm and quite dark and the rain had let up, but it was still coming down pretty hard. This was what I saw as I looked across the creek toward the chicken coop. The water had already receded somewhat, but the chicken coop looked wrong. It had actually been picked up and turned 180 degrees! Both our bridges were gone, so there was no way to go over and look more closely. As I passed my newly planted (now flooded garden), I heard a sharp hissing noise above the sound of rushing water and I feared a gas line break, so I returned to the house for a flashlight and went to inspect further. Where the line from the gas wells goes into the pressure tank before going to the house there was indeed a leak, caused by a valve breaking open when the pressure take was moved off the blocks it sat on by the force of the water. This really worried me because Sam was away and I have no idea how to repair a major break in a gas line. And it was after 10 pm at night. So I formed a plan for morning, had a nice glass of whiskey and went to bed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbXcQgHIGZRftCveJ_H91YGERJPsOf3UVXLKxmnpOs5875KhoYQV8fQ02d1rc8Fzac4xA6YQSnPGtNEjrB1BfDw9FQy7BBJkBgt5jeTzGd93ErD1fSbCA7qB93Q5qJS0oFKDf66Y9o2I/s1600/hayrake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbXcQgHIGZRftCveJ_H91YGERJPsOf3UVXLKxmnpOs5875KhoYQV8fQ02d1rc8Fzac4xA6YQSnPGtNEjrB1BfDw9FQy7BBJkBgt5jeTzGd93ErD1fSbCA7qB93Q5qJS0oFKDf66Y9o2I/s320/hayrake.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By morning, the waters had receded greatly, as they usually do. The water runs downhill, for the most part, to the Ohio River about 30 miles away and it does go down as quickly as it comes up. But we had had so many of these drenching downpours this spring that the ground was saturated and, according to the local weatherman, we had gotten over 2.6" of rain in under 2 hours. The water had come up under our deck on the house and washed all kinds of debris out from under it. It had run through my gardens. It had washed away both bridges. It had picked up our hay rake and put it in a tree in the creek (the hitch end is circled in blue in the photo, the rest is buried in debris or underwater). It had run through the barn where Apples the pony and our last 2 alpacas and Star the guard dog live. Thankfully our power never went out. However, I had to get the gas back on. I called the local gas and oil baron who has several gas/oil wells leased on our property, though not the one in question. He was kind enough to send the guys who do his well maintenance out to my place and they had things fixed up in no time. They were able to find everything they needed in Sam's supply of fittings and they used our tractor to lift the pressure tank back up onto its blocks. It was very nice of him to help me out, especially since Sam was not due back for 4 more days and I didn't relish having no hot water for that long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgYj3i813zMIRUXgSnVWzMM9vdN4E_RTtnWjnSScUZ5mIACxpS9SW-XkGGOtnpef4pjgPG4rMEvXsSLPOVvMlrU5r-XKJKEeeJrq441HEnypf9GWxUTEV-Q2sjQXDE55ethWdYwhjx4Q/s1600/aftermathchickencoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgYj3i813zMIRUXgSnVWzMM9vdN4E_RTtnWjnSScUZ5mIACxpS9SW-XkGGOtnpef4pjgPG4rMEvXsSLPOVvMlrU5r-XKJKEeeJrq441HEnypf9GWxUTEV-Q2sjQXDE55ethWdYwhjx4Q/s320/aftermathchickencoop.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this photo, you can see the footbridge in 2 pieces on the far bank of the creek, one right next to the creek and the other above the pile of debris a little further down.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcD7XMoAG-qyYzQaB70_FzAbupagTbvmMKZJ8tB306XNQTRurU1OH7XbI52Cj7uGZbippIEyud_cWXVTxqgFijjxYyYSYKTKkYXWSsCAdY4Pw2_1sKbvDatELeofOpqRQ40tRFCiWWa0/s1600/no+more+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcD7XMoAG-qyYzQaB70_FzAbupagTbvmMKZJ8tB306XNQTRurU1OH7XbI52Cj7uGZbippIEyud_cWXVTxqgFijjxYyYSYKTKkYXWSsCAdY4Pw2_1sKbvDatELeofOpqRQ40tRFCiWWa0/s320/no+more+bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another shot of where the larger bridge used to be. One metal I-beam is still underwater and the other is exposed. In the left bottom corner is where one end of the bridge used to be. Part of the footbridge is up on the far bank.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8HwyQLeawebEjO67D-Bo8QACrK5T6qpHciP_3ySuCTrifzM5AmlqGsXWVgwZahnoDxh7DyQbUBzOLit9rIdhFPI3VF3bV1NCAyhNzrJcZNIUULnnMY0T8fzoboEcFWXu996nSe918-g/s1600/no+bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8HwyQLeawebEjO67D-Bo8QACrK5T6qpHciP_3ySuCTrifzM5AmlqGsXWVgwZahnoDxh7DyQbUBzOLit9rIdhFPI3VF3bV1NCAyhNzrJcZNIUULnnMY0T8fzoboEcFWXu996nSe918-g/s320/no+bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same view from the other side of the creek a little later in the day. The water has receded a lot.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWr-M3u-y8XZhUH8HrxyHRGFPwcUaFy3hpB9RyDeEMyi16CDp5ThXFRhgCyyxNQPaNp1Mh3FffFvuJKkUPI-kOs6acbEK48yCkvvoxIYXHacCoijrDBr1chj6dIDx-iBZOnVIvGXT6jA/s1600/creek+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWr-M3u-y8XZhUH8HrxyHRGFPwcUaFy3hpB9RyDeEMyi16CDp5ThXFRhgCyyxNQPaNp1Mh3FffFvuJKkUPI-kOs6acbEK48yCkvvoxIYXHacCoijrDBr1chj6dIDx-iBZOnVIvGXT6jA/s320/creek+after.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later the in the day the day after the storm, I got the tractor out and hitched up the portion of the footbridge that was parallel to the creek and dragged one end across so that I would be able to cross the creek without wading. This is something I need to do at least twice a day since we have animals on that side of the creek.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chickens were a bit confused about how to get back into their coop, since their entry door was now on the opposite side of the building. Their enclosure was no longer enclosing their yard. I keep visualizing the wild ride they must have had when the water picked that coop up and swung it around. I think the only thing that stopped it from going further was the buried electric line that goes into it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once Sam got home Sunday, we got busy . There is still clean up to do and bridges need to be rebuilt. But the hay rake is out of the tree and appears to be repairable and the chicken coop has been returned to its proper place and the fence fixed. There was a lot of damage to a fence in a pasture across the road from our other house as well and Sam has repaired that already. Hopefully it will be <i>at least</i> another 14 years before we experience this much flooding again.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnEnxjd8yuHkjKN9jte0Zkz6W3-tsm1SUbLMe4fq5-i1G4sbOPkCqFSg-4FvPrB7RQdGlGehjMAJ3ZazVEqLQurI2wE7vxJYj6VzyLHydQo5bsnb3cGMqFrEU6fnNmy0tnIc03glsf7g/s1600/34122477_10204763906695173_6002401617192681472_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="783" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnEnxjd8yuHkjKN9jte0Zkz6W3-tsm1SUbLMe4fq5-i1G4sbOPkCqFSg-4FvPrB7RQdGlGehjMAJ3ZazVEqLQurI2wE7vxJYj6VzyLHydQo5bsnb3cGMqFrEU6fnNmy0tnIc03glsf7g/s320/34122477_10204763906695173_6002401617192681472_n.jpg" width="261" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other news, Grover and I attended a 3 day agility trial near Youngstown, Ohio this past weekend, where we earned our <b>QQ # 20!!!!!</b> We also got another QQ and a Jumpers Q and earned 50 MACH points. We now need 119 points to earn our MACH title. It is within reach. I am SO excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our next trial will be at the same venue, but not until the middle of July. This weekend Sam and I are heading to Oregon to meet our new grandson and to attend the graduation of our son, Ian, from Oregon State University, with a bachelors degree from the College of Forestry in Recreation Resource Management and a minor in Geographic Information Science. We are so incredibly proud of his accomplishments and are very much looking forward to our trip We will be joined for a short time by our other son, Sam/Zac/Satchmo and also my mother.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-13897392298981375042018-05-17T04:40:00.000-07:002018-05-17T04:40:01.579-07:00And A Month Passes......<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of Grover's greatest joys in life, diving after rocks.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will blame my tardiness in writing a new post on life changes and just generally being away from a computer with a keyboard. A lot has happened in the past month, two of which are changes that are truly major events in just about anyone's life, I think. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvpseMD5Nvdez-i3XECI5jb9C8GHWACn3DOZKOOtQ7G3CY_hKcjoBAcniMCXTCf988qRB-PVlrE_hRN3AIaHnDmZa20syvZY8y6ZUzhnu4RrJORwvAvRB1u0uG8SksWM5gcJ9oK4dP_U/s1600/IanWilder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRvpseMD5Nvdez-i3XECI5jb9C8GHWACn3DOZKOOtQ7G3CY_hKcjoBAcniMCXTCf988qRB-PVlrE_hRN3AIaHnDmZa20syvZY8y6ZUzhnu4RrJORwvAvRB1u0uG8SksWM5gcJ9oK4dP_U/s320/IanWilder.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The most amazing, of course, was the birth of our very first grandchild, Wilder James Delmore Redding. He was born at 8:43 am on Wednesday, May 2nd, just as I was lining up to board my flight home from Oregon, where I had been for the past week, expecting his arrival. However, the induction procedure was postptoned a couple of times, and even though I changed my return travel arrangements and stayed 2 days longer than planned, I missed actually getting to meet him. But he is here now and he is healthy and my son and daughter-in-law are totally infatuated with him and all is good. I will be returning to Oregon for son Ian's graduation from Oregon State in about 3 weeks, so I will get to meet baby Wilder then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other big life change is of course our retiring from our Real Estate business. It is now real and it has been over a month since I went in to our office for anything other than to clean things out and bring them home. I always did my blog posts from our office, as I generally had time to spend organizing photos and my thoughts while I was there. So it seems odd to be doing it at home. We are still in the process of cleaning out years worth of accumulated "stuff" at the office and the building itself is for sale. Sam is doing most of the cleaning out of old records and office supplies, etc. For my part, my loom room is totally empty now and my studio at home is now quite full.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_LBwWLmB9x7d6tSOQJMawx0RZUvJHvMYk88EcEGuQDOoQ8IhA1VTex4899TUAchRQXh8ldS8qktk13IvkjpUnw8uSRwXmIvGHmI2Xvkil6Av1I-O-YL42MoDRV8DVXLQa73IMmS_8io/s1600/studio1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_LBwWLmB9x7d6tSOQJMawx0RZUvJHvMYk88EcEGuQDOoQ8IhA1VTex4899TUAchRQXh8ldS8qktk13IvkjpUnw8uSRwXmIvGHmI2Xvkil6Av1I-O-YL42MoDRV8DVXLQa73IMmS_8io/s320/studio1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I now have almost everything all in one place. Sadly, however, since it is now full on spring and outdoor work season and it stays light so late, I am finding little time to work on projects in my studio. And when I have had time to get out there, I have been working on a super-secret project, about which I will post later.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQZ7rqf6Mw_4eij64aI3nV6qC89miiiLLyPV7NGOnnO242bssqSOUa81EDMj6bR6MAJpdlk3LSLukB1QNXVTJRhCWEd_EdfuF8MGL0py3WUEj96Wjk8lhoQU8OhC6jG5QEzLeMhVmiqY/s1600/groverribbons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQZ7rqf6Mw_4eij64aI3nV6qC89miiiLLyPV7NGOnnO242bssqSOUa81EDMj6bR6MAJpdlk3LSLukB1QNXVTJRhCWEd_EdfuF8MGL0py3WUEj96Wjk8lhoQU8OhC6jG5QEzLeMhVmiqY/s320/groverribbons.jpg" width="238" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grover and I have attended two agility trials since my last post, one right before my Oregon trip in April. This was a 3 day trial put on in Zanesville by my club and we did not have a very good weekend. Out of 10 runs, we only had one Q. Most of our runs were good, but it takes only one little mistake to miss out on qualifying. But this past weekend we attended a trial in Dayton at a facility we had never been to before and we had a pretty great weekend. Only 4 runs over 2 days and we had 3 Qs, including QQ #19 on Saturday. We came SO close to getting our 20th QQ on Sunday, but at the end of a perfect jumper's run, I pulled up too soon, causing Grover to hesitate just enough to knock the very last bar. Talk about frustrating! Grover also was 3rd place both days in standard, which rarely happens. There were very few border collies at this trial. They are always way faster than we are! Doesn't he look happy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our next trial is the first weekend in June, right before we go to Oregon.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNgU1mBtvoW-4w7yeXoRLyLXjBiy9oefBbZQgc0xEXxWk2Xd2UvoESy9Cz1vAUG-yh7iTCzIBLCBUJyfaNw6_VxdLk1OqLmiKmCjNoMiqjJjaku_PTXKKfRW5aY1LPlI1ZNRzIzTFc18/s1600/bees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNgU1mBtvoW-4w7yeXoRLyLXjBiy9oefBbZQgc0xEXxWk2Xd2UvoESy9Cz1vAUG-yh7iTCzIBLCBUJyfaNw6_VxdLk1OqLmiKmCjNoMiqjJjaku_PTXKKfRW5aY1LPlI1ZNRzIzTFc18/s320/bees.jpg" width="297" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Sam and I have been working on getting the gardens in. So far tomato, pepper, basil, parsley, oregano and thyme plants have gone in. I have also planted seeds for Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, beets, cukes, butternut squash and pumpkins. I still need to plant corn and would like to get some sweet potatoes and onions in as well. We are harvesting asparagus and the garlic has come up. Sam has hunted for morels with some success, but nothing like last year's bumper crop. The bees are doing well and I hope to get a honey harvest before too long. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As far as fibery stuff, we have two old alpacas who need to be shorn at some point. The set up and clean up will take longer than the shearing! I still have a lightweight cardigan sweater on my needles, but have not been working on it a lot due to what seems to be tendonitis in my right elbow. I am down to part of one sleeve to finish and I will be done. I would like to finish it before our Oregon trip. I also have some cotton/linen towels in blue and white on my small loom. They will be so nice. I haven't used the linen blend for towels before and I like weaving with it. The blue and white check is rather classic. I like it. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c00GtwcyqLXNGd8pFyJKrjtTIO3E1ceCL1cAjEu_WX1aPjU4c8h-gDgm2CG3xCdqfmtti38fFtoPzoPJEve4KbO9LRwYH7RpY-aIZXj-dRqmtkGd1iCPibVxaH_KszugO7hL2d81t3c/s1600/selvedges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1c00GtwcyqLXNGd8pFyJKrjtTIO3E1ceCL1cAjEu_WX1aPjU4c8h-gDgm2CG3xCdqfmtti38fFtoPzoPJEve4KbO9LRwYH7RpY-aIZXj-dRqmtkGd1iCPibVxaH_KszugO7hL2d81t3c/s320/selvedges.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I need to put a rug warp on the big loom and weave some more selvedge rugs. I almost forgot to add that I bought 40# of Pendleton wool selvedges on my trip to Oregon last month and checked 30 pounds of them through as baggage on my flight home. Thank you Southwest no fee baggage policies! I couldn't fit the other 10 pounds in my dad's old army duffel, so will get them next month. That should hold me for a while, I think.</span></div>
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<br />Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-6766002325175362372018-04-18T11:30:00.001-07:002018-04-18T11:30:39.740-07:00Still Cold! And Big Changes.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_OW7tHqrsPiHAkmfM3ovmP0lKwxpy45dYXebniZdJ8O37vll-rrdDA9tPL9lT2uosPuBraByNbs8jGaLGogg6fztlKS_1_S5T7gtlrUETalYKGLhTddvGMoGinreDSBlw43dsYiWxU0/s1600/rowdyrug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_OW7tHqrsPiHAkmfM3ovmP0lKwxpy45dYXebniZdJ8O37vll-rrdDA9tPL9lT2uosPuBraByNbs8jGaLGogg6fztlKS_1_S5T7gtlrUETalYKGLhTddvGMoGinreDSBlw43dsYiWxU0/s400/rowdyrug.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I let Rowdy lay on the Pendleton wool rug I am mailing to son Sam/Zac/Satchmo in California. I thought he might like to know a bit of Rowdy is there. Rowdy was a puppy the summer between Zac's high school graduation and college, so he and Zac have a special relationship. Rowdy will be 13 on the 30th of this month. Last fall I wasn't sure he would be here for that birthday. But he continues on, for which I am glad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both rugs are finished. Zac's is packaged for mailing tomorrow and Ian's will accompany me when I fly to Oregon in just a few days. Baby has not put in his appearance yet, but it should happen any day now! The package with the baby wrap and the 12m size sweater was received and the parents to be seemed very happy with both. I understand wrapping has been practiced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my last post, the weather has been mostly quite cold still. We did have 3 days that were nice last week, even into the 80's one day, but then right back into the freezer we went. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact it was warm enough that the bees were out flying everywhere. I have been feeding them sugar water, a quart every other day or so, but I will stop that as soon as the weather stays a little warmer and more things start to bloom. I want honey made with nectar, <i>not </i>sugar water.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25YveITLOeop1txqpbeqwqRc9nLpWdgp8htqiBgt5PpJAUC2UbNwyV-YnaVznkP74CVjVwNXWcKCqyUoKHs1QQ0nkvL51SjC88qtvqJ5Y-lwSPEb0oN4JrU4VLC1NcL4u3H_uuSygvHE/s1600/groverflowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25YveITLOeop1txqpbeqwqRc9nLpWdgp8htqiBgt5PpJAUC2UbNwyV-YnaVznkP74CVjVwNXWcKCqyUoKHs1QQ0nkvL51SjC88qtvqJ5Y-lwSPEb0oN4JrU4VLC1NcL4u3H_uuSygvHE/s320/groverflowers.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flowers have bloomed, but in general I think everything is behind. Monday, it snowed. Today it is near 50. It was 26 degrees when I awoke this morning and we had a heavy frost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> So I have been spending a lot of time indoors. Last week I tore down my big loom, which had been at our office since I bought it 6 or 7 years ago, and moved it home and put it in my studio. I also brought almost everything else from the loom room at our office home and there is still some organizing that needs to be done. There is a large storage cabinet that needs to be moved from the office, and all its contents are in boxes waiting for it to be moved in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday I gave the big loom, Mira (the model of the loom), a good cleaning and conditioning and reassembled it. Sam was able to make some improvements to the brake system on Mira, which I had contemplated replacing while I had the loom apart. Now I think I may not need to do that. Once I get a warp on Mira I will be able to tell. This loom was built in the 1940's and I would like to keep it as original as I can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason for clearing out my loom room at the office is that after 20 years, we have decided to close our Real Estate business and retire. It seems like such a huge step, but then again, it just seems like yet another change. Life has been a series of changes for Sam and myself. We have not been afraid to take on new things, and it has worked out well for us. We feel very fortunate that the choices we have made and the chances we have taken have led us to this place in our life together. We have been greatly blessed in so many ways. At then end of this month, our business will officially be closed. My studio was built last year with that in mind since there was no place in our house that would house Mira, my rug loom. So it appears that I will now have a lot of time for weaving, gardening, doing dog agility and hiking in the woods and maybe some horseback riding....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of dog agility, Grover and I attended 1 day of a trial last Friday and earned our QQ18! This weekend, we will spend 3 days bar hopping in Zanesville. And then on Tuesday I will be off to Oregon for 6 days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0JYG-ke34R3TD7gAPW_-t_0k3ih3GyZ-yP4BfkJTVtrFOvOYKldvlP_LPqawFnruihB7k6gMYJo6zKFfHnHxCBgS2K5_i_Z0fj51tWGZAgkaZ3kYbqrH5ukVYsxVHTs3kPa-v26Ak2M/s1600/alpsilkyarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0JYG-ke34R3TD7gAPW_-t_0k3ih3GyZ-yP4BfkJTVtrFOvOYKldvlP_LPqawFnruihB7k6gMYJo6zKFfHnHxCBgS2K5_i_Z0fj51tWGZAgkaZ3kYbqrH5ukVYsxVHTs3kPa-v26Ak2M/s320/alpsilkyarn.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lightweight cardigan is still on my knitting needles, though I have given it a break while I work on a kind of secret project. Something totally new for me. Details to be revealed at a later date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also plied 2 bobbins of hand dyed, handspun alpaca/silk yarn. I LOVE how this came out. I have 600 yards in this one skein, that is about 4 1/2 ounces. And I still have 2 bobbins to ply. I am not sure what this will become, but it may need to be a big lace shawl. Whatever it becomes, it needs to be something spectacular!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the next time I post, I should be a grandmother! I should say I will be a "Nana" as that is what I will be called, following in the footsteps of some great women I have had the pleasure to know (and be related to!). </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-60955145644617028852018-04-05T08:14:00.000-07:002018-04-05T08:14:54.832-07:00April's Here, But it Sure Doesn't Feel Like It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg017NFLfa2PUaaJBCf8rL873HCuy-rTMkreD6XPggNQpkTTWB9whJ9xec4gK6t8WAQt7Z2QShyphenhyphenCLDbAeaM2qd1TgsSk8cZ9YbGeSXumQQynifh1gdp1nK6Z20JEn0E_kZVJqqVUudgU74/s1600/creek1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg017NFLfa2PUaaJBCf8rL873HCuy-rTMkreD6XPggNQpkTTWB9whJ9xec4gK6t8WAQt7Z2QShyphenhyphenCLDbAeaM2qd1TgsSk8cZ9YbGeSXumQQynifh1gdp1nK6Z20JEn0E_kZVJqqVUudgU74/s400/creek1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly I have no cute dog or pony photos this week. First, I have been away from home a lot due to some family issues, and second, the weather has not been at all conducive to carrying a camera around outside. We have had rain and snow and more rain and the temperatures have been everywhere from the mid 20's to the mid 50's over the last couple of weeks. And there has been wind. So really somewhat typical March weather. Why is it I always think March means springtime? But it really <i>is</i> April....</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkfleMmSJBjtQL1rYu5j6nXATNsFIQDyfNYPMcuxuA2gcI1loh7OkEKDGWSRvc76JbEZeV9hAQxExzEzA1ETQwjWDyYYZY2KqdokcOUObv0GWIg1gpMPmkjT_Jxod3SzcdBpYayyA9EE/s1600/creek2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkfleMmSJBjtQL1rYu5j6nXATNsFIQDyfNYPMcuxuA2gcI1loh7OkEKDGWSRvc76JbEZeV9hAQxExzEzA1ETQwjWDyYYZY2KqdokcOUObv0GWIg1gpMPmkjT_Jxod3SzcdBpYayyA9EE/s320/creek2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took several photos Tuesday morning as we were once again being inundated with heavy rain. This rain was falling on ground that was already saturated from previous days of rain. In the photo above, the big bridge, which has suffered serious damage this winter, can still be seen but is almost under water. A few minutes later, it is entirely submerged.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are cascades of water running down the hill behind the house (and across the road and...). The water was up into the chicken yard. The small structure with the green roof on the left is the chicken coop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By late Tuesday afternoon, the rain had stopped and the sun was even peeking out from time to time. On Tuesday evenings I drive about 45 miles each way to Parkersburg WV for agility class with Grover. It usually takes me just under an hour over township, county and state roads. I travel through 4 counties and 2 states. I knew there was likely to be high water and maybe some road wash outs when I left a little early for class. I also had some errands I wanted to run before class in Marietta. I took a detour to avoid the township roads I thought might be in bad shape, only to find a "Road Closed" sign when I got to the state highway. So I backtracked to a county road and took it several miles to another state highway which took me back to the one with the closed sign, but several miles further to the south, knowing I would avoid one specific spot prone to flooding. Once back on track, I drove through one short stretch of water over the road, maybe 20' wide, a few miles on. After another couple of miles, I came around a bend and saw nothing but water for probably 300 yards. I was driving a big 4 X 4 pick up truck, but that was it. I figured if the road was flooded here, it would be even worse farther ahead. I backed up until I could turn my truck around and Grover and I headed for home. I was gone for over an hour and covered more than 50 miles and ended up where I started. I found out after the fact that the state highway I was on was closed for its entire distance in Noble county, which is probably 15 miles of my usual route. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that the beavers down the road on the national forest land are no longer in residence. About a month ago, the rain washed out part of their dam, draining the pond. In the past, they have been quick to repair these breaches and this time I have seen no such work being done. I don't know if they moved somewhere else or if something happened to them. It makes me very sad. I know I only actually saw the beavers 3 or 4 times over the last 3 years, but watching what they did was fascinating. They had turned what was a neglected, overgrown hayfield into a wetland environment complete with new types of wildlife. I will continue to watch for their return.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I have an agility seminar coming up this Saturday, near Columbus, after which we will go to spend a few days with my mom. Then next Friday we will return to the same venue for just one day of an agility trial. We will also attend our club's 3 day agility trial in Zanesville the weekend of April 20, 21, and 22. And on the 24th of April, I fly back out to Oregon, hoping to meet my new grandson, who is due right around that time. This month is going to be very busy! It is such an exciting time for my family.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsUqQW6x0ursMmOsGN4t2InMC5V7cwcKB3-j6EsVt3RNg2cjtnhFhd46U8_FRYyliojeBGwgfVvKeKtNDOhNNca9wyQYswb-TjFp8Ha698tK3NS4tkPcIKG2w5ml4OQo2vJnmh4UtnE0/s1600/rugstart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsUqQW6x0ursMmOsGN4t2InMC5V7cwcKB3-j6EsVt3RNg2cjtnhFhd46U8_FRYyliojeBGwgfVvKeKtNDOhNNca9wyQYswb-TjFp8Ha698tK3NS4tkPcIKG2w5ml4OQo2vJnmh4UtnE0/s320/rugstart.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finished weaving the Pendleton selvedge rugs I was planning when I posted last. They went <i>very </i>quickly with those selvedges and were really fun to weave. I love how they came out . Aren't the colors wonderful? These are Grand Canyon and Crate Lake national park blanket colors. Both my sons and my daughter-in-law spent one entire winter on the south rim of the Grand Canyon working in the lodges there a few years ago. Ian and his wife have also been to Crater Lake, so there is some significance besides the colors being fabulous. . Both rugs are 28" wide and one is 48" long and the other 42". I need to sew the hems on the ends and they will be ready to use. I will be taking one with me to Oregon in a couple weeks for son Ian and the other will be sent to California to son Sam/Zac/Satchmo. </span><br />
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<br />Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-19880440969905899402018-03-22T07:45:00.001-07:002018-03-22T07:48:29.416-07:00Still in Winter's Grip<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rowdy took a short walk with Grover and me last week</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This time of year it gets so difficult to keep dealing with cold nasty weather. We seem to forget from one year to the next that the arrival of March does not mean the arrival of spring-like weather, or at least not permanently. I know I get my hopes up for warm sunny days spent outside getting the garden ready and walking the dogs without mittens, but in reality, while those days do exist, they are rare and fleeting in March. We have had a couple of those days, and then we have days like this.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8g-1K5ChvAcG4US6RLC5A8CDiinuwHUdljNoI3eAaPKN7ghQltx8i2WQG69sVS2bIm2iB5xtlA8CegJ_QGVjDVuQvSbWG7FTLRn24iMRN5nsthre6S9NDmsJqnsYgObSW5-HFvDxcUA/s1600/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8g-1K5ChvAcG4US6RLC5A8CDiinuwHUdljNoI3eAaPKN7ghQltx8i2WQG69sVS2bIm2iB5xtlA8CegJ_QGVjDVuQvSbWG7FTLRn24iMRN5nsthre6S9NDmsJqnsYgObSW5-HFvDxcUA/s320/snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was just yesterday morning. I think we got off light, though, because the east coast got pretty hammered with snow. One friend near Philly posted a photo of 15". So I won't complain too much, but I am SO ready to be done with overnight temperatures in the 20's. However, the forecast does not show much in the way of warming up for several more days. It will come, spring. It always has in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since my last post, Grover and I have had 4 days of agility trialing over two consecutive weekends. Our first weekend was okay, with 2 qualifying runs out of 6 and no QQs. Our second weekend was much better, with 4 qualifying runs out of 6 and our 17th QQ. We also had good times on our runs and brought our point total up to 535. We're getting close to that 20 QQ/750 point goal! It is so exciting and I am very proud of the GroverGator. We will have another 4 days of agility coming up in April.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-JRfUa4xR_VNLNAwJ7aLrDW2C18wDDDCFUZoVj9DvKEcd1I2jBCWXn5H3QWrKrzEkIDets4WcvNrgnp01nEI3YOXBH5MkPpAy5HPsy4Y6HoGblDi0Tz_uwOS1iQUyY9RukQHTPYr9oo/s1600/slider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-JRfUa4xR_VNLNAwJ7aLrDW2C18wDDDCFUZoVj9DvKEcd1I2jBCWXn5H3QWrKrzEkIDets4WcvNrgnp01nEI3YOXBH5MkPpAy5HPsy4Y6HoGblDi0Tz_uwOS1iQUyY9RukQHTPYr9oo/s320/slider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV88Ggp8cXyiesit6H7xau3GkuSQESu52LN9CoWeTEqJJ2feQRKBWReMaJsdeEBGUloi2xW_g_YLDUXFe_HfQO0W1Ww-H_0Mjy0HFjuLV-_B2vbtQik3wR1Ee10kcktA5yZyWKxDVca0/s1600/vanity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV88Ggp8cXyiesit6H7xau3GkuSQESu52LN9CoWeTEqJJ2feQRKBWReMaJsdeEBGUloi2xW_g_YLDUXFe_HfQO0W1Ww-H_0Mjy0HFjuLV-_B2vbtQik3wR1Ee10kcktA5yZyWKxDVca0/s320/vanity.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sam has been working very hard this winter to turn one large bathroom in the guest house into 2 bathrooms. He is pretty much finished. This photo is the wall that he built to divide the space. He put a closet with shelves up against the back of the shower stall that is in the "new" bathroom, which is en suite with one of the bedrooms. He was trying to decide how to make the doors and I suggested a sliding barn style door. He built this beautiful door with lumber he cut from a pine log that he had sitting out next to his sawmill. It came out so well!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This bathroom also got a new vanity, which I purchased before we decided on the sliding door or I might have chosen a lighter color. But I'm okay with it. Both bathrooms have fresh new drywall and ceramic tile flooring. Such a huge improvement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sam pulled the taps on the maples last weekend. We never got another run, due to that very warm snap we had a couple of weeks ago. The sap never really ran again after that sadly. So once again, we will not have any syrup to sell, but we did get a couple of gallons for ourselves and family. Maybe next year will be better. I hope so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I finished a few projects recently, including this hat. I also finished the baby sweater and the woven baby wrap. My son and daughter-in-law know about these things, but I won't post photos until after I send them to them so that they will have a little bit of a surprise, just in case they read this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have started knitting a lightweight summery cardigan for myself and I plan to start warping my rug loom today to weave the Pendleton selvedge rugs. I would like to take one with me to Oregon in a few weeks and I would also like to see if I like weaving with them enough to acquire more of them while I am in Oregon. I'm quite looking forward to getting to work on them. These selvedges are quite different than anything I have ever woven with before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And just to prove we have had some nice days, here are Grover and the chickens enjoying the sunshine, just the day before the snow in the earlier photo.</span><br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-39295095302163823722018-03-08T09:04:00.000-08:002018-03-08T09:04:03.374-08:00Oops, February Got Away From Me.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIANPuwY0N0i9BSzCRowqpQ7bJbLaQdsvyObXrO35X2NN9N32wXfH4jAuRUKgAjT9Izxqbg1VEZzXNZT9EYuzeJhpxGp9MhEpHSVZEPZK3tLOrooFKCZoon3NzOvTy2dY1h6me3tz7T4/s1600/apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIANPuwY0N0i9BSzCRowqpQ7bJbLaQdsvyObXrO35X2NN9N32wXfH4jAuRUKgAjT9Izxqbg1VEZzXNZT9EYuzeJhpxGp9MhEpHSVZEPZK3tLOrooFKCZoon3NzOvTy2dY1h6me3tz7T4/s400/apples.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apples is always happy to see me!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I guess that's what happens when one is busy. All of a sudden I realize that February is over and I have done only one post. I have excuses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A week after my last post, I flew out to Oregon to visit my son and daughter-in-law and attend a baby shower being given for their baby boy who is expected in about 7 weeks. It was a really nice shower and Ian and Michelle should be well set up for their little one when he arrives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had woven a baby blanket in Portland Timbers colors using a cotton and linen yarn, so it should be nice for a spring baby. Easy care as well. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8UbINqAJXwbonmS5i_FRiTv61X2LQl_oLFTYnV1jvT9CPN_foo_WOk3pdOl_LDz4A8hqwmTkBdfxGHcYRaZhtDlz1dPopqiiMpqvXunoNGFdKlaCJMyJBpnLpO3KydwJS2qlL_F0tE/s1600/blankie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1600" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8UbINqAJXwbonmS5i_FRiTv61X2LQl_oLFTYnV1jvT9CPN_foo_WOk3pdOl_LDz4A8hqwmTkBdfxGHcYRaZhtDlz1dPopqiiMpqvXunoNGFdKlaCJMyJBpnLpO3KydwJS2qlL_F0tE/s320/blankie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also gave them a little sleeper and some bibs I sewed. I also got them a "co-sleeper" which is a bassinet that sits right alongside their bed and keeps baby within reach, but not in the bed with them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My visit was very nice and I even walked to the yarn shop in town, about 1.7 miles each way, on Friday while they were working and bought <i>nothing</i> if you can believe that. Saturday was the shower in Portland and then we did some shopping and met some friends of theirs for dinner. It was 10 pm by the time we got back to Corvallis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ian took me to a wildlife refuge on Sunday morning where he had recently taken some great photos of a bald eagle harassing a huge flock of ducks. We saw lots of ducks, but no eagles put in an appearance, sadly. But it was nice anyway. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcoasyuzRMxumnDXFbGSyGbg2j54GZxb-nf-PF1SDX0ehLRHFjApdo0F_suDKoxoQI3K3d8NFhqmkuFPac8p41ABU8o8dzUZh8XHTt7Lluxeikp-_O7h256C84xHCgeaOD7xqQom7EM/s1600/selvedges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="321" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqcoasyuzRMxumnDXFbGSyGbg2j54GZxb-nf-PF1SDX0ehLRHFjApdo0F_suDKoxoQI3K3d8NFhqmkuFPac8p41ABU8o8dzUZh8XHTt7Lluxeikp-_O7h256C84xHCgeaOD7xqQom7EM/s320/selvedges.jpg" width="237" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday we headed back to Portland in the early afternoon for some shopping and to drop me at my airport hotel for my flight home Tuesday morning. We had time to go to the one place I wanted to go, which was the <a href="http://thewoolenmillstore.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Pendleton Wool Mill Outlet Store </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had heard of weavers acquiring blanket selvedges there to weave rag rugs with and wanted to acquire some for myself because it just sounded really neat. Well they had huge bins of bags of these in all colors! It was so hard to choose, but Ian is a big fan of Pendleton wool products and I had promised him a rug, so I let him choose the colors. These selvedges are the edges they cut off the woolen fabric before they full and bind the edges of the blankets. So they are strips of fabric with raw edges up to 6' long in the colors of the blankets. They sell them by the pound. These selvedges Ian chose are from the National Parks series of blankets that Pendleton has done. The National Parks are very close to Ian's heart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> This bag contains some Crater Lake and also some Grand Canyon colors. It weighs 14 pounds. I had to be very creative in packaging it to check through for my flight home. I prefer to fly on Southwest and one reason is because I can check up to 2 bags at no additional charge. This was my second bag. Thanks to a vacuum seal bag and a lot of duct tape my selvedges got home with no problem. I got a lot of remarks on my unusual package, however.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I look forward to weaving this, but first have to finish the current project on my loom. I have 2 more trips to Oregon planned in the near future and I will likely be back at the Mill outlet. It was amazing. You can buy remnants of wool fabrics by the pound or you can purchase their various wool fabrics by the yard. They have some yarns on cones and all kinds of things I never had a chance to really look at. It was overwhelming. And Ian and Michelle thought it was wonderful, too, so it's not just for crafters. I recommend a visit if you are in Portland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before I left for Oregon, our weather really warmed up, effectively putting a halt on the maple syrup production. It was still quite warm when I got home, but has since gotten quite a bit colder. There was a little bit of a sap run yesterday, but not enough to warrant firing up the evaporator. Sam will check again today and see if he can run one last batch tomorrow. I hope so because this is the second year in a row we will have had an extremely poor season with little production. I think we have about 2 gallons of finished syrup right now. Another gallon would be nice. But there are no guarantees when you are at the mercy of the weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grover and I are off to Zanesville for a weekend of bar-hopping on Friday. And then we are going to Youngstown Ohio for the next weekend. We have not done agility 2 weekends in a row before. They are both 2 day trials. We are getting closer to that MACH goal, so we may enter a few more trials when time allows. It's getting very exciting.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBEZT-nzEuX4342yiEB3N2acv6WqhrA4s41bHwEgB5J71ZoJdXOsgBEJ0rEyx8M6rPHAK8WMFcc5B_gZK1ljPCW3VqT3rIGh6mNFhm1KnqxF2Hvpkkk1_4-PcZQhrBPu99GpPTWvCj7o/s1600/studiochari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGBEZT-nzEuX4342yiEB3N2acv6WqhrA4s41bHwEgB5J71ZoJdXOsgBEJ0rEyx8M6rPHAK8WMFcc5B_gZK1ljPCW3VqT3rIGh6mNFhm1KnqxF2Hvpkkk1_4-PcZQhrBPu99GpPTWvCj7o/s320/studiochari.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I bought a chair for my studio at Ikea last month. I had been wanting a chair and as soon as I saw this I knew it was the perfect one. I have a computer/desk type chair already, but this is much nicer to sit in and look through magazines and books. Grover likes it too. Rowdy remains happy with the rug.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been working on a sweater for the grandbaby. I am making it in the 12 month size so he can wear it next year. It looks big to me. It still needs some some assembly and I bought some really cute buttons for it. It should be finished soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am almost done warping my small loom for a couple of new linen bread bags. I think I posted a year ago about the linen bread bag incident wherein Grover ate right through a handwoven linen bread bag to get at the loaf of homemade bread inside. The bag was fairly fresh off the loom and I was devastated. It was not repairable, but I still have the remnants and may make something small from them someday. So I decided to try a different pattern and make a new one. I resolve to keep this one out of reach of Grover!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n1Jazd-SKplfItSbkxwNDyWZzt6XBb30d7hxAwRyw7S0outlZp8HBqWQe-pi-3Y5oEzw72nj8vBqp5Z22xvf_o0c2tLZHJK7XULuFoL1i7Nar22Z-j9pb28K_ko9EVgnFW2FtrHfmU0/s1600/scarves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n1Jazd-SKplfItSbkxwNDyWZzt6XBb30d7hxAwRyw7S0outlZp8HBqWQe-pi-3Y5oEzw72nj8vBqp5Z22xvf_o0c2tLZHJK7XULuFoL1i7Nar22Z-j9pb28K_ko9EVgnFW2FtrHfmU0/s320/scarves.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know if I shared photos of these scarves I finished in January. They are both on the same warp but using different weft and the same pattern. There was not enough color contrast in the first one I did for the pattern to show. However, I love how the second one turned out. These are both 6' long by about 8" wide. I will be listing them in my etsy shop, just in time for spring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think that's it for now. There are signs of spring everywhere, though there are snow flurries today. Apples is shedding, the peepers have been peeping and there are leaf buds on the lilac bush. It won't be long now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ph1DY9O3N1fam0CgiP8ooRif_0Wq6g56jBTwOf7FUTwmJygzE081swkBi6UWzAkBfcIG6w4FyWPD-Coz3FniR2eYM0xcwZ-zr4KywdXDpmVn99ZTodjM_9p_M9NTunBwA9GuDzVeCnY/s1600/lilac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ph1DY9O3N1fam0CgiP8ooRif_0Wq6g56jBTwOf7FUTwmJygzE081swkBi6UWzAkBfcIG6w4FyWPD-Coz3FniR2eYM0xcwZ-zr4KywdXDpmVn99ZTodjM_9p_M9NTunBwA9GuDzVeCnY/s320/lilac.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-72715075219686613022018-02-13T07:51:00.002-08:002018-02-13T07:51:45.558-08:00Sugaring Time Again<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3S-MC0YYtTgh0ROiyTVaKVg8D4pZz-TITjlbeJk7os-5mqQqXXIIEfm2UPEjm5Ifci95ImHWaIijsjA2TnE7LZ7XLWq4w3mHk9_JLk7ODpttJ_cyezufWGiCpCn0hMehD-CZ4uv4N0k/s1600/Apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3S-MC0YYtTgh0ROiyTVaKVg8D4pZz-TITjlbeJk7os-5mqQqXXIIEfm2UPEjm5Ifci95ImHWaIijsjA2TnE7LZ7XLWq4w3mHk9_JLk7ODpttJ_cyezufWGiCpCn0hMehD-CZ4uv4N0k/s400/Apples.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty Apples!</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we will be halfway through February! Truly a reason to celebrate. It won't be long before the peepers are singing in the frog pond up above the house. Meanwhile, the weather continues its crazy ups and downs. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hRFZCcYbk6F8d5KLh6dAmJzoLRF6Vn-jpXyDPbuxxmALt5NndYExd2q72AT0nRGu1BD42n_BKY-7xmokSTprZSmAU-pQ5UOO9hpoP_bWrxmG5VDQZwPzqsB_XampNL0qxw9IPzrTwxQ/s1600/sunday+evening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hRFZCcYbk6F8d5KLh6dAmJzoLRF6Vn-jpXyDPbuxxmALt5NndYExd2q72AT0nRGu1BD42n_BKY-7xmokSTprZSmAU-pQ5UOO9hpoP_bWrxmG5VDQZwPzqsB_XampNL0qxw9IPzrTwxQ/s320/sunday+evening.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I arrived home Sunday evening from an agility trial with Grover and it was in the 50s and the backyard looked like this.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2O6bYLSnw0a_G47_UziOtJcbfxpGxgzb0gRqATer3fxSXuy092BWApNz2qzfbED0dF0T3sfbFK9dQQKDCzcTwzZFKbqItHaF7E_lSqZPXKvCvx4c78LDRldobJ0_Dsj5BQYyupWM_0Ds/s1600/Monday+morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2O6bYLSnw0a_G47_UziOtJcbfxpGxgzb0gRqATer3fxSXuy092BWApNz2qzfbED0dF0T3sfbFK9dQQKDCzcTwzZFKbqItHaF7E_lSqZPXKvCvx4c78LDRldobJ0_Dsj5BQYyupWM_0Ds/s320/Monday+morning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got up Monday morning, it looked like this. We must have had 2" of rain followed by 3" of wet heavy beautiful snow. I did not expect it at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I had a successful agility trial. We were 50/50 Qs and NQs. Fortunately 2 of the Qs earned us our 16th double Q. 4 more to go and we will start really counting points to get to 750. We are at 492 as of this trial. One of the dogs who was in Grover's and my beginning agility class, T-Bo, a Sheltie, earned his MACH this weekend. I missed his MACH run because I was working in the other ring, but it was still fun to be there with him and his handlers. And very exciting since he and Grover started at the same time. We will be trialing again the second and third weekends in March.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4wY7UIByiX-E0qRRAyhr3vRwl57zeFQEKj1mnM8G7TPQm71lFdAqHdnawZcV1ky3oICzL4dwl8RHXKrHrRX93dHV13T0WdAYtFpodY653DPBGddCB3KvsDwUjBrSTiJfDledA63_6zM/s1600/ridgetoptap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4wY7UIByiX-E0qRRAyhr3vRwl57zeFQEKj1mnM8G7TPQm71lFdAqHdnawZcV1ky3oICzL4dwl8RHXKrHrRX93dHV13T0WdAYtFpodY653DPBGddCB3KvsDwUjBrSTiJfDledA63_6zM/s320/ridgetoptap.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sam tapped trees on the 3rd of February. The weather forecast had looked favorable for the sap to run, but as we all know forecasts are often incorrect and can change and indeed, it never warmed up enough until this past weekend. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLfevMS6oPOBFSPbpnQDDyo0DZv7stkjG76cijjOFAqBKWhx650jD9dsyMtnZ1PudIhCsBLn0UygMEsxrK9aeH1tH-O2SzO9ZN9OwDyZkxPEWouSeNyTLqmSbyWtJJvD5j-69nyTWU3M/s1600/taps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLfevMS6oPOBFSPbpnQDDyo0DZv7stkjG76cijjOFAqBKWhx650jD9dsyMtnZ1PudIhCsBLn0UygMEsxrK9aeH1tH-O2SzO9ZN9OwDyZkxPEWouSeNyTLqmSbyWtJJvD5j-69nyTWU3M/s320/taps.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Sam collected 11 3-gallon buckets of sap on Sunday, so I ran the first batch through yesterday all day. I also added in another 3 buckets that I collected in the afternoon. I was very pleased with the finished syrup we produced, though I wish there had been more of it. I got 2 quarts from all that sap. It represents about 12 hours of feeding the fire and stove-top finishing. Hopefully the next run will have better sugar content.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpo63Wlp40KwlMxKiIFnZGRIp-PCEItjch4U1iH3SftpnXFVOQ4lCITx1riEjt1zYTG5I0Qt0ulERvHW3tCliHL9fCG5fCGW79l43XGUybC1vTCtJu5XMt6KPA7GoUMC71opj834LAoKk/s1600/sugarshack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpo63Wlp40KwlMxKiIFnZGRIp-PCEItjch4U1iH3SftpnXFVOQ4lCITx1riEjt1zYTG5I0Qt0ulERvHW3tCliHL9fCG5fCGW79l43XGUybC1vTCtJu5XMt6KPA7GoUMC71opj834LAoKk/s320/sugarshack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If you look closely you can see the steam rising from the evaporator in the sugar shack. We have a bench seat from our old van in the shack and it is pretty comfortable, though I had a hard time getting warm yesterday. It was around 32 degrees in the morning and never got above 40 all day. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbUifkgRiFsooX-NeSqbxlpg7Gj__WHTilDxXC0TYE9KsW9srbdBy8ljCmHuWKsHqOD2fmVrFf2xF7KcSaLu572fJCAGJV_RGB0q0lT2K9_OWG1RljEX7YXS1DAc1Ej8nY5riHazcRHo/s1600/pondevening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbUifkgRiFsooX-NeSqbxlpg7Gj__WHTilDxXC0TYE9KsW9srbdBy8ljCmHuWKsHqOD2fmVrFf2xF7KcSaLu572fJCAGJV_RGB0q0lT2K9_OWG1RljEX7YXS1DAc1Ej8nY5riHazcRHo/s320/pondevening.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday afternoon</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sugar shack is at the pond which is almost a mile from the house. Half of that distance is on an unpaved farm road which is all uphill. And boy was it a sloppy mess yesterday! So we try not to have to run back and forth to the house too much. We do have an outhouse up by the pond. It can be seen on the other side of the pond in this photo. I am glad I do not have to use an outhouse every day!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrGyJ2YdkGzh4BASN9FSOIKVht0hiXfTJeSxigmpBZbtScfZ3JShoxuS973Kt8t4DXAo5kIxVzL7p1u4NCkABzUNYZGddUYqjcN7zIDtBbDZbHamHaxU5Uqwppzg-b6u557AdWvcSq-k/s1600/pondmorning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrGyJ2YdkGzh4BASN9FSOIKVht0hiXfTJeSxigmpBZbtScfZ3JShoxuS973Kt8t4DXAo5kIxVzL7p1u4NCkABzUNYZGddUYqjcN7zIDtBbDZbHamHaxU5Uqwppzg-b6u557AdWvcSq-k/s320/pondmorning.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday morning</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do like syrup season. First of all, I love the syrup and second, it comes at the tail end of winter, so spring is not far behind.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFe3pr5nQ4pzQjUBgqLeB_hyphenhyphen0032v1Sv_LLvF5chl-2xT_9rRl7W8MyIra2keNf0ZUoBQDG1I8z4umfLgqDkAnrjeNT2gvDY_9OwRC2sGXnPRQTiIYXIeER8XQP1DjADHgUB_vGno3C4M/s1600/ash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFe3pr5nQ4pzQjUBgqLeB_hyphenhyphen0032v1Sv_LLvF5chl-2xT_9rRl7W8MyIra2keNf0ZUoBQDG1I8z4umfLgqDkAnrjeNT2gvDY_9OwRC2sGXnPRQTiIYXIeER8XQP1DjADHgUB_vGno3C4M/s320/ash.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Our maple grove (or sugar bush as it is often referred to) is on the side and top of a high ridge. The photo of Grover with the sap bucket in the background was taken at the ridgetop. It is one of the highest places on our farm and it is beautiful, especially in winter when one can see the surrounding terrain. But one of the sad things we have noted in the last couple of years is that the <a href="http://www.emeraldashborer.info/" target="_blank">Emerald Ash Borer</a> has finally made it to our area and we have many, many trees which are showing signs of infestation. I am told that the damage we see on the outside of the tree is actually done by woodpeckers which are going after the insects which are in the tree. Sam has cut down some of these trees to try to see if any of the lumber is salvageable and others are just becoming firewood. Our understanding is that these insects may wipe out most of the ash trees. The EAB is an invasive species from Asia, as are the "ladybugs" which infest my house every fall looking for a place to overwinter. They have been really bad this year....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7wi5QPN_oJTyyU_GCYsoWLXf7AE5oIgtMkQxu03hsPqEOcyUXwwFjaxId1hyphenhyphenDhVpheWqxes_hrP9gipL-n97FbT5MAWiJ56dn_kpdwdg5vnUv_qC_TJtSSpuOcFtBVpBIuBJyIEnrWY/s1600/dark+side+hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7wi5QPN_oJTyyU_GCYsoWLXf7AE5oIgtMkQxu03hsPqEOcyUXwwFjaxId1hyphenhyphenDhVpheWqxes_hrP9gipL-n97FbT5MAWiJ56dn_kpdwdg5vnUv_qC_TJtSSpuOcFtBVpBIuBJyIEnrWY/s320/dark+side+hat.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knitted this "Dark Side" hat for the 8 year old boy who lives down the road. It has Tie-fighters on it also around the top, which cannot be seen in this photo. I used a favorite hat pattern and borrowed the storm trooper chart from another project on Ravlery.com and then graphed out the tie-fighters myself. Son Zac was here while I was working on this and he now wants a Death Star hat...I'll have to see what I can do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also started something new to me, band-weaving. This uses a small loom called an Inkle loom, one of which Mom gave me for Christmas.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGttBMhf_h-S-6nI3VkMea7rF4DBa5bzuuLtYEbgeXricRWKb4oOLql_Wsf92mlj-mVCmNhuRbi67Pc1ZPXehFvHNO3n0vsl-CNaQJ62pYMIJnlTSvPFIIq5ajX0YchHEqQLXcY-tHxwc/s1600/strap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGttBMhf_h-S-6nI3VkMea7rF4DBa5bzuuLtYEbgeXricRWKb4oOLql_Wsf92mlj-mVCmNhuRbi67Pc1ZPXehFvHNO3n0vsl-CNaQJ62pYMIJnlTSvPFIIq5ajX0YchHEqQLXcY-tHxwc/s320/strap.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one I have started may end up as a guitar strap. That is the intention anyway. But I can also weave dog leashes and collars and belts and other types of straps or bands. Because I don't already have enough things to do! This has been quite a learning experience so far. It is very different from weaving on a traditional loom, but it is also portable and it is fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week I am off to Oregon! I am going out to attend the baby shower being given for my son and daughter-in-law. I have not seen them since August and I am really looking forward to spending some time with them. When I get home from Oregon, February will be almost over! And then spring will arrive.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-36532445994616239882018-01-31T07:45:00.001-08:002018-01-31T07:45:02.307-08:00Crazy Weather Roller Coaster Ride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7XtbcgaEjVH7H5oaHfcS37URwEchisohSUw31_TII_9BhQxnHbJF8eI-LyqMf3zutUAXYS7-S5fb46Sz1dJiJDHYZ5s_UHBg5K7-iRZGI8way769ZKUJmpQyVe56CHujcG4mF17M-nQ/s1600/snowynightdogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7XtbcgaEjVH7H5oaHfcS37URwEchisohSUw31_TII_9BhQxnHbJF8eI-LyqMf3zutUAXYS7-S5fb46Sz1dJiJDHYZ5s_UHBg5K7-iRZGI8way769ZKUJmpQyVe56CHujcG4mF17M-nQ/s400/snowynightdogs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess I should expect crazy weather ups and downs in January. I think it happens every year. We have had temperatures as low as -10F and as high as 60F. I'll take the 60 degree days anytime, thank you. At least our kitchen drain is finally thawed out. We had to use buckets and dump the water out the back door for almost a month. Yesterday it thawed. Cause for celebration!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our younger son is visiting from California this week. He finds himself unemployed at this time due to the closure of the restaurant where he had been sous chef for the last 18 months or so. He expects to be back at work this coming month. We bought him a ticket to fly home and it has been a nice visit. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7VK3hvAGrN7NYZXYfDQN_3CC9n-bN2tJ9oT4HWhz_SGp3a2puDuHLgbzlHmASjzC0xdnw5FaGdMBbNSc1grYNPOhcsxCWKN52ChRPtLyRIZaA-KOI0rWwh5mXU-aO7g74rLSK2_RRYA/s1600/chickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7VK3hvAGrN7NYZXYfDQN_3CC9n-bN2tJ9oT4HWhz_SGp3a2puDuHLgbzlHmASjzC0xdnw5FaGdMBbNSc1grYNPOhcsxCWKN52ChRPtLyRIZaA-KOI0rWwh5mXU-aO7g74rLSK2_RRYA/s320/chickens.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have had snow, then thaw, then snow again. The chickens really hate the snow, but after being literally cooped up for 2 weeks, they ventured out on a warm sunny day. I think they were dismayed at being unable to find anything to eat. A couple of them got "stranded" in a grassy place under a tree when it was time to go in for the night. It was like they were on a grassy island surrounded by snow and they didn't know what to do. I picked them up and carried them to the coop. They <i>are</i> silly and amusing birds.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZen_nqKi7OLfJC2MSr5_YB7Y-fprxCGZ8ceTwAIgBBvmcudm_5K-JudNg0g0kFmkJMf-4RJNdRal62wjPBQSlkiOnyg8YlGS376zP_L8zLyD1ExXDucim_vLRDIJvfISknaiQM6r7gU/s1600/iciclesculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZen_nqKi7OLfJC2MSr5_YB7Y-fprxCGZ8ceTwAIgBBvmcudm_5K-JudNg0g0kFmkJMf-4RJNdRal62wjPBQSlkiOnyg8YlGS376zP_L8zLyD1ExXDucim_vLRDIJvfISknaiQM6r7gU/s320/iciclesculpture.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I also made an icicle sculpture off the back deck by breaking large icicles off the roof and dropping them into a snow pile. That one was a good 5' long. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMXM5zGyck9qdEsSg3tGYKhssBILssnRcQlfTdWNL3AZ_IRoqNuEz3cwoMejQcfhYeT9MwiTVAYKb23Ga3W_VCEssKfrUEulfCaP6Z6QF9Wq2qvREjChxU0a_CFwn4k4kQJNu_6XXRTs/s1600/bees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMXM5zGyck9qdEsSg3tGYKhssBILssnRcQlfTdWNL3AZ_IRoqNuEz3cwoMejQcfhYeT9MwiTVAYKb23Ga3W_VCEssKfrUEulfCaP6Z6QF9Wq2qvREjChxU0a_CFwn4k4kQJNu_6XXRTs/s320/bees.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then everything thawed (except the water line) and the bees came out. That was good to see. I was wondering if they had survived the sub-zero temps. They still have a couple of months to go before I will be sure they have made it through. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbvRQAcBT8EzclkWLYgzL6qeuGvXBo_VB_upe7ry8YXpZLbfVKz5jS7HoyyEO2s3OS6SBjusXR8Ngc3ea5czyJb8kXno1HL0aE_JptK0nN4EhWjBTZWEbj5CPfB8uDn1L1TzyiebLKZA/s1600/pond1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbvRQAcBT8EzclkWLYgzL6qeuGvXBo_VB_upe7ry8YXpZLbfVKz5jS7HoyyEO2s3OS6SBjusXR8Ngc3ea5czyJb8kXno1HL0aE_JptK0nN4EhWjBTZWEbj5CPfB8uDn1L1TzyiebLKZA/s320/pond1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I got some photos on a couple of hikes to the beaver pond. This first one is of the back side of the pond. The water between Grover and me is covering what used to be our trail. The dam has been expanded a good bit.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZzPIlSSKZwL0lBjHoXXIgJN4SgZkbjot1U_DZDNmiD3lC_5mYUaByafc0zj7jnlvCJgTKpOF7U_XNnIQXvLYVMJoqscc2qMh3uXGu47CYrp7XumWoTGbXA5lvEse0xzxS9A8Zd9WD0Y/s1600/pond2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZzPIlSSKZwL0lBjHoXXIgJN4SgZkbjot1U_DZDNmiD3lC_5mYUaByafc0zj7jnlvCJgTKpOF7U_XNnIQXvLYVMJoqscc2qMh3uXGu47CYrp7XumWoTGbXA5lvEse0xzxS9A8Zd9WD0Y/s320/pond2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the second hike, with son Sam, we stayed on the road side and I took a photo of some of the work the beavers have done below the road. I have been expecting that large cherry tree to fall for weeks. It just amazes me what these animals are capable of and I love that I can watch what they are doing. I just wish I could see them more than a quick glimpse once a year or so. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmmjVzPkhYj_1xJKyrNArPf3H1hF48p3Rshn3b9ToJkjtkMr89n-UPo81I8-5hFBYO6sBDCCrhSmhUmjuvLRSml36mDeyvYSSDH8GYpyjb2QmUCQKJDD85zhkzoIN5hE-srnOsYpO7Io/s1600/before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmmjVzPkhYj_1xJKyrNArPf3H1hF48p3Rshn3b9ToJkjtkMr89n-UPo81I8-5hFBYO6sBDCCrhSmhUmjuvLRSml36mDeyvYSSDH8GYpyjb2QmUCQKJDD85zhkzoIN5hE-srnOsYpO7Io/s320/before.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Sam likes to have a project to keep him busy in the winter. This year he decided to turn the one huge bathroom at Mom's house/guest house/man cave into 2 bathrooms. We have discussed this in the past and we renovated the bathroom shortly after purchasing the property in 2000 (?). But we were on a budget and we did what <i>needed</i> to be done and just left the rest alone. In the last couple months Sam has put up all new drywall and has split the room into 2 and made a doorway into what was a closet in one bedroom and that bedroom will now have and ensuite bath with shower.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrwTnF65Mcr6cbPKuKriBm6KmO12-Cy0zMWBEYXoQv9FwUB5xAvTBpPq-ps61jJjU5EufyhGJjQlTt-0GP7tnCktXvum6qnmSJc-NN3u53YePpuFXPvNmD8xV5F1IWacMxasZnGGGHsI/s1600/bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrwTnF65Mcr6cbPKuKriBm6KmO12-Cy0zMWBEYXoQv9FwUB5xAvTBpPq-ps61jJjU5EufyhGJjQlTt-0GP7tnCktXvum6qnmSJc-NN3u53YePpuFXPvNmD8xV5F1IWacMxasZnGGGHsI/s320/bathroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It is small, but functional. The other bathroom will have new ceramic tile flooring and a new vanity which will be a little bigger than the one that was in there, as the smaller vanity is now in the new bathroom. It is also getting a new toilet. This has been kept under wraps until now, but I thought I'd post it since the new bathroom is almost finished. It needs some molding around the ceiling and a toilet seat, shower door and towel rack, etc. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig9pmE1H8hkQ1WTY3mtEKHbpA2pTthTZ7q-2jiNhrPxtI4mjzLFwDBUg1_wZfZ_3h-UQcUYX-rkogM_aB_TW4n0M3TZUSYmfEy9rpRjFdi5feGLsPex8_7S6Pj0Wc9C0iW64WRTWARl4/s1600/rhapsweater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiig9pmE1H8hkQ1WTY3mtEKHbpA2pTthTZ7q-2jiNhrPxtI4mjzLFwDBUg1_wZfZ_3h-UQcUYX-rkogM_aB_TW4n0M3TZUSYmfEy9rpRjFdi5feGLsPex8_7S6Pj0Wc9C0iW64WRTWARl4/s320/rhapsweater.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I finished a project of my own this week that has been a while in the making. This sweater is knit from yarn I handspun from the fiber of one of our alpacas that was blended with some Shetland wool I purchased at a festival a couple of years ago. I made Sam a sweater with the same yarn blend last year. So now we have sort of matching sweaters. The yarn for both was spun on the wheel that is behind me in the photo. This sweater came out well. It is supposed to be oversized and comfortable and it is. I think I will get a lot of use out of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday morning I take son Sam back to the airport for his return to California. Then the following weekend Grover and I will once again be bar-hopping at our club's agility trial in Zanesville and a couple weeks after that I head to Oregon for a baby shower. And somewhere in there we will be tapping trees and making maple syrup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-91366256401920135932018-01-18T08:35:00.000-08:002018-01-18T08:35:12.104-08:00Deep Freeze Continues & A Loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mCm2BR06c0S9gctinh9D3gMRWVrEggtdQeWCSRysQDnsVv6t3yhucJ-6ragnKNAccBgdnwd1rUpBwbLQXiXMusDRjEhsxgDGPD2h5A6ABVOT1o8pEi9KbTtxYjw-VMyP2__FglKW11Y/s1600/poopcicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mCm2BR06c0S9gctinh9D3gMRWVrEggtdQeWCSRysQDnsVv6t3yhucJ-6ragnKNAccBgdnwd1rUpBwbLQXiXMusDRjEhsxgDGPD2h5A6ABVOT1o8pEi9KbTtxYjw-VMyP2__FglKW11Y/s400/poopcicle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems the only thing better than laying in the snow is enjoying a frozen pony turd while doing so....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-16fKZnng-eIeFTXKMw-_OtC4UFcS2VLWmZXsY-WaA-D8Lzcd4M_UboXYhhnSwlyE66aLj4JRZO7QLgEbrbSMb5JU-KbfUWqgFTFNrqk0l6rqg7EWdwdjOPh2NADCjzn9qVYGoGMOR4/s1600/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-16fKZnng-eIeFTXKMw-_OtC4UFcS2VLWmZXsY-WaA-D8Lzcd4M_UboXYhhnSwlyE66aLj4JRZO7QLgEbrbSMb5JU-KbfUWqgFTFNrqk0l6rqg7EWdwdjOPh2NADCjzn9qVYGoGMOR4/s320/house.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, we continue to experience a <i>very </i>cold January. I know, January is always cold. But we have had numerous mornings this month where we have awakened to sub-zero temperatures. It has been a constant chore to keep pipes from freezing and keep the house warm. We still have our upstairs closed off as well as our big sliding glass door. Our kitchen drain has been frozen for 2 weeks now, which is inconvenient to say the least. We had a thaw a week ago during which we had torrential rains overnight, about 2" and then 2 days later, we were hit with a fairly major snowstorm. Thankfully the power stayed on. We got another 2 or 3 inches of snow this past Tuesday. We are supposed to go above freezing again for the weekend. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eqkwLa_r5vz7S4l-7p5LsYmbWHavWHvMETgFuDTiGKXcgbaZyO7T3XwlUPQh8awJogT8JsPPAghVzJ6iY8vcBmuQ4GeH15Y7u4637pAqxdJ335CU9qBdOr9WAzdBqTTjOoqdZ4OU8PI/s1600/creek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eqkwLa_r5vz7S4l-7p5LsYmbWHavWHvMETgFuDTiGKXcgbaZyO7T3XwlUPQh8awJogT8JsPPAghVzJ6iY8vcBmuQ4GeH15Y7u4637pAqxdJ335CU9qBdOr9WAzdBqTTjOoqdZ4OU8PI/s320/creek.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The animals are doing okay. The chickens have been shut in for a week again. That coop gets so gross when they are shut in for days at a time. Ick. I was able to scoop it out last week when we had a thaw, but now it needs to be done again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, we lost our oldest alpaca, Bodhi over the weekend. He would have been 19 in April, so he had a good long life for an alpaca. He had lost so much weight and it was just his time. He arrived here on our farm when he was about a year and half old and he sired lots of crias in his day. He was probably one of the friendlier of the alpacas and I had a soft spot in my heart for him, but it was his time. RIP old friend.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG5kU8LN6FuWp7mehfa1o0TB1-1SuuGYikXj_D5FsefsDcFIKVrTEeoEVs39RMX_SJqpRK6YXlX1k4o02yQNuG9V8nS1fzePdM_vls16yUbOBxVTh6UN5STrcVG4eWTuiFTZ2bHZMk9Y/s1600/ponypacas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1600" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCG5kU8LN6FuWp7mehfa1o0TB1-1SuuGYikXj_D5FsefsDcFIKVrTEeoEVs39RMX_SJqpRK6YXlX1k4o02yQNuG9V8nS1fzePdM_vls16yUbOBxVTh6UN5STrcVG4eWTuiFTZ2bHZMk9Y/s320/ponypacas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apples now has a whole barn pen to herself. I could put her in with the remaining 2 female alpacas, but they seem fine the way they are. Peg, the alpaca on the right in this photo is the last of my original alpacas. She will be 19 in June. So far, none of my alpacas have made it to 19. Truffel, the other one, is 13 or 14 I think. She has a rather unpleasant personality and likes to spit. Another reason to let Apples have her own space.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I attended a 2 day agility trial this past weekend (we got to our hotel the night before and just before the big storm started) near Columbus. We had a great weekend. We were entered in 3 runs per day and we Q'd in all but our very first run! So we earned QQ14 and QQ15 toward our goal of 20. Unfortunately, we have only 476 of the 750 speed points we also need, so once we get all our QQs, we will still need about 150 points, by my calculations. But we'll get there. I am so proud of my little rescue Aussie! Our next agility trial is Feb 10 & 11.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An upcoming event here on the farm is maple syrup season. Last year was very poor because we had a warm winter and it got warm very early and pretty much stayed warm. For good syrup production we need cold nights and days just above freezing. We usually tap trees around Valentine's Day, but if we get a warm snap earlier than that this year, Sam will likely go ahead and tap early. I had no syrup for sale this past year. Syrup season is fun, though by the time it is over I am happy to no longer spend all day feeding the fire under the evaporator.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also have some travel coming up. There is a baby shower for our expected grandson in February. It is in Portland, Oregon and I have made plans to attend. I have to admit I do want to see my daughter-in-law with her baby on board. It will seem so much more real then and maybe I'll even get to feel the baby kick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next Friday our son Zac is arriving from California for a week long visit. I have to admit I bribed him to come by purchasing the airfare and also by getting a pony. It has been a year since we last saw him and I also admit to playing the Rowdy card again as well. We got Rowdy as a puppy the summer before Zac left for college and they do have a bond. Rowdy will be 13 in April and he has health issues, so I know Zac will be happy to spend time with the old dog again.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CAblP3PxB-BsvMWugxvwQ6xZOJqNGF6_AK93E0fNlLi0XFUKsvHrWVXSgosm-2z_sg_5_OCxedcegBpCR2q5lNMHY6wtBMi9EVSUgi1ZrH8TLNyJntWevkYExC21aY3Y91laLqni36M/s1600/deepfreeze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CAblP3PxB-BsvMWugxvwQ6xZOJqNGF6_AK93E0fNlLi0XFUKsvHrWVXSgosm-2z_sg_5_OCxedcegBpCR2q5lNMHY6wtBMi9EVSUgi1ZrH8TLNyJntWevkYExC21aY3Y91laLqni36M/s320/deepfreeze.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have nothing new to post about on the fiber front. I have some secret projects working and the sweater I started in October or November. It should be finished in the next week or so. I have not really been able to do anything in my studio as we had to shut off the heat out there for a few days when our gas dipped extremely low, so that loom is empty. I am counting down the days until spring!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7QDsJ6hr5cQegM3V1Gycw0trwce0gO3ihcVw-wKWNZaRCOl0sgJMabwR4AMRgBcPE8PTKGuuocmRlAiGPIBMiNKJtB9pceHfV_XOlAEi4qi9sLKEjn1cZCA70HvY_ozEujI7U4FUD2A/s1600/rowdybridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1600" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7QDsJ6hr5cQegM3V1Gycw0trwce0gO3ihcVw-wKWNZaRCOl0sgJMabwR4AMRgBcPE8PTKGuuocmRlAiGPIBMiNKJtB9pceHfV_XOlAEi4qi9sLKEjn1cZCA70HvY_ozEujI7U4FUD2A/s400/rowdybridge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9150253663647148826.post-1031524836073895882018-01-04T08:07:00.001-08:002018-01-04T08:07:57.754-08:00Happy 2018! Brrrrrrrr!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf68CBG2OY5nL-VKk7Bw7DHjR3GXUoPCrIa7j4l91f_7TSTin0D4R_WUg51jHGhrlpAzUDjgE-WAY8GG3xM6SJ4LnPL_zc6JFneqUYLjz-afqqfxbgQgpOe5gluyfSOIIsyzVnBiAd1U/s1600/applesbodhibarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf68CBG2OY5nL-VKk7Bw7DHjR3GXUoPCrIa7j4l91f_7TSTin0D4R_WUg51jHGhrlpAzUDjgE-WAY8GG3xM6SJ4LnPL_zc6JFneqUYLjz-afqqfxbgQgpOe5gluyfSOIIsyzVnBiAd1U/s400/applesbodhibarn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Year came in with sub-zero temperatures here in Ohio. We have been dealing with frozen pipes, frozen gas (natural gas that heats our house) and frozen water for the animals. It was down to -10 degrees F on Tuesday morning. Our gas pressure has been dropping, likely because moisture in the lines is freezing up and causing blockage, so we have been doing whatever we can to preserve gas. This included closing off the opening to the upstairs of the house as well as covering the 8' sliding glass door with foam insulation panels. Not pretty, but it sure does help.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw0APQ6ltg6STffHwowMFVGGCSq5sMvzjkOLs0X3hNUznGv7fbyd5EuUGtigNjgcehltCRkUxYl_CP5MAwuHRG8K4vjwyitaJwGeJ0T_ekNBHQvopKhq6Of7p6Ycr6MpTSYwRdmE7CLY/s1600/messytable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpw0APQ6ltg6STffHwowMFVGGCSq5sMvzjkOLs0X3hNUznGv7fbyd5EuUGtigNjgcehltCRkUxYl_CP5MAwuHRG8K4vjwyitaJwGeJ0T_ekNBHQvopKhq6Of7p6Ycr6MpTSYwRdmE7CLY/s320/messytable.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will leave these in place as long as we need to. I do miss being able to sit at the table (hey no judgement on the messy table!) and watch the birds at the feeder, though.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXQ4qw30C0yKxz4uohE0B4yoe54h85M_eyiKGhUweT20ngY1w29Y1klb7WWee-QMWJsyei3l2edekAatNVhZgW7bku4LCBXC1taq0qXmROf34ns7iouFrbuw1FVrHJcPDDsbi0WOmCp0/s1600/stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXQ4qw30C0yKxz4uohE0B4yoe54h85M_eyiKGhUweT20ngY1w29Y1klb7WWee-QMWJsyei3l2edekAatNVhZgW7bku4LCBXC1taq0qXmROf34ns7iouFrbuw1FVrHJcPDDsbi0WOmCp0/s320/stairs.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And getting up and down the stairs is interesting. Grover can just shove the panel up with his nose and slide under. But last night I wasn't quick enough following him up and he leaped onto the panel from above and broke it in half. I was underneath trying to hold it up and laughing for all I was worth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in the morning the first thing I do is check to see if any water pipes are frozen, then load the wood stove, then make the coffee and feed the dogs. We have another couple of days before we have a thaw and we will be below zero again the next couple of mornings. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpTkoCgzoeqpGG7O0A3zPQ4D3lt7E9_6tlrP5yxS8CNdQCjDALSfhRlMuGU-APeYSA82VVQJnLsPyh-VW3_KqoNuYCRtoe3sQEhHhzAMdlBXcFtkSec31t6p2LmZs_INE0PqAhYJ9r28/s1600/applesblanket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpTkoCgzoeqpGG7O0A3zPQ4D3lt7E9_6tlrP5yxS8CNdQCjDALSfhRlMuGU-APeYSA82VVQJnLsPyh-VW3_KqoNuYCRtoe3sQEhHhzAMdlBXcFtkSec31t6p2LmZs_INE0PqAhYJ9r28/s320/applesblanket.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday Apples was shivering in -9 temps and I was wishing I had a blanket that would fit her. I knew Apache's old blanket would be way too large. When I mentioned this to Sam he said he had bought some horse blankets a couple years back at an auction for about $4 because no one else wanted them. I wasn't expecting them to be as nice as they are! One of them fit Apples just about perfectly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bodhi and Peg, the two 18 year old alpacas, have had their coats on since Sunday night. I am glad to have this blanket for Apples. Really, who would pass up 3 horse blankets in great shape for $4? Thankfully no one in my family!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I attended an agility trial this past weekend in Zanesville. It was a two day trial and we had 4 runs on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Our only qualifying run on Saturday was our first one, Premier standard. Our other 3 runs were not disastrous, but we made mistakes and didn't qualify. On Sunday, we no Q'd in standard. Grover dropped a bar when I pulled off too soon to make a turn at the next jump, but he got all his contacts and did a great job. We ended the day with a Q in jumpers: <a href="https://youtu.be/36yQY5JkrAE" target="_blank">JWW Q</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So all in all not a bad weekend, especially since practice time has been almost non-existent. Our next trial is the weekend of Jan 13 & 14 at Incredipaws in Pataskala, Ohio.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that Christmas is past, I can post photos of things I made for gifts this year:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlcJ2c3GRv-spUS9UvTI37miyaJ4XmP1TXVr2V5pbigBjduhrGKgLRbblgGLBtyHfewR9QoSgbueKoZnmKBsHp6whWhyphenhyphenxnGRTSP8iCRF84edlxhn7NXgHDQTNzZ6EcdXVHPUhb6fS9sE/s1600/sock+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1313" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlcJ2c3GRv-spUS9UvTI37miyaJ4XmP1TXVr2V5pbigBjduhrGKgLRbblgGLBtyHfewR9QoSgbueKoZnmKBsHp6whWhyphenhyphenxnGRTSP8iCRF84edlxhn7NXgHDQTNzZ6EcdXVHPUhb6fS9sE/s320/sock+family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A family of socks in Portland Timbers colors for Ian, Michelle and baby-to-be!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Socks for my mom:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPthq77to2HUIYTYubadM3yJCBK5CI7XHhbB-Crm-50xX5XhJmAQDdNR4BhDvtBCfiu5wK9ckaOgWOCHPIgCh9UTMCT2xnSIp1-u_F3BknuDfiI_9DFyBVptWIuXvO8vFipiRifeGvmo/s1600/momssocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPthq77to2HUIYTYubadM3yJCBK5CI7XHhbB-Crm-50xX5XhJmAQDdNR4BhDvtBCfiu5wK9ckaOgWOCHPIgCh9UTMCT2xnSIp1-u_F3BknuDfiI_9DFyBVptWIuXvO8vFipiRifeGvmo/s320/momssocks.JPG" width="281" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI20tMl1MnCjsZz_QbjFpCtIT8p2nATwP9OYEIZUMMVHMO8-Dh436UBuoB5dqIjvASMu2iVDCAyTLTM_1-6Jx5Kyis9ZH7hrA9RmJmMv_POE1_w4bvAtzcy5DAW1U99clHI6PvR_vKRvM/s1600/tonys_hat_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="640" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI20tMl1MnCjsZz_QbjFpCtIT8p2nATwP9OYEIZUMMVHMO8-Dh436UBuoB5dqIjvASMu2iVDCAyTLTM_1-6Jx5Kyis9ZH7hrA9RmJmMv_POE1_w4bvAtzcy5DAW1U99clHI6PvR_vKRvM/s320/tonys_hat_medium2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And a hat for Tony</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBcDzP8zlal1ipucPAEGfSM_jrSyJCtgKwSjPMHzgPKhF5TFVpAwcMa3zd8W8iatHDsD2KUR63CMiSPs0DCKGUW9K3QeDBxOoIkJgm-_wV9S2A4CVOepT9g7Up5Y2F565Qvv3zLdhA8c/s1600/baablehat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBcDzP8zlal1ipucPAEGfSM_jrSyJCtgKwSjPMHzgPKhF5TFVpAwcMa3zd8W8iatHDsD2KUR63CMiSPs0DCKGUW9K3QeDBxOoIkJgm-_wV9S2A4CVOepT9g7Up5Y2F565Qvv3zLdhA8c/s320/baablehat.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also made another sheep hat for the friend of a friend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that was it for gift knitting this year. It was enough.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60EOjUEs4xH2dKu_MW8_53cfwT5q_f4n0UxFgK8TSubMYREkkf_G1TQonLf-d4dxM7yctiMjQVCWEpVOZ62w_SnrUMNdWciawWlzp10H5Y5V-3WE0HQVVSjdWQqHhpHDSq8BN3e5eoxc/s1600/sweater+progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60EOjUEs4xH2dKu_MW8_53cfwT5q_f4n0UxFgK8TSubMYREkkf_G1TQonLf-d4dxM7yctiMjQVCWEpVOZ62w_SnrUMNdWciawWlzp10H5Y5V-3WE0HQVVSjdWQqHhpHDSq8BN3e5eoxc/s320/sweater+progress.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have now gotten back to work on my sweater knit with handspun alpaca/shetland yarn. I love this so far. I am now working on the second sleeve. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And one day a couple weeks ago I over-dyed some batts I had made a couple years ago using some alpaca and silk which I had dyed before carding. I have never been happy with how they turned out and so I decided to over dye them with a gunmetal blue. I just rolled them up and immersed them in water and poured on the dye and simmered til the dye exhausted. I am SO happy with how they turned out! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyofYGR9N-MPwC-I3SASzVKsL2O0jPzvsCcFkJA7RJGRXBYdz_-C9e6iWhAjehY3kGIqPBonfq0a7Vzm_DpFL_mqKRQQZY2Gj1arXv94fHQ3XRMCgJ0BCpg1YcQu0DFzvV5CP2BrYMlE/s1600/alpacasilkbatts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyofYGR9N-MPwC-I3SASzVKsL2O0jPzvsCcFkJA7RJGRXBYdz_-C9e6iWhAjehY3kGIqPBonfq0a7Vzm_DpFL_mqKRQQZY2Gj1arXv94fHQ3XRMCgJ0BCpg1YcQu0DFzvV5CP2BrYMlE/s320/alpacasilkbatts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> There is also some "firestar" blended in, which is a sparkly substance. I love spinning this and have spun up one entire batt, about 2 oz so far. I have 3 more batts. It is so nice to spin something sparkly and colorful after all that BROWN for the sweater. Not to mention the tactile feel of the silk as it goes through my fingers. This will have to be something lacy when I finish spinning and plying it. That may take a while. But January is perfect for spinning and knitting by the fire.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grover and I got in a short walk this morning. It was a balmy 16 degrees and snowing lightly. Grover has perfect snowy woods camouflage, don't you agree?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKJrTfUJbvQddNCQKHTChm993mqPhz_MiZ63YdtJHbCyNEIzyjKZxTlwY-wlvMiI1dF9br_IYKC3EgEbJmPvNWq86SwDGwsgxq26VMp_xG6pKSVwj16JXxsv-IkmYAWnScM3y88mNhpM/s1600/snowcamo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKJrTfUJbvQddNCQKHTChm993mqPhz_MiZ63YdtJHbCyNEIzyjKZxTlwY-wlvMiI1dF9br_IYKC3EgEbJmPvNWq86SwDGwsgxq26VMp_xG6pKSVwj16JXxsv-IkmYAWnScM3y88mNhpM/s400/snowcamo.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04082962097879733682noreply@blogger.com0