Wordless Wednesday

A New Momma (?)

Oh no, not me.  My dog.  Though in this case, the notion is equally absurd.  I know this is late in the day, but I had to share this bit of strange behavior with you.  It started yesterday...

I was in the yard gathering up the wee wandering chicks when I noticed the dog sitting in the grass with a peeping chick.  The chick had obviously fallen in the water, as it was completely drenched, and it wasn't walking.  Upon taking a closer look, his leg looked like it was pretty badly injured and I immediately assumed that Sandy our bulldog was to blame.  I gathered up the injured chick, dried him off, and put him in a box with food and water to heal, and banished the dog to her corner.

Today I let the chickens out (they roam in the backyard) and put the chick-in-a-box inside the makeshift  coop to get a little fresh air.  When I came back from the garden, I found Sandy laying inside the coop, with 4 chicks laying between her legs, sleeping.  When I approached, the chicks scattered and Sandy followed them around the coop, sniffing their hineys like a worried momma. 

One hung around and tried to jump on her back.

and hide under her belly.

When the 4 able-bodied chicks wandered off, she sat by the chick-in-a-box and whined.

And sat there. 

And sat there. 

I coaxed her out and she followed her chicks to the garden and worried over them there for a while. 

Sandy has never had pups of her own so I think she's adopted these.  She's pretty bossy though so maybe she just likes being in charge, who knows. 

Pretty sweet though, huh?

Button Monday

A quick dive into the button pile today.  There's gold in them thar hills...

I'm kind of curious about the shoe button...I'm trying to envision the article of clothing that demanded a shoe-shaped button.  Hmmm.

Choo choo!

Buzz.

Tic Tac Toe.

Things will be a little busy around here for the next few weeks so posts may be spaced out a bit.  I'm hoping to freshen up my blog too so don't be surprised if it looks a little different the next time you stop in. 

I hope you all have a great week.  See ya soon.

Checking In On The Acorn Rainbow June 25 2010

It has been a while since I had last checked in on the acorn rainbow experiment so I mustered up my courage, took a deep breath, and dove into mosquitoville to see what I could see.

The foliage surrounding the stump has grown considerably, and given the neverending rain we've had lately, has become prime real estate for the Minnesota state bird.  The mosquito.  None of these photos are very good because I was trying to keep them out of my ears, eyes, and nose while shooting.  I came up for breath, swearing in three languages. 

The three acorns are still here by the stump but I couldn't locate the purple one that had migrated out to the yard.  The layer of moss on the stump is thick and lush and when I pushed against it, it felt like a cushion.  Oh how I'd love to sleep there.  (except for the profanity-inducing herd of mosquitoes)

Orange

Blue

Red

The stump also hosted some lovely and tiny mushrooms.

I'm still amazed that the color has stayed pretty true and the caps are still on.  I'll let these guys sit until Fall and check them again.  

Happy Saturday! 

How My Garden Grows

I've been working on wrestling a small garden out of the grip of a nasty patch of weeds.  I'm afraid that with all of the rain we've been having the weeds are making a bit of a comeback but even still, this little garden is one of my favorite spots in the yard. 

The oak that stood here had died from wilt but the creeping virginia that had climbed up the side has remained.  The ferns pop up all on their own like weeds.  I keep some but they'll quickly overtake the garden if I let them.  I like that the stump is producing shoots and leaves...how's that for determination?

If you look closely, you'll see a little iron nuthatch, purchased from this shop on Etsy.

At the base of the stump is a patch of hens and chicks.  The hens are making chicks like crazy!  Look at all those babies tucked in there.

My tribute to Margie.

Behind the stump stands my birdfeeder that I adore from Joe Papendick.  It plays host to a number of different birds...nuthatches, finches, blue jays, woodpeckers, and sometimes some of these guys:

a yellow-shafted Northern Flickr.

The toads and garter snakes tend to linger in here and our new flock of chicks and guinea keets like to play here as well.  I think it must be the art that draws them in.

The lilacs and irises have bloomed and gone, the daylilies are doing their thing, and soon the hydrangeas will bloom.  I've been feeding them coffee grounds and hope to have some lovely blue blooms again this year.  I'll share photos when they're up.

How is your garden growing?  Do you have a special place where the toads play?

Crafting For Ourselves

Just a taste of some of the loveliness found in the Crafting For Ourselves Flickr group.  Have something you've made just for you lately?   Come join us!

   

1. 2 birds front, 2. Twig flower pot, 3. felted vessel with embroidery and crochet, 4. 39 Squares "Knitting", 5. Wardrobe Refashion - project #1, 6. Felted necklace, 7. M. No 2 *, 8. The Little Wood Gatherer, 9. ru234 288

(Kinda) Wordless Wednesday

The awesome rikrak is featuring my collection of wooden bowls on her blog today and having a giveaway, too!  Stop on by and see more pics of my lovely bowls and try your hand at winnin' some stuff.

New Babies

We expanded our flock this weekend, adding 12 Guinea keets, 6 Gold Links, and 2 turkeys.  We have 10 young chickens now who are not too impressed with the new additions, but I imagine they'll all work it out eventually.  We have the tiny babies in the brooding coop now and the Guineas will be moved out to the garden coop when they're a little bigger.

We've had our worst year, ever, for ticks which is what prompted me to get the Guineas.  A pair of Guineas can supposedly eat all the ticks in an acre of land.  As long as you bond with them when they're young, they'll return home to roost when they're let loose.

They're tiny, about golf ball size and they have squeaky little voices that sound like rusted gates swinging shut.  Totally adorable.  The turkeys always have cool personalities. They're more deliberate than chickens and seem to be taking everything in. The Guineas have adopted them as mommas and cram themselves under their wings to keep warm. One turkey seems into it (probably a girl) and the other would rather go wander around.

The chickens seem to think I'm the momma and run to find me when I'm in the yard.  They curl up in my lap and sleep. 

We lost the rest of our adult egg-layers a few months ago so we're re-building.  It's really enjoyable having a flock and nothing but nothing beats a fresh egg.  We are meat-eaters so the turkeys will be here only until Thanksgiving.  I'm a firm believer in knowing where your food comes from, and respecting the animal that provides it.  So while yes, I will eat these turkeys, I know that they will be well-treated in the meantime and that they will be used in their entirety.  They in turn will eat bugs and my kitchen scraps for me, fertilize my yard, provide entertainment and companionship, and finally, food. 

May we all be so useful.

I'll be gone for the next few days but I'll see you all soon.  Have a great week.

Play With Buttons And Wool

Wow, where did the last few days go?  It's been a blur I tell ya.  Sleepless nights and bad weather.  Yesterday we had threats of tornadoes competing with a hay field fire that was trying to reach us first.  In my panic-stricken mind I was imagining the tornado picking up the fire and plopping it down on our house.  See what sleeplessness can do to you?  Luckily, no such thing happened and we skipped through with just some wind and one downed tree across the driveway. 

Whew!  It hasn't been all doom and gloom though, the sky is bright and blue this morning.  My new pinecone ornaments had a mention on Craft, which made me happy, and I had a chance to collaborate with Laura Brightwood on a t-shirt design on Threadless. 

They have a contest going on in which designers use photographs to design a shirt.  Laura saw my button tree and asked if I'd be open to letting her use it.  I said yes, and she came up with a super fun design which I think highlights the "play" message of the tree.  Take a look and you'll see some of my other woolly works hidden in there, along with a lamb made by Laura.

Now here's where I'm going to ask for your help.  If Laura's design wins, there are cash and prizes (cash and prizes people!!) which would be very nice indeed.  If you like this design, please tell your friends, sign up on Threadless and vote, and generally spread the word.  We'd really love to get this design printed and need your help to do it.  Please?

I hope you've all had a great week.  Wishing you the sunniest and safest of weekends.

Button Monday

The grey clouds parted long enough to give us a rainbow.  Well, a button rainbow anyway. 

The grey weather put a damper on my attempts to photograph anything inside so I hauled my old table outside and played. 

I'm hoping it will chase away the rain and leave me a real rainbow in its path.

Happy Monday.