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honored guests

Yesterday was spent with my sister and her husband at the New Holland horse auction. They were going to look for a pony for their youngest daughter's birthday and I was going, well, because I like those sorts of things. When the smoke cleared, they had bought two ponies instead of just one. Their older daughter already has a small horse, but it's too big for her and they're hoping a smaller one will help build her confidence. These two are very sweet, calm, easy going, and small. Perfect for young girls just starting out. Oh, and they also bought a pony cart - which should be a lot of fun!

Since my niece's birthday isn't until Friday, and the pony is a surprise, they'll be staying in one of my paddocks until then. 

what are they?

I happened upon these delicate blue wildflowers over the weekend quite by accident. Other than the blossoms, they look just like clumps of grass mixed in among the honeysuckle at the edge of my woods. They are sky blue with a clear yellow center on the inside. I've never seen anything like them before and would love to know what they are. Anyone know?

the garden

Here is an overview of most of my garden. From left to right you can see the "three sisters" planting of field corn, beans, and melons. You can also see salad greens, sunflowers, potatoes, mustard, tomatoes and peppers (in the red plastic). 

The three sisters is something I've read about but never tried before. You plant the corn first, four to a hill, and when it is 4" tall plant pole beans in between the corn plants. Then in between the corn/bean hills, you plant melons, squash, pumpkins, etc., two to a hill. The idea is that the corn will support the beans as they grow, the beans will add nitrogen to the soil, and the squash will shade the ground to minimize weeds. It's an interesting concept and one which will be fun to watch play out. I've mulched the three sisters heavily in between the hills with cardboard covered up with horse manure/bedding and then topped it off with wood chips from last year. The weeds don't stand a chance (hopefully).

The field corn is from seed saved from last year's planting. It worked out great last year - the animals got some for treats and I got some for corn meal - which was very good, by the way. I encourage you to try your hand at growing it for yourself - but get an heirloom variety so you can save your own seed. 

The beans for three sisters were: Emerite pole bean, your typical french green bean; Chinese Red Noodle bean, an oddball that is supposed to get 18" pods that are bright red; and Vermont Cranberry bean, a nice red spotted bean that's good for drying and using for soups and chili. The melon/squash component consists of Banana melons, Thai Golden melons, a Pepino melon, french "Cinderella" pumpkins (Rouge Vif D'Etampes), lemon cucumbers, a plain old slicing cucumber, and a couple zucchini.

Salad greens, red beets, onions and sunflowers are next to the three sisters. The plan is that the greens will be done by the time the squash becomes rampant, and the sunflowers will be well above it all. I've been eating a LOT of salad lately.

Potatoes: two white varieties and a blue variety. Supposedly the blue one stays that color even through cooking. Should be interesting. This picture was taken last week before mulching was started. At this point, I have about half the potatoes mulched, first laying down a thin layer of newspaper and topping it off with the manure and wood chips.

Mustard: Brown, black, and white. They're looking good, so hopes are high for home made grainy mustard.

Tomatoes: Limony, John Baer, Wapsipinicom, Black Sea Man, Orange Strawberry, Green Zebra, and Mexican Midget - all heirloom varieties.

Peppers: Early Sunsation, Satsuma, Mandarin, Hungarian, Jalapeno, Cayenne, and Lemon Drop.

There is also a row of zinnias and cosmos for cutting, a couple of cotton plants, a few carrots, Danish Ballhead cabbage, peanuts, and a few roselle, a relative of hibiscus from asia. Roselle is what gave the zing to red zinger tea. I wonder if it will be good in a blend with mint.

In what was supposed to be the oats bed, I put in indian corn, broom corn, popcorn, and sweet corn. Just a little of each. The oats were a failure, hardly any germinated, so I 'tilled them under for the sake of the corn contingent.

Next to the corn, the wheat is actually making a comeback! Not a nice, full, dense stand, but hopefully enough to harvest. It is making seed heads now and so really does look like wheat.

So now all the planting is done. More mulching is next on the list and then it will "just" be keeping ahead of the weeds and of course, enjoying the harvest!

early morning beauty

As seen on a pre-breakfast walk in the woods.

peep show

Two weeks ago 25 cornish rock crosses arrived via the postal service. Right now they are in the barn until they can safely be put in an outdoor pen during the day. Compared to the bantams, these babies sure can eat and drink! I can see why they are known for their fast growth. According to the hatchery, they could be ready to butcher as early as eight weeks old! To slow down their growth a bit, it's recommended to put their food away at night so they're not eating 24/7. In the video above you can see what it looks like when I give them their food back in the morning. Hungry little buggers!

taking the leap

It had to happen eventually. Having started eight sculptures in the past couple months yet seemingly unable to finish a single one of them, I finally managed to complete one - and none too soon. The deadline for the Lancaster Museum of Art show was Sunday at 3 p.m. I got it there at 2:30. Would have been earlier in the day and would have been a different piece, but as I was putting the final, and I do mean final, touches on it, I broke it. Snapped a piece right off. Not wasting any time on regrets, I quickly finished the wall sculpture shown above. And as I drove it to the museum, it was still drying.

"Taking the Leap" is about moving forward and taking risks. Growing and changing. And while change sometimes seems dangerous, it often comes with great reward. For those breaking out of their shell, the risk of falling to the ground is outweighed by the reward of soaring.

As for the piece originally planned for the show, I think I'll start over. The idea is a good one and still worth pursuing. Referencing a quote from Winston Churchill, it makes a bit of a political statement which is unusual for me. Generally I stay away from that stuff. At the rate that sculptures are being completed lately it might be ready for next spring's show - if I'm lucky!

rocky? is that you?

As it turns out, my brother gave me very good advice when he told me I'd never want to put a cat door coming directly into the house. Into the attached garage is fine, but not the house. Steve the cat has quite a penchant for catching small creatures and bringing them into the garage to play with. Alive. He'll play with them until they die. Sometimes he'll eat them and sometimes he'll leave them for me to find and clean up (nice). Most of the time it's voles, sometimes baby rabbits, and once a catbird. The voles and rabbits don't bother me much. The catbird had me pretty irritated since it was one of a pair that was nesting in the tree right outside my bedroom window, and I LIKE catbirds. But this morning really took the cake. There he was, in the garage playing with a baby flying squirrel. Quickly intervening, I deposited Steve in the house and donning a pair of thick leather gloves, caught the little guy and put him in a box for the short trip back into the woods. I wanted to take a picture of him, but didn't want to prolong the torture of confinement longer than absolutely necessary (the photo above is one that I found). Taking him to the base of a very large tree, tipping the box on it's side and opening it up, I released him. He quickly scampered up the tree to safety. Hopefully he's old enough to be on his own or his mother finds him. 

For those of you who have never seen a flying squirrel, they are very small nocturnal creatures that can glide from tree to tree using the webbing between their legs for lift. It's been many years since I've seen one and I'm glad to know they're around. 

some unfinished business

It's been awhile since any new work has been posted here so I wanted to show you why. Above are six sculptures in various stages of completion and I've begun yet another one. And next week I plan to start a commissioned piece. But I'm not stressed or concerned about all the unfinished work because it will all get done in good time. For the most part, the details are worked out and I know where I'm going with them so it's all good. But keep checking back in folks, because surely if enough work gets started, something will also get done.

international year of natural fiber

2009 has been designated as the year of natural fibers by the United Nations. The objective is to improve the food income of poor farmers by increasing the demand for natural fibers. Natural fibers run the gamut from wool and cotton to jute, sisal, silk, flax, cashmere, alpaca, mohair and yak. 

Also, as a part of this year-long celebration, natural fiber lovers from all over the world are invited to help create the world's longest scarf. Sponsored by Keep the Fleece in partnership with Heifer International, the goal is to raise $250,000 which will be used to donate fleece-bearing animals to needy families all over the world. To participate, visit Keep the Fleece for all the information.

Personally, I think this is all very exciting! I love natural fibers - the look and feel as well as being a renewable resource rather than a petroleum-based product! And in honor of this being the year of natural fibers, in addition to the wool my sheep grow for me, I'll also be attempting to raise a tiny little patch of organic cotton. We'll see how that goes since Pennsylvania isn't exactly the right environment for heat-loving cotton. But it will sure be fun to try.

Oh, and by the way, a wonderful way to celebrate the year of natural fibers is coming up this weekend! The Maryland Sheep and Wool festival is being held at the Howard County Fairgrounds. I'm planning to go with some friends on Sunday - they will all want to look at yarn and I'll want to look at sheep - good times!

happy earth day!

"Migration Song"

they survived!

NEVER in a million years would I have believed that the goslings would have survived their night in the cold. Today, I happened to look out in the pasture and saw these three little beauties being carefully watched over by their parents. Amazing. There is still a fourth egg in there and Griselda went back in and spent the rest of the day sitting on it while Teague took care of the newborns. I have a hard time believing that the fourth egg is still viable, but then I had also given up on these three, so who knows?

spring woodland

I took a walk in the woods yesterday after I was done working and wanted to share some of what I found...

a beautiful orange butterfly...

tiny clumps of moss...

a salamander under a rock...

mayapples just beginning to unfurl...

a squirrel's cache of nuts...

the first fern fronds.

A happy spring day to you!

it's a mystery

Well, things are not looking good for the about-to-be-hatched goslings. Last night at bedtime, I heard the geese calling. That was unusual, so went out to check. Griselda was not on her nest in the barn, so I checked the eggs and could actually hear them peeping through their shells. I looked out in the pasture and saw both geese, but without a flashlight couldn't see much more than that. When I went out this morning to check on everyone, I realized that Griselda was on the OTHER side of the pasture fence and apparently had been all night. Checking the eggs again, they were cold and silent. I went out and herded Gris back into the pasture and she immediately went back on her nest, but it is most likely too late. Probably the goslings died in their shells and it's doubtful Griselda will start a new batch again this year.

So what happened? In nearly four years, the geese have never gotten out, and the only way I can imagine she did was by going over the fence. But it's a four foot fence and I've never seen her achieve a lift of more than 2 feet. These are not flighty birds - they prefer to walk. Griselda is a good mother and has barely left her nest in a month. What caused her to leave her nest and go over the fence? The only thing I can think of is that she was going after a predator, a fox perhaps. But why wouldn't Teague, the gander, have been the one to do that? He's been standing guard since Griselda started sitting. Also, none of the other animals were bothered.

It's a mystery, and a shame. 

another farm and studio update

FARM:

Last week I started the tender annuals such as tomatoes, melons, peppers, herbs and flower seeds indoors. Outdoors, beets, lettuce, and spinach went into the garden. So did the sheep muck from the barn - good times, folks. 

Spearmint went into its own bed in the garden paddock, hopefully to be followed by peppermint. I'd like to start drinking more tea rather than soft drinks.

The local conservancy was selling trees and so I bought 20 douglass fir which have now been planted out in the woods.

Sad to say that my winter wheat "field" that was planted last fall didn't make it. Most likely the sheep and geese grazed it down too hard - my fault for keeping them in the garden paddock for too long. And so I tilled it under and planted spring wheat in its place. Next to the wheat, a new bed has been tilled and oats have gone in - another new thing here on the hill. Hopefully these two crops will do better than the winter wheat. But hope springs eternal - I sure would like to try making baked oatmeal or whole wheat toast for breakfast from grains that were grown right here.  

Goslings are due to hatch on Saturday and Mayapple should have her lamb(s) by the end of the month. 

STUDIO:

I have six mixed media pieces underway in the studio, most of them very close to being completed. There are also several in my sketchbook just waiting to have life breathed into them. Winter is a tough time for me, and I'm still coming out from under the proverbial rock, or hibernation, or whatever it is. But the good news is that creativity and productivity are on the upswing as temperatures rise and days gradually become longer!

SCORE!

A local building is being torn down and I was able to do a bit of salvaging. In addition to some miscellaneous scrap wood, I got several old windows that I plan to use to make a coldframe for starting plants in the spring, extending the salad season in the fall and keeping tender perennial herbs in the winter. 

There was also an old piano that no one wanted because it couldn't be kept in tune, so I disassembled it as much as possible for the parts. Quite a lot of bits and pieces come out of a piano that are very interesting. I took all the piano wire, the keys, and the entire striker/hammer(?) assembly as well as some of the wood. I could perhaps have gotten more, but the building was literally being torn down around me and so I felt some pressure to hurry a bit. I use quite a bit of wire in my sculptures, so that's a no-brainer, but the rest of the piano guts may sit in my studio for awhile before they are put to good use. It felt a bit odd to take apart a piano - kind of fun, but also like I was doing something wrong, somehow - like maybe the piano police were going to come and haul me away for disrespecting a musical instrument. Anyway, with all of the front of the piano off and the soundboard and wires exposed, it looked a lot like a harp. If I ever get another chance at an old tuneless piano again*, I'd love to try to mount that whole wire assembly on a wall. It was quite beautiful.

*So if anyone out there lives anywhere near Lancaster, PA or Northern MD, and wants to get rid of an old, tuneless piano, let me know and I'll come get it!

spring flowers

The bluebells are blooming.

learning a new skill

On Saturday morning, I learned the basics of how to spin yarn using what's called a drop spindle. My motivation for learning this skill was to eventually be able to spin a bit of wool from Rose to be used as a decorative accent to the hat and hand warmers made from Jack's wool. Now normally even though I truly enjoy looking at and fondling beautiful fibers such as wool, actually knitting or sewing makes me pretty tense. And so while it was a skill I wanted to learn, I wasn't real excited about it. But happily it was quite a bit more fun than expected. Rather than being stressful, it's meditative and relaxing. Who'd have thought?

Anyway, in the photo above is my brand new "learners" spindle with my first-ever yarn wound around it. Behind it are some wool roving samples for me to practice with. Love, love, love that green!

I also learned a bit about carding as well as winding yarn into skeins and balls - all by hand using simple, beautifully crafted wooden tools. Just taking this one class took the mystery and intimidation out of creating yarn from the wool of my sheep. Which is kind of funny when you think about it - I've been using serious power tools for years, but twisting a bit of wool into string was beyond me. I suppose it's all what you're used to seeing in use. Which again, is kind of funny. Power tools such as table saws and belt sanders are a new invention compared to drop spindles, carders, and niddy-noddies (see, I'm learning the lingo!).

So if any of this sounds interesting or intrigues you, find someone to help you get started - you just might enjoy it more than you think. 

happy good friday and easter!

This little bird is wishing everyone a wonderful Easter weekend!

Etsy Easter update

Yesterday evening I uploaded several new items to my Etsy store, all with an Easter theme, so go ahead and take a look if you're the curious sort. You'll find these tiny carrot ornaments as well as several ceramic egg rattles. If you haven't checked Etsy out yet, you should. It's a fun place full of everything that is hand-crafted - no industrialized machine-made stuff there.

Have fun!

the start of an orchard

A package arrived from the nursery last week and since it was so nice out yesterday, I decided to take a break from the computer and get outside and plant. Although there's not much to see, in the photo above there is a Concord grape vine (my all-time favorite grape), a Himrod white seedless table grape (new to me), and three black raspberries. Also in the package were two black currant bushes (photo below). All planted in the garden paddock.

Still on order are two filbert bushes. Partly because of space constraints in the garden area, the filberts, along with most of the fruit trees that are planned will be planted along the fences that divide the pasture into paddocks. There are several benefits to doing this: The trees will be able to be spread over a larger area, hopefully cutting down on pests; any fruit that drops can be eaten by the chickens, geese and sheep; aforementioned livestock will have additional shade; and it will be aesthetically pleasing. Please note that the real emphasis is on the aesthetically pleasing part of the equation. I envision these fence lines growing up in a mix of fruit and nut trees, roses, herbs, and native plants such as honeysuckle, allowing the wire fence itself to all but disappear. At least that's the plan. 

I can't wait.