This morning clear and bright, practicing tai chi on the deck. There are tree swallows circling now over the pond. Amazing that the insectivorous birds can get enough food this early. Jet Li the llama seemed interested in my meditative practice and stayed watching near the gate in a comfy lying down spot. Maybe he was just monitoring that I’m up and moving, so when does he get grain?
We still have some hooded merganzers and ring-necked ducks on their migrant way north stopping here for a week or two. The Merganzers are early comers, when the ice is not yet out (perhaps two weeks ago now), the ring-necked more recent.
This morning I saw Wood Ducks fly into the pine snag between house and pond, where woodpeckers have nested before. What a gift to have it front and center of our view.
All the usual early spring birds are here: Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles, Mourning Doves. I think I heard a Winter Wren, and would like to hear more. Lots of Rob-bob-bobbins, Cardinal song and happy noises from Nuthatches and Chickadees, Titmice, woodpeckers. I may have heard the Kingfisher, and as I write I think I heard the burr of a warbler. Is it early? Herons are here of course and a few turtles have gotten out to sun on logs on warm days.
We seem to have a good quotient of Hylers this spring, some years they’re a little thin. Always there are more at the east end of the pond.
The phoebe has been here for several days and Bluebirds are around although I don’t see nesting behavior related to any of our boxes. Still to overhung with big trees? We’re still re-opening the meadow for llama graze and Bluebird habitat.
I cut the Syringa tree and one Redbud near the llamas to make room for a new veggie/herb/fruit garden. Still need to stump it and spade before adding compost. We also have a great big oak to take down which provides more shade than veggies will want.
All the hens are laying, from old mama white Silkie to younger Red Pyle Old English bantams and other layers in between: Spitzhauben, Golden Buffs, Araucanas and the goofy barnyard cross (Barred Rock plumage, Araucana ears and beard, Silkie top-puff).
Some days are so brilliant they’re hard to capture on film. Today is a great March day of teasing winds and warm sun full of promise.
We cut some trees Saturday and opened up the pond-side llama enclosure. Looking good. Not a lot of fire wood but we definitely gained water view footage. We opened it up for bluebirds and grazing. Still plenty of catbriar to go.
Our lovely girl. She seems to be responding to the vet’s prescriptions, is more comfortable, less “goopy” in her eyes, less mouth fragrance - and better appetite! Yay.
Mini crocuses on March 15th. Actually sooner but my camera was not at hand.
Spitzhauben chickens enjoying the sun and finding yummies where the snow is gone
Spring snow today, beautiful in its ephemeral way!
Having 6” to a foot of snow each week is beginning to feel like the movie ground hog day. But today really is ground hog day, and I don’t think there’s much question about any animal leaving a nice warm burrow, when covered by forty or more inches of snow! Between ‘bouts of shovelling I made a yummy beef stew “Gaston” based on a recipe in the joy of cooking. If I’d added the wine and the parsley, it might just be sublime.
Here’s how it’s going keeping our driveway clear:
And the view from the deck, the areas here that are not 3’ deep are where I previously shovelled.
New England Folk Festival Association, neffa.org is going mobile. Cool.
This design is derived from a T-shirt design I did in 2005.
Jane has good attention and patience. She likes treats (surprise!) and likes working for them, or even being the focus of [my] attention.
On Wed. 1/12/11 we got 16"–18" of nice fluffy snow, now slightly packed, but it has stayed cold so it’s not hard to shovel, except for the depth part. Two shovels for each bite down to ground level.
Mike’s nice black truck snowed in
On the deck, how tall IS a tabletop weber grill? It’s almost hidden here on the… table top. Snow is about 3-4” higher than the seam in the midriff of the grill.
We are lacking in current photos of ourselves, but nothing much has changed there.
Mark is ensconced in his work at a tax prep and finance office. He spends time volunteering on two fronts: the board of directors of the Concord Scout House and also the board of the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre. At the Scout House, there are large scale renovation and therefore also fundraising projects afoot. Mark has worked hard to secure funding from Concord’s Community Preservation Committee. On the Country Dance Society front, the board has been concentrating on creating a working documentation of procedures as a back up for various committees’ notes.
The llamas are obedient to Mark, and come often to their names when called. Aquila, our oldest, having weathered a big infection this past spring, is fit, and also cannot always chew her hay. She’s now getting yummy beet mash and alfalfa cubes soaked to perfection. Thanks Mark! Our sweet dwarf goats, having decided not to bear offspring, are as fat as if they would any moment.
We managed over the year to grow the flock of silkies, with the hope of many good little setters. Our white “mummy” still remains, who must be 4 or 5 by now. We have 4 or 5 other brown hens, and two beautiful roosters that are white mummy’s with the lovely tan guy that the coyote or fox got. Our silkies also fed a predator or two this year: candidates are the red-tailed hawk and a lone coyote that hung around for a while. The fox is another possibility as I saw him run away from that area about a month ago as I drove in late at night.
We have also lost a couple of hens in our “uphill” flock, a lovely almost white Golden Buff and the plucky little white Old English hen that sat on 10 eggs this spring “in the wild” away from the coop of big bully hens.
We have moved a handsome young Araucana rooster into that flock to help the bantie rooster protect our best laying hens at present.
Plans to purchase chicks are in the works for as early as March. I’ll have to order some of them ahead, so it isn’t too early to decide what to get. I am considering getting some “straight run” or unsexed chicks. No these are not neutered chickens, but whatever hatches rather than only hens or cocks. The boys’ll be soup etc, the girls layers if I do this....
The house will have to get new shingles this year and hopefully there isn’t too much weirdness under the shingles. Somethings not right up there according to some awful bumps and ripples. I may try to make it into an opportunity for a nice dormer and a cupola.
We will also build another llama/goat run-in shed this summer and a coop so animals can be housed within reach of electrical lines and perhaps with water access.
I am still working on a 300 sq. ft. addition to a friend’s house in Lexington. Currently it’s being plastered. I expect a few more months! In order to fill in or gracefully progress to the next income stream, I’m signing up to teach some classes in crafts and knitting at a new hobby & craft store in West Concord. This is a fun adventure for me and a direction I’ve meant to go for a long time. I am also finding ways to sell my art here and there and getting a better sense of where to inquire for exhibits.
Sunday, November 28, 2010, 1–5pm
At the home of Cary & Nick Browse
228 Still River Road
Still River, MA
Cortni Frecha – Hats, paintings, greeting cards
In love with fiber for years, I make wool felt hats: knit and washed, they’re warm, sturdy and durable for the sloppiest weather. Each hat is one of a kind. Some hand-knit hats too.
I originally intended to decorate my house with Victorian style fancy trim of my own devising. As I began to sketch, animals crept in. The painted wood format is still meant as an architectural ornament. Much of my work goes nicely above a door or window indoors or in a protected location outside. Other pieces make an interesting departure from framed art, drawing the wall into the cut out spaces. Pieces range in size from 12” square to 3’ x 4’. Small works in paint, pencil and pastel.
http://www.arrowmakerdesign.com
Kate Ford Designs
Kate has been creating wearable bead art for over ten years. She
works with seed beads, Austrian crystals and pearls (Swarovski),
semi-precious stones, unique hand blown glass beads, fresh
water pearls, winding and/or crocheting them into intricate and
lovely pieces suitable for every day to special occasions. From
loomed work, peyote stitch and crochet beaded bracelets and
necklaces. http://www.kateforddesigns.com
Lily Baddour–Baddour Designs
Fifteen years ago, Lily Baddour went to a bead show looking for
just one little strand of pearls to make a bracelet ...!!… She came
home with an armful of beads that were too beautiful to leave
behind, and so her jewelry creations began. Her intriguing,
unusual designs incorporate semiprecious stones, freshwater
pearls, exotic sterling silver and 14k gold in ways that celebrate
the beauty of nature. Lily also enjoys designing custom pieces
that coordinate with a special outfit, and reworking a favorite but
broken necklace into something exciting and fresh.
