The Fat Farm

That's what we used to call them.  You know...the "retreats" where you go to lose some weight ...get refreshed and then go back home to your normal routine.  Political correctness decrees that we shouldn't call them that anymore...but, I ain't politically correct...so I call it just that.  The Fat Farm.

This one is my sister's acreage.  We have joked about it being that since the first time I went there and did a lot of physical stuff ...and did come home 5 pounds lighter.  Since then, I don't always manage to lose, but still do a lot of things while I am there ..so at least I am in a bit better shape when I get home ...except last time when I had an infected fingernail area... which had nothing to do with work or even her place.  It was wrecked before I left home ..but,  progressed to the point where I needed antibiotics by the time I got back here. 

This time we picked major weeds, made a new little garden area where we planted pansies given to us by a guy that had accepted the last of her spruce and fir 'baby trees' that she has been trying to get rid of for ...oh....about 8 years.  She bought them in a silent auction.... thought she was only buying a couple... she ended up with a couple of "lots" ... which consisted of plenty.  The total number of trees was well into the many hundreds. This was the last 20 or so .. by now, they had rooted right through the bottom of small pots and straight into the ground.  We had to pull them out by the roots to move them.  some were pretty big ..and heavy........... some even had 3 trees to a huge pot...

On the day before that she had begun to dig around the leaky yard hydrant, which is near the horse waterer and just outside the fencing around Mickey's paddock.  Not much room to work around it as it was situated between the waterer and a fence post, but it had to be replaced.  Digging commenced... but had to be abandoned on the first day...    too hot and it became too late in the day and ...well, one can only do so much in a day.  I forget what else came into play...but it was something..........

Next day the digging continued.  We needed to get down deep enough in our narrow trench to see the bottom of the hydrant pipe and the coupling ... everything was totally rusted and wrecked.  It was a narrow dark space; we were running out of daylight and brought out a trouble light... there were rocks and roots and rootlets everywhere and it was damp and smelly.  I hated having my head in the narrow space..could hardly breathe.  She was the trooper, as usual, and was right down in there with the crowbar.... digging around behind the pipe as well as in front of it.  We had to make enough room that when we took out the old pipe...no dirt would be dislodged and fall into the lower pipe as we tried to carefully place the new one onto the threaded portion.  Once we found the lower drain area we made sure it did drain out a bit ...then, of course, there was also mud..... oh it was great.  

In the end... we got the old one off...  guided the new one into position and tried to lower it into the proper area..... et voila ..... success!  It turned into the threads nicely... we got it tighter.... tested it and it worked perfectly.  A lovely new blue handled yard hydrant.  Woohoo!  I'll just add that to our résumé  ....... along with massage, dental assisting, secretarial skills, .. re-jetting a motorcycle carbureter, baking pies, churning out muffins and cookies, doing landscape rock work, house painting,   etc...  ...  stitching up things (and, in her case, even making clothing and costumes, I don't really sew)   .. worming horses, and all the other stuff that goes with that.. etc, sheeesh.... she's got me well beat in the 'extras' department of any résumé  . ... we can now also claim to be able to replace a frost free yard hydrant.  Hah!  As if anybody would hire a couple of 60s women to do the task.  Not that I want a job.

I'm not going to tell you about the weed eater episode ... suffice to say...some things turn in the opposite direction than you may think... especially when they need to stay in position while operating in the other direction..... nobody was injured in this process as it can't even be turned onto the threads unless you get it right.

So, the upshot of it all is.....I lost 5 pounds!  

Now, off to get some groceries.  The fridge is bare.  

Oh, and.... deer.  These two came down from the top of the property one night when I was on the porch .. sitting quietly.  I'm not sure if they recognized me as a human..or if they were just not afraid...I quietly took several photos and they never did seem nervous.  Finally they moved off back up the hill.  That was fun.
Click on them to see their little faces up closer .... 

As you can tell....they were pretty cheeky and nibbled on every leaf or flower that looked like it could be tasty .... and wandered around the yard at will.  Checking out every single thing.

Limp got mad...

..when some darn starling stole one of his crumbs that he dropped while trying to reorganize a beak full to carry off to the babies.
When he got back to the fence and saw it had been stolen, he looked around... muttered something I couldn't quite make out and jumped down into the bird bath where he began vigorously swishing his head back and forth.  This is his usual bath...only the head..  as it is difficult for him to bend his damaged leg I think.  He looked up... stepped on the edge and ... usually he hops right off.  Not this time.  Back he went and really went to town.... he splashed like crazy to get it all out of his system.

I've decided crows are pretty patient.  The starlings make their lives hell... really they do.  They dive bomb them, peck at them in flight and on the ground as well...they steal their crumbs.. they never shut up either with the darn TICK TICKing....... it makes me crazy, but not Limpy and his wife  ... although, he is a bit more patient than his 'missus'.  Sometimes she makes noises and flies at them every so often...but, he just quietly says "awwww".... in his little voice., like ..oh, man..not again......

He has a loud voice when he needs it..but mostly just mutters, or chatters or quietly voices his displeasure and/or opinion.   He talks to me while I garden too... wandering around with his limpy gait... hoping for a few sun flower seeds from time to time.  He doesn't get too close and I don't blame him... who knows how he got injured.  Maybe it was a person who hurt him.

I've been indulging them ..helping them to feed the babies.... but, I've cut back and hope to let them teach the babies not to beg ... he is a good provider (even if he is disabled) and she is a fierce and capable Mom.  I can hear the babies in the tree now..but, they are not out of the nest yet.  Probably won't be long...they say 35 days ... it's been several weeks since they began taking food to the nest.

I'm dreading winter ... I've read that they do migrate.  Ours from Alberta apparently go to Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. How will he fly that far with a damaged wing and leg and whatever else is making him limp and not fly right?

I've even gotten to the point where I wonder if a small doghouse nailed to my fence would work as a winter house for him if he can't go away.   I wonder if he might use it.   Mister BV is wondering if I want it heated and decorated nicely too..... hmmm....


Sometimes I attempt a bit of humour in return...but, it's probably going to end badly for him..... and it's already making me a bit sad to think on it.




Linking up to Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday.

Olde Worlde look ...

... I think it looks like something vintage .... and, it does have a bit of actual vintage on it...the tatted edge of a hankie that I bought at the local doll/bear show a month or so ago.  A woman had several silk hankies ..for 25 cents and 50 cents!  I snapped up most of them.

Of course, one does hate to cut into them....but, like Karen says ... why put them in a drawer and forget about them?  Use them on something else .. something that will be seen often.

What about a pin cushion?  Perfect.

The colour on the piece of fabric is flower pounding... using flowers from my garden.  I did it ages ago ...and stuck in in a bag with other fabrics... hahahahah...never to be seen again either really...... looks a bit like watercolour doesn't it?

Pssst... don't tell Karen I showed it publicly without damp stretching it...yikes!! It looks all wrinkly!
Almost as bad as showing your underwear in public....well, ...if you are over 30 that is.

I use my little pin cushions all the time .. some sit behind glass in a curio ... some have been sent away.... they get used and they definitely get looked at. No hankies in hidden places in drawers around here.

They're lovebirds!

My crow couple... they really aren't crows at all.   I caught them sitting in the poplar one evening.... kissing....

I call them Limpy and the Missus most of the time, but sometimes I call her Big Girl..... because she is.  She is big, beautiful and fierce.... she has large feet and sturdy long legs...and seems  so much larger than Limpy.  His legs are pretty skinny and his one wing droops down at what I am calling his shoulder.... poor guy.  But, he does get around pretty well even with is disabilities.

She is amazing on the wing... even a squirrel zigzagging across the street could hardly stay ahead of her.  He zigged, she zigged.... he zagged, she zagged ...   she almost managed to catch his upraised tail...oooohh... they hate squirrels with a passion.  I don't know if squirrels would dare to raid a crow's nest ... but, maybe ...   All I know is ... if they see one, they give chase ..  even if they see one half a block away!  Where was the camera that day.  I would have had to be some kind of speedy to catch any of it!

Limpy is a little less graceful in his attempts to get rid of intruders and interlopers ... this is more his favourite position.  Sitting outside my window ... keeping a beady eye on me. ..

but if anybody comes near "his" food board...or "his" bird bath water.... in "his" yard, he gives awkward flapping, hopping and jumping chase.   Between them, this pair of crows gets rid of Starlings, squirrels, magpies, and small hawks..... in their quest to raise their babies.  I don't mind at all that he keeps other big or annoying birds away.  The little birds don't mind him and his Missus at all.  The sparrows are even cheeky enough to steal his seeds off the board I set out for the crows.  The chickadees don't care about any other birds... they come ..do their thing and go... as they please.

He has become somewhat stronger ... he doesn't use the tree for climbing up to their nest anymore.  He manages to get airborne and onto a neighbouring rooftop...and, from there, up to the nest.   They try to switch with each other so they don't leave the nest unguarded for any length of time.  Unlike the darn robins in the photo below ... they left their nest unguarded .... and, .... oh, no..... Mister Limpy did a BAD, BAD thing!!  He got up to the robin nest and stole an egg.....ohhhhh...I feel bad now...... Here he is ..caught in the act.  Only because I wondered what he was up to sitting on the big plant pot arrangement on the front steps of the neighbour's house and got the camera to check through the zoom lens....... I was shocked to see him do it.  I suppose I shouldn't have been...but, I was.

I'm finking on him and linking up to  Wild Bird Wednesday ....   click on the photo below if you would like to see all sorts of beautiful and interesting birds....

Postal fun....

ooooh, sometimes the postman brings some treasures....

This was a gift from bloggy buddy Beedeebabee.....  you can probably tell by her nom de plume (well, I call it a nom de plume because I love that phrase) .... that she does ...wait for it .........beading!

Along with a beautiful pin that she made ....

which I probably won't wear, but will keep
inside glass to keep it pristine......


she sent me goodies for my own beading stash.

Some bits of felt to use for more Dotee faces..... and, it is really nice felt.  Even the wrappings are useful....I may have to make more Dotees so that I can use some of the tulle..... and, a beautiful piece of lace to use with my little pin cushions.  I am dithering on which fabrics to use with it ...and, afraid to cut it.... but, ... honest I will...........soon...

Thanks so much Beedee..... what a fun day that was!


``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Limpy and the Missus

Never mind about "stone the crows" ....the neighbours will probably stone me if they see me feeding a handicapped crow and its mate.  But, they likely won't  .... have you noticed how unobservant most folks are these days?  Too busy coming and going and "doing" to notice the little things all around them.

One day I noticed something.  A crow with a limp.  More like a goose step ..which I thought was pretty funny initially and I sort of made fun of him .. til I realized he couldn't really fly much either.   Then, I quit calling him Goose and took to calling him Limpy.  Mr. BV calls him Gimpy.

Anyway.... he and another crow ...which has to be the little lady... (because I read that the males don't actually sit on the nest) have a nest across the street in a spruce tree.  They may have just eggs at this point or there could already be little babies...  all I know is .. she is spending most of her time on or near the nest.
Every so often when I toss out some goodies for Mr. Limpy.. he calls to her and she flies down to share a bit of his grub.  He comes to just under the window when I toss things out for them and gathers up as much of it as he can in one beak-full and sprints off about 20 feet to bury it in the garden or in the lawn.  He plucks a little pile of grass to tamp down on top of it or puts 3 pieces of small bark or mulch on it in the garden.  So clever.  He always remembers where he puts it too...I've watched him re-open the cache and retrieve things later in the day.  Even though he is handicapped, he is doing his very best to look out for the two of them.

They must be a young couple .. they don't seem to have any other crow "helpers at the nest" as they call them in the info I found.  Other females that help the breeding female.  They can be other older babies that are still with the parents... apparently they can, and do, stay for 2 to 7 years with the parents... ..

I read that their mainstay is usually earthworms...who knew? ... but, I toss out good home made seed bread bits for them...along with a bit of meat or whatever else we are having for supper.  He is definitely not a vegetarian.... won't eat fruit or veggies.... hah!  and I thought they were scavengers ...which I also thought meant they would eat anything and everything.  NOT!  These two prefer meat and carbs it seems....

So, I read up on what they do eat and some person has made lists... they included "egg yolk" ..... mine will eat egg whites ... because I tossed him some of my brekky the other day and that was what I was having.  He loves it.  So, already he is out of character... and, he loves my home made bread best.... hahahaha..... silly old thing.......well, maybe he is not that old.

He is a pretty smart guy.  He can't just fly up into his own tree where the nest is ...but, he has a method of getting close.   He hops onto a low hanging branch of the tree near it, walks up it to the sturdy area of the branch ...hops up to the next one and the next and by doing so he can climb up about 25 to 30 feet high... pretty quickly.  The mate comes to meet him and he shares with her the food he has taken  ... and, then, he steps out to the edge of a branch, jumps off and sails down onto the ground..usually in my front yard or garden.  Or, if he climbs higher yet...he can manage to fly around off the one tree into the nest tree...or even onto a roof top and then into a big poplar tree next to the climbing tree.  He gets around pretty good still, but I'm sure it is taxing for him.

And, if need be... he can take part in action to ward off large intruders... like yesterday, when all of sudden about 12 crows materialized out of nowhere, chasing an eagle.  Limpy stopped dead, .. ran out to the street flapping like crazy, managed to get airborne, just made it over the neighbour's fence and then... managed a big circle and up, up into a poplar.  And, then... Limp and the Missus landed together on a poplar in the golf course directly behind houses across the street (same tree the eagle chose) to add their presence to the confrontation.   ... yay for the Gimp!   He may be handicapped, but he is my new little hero!  What a commotion!!  They all continued with the raucous tirade til the eagle left for parts unknown.  Then all the crows left too... except Limpy and the Missus.  She went back to her nest and he hung out in the poplar ....resting...................... or maybe just afraid to be on the ground again for a bit.... didn't want to be a victim of any eagle hunting I bet.

And, look... they are still lovebirds..   this time when she flew down... she crouched down and offered him her head ....which he then preened for her.  They sat like this for several minutes ....

She embarrasses him a bit when they come to the table together...she jumps right in with wild abandon and food bits go flying in all directions .... sometimes he just steps back, sighs, looks skyward and then shakes his head and just starts to gather up her mess.  Other times he marches up, steps in, and makes her behave.... hahahaha...it's pretty funny to see.......

That's him on the right.... taking charge this time.....but, mostly he is an old softie... let's her get away with murder......

I don't know if he will get any better or if it is permanent injury to his right side ...  and, I dread to think of him in the cold of winter...but, for now...I just know I feel happy to be able to help him with his job of looking after his little family.

As soon as  Wild Bird Wednesday is up ..... tomorrow ........I will be linking up to that once again.... haven't been doing any bird photos lately.... but, do check out the others photos and birds of all sorts some day you have the chance.

Wow! Look at the time....

I'll be late for something....oh, yeh.....the Mad Hatter's tea or some silly thing.... but, hey!  what are these?

Just a minute.  Do I like Phlox?..... erm.... yep.  I do.

Uh, oh...she's watching me.

Look cute.  That's it.

Just look cute and she melts.  Only takes pictures ..no throwing things.

Oh, boy, these really are tasty.  Just a few more and then............I'm off!

mmmmmmm.....soooooo good. ..... ....    ........

One more time with the Dotees...

.... and, then, I'll spare you any more photos of them... honest.  Although I think they are pretty cute myself....

When I sent the photo of them in the muffin pan to my sister, the first thing she said was .... they could be a choir ... and the little extra one could be the director ..... and, so.......

'...... "ahem, ahem"....  ...... tap, tap tap...... "girls ...  girls, pay attention please !" .....

 "Ladeeez and Gentlemen ...   .... the first ever public singing appearance of the Dotee Divas !!"

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Don't worry ....I'm sure they'll wake up any second now"............

A Baker's Dozen ... done!

... not muffins or cookies..but little Dotee Dolls.   They look like pretty little cupcakes to me ..   with icing and sprinkles ... or is it sparkles? ...

Originally I was joking about perhaps making a dozen...but, then... because I love to bake ... in my head (of course) it became a baker's dozen.  And, why not?  They are so much fun to do and so colourful and cheerful .. it's been a great few weeks of choosing the perfect fabrics and beads.

The first one or two were definitely a bit awkward ...well, maybe it was me who was a bit awkward.  Only because I didn't really know what the heck I was doing...but, I figured it out and sailed along with them soon after that.

And, here they all are....

click to see them closer...


I had this great idea (well, I think it's pretty cute anyway) for a photo of them in the muffin pan.. for blog fodder... so had to get busy and remake two of them that I had let fly the coop too early.

I borrowed Miko back from my neighbour just for the photo shoot so didn't have to re-make her ...

The second Roxanne is missing a little heart necklace as I couldn't find a second in my stash of stuff.... but, she is just as cute as ever.

So, now we have a dozen..

plus Astrid... (and, doesn't she just look so smug with her very own paper case)...

 ..   as an art installation on the coffee table ....


Thanks to Dot Christian for creating Dotee Dolls.... and, for the inspiration to do some fun little stitching projects  ...

.. still playing with dolls....

... and, here are the new ones since I last posted the pink brocade one...

This one is a bit of unusual coloured, almost tie dyed, fabric.  I gave her turquoise, shorter, curly hair.. and named her Aurora.
                                                     

I didn't know how this fabric would look once made up, but I like it.  It has a more geometric look to it, but once the face and beading was added... it's great.  She is Olivia.

                                                   

















Then, in my stash, I found a bit of fabric with flowers on it...which I used over the Easter weekend... made things feel quite spring or summery.... hence her name.... Summer.

A piece of beautiful turquoise and brilliant lime green.  Another of the Hoffman fabrics ... please meet River.

Then, the Ice Princess arrived.  A piece of very thin flowery fabric with some odd dark areas on it.  (so thin I lined it) I did manage to find a beautiful icy blue area large enough to  make a body.  It has some factory machine stitch embroidery on it... which I placed in the centre so I could use it for the beading.  Only silvery beads on there ...  I've been mulling over some Nordic type names........... how about .... Astrid? .....

Here's the back...another area of the fabric and look how totally different it is.  I gave her a unique bead from the 'collection' .... blue with silvery coloured circles on it ..with some almost ... coppery colouration here and there ... all the rest are silver or blue... icy......... mmmmm.............



















I have a little plan for them all when I get to the end of the project.                                              
There will have to be 3 more than the original plan  ... because I got too eager and sent 3 away already... hahahaha....oh, well, .... what's 3 more when I already have so many babies? .....

Why did I give them hair? ....

.................but, ....I like playing with their hair...........and they like it too..... look at those smiles.....

......see..........??

oh, alright .......

I'll have to admit...I like playing too......... with the beads.... and, they do seem pretty happy with all of it ...so I guess it's okay.........

 ....   carry on playing then.........