Woodburnings

For the past month or so I have been working really hard on these walking sticks and boxes to display at the "Daffodil Duck Derby" at Cornish, Maine which was held last Saturday, April 26. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate; it turned out to be very cold, raw, rainy and windy. This kept people away and made it very unpleasant for the vendors. About a third didn't even show up; most of the rest of us left about 3 hours early.

Needless to say it was very disappointing after so much work, but now I just have to find another venue. The question is do I go with a shop either locally or in Portland's Old Port or try online?

Here are pictures of the boxes:

Cover of Butterfly Box

 Side of butterfly box

 Cover of harness racer box

 Side of harness racer box

Have priced these boxes at $35.00 ea.

Now to the walking sticks. These are branches that my man has lugged out of the woods while hunting in the fall or while on his part-time job as a surveyor's assistant. Most are hornbeam, but one or two are moose maple, and one is birch. I debark a portion of them at the top leaving most of the stick natural, smoothing down any sharp points or knots. After sanding the debarked area smooth, the image is burned on, then painted if I so choose. Then at least three coats of a spa varnish is applied. This is the same varnish used on boats. Finally a rubber tip is added to the bottom.

Stick on left I call "Circle of Life" 

Other side of "Circle of Life" stick

The curved "Flowers" stick/cane showing rose, daffodils and violets

Lilies of the Valley and Pansy side of "Flowers"

Another view of "Flowers"

One of two farm-themed sticks

Oak leaves and acorns

Squirrel and Oak leaves on same stick as above

These sticks have been priced at $25.00 ea.

Fiercely Unnatural

After posting the last one on feeding the deer, I realized that the last post before that was back in January and was probably the last day that I worked at the horse farm. Why? Because   the next day I came down with the same coughing virus from which I thought I had just recovered. Another trip to the doctor after three more weeks of coughing and finally got some medicine that made it go away. J had been telling me for over a month to go to the doctor, but I said, "It's a virus, there's nothing she can give me that will help." Wrong. Will I never listen? Probably not.

However, haven't gone back to work because I'm a wimp and it is still so cold in the mornings that am afraid that if I go back to spending 3-4 hrs. out there in that cold I'll start coughing again. Like I said, I'm a wimp. My girlfriend called me a candy-ass, but I prefer wimp.

J is home from work and has snow-blowed up back and is now feeding those hungry critters again. As his son said, they have become a full-time job. But this is a fiercely unnatural winter and they need the extra care. They had already come back looking for more just before he came home.

Spring?

March 20, 2014, first day of Spring and 45deg. F here in Maine at 1:40pm and everything melting like crazy. We woke up this morning to 8-10" more of snow on top of the already couple of feet of snow on the ground that has been there frozen all winter. Days the temp sometimes climbs to mid to upper 40's and this feels like a heat wave to us because we have become accustomed to much lower temps (sub-zeros anywhere between 20's up to +20's) for almost six months. And there seems to be no real warm-up in sight. (Big Sigh)

J had to go to work early this morning because there was no school due to the snowstorm. So when I got up I found a text asking me if I could snowshoe up back and feed the deer. Because I had just looked out the window and saw 3 or 4 deer out there waiting, I gave another big sigh, (hadn't had my coffee yet)(whine, whine, whine) got dressed, put on my boots, coat and gloves and went out with a big pail of grain that J had left on the inside porch. I took my snowshoes and the pail with scoop and started off up the road. I look up and there were 3 standing at the end of the road watching. By the time I got to where he starts dropping piles of grain, they turned and ran back into the trees. But I wasn't fooled; I knew they hadn't gone far.

I trudged back and forth through the snow making paths onto which I could drop the grain, up and down the road, then into the woods where the snow kept dropping off the trees onto my head. Luckily my hoodie was up. Back and forth, up and down until I was right behind the house close to the bird feeder. When I got back to the road, I looked up to the end and there they were, already eating what I had put down. Hungry, hungry deer. I came back down the road emptying the pail as I went.

Coming back to the front of the house, I realized that the birds needed food also but had already taken off my snowshoes. So I trudged back out with the seed but only in my boots, no problem. Okay, everybody fed. Now, back in the kitchen to my coffee, right? No, have to put the smoked picnic on the stove to start cooking, then the sheets in the washer to begin their cycle. Now my coffee, Yes!! And I don't have to go to the gym today.

15 Below

Usually I think my job is fun. Working around horses and adorable ponies and getting to love on them in between mucking out their stalls is fun for me. However, today was not quite as much fun; working outdoors for four hours in -15 degrees F. Thank God it was not windy. We had to keep going into the tack room where there is a heater and changing out our gloves. We'd put the cold ones on the heater and put on warm ones that we had left there. Boy, did that feel good, but it didn't last long. Before you knew it, you had to go back for another change.

Luckily for me, I only do six stalls and water and then I'm done and can walk back up the lane to a warm wood stove. My co-worker does the other six stalls, feeds all the animals, puts them in and out, waters outside animals, plus all the other barn duties. She works all day, but she is young and can handle it. She works hard and she loves the horses. She is very knowledgeable and I am very impressed.

Anyway, this old woman was quite happy when her stalls were done and all were watered and it was time to walk up the lane. Sometimes it felt like the old lungs were frozen.

Weather report said colder tomorrow. Oh dear.

Return of the Owl

Today my owl returned. J woke me this morning saying, "Come here, quick," and led me to the window, told me to look down by the bird feeder and........nothing. We looked up into the big old maple trees across the lane and there she was.

I didn't get a picture this time, but here is one of her from last winter:

Last year she came only during snow storms but today is clear and sunny. Noticing in this photo it is clear and sunny, but when she first showed up it was snowing, then cleared.

Today she moved to an upper branch of the tree and stayed there for about 4 to 5 hours. I watched her through binocs and her eyes were closed most of the time. Every once in a while one eye would open just a little. So we are still wondering was she napping or pretending and keeping an eye out for a possible lunch. Although she had plenty of chances to catch a lunch as many blue jays and red squirrels came very close to her on branches nearby and taunted her with their chittering trying to drive her away. She would just look at them and turn away and ignore them. We decided she couldn't really be that hungry.

After about 3 hours or so J said he had to go out and retrieve his trophy cam that he puts out at night to catch the deer and that he would probably scare the owl off.  He walked right by the tree and right under her out and back. She just watched him but didn't move.

Then a couple hours later he decided he had to go back out and put down the deer feed before he went off to work. She watched him go out again and disappear into the woods. A few minutes later I looked out and she was gone. Hoping she comes back.

First Post of 2014....A Grumble?

Even before commencing this post, I am feeling a little guilty because of wanting to grumble about this rainy, icy, miserable winter plus the fact that I have been sick with a respiratory virus since December 26 and just when I am starting to feel a little better albeit with a residual cough, my gentleman friend roomie comes down with strep throat which means poor little old me will undoubtedly have it by the end of the week. Really?

Okay, now that I've got that out of me, enough. I fully realize that there are millions out there so much worse off than I am. Am thinking especially of all those poor little sick children with life-threatening illnesses who are so brave and strong and never cry, "Why me?" And yes, I am thankful to God for my life and everything in it. Hence the guilty feelings.

How could one not be thankful for the chance to see faces like this every day of said miserable winter:

Or for having beautiful grandchildren like this:

So, old man winter or witchy woman winter, whichever, bring it on. Rain, ice, snow, cold, we can deal.

A Little Update

My goodness, how time flies when you're having fun.....and even when you're not.

Update on DirecTV issues:  they took back that big credit on the next bill. So I never paid anything more, sent back their box and remote, and have never heard from them again. So, done with that. Will never sign another long-term contract with any service company again.

So all year I have been working at the horse farm at the end of our lane as stable hand. Basically I clean the stalls, don't transfer the horses in and out, or feed them. Once in a while I help hand out "flakes" of hay, but the main tasks are done by the owner and the young lady  hired at the end of summer. Don't enter the occupied stalls since I was kicked in the hip by a young foal who was just shy of a year old as I was cleaning her stall and the owner came along and gave her her bowl of grain. Had been doing this for several weeks with no problem, then out of the blue, she decides she needs to tell me I better not touch her food. The owner said she had accepted me as just another horse and that is what they do to each other. Very territorial over their food. So I guess I should consider it a compliment, right?

I was very shocked at the time, mostly because I'd just been loving on her before the grain came along. She was so funny, would keep coming up and getting in my face asking to be petted, then she would go to the muck bucket and act like she was going to dump it over and look at me as if to say, "Do you dare me?" I'd say, "Don't even think about it," and she would walk away. Adorable.

I realize that I should conquer any fear and go right back in, but definitely not while they are eating their grain. Not a good idea. A few times I have gone in with another pony or horse to put water in their bucket, but mostly I just do empty stalls. I'm satisfied with loving on them from outside the stall.

I do love it; partly because it is a no-brainer after a career of decision making and responsibility, but mostly because of the beautiful creatures that I am working around. I've loved horses all my life, dreamed of owning some but it just never happened. Now I get to be around them, love on them and give them attention, but with none of the expense or responsibility. And I'm getting much needed exercise. It doesn't get much better than that.

Still No Service

So-o-o-o, DirecTV has put back a small amount to my cu account, ($168), but the rest they credited to my DirecTV account which leaves me with a good size credit balance. However, there is still no service on my TV. No matter what channel I select, I get the message, "There is no subscription for this channel." Not even the local channels; none of the ones that are highlighted on the Guide are really there.

I have to wonder, just what good this credit is doing me.

Time to Change Some Laws

Regarding my last post about DirecTV and their abuse of power, I believe very strongly that it is time for changes in the laws (or maybe new regulations, if there aren't any) regulating all telecommunications companies. All companies that require customers to sign long-term contracts and require us to give them our credit card numbers before service is initiated whether satellite TV or cell phone, internet or wi-fi, are allowed too much power over us; and this needs to change. 

There is entirely too much room for abuse of that power and the companies are all too willing to take advantage of that room. I certainly have experienced this and am told by a friend that she was a victim of the same wrongs by one of DirecTV's competitors. Although that company claimed it was a "glitch" in their system which caused them to repeatedly double the amounts which they took from her. Uh Huh.

Sorry, but NO company should have the right of access to our private bank accounts. In my opinion, it is no less than extortion to demand free access to our money before giving any service. This takes away our right of choice, our right to decide whether or not we want to go on with a so-called service that we may feel has been misrepresented, or has declined in quality of product. It even takes away our right to dispute erroneous charges or fees if the company can just say, "You know what? You don't want to pay what we tell you to, we'll just take it anyway. Nothing you can do about it." 

EVEN WHEN THEY ARE NO LONGER SUPPLYING THE SERVICE, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE SHUT IF OFF, THEY CAN STILL ,AND WILL, TAKE YOUR MONEY!!!!! 

I did not ever have automatic bill pay with DirecTV; I always sent a check each month so I was doubly shocked when I got a notice in the mail from my credit union that all my money was gone and I was $249.25 over-drawn. My first thought was that someone had stolen my account number. When I called the CU and they told me it was DirecTV, I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. 

I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but discovered I am at the back of a very long line. Over 26,000 of us. The BBB does not accredit DirecTV; way too many complaints. They have been investigated and sued by the government and fined millions. And yet, are allowed to go on committing the same abuses. 

To be fair, I expect that most other same-such companies do likewise.
Still doesn't make it right. That is what my mother always said when I'd whine that all the other kids were doing it, or were allowed to do it (whatever). "Doesn't make it right" or "Doesn't mean you have to."

Yes, I know, it is just business. But these companies have the gall to talk about "Customer Care". Does anyone believe this? Do I believe that anyone at that company "cares" about what happened to me, "cares" that the amount they took from me was greater than the monthly social security stipend I live on? NO, I do not. They don't care that due to lack of work, I can no longer afford their "service." Their sole answer is always to hide behind that contract they forced me to sign. Well, never again.

I have written to the White House, my two US Senators and the two US Representatives from my state of Maine. I think we should all do this until they listen to us rather than the telecommunications lobby. 

  P.S. That amount they said they were re-crediting has not arrived yet.

Giving Up Our Power

Wanting to make people aware of what DirecTV (and probably all companies that make you sign a contract & give them your credit card #) can and will do to you if you dispute their fees and cancel service before that contract runs out. I was made aware today that my entire bank account (savings and checking) was wiped out by DirecTV and I was left over $200 overdrawn. I thought that someone had stolen my account number and my money. They not only took the disputed amount, they added large bogus fees which allowed them to wipe me out. 

I was devastated and called my CU. Then called DirecTV and finally they agreed to recredit the bogus fees, but not the disputed amount. Plus I had to agree to renew the service (albeit at a basic rate which is still too much for me) before they would even recredit that much. I told them that was extortion, but of course they hide behind that contract. 

I believe that this is SO wrong; they do not care a bit that they did this to an unemployed senior on very low social security. Just please think very carefully before signing up with this company (or any such company) and giving them your account number. 

We give them entirely too much power over us.

Rambles

Walked to the Post Office this afternoon, about two miles total. Sunny and warm, temp. close to 50°F. It smelled and felt like spring. Had on my new suede high top boots from Cabelas (Christmas present), my new purple slouch visor cap, and clipped on my shades. Feeling good. Hope I looked as good as I felt, but doubtful.

Walking though the village of my youth brings back many memories. I pass houses that once were the homes of childhood friends; the Town Office was my high school. That dental office was my first school, kindergarten through third grade. An incident that happened there when I was in first grade impacted the rest of my life — negatively. A bad teacher, a woman who should never have been allowed near children,   planted the seed for a bad self image. After 58 years, I can finally look back and put it all in perspective and see it for what it was. And realize it was her problem, not mine. And that is a good thing.

Am watching a deer eating at one of J's feeding stations out back as I write. She is so pretty. And all alone, which is unusual. They usually come in groups, does and lambs first, in groups of four to six, then later maybe a dozen at a time at dark. It is still light out.  Maybe she is a he.

A picture from last winter's herd:

We had SO much more snow last year. Today there is bare ground all around those trees.

Anyway, getting back to my next to last post about prayer and football. Well, I am sorry to say, my prayers did our boys no good last night. Needless to say, J and I went to bed last night quite depressed. I was very surprised at how let down I felt. Never expected it to effect me that much. Silly.

Oh well, guess I'll go dip some strawberries in chocolate.

Glowing in the woods

Went snowshoeing yesterday up on J's back 80. What a beautiful day! 46°F and sunny. Followed deer tracks through the woods to bypass a tree that was down across the road. Plus all the snowmelt. Made for quite an obstacle course, but wonderful exercise in clear, fresh air. Smelled soo-o-oo good. There was only 3-4 inches of snow out there and after the warm temps today, I won't be repeating this great experience soon if we don't get some white stuff soon. Maybe Friday, I hear.

Before I was halfway up the hill, I was soaked with you know what. As the saying goes, men sweat, women glow. Well, they should have been able to see me from outer space.

The Importance of Prayer

Spent the afternoon (and now the evening) watching football with J. Of course we are huge New England Patriots fans and this was a real nail biter of a game. I did a lot of praying and we won.  Did my prayers have anything to do with this win? I tried hard not to ask outright for a Pat's win, but for help for them to play their best and for "Thy Will be done", as my mother always taught me. Now I have to wonder.  It wasn't so much that the Pats won, but that the Raven's lost and at the last minute. A 3-point game lost by a missed field goal kick. They did outplay us in many ways and yet we still won. Wow. Maybe we had more people praying for us than they did. I know many will say we just got really lucky. I don't believe in luck. I do believe in the power of prayer. We were Blessed. So now the Pats go to the Super Bowl in 2 weeks and a lot more prayers will be said.

I also expect there are those out there who would say I shouldn't be wasting prayers on a game or that I shouldn't be bothering God over such unimportant matters. Don't think that is true. Belief and faith tell me that we can take anything (ANYTHING) to God. There is nothing too important or too unimportant.

My 2011 summer visit to the heartland.

2011 was a special year for me because thanks to my son and daughter-in-law I was able to fly out to the heartland to visit and see them for the first time since 2008 when they came here to Maine.  It was a fun trip and I was astonished at how my grandchildren had grown.

This is my youngest, C, 6 years old and super, super smart. Very pretty in her T-ball uniform. Watching her play was so much fun. Especially when she was playing catcher and covering her mouth to hide a laugh every time an opposing little player missed the ball.

We had a very, very hot, but fun day at the zoo where I took this shot of A, C's big sister, 15.

Hope you can see the beautiful peacock in full display in the background. We always have an enjoyable time here. Wish I'd had my camera going in the gorilla display where A was sitting on a ledge next to the viewing window and the big silver back male came charging holding a big plastic barrel he plays with and banging it against the window just trying to scare us. Thought A was going to jump out of her skin. Well, to be honest, we all did. It was so sudden and unexpected. He really got us.

This next one is one of my favorites, of C at the Golden Corral. I love that place! Wish we had one up here in Maine.

So pretty.


We were also eating supper at a GC one night on our way to one of my grandson's Little League games when the tornado warning siren went off and we looked out the window and saw a huge black cloud headed right for us. We jumped in the car and started driving south as the storm was going east. We just kept driving south until we were out of range and then headed back west towards home where the storm had just come through, not knowing if we would have a home to go back to. The storm was headed right for where we were supposed to go to the game. All turned out okay and they still had a home. No real damage was done. It seems no funnel cloud actually hit the ground on this one, but it sure looked like a possibility at the time. I was definitely very nervous, needless to say.

My son, Jon, with B and C, at the zoo. They are watching a tiny miniature goat who was running around free and then just walked into this cage right between the bars. So cute.

I shocked my son when he asked me if I would like to go for a ride. I just said, "Do you have an extra helmet?" He knew I was less than happy when he told me a couple years ago that he had gotten a bike because my brother, Jon, had died in a motorcycle accident in 2001. So his namesake was fully expecting that I would say, "No way!" Surprise! We had a great day out on the bike. He enjoyed showing me the sights this way; we went into the Old Town for lunch and had a beautiful ride through the park. 

It was a lovely two weeks with my beautiful family. Really hoping they make it to Maine in 2012.

Winter in Maine

Cold morning, 28°F.  J just brought in a pail of shiners trapped from his pond up back; bait for the ice fishing he plans with his daughter and granddaughter on the weekend. They haven't been yet because we hadn't had cold enough weather to make good safe ice, but now finally there is. January 10 and still bare ground out there; although he tells me we are supposed to get hit tomorrow, maybe 6".  This time, I expect it will stay. I was quite happy without any, but knew it was too good to last. And guess we probably need it.  Thank you, Lord, for this blessing as well as all of the others.

J is at war with the gray squirrels. They have been getting very fat on his birdseed, devouring it as fast as he can put it out there. Due to the high rising cost of black oil sunflower seeds, he has seen fit to take up arms against the unwittingly wide-eyed and bushy-tailed rodents. As soon as he spies one at the feeder, he rushes out the door with trusty 20-gauge in hand. I think the body count is up to eight now and still they come. He says they are good eating, but I just can't.

A New Year

Surprise, surprise!! I am still here. Has been almost a year since I visited this blog. Time really does fly and the older we get, the faster it flies.

Have been working pretty hard on finishing my book and now it is out there to publishers, so we'll see. I am hopeful, but also realistic. Have had really nice feedback from the writers' association that I sent it to and their report will go out to multiple publishers. Passing that hurdle was a real pleasing revelation for me. Gives me a huge feeling of accomplishment, even if I never hear from a publisher. Just knowing that I've actually finished it and sent it out is something, a very big something.

Will keep you posted. I think.

Just a few of the day's blessings.

Dear God,
Thank you for the blessings of each and every day of my life. For helping me to realize that sometimes the greatest blessings are the simplest things or happenings such as: how much better a hot shower can make me feel while recovering from a miserable head/chest cold; how many times a day I feel joy and smile just from looking at the sweet, sweet man in my life, from the hugs, kisses and jokes that we share, from watching our cat go through her comical maneuvers; from watching the birds darting from feeder to tree and back again, chickadees and tufted titmouse, nuthatches, finches and our cardinal couple. (Sorry, I'm not thanking you for the bluejays; I know I should, but I can't. They are loud, greedy, pushy bullies and I wish you would keep them way back in the woods where they belong. And while I'm at it, the gray squirrels too) From watching the lovely deer that come to the feeding stations that my man makes out back, anywhere from 15 to 20 at a time. It is almost time for them to come, so thank you again for my day so far.

Apology

I need to apologize to anyone following this blog who may have been remotely interested in the so-called story I began. I have decided it is a non-story and going nowhere. Or rather, it is a tired old story of inheritance, the resulting greed and desire for control, and the ending of a lifelong friendship. There, story told. As I said, a worn-out, tired old story, experienced and told and re-told around the world probably hundreds, maybe thousands of times. Not worth going through again.

My apologies to all. I will write again when I have something better to say.

Raking to recycle

Helped our neighbor muck out 4 horse stalls today; great fun and great exercise. Brought back another little green wagon full of fresh manure for the compost pile. Also they have 5 baby chicks, so cute. Life is good.


Raking up the manure and trying to sift out the cleaner, dryer shavings at the same time takes more concentration than one might think. While working, I was again taken back to childhood at my aunt's farm and shoveling out the cow stalls. We didn't have to worry about being cost-conscious with shavings or trying to recycle as many dry ones as we could.  It was all just shoveled up and thrown out the window onto the pile and new laid down. Probably back then, Uncle didn't use shavings, but hay which didn't cost anything except labor. There was always plenty of it in the barn. I really can't remember. I know there is a huge amount of shavings there now, but whether or not there was then, I can't say. Whichever the case, he didn't worry about saving any of it. Of course, he could never have been accused of being an environmentalist either. Times change and resources become much more expensive, so this method of using a shovel-style rake to sift the shavings from the chunks makes great sense in many ways.


I hope that I did a good job and helped my new friend. She sounded very grateful saying that I had made it possible for her to have a lot more time to work in her garden, so I guess I did.  I just know that I had fun, got to see some beautiful animals and learned a lot. 


While working in the stalls, I had several visitors, Chelsea, the dog and a couple of pretty hens, Blondie and I don't know the names of the others. Also, the really beautiful rooster, Frank, stopped by. They didn't stay long, just dropped in to say hello and then moved on. 


What a great day!

The Blessings of a manure pile.

A great thing happened today. I've been reading a book about composting and have learned that one of the most important agents/activators at work in a compost pile is nitrogen and that one of the most important sources of nitrogen is manure (cow, horse, sheep, goats, etc.). Whenever I put in household food scraps, I need to cover them well with manure and earth, enough to cover the smells and keep out the critters. Well, it just so happens that one of our closest neighbors has a horse farm. So I walked down and asked if they would like to part with any of their manure. The very nice young lady who owns the horses immediately said, "Help yourself to as much as you want." We had a really pleasant chat and she left to go pick up a pizza. I came back to the house, did a few things, then got my garden wagon and spade and walked back down the road. She and I got to her driveway at the same time. I walked up behind the stable to the manure pile and she came out the back of the barn doing her chores. And we talked some more. We discovered that we both like the smell of horse manure. I told her to let me know if she needed help mucking out the stalls and she said anytime I wanted to I was welcome. I think I will go down soon to help. That is good work. I remember as a kid, shoveling out the cow stalls at my aunt's farm. I loved her and the farm so much that I loved even doing that. Maybe only a true horse lover would feel the way we do, but there you are.

So now, I have an endless and very close supply of the needed nitrogen and I've met a very nice neighbor and hopefully made a new friend. If that's not a blessing, I don't know what is.

Next, I need to get a paper shredder.