Take-Your-Camera-to-Work Day

It isn't raining or stormy today for a change, and I knew I would have to run some errands at work today, so I took along my camera just to see what I would see on my walk.

This massive old oak tree fell victim to last week's big wind storm. You don't really get a sense of the scale of the thing in this photo -- that trunk is a good 6 or 7 feet across! Can you believe something this huge could fall down and cause no damage except for a lot of debris that had to be picked up?



I never noticed this manhole cover before. I have walked that sidewalk a hundred times...



You know you live in a damp climate when even the moss grows ferns!



More moss and some lichen on a garden rock. (This is not either a macro. It's just a close up... )



Oh, how I love this gate. An artist in our area specializes in wrought iron architectural details. Isn't he amazing? I wish I could afford a piece of his work. This gate leads to...



... this balcony. Silver Creek is running *very* high these days, due to the unusually heavy rainfall we are having, as well as some heavy snow melt up in the mountains.



And back to the Library. I included this shot just because I was so happy to catch a glimpse of truly blue sky. It is almost as good as medicine to see such a sky at this time of year.

January 8 Photo A Day

The weather has warmed up significantly here after the arctic blast we had just before Christmas. Perhaps my "Tropicana" rose thinks it's spring? Alas, it is still too frosty in the mornings for this bud to have a chance to mature.



OK, tomorrow... no macros!

It is much too stormy to take my camera outside today...

... so I decided to look around my house for a macro shot like those Sue has been taking.

Our local high school dance team is entering into the State portion of their competition cycle. My daughter is the senior captain of the team, and so they asked me to shoot the team photo for the State program. These talented dancers are used to following directions as a group, so it didn't take me long to get them lined up...



... but they were so stiff. C'mon girls... lighten up!

(There is nothing to compare to 15 teenage girls given permission to be silly to create a relaxed atmosphere.)



Ahhhh... that's better.



The lighting in the room was absolutely horrible -- dark, with a mix of regular and fluorescent bulbs. Notice the different colors of the wall? That is not the way it looks in real life, but I don't have enough skill to correct it. I am just relieved and glad that the photos turned out so well. It really helps to have such pretty girls as subjects to start with, LOL!

Please don't feel obligated to comment on every one of these photos. I know I won't have time to do it every day, though I have committed to looking as well as posting throughout the month.

I couldn't decide...

... which photo to post today, so I picked my favorites of today's bunch. Each one has something going for it, and each one has a problem. Sigh... Low light situations are my biggest challenge -- I HATE using flash, but it's so hard to get everything into clear focus without it.

This little heifer was born so fast that even Jake missed the birth. (Darn it -- too late again!) The mom knew what to do though, and all is well. I wouldn't climb down into the maternity pen to take a picture of just any calf, but this mom is a calm cow, and once she gave me a good look-over, she ignored me and let me get on with my pictures.



Awwwwwww, mom!



Hello world!



And, by popular request, a full body picture of our wild white heifer.

Injured Bird

I don't know what happened to this little starling. I didn't attempt to touch him, but I easily could have -- I've never seen one this close before! This photo was taken within a foot of where he was sitting in the grass under a tree. He wasn't happy with my presence, but he made no move to fly away. (Double-click on the photo to bring up the full sized image. Look at all the colors in his feathers!)

As a rule I detest starlings, but it's hard not to feel sorry for an individual injured creature.

If you are following along with our challenge you will notice that I have added 2 new participants to our list on the right sidebar. We have seen so many different images already. I am especially enjoying getting to know people through their photography style.

Wild White

About 10 years ago, my husband bought a heifer about to calf from a neighbor who didn't want to deal with having to milk her. I was very surprised to see her when she arrived, due to her extremely distinct and unusual color pattern that I later learned was called "wild white". Every calf she dropped, and every calf from every generation since has had the same color pattern, which is recognizable by the white body, the solid black nose, and the spotted "eyebrow" and black "eyeliner". She looks better in her makeup than I do!



They tend to be smaller, stockier, more intelligent, and more outgoing than the average holstein, and they are my daughter's favorites. I like them because they are among the few that I can recognize. (My husband knows every cow on sight, which makes me feel kind of like a goofball because they all look pretty much alike to me.)

The photo isn't as well-focused as I had hoped... I am happy to have gotten any shot at all though, because she just wouldn't stand still for me!

On a calm day between storms...

... I found Penny grazing. She's too small for us to ride any more and getting old, but she's a good friend and a great lawn ornament.

Happy New Year and a New Challenge

Happy New Year, and I hope and pray that 2009 is a year of peace, prosperity, and blessings for all of you.

Linda, Blog Friend of mine, has issued a challenge to post a Photo-A-Day for the month of January in order to stimulate the habit of making time for art every day. I have taken up this challenge!

I may not post commentary every day -- the only rule is to post a new photo every day -- but, my personal goal is to push myself to come up with some really interesting and creative images to share.

(I *had* hoped to be able to post a photo of our New Year's calf, but I was too late. Oh well, there will be more...)

In the meantime, I offer my favorite image from the ice storm that covered my little world last week. I have 3 rosebushes that can reliably be counted upon to produce buds well into mid-winter; I always hope for a Christmas Rose. This year's bud, from a Peace rose, almost made it, but not quite...



For those who are interested in following along with this challenge, I have posted a Blog Roll of participants along the right hand column of this page. Let the Game begin!

Dingle Darling, a sleeping baby

I began this little guy over two months ago in Marilyn Radzat's "Leaf Pod Baby" class at That Creative Place, but, due to the distractions of the holidays and ill health, I just finished him yesterday.



Meet my Dingle Darling. He is exceedingly easy to make, so I'm afraid that I went a little berserk with the embellishments. Geez, I love embellishments, LOL!



"Dingle" is a new favorite word of mine.

Din"gle\, n. [Of uncertain origin: cf. AS. ding prison; or perh. akin to dimble.] A narrow dale; a small dell; a small, secluded, and embowered valley.


The Dingle Cradle owes more to Jean Bernard than Marilyn Radzat I'm afraid. Maybe I'll be bored with them some day, but right now I can't get enough of vine-y things and Paverpoled fibers.

Hmmmmm... I think, looking at this photo, that I want to add one more little pillow puff to the upper right. It looks a bit hollow there. I have a tiny bit of that hand-dyed silk velvet left. It is the most luscious stuff!



Copyright restrictions forbid me to offer him for sale on my Etsy site. That's OK though... he's so cute, I think I want to keep him anyway!

Down for the Count

I have been so sick these past few weeks. I thought it was a cold, but it just kept getting worse and worse until I finally went in to the doctor, who gave me some medicine, and now I am slowly coming back to life. Gads I hate codeine-laced cough syrup!

Normally I am a rock. I'm the one who takes care of the ones who get sick. This one knocked me down for the count. I am SO glad to finally be able to draw a breath without gasping for air. Needless to say, it has been a long 2 weeks.

Today I feel almost human again. I actually had enough energy (and lung capacity!) to get up and play with the last details on my Dingle Baby sculpt. I don't have photos yet as the glue is still drying, but you can be sure I will post them tomorrow. It was so much fun to play again!!

In the meantime...




...we have a snow day here in Oregon. I know it isn't very much (especially compared to what I have seen has fallen in the midwest - oh my!) but we don't get very much here on the floor of the Willamette Valley, so when we do, things pretty much grind to a halt. The kids are happy though -- their Christmas vacation has begun early!

Checking in

I will be posting photos soon of my latest WIP, which is coming along slowly. I wish I had more time for creating lately, but the reality of the situation is that our country's crashing economy is taking its toll on our business as well, and I am needed to do other things. We have been forced to lay off one of our workers, and Jake is picking up that slack.

I don't really believe that things will ever go back to what we believed was "normal", but I also know that God has us in His plan. There is a place for us; if not here, then somewhere else. Some days my faith wavers and fear takes over. I keep fighting though -- I do believe that "this, too, shall pass."

Eventually.

I have been spending my "creating" time to get serious about building up my Etsy Shop. I have been having good results this past month, which encourages me to keep at it. I plan on adding a section of books and patterns this week as well -- oh, how I need to reduce my library, LOL!

A Day for Something Special

When I'm upset, I like to bake. It makes me feel as if I'm accomplishing something, the house smells SO good, and it makes everybody else happy. Usually I bake bread. I'm out of bread flour, so today I baked Apple Bars.

Apple Bars... what a pitiful name for something so sublime! These bars are seriously GOOD! If you try these, write me back with suggestion for a better name, OK?

Apple Bars

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
2 baking apples, peeled, cored, chopped
2 cups coconut, divided
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter, white sugar, and brown sugar and stir well. Add the baking soda, salt, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and beaten eggs and mix well. then add the oatmeal, chopped apple, and 1 1/2 cups of the coconut (the other 1/2 cup is to sprinkle on top before baking). Last, mix the flour in thoroughly.

Spoon the very thick batter into the prepared pan and smoooth it out, then sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup coconut evenly over the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly browned on top. Check them at the earliest time as these bars must not be overbaked.

Cool, then cut into bars like brownies. Hide them from anyone with a ravenous appetite. The first time I made these, Jake ate half the pan in one sitting before I could stop him. Oh my!

Remember those beautiful I views I posted last week? Well, this is what it looks like today. Combine unrelenting fog with a bad mood and too much to do, and it is most definitely a Baking Day!

Because this day is *so* gruesome, I am going to "kick it up a notch" and make these bars truly decadent by topping them with some Vanilla Butter Sauce.

Vanilla Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons good vanilla

In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix the butter, cream, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, then stir in the vanilla. Serve warm.

(Go easy on this sauce; it is VERY rich and a little goes a long way.)

By the way, not everyone shares my opinion about the weather. Solomon the llama is quite at home in it. He's such a character - he saw me with the camera and had to come investigate.


And then everyone ELSE had to come see what I was up to.

I think they were expecting food rather than a photo-op, poor babies. Let's see... the white blob on the left is Firebrand the alpaca, then Julianna, another llama. Lydia's old pony Penny is front and center, and if you look closely you can see Julianna's cria Beatrice peaking out from behind her hips. And of course, there is Solomon, whom you have already met.

I'm glad they came up to see me. My mood improved quite a bit, and I noticed that even though I was cold and damp, there was still beauty to be captured with my camera.

Even in November my garden isn't dead - the spiders are still busy at any rate!

I hope you all have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Diana's Sprite is finished

My daughter's best friend Diana is a delightful young woman whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since she was... oh... about 6 or 7. She is intelligent, articulate, artistic, and when she and Alice get together I simply can't hear fast enough to keep up with their chatter. I am going to miss that so much when they both go away to college next fall.

This is Diana getting ready for Prom last spring. Their theme was a masquerade ball, but instead of wearing a mask as the other girls did, Diana chose to do hers with her make up and a few embellishments.

I was so delighted by what she did that I was inspired to make a doll. I know posted in-progress pics of this one months ago, but the loss of my sewing machine meant I couldn't finish her wings. It's back now though (woo hoo - my baby is home!)so this weekend I threaded it up with some Sulky Holographic and let loose and finished those wings!

So, without further ado, here she is, wings and all.


I am extra proud of the appearance of her hands. Sherry Goshon gave me a few tips last fall and I can't believe the difference those few tweaks make in getting fabric and wire hands to look natural and "real".


Of course I couldn't stop with just a little sparkly thread, but had to add some microbeads and glitter as well as some interesting fibers. Why stop when you're having so much fun??

The real girl is more delightful by far, but this little creation makes me smile.

Day of the Dead Challenge Doll

Oh, how I struggled with this doll! Perhaps it was a certain internal discomfort with an unfamiliar concept, or perhaps I just didn't have a clue what I was doing, but almost every detail of her creation caused me headaches.

On the other hand, I now have a better handle on working with paper clay, and the basic techniques of tole painting finally "clicked". And I learned that pattern drafting isn't as complicated as I thought -- her whole costume was designed and drawn from scratch. I know, I know... princess seams are easy, but you have to start somewhere!

I really really like her in her "bald" state, but she doesn't look quite Dutch enough to suit me. What do you think?? (As always, please click on the photo itself to view it full size if you want to see more detail.)

She even has the proper footwear.



I looked ALL OVER the internet trying to find a pattern for her hat. I finally designed it myself by looking at photographs. It is made of silk chiffon -- the delft motifs are still clearly visible through the fabric. Those "wings" are starched within an inch of their lives, but are still a little floppy, so I will probably stitch in some fine wire so they are more posable.

She looks "Dutch" enough to me now, but I still really really liked her bald. Hmmmmm...


The buttons I bought for her bodice are gold colored. Once I held them up to get a preview of how they would look I realized that was a mistake; she needs white buttons. Back to the fabric store for me!

I am wrestling with myself over how much embellishment I want to add. On the one hand, the Dutch are a plain people. On the other hand, her costume is NOT authentic and the Day of the Dead is supposed to be over-the-top. Maybe a little embroidery around her bodice? Something in her hands? Definitely a neck ornament of some kind!

Still thinking...

A Beautiful Day

The poet may declare that a day in June is rare, but when it comes to sunshine in November in Oregon, that's about as rare as it gets. I got out my camera today to take photos of my Day of the Dead doll, but it was so beautiful I had to take it outside. What an incredible afternoon I had!

One of the cool things about living on a farm is that we share our little world with a LOT of other life. This hawk was just hanging out in a tree down by our creek. (Click on any photo to see it full size -- these small shots just don't capture the effect.)

He flew off when something caught his attention. I didn't think I would actually be able to catch his photo, but I did.


As I was walking around the barn, a blue heron flew by overhead. They are the most amazing things to watch in the air. There is something very prehistoric looking about them.


This flock of pigeons more or less lives on top of the hay barn. See the round thing casting a shadow in the lower right? That's a rock my father-in-law threw up there years ago trying to scare away the pigeons. That didn't work very well...


The cows don't mind them though.


And then there are the starlings that swarm everywhere. Generally I can't stand the rude, noisy, messy things, but they are so graceful as a flock on the wing... I have to appreciate the beauty they make too. (Starlings... ugh!)


This field across the road has had wheat, grass, corn, and hops growing in it in years past. Two years ago a vinyard was planted. The setting sun on the dying leaves shown like living gold.


I think grape vines have just about the most perfect leaves.


As I was admiring the leaves, this flock of geese flew over. They were having a high old time, honking back and forth to each other and swooping up and down their lines. Aren't they the funniest creatures?


If you turn around and look the other way, across our back field is Mount Angel itself, crowned by a Benedictine abbey. On a still morning we can hear the church bells calling the brothers to prayer. The "mountain" itself is only a couple hundred feet tall, but it stands all by itself in the middle of flat fields so it really dominates the landscape for miles.

The sun sets so fast this time of year. Looking back to the east I was able to catch the last little glimmer of direct sun just kissing the top of Mt. Hood. That's when I was reminded that it really *is* November after all and I wasn't wearing a jacket -- it got cold FAST.


As I turned to walk back to the house, I met Jake on his way in from the barn for the evening. He's pretty nice to come home to.

The Day of the Dead photos can wait until tomorrow. This day was too wonderful not to remember somehow.

Close, but no Cee-Gar

... as my Dad used to say, LOL. My little piece for a Halloween Challenge on one of my favorite groups tied for first place. In a run-off vote, it lost by *1* vote! I confess I would have liked to have won, but I'm pretty pleased with it regardless, and tickled to death that other people like it too.

The challenge was to do something "cute" for Halloween -- not beautiful, and it mustn't scare small children.

Cute.

(Now, if you've been reading this for any length of time, you know by now that I don't do "cute". "Can't" might be the better word, LOL!)





Anyway, this little guy is based on an online class by Marilyn Radzat at That Creative Place for her Leaf Babies, though about the only thing he owes to her instructions by the time I got through with him is his pose. (If I ever get around to it, I will also rebuild his little coffin. I did the best I could, but it's really pretty crude.)

I have another Leaf Baby in progress, but he is currently suffering from a bad rash caused by unpainted texture medium, and is not ready for his close-up yet. Just WAIT until you see the little bed waiting for him!

Quick Update

I had hoped to post photos of my latest works-in-progress yesterday when my challenge was scheduled to be over, but my piece tied for first and is in a runoff voting to determine the winner. From what I hear, the voting is still tied, LOL!

Stay tuned!

Along those same lines, I hope YOU all voted today. No matter who wins, I am still so proud to have had a hand in choosing our next leader.