More Crocheting

Now that I've completed the last afghan I couldn't wait to get started on another.  I decided to do the same pattern only with different colors.  Unfortunately the camera didn't get the actual shades right.

Maybe when it's done it will be better.

Bird House Was Used

I've been meaning to get the bird house I built a while ago down so I could see if it needed cleaning out.

Yes, it did. 

Looks kinda like my house in there!

Melty Sogginess

The weather in the last few days has been above freezing, in the 40's with a bit of rain.  We call this "balmy".  Consequently the hard frozen ground has melted and is saturated with the melting snow and the occasional rain.

Everything now is very wet, soft, and soggy, not to mention mucky in certain areas.

We may actually get some water running in the creek that goes through our property.  This picture is not that creek, but the run-off from the bull's pen.

It looks like we may have a chance of more rain in the next couple of days but by the end of the month the sun should be out most of the day again.  

Of course, I've noticed the forecast can change from one day to the next, but one thing I do know is that I have Super Bowl weekend and Monday off!  Whether or not anybody shows up I'm looking forward to the Harbaugh vs Harbaugh fun day!

Finished Afghan

I got home from work last night and just had to add a bit of fringe on the afghan.  I think it turned out quite nicely, in fact, better than I thought it would.  It even looks nice on the "wrong" side.  I folded it over so you can see.  I only had to rip it out twice for the obviously glaring mistakes (no more than four rows, fortunately).  I did find two other spots where I made a mistake but they are not noticeable so I left them.

So now all I have to do is put it in the dryer to try and "dehair" it before I mail it off.  I guess that's what happens when you have two dogs and a very hairy cat.

Citrus Harvest

One day one of the girls at work was talking about her lemon trees.  I overheard her and asked where she kept them.  She said they were still quite small but she kept them in her house at a south window where they could get sunlight.

Besides the south guest bedroom (and there is no room for trees in there) our only south windows are in the game room, aka Wil's room.  I decided to move my citrus trees up there so they could be warmer and have more sunlight.  I felt bad because they had been in the garage most of the time and only got dragged out to see the sun on occasions when it wasn't freezing.  And because of that they looked like they were getting unhappy.

So like I said, a couple weeks ago I moved the trees upstairs.  I've been giving them a good watering once a week and today I noticed the lemon has new blooms!  (The white dot at the upper left of this picture and the blurry spot in the lower center/left.)  

They are also getting new leaves.

I harvested two limes and a lemon.  The limes were starting to turn yellow and I know from past experience the lemons can stay on the tree for a long time before they have to be harvested.

I'm ecstatic that they are 

New Afghan Project

I've been wanting to do a crochet project but I didn't really know what I would do with it.  Then it struck me... Of course!  I could make an afghan and give it to my newlywed nephew.  We'll call it a belated wedding gift.

I liked the cover pattern on this pattern book.

I thought it might be beyond my skill level but as you can see in the photo below it's coming out nicely.

I'm about half way done as of today.  I figured I'll have put about 36 hours into it when it's finished, not including the mistakes I had to rip out and fix.  

I hope they like it.

Rabbit Snare

A few weeks ago Wil set a few snares out in hopes of catching a few rabbits. 

Look closely and you can see the string.  Remember you can click on the images to enlarge.

As you can see by the below photo, he was successful.  In fact when I came home from work that evening the two rabbits he caught were hanging on the bird feeder.

Since I have the rabbit cleaning experience I cleaned them the next day.

They aren't very big (two rabbits in the bag on the left, the two rolled up skins in the bag on the right).

Those two are the only rabbits Wil caught.  He's been checking every night but so far has been unsuccessful.  Good thing we aren't relying on his skills for our sustenance!

Eventually we hope to have enough to make some sort of rabbit meal and I would like to try tanning the hides.  I'm not sure when all that will happen because obviously we need to catch a few more of the little rascals!

Eventually... 

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I know it gets colder in other places, but this is the coldest we've ever been. This was at 8:30 this morning.

It was the kind of cold where if you breathe through your nose your nostril hairs freeze!

But it was gorgeous out!

The bad thing was a couple weeks ago I noticed Star's front feet, the ones that were shod, were collecting snow/ice.

Flora's feet and Star's back feet were not collecting snow and ice so I can only think it was due to the metal shoes.

I had to get a hand hoe to knock the snow/ice balls out. A hoof pick just couldn't get it out.

This is a potentially dangerous situation because she was slipping on the ground. Also the bigger buildups put her feet/legs in an awkward, overextended position. Fortunately Star is intelligent and learned to walk very slowly and carefully with the buildup. She stood very still and lifted her feet for me to allow me to knock the ice balls out. Sometimes I had to do this twice a day.

The farrier was out of town until after Christmas so we had to wait about a week before she could get her shoes off.  It was time for them all to be trimmed anyhow.  Now she is barefoot again and no more snow/ice balls in her feet!

I did try to get her shoes off but lacking the proper tools and experience I didn't want to risk the chance of messing her feet up.  It all worked out in the end.

Meanwhile we got our first gardening catalogue and I've been circling different seeds/plants. 

Well, I can dream, can't I?