Three Surprises

Andrew went to a conference in Toledo. While he was on a field trip that was a part of the conference program he passed a concrete statuary dealer who had a variety of rabbits. He said he made a mental note of the place knowing he wanted to go back and browse. Last night when I talked to him he said he was leaving at noon and had to make a stop on the way home-he was bringing me a surprise. Well I got three surprises because he said he couldn't decide between the angora and the little girl and they were having a buy two get one free special. Hey I'm not going to complain. LOL

Picnic Midge

Blogging is fun but also dangerous. For example when someone blogs about something cool that they found in a thrift store and it makes you decide that you just have to have one of your very own. Fortunately I got a thrifty deal on mine too. This is "Picnic Midge". I liked her because she is holding a berry pie and of course because she is a rabbit. She comes from Pendelfin, a company whose home is in England.

Oh Babies!

It's been so hot these days and mama Pixie is tired but patient as ever with her babies who are always pestering her in some way, either to nurse, cuddle or get in her food bowl. These are the liveliest and most animated kits I've ever raised.

Butterfly Bush in Bloom

My dark purple butterfly bush took forever to come back to life this summer so in the meantime I bought a pink one. This evening Daisy and Pip were playing in the yard and Pip ended up in the butterfly bush so I thought I would take a photo. Andrew stopped to talk to her while she was eating her dinner (she shows up around 5 pm almost every night for a hand full of pellets).

Butterfly bush in bloom.Pip is at the base of the arborvitae and is munching her dinner while Andrew converses with her.

Isn't she pretty?

A Ruby Throated Hummingbird and Her Nest

"A flash of harmless lightning, A mist of rainbow dyes, The burnished sunbeams brightening From flower to flower he flies." John Bannister Tab

This is the nest of a ruby throated hummingbird. It's the diameter of a fifty cent piece and about an 2 inches deep.

Mama hummingbird is sitting on her nest in a pin oak near Lake Erie. Ruby throated hummingbirds are the only hummingbirds that nest in Ohio. Other species are occasional visitors.

The nest is meticulously constructed out of thistle down and covered with lichens to camouflage it.

Inside the nest are two tiny eggs which will hatch sometime in August.

Storm Damage

We had a heavy rain storm this morning around 7:30am which brought a
huge tree down at one of the parks. Andrew got a phone call about it
just as we were walking out the door to go to his parents house. So we
took an hour and a half detour so he could get things cleaned up since
it was right smack across the parking lot of one of the lodges which
had a large party scheduled in it both today and tomorrow. As an
observer (and photographer) of the clean up I had to marvel at how
quickly and professionally Andrew went in, and with the assistance of
three of his coworkers-one ranger, the park manager, and a maintenence
technician who drove a John Deere 5400 tractor ( with a loader and a
backhoe) with the precision that an Indy 500 driver drives a finally
tuned racing machine-and got the tree cut up and the parking lot
opened for the visitors.

Trusty

Meet Trusty. He belongs to a friend of ours. He his preferred napping location is the front seat of a '96 Ford F50 pickup truck. (Apparently he knows a good thing when he sees it). He's a friendly boy and wagged his tail when I patted his head but he wasn't about to get up. Our friend said when he's done napping he sticks his head out the window to let them know.

Topsy Turvey

I found this cute little guy on a clearance sale yesterday and couldn't resist. He makes a nice addition to the garden. He's actually weighted to stand on his head.

John Deere Day at the Steam Threshers Show

The Miami Valley Steam Threshers has a show every year in Plain City, OH. I've always wanted to go. It was pretty neat. I was especially fascinated with watching a team of workers use a steam powered machine to make hardwood veneer for furniture. They even gave me an entire role to bring home. It's basswood and I'm hoping to make baskets out of it.

Making basswood veneer

Perfect sheets come out of the machine

You can see the hardwood log on the machine in this photo.

Its John Deere Day-Kirk even got a new hat.

Andrew and I pose in front of a classic tractor.

Here's one you don't see very often.

A model A Ford painted John Deere green.

Pearle King Prairie

This is one of the prairie's that Andrew planted 4 or 5 years ago as a part of a resource management project for work. We visited today to see how it was progressing and it was in prime bloom and beautiful. It is located in Madison County, OH.

Andrew surveys the progress and does a quick species inventory.

Ash Leaf Sunflower

Lots of birds could be heard singing today.

A view of the surrounding land.

Bumblebee on Bergamot.

Coneflowers

Bergamot (my favorite)

A dramatic summer sky makes the prairie look even more beautiful.

Ohio was once covered in prairies. Now only a few remain. The parks have made some areas available to the public for both aesthetic and educational purposes.

Doodle & Me

Such a loving little bunny-she loves to be held and petted.

Serendipity

Impending rain and chilly temperature = a morning at the uptown coffee shop for pondering the universe and being silly.

Anticipation

Remember the ketchup commercial where the kid was pouring ketchup on his hamburger and Carly Simon was singing in the background? That is how I have felt all week waiting for our first tomato to get ripe. I have watched it get a little deeper red all week and in a minute I am going to quarter it and enjoy the flavor. We haven't grown tomatoes for several years and am going to savor every one of them.

Be Happy

It's Friday and a great day to Bee Happy!

Ode to Garlic Part II

Last fall I wrote about having planted 60 garlic cloves. They are mid way to harvest and the first bloom appeared today.

Down the Darby

Yesterday's rain brought the Darby Creek up enough to make the paddling conditions just right. We went with our friends Kathy and Don for a half day trip. It was so peaceful. Why do the weekends go so fast?

Under the Garden Gate

Pip says hello...

and

goodbye....

Rainy Saturday

We went uptown to the annual Music and Arts Festival but only got in about an hour's worth of the festivities before it started to pour down rain and continue until around 4 pm. We did need the rain so I'm not complaining. I got some wool spun and later we went to the bookstore and I bought the newest release in the Dyer Consequences (Kelly Flynn mystery series) by Maggie Sefton (yes Lisa you can borrow it when I am done). Here's a couple photos that Andrew took yesterday. This effect is achieved with a zoom lens and a slow shutter speed. Put the camera on a tripod and zoom on to the subject while the shutter is releasing if you want to try it out.

Out and About

The Satin babies are out of their nest box and exploring. The French babies (all REW's despite the odds) are about ready to open their eyes. Both mother's are exceptional.

Black, Red, Chocolate Agouit and Fawn (or a different shade of red).

Pixie (and look close) her little Mini Me snuggled on her back.

Burgundy Cotton

This is burgundy cotton (Gossyplum sp.). I bought the plant at the Lily Fest and the seller told me it will grow large this summer and yield several cotton blooms. I then have to harvest the seeds from the blooms and replant them next spring in order to propogate the species. The cotton in these blooms is a brownish color. I read an article in Spin Off (summer 2008) called Fiber Basics: Colored Cotton by Carol Huebscher Rhoades about the different colors of natural color and have been wanting to get a plant ever since even though I prefer spinning animal fiber over plant fiber. I'll keep you posted on the progress and harvest.

The Annual Lily Festival

My friend Kathy told me about the Lily Festival last year but we had a schedule conflict and didn't go. Yesterday she mentioned that it was this weekend and since we were off today and didn't have any plans we decided to go. It was a very nice festival, held in a privately owned garden and included a craft fair and musical entertainment.