North Coast Inland Bike Trail

We did some biking yesterday on the bike trail from Norwalk to Monroeville, OH. It was an easy 6 mile ride on a gravel road along an old railroad route. There were a lot of flowers and it was shady most of the way which made for a nice relaxing ride.

Up and Running

Our '73 Buick Centurion convertible has been covered in the drive and awaiting repairs for the past year. Andrew's been working on it for the past week-the only thing left to do is change the oil and put a light coat of wax on the hood. The band boosters at the local high school are sponsoring a vintage car cruise-in on Saturday and we plan to participate. Monday night I scrubbed the convertible top which was beyond dirty. On Tuesday when I got home from work I uncovered the car so the top could breathe and get some sun. Not ten minutes after I uncovered it one of the construction workers, who was delivering gravel for the construction on our street, knocked on the door and asked me if I we wanted to sell the car. I told him thanks for the interest but NO! (I love this car). It belonged to Andrew's best friend Thomas; they went to high school together. In other words this baby has a lot of history. It also has an 8 track tape player in it that works well enough to play my vintage Bay City Rollers tapes! Email me privately if you want to know what's on the vanity plate.

What a Shrew!

A Northern Short Tailed Shrew to be precise. Andrew was washing his hands at the hose spigot when this little one appeared. (Bet he's sorry he poked his little head out of the bricks to see what was going on). We kept him in a aquarium (that we have reserved for such occasions) for about an hour to photograph and then put him back in the flower bed where he is happily munching worms as I type this post. It was a lot of work getting him to cooperate for the photo shoot. Probably the worst model we have ever had. Andrew enticed him into posing position with small earthworms. Shrews are not known for their cheerful disposition under the best of circumstances so we had to handle him with extra care or risk a nasty bite which contains toxic saliva used to subdue their prey. Incidentally this is the largest species of shrew in North America.

Looks pretty harmless huh?

A face that only a mother could love....really

In the Corner of My Mind...

I bought my bathroom ensemble in 1997 when Andrew and I first moved into the townhouse that we resided in for 1 year while we scraped together enough money to purchase a house. That same year, in the spring my grandmother died. In a moment I will tell you how this relates. When we moved into our house the following year I kept the same bathroom decor and hate to admit this but I still have it; I am not in to decorating (or spending the $$ required to decorate) so once I find something that works I usually hang onto it for awhile. The curtain is cloth and has worn and washed like iron. Now we get to the part about grandma. Mom was over on Sunday with some bags of stuff she wanted me to donate to the college thrift store. In it was a Kleenex box holder that she said had belonged to grandma and she wondered if I wanted it. I glanced at it and told her that I didn't because at that moment I couldn't think of where I would use it. On Monday morning as I was loading the car, preparing to run by the thrift store I glanced in to the bag having second thoughts about parting with grandma's tissue holder. Upon closer examination I discovered that it is vintage shabby chic and (those things go for big bucks in the antique shops). Not only that it MATCHES MY BATHROOM DECOR PERFECTLY! As I was telling my co-workers this story today at lunch I wondered aloud if there was something in the corner of my mind that I remembered about grandma's bathroom that I had once liked and that led me to the selection I chose for mine.

Grandma's Kleenex box holderMy shower curtain

Close up

Rabbit Recordkeeping

It's amazing how much record keeping there can be in raising and showing rabbits. I keep all my pertinent papers in a binder and divide them by the French or Satin angora breed. This evening I was going through some of my files, assigning numbers to my Satin angora babies and proofing pedigrees to prepare for registration of a couple animals. I came across this sketch that Andrew drew of the rabbitry prior to construction. I always chuckle when I see it because he even drew in little rabbits. If you look close you can see one with lop ears. That one is suppose to be Duke. LOLConceptual drawing of Lilac Haven

A Lovely Garden for a Fairy

Miniature fairy gardens are all the rage this summer. My friend Patti made one after coming back from a visit to Amish Country and finding a store that sold all the miniature accouterments to enable a gardener to make their very own. And she brought me a cast iron rabbit! Well the rabbit needed a home so naturally I had to make a fairy garden. When my brother and I were on annual family summer vacations in Michigan (1967-81) my aunts, 4 and 5 years older than us and much more worldly, taught us how to make fairy gardens out of sticks and stones and moss and leaves. We would put Lucky Charms cereal out on the fairy's table before going to bed and sure enough it the morning it would be gone. We (well my brother not so much) continued this tradition long into our teens; the point here being that my enthusiasm for fairy gardens has its roots in the past and it didn't take long for me to devise a plan for my new garden. Pictured is my modern version of a fairy garden complete with the Cicely Mary Barker Lily of the Valley fairy who will reside in the main house and only come out when company is here so she doesn't get ruined in the elements.Miniature Fairy Garden in a terra cotta pedestal pot.

Closer view of the previous photo.Close-up view of the Lily of the Valley Fairy

Close up view of some of the miniatures. The sky is the limit, depending on container size, as to what you can do with this type of garden.

Another Hot Dog

This is Tate. He belongs to a co-worker. Admittedly Tate needs a haircut but he is one hot dog; his owner said Tate is definately tired of the heat. Isn't he cute?

Talking to the Animals

Pip and her new "friend" visited at dusk this evening. They spent about an hour scampering about the yard and dining on apples and dandelions. Pip took a handout of Manna Pro and came into the rabbitry too. At one point in time they were running about and didn't realize I was standing there. They both froze in their tracks and sat and then listened to me as I babbled on about nothing just to see how long they would hang around. I gave up after about 15 minutes. Andrew took some photos during this time. They were still playing long after dark.

New Digs

Norman got a new condo and Thumper got the attic loft as part of my reorganization project. My rabbitry maintainence supervisor assembled a 30 x 36 cage and remodeled the smaller cage to fit the angle of the roof aka the attic. My litter of Satin babies, all show quality, is ready for their new homes the first week of August. One red buck, one red doe and one choc agouti doe are reserved. Still for sale is one red buck and one choc tort doe.Norman is checking out his new space.Thumper - chillin' in the back of his cage.

Beautiful Kentucky

We spent this past weekend with our friends on their house farm in central Kentucky. There is never a shortage of things to see and do there and being in the country is very relaxing.Fun on the paddleboat
Fresh Veggies

Dinner

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Keeping Cool

Henny Penny & Co.

Smokin' Joe wants to see my camera

Slaty Skimmer

Tree Frog

Leaf Casting

I made a leaf cast yesterday. I used a burdock leaf because they are huge and I wanted my cast to be bird bath size. You can use about any leaf. Here are the instructions. I used regular concrete with stones and it turned out fine. It was $3 for an 80 pound bag. This is a fun, easy and inexpensive project. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a functional and artistic addition to their landscaping. Burdock Leaf

Finished cast-its hard to tell from the photo but the leaf is concave so that it will hold water.

Emily's Umbrella

So cousin Emily goes from her home in Laguna Beach, California to visit Chicago with her new husband Len. Emily can't find her black umbrella when she leaves California so she takes her purple one. When Emily gets home from her trip she posts photos of her trip on Facebook including the one below. Cousin Katie sees the photo and comments that she has an umbrella just like Emily's. Come to find out almost all of us girls have matching umbrellas given to us by our grandma and we've all been using them this week because its been raining from coast to coast. In fact I had mine out yesterday while shopping with my friend in the rain. That grandma-she's everywhere. It's the handy dandy purple flowered Avon umbrella.

Rain in the Garden

My butterfly garden...

Rain in the Garden by Diana Krall
T’was just a garden in the rain
Close to a little leafy lane
A touch of color ’neath skies of gray
The raindrops kissed the flowerbeds
The blossoms raised their leafy heads
A perfumed thank you
They seemed to say

Surely here was charm beyond
Compare to view
Maybe it was just that
I was there with you

T’was just a garden in the rain
But then the sun came out again

And sent us happily on our way

A Speedy Recovery

Dad is doing well following his quadruple by pass open heart surgery. He starts rehab this week. He's a little tired but mostly bored from not being allowed any activity except sitting in his recliner. Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes a few weeks ago. I appreciated it.Hamming it up for the camera.

Fresh Juicy Peach Cobbler

I got some fresh peaches from a farm market that just got them in from South Carolina. They are the freshest juiciest peaches I have eaten in a long time. I made a cobbler; it was delicious. I love summer when you can get fresh fruits and vegetables.

Aren't they pretty?

Lightly browned...

...and very delicious!

Beating the Heat Part ll

Yep this is one pampered pooch. She's still up for her nightly walk
but after that she's ready for some air.

Thank You Berry Much

Hubby picked me some yummy raspberries from along side the road on his way home tonight; it was a nice surprise.

Beating the Heat

So far so good-this scorching heat wave is stressful for my rabbits; especially the doe with a litter. Luckily our rabbitry sits under a large Norway maple and is shaded for all but a couple hours in the evening. In addition I have a large industrial fan cranked up on high and everyone has clean cages and fresh water and that is also helping them to beat the heat.

Garnet and her youngsters sprawled out to stay cool...

and later all sacked out together...

Rustic Hand Woven Baskets

Last July at the annual Steam Threshers Show there was steam powered veneer cutter on site and a group was doing a cutting demonstration. I picked up an entire roll of basswood veneer and brought it home, cut it into inch wide stripes, and put them in storage with the intention of making baskets at some point in the future. Today was scorching hot and I decided to work on my baskets in a shady spot in the yard. I wanted to be outside but not just sitting but also not doing something to make myself get all sweaty (yard work was definitely out). Norman and Daisy "helped" aka kept me company and Andrew was working on another project nearby. I made three baskets today; with no particular plan in mind as to what they would be until I got them underway.soaking the basswood strips so they would be pliable

medium basket - weaving in progress

finishing the top edge

finished basket with woven handle

larger basket in progress

finishing the top edge

smaller flower basket-completed ( a clear vase sits inside to hold the water)

basket full of Satin Angora kits

Happy Independence Day

Gotta love kids and sidewalk chalk. We saw this walking down Park Street. Daisy got colored chalk on her rear. It was cute! Hope you get to celebrate today! It's been a beautiful weekend.