A Mandarin Fish

Elisha sent me a photo of her art project in progress. It is a Mandarin fish. She's been working on it for weeks. No wonder. Look at the detail

Close up of detail

Merrily We Roll Along

...down the icy creek. Not a bad day for a winter paddle if one has the proper outerwear.

Enjoying the day

Along along the creek there were spectacular views

Let's go!

Icy water

Daisy Turns 10 Today

I can't believe its been 10 years since we went to the Shoe Tree Kennels in Indiana and picked out our Little Daisy. It was a 5 hour drive - Andrew and I went over in mid February and mom and I went back on March 17th while I was on spring break from the college and picked her up. She sat in mom's lap on the way home. The portable kennel I bought along for the ride home was way too big. She's been a good girl all her life. In less than a week she was house trained, and learned to ring a bell attached to the door. She's never ruined or chewed anything in the house except Andrew's brand new Leatherman tool case (and he won't let her live that down). She's doesn't know a stranger including our rabbits, the wild rabbits, and her buddies Tanner, Sugar and Cooper and she's never met a kid she didn't like. We really enjoy having her around. But I'm sure you already know that. She was quite excited today (watch her tail in the video) with her birthday hat and us singing to her. We just came back from a long walk and right now she's zonked out on the couch.

Angora Blend Roving Giveaway

That's right! One lucky reader will receive 1.8 ounces of the super soft and lovely Satin Angora/Blue Faced Leicester 50-50 blend roving -processed by Stonehedge Fiber Mill in Northern Michigan. In order that everyone can participate-non spinners may chose to receive spun yarn if they should win. All you have to do to get entered is comment on this blog post. Contest ends Friday February 4, 2011 and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Don't be shy-this is for fun and to encourage those readers who haven't yet posted to do so. It's also a great way to connect with other bloggers who write about topics of similar interest. A lot of the blogs on my reading list are ones I have found via someone else's blog. And here's a true story that happened to me this spring. I was on a friends blog and saw another blog that looked interesting. I looked at it and commented on a post. The author then emailed me because she recognized my city and it turns out that we have a mutual friend. The other blogger by the way lives in France. :-) How's that for a small world?

Zorro on the Deck Parts 1 & 2

Last night I took advantage of the milder weather to clean the rabbit trays. They have been neglected for some time. As I was heading toward the house at dusk I saw that Zorro (our wild bunny) was sitting on the deck with his butt against the screen door waiting for a handout. I asked him if he was waiting for his dinner and although he didn't answer (:-)directly he did a little jig and continued to wait. He scampered off to the side when I stepped up onto the deck and I went inside and got him a hand full of rabbit pellets (we've switched to Purina Show by the way). This morning at 6 am Andrew let Daisy out and a few minutes later I went to let her back inside. She was approaching the deck and Zorro was scampering up the poop path (path in the snow for the animals to walk in so they don't disappear) directly behind her. She came inside and he came up onto the deck and looked at me with an I'm starving -let's get on with breakfast expression. I managed to get a video of him up on the deck this time. Note that he looks directly back at me when he hears the door open.

Part 1: January 25th am

The video ends with Zorro jumping off the deck and into the darkness. I was able to get the footage above because of the porch light. I trimmed the video because the rest of it was too dark so what you don't get to see is Zorro stopping, sitting and waiting patiently for a handout and then greedily gobbling up his food. I got still photos of that.

Part 2: January 26th am

Perfect Powder

It was sunny and beautiful outside yesterday. At bit chilly but nothing a pair of warm ski pants and heavy coat couldn't handle. The snow was perfect for a xc ski trip alongside Clear Creek and through the woods to the "Wedding Bridge" where Andrew and I got married.
Andrew's setting the pace

View from the "Wedding Bridge".

Along the Clear Creek

Concentrating on my form...

Sun Dogs

On the way home from work Friday night Andrew pointed out to me that the sun was flanked on either side by "sun dogs". "Sun dogs are bright bursts of light that are formed when sunlight passes through ice crystals at the proper angle". They are primarily a winter phenomenon and occur, usually in pairs, on either side of the sun when it is low in the sky and cirrus clouds are present. Click here for more info.