Restoration is my Vocation

 I guess when spring arrives it is time for renewal. For me it means going over the many projects that have crossed my desk in between foster kittens, missing persons, farming and quilting. Restoration is a joy for me. It is like finding what is broken or missing in a puzzle. And then making it whole again after making new pieces.

vestments

 a precious gift from a lost friend

lost beads

making them strong again

restoring the beaten and neglected

restoring a happy memory again

face lifts for the forgotten heirloom

Yup this is what I do in between farming, quilting, raising animals and life in the Ozarks. It is so nice to put something beautiful back into someones life again. 

Young Life Gone

Young Grayson Danner on our farm.

                              

Fishing in a neighbors pond.

Playing with the horses

Yesterday, my husband received word that a friends son passed away. He was only 21 a Navy Seal, adventurous and kindhearted. We got to meet him as a young boy of 13 years of age. His father and sister all came to spend a few days with us during that hot Ozark summer. He got to kayak, fish, ride horses and have a fun summer vacation. He loved taming the young chickens and fishing. He caught a huge catfish at a neighbors pond but did not want to eat it. So he put in in a 5 gallon bucket and put it our pond. That catfish was a female and has given us even more catfish. He was so proud of that catfish. He also named one of our hens Grayson since it was grey. So much fun and spirit he had. 

So sad his life was so short. But we are glad to have met him and shared our time with him.                          We pray for solace for his parents and sisters and this loss in their family and our lives.

Shop in Silence

My husband and I drove an hour away to a big Walmart in Mt. Grove to get new Rx for our glasses. 

Our favorite eye doctor works there and always does a good job. We decided after to do some shopping there. Oh my the noise at that Walmart was terrible. The store played music at top volume, constant demo announcements by the staff and vendors, check out machines beeping loudly as possible. I could not even hear my own thoughts. It was like shopping at a gun range.

Clearly Walmart is missing the boat. Now I understand why people prefer to shop on line. It is quiet and peaceful in my home. I did notice several workers wearing their own headphones, more than half. And I also noticed several shoppers wearing headphone/earbuds as well. I guess it is a way to cope with shopping in the sound hell of Walmart.  I do not like where shopping is heading with actual brick and mortar stores. I will stay away from those places. I would rather go without than within there.

If I must go into the heart of darkness, I will bring my own earplugs.

Sunset and cinnamon rolls

Made from scratch a huge batch of cinnamon rolls recipe from Taste of Home cookbook/binder. I made these for a guest staying over. This is before I baked them. I always try to have something tasty about for visitors. Country life makes people hungry. We normally do not eat much on the farm. But when I bake our house smells great.

This was my view outside as the sun set on a 2 day rain event. The sky was yellow!

Wettest March So Far

This is what my ducks live for rain and mud. After 2 days of flooding rains and now winds ducks are loving it.

Happy chuck mucking about.

This guy stays clean even in the mud.

Our driveway river and a yellow sunset.

Fat raindrops on the door.

Frosty thinking about his options of outside or inside.

Two Chucks

Yes, the two chucks (ducks that think they are chickens) are a pair of male ducks added to our farm for the crime of having relations with chickens. They were raised with chicks and when mature tried to mate with them. This pair thought they were chickens.

The owner was done with ducks and wanted the gone. So we picked them up and locked them in a cage in the coop with our chickens and ducks. After a week they were set free at night in the coop. Instantly they went for a hen. However my three roosters had none of that. The chucks were jumped and spurred and sent into the corner to think about things. They were not used to roosters as the previous owner did not have any, just hens. The next day, freedom and the chucks tried to figure out what they can and cannot mate with. My older female ducks attacked them as the chucks were low on the pecking order.

After three weeks the chucks have learned to go into the coop at night and be with the rest of the ducks. They have learned to be ducks and had no diseases. No more beat downs from the roosters and our male ducks are fine with new competition.

 It is not easy to re-home a farm animal/pet. Too many times it ends badly for both the new and established animals via fights, diseases or wandering off. These chucks did get bloodied and that scent sets off my guard dogs as well as other predators. It takes a lot of planning and participation on my part to keep them all happy and alive. The cold weather also helped keep predators at bay. If the chucks had not joined I would have no choice but to sell them at auction. Many new to homesteading are not prepared for what happens after animals mature and are no longer cute babies.

Down and Rebound

Osa the oldest shepherd taking advantage of the wood stove.

Last week our youngest shepherd cut her leg. It was a very deep and fresh cut. I triaged it and realized she needed stitches. Wrapped and blanketed we drove her to the vet. It was a cut tendon and very deep. He weighed her at 112lbs ( she was the runt of the litter). The vet gave her a sedative and we hoisted her onto the table for a quick tendon reattachment and 3 stitches over her paw. She was in the house with Osa for a week in my office. After the cold snow and ice both are now outside and loving working again. No poultry was lost during the guardian vacation.

Teadium Beadium

A friends vintage Indian beaded necklace was pulling apart. I offered to get it tight again.

Here is a handmade butterfly made in the 1980's that was falling apart. Regular thread was used and it was shredding. 

Some old glue was used in a repair in the past. 

Pulling string and keeping count.

Keeping the beads in check.

I used beading wire to replace the old thread.

My kit.

Day two.

Used a stronger wire for the join.

Back to fixing this one.

I left all the original threads and just bypassed the break with a finer stronger Nymo.

Had to re-string after dropping a wire loaded with  beads. Practicing patience and counting.

Day three. This is the finished with the new magnet clasp and mood beads to hide the crimps. Wire nylon coated replace the old threads. This is stronger and will last longer.

Winter Still Here

We have no ice one day, everything melts then more ice by weekend. It has been like this for the last 2 months. Ice weighs everything down and makes driving more difficult.

Very cold days then warm up then ice and sleet this year.

Ice and more ice then lots of rain, flooded roads then more ice. It has been a winter of lots of weather watching for us. Lots of days staying home and off the roads. Keeping the farm fed has been a challenge with ice, rain or mud. Snow is so much better to deal with. 

My poultry are wanting to get broody and hatch. Egg production has been very high this late winter. 

New Study and Japanese

Here is a good read from LSU School of Medicine for  possible help for people with Alzheimer's.

My husband and I are studying Japanese. We hope to go to Japan one day. There is a neat program called Drops for language study of usable words and stuff you might need to read and say.

It is cheaper than Rosetta and easier to learn. It has visual, verbal and written all at the same time. It is fun and it sticks. Worth a look for language studies.

This is a handmade goldfish by Wee Folk Studio. I have been following Salley Mavor's neat creations and publications. Worth a look at this talented woman's creations. She shows how she creates and you can see she loves what she does.