Friday, April 25, 2014

I'm Back....


Hi!!!  
Don't be frightened.
It's me.
Jill.
I know folks must think that I have lost interest in my blog....nope...
just been working hard (Spring furniture market) and trying my best to keep a up.
I have also started a new artistic "hobby".  
I am going to learn stained glass and my sweet (don't tell him that I called him sweet) buddy Jak Brewer is going to teach me.  
Plus...I was also recently introduced to mosaics.  Oh my...now I can use the 
scraps from one hobby to create with the other hobby.  Hahaha.
I am also going to be posting photos from March in this issue of Jill's Life. 
Just a little catching up.  So don't be alarmed by the cold looking photos.



I could have gone back to Feb....but I thought all of the frost and snow would scare people.
Which brings me to a subject that amuses me.
Weather...


I like snow and cold weather...well...only if I am dressed for it. 

It amuses me that people get so ticked off over it.
Granted many people have been pounded by LOTS of snow this year....
We really didn't have that much....I missed it. 
I think that it is beautiful. 



It is also very beneficial as many in my region have just discovered.
We had 19 degrees and high wind with no snow recently and let's just say...that the newly emerging 
plants did not fare so well.  
If we had snow to cover the plants...they would have done much better.  

So...wait...that makes me mad because we didn't have snow...so...
Hmmmmm....I guess that I DO get mad at the weather.
Oh no!!!  
What am I going to do????
I DO get mad at it...
Well...strike all of that stuff I just wrote.




What am I going to do???
All of this time I laughed at the weather haters...now..I am one of them...
Oh my...



Woody Woodpecker.



Snow love.


More snow love.  


On to a new subject...
Zippy looking happy in front of our neighbor's sign.  



Mr. Suave Zippy.  



March photo, but it still looks this way....in April....thanks to that 
19 degree day...without snow cover.
Oh no...more weather hate.   



This looked like a turtle head to me. 




Otis Kicking up his heels after being in the "big barn" for the night.



Some neat nails in a dead tree.



I call this octopus tree.



Zippy and Old Burl Face.


Zippy and the Wizard tree.


Scary rabbit tree.


I think that I have been in the woods for too long...
I am naming the trees....
Sometimes I even talk to them...Hahaha.


Miss May with a frosty mane.
Really just half of a mane...the mules have been chewing on her.  



Sweet Smudge.  


She has been having more frequent seizures and we are going in for a check-up soon.  
Hopefully we can make some med changes that will help.  
She is a happy girl regardless.  Full of life and love.
We have good days....we have bad...we just go with it. 



Mr. Jimmy the bluebird.  


He was at my neighbor's house with his wife, Lola. 



They were admiring  themselves in the window.  


This is Lola.



Mr. Jimmy


"Jimmy.....quit looking at yourself and go find some worms!"



Pretty sky.


This is Gorilla Burl...he is a real character.  


Love the shape of this tree.



Another new little hobby while walking the dog....rock balancing.
It is fun...the wind knocks them over in seconds sometimes.  



More beautiful snow.



Zippy on top of the world. 


Zippy says....don't worry about the weather...it will all be okay....Be happy to be alive and............ give me a biscuit.  

Stay tuned for another lovely blog post...for April.  
Coming soon to a computer near you.  

Friday, January 31, 2014

The Finished Frodotype and LOTS of other things.


The Frodotype is stained and sealed.  
You can see some of the things that I carved into it.
Gwaihir the eagle, and eagle talon.
A wizardly face.
A not so wizardly face.
A few things that are not "Lord of the Rings" 
Bulldogs mainly.





I have learned a lot about using fiber optics in this piece and will be using my knowledge later on in a much larger work.  Learning how to separate the bundles and figuring out how the best way 
to light the glass.  What is the brightest way to light certain areas and when and how to keep things softer.  



Lord of the Rings is such a male oriented piece of literature, that I felt that I should 
include a beautiful woman.  So...I included my version of Galadriel.
You may or may not see it. 



The lighting that I used, has a color wheel that makes the fibers change color and also includes twinkling lights.  This can all be changed, because I made sure to leave access to the controls.  
You can stop the color and twinkling entirely or switch color wheels to customize it any way you would want.  





This is a really bad video of the Frodotype.
I could not get back far enough from the turntable to get a very smooth shot of it.
I also at one point tripped and knocked over another armature toward the end and shook the camera quite a bit.  I may try to do another one later.  







It has been very very cold here. 
The animals have all been in the barn together and for the short periods of time that 
they are free....they have fun. 


Otis stretching his legs.



If I stand at the bottom of the pasture and call Otis...he comes running to me and 
flies around the pasture.  
He is such a cute guy.



May and the boys.



Oracle has really been wild lately and bugs the others.



He is such a silly horse.  Always looking for something to do.





This is also why our fencing is really beat up every year.
when the horses get bored...they chew on things.






Hey.......I can't believe that I have to put up with Oracle....he chases me with sticks.



Zippy loves the snow.



I think it fees good on his feet. 



Keeps his arthritic toes off of the rocks and briars.  






One thing about winter that I love...besides snow...is just how clear the air is.



No haze.


We have had many lenticular clouds this winter.
I love them.



Zippy loves them too.  I can just tell that he does.
Here he is...thinking...I love lenticular clouds.



The famous "Little Grey Barn".



Gorgeous sunset. 










I forgot to say this...
Originally, I had about 160 photos in this post.
I narrowed it down some.  However...there probably are still over 100 photos.
Sorry...


A piece of Jak's glass.



So.....People who live in cold climates with horses will understand these next few shots..
When it warms up just ever so slightly...



and things begin to thaw..


You get the most wonderful thing in the world...


MUD!


Horses love mud.  Especially the greasy slick type that has a frozen layer of ground under it..



They roll in it and play in it.



I hate it....It took me a long time to brush this out of his coat and you should have seen Eco.
His fur is much longer and thicker.....I needed a mask.



A pretty view on a mountain road.



Smudge!!!!  
Go Smudge....Go!!!
Smudge had another seizure last night...
Poor little angel. 


One of my neighbor's trees...I loved the shadows on this shot.
Someone told me that the tree looked like it was playing basketball.



This tree caught the ball.



Zippy with a smile. 


Wild Smudge.


This was a strange cloud formation.  
There is a line of lighter color going through it. 



Zippy on our afternoon walk. 


His heart shaped nose looks great here.  He must be getting ready for Valentine's Day.



A line of sunset.


One of my favorite trees....as I am sure everyone knows.
I have taken about 70000000000 pictures of it.


More weird clouds.


Water on the deck with the reflection of the beautiful colored glass.



Hey.....out of the way...lady.



Here is a good story..
The other day, I took Zippy for a walk.  It was very very cold, so we were sticking to the driveway and paved areas.  I had my hands in my pockets and thought that I was being very careful..when....suddenly, I was on the ground.  I had hit a portion of black ice on the steepest part of the driveway.  My foot went right out from under me and BOOM..I landed on my hip.  Hands still in pockets and camera still around my neck.  I landed and then Zippy tried to finish me off because he thought that I was playing.  So he jumped up and down on me a few times.  I have bruises from him and the pavement.  Thank goodness I had on my giant purple marshmallow coat and three hats or I would have been a goner.  My camera too. 


Here is what Zippy thinks of that story.




The driveway.



The las picture that I took before being pillaged by a Bull Terrier.



This is a picture of Oracle picking on Eco with a stick.  
You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it.
Eco liked it for a moment, because he was being scratched on the neck.


Then...things went south.











It all ended well, but last summer Eco had a very bad eye injury that took forever to heal.
I think that Oracle poked him in the eye with a stick.  



My ass is cold.  
She has really loved her coat this year...and every year. 





Grey barn alert.




Sorry folks...I just can't stop taking pictures of it.




I posted a picture of Ollie like this on FB.  
Some folks seemed to think that I was a mean person for letting him stay out in the snow.
Don't judge...people...
He had shelter and he chose to stay out.  
His fur is incredibly thick and he was dry....Seriously...
Plus...I say to those judgmental folks...if you want to put a coat on him...come on over and try.
Good luck and please leave all proceeds of life insurance policies to me.  I will make a "Coat for Ollie" fund.  Non-Profit of course.  Just like the NFL. 



Smudge on her potty break.  









Danza...(standing under an overhang with access to open barn)


The woods behind the house.


Zippy on his potty break....to cold for an actual walk.


Oh Smudge....you do love that snow.


Otis too....














A really neat sundog.  The tree is pinching it.



Oracle up to his usual wildness.


Poor little deer in the cold weather. 



Oracle rolling in the snow.




Danza loves the soft snow too. 



It must be a wonderful footing for them. 
The ground is so hard and sharp in the winter.


Otis...I love Otis.


Miss May...


Oracle is always bugging Miss May about her pink coat. 


He must want one too.  He actually has a red one. 


He stuck his nose in the snow.



Super Zippy!!!


Fighting crime and pouncing on injured owners....saving us from peril. 
Or putting us in peril...


A nice gust of wind on the way home from the shop.



Ha ha ha.



My garden .....It spells my name. 
Only...it has an extra "L". 


Smudge making a chair out of the snow. 






One of the best face plants in the history of face plants.



It did not faze her one bit....




Tossing a snowball.



Even more Lenticular clouds.



This was the Mothership.



Another clear day!!



Zippy on one of our walks in the woods.



Turkey convention.  



Zippy trying to visit the neighbors....



Big tree on rock.  
That is the house in the background.



The fire pit. 


Smudge in the back yard.



Gorgeous colors in the snow.



Yum...


Loving on the colors.



This one looks like a flame to me.


getting closer to the end.....I promise.



Almost there....



Almost time for dinner this post is so long......



Smile and persevere.


Jump for joy....it is really almost over.


Yay!!!!  You made it!!!!!!!



Thank you for viewing......If you made it to the end....I applaud you and THANK YOU!!!!
Much love, 
Jill