Long Time, No See, Friend...

Why hello.  Its been a while.  Terribly sorry about that, but I haven't been feeling well recently.  Let me give you a couple of highlights to catch you up.

I had a few wonderful blacksmithing lessons!  Pictures are coming.  Both projects are unfinished, and once they are, I will post some pictures for all to see.  I will tell you that I made a tomahawk and am finishing up an ornamental snail.  Its pretty cute.

In sad news, and the main reason I haven't posted, is the Hen I adopted passed away yesterday.  Her recovery was such a rollercoaster.  She did better, then got worse, then got so well I was thinking of naming her, then disaster struck.  On Monday, I saw a mite on my hand when I was feeding her.  I treated her for them, knowing that mites will impede her recovery, and hoped for the best.  Tuesday, she looked depressed.  Not moving, but still eating.  Wednesday, she was very ill.  When I picked her up to examine her, my arms were covered in mites.  I looked at her chest, and her skin was black and moving.  She was infested.  Her comb and wattle were white, she was anemic, and she was in pain.  They were sucking the life out of her. 

This was a desperate situation, and I took desperate measurements.  I got stronger chemicals and applied it under her wings, on her chest, and around her butt, all the mites hiding places.

Thursday was constant care, but no improvement.  The mites were dead, but she was drained. 

Friday, just before, 3pm, she passed away.

Telling the previous owner who trusted the hen to my care was devastating.  A lot of 'if only' have been running through my head.  If only I realized how bad the mites were sooner, if only I started force feeding her sooner.... If only.

I'm crushed.  I really hate losing an animal, and with its history, it makes it hurt more. 

Sigh.

Lets move on to happier things. 

My sister gave me her two rabbits, a black buck and a silver/grey doe (who is actually my Prince Charming's sister).  She is deciding that chickens will be more worth her while.  For the same amount of effort, she gets fresh eggs everyday, and no messy butchering!  I'm happy.  I can't wait to start breeding my does!  Baby bunnies are adorable.

My garden is doing well.  Except the spinach.  It was attacked by a worm and eaten away.  My cucumbers were almost wiped out by a slug, but we saved 2 plants!  Today, I finally got around to planting some more salad mix, new spinach (ripped out the gross ones), radishes, and carrots.  I'm late doing all this, but oh well.  I'm still learning.

Here, have a few pictures of my garden.

My carrots, before I thinned them.

Potatoe, a week ago.  They are huge now.

Aren't they lovely?

I will get back in the grove of things shortly.  I am finally feeling better, so I will be able to lug my camera around and get some good pictures.

Side note, I'm puppy-sitting my in-laws dog, Abby.  She's a lab-golden retriever mix and she is adorable!  She's not use to being inside, but she is having a good time with my boys!  Expect to see a lot of photos of her over the next 3 weeks.

Another note, did you know the dogs have twitter??  Its mostly me, dictating what's happening, but its fun!  Check them out on the side of the page!

I also have instagram!  Follow me?

This and That

Just a quick note about things here.

I didn't have a blacksmith lesson on the weekend.  Instead, I attended an amazing Retirement Party for my father-in-law put on by my brother and sister-in-law and celebrated Mother's day!

Pigeon is doing well.  He/she/it broke a nail on the wire cage, so I had to clip and clean the area and fix the bottom of the cage so it wouldn't happen again.  Bad news; pigeon now hates me.  He tries to remove skin every time I feed him.

Chicken is iffy.  We are doing everything we can for her, but she isn't doing as well as we hoped.

Garden is amazing!  So many veggies growing!

Flower garden is terrible.  So many weeds...

Rabbits are happy in their hutches.

Chickens are happy, but stopped laying eggs.

Dogs are monsters.

I'm very tired.

More Pictures of My Nails

Since everyone loves to see photos (I hope), I have for you a collection Rusty took while I was making the nails!

Fun times were had.

Photos thanks to Rusty of White Rose Forge and Foundry.

Nailing the Art of Blacksmithing

Yesterday I had another lesson with Rusty the blacksmith.  This time, we made nails.  No joke.  

Left to right, in the order that they were made.

It was great practice for squaring up a round rod and tapering it to a point.  After 4 nails, I started to make some real progress.  I'm getting pretty good at swinging that hammer!  Last week I would hit the anvil or miss the mark, smooshing everything the wrong way.  I had to get help squaring everything up since I liked to swing the hammer at an angle, pushing everything off center. 

With the nails, my first started off as a huge mess.  I was doing everything wrong, but Rusty was great and talked me through how to fix it instead of doing it for me.  Of course, that meant it took longer to make a nail, but he gave me a great chance to learn.  By the end, I wasn't messing up nearly as bad, and my nail was very passable.  That being said, I really didn't put any effort into the nail heads and they are all off center and more like railroad ties.  But that was totally on purpose and not at all related to my inability to swing a hammer with any force...

Added bonus: My arms aren't as jelly-like today as they were last week.  I hope that means I'm building some muscle!

We discussed future projects, but I couldn't think of anything easy to make.  Eventually, I would like to make a hatchet and tools, but none of that is appropriate for a beginner. 

All in all, I need my own forge now.  I want to play and make more nails.  Rusty said he can make them in one heating (as opposed to the 10+ I did for each of mine), so that will be a goal for me.

Funny looking heads.

A Few Action Shots...

All photos were taken by my instructor, Rusty Laidlaw, of White Rose Forge and Foundry.  Find him on Facebook here!

Blacksmithing Lesson!

Sunday was nothing short of amazing!  I started off the morning with a lesson from a local blacksmith!  I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for ages.

Hubby found the ad for the lessons on Craigslist weeks ago, but I hesitated, too nervous to reply.  Afterwards, it felt like I missed a chance and I regretted not getting in touch with the guy.  Luckily, the ad came up again and this time I didn't hesitate!  I had my first lesson, and I'm smitten with the craft!

Hubby drove me out to Mission and lingered a long while before he took off.  My instructor Rusty, a long-time blacksmith, had me dive right in and soon I was hammering a taper on a long rob, rounding it, and eventually formed it into a hook!  We chatted the whole time and I tried to listen the best I could and get as much out of my time with him as possible.  He was so nice and patient, it really made it so much more relaxing being there.

I told Rusty how I planned to give the hook as a present for my dad since it was his birthday.  At the end of the lesson, he gave me the hook he made so I would still have one.  Super nice guy.

The only downside is my arm started to get really tired of the constant hammering.  Felt like a fool at the end because I could barely lift a 3 pound hammer.  Driving home with Earl, my arm was shaking something awful.  Earl laughed at me.  Meanie.

I can't go on enough about how great it was.  To learn a craft, even at its most basic, and to walk away with something useful that you made yourself gives you such a strong feeling of accomplishment.

Oh man... best 90 minutes of my day.  I would say week, but I getting to see my nieces and nephew, and my dad and brother's birthday make this week pretty sweet.

My hook in front.

My lovely hook.

I couldn't be happier if I tried.