Let the fun begin... The Dayton Felting Retreat

A group of us left Thursday morning for Nevada. I drove one of two cars. We followed the remnants of a storm over the Carson Pass. As we drove up into the mountains, we passed the snow removers heading down the highway and hoped that this meant we didn't have to stop to chain up (which I didn't have) or drive in snow (which I'm not very good at.) with my snow tires (which I just had installed.).
We reached Carson Pass at 8,574ft. It was clear and so beautiful it almost took your breath away.

The icy roads were melting and the road was clear. We had driven through the Carson Spur and now I could relax. The "Spur" is an avalanche area on the highway that always makes me nervous when I drive through it. The rest of the drive was much easier and in no time we drove down into Nevada and stopped for an early lunch in Minden.
After lunch, we headed for Reno. We had plans. First we drove to the Jimmy Beans Wool store and business...

...where we went a little crazy looking at all the beautiful wool yarn, fleece, fabric, gifts and books. We were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the online part of the business and the warehouse.  Fun stuff! If you are interested in a quality online store for yarn and all the extras, go to...http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/ Jimmy is a lady and it's a nickname. All the folks there were very friendly.
I bought a book by the lady who created the pattern for the Moonkoosa slippers/boots that we made for this retreat. Watch the video on this website. It's hysterical. I just found out that she is also a singer in a group called Snowbird ( her songs have been featured on the soundtracks of Dawson's Creek, NUMB3RS and Party of Five.) and "she lives in the mountains with her unicorn, puffy cat & a hefty yarn stash riddled with gnomes."

This is her first knitting book.

Then we drove across town to the Nevada Museum of Art.

The wind practically blew us out of the parking lot, but I did get this photo of my windblown  "crew" posing with a strange rock man?...woman?, in front of the museum.

We went in , paid our dues, looked at some books and the gift shop, then proceeded upstairs to see the Phyllis Shafer "I only went out for a walk..." exhibit. She is a  plein air painter that lives in Tahoe and found inspiration in these wonderful Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her painting are stunning. I couldn't take any pictures in this exhibit. They didn't allow any cameras, but you can see some of her paintings here...http://www.phyllisshafer.com/oilpaintings/
These photos of her paintings do not give justice to her wonderful oils. They are so beautiful. Her skies in each painting are so unique.. so stylized. Each had its own design and flow. She truly paints what John Muir felt when he said, " I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” I understand this quote. It's one of my favorites.
We also enjoyed the Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, 50 Works, a  memorial exhibition of 50 select artworks by the late author, artist and illustrator Maurice Sendak

 ...celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak’s wonderful and revered children’s book. We've all read Where the Wild Things Are to our children or grandchildren. My personal favorites are the Little Bear series that Sendak illustrated. I must have read Little Bear's Visit to both of my sons, thousands of times in their childhoods. They loved this story (actually four little stories) and the illustrations.
There was a "wild rumpus" room which, I suspect, was a place for reading to groups of school children.

There were many of his original paintings, like this one.

With all the information about why he painted "Moishe" and when... what year and what kind of medium.

 There were some that I had never seen before.

Like an opera poster from 1984 in watercolor, pen and ink on paper.

The walls were covered with his drawings.

If you happen to be in Reno, NV on the 18th. of April you can bring your pajamas and join others in the

• Where the Wild Things Are: Pajama Party and Film Screening Friday April 18, 2014 / 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
  Parents and children are invited for a festive pajama party at the Museum. Participants will enjoy a hands-on art project, after-hours access to the exhibition, Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons, evening snacks and a special screening of the 2009 Spike Jonze film Where the Wild Things Are. This event is designed for families with children ages 7 - 12. This film rating is PG. Come in your coziest PJs!
  
  $20 / $16 Museum members | Buy Tickets
  
  
  How fun is this??  I'm sure you can find a 7 to 12 year old around somewhere. They might even let you in by yourself.
  
  
  We saw some other exhibits that were noteworthy in this three story museum.
  
  Some very interesting and some downright weird. It's all ART. It's all a view of the artist's concept and his vision... but one art installation, that filled a whole room, was like walking inside the artist's mind. It was crazy weird. You had to walk on all these old magazine photos from the 40' to the 80's that were masking taped to the floor. The walls were covered too and strips of paper were hanging everywhere. It was very strange. Uncomfortable really. 
• Then there was the room filled with Crochet. A couple of the ladies in our group got into a little trouble here... well, not really. One of the docents, a very nice, old man, had a talk with them. (You know who you are, ladies.) He understood that my friends were just being one with the art. I looked into the room. It was like a huge, red spiderweb and you know how I feel about spiders.

We left the museum and drove down S. Virginia St. to Junkee's. This is a thrift store extraordinaire.

A fun filled extravagance with room after room of thrifts and antiques.

 and creative inspiration.

You cannot go into this store and not buy something. Clothes on the left and everything else on the right. It's a "not to be missed" place to go...  and you WILL find something you can't live without.

We left Junkee and drove south to Carson City and east to Dayton. We stopped at the store and picked up a few things for dinner and finally reached our destination.

We had a lovely dinner, prepared by our hostess, with banana splits for dessert... the beginning of a food filled weekend. We talked for a while and then each of us said goodnight, as we ended our first day in the little town at the western end of the Twenty-Six Mile Desert, on a bend of the Carson River.

Tomorrow we would start our felting fest...

Wordless Wednesday: Moonkoosa slippers are finally done... now the felting begins.

Be careful what you wish for...

You know how we, here in California, have been doing rain dances and praying for rain? Well, somebody was listening. It's RAINING!!!
On Tuesday I drove to San Andreas. It was sunny, warm... I didn't need a sweater or a jacket. We commented that it was "scary" how nice the weather was... for February.
 Later, on my way back up my dirt road to my house, I stopped to take a picture of a California Alligator lizard. He was sunning himself on the warm dirt and didn't move.

At first I thought "Snake!"... because of the long tail, but it was just a small lizard and he wasn't moving.

I think he was as curious about me as I was about him. They are such interesting creatures.

I finally touched his tail and he ran off into the grass.
Tuesday night it rained hard. We had lightening and thunder. It woke us up. Carl and Cutter were whining. I had to talk to them and tell them that everything was OK. Finally, we all went back to sleep.
Wednesday it rained and during an afternoon break in the weather... I took a walk up to the top of the property.

I walked over to the old mine where I found the creek dry in one spot ,(where I cross it) but filled with water in another. This small creek had water that was doing a disappearing act, and then reappearing below the crossing.

Lots of water.

No water.

 It must go underground on bedrock, because the water appears again further down the creek. The rain wasn't sufficient to make the creek flow all the way downstream. A few more days of rain and the whole stream will be filled.
On Thursday it rained all day. I finished my first knitted slipper and started another one. It seems that you have to make two of them.
Right now the finished one looks like a small, fuzzy alligator...

... but when I sew it together, put fringe on it and felt it, this oversized attempt at thinking I know what I'm doing should turn into a cute little felted, fringed slipper. This will definitely be a feat of magical proportions. "Abracadabra." These will be felted on a retreat in Nevada next weekend.

It didn't rain too much last night but the wind blew hard. This morning  I was up early because I had to drive down to Sacramento for an appointment. Our neighbor called and said that he had been heading to work and couldn't make it to the highway because there was a huge pine tree that fell across the road.
He said he would go the other direction, across the bridge and into Calaveras County. The Prospector called the county and told them about the tree. They said they would be right out. We were the first to call about a road problem so they were ready and waiting.
I left early and drove south to the river.
It wasn't raining.

I was on a schedule. I had to add at least 25 minutes to my travel time because of the downed tree. I would drive south and come back on highway 49 into Jackson and then do my normal drive to Sacramento. When you are on a schedule... and have an appointment... it's kind of like working for a living again. I knew that I couldn't stop for any reason or I wouldn't make it in time.
Well, guess what I saw down at the river... when I couldn't stop... even though I had my camera with me? A beautiful Red Tailed Hawk was sitting in a dead oak tree. It was close to the road and I would have been able to get some really good shots of him.  And, then, further down the road, I saw something move. The elusive GREAT BLUE HERON that a photographer friend has seen at the bridge a while back, flew up from the side of the road and spread its amazing wings... right in front of me.  I almost had a heart attack.
(I could not stop. I was probably going to be late , as it was.)
I almost cried. Finally, this beautiful bird shows up and I'm in such a hurry I can't even stop and capture its image in my camera.
As I drove along the ridge down the river canyon and into Jackson it started to rain... again.
I turned the news on and listened to the reports of Southern California flooding and felt almost guilty about all the rain dances I did for two months... all the hoping and wishing for rain.
There seems to be no middle ground this winter. Everything is extreme.Whether it is cold and snowy east of the Rockies or rain in the Northwest and now here, were are definitely having a strange winter. Here, in the west, it seems to be either  feast or  famine. There's no in between. We are still in a drought and it's flooding all over the place. There are mudslides in S. Ca.  The mud is sliding down all the hills that were burned in the fires this summer. It's awful.
 
I drove down to Sacramento and back. I made my appointment with five minutes to spare. On my way back home I stopped at Starbucks for coffee and one of their great egg salad sandwiches. The sandwich was wrapped in cellophane and tucked into a cute little box. When I opened it, there was a piece of tape holding the wrapping around the sandwich.

Enjoy more. Worry less. 

So, I enjoyed my sandwich... and the coffee was strong, hot and wonderful.

I guess I will take a walk in the rain tomorrow... and enjoy this wet stuff that we so badly need.
Maybe it won't rain and I can still take a walk.
Maybe I will worry less about what the doctor told me today and try not to anticipate disaster.
It's wasn't anything horrible. He just wants to "explored" a different path... a direction I didn't expect.
Life is like that. Some days it rains and some days the sun shines.
Sometimes you don't get the photo of the Great Blue Heron that you wanted, but maybe it will be there tomorrow.
Sometimes you have to take a detour because of a "tree" that fell in your path.
and sometimes... you just have to hope that an unexpected "mudslide" doesn't come down the hill behind you and wipe out all of your well laid plans.

It's still raining outside.
I wonder what will happen tomorrow.
Oh,yes... my sister is coming up.
It's suppose to be a "non" rain day.
But don't count on it.
Crazy weather... maybe we'll have a tornado.
Don't worry Farmlady... Be happy.

Wordless Wednesday: Finding a heart in the sad river.

Number 9 needles and my personal best

I'm going on a art retreat next month and all I wanted to do was take my camera out into the Dayton desert and try to find some wild mustangs to photograph. But sometimes you have to do things that aren't on the top of your list, in order to have a consensus.  Our group is a wonderful and agreeable group of woman that are all very talented in many different ways. So we always try to do things that everyone is in agreement with.
Case in point...
Our art group (SCAT) meeting was here at my place last week. We had decided, early on, that a fun project for the retreat would be a felted hat with a felted flower and a pair of felted slippers.  We would make the hat and slippers ahead of time and teach everyone how to felt them and make more felted flowers for those who hadn't been to the meeting where we learned to make them.
As for knitting slippers... I though it would be fun, but not ever having followed written knitting directions before... I was very intimidated . I had only done scarves and flat, straight knitting.
These slipper directions are a real learning curve. These directions called for RS, LS, SSK, and K2tog. They wanted me to "kl,ml,knit and stop before last stitch, ml, kl" one way and purl the other.

Then the writer tried to introduce some humor with, "Ready?... let's go. ( Make two).

Of course... make 2... it's a PAIR of slippers.
And then there were the (parentheses) with snappy little insider comments.
 I started one slipper at the meeting and got off to a pretty good start. I had two friends that not only knew how to knit well... they also finished their pair of slippers already.
I decided on the yarn I would use and mixed three LION brand wools together so I could achieve "bulky" status, which I needed, to felt these slippers when I was done knitting them. I still maintain a "STASH" of yarn, even though I haven't done any knitting in over two years. The yarn is in three containers out in the garage. You never know when the knitting bug will hit. You have to be prepared. I'm probably "prepared" for the rest of my life.
On Wednesday, I was doing really well. I had support. Both ladies were patient and understanding. I was surprise how much I did remember from a few years ago, when I went a little crazy with the "knitting scarves and felting them" portion of my life. Some of it is like riding a bike... the basics come back... BUT... The ladies went home.
That was last Wednesday. I'm still on my first slipper and today was a hard core bad word day. It was a "Should'a called someone" day. But I didn't. I guess it was pride. I don't know.
I finally went to my Knit Aid book for abbreviations.

 SSK was not there.

So I went on line.

Here, I found a woman with brown fingernail polish to go with her orange yarn, explaining how to skip,skip, knit (SSK) and how to knit two stitches together (k2tog), how to increase and decrease and what the right side (RS) of the knitting looks like. Wow! I love the Internet.
So I continued under the tutelage of the lady with the brown nails and learned all kinds of stuff.
I also went to the Tiny Owl Knits site that makes the pattern for these "moonkoosa boots". It's a fun site and this is the link... for you.     (The gray slipper on the top left of the website is the one I'm knitting.)

I love the yarn colors I'm using. 

By tonight, I am almost finished with one slipper. I've found that I'm very good at decreasing... but awful at increasing. Could be that I'm knitting right handed and, even though I can do a lot of things with both hands, I'm basically left handed. It's a good excuse anyway.
So... My next step is to repeat rows 1 and 2 until I have decrease down to 4 stitches(sts.) and then there's another page telling me how to put this "boot" together.
I may not be leaving this computer all night.

It's a matter of achieving a goal... like the athletes in the Olympics... which I watched from beginning to "closing ceremony" end... which was wonderful... and made me realize that, with training and talent, you can do just about anything.
EVEN when you think you can't.
There were some tears this afternoon... and that's when I went for the chocolate in the freezer...  I do know what comforts and motivates me.
I'm buying a wool hat from someone who knitted more than one hat... just for the fun of it. Imagine that! She loves making them. I can only take so much of this endurance knitting, so I opted for a homemade, already done, knit hat.
Because... I'm almost out of chocolate.

I will post my slipper/boots when I'm done with them. Any mistakes will be felted into oblivion.
I figure I may come in about 7th or 8th in this boot competition. I won't "metal", but it's about the accomplishment... and endurance... and my personal best.

Goodbye to a neighbor.

Some weeks seem longer and heavier than others don't they?  Part of this heaviness is that a neighbor has died. His name was Freddy. 
I didn't know him really well. We weren't close friends... just neighbors. We would call him when his cows got out on the road. He always had a smile on his face and seemed eager to stop and talk. He was only 58 years old. He had lung damage from a job that he did years ago. The damage finally took its toll. He coughed all the time... but he wouldn't quit smoking. Our friend and neighbor, "D", who knew Freddy well, was always giving him a bad time about the smoking. I think Freddy had quit recently.
He lived at the beginning of our road near the highway. He and his father have the cows that I love to photograph. Freddy had been married and has children that are mostly grown and gone. The latest lady in his life love those cows... but recently move out. She still came and fed the cows for him. I would see her out there feeding them. I don't know why she left.
A few years back I was driving home from work past Freddy's house.  His father, his wife (then) and a neighbor were trying to help a cow give birth. I stopped and got out. Between the five of us, we delivered the calf ,which was breach and in trouble. With our help, the little calf made it. I will never forget the great feeling of accomplishment we all felt. We were all covered in gooey slime and blood, but we delivered that calf in one piece. The cow and her baby were just fine. I remember, then, how tired Freddy was. He was so exhausted he had to sit down and he was having trouble breathing. That was years ago.

The memorial was today at his house. His father seemed so sad and quiet. I guess he knew this was coming, but still... it has to be a terrible loss.

Like the tree that fell in last weeks storm...

Freddy had a weakness inside... damage that couldn't be overcome.

Life got him all tangled up, like the bare, poison oak branches around this old oak. So he said, "Enough".

 Freddy...I hope you can walk without the pain, the oxygen tanks and the scariness of not being able to breath. I hope you are walking and dancing somewhere... and happy.

Crab post for Dawn

I mentioned that we caught crabs at Lawson's Landing when we were there last month and I have not heard the end of it from my friend, Dawn. She has a passion for the crab, the lobster, the shrimp and, probably crayfish, if she could find any.
So when I said that I would do a post on the crabs we caught and I didn't, I get this...
JAN 31 Charming Baglady’s comment:
Beautiful post as usual. Magnificent photo of Carl.
Now, down to the REALLY important stuff.
You left me hanging . . . . . did you get any crabs?????

and when I wrote back... 
From Farmlady    Jan 31   6:35pm
Yes, we got crabs... stay tuned. C.

She responded with...
A word to the wise is enough.  I hope I haven't been too subtle. A woman's word is as good as her bond.
And be these juggling fiends no more believ'd, that palter with us in a double sense; that keep the word of promise to our ear and break it to our hope.
Never promise more than you can perform.
Never...break your word or lose your self-respect.

Ok, I know it's February 18th. I know that I didn't do a CRAB post... but "A woman's word is as good as her bond."? and "Never... break your word..."?  "palter"??? Good grief! 
This gets worse. 
There was crying involved.

 

So, with out further ado.... 
The Lawson's Landing Crab report for our beautiful, sunny vacation in January 2014.

We caught 7 crabs the second day we were at the Landing.  You can catch 10 Dungeness and 35 Reds per day. Don't quote me on all of this information. Look it up so you don't get caught with too many... like a group that arrived in their boat, at the beach and were greeted by two Fish and Game wardens, who took everything they caught, including their boat. They were searched and everything was laid out and photographed. It was really something to watch and a good lesson about following the rules.

Dungeness and Reds have to be a certain size... so you measure them and throw back the undersized and the females. Dungeness crabs are the largest editable crab on the Pacific Coast. They are light reddish brown with a purple wash on some of them and light streaks, orange undersides and sometimes purple legs. I call them the "fancy" crabs. They stand out in a crowd and they seems more ticked off when they get caught.
This is a red crab.

 The Reds are usually smaller and they are.. well... red.

With black "fingernail polish" tips on their pincers. They have to be 4 inches across the back if you keep them.
 The Dungeness were not as abundant as the Reds that week, but there were more Dungeness "keepers" (over 5 and 3/4" or bigger) when you did catch them.
You can use a crab cage or net, or a snare ( on a fishing rod) . The cage catches more at one time. The snare required patience and you can loose the crab easily.
It was fun hanging out at the pier and watching the activity.

All those lines, below the pier, have a cage attached to them.

Saturday was a very busy day. Lots of "crabbers" catching a lot of crabs. The Prospector went down early and I would came later with the Corgi boys. The dogs loved the commotion, the people, other dogs and the fish smells. Everyone helped everyone and  gave "newbies" advise. It was a very encouraging place to learn.

In the late afternoon we laid a fire to enjoy after dark and started heating water in a big pot on our outdoor burner. This pot would be the crab's demise.
It seems that there is a controversy about cooking live crabs. There have even been studies done about Crustacea and whether or not they feel pain when being cooked. I will leave that to the experts. If you really need to debate this subject, here's a link:
http://science.time.com/2013/01/18/do-crabs-feel-pain-maybe-and-maybe-we-should-rethink-eating-them/

As a little girl, I would go to Fisherman's Wharf, in San Francisco and look at the crabs and lobsters in the big tanks on the street and ask Mom and Dad how they ended up on my Crab Louie salad at the table. I don't remember a definitive answer. Then I saw them cooking the crab on the sidewalk and I knew... BOILED ALIVE.
OK... little pragmatist that I was, I accepted the information and moved on. It seems more humane than other ways to kill animals and it was fast, so I didn't give it too much more thought... and I really loved Crab Louie's. 

 I didn't get too worked up about the crabs this trip, but I let the Prospector do the dirty work. I guess there is a part of me that could easily be a no meat eating vegetarian. I can catch fish, cook them and eat them... doesn't bother me at all... but if I had to kill a deer, bear or elk I don't think I could do it... unless I was starving and it was the only alternative. I believe you do what you have to do under certain circumstances. I love chicken eggs but I would never kill my chickens... and yet, I go to the store and buy packaged chicken. Go figure. I guess if I was starving or my family was, I could kill a chicken. Not much of a fair fight, but I would do it.  At my age, with my limited skills, the deer/bear/elk would probably kill me. I never think about it this way. I can hear that bear now...
"What's for dinner tonight, Smokey?"
"Stupid human with loaded rifle and audacity."

So that Saturday night, we cooked the crabs,

(Yes, they are dead now.)
We cleaned the greenish brown goo out of them, washed them really well and had them for dinner. They were wonderful. I melted some garlic and butter to dunk the crabmeat into, cooked some asparagus and made a salad. OH, it was really a good dinner.
We didn't have as much luck the next day... something about the tides. We caught two big Dungeness keepers all day.
Pretty markings on the shell.

 I swear the one on the right looked at me when I took this picture. Once something makes eye contact with me... it's usually a sign that I'm loosing my distant, non caring, hard shelled attitude, so this may be the last crab I eat... especially if I have to cooked them myself or turn away while the deed is done by someone else.
 We cooked them, cleaned them and took them home with us. I made a Crab Louie with the meat and bought fresh french bread to sop up the seafood goodness. I didn't think about those eyes staring up at me in that bucket of seawater as I ate them.... but I haven't forgotten it either.
So, my "Never...break your word or lose your self-respect." friend. Are we good?
 This was probably why I didn't do the CRAB post until now. Mixed feelings. Doesn't seem that big a deal... crabs. But... I'm even getting soft on spiders. What is happening to me?



 

He brought himself... and chocolate.

Our oldest son came up for the weekend. I made a cherry pie. This is what is left.

And he brought us Godiva chocolate... three pieces each of our favorites.

 I've cut them in small pieces so they lasts longer...well, kind of. You know how that rationalization goes.  I tend to eat less this way. Right?
We went to dinner at Teresa's in Jackson last night. Had a wonderful dinner and came home filled with good food and leftovers.
The visits are never long enough, but our son drove up to see us and that's all that is important.

Carl is wondering what happen and where the guy went.

He's been sitting on the sofa bed looking like he lost his best friend. Dogs... you've got to love that 'ears back, sad eyed' look.
I have to say that this weather is beautiful. It rained last night, was foggy this morning and sunny the rest of the day. It's the reason folks come to California.
The Daffodils are blooming profusely... everywhere. We are not out of the woods with the drought conditions, but this rainy weather certainly has put everyone in a better mood.

Take a deep breath and smell Spring...

It's just around the corner.

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”
 ~Rainer Maria Rilke~

Wordless Wednesday... “...in that dilated moment after sunset when the sky holds all the light...” ~ David Wroblewski

Feast or Famine... no middle ground.

We asked for it. We wanted RAIN. We did dances and said prayers... and feared the summer. Well, someone was listening and someone, possibly Mother Nature, decided that we needed a reprieve from all the worry for a while. But, good grief!! I'm not sure how long this rain will last and it's wonderful, but by about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, I was going out of my ever lovin' mind. The rain has been non stop since Friday and we needed a break. After all... this is California.
So, this afternoon, I put on my raincoat and my boots, took my camera and told the Prospector that I was goin' crazy, so I was goin' for a walk. I asked the dogs to come too. They were reluctant. They don't like getting wet, pedigree Corgis that they are, but they finally came out with me... only out into the garden to relieve themselves... and then... back up onto the porch again.
The minute I stepped outside I heard the creek at the bottom of the canyon. I stood at the edge of our garden and listened. The creek was roaring.

The rain stopped for a few minutes. I walked out to the driveway and picked three daffodils that had chosen to bloom during the last few days and were suffering from the drenching rain.

Poor lovely flowers. Reminders of Spring. I needed to save them.
The old '38 Chevy was right behind me watching me hold the daffodils and take pictures at the same time.

She has been very neglected since the Prospector bought the RV. Even though we keep her under a tent like plastic cover, she is a mess. I think she has a cold. Her eyelashes don't look good and it looks like she threw up recently.  I know this isn't anyway to treat an old lady. We have talked about selling her this summer. It's very expensive to restore these ladies to their former beauty and the Prospector has lost interest. After all of my jealousy and inappropriate comments about her when she first came here, I feel kind of bad.
I will give her a bath when the sun shines again. She's still a beautiful car, even with all the dirt and rain. She deserves better. She deserves to be restored.
See this post about the day we bought her... here.
And the day we brought her home... here.



It started to rain again, so I decided to not take my camera up to the well and back. Too much moisture. I could walk again, later, without it... or tomorrow. So I headed back to the house.
The dogs were waiting, on the porch, and ran out to great me. I let Cutter smell the flowers.

He can be so adorable. I thought he was going to eat them... but he just nosed them and backed away. When he determined that it wasn't a biscuit... he lost interest.
The rain started getting serious and both dogs went into the house to be dried off by the Prospector. It's a game Carl likes to play. "You dry me off and I try to grab the towel." He loves the tug of war.
I walked around the garden for a few minutes. One of the garden ladies was looking quite Zen in the planter.

I cut the chrysanthemums and the holly hocks back to the ground before Christmas and look at them coming back up. The rest are (I think.) some paper whites and maybe, in the front, some blue hyacinth or Crocus. To be honest, I don't remember what I planted there. Bulbs are always a surprise for me because sometimes I write down what I plant and where... but, not often enough. If they are in there for more than a season or two... then I forget and it's a happy surprise in the Spring.
OK, I probably wrote down what I planted the first year or two that we lived here. That was sixteen years ago. After that... Who knows.
The hummingbird wind chimes are calling the hummers...

 ... but they must be weathering the storm in a sheltered place. Haven't seen any for a week. Yes, a few stay all winter here. It's mild enough and we feed them.
The donkey, like the Tin Man, needs an oil can.

He hasn't moved from this spot for two years. I think he likes the garden. I will make a hat of daffodils for him when there are more of them blooming.
It started raining heavily... so I went inside the house and found something to put the flowers in.

Daffodils brightened up the whole kitchen. They don't have a strong fragrance but they are so beautiful.
Maybe tomorrow I will walk down the road and take some pictures of the roaring creek for you. Should be a wonderful walk and maybe I will run into some other interesting sights as well... like a salamander or something.

These Daffodils are for all of my friends who are neck deep in snow and are tired of being cold.
I know that this has been a long winter for you. Think Spring... it will come.