Attack of the Killer... Weeds?

 Look at this.

You would think that I fertilized these beauties wouldn't you?. They're all over the place and they are so healthy looking.
I think this all happened in the last forty eight hours or so. Honestly! They weren't here a few days ago.
OK, that's not necessarily true. But I haven't been outside that much because it has been raining and all of a sudden... THIS. 

.. as if the weeds decided to conquer the world... my world at least.
Yes, I did pull some a few days ago and I swear that they are here again... in the same place, looking bigger and greener.
It's alarming how fast they grow.
There's a scary screenplay idea, out there in the dirt, waiting for some  movie director with foresight, like John De Bello ( 1980? Attack of the Killer Tomatoes??), to jump all over this.
I can see it now. Killer Weeds Strike Back... The real story. 
 Records for "first weekend" sales would be broken. It might be bigger than The Hunger Games.
Maybe I should give the idea to Suzanne Collins (the author). She could write the screenplay. 
I know...I think that I have been computer-izing a bit too much this winter. I need to, as they say, get a life.
But...The weeds are everywhere.

They are flowing out of the containers...

... cascading down the hillside and undermining my integrity as a gardener.

I have the healthiest crop of Stinging Nettles that I've ever seen in the vegetable garden.

And I didn't even have to plant the seeds.
A friend told me that I can make tea out of these plants and cook them, like spinach. But, I think I'm going to pass on that. I have to get rid of this stuff. It's reseeding and every year there is more. Maybe I should put a sign up down on the highway. You know...

Free Nettles

Pick Your Own

(bring gloves)

Must be good soil in that bed. I want to plant some pumpkins there soon, so I will be the one who will "bring gloves" and pull these invasive plants out.

 The lettuce is coming up in the other bed.

And my divided iris are doing well.

 The goats are working as hard and fast as they can to keep the weeds at bay.

 But that's not in the vegetable garden. These goats are down the hillside. Note the two fences between them and the veggie garden. Double fencing is a functional solution for these big guys when vegetables are involved.

Brownie, in his glorious youth, got into the vegetable garden twice. That's why we are without a fig tree. It was pruned into nothingness. That's why there is a double fence.

Murph' says,

"I'm not partial to Nettles. With all the wonderful, Springtime selection to choose from, it would be my last choice. Even with our reputations, we goats do have a refined palate and prefer the soft, small plants with flowers.... and Fig leaves... and baby lettuce leaves as well."

Good grief, Murph'.

That's interesting, my strange and enigmatic goat, but please,,, JUST KEEP EATING THE WEEDS.

 

Squeaky's Easter Eggs

Squeaky is really going all out for Easter. She hasn't laid any eggs for at least five or six months and all of a sudden she has been producing an egg a day. What a girl!! Go Squeaky!

Squeaky is my beautiful little Bantam hen that holds her own in a world of great big Road Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks and Ameraucanas. Her only ally , Henny Penny, left us for the big coup in the sky and, other than our Bantam Rooster, she is all by her wee chicken self.
So the last two weeks she has decided to give it all she's got and  produce the most beautiful little eggs that she can. They are a pale brownish pink and perfect in every way.

The diminutive eggs are so beautiful that I felt I should honor her efforts.
A few nights ago, I worked on  her eggs, decorating them with paint, QuikWood epoxy putty and  splashes of gold.
I sponged acrylic paint on some, but one of them was left natural.

 I used a technique that I learned in the workshop a few weeks back and made some "fabric" that draped over the egg like a shroud.  I used acrylic paint to add some color to the dried putty, which is a very neutral light gray/brown. The epoxy putty sets up within twenty minutes to a half hour, so you have to shape  and distress it as soon as possible. I put a piece of the putty on the bottom of the egg so it could stand on its own and I sank a small jewelry link into the top (before the putty hardened up) so the egg could be hung too.
The next egg was the result of an accident.

I broke one of the eggs when I was blowing out the insides (the whites and yokes) and almost threw it into the compost. But I thought, "What if I set a whole egg inside the broken one."
 I call it "Resurrected" and edged the broken piece with gold. That would be in keeping with  Easter and I was able to use the broken egg.
I like this one a lot.

 I made a face with the putty and a mold I bought a few years ago. Again, I sponged the egg first, very lightly, using the putty to fill in around the face with hair and small stones. She's pretty and peaceful looking.

Kind of Easter meets American Indian meets New Age spirit.

I need to clean up her face. I got some paint on it and it dried on her chin and neck. This is one nice thing about the wood putty. Once it's dry you can sand it, cut it or paint it as much as you want. I will just scrape off the orangey color and touch it up.
 I did another "shroud" egg. This time I did sponge the egg and even added a little gilded sponging on top of the color.

This draping was done in blue tones. I like the contrast.
After I finished the eggs I wanted to do more of them. There were no little eggs that were blown out and ready, so I found a small gourd and went to work. This was great practice using the QuikWood. I made vines and some flowers that looked like lilies.

This gourd was discolored and dark so it needed some painting. I sponged brown, purple and gold on the surface and let it dry. I speed up the drying time by using a hair dryer.
Then I used the OuikWood to shape the vines and lilies. The glass leaves are easy to find in a bead store or Michael's, etc.

 The letters are from an alphabet mold. I let them dry until they were almost hard and then pressed them into a new, soft piece of putty and pushed it onto the bottom of the gourd. Then the gourd was given a whisper of gold gleam with an almost dry brush and  there you have it...

 This photo above was before I painted the vines. This is the natural color of the putty. It's quite pretty without any paint or gilding. But, it's fun to add some color and make the vines stand out . I'm learning how to layer the color so that it looks natural. I'm still cautious about painting anything. It's a slow process, but the more I do it, the more confident I become.

Squeaky's Easter Eggs... and this little, unassuming gourd.
All ready for Easter Sunday... all dressed up in their finest.
I will have to show Squeaky her eggs now that I have decorated them. She will be proud. She may not show her appreciating but I will show them to her anyway. I will give her some extra luttuce for breakfast tomorrow.
I have a couple of new Squeaker eggs and a few blue and brown eggs, but I've run out of the QuikWood. I found some online and it will be here next week. Maybe I will try something different with the larger eggs. Maybe I will use some fabric this time or a paper collage... OR... felt them a little scarf and hang some moss on them.
 Who knows...
Squeaky had gifted me with possibilities.
*************
A note... I blow the eggs out into a bowl and have scrambled eggs for breakfast. Here is a good site that explains how to blow out an egg. I also like to shake the egg after I break the yolk. The insides seen to blow out easier. Then I try to fill the big end with water, holding my finger over the smaller hole, shake it again, and blow out again.
.

Wordless Wednesday: No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb~

Happy Birthday to The Bean... our Awesome Grandson

You are the most awesome, coolest and smartest grandson in the whole wide world.

May you always  be brave and fearless.

And have many friends.

You have the ability to maintain an awareness and seek comfort at the same time. 

You have an Old soul...

 You love playgrounds, games and winning... but you are learning how to keep a balance.

and still have fun.

You are seven years old today. Can this really be? Are you really seven years old?

We miss you and your brother. So do Cutter and Carl... and Brownie, Murphy... and the chickens. They laid an egg for you today.

Happy Birthday little man. Papa and I wish you a wonderful day.

Camo Toad

I saw movement in the weeds next to the raised bed in the vegetable garden.
I stepped back in quick reaction and then took a closer look.

My eyes didn't focus at first. I thought I saw a rock below the stinging nettles. Then, slowly, a shape appeared.
I looked closer...

There, under the weeds, in between the dirt and rocks, was a toad. This toad was the same color as the dirt. He was so camouflaged that I almost didn't see him.
He was "walking" not hoping and he had warts, so I think he was a small toad.

 Amazing, how this little creature blended in with his surroundings. Another phenomena of Mother Nature... another lesson that we can learn about being who we are and living within the confines of our nature.

Wordless Wednesday: Beauty that Grows on Rock

A cold but lovely morning.

No, it didn't snow...
I woke up to see the backyard frozen and covered with frost.

Everything was transformed. A covering of frost made the world outside look crisp and clean as the sun came up through the clouds.
After I drank my coffee and put some warm clothes on, I went outside with the dogs. Most of the frost was gone already.
The Prospector had filled the bird feeders, earlier, while I was getting dressed.
This made the yellow finches very happy. We hadn't filled the feeders for a few days because of the rain.

 

I think they were discussing the lack of food the last few days.
"You know, Mazie, it's just awful how this seed seems to come and go."

"Well, we better stop talking and eat. There may not be any seed tomorrow."
And then they all got serious about eating their share.

And the sleepy little bee on the pansy just sat there waiting for the warmth of the sun to heat him up, so he could fly away.

He buzzed at me softly as I took his picture... so I left him to wake up at his own pace.

Road Checks and Dirty Jobs

The Prospector and I took a drive up the road to the highway and down to the river this morning. After raining all night and hearing what I thought was a tree falling, we decided we had better check the road.
There were a few slides on the sides of the road.

We don't worry too much about these rock slides as long as they are not eroding the dirt under some big tree. The city comes down here frequently enough, checking for dangerous slides and trees that are hanging over the road, so we don't call them unless it's a tree or slide that we can't drive around. I don't know what I heard last night but I really thought it was a tree falling. I even felt the vibration. I haven't been up above the house in a few days so the upper road may be a mess. I'm sure I heard a tree fall... somewhere.

The road was in good shape. The drive down to the river... beautiful. It wasn't raining then, so I was able to take some pictures without raindrops on the camera lens... or maneuvering an umbrella and the camera at the same time... or taking shots hanging out of an open window.  
The creek on our property was filled with water. We have hear it from the house for three days now, as it barreled down to the Mokelumne River.

This is my favorite creek in winter. It comes right down through our property and under the road.
When we first moved here we use to hike up the side of this creek and follow it to an old mine and the upper part of the creek to the west. It was a beautiful hike but the area was always covered with too much poison oak.
A fellow photographer cut and cleared some of the poison oak (and other branches) away recently. Now there is a better view of the creek and falls. Thanks Larry.
This morning  we stopped and I took more pictures. I have hundreds... but I always think that I need to take "Just one more".
We drove back up to the house and The Prospector dropped me off half way up to our house, so I could get some exercise. It was windy and cold but I took a few pictures.
One was of a wildflower that had survived the night...

... and a view of the mountains to the east with budding poison oak branches in front of them.

And a small Manzanita bush that was blooming.
 It was tricked into thinking this weather was going to stay Springlike until Summer. The wild forest does its thing, according to the seasons, and doesn't seem to care about a day or two when Winter comes back.

 Now, it is shivering in the cold wind. But, it's so pretty with its little white flowers all over it.

 This morning it was almost freezing. There was snow on Butte Mt. but all was gone by mid day. It seems much colder today and if it continues to rain we could get a dusting of snow tomorrow morning.
I hope... I hope... I hope.
After lunch I decided to do the job that I have been putting off all week. I will be helping with the Taste of the Arts classes that are put on by the Art Council here in Amador County and it's on Saturday. We will be teaching gourd embellishment and painting. The class has become very popular and we have three classes filled. That means 45 students. That means 45 clean gourds for them. The club pitched in and cleaned gourds for us and this afternoon I cleaned four large ones to help out.
These gourds were REALLY dirty and required soaking before they could be scrubbed. So I filled the utility sink with soap, water and a little Clorox and left them in there for about an hour, turning them once in a while.

Then I started scrubbing them with a rough nylon sponge. Sometimes you need a wire brush or a knife (being careful not to scratch the surface too much) to get the really bad mold and mildew off. But if they have soaked quite a while, usually the outside of the gourd comes clean.

The photo above shows the soaked, dirty gourd and the same gourd after I scrubbed  an area on one side.
Cleaning takes quite a while and you have to get it all off or there will be places where paint won't stick and stain will look odd because the waxy coating blocks the gourd from taking in the paint or stain.
Another gourd was harder than the rest to clean.

It had scars from where it laid on the vines and bugs had eaten holes in it. The scars will be part of the art because they are there forever.
The gourds are cleaned and ready for the students.

Gourds are beautiful... natural, organic and useful for so many things. I haven't been working on them too much lately, but taking that workshop a while back and looking at the possibilities of these clean gourds, makes me want to sit and work on one. We'll see. I've got a lot of knitting to do and it's not like I haven't got anything else to do around here. Dust and Corgi hair is accumulating everywhere. There is another Nuno scarf to be made when I recover from my "disaster" last week.
 But... these gourds are talking to me and when a gourd talks to you... you're suppose to listen.
The old saying is "Wait until the gourd tells you what it wants to be." so...
I can't create anything with these "taste of the art" gourds. They are for the class this Saturday. But there are a FEW out in the garage that have been screaming at me for months.
 I'm sure that these four new gourds are sitting in the laundry room telling each other that they are clean, beautiful and ready to party. I will let you know if they say anything important.