Mind Over Matter

 Gertie was enjoying her sun bathing until Marlena flopped down on her head.

 Just a few random photos for ya'll to let you know I'm still here.  Most of this past week we had the most gorgeous spring weather and it was very much enjoyed by everyone.  We've been very busy with the garden and such and I've been busy trying to get set up to do sculpture now instead of pottery.

 It is just a complete struggle for me to come up with anything to post about though.  I fear that I have totally lost my mojo in that department along with several others.  I was doing pretty good but have slowed back down to a crawl lately. Not sure why.  I just don't seem to have much enthusiasm for anything anymore.

 I still see the beauty in things around me though.  I exercise every day that I can.  I'm trying to find new outlets for my art.

I love to sit out with the girls on sunny days.  They make me happy with their chatter and one or two always want a hug and petting for a while.  I guess their attention to me makes me happy.  Funny how even a little critter can make you feel loved.

Hangin' On

 You still here??

 Hey folks!  Those few of you still dropping by.  I'm still hangin' in and working on stuff.  Thought I'd at least put up a few photos of things around here.  We've been pretty busy with lots of stuff and making progress on many things.  As soon as the weather gets better and I can get some decent photos I'll show ya'll some of that.

 We've ha a lot of rain since Christmas.  In fact, we had one of the worst rain storms I've seen here on Christmas Day.  Finally got over all that and had another bad storm come through last night.  Nothing was messed up thankfully.  Just soppy wet everywhere.

I've been making some progress on my allergies also and I'll describe that in detail later, in case anyone is interested.  Unfortunately, even though I've made some progress on that, the pain in my hips and butt has not gotten better and, in fact, has spread to my right hip!  That has been truly aggravating and it's made driving or riding in a vehicle a real test of nerves and endurance.  Anything over about 30 minutes and I'm about at my limit.

I finally finished a pottery order that I've been working on for a couple of months now.  Well, I still have to glaze fire it but that should go okay.  I may do a little pottery now and again but for the most part I think I'm done with that.  I think getting away from all that is one of the reasons I've been feeling better.  I told ya'll I was thinking about doing some slip cast stuff but I think I'm just burnt out on all pottery and want to get away from it.  It does not excite me anymore and that's a bad thing in art.
I recently did a little metal sculpture for an auction though and the piece was a big hit AND I really enjoyed doing it.  I think that'll be my next direction as for as art.  I'll show ya'll some photos of that too.

I've been trying hard to keep up my exercising and have added some strength training for my legs and hips in an effort to try to stabilize my hips and SI joint.  I've read that weakness in those areas can lead to your SI joint being too loose and moving too much, which can cause the pain of the bones grinding on each other.  I'm about ready to try anything at this point but it kinda makes sense to me.  And, when I did a few of the exercises designed to strengthen those areas...I'm embarrassed to say, I could barely do 5 or 6 reps because those muscles were so weak.  So, there may be something to that.

We are really trying to get a jump on spring this year and have started lots of seedlings.   I'm really, really anxious for warm weather, I'll tell you.  I've been so thankful that this winter has been very mild for us but would not be surprised if we still get a snow storm next month.  That is not unheard of in the south.

On a sad note, a hawk got little WingNut a few weeks ago.  Well, she wasn't so little anymore but she was a sweet little hen, unlike her sister who is a bit of a turd.  It was a rainy day and we were not outside much when it happened, so no free-ranging anymore on rainy days.  I've always been fearful of letting them out on rainy days for that very reason but they squawk so to go out.  Well, no more.  I just hate that it took loosing one to convince me not to do that.  They have a big run, two actually, that they can go between on days they need to stay in.  The hawks have been really bad this year too.  I think all the young 'uns that the older, resident hawk couple has raised over the years have come into their own and are still in the area.  The other day we had about 5 or 6 circling the girls at one time!  Even with us out there yelling at them.  They are brazen.  The girls finally got so nervous they voluntarily ran back into their covered runs.  One hawk got so low over the yard that Chigger took off after it after it, jumping up and snapping at it!  I think that convinced it to go elsewhere.  Chigger is a good girl and fierce protector of Callie Cat too.

So, I'll try to be back soon.  We are supposed to get some real pretty weather in the next few days so I should be able to get some decent photos.

Sunday Stroll

The Christmas fern forest is in full gear.  These are the only ferns here, out of about 8 different type, that I can positively identify.

No idea what this type is.  Maybe a type of bracken fern?

Chigger guards the entrance to the Enchanted Forest.

Okay, now these are definitely sensitive ferns; I do know that one too.  They haven't put up their little brown center stalk yet though.

Some very large trillium.  No idea the variety.  I should have gotten one of the chickens to stand by these because they are easily taller than the girls.

My red azaleas are in excellent form this year.  Very pretty.  I can't wait until they are big!  The ferns around these steps and walls just planted themselves.  I haven't moved any so far.  They seemed to have picked good spots.

My opinion is this is a rattlesnake fern........but I could be wrong.  Maybe some type of grape fern.

My photo designer checkin' out the set up before hand.  She's got an eye for detail.  Actually, she's making sure I didn't drop any treats anywhere in the area.   She's got an eye for that too.

My never-ending quest to get some decent photos of the birds around here.  Didn't do too well today.  We had intermittent showers, so that's my excuse.  I was happy to see a male grosbeak again this year but my photos did not come out well at all.  I hope he will be back.

Snow Days

I managed to get a few photos of the recent snow but didn't really put a lot of effort into it, to be honest.  I went out a few times to tend the chickens or stoke the wood stove in the basement, but every time I went out and came back inside I would be dripping sweat for half an hour or so from the effort.

It was very pretty though and we got a fair amount.  Some reports said the NE side of our town got 8 inches and our side got about 5-6 inches.  Some parts of Alabama just northwest of here got slightly over a foot, which is rather extraordinary for this part of the South.

It has remained fairly cold here the last couple of days so we still have a fair amount left on the ground but the roads are pretty much okay.

Chigger just loves, loves the snow and colder weather.  She does not have very long hair so it always seems to me she would be cold but she doesn't seem to mind.  In fact, when it starts to get warm here she just becomes slug-like.  I was able to play with her a little yesterday and she was going wild, racing through the snow like crazy.

The chickens were less than enthused.  When we let them out Wednesday morning it was a typical, cool winter day and they gathered up at the house to scavenge the bird feeder drops and graze in the yard.  As the snow began to fall though, they huddled closer to the house or under the trucks.  They will run around in the rain all day but oh no!...we are not getting our feet in that snow!  They steadfastly stuck to any bare ground protected from the falling snow but a few had sense enough to go on down to the coop.   As it eased on towards evening the snow had accumulated to about 4 inches and the rest of the girls were getting nervous.  It was time to go to the coop for bed but they were going to have to trudge across all that frozen stuff!  I finally went out and got a feed bucket to lure them out.  It was snowing rather hard at this point and I could only entice the older girls to hike home.  Zuzu was the only one unafraid and easily followed me down to the coop.  She just wanted her food!  The others clung to one another in a group but they eventually made it with my encouragement.  Big T was a disappointment in this one.  He would not help round them up at all and stayed up at the house by himself.  I think when he finally realized he was alone he got up the courage to run through the snow to the coop.  And my "northern bred" Ameracaunas that are supposed to be made for cold climates??  They were camped out under the trucks and steadfastly refused to come out.  No amount of bribing or threatening was going to get them to step in that snow.  I finally had to catch each one by hand and carry them down to the coop.

I was finally able to get a few decent shots of the feeder and we have been trying to keep it filled for the little birds.  I have been seeing what looks to me to be 2 goldfinches but have yet to be able to photograph them.  I wouldn't think they would be here this early in the year but what do I know?  The other day I went to Mama's and saw a huge group of robins, which I also thought was a bit early, but that's fine by me.  I'm ready for warm weather.

Sick As a Dog

 What???

Unbelievably enough, I still have this crud, head cold/ sinus infection...whatever it is.  I have felt like I was getting better a couple of times only to have it relapse and feel like crap again.  Well, it will eventually go away.  

I don't feel bad enough to lay in bed all day so boredom becomes a problem for me after a while.  Don't really want to spend much time in my studio because of all the dust and stuff there, when I already feel like my facial sinuses are going to explode.  So, I have been cleaning house!  Ha!  Sort of.  I've gone through all my clothes and sorted out a big bag to take to Goodwill and another big bag to recycle.  I redid my new address book, something that's needed doing for a long time.  I've been putting off my taxes but I need to do that soon.  I sorted through and cleaned my desk.  Got up a big pile of magazines and old catalogs to recycle also.  The weather has been very crappy for the most part while we have been sick, so that kinda lends it's self to staying in and cleaning up, sorting and purging.  I'm not done in that department by any means but have made some progress.

They had been talking for a while about us getting a big snow and they hit it pretty good this time.  Everybody was kinda wondering because the morning was kinda nice; not too cold, partly cloudy.  Then about noon it started clouding up and turning colder.  Sure enough, it wasn't much longer it was snowing like hell.  I think our area got some of the heavier amounts but it's still coming down as I write this so who knows.  At dark we had about 4 inches and will probably get another 2 or so tonight.  I know that's not squat compared to the northern states but to us that is a fair snow.  One day I'll have to scan some old photos I have of the one time it snowed about 18 inches here.  I had truly never seen anything like that.

So, I'll be back soon with snow pictures and such.  I have to admit I'm not real enthused about this snow.  Normally we are; ya'll know I love to play in the snow.  I just want warm weather.  Chigger was really wanting to play this afternoon too and she just couldn't understand why I didn't want to.

Pocketful Of Sunshine

I have tried posting several times lately, and even have a couple of unfinished posts in drafts, but just have not been able to get it together!  First, we went through this horrible gloomy week of rain or drizzle and absolutely no sunshine.  It was affecting everyone and I just couldn't think of much to write about.  I even ordered me one of those SAD lights to sit on my desk and changed the light bulbs in some of my studio lights to the daylight spectrum bulbs.  All of that actually does seem to help and just about the time I was getting up enough steam to post...the real sun came out and we all were rejoicing!  I stayed outside as much as I could to enjoy the sun and it has even been in the mid-50s (F) so the days have been really nice.  The thought of sitting at a computer did not appeal to me.  You can see that Chigger and the girls were rejoicing in the sunshine too!  Everybody is happy!

I've also been working on a new load of pottery, which we delivered yesterday, and that always takes up a bunch of time.  We are even getting eggs again! 

I've got a zillion projects I want to work on outside and am trying to prioritize them so as to get something started.  The two main ones are to start pouring my kitchen countertops and to rebuild the cold frame in the garden.  I miss growing my own salad greens and things.  Of course, the countertops are inside but you have to mix the concrete outside and it's so much better on a nice day.  Plus, I want to pour the bar tops outside and you definitely need a nice day for that.  We did pick up one big bag of portland cement yesterday but I'll have to wait until Monday to be able to get the sand and 8910 gravel.

And in between all of this I need to keep making pottery!!  I must increase my income.  You know I had thought of supplementing with restoration work here and there but all my leads on that have just come to an abrupt stop.  Nothing.  It was kinda odd actually.  But, that happens and then in a year or two I'll get some more jobs in that area.  But since I've been able to throw standing up and that is working so well it has renewed my enthusiasm for the work.  Coming up with some new colors and glazes is exciting too and helps encourage me.

I was pleased with this latest firing and need to make large batches of these new glazes.  I'm also down to my last scrapings of clay and am waiting for a new shipment to come into Atlanta.

So, I hope you all are enjoying some nice weather or at least the sunshine.  I am SO very ready for spring.

Well, time to go!!  Lots of stuff to do!!

January Hymn

Well, I hope everyone's holiday celebrations were what you wished for; whether that was days on end of food, family and festivities or just quiet days of leisure alone.  As I said in my previous post, we had a couple of nice dinners at home with family and that was about it.  Watched a couple of movies and went out once or twice.  It was nice actually.
But, I am ready to move on into the new year.  I'm not going to do a year-in-review thing like I usually do because....uhh....let's see...I didn't do shit this last year!  Yeah, that's it.  So, we will concentrate on what I hope to do in this coming year!  I don't really do New Year resolutions either.  To me, you're either going to change habits or you're not and a new year never seemed to motivate me that much.  I've already been sticking to my gym work-outs for about 2 months now, so I'll just continue that.  I'm to the point now that I look forward to going because the exercise really does make me feel better, physically and mentally.  Lifts my mood considerably.  And, I've lost about 8 pounds or so, so to see some progress is great and encouraging!  Can't say that it helps my pain any, other than I'm not sitting down, but it still helps me in other ways.  On days that I can't make it to the gym I have measured out a mile walking/ strenuous hiking trail around the house here and I do that instead.

My work break ends tomorrow also.  One of my stores has already called with a new order so I need to get busy on that and restocking my inventory anyway.  It's so nice to know I can make all these things standing up now and not hunched over in pain.  Maybe this year I can even come up with, or continue, some new designs and colors.
So, speaking of scenery and getting rich (haha!), this year I finally got off my ass and designed a 12-month calender that features the critters and flora of my little Dragon Valley.  They are available to purchase HERE and you can preview so you know just what is inside.  This is a standard size wall calender but I may see about having a larger, jumbo size printed and available.  The standard size includes all Americans holidays and the spaces are large enough for penciling in notes and such.  And please know, I sincerely appreciate any purchases.  Many bloggers put advertising or other such means on their blog to raise a little money but I've never really wanted to do that.  I don't like the way it looks and makes the blog seem sorta impersonal.  However, a little money raised from photos I've already taken for this blog doesn't hurt, you know?  And all the photos featured in the calender were taken right here at home.  If these come out well I might do an all chicken one, or all flowers or such next year.

So, here's to a prosperous and happy new year!!

Out With The Old And In With The New

 As you may have guessed, I just have not had a huge amount of things to write about lately.  The holidays were nice but nothing spectacular happened.  Mainly we were just relaxing after my last minute push to get some pottery done.  I said I wouldn't throw again until after the new year and that looks to be true.  The post tonight is mainly just a bunch of random photos and random ramblings.  If the color looks wonky in the one above I'm not really sure what is going on there.

It seems the winter rains have started early this year because we have gotten several inches over the past couple of weeks.  One of the reasons that there has been a lack of photos on here lately.  Today was a beautiful, sunny day though and everyone was out enjoying it.  It was just a touch cool but the girls didn't mind.  I went on several walks and cleaned up one of my flower beds a little.  It was nice to have some sun finally because it seems the winter blahs have come early also.  I don't know if it's still my system trying to right itself after those steroids or just a larger symptom of something else but the last 2 years have sucked, to put it mildly.  Some days I feel pretty good but most days I have just had the life beaten out of me.

I am honestly trying to improve things for myself.  Trying to get working again and I'm going to the gym pretty regularly too.

 So, the trick is to find beauty anywhere you can.  In the ordinary and the unusual.  Try to minimize the pain.

The creek has finally cleared and dropped back to a more normal level.  It's very soothing to sit here and just ponder things.  I need to build a more comfortable sitting area though.  A bench or something.  Tomorrow should be nice but the rains come back over the weekend so I better enjoy this while I can!

 A few of the girls have started laying again and Pumpkin finally started.  Her eggs are a little small of course, but they are gaining size quickly.

I think the girls were so happy to have a nice day.  They stayed out grazing for quite a while.  There is still a little greenery to be found but it probably won't last much longer.  Unless we have a mild winter, which could happen.

Big T (or Tillis) has become a fine rooster.  The girls are not scared of him and I think he's doing a good job.  He tries to keep an eye out for trouble and stays right with the girls all the time.  They sort of ignore him a little but he doesn't seem to mind.  It's sure a long way from the scrawny little, half-naked chick I used to let sleep on my shoulder to keep warm.  Maybe he remembers my comforting him and tries to be a more gentle roo.

So, as we look towards the new year I sincerely hope things improve over the last couple.  Not just for me but for all of you as well.  I think probably it will.  So, here's to the warm, sunny days.  A warm bed on the rainy ones.  Loving arms to hold you on either day and a fire in your heart.

Time Of The Season

For as long as I can remember that song has always been a particular favorite of mine and forever conjures up some kind of connection to this time of year that I can't quite put my finger on but is definitely there. And, since it was done by The Zombies, I figured it was more than appropriate enough for a post-Halloween/ Dia de Muertos post.  The album upon which it appeared was released in 1968 also, the year I was born, so that is just further proof I am actually an old hippie, born about a decade too late.  Lol!  Well, my oldest brother was 8 years my senior so my childhood years were spent listening to Steppenwolf, 3 Dog Night, The Doors and so on.  Not exactly the target audience of such music but it left a lasting impression on me for sure.
It wasn't until my 20s and maybe early 30s that I really indulged myself in the spirit of that time and music and I have to say, it was enjoyable.

We've had some cooler weather the past few weeks but today turned decidedly cold.  The wind picked up too and so it made for a day best spent by a warm fire with a hot, filling meal.  The girls seemed about as happy with the change as I was and stayed under the deck most of the time until the late afternoon brought a calm to the wind.  They ventured out at that point but it didn't take them long to end up in the garden.  They fuss and fuss to get out of there in the morning but then voluntarily go back in the afternoon.  But, hell, they're chickens.  Whadya do?

The day was so bright and clear it was hard to stay inside the whole time though and I took Chigger for a walk up the ridge.  There she managed to run a raccoon up a large oak tree and that pleased her to no end.
The coon did not seem particularly impressed.

 I managed to plant some broccoli and brussel sprouts but don't have very high hopes of them doing much at this point.  Even in the south if you want such crops to actually produce they must be planted when the ground is still warm and can foster actual growth.  They can survive winter temps here fine but don't do much growing during that time.  It was a last ditch effort on my part to be honest.  We may have a warm spell that would spur them on to produce but if our last few winters are any indication, that's not likely.  The lettuce mix I planted has sprouted though and will likely come up enough for me to get a decent harvest through the last of the fall.  My cold frame is pretty decrepit at this point and I need to go ahead and rebuild it in a new location, or I would sow some stuff there.

A few of the girls have not totally finished their change into winter clothes and biting cold days like today are fairly uncomfortable.  Greta just tried to hunker down between the tomato plants but the best bet was to just go inside.  That's been my strategy lately too.  Inside that is, not the tomato plants.  I got the results of my MRI and the official word from that was that I have "subchondral edema at the iliac margin of the SP joint."  In other words, my butt joint is swollen at the bone or, as we used to say in construction, I've got a sore ass.  Well seriously, it may be some type of odd arthritis, I don't know and neither do they exactly, at this point.  The BFD put me on a steroid pack to see if it would help the swelling and pain but so far, no such luck.  Now, you long time readers know I must really be in pain to take steroids and it is sort of a last resort for me.  And admittedly, if the BFD told me to I am more likely to follow his directions but, unfortunately, it has not helped.  I don't know what the next step is.

So, I do little bits here and there.  Lots of stuff to keep me standing up and not tempted to sit but eventually you kinda have to.  Since we are expecting lows int he 20s tonight I harvested all the herbs that I had been meaning to that would be affected, like the parsley and some sage, etc.  I picked all the cayenne peppers and have dehydrated a large batch to grind and I cut the few marigolds that the chickens had not absolutely trampled on for an inside bouquet.  They are one of my favorite summer flowers and I wanted to cling to their sunny beauty for as long as possible before the cold winter claims everything.