Chickens and Felting

Yesterday I made some simple curtains to go over the chicken's nesting boxes. One of the girls was eating an occasional egg and our hope is that if it is dark in the boxes that will no longer happen. The fabric came from our local thrift shop.

Throughout the day, I dyed some wool roving and wool yarn in matching spring pastel shades to begin wet felting Easter eggs with the children today. I will be following the steps from the tutorial here.

So, just a little of this and a little of that going on here as the snow melts a bit more each day, being replaced by mud. Spring is nearly upon us, even up here in the north country. With warm wishes, Tonya

Nature Hike with Mike

After two weeks of a persistent stomach virus, I finally feel well. I am so thankful to be able to enjoy the day. Getting out in the woods with all of my boys and little Sarah, with Abraham on my back and Sarah keeping us all in line, we were off.

The weather here has been beautiful. Pure blue sky and in the 40's. We have snow still, but in the woods where it is cool, we stayed on the surface to make the hiking easy.

The older boys spent some of the time in the woods filming their latest short film.

We saw an old rusted car/jeep sticking out of the snow. The area looks like an old homesite. We'll plan to investigate this summer.

I pointed out some tree scrapes to Sarah. One was near ground level which was probably a young buck or doe and then another scrape at five feet up a small maple - likely a moose.

We also came upon an old hemlock trunk that had three leaders at one time. Smack dab in the middle of it is a yellow birch, about 2 inches in diameter and healthy.

There is so much to see in just a short hike that began in our backyard - so peaceful.

-Mike

Beginner Carving Project

Here is a very simple carving project that is perfect for beginners - both children and adults alike.

My son, Nolan, designed, carved, and finished these little gnomes with watercolor paints. The carving was done with a pocket knife. (Remember, to always be very careful and use proper supervision.)

Warm wishes, Tonya

This Day - Sunshine, Chickens and Syrup

The morning sun shines in through our large windows and I snapped this picture of the mid-morning yogurt snack.




As the day called us outside, it was so nice to see the chickens venturing more and more beyond the confines of the barn as the snow begins to clear in the walkways.


We went for a walk to check in wtih a neighbor to see if he might be burning sap.



Guess what? He was and we came home with a courtesy pint. Pancakes for Sunday breakfast!
May your weekend be filled with beautiful moments.
Warm wishes, Tonya

Working and Playing

Just wanted to share some glimpses of our lives over the last couple of days.

~Sarah and Abraham playing with the sawdust from Mike drilling out the birch branch pencil holders~ (We are planning to build a workshop this spring so this will not have to be in our home soon.)

~Abraham helping Mike apply the natural beeswax/oil finish to the bottom of our walking blocks.

~So much fun can be had with a simple paper bag... Abraham growling away, pretending to be a scary monster.~

Warm wishes, Tonya

Beeswax and More Bunnies

We have been busy finishing up the winter activities such as dipping our beeswax candles. We always light a candle for our supper meal and we use our own hand dipped candles. They are made from organic beeswax that Mike barters from the apiary just one mile down the road. He helps out with maintaining the hives and processing the honey. Our plan is to buy a hive of our own now that he feels comfortable with the process.
In order to dip multiple candle pairs at once, I needed a place to hang them as I alternated dipping them. I came up with this very simple stand using two logs and a scrap piece of wood on top. I am also busy sewing wool felt bunnies both for our children’s Easter baskets and for sale in our shop. The pattern for these cuties came from the spring 2009 issue of Living Crafts.

Warm wishes, Tonya

Bunny Knitting Pattern

Just wanted to share the pattern for this little bunny can be found here - a beautiful online magazine. Enjoy!