Friday, October 22, 2010

Odds 'n Ends

The Dye House Update

Certainly the above photo is less than glamorous, but I did want to show you that we're making progress on my dye house.  This past week, based on the maxim of  "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without..." we re-installed the old vinyl floor covering, found the original metal strips for that, moved in the big sink and counter; installed the drain,  also installed the faucet, so water isn't far behind; cleaned all the junk out, hooked up the old kitchen range and found it working perfectly, so it will double as a heater as well as a four-burner, large oven source for all kinds of hot-water projects.  All in all, still have a way to go, but we're getting there!  It will be ready before winter.  It's hard to see, but that bright spot on the back wall is an old fashioned washboard...great for small felting projects.

Crows

No picture needed, here.  I'm sure most everyone has a pretty good idea of what crows look like.  On PBS on Sunday, the program, Nature, will feature A Murder of Crows.  (Of course, in the event you don't know...."flocks" of crows are called "Murders"...and we'll find out why by watching!)  Crows irritate me no end!  That's because we have raucous "murders" of the darned things all around us.  Occasionally they gather in groups of about 200 or so, and swarm the nests of raptors with a noisy cacophony.  But they are among the MOST intelligent of all animals in the world.  They have over 250 distinct calls, mate for life, raise their young for as long as five years, and the program should be fascinating.

Turkeys

Well, we've lost a few.  Originally we had 17; then, one died and we went to 16.  Two escaped into the wild.  Two more died...so the tally now stands at 12. They are very difficult in some ways to raise, and easy in others.  They are such engaging birds.  I really hate the thought of Thanksgiving right about now.  

Geese

Still making their way south of New River.  The dogs go bananas at their honking.  

Have a great weekend!  FREEZE WARNING tonight.  Move the tender plants inside! Or give it up...finally!   Supposed to get down into the UPPER TWENTIES! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Thank you for all your comments everyone!!  Oh, and by the way, after a little more practicing on the squeezebox...(Debbi, you're a caution!) nobody within miles will be able to beat me at arm-wrestling!
See you Monday!

7 comments:

  1. Too cool about the dye house! A perfect set up!

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  2. Hi - yes I'm still here, thank you for your concern :-) Guess I've become a little garden and beach obsessed with the warmer weather so very little blogging as of late.
    How wonderful that you play the accordian, do wish I could hear you as it brings back so many memories of my father playing when I was a child. Most envious that you have your own dye house - look forward to seeing the results of your time in there. Hope all is well and that you are keeping warm, Julia x

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  3. P.S forgot to add that your new header looks great. I've been keeping up to date with Reader so hadn't seen the new look!

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  4. OK Elora -- I want your sink in your dye house. It looks so practical and that is how I like to live -- practical. No fuss, no muss -- just beautiful, easy to clean stainless steel. Then I want your geese that fly overhead along with that sunset. I am not on a migratory route for geese and I used to be. Miss them. I will let you keep the turkey as I am afraid my big Sal would not take kindly to him being on his property. Have a good weekend, what is left of it. You are going to be colder tonight then here in Central KY.-- barbara

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  5. It IS a perfect set-up, Vicki! And best of all I'm using a resource that would otherwise be neglected. Also nice is that it's "rough" and doesn't have to be protected from the dye. I can "slop" all over and it really won't matter. The photo doesn't show it, but we re-installed the old iron-wearing carpet to the right of the range...the kind they put in heavily trafficked buildings. So, that covers a lot of sins. I'm looking for an old castaway washing machine which I'll put in the "laundry room" (yes, we did have one at one time in here); Barbara, I bought this huge restaurant sink from a young man who had great ambitions that weren't realized, for $125. The stainless steel counter was from a closed-down restaurant, and it was $50. I had planned to make the cabin into a "dairy" when we thought we might sell milk. Learned, however, that it's illegal in WV to sell raw milk. So, that idea went the same way as did the ambitions and dreams of the former owners of the sink and counter! BTW would understand Sal's questions regarding turkeys!
    I'll share the geese...!

    Julia! I'm soooo glad to hear from you. What a terrible time you've all had in New Zealand, with the earthquake and aftershocks. Surprising that it greatly affected rural areas, too. Glad you're enjoying summer!! We spent a summer in Auckland long time ago. Post some pictures we can drool over! We had our first "good" frost night before last, here.
    Elora

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  6. Love the geese at sunset photo. Do you ever come to Roanoke?

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  7. Kat!
    Thanks for your approval of my geese! Sometimes, it's fun to soup things up a bit.

    As for coming to Roanoke....we used to live in Vinton; substitute taught at Patrick Henry HS and the Middle School (is it Byrd?), did a little summer English teaching at Fleming; we loved Roanoke, but now that we're on the other side of the mountains, I'd have to say we never venture forth! For awhile, I would fly out of Roanoke to Chicago a couple of times a year, but now, (getting older!) we seldom travel, instead stick close to the farm. But thanks for asking! You must be in Roanoke...it's a great city. It's big enough that one feels you're in a city; but small enough that you can meet friends unexpectedly. The cultural offerings are myriad, and well attended;there are lots of little communities within the city that really "sing," there's plenty of greenery for a pastoral yearning heart, and public transportation is abundant. All in all, I would choose Roanoke as a place to live were I wanting an urban environment. It's a great place!

    Elora

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