Sunflower Carving

My husband loves to carve flowers.  All woodcarvers find their niche, that perfect spot where they carve the best.

We can carve inside the house in the winter.  We invested in a dust collector.  It does exactly that collects dust and is much quieter than a vacuum cleaner.  The motor runs a fan that sucks the dust particles into a collection bag.

Here he is power carving some leaves for a different project…prototypes are being worked on.  R and D is rampant in our dining room.

Recently he has been working on a sunflower.

He needed some help choosing colors and painting.  We stood in Ben Franklin for a long time discussing yellow and it’s particular shades.  He had an idea in his brain how it should look…I tried my best.

I took it over near the window so it would catch some sunny sunlight.

I was not sold on the black in the center..seeds they are seeds he says..okay.

The back is a work of art too…let me tell you this was not easy to paint and if he ever carves another I will paint before it has been put together.  As it was Far Guy wrapped Saran Wrap around the entire yellow head so I could paint the green.  We worked the Saran Wrap in-between the yellow and the green.  Yellow and green make blue and that would have been bad.

It is a very tall sunflower.  It took most of an afternoon to paint.

It still needs to be sealed and have a proper base…I think Far Guy has an idea to use a piece of black walnut…when it gets warmer out and he can work out in his woodshop.

For now it joins some other carvings and the lovely peacock feathers on the mantle.

Sunflower carving by Far Guy, Black Walnut Lady Slipper by Far Guy, Peacock Feathers, little house carvings from our first attempt at Bark Carving and the Lady Slipper I carved for myself. Don’t mind the nails on the edge of the mantle…they are for stockings at Christmas.  They don’t bother me except when I dust..then I try to smile and recall the grands excitement on Christmas mornings over the years.

Don’t tell anyone but I still have a few Christmas “things” up..and it is March 7th oh my the Christmas Police will certainly be after me.

Snow Stick Contest 2014

Yes, I am all set for the snow stick contest!  You can enter by guessing the date and morning or afternoon that the snow will be totally gone from the snow stick.

There are 17 1/2 inches of snow at the snow stick.  When will it melt?  Here are previous melt dates.
2011 April 8
2012 March 13
2013 April 30 
As you can see we have about a six week window.  So guess away…guess the date and morning or evening.
The winners..there might be more than one will get a bark carving.

These are my last three creations, none of mine ever look alike, they are all one of a kind.  These three are Linda in Colorado Johnson’s Cottonwood bark.  It is a lighter bark than we have here in Minnesota. It carves beautifully!
They have joined the rest of my carvings in an old shoe box awaiting homes.  I give some away, and occasionally I sell a few.  They can sit on shelves or they can be fitted with an eyehook for a ribbon and become a Christmas ornament.

These are not huge carvings…the pen is for a reference.  I like carving them as they fit comfortably in my arthritic hands.
I have a few more in the works…so you never can tell which carving you might get.  I carve at least one afternoon a week.  Sometimes more…Minnesota winters…ya you betcha nothing better than an afternoon spent with sharp knives. 
This is one of my favorite bark carvings.

I will probably keep this one for myself as it has a very fragile back…bark is what it is and I like the tree that the bark told me was there.
Guess away.  I will add the guesses to the bottom of this post.  Guessing closes Sunday night March 9 at 9PM.  Those of you that are bashful can email me with your guess, my email can be found by clicking on the yellow flower on the left sidebar.


Guesses:
March 29 Evening Kathy
April 3 AM Muffie
April 5 Susan in Glyndon
April 7 Terri @Backward B Ranch
April 12 PM Nancy Wyoming Breezes
April 13 L.D.
April 13 PM Elaine Sanders
April 14 PM Terry and Linda
April 15 AM Iggy
April 15 PM Kathy b
April 16 PM Deanna Fort Worth
April 17 AM DJan
April 17 PM Red
April 18 PM Marlys H. Seattle
April 20 Leah
April 21 PM Shirley
April 23 PM Furry Gnome
April 24 PM Jess Noling
April 25 PM LindaG
April 26 PM Phyllis Pritchard
April 27 PM Kay Lloyd   Kansas City area
April 27 PM Sandy B. Ada MN
April 28 PM Karen Wyndson Farm
April 30 PM Country Gal
April 30 PM Linda M
April 30 PM Francine Primitive Stars
May 1 ladyfi
May 1 Grandma Barbs This and That
May 1 PM Linda Reeder
May 2 Ryker
May 3 AM Mildred Blackberry Lane
May 13 Judith Bell ( It better be gone by the time she returns to Tamarac or she will be unhappy)
May 14 Evening Robin
June 1 Cynthia ( a fellow pessimistic Minnesota gal)

Wistful Wednesday : 1916 Diary

I am transcribing the 1916 Farm Diaries that were left behind by Far Guy’s Paternal Grandparents.

Most days Grandpa writes, his penmanship is horrible, thanks to a magnifying glass I am getting the main thoughts.  The days Grandma writes it is much easier to decipher.

There are 13 years of diaries.  We can all say uffda together now…one month at a time!

So far we learned exactly when they moved from the farm south of Park Rapids where Marvin (Far Guy’s Dad) was born.  We knew they moved in 1916.

I would have never guessed they moved in February.

16 Wednesday Moved over to S.R.R. at Japs for dinner and night. (Jasper was married to Minnie Grandma’s sister and they called him Jap.) We still haven’t figured out what S.R.R. stands for, we think it is  Shell River..Road??

17 Thursday Fixed up around the place. Up to Japs for meals. (They must have lived close by…I always thought they lived in Iowa)

18 Friday Stayed at Japs, brought Tracie and Marvin down our first night here.

19 Saturday unpacked things and straightened around got some wood.

I wish there was a photo of what the farm house looked like when they moved.  There is one photo taken in 1917.

 

This is most likely Tracie (Grandma) and Jim (Grandpa) and that is Marvin (Far Guy’s Dad) right in front of Grandma along with a faithful dog.

In June of 1916, there was frost June 5th and the corn had to be replanted on June 15th.

During the year Martha Jane (Grandpa’s Mother) visited a few times, she must have come from Iowa on the train.  Grandpa’s brother Bryan stays at the farm sometimes and is in Park Rapids other times, I get the impression he worked as a farm hand.

It is wonderful for us to have the opportunity to have a glimpse into farm life 98 years ago.

Winter Wonderland and a Important Message

It was one of those Winter Wonderland Days that I just can’t get enough of.

At least it was above zero, ya know it has to warm up to snow and make the roads all snotty.

The road is there in-between the high line poles.

No hope for any Vitamin D absorption yesterday. I wonder sometimes why we live here?

Now this is important!!

In the past week or two, six people have died in North Central Minnesota from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.  Six needless preventable deaths.  Do you have a Carbon Monoxide Detector?  If you have a Liquid Propane or Natural Gas appliance of any sort in your home then you need a Carbon Monoxide Detector.

We have two Carbon Monoxide Detectors and three smoke alarms in our home.

We are springing forward this weekend…so put batteries on your list.  We change our batteries in ALL our alarms twice a year when we spring ahead and then again when we fall back.  I don’t care if the batteries are still good, change them anyway…you and your family are worth it!  Use those half used up batteries in a toy or something.

Dying from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning is preventable.  Parents are without children, and children are without parents just because they had no Carbon Monoxide Detectors.

Some Signs of Summer

Ha!  There is still snow here and it is way below zero.  There is no sign of summer…or even spring..yet.

Last summer I did see a few signs that were interesting enough to photograph.

With the price of beef…happiness is probably having just a cow or two.

“If you are thinking of crossing this field, you best do it in 9.9 seconds – The bull can do it in 10.0” 

This guy or gal had a sense of humor.

I took these photos on some back road in Hubbard County.  Some days when we go for a drive, we just take roads because we have never been on them before.  You never can tell what you might find around the next bend.