Autumn ~ Recycled Cutter Bar Bug

I do so love the fall season.  Doesn't the sound of Autumn conjure up a multitude of wondrous colors?  Of course, all of them are my favorites!   Plus, the chill in the air makes drinking hot chocolate an absolute pleasure. *Sigh* 

 

Farmerboy has harvested his Indian corn.  It is always a thrill to pull back the husks to find a colorful surprise. :)  When these mini beauties cease to be decorations, they are also able to be used for popcorn.  How's that for recycling?  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

As you all know, Farmerboy collects vintage farm implements.  He broke a cutter bar over the summer and decided to recycle it into some bug art! ;)  Here is his latest welded creation.  He is made from a single tooth from the bar, along with a bolt, nails and some odds & ends.   I am just captivated by this little guy.  Farmerboy hasn't noticed him missing from the table where he left him, yet!   

I stole him!  He wandered out from my studio area for these photos.  Don't tell Farmerboy that I have him... ;)

Sphinx Hummingbird Moth

Look who came to visit my plants.  Although I would have swore it was a mini version of a Hummingbird, this little guy is actually a moth.  He is a Sphinx Hummingbird Moth that sports the most beautiful brown and burnt orange colors.  (My favorites! :) )  

 

 

It is so amazing to see how fast his wings flutter.  He has such an exotic "zebra-style" print on his head.  :)

His actions and movements are spot on for a Hummingbird.  I followed him around for 20 minutes and came across a second one that was photo shy.  It decided to flit across to the neighbors plants.  :(

This picture was taken by a group of plants directly under our Hummingbird feeder.  Right now, the Hummingbirds are fighting like mad!  This little guy paid no attention to the feeder, and the birds hadn't the least bit of interest in him.  :)

How to Tumble Rough Rocks

Intricate cut stones and high end jewelry have never been something that I cared for much; but a few years ago at a  stop on the 127 Yard Sale, a lady from Jamaica had set up a stand with her handmade creations.  A beautiful necklace caught my eye.  Its pendant was a Moonstone carefully housed in a cage of wire that was twisted in the most intricate shapes.  Mr. Hollow (who is extremely picky about jewelry)  complimented the artist on her obvious talent, and I vowed to return to purchase the necklace.  Sad to say that after a long walk around the venue, I blanked out a return to the stand and was miles down the road before remembering my mistake... Uggghhh!  I have never seen her booth on our subsequent trips. :( 

 

Since that first encounter with this fine wire art, Farmerboy was lucky enough to have a teacher that gave his class a glimpse and hands on experience at creating jewelry from scratch.  He had the opportunity to  twist pieces of fine metal into some amazing pieces of jewelry.  I admire his meticulous talent in this area and dreamed to one day take a try at creating some metal designs of my own.  Of course in my mind, the metal would be housing a shiny stone.  So after a little research, I decided to start from the very basics of jewelry making and tumble my own stones...

 

Many hours were spent researching gemstones and varying rocks for their spiritual meanings.  I love a piece of art with a hidden meaning. ;)  The first purchase (pictured below) consisted of  rough lots of Citrine, Fluorite and Labradorite and some Apache Tears (which are volcanic glass).  My second purchase was smaller samplings of Amethyst and Moonstone.  The stones were quickly followed by a package with various tumbling compounds...

 

Talk about putting the cart before the horse, my last purchase was a Chicago dual drum rotary rock tumbler.

** Note**  I will be honest and tell you that rock tumbling makes me feel like a fish out of water. It is frightening and exciting to venture into the unknown.  My son had a small child's tumbler years ago, but it was Mr. Hollow that helped him with it... :(

Sometimes you just have to dive in. :) 

Here is a picture of the rocks in the two drums, before the 4 T of coarse grit and water were added.   As you can see, these stones are intriguing even in their rough state.  It will be great fun to see them transform into a polished stone.  I will be honest and say that I did not check hardness of stones prior to tumbling; although in my research, these types were mentioned at being tumbled together.  The Apache Tears were left out, due to the fact that they are comprised of volcanic glass-- making them a touchier piece to tumble and remove scratches from.

The tumbler is downstairs on the basement floor tumbling away.  My endeavor is on day 4, and I will give update posts of the progress...

2013 127 Yard Sale Finds

Can you believe that another 127 Yard Sale has past?   It seems like a distant memory now.  (Partly due to the fact that upon my arrival back, I had to work a 46.5 hour work week.)  This week is being spent as a time of reflection and restocking my short term goals.  My artistic soul has been rejuvenated, and I am ready to tackle the world with a new more organized vigor. *sigh*  

 

Kentucky and Tennessee had cool temps for the duration of our trip with mornings being in the late 70's and highs in the mid to low 80's.  The lowest temps that we have ever had on a Yard Sale trip. :)  The amount of attendees appeared to be up tremendously... hopefully the sign of a recovering economy... and the vendors were out in full force.   We had three full days of flea marketing/garage sale fun. 

 

Below are a few of my finds for this year.  I always say that the treasures are a small part of the trip, compared to the time with family,  the wonderful people that we get to meet and all the wonderful vintage items that we are fortunate for the chance to see. 

 

Here are a few finds pulled from my sewing items.  Of course, I cannot make it a year without bobbins. ;)  I was a yearly return customer to the bobbin vendor, and he gave me a generous discount. :)  I couldn't resist the feed bag tote from a talented fellow upcycler.  It is so simplistic in design, roomy and amazingly durable.  My son is going to bring me a few of his to make some more.   I do so love recycling!!   Finally, I was lucky to find some 9 patch squares that were hand sewn.  The vendor wanted $20 but settled on $15.  She was a neat lady that had purchased an estate.  We looked over them together, and I confirmed to her that they were made from vintage feed sack.  After counting them later, I was pleased to find 113 blocks. :)

 

Okay,  every once in awhile my querkie artsy side comes out!   I fell for the Goebel Crayola banks in three colors.  They were dirt cheap, in like new shape and perfect for my studio. :)  And how about the Helping Hand from Hamburger Helper??   He was a giveaway in 1990.  I saw him last year from the same vendor, and this year snatched him up.  Farmerboy is a huge fan of the brand and may be lucky enough to inherit this gem someday... LOL ;)  Finally the odd purchase, there is a gentleman that sells returns and floor models from Sears.  He has a store that we frequent every trip.  I purchased a brand new Kenmore microwave for less than a 1/3 of the retail price.  Score!



Here is my small haul from the last stop on my trip.  I never thought I would be transporting  home some vintage Shiney Brites.  The yellow Santa ornament caught my eye.  He was a design that my collection did not have!  There were two in the same color with the same design, and I am the proud owner of both.  :)  The blue Santa in the upper right corner is in slightly rough shape, but I am pretty sure this is a new design also.  The remaining ornaments were purchased due to the fact that I have the designs but not in those particular colors.  It is such a joy to find new members to a collection.

 

I have some more photos to share in follow up posts.  If you have the opportunity and love to flea market, the 127 Corridor Yard Sale is a must!  

Backyard Pond Critters

I have been spending my free time enjoying the natural wonders in our small pond.  Each year we stock the water feature with fish, but this year was different.  We decided to let the pond have a more natural overgrown appearance.  The pond lilies look wonderful, since they have kicked into high growth this year.  While the fish are still enjoying themselves in the indoor tank, the little critters in nature were allowed to take over the pond.  

 

There were days and nights when the visiting frogs were so loud!  It was the meet and greet spot and apparently a little bit more... Since there weren't any fish to spoil their activities, it wasn't long before the pond was filled with tadpoles.  It was so exciting to watch them get their little feet.  I haven't observed this phenomenon for years. :)

They love to munch on the algae surrounding the lily pads. 

Here is one of the little guys that already has his legs and is a fully developed frog.  He is still sporting a tail...  The last remnant of his early aquatic life. *sigh* 

While watching the bugs skate on the surface of the water, I had an unexpected visitor swim up to check out the action...  A snapping turtle who had made a very long journey to our pond.  He has been named Gary T. Snapper and is the self professed King of the pond.   It is so much fun watching him swim between the lilies and sun himself.  I've spent many a moment pondering how he made the journey to this small obscure pond.  He has definitely earned the right to claim this water as his home.  :)  

Father's Day at Gavilon

As luck would have it, Father's Day was marked by my son having to load a train at work.  His Father and I spent the morning in Jefferson, WI at a flea market.  (Let me say that the weather was perfect!)  When we got home, Mr. Hollow settled down to catch the NHRA races and lounge around for the afternoon... But that plan soon changed.  Farmerboy called and said that he was able to get permission for us to see him working at his job.  I do not know if my son realized it, but the visit was one of the best gifts that he could have given his Dad.  Mr. Hollow was thrilled to watch his son at his job.  :)

 

Here is Farmerboy as he loads the cars.  The big screen shows the different bins that he is pulling the wheat from (and lots of other stuff that I did not know! ;) ).  The smaller screen shows the amounts that he is dumping and different viewing angles of the cars as they pass by.  To the left of my son  is a window that looks down on the cars.   He keeps in radio contact with the driver as they carefully move the cars into the loading area.  I believe it is a team of 5 men plus 1 supervisor that loads the train.  It is a small crew that does an enormous amount of work in about 8 to 9 hours.  AMAZING!! 

 

** NOTE** Next to this room, there is a room where the inspectors do their job of making sure the product is of the right quality.  These gentlemen came from 3 hours away to do there job.  YIKES!

 

I ventured out with a hard hat on to get a picture of one of the outside workers.  You might need to click on this picture to see him walking down the cars to flip the top doors open.   There is another worker on the other end that will close them after loading.  They wear a wire and harness for safety in case they should ever lose their footing.   There is another man (not pictured)  that checks the underside of the cars, and another that drives the engine.

Mr. Hollow and I had a wonderful time visiting with some of the members of the team and watching them all at work.  They should be very proud of themselves.  For being a new facility, all of the crew (which consist of all local residents)  work like a fine tuned machine to turn these trains out and get the grain on its way.  :)

Introducing The Dark Knight ~ LLama

Let me introduce you to "The Dark Knight".  This is the papered name of Farmerboy's newest addition to his flock.  He is a handsome black and white llama that has the most endearing large brown eyes that you have ever seen!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Dark Knight" has been christened with the more common name Luke by Farmerboy.  Luke's long curly tresses are so soft.  They took me by surprise.  I thought they would lean more to the texture of sheep's wool.... definitely NOT the case.  :)   

 

As you can see, he isn't very tall but has long ears that remind me of a donkey's.   Did you know that llamas do not have teeth on the top of their mouth?  Just a hard pallet.  Their lower teeth are similar to the shape of our upper teeth.  Luke is the most fascinating animal and was as curious about me as I was of him.  He kept walking up to me and allowing me to pet and talk to him.  He is a very endearing 2 year old.  :)

 



 

 

 

 

I wish that this photo had sound.  Luke kept humming as he walked around.  Here he is with Farmerboy as they hummed a tune to each other.  After they were done, Luke put his nose up against my son's.  I have never seen such a gentle soul as this wondrous critter.   The little lambs were not sure what to think of him (his hair is trimmed in a show cut), but Ariel and Lego accepted him into the group.  I am sure Luke will win them all over, and they will soon be great friends.