Snow’s been coming down and it has been pretty cold. That means lots of movies and reading. And thinking about Puerto Rico.
For a peek into our mind, here are some of our books:
Cabin Designs -A different kind of cabin fever!
How to Build with Stone, Brick Concrete and Tile
I think there is a theme here….
We recently accomplished another goal in preparing to leave our current Greeley house: Britton installed a new drop-in bathroom sink in our upstairs bathroom. For some reason the enamel had worn off and it looked pretty worn down. Once we had the sink, it didn’t take long at all. Check out our how-to video on installing our bathroom sink.
Before I lived in the old schoolhouse in Nunn, I lived in a small house in Greeley. After my parents and brother moved from Nunn, they moved back to the Greeley house. It is at the end of a T road and cars often forget to stop at the stop sign or they slide through on icy cold winter days. The house has narrowly escaped being hit by various cars throughout the years, however the yard plants and cars that have been parked out front have not fared as well and have been hit a few times.
In the matter of just an 8th month time span, two cars hit one of the old spruce pine trees that had been there since before I was born. We hoped it would survive, but soon the tree began to wither away dying from the impact.
The tree stump – you can see the impact marks on the right where a car had hit it. You can also see the “T” street
Finally the time came when it needed to come down completely. My mom hired some tree removal specialists but thought maybe there was something she could do with the stump that had been a tree that I had often played in and around with my next door neighbors as a child. She thought perhaps a student artist may be interested in carving it. I put my feelers out and posted something on both Facebook and Craigslist looking for any info on wood carver artists. A friend suggested the Chainsaw Mama, Faye Braaten who has done wood tree carving work in Loveland and the Greeley area.
My mom talked with her and about a month later, they settled on a price and time for the carving to take place. My mom picked the perfect subject for her carving: a happy dog and cat. She currently has four dogs and a few cats, so this fit her just right.
I was able to see some of the carving myself and it is very impressive! Faye does a great job and can really handle those chainsaws! Here are a few pictures and a video of the process.
Chainsaws are ready!
A Greeley Tribune Reporter came out to take pictures and write up a story!
Early in the process
The face taking shape
The face more pronounced and the body coming together
Nearly complete wood carved dog and cat
She uses a torch to darken some parts and a grinder to smooth it a little -here the cat is visible as well
My mom’s cat, Scarlett is black as was our cat Boo-boo and so she darkened it. I think it created a nice contrast against the yellow lab
Detail of the dog’s face
Close up of cat
We brought the dogs out to see as well. But the real cat wasn’t interested 🙂
We put down a mixture of dryland wildflower seeds when we re-did our front yard flower garden area. We saw quite a variety of wildflowers the first year, but this year, there has been one clear dominator: flax. It is very pretty when it is in bloom; little periwinkle flowers steal the show. They are super-hardy and don’t need much water at all to survive. We see them growing wild around here in Colorado all the time.
Close up of flax flowers
When the knock-out flower show is done, they turn into little ball seed pods and we noticed they were littering the flax seeds all over our driveway.
Flax Flowers in Bloom
This is what a flax plant looks like when its seeds are ready to be harvested
The small flax seeds reside in this tiny little pod
So we decided that instead of letting them all fall, that we would harvest a few of them. First, pick a plant that is ready to drop its seeds. Then cut it down with scissors or a knife (it’s a tough plant). Next, shake it vigorously over a sheet or some other type of drop cloth. (A towel would work, but it might get the little seeds stuck in the terry cloth material.) Check out this video for a demonstration:
A cut bunch of flax
Once you have all the seeds and other things shaken out of the bunch, pour it into a bowl. Then use a sifter or a colander to separate out the seeds from the leaves and pods that also shook into the mix.
Mixture after shaking the plant out
Sifting
Flax seeds after sifting -with a few other things still, but pretty good
Flax seed is very high in Omega-3 fatty acids which is great for your heart and brain. Some studies have shown flax seed helps prevent and/or treat cancer, stroke, diabetes and heart disease. It’s also a great food in general and can be added to everything from cereal and bread to chili and meatloaf. Additionally, it’s a great additive to your chicken’s food to help increase the omega-3’s in your chicken’s eggs.
I gave the chickens a few to try and saved the rest for us