Spring day...

There was a time when I would look after my brother's 3 of 5 children...

then the younger boy started coming along...and then the baby girl.

Now it's all five that pile into the van!

On Thursday, I babysat the two youngest whilst the rest of the family moved into a new house.

My dad came along too and we met up in Victoria.

So what do you do with a 4 year old and a 1 1/2 year old on a blustery spring day?

 Why, off to the petting zoo of course!

Checking out the ducks...

 the miniature horse...

This is Peanut Butter...we used to board her for a few winters with her foal Jelly...

She's almost 21 years old now...such a sweet old girl and only 3 feet high!

The peacocks were everywhere and not afraid of the paparazzi at all...

And with it being spring...well, peacocks do what they do so well...

Show off those gorgeous feathers...this photo is exactly as I saw him...no editing at all.

Spectacular isn't he?!

But the main reason people bring their kids here is for these guys...

The miniature goats!

We were lucky to get there just as the workers were bringing them down from the main barn to the petting corral  for hay and brushing. 

They call it the goat stampede!!

"Hurry up! You're going to miss out on all the good stuff!!"

 At first Isabella wasn't too sure of these guys.

She's a bit afraid of our goats at home. 

(we adopted several of these guys quite a few years back).

But then big brother Brayden showed her the ropes...

Then it was all smiles and giggles!!

 Much munching was going on...

And looking for the right mom...

Next it was off to see the donkey that was born last summer...

Before...

...and now...

Her name is Annie.

Then we went for a walk along the waterfront on Dallas road...

Home to crazy kite surfers...

And big ocean crossing container ships...Brayden thought there were houses on this one...

...and what little boy can't resist a puddle and a stick?

It was a dry day with the sun popping in and out...perfect timing for us...

Happy Grandpa! Sleepy Isabella.

Through the woods and around the corner, when Brayden shouts out

"Look at the giant pencil rocket!!"

"Uh...not quite, buddy...that's the worlds tallest totem pole.."

So a successful day with the wee ones...spring is on its way and the days are getting warm.

Lot's more fun in the days ahead!

Song for Friday...hello?

 I'm one of those people who have vivid dreams.

I remember my dreams just about every night.

Sometimes people enter my dreams from the past.

Some are dead and gone.

Some I haven't seen or heard from in years.

Some are even from my childhood back in Toronto, which is a REALLY long time ago.

Why these people sneak into my dreams at night is a mystery.
Someone once suggested that those I'm dreaming of are thinking of me,
a kind of cosmic phone call of sorts.
So here's to all those long ago friends...
Hello.
Have a lovely weekend all.

Spring limmerick...

There once was a long legged hare...

  Who lay languid in meadows of green...

He spread out and lay low...

So as not to be seen...

 And took in the sweet scents on the air.

Linus....laying languid in my Etsy shop.

The small things...

Sometimes I go to the beach for the big things...

the crashing waves

the expanse of sandy shoreline

the glorious sky at sunrise and sunset.

But then there  are times I go to explore the details...

the tiny marvels of natures architecture.

All of these little things I found the other day were minuscule.

Found amongst the pebbles and beach glass and still intact.

After being rolled around in the waves, pummeled by storms, tumbled with stones, 

they are still perfect.

Not one of these things is more than an inch long.

Crab shell...outer bit...

Detail of inner bit...how fantastic is that?!

Senor Gaudy would have been inspired!

These shells are a mere 1/4 of an inch round...

...and the colours so delicately chosen to make it shimmer in the sun.

Then, I found this tiniest of scallop shells...

...paper thin.

This worn piece of an oyster shell, painted with time and waves...

Fat little marble sized shells, blending in with the pebble grey...

I brought them home in my pocket, amazingly enough they survived, forgotten for a week, when I reached my hand in, I was giddy with surprise that they were still in one piece.

It felt different...

This past week, I decided to experiment with wet felting.

I do a form of dry felting with a sharp, barbed needle to make my sculptures.

All felting is just a form of agitating fibers to get them to mat together.

I didn't want to use up any of my 'good' colours, so I used some Alpaca roving which I can't use for needle felting because the fibers are too long.

I took some tips from farmlady down in California.
(her blog is full of great goat stories, wool experiments and so many other adventures)

She's been having a real go at it and has made some really cool stuff.

So bubble wrap and roving to start...

I wanted to make a 'vessel' of some sort so I had to make a bladder to form around...

Lots of hottish water and a bit of dish soap in a spray bottle in a big bowl in the sink...

Start layering the roving and spray and smooth out...

This process takes a really long time to get it thick enough for strength...

It gets really sloppy too but your hands get SUPER clean!
It started to look like I was making bread but didn't smell like it!
In fact, I love the smell of the wet roving...something earthy and comforting about it, although if you
shrunk your favorite sweater, you probably wouldn't feel the same!

Next I decided to add another colour...

This dark brown took FOREVER to get wet and stick...I guess that's why sheep can stay out in the rain and it doesn't seem to bother them.

I took the bladder out and started really working the wool...

But the brown was not co operating!!
The great thing about working with fibre, is that it's so forgiving...you can mess around with it and it won't necessarily ruin the piece.
I decided after I tore off the dark brown, that I would add a bit of green to it...

 Again, long fibers seem to work best, but, lesson learned,
I should have put it in with the beige at the beginning.
When I was finished (tired actually!) I formed it around a bowl to dry...

...but the more I looked at it, the more it just looked like a giant hat.
I imagined people seeing my apples sitting in an upside down hat on the dining table
with puzzled looks on their faces.
So I thought I would get all artsy and add some dimension to the shape by sticking some
wine bottle corks (why I have so many saved up corks is another story)  under the edges and sculpting the form a bit...

...but then it just looked like a big wool tortilla bowl!
Once again, I manipulated the form while still wet and came away with something I thought
looked kind of interesting...

Then Tom says. "Hey that's a cool boat".
Yeah, right, thanks hun...
Anyway it's officially my seed packet basket.

 I think I'll stick to needle felting for now.
My fingers are quite wrinkly from the whole episode.
Maybe one day farmlady will come up and give me a few pointers.

Song for Friday...new beginnings...

Nothing says spring like Felix Mendelssohn.

This music always brings to mind...

bees buzzing...

birds fluttering about...

the new warmth of spring in the air...

Promise.

Have a beautiful spring weekend all!

Book review...

I found this book in the thrift shop a while back and now I want to buy it for everyone I know!

It will change the way you think about food; whether buying it, growing it, cooking it or eating it.

The book, takes you on a year long journey, with the author and her family moving from Arizona to

rural Appalachia where they decide to spend the entire year either growing their own food, buying it locally 

or going without .They are each allowed one thing that they can't live without.

Olive oil and coffee are on that list.

I believe I would choose chocolate. Hands down.

Month by month they come up against many challenges and become extremely educated

about the food industry both near and far.

It will inspire you to think twice when you walk into the grocery store for that pineapple in January.

By no means are they fanatical about any of it and humbly learn what it is to respect food holistically.

Barbara Kingsolver is a great writer and this 'essay' into local food is entertaining, full of wit and wisdom.

(by the way, if you haven't read any of her fictional stories, I recommend: "Prodigal Summer" "The Bean Trees" or "The Poisonwood Bible")