spring is springing!

Sorry for the lack of postings... life is just flying past at a seriously disturbing pace, and every night around midnight or 1am (which is when I usually wrap up for the day) I think about all the stuff I forgot or didn't have a chance to do, and blogging is usually on that list.  And here it is after midnight right now, ha.

That buffalo knife I've been working on is SO close to done.  It's taking FOR-EV-ER, but it's looking AWESOME, so that's all fine and good.  Can't rush this stuff.

I moved the last of the birds up here last week, and we were able to get the chicken house "done enough" over the weekend.  It's really turning out cool!!!  I keep finding little things I need to tweak, and until I get automatic waterers in there I won't be quite satisfied, but that's kind of a logistical dilemma right now and I'm not sure how to proceed.  I know how to make stuff pretty, I don't know how to make stuff functional.  That's why when I build stuff it usually turns out pretty bad (and unfortunately ugly too!)  I did make some brooder covers today that turned out okay though.  Anyway, the birds are all penned up in breeding groups, I'll start collecting eggs next weekend, set the first batch on the 30th, and will be finished by the very end of May.

I've applied for a local art show.  If I get in, I will be making 20 new art pieces in the month of April.  If I don't get in, that's okay (because really do I have time for that??), but I have a theme that I think is fun so I'm good either way.  I'll know in about another week.

The trees have started to turn green pretty much overnight.  The grass is finally growing.  Things are flowering.  Spring, already?  Seriously?  I'd better squeeze in as many trail rides as I can, because all I can think is "oh no, summer is right around the corner" and you KNOW I hate hot weather!

The only chicks I have out so far are from Indy and Stella, the Asil pair.  I plan to sell these babies when they are older.  I'm toying with the idea of trying to raise a few, but they'd need to be hatched at the same time as my Rosecombs (so as to not eat my Rosecombs for breakfast) and these will be over a month older than the bantams...

Birds in pens:

Don't know what it is, but pretty:

Whatever this is, it smells divine!  Ceanothus?  I grew up around blue colored Ceanothus but this looks and smells the same, except white:

Redbuds blooming in the ravine!  I LOVE redbuds!

March 3 work in progress

What color is a Cape Buffalo?  Black, right?  With black horns?  Well, sorta grayish black.  No maybe sorta brownish grayish black with some yellowy undertones and a hint of blue?  I'm doing this image in full color (because I was asked to, but I would have wanted to do anyway, if for no other reason that coming up with the right way to do the colors is a HUGE challenge).  And when you stare at an image long enough, even something that at first glance you might think is pretty much black and gray, you start to realize there are a LOT of colors that make it look that way.  Or maybe I'm just nuts, but whatever, I think it's coming along rather well.  ;-)  Horns are pretty much done.  Six colors.  Face will be next, and then background.