My life, under the microscope...

moving sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 07:39:00 +0000

There's just no other way to say that, moving sucks. I'm not good at this. It takes me WAY too long to pack up, and I don't know why other than I'm trying to organize things BEFORE I get there because there is so little space available I have to be really selective. Thank goodness it's "close enough" (185 miles) that it's not all THAT big of a deal to drive up and back, and since I'm going to be around Wilton a lot anyway (like next week, because I have to fly out to a show) there are a lot of things I didn't even bother to load in the trailer tonight... fragile stuff that will just be in the way right now, and can totally just go in my car next time I'm heading north. Winter coats, warm boots... won't need those for a while!

So despite my best intentions to get ALL my stuff packed and the house totally cleaned and Mom's furniture totally rearranged... that definitely did not happen... at least not yet. It's a disaster in here. I'll have to deal with it next week.

I have to give a huge shout out to my amazing friend Wendy, who is a lifesaver (not the candy) and who I could not do this without. Not only did she haul my round pen panels up there a few months ago, and my horse last week, but she's taking my furniture tomorrow. There are not enough baked goods and art in the world to thank her for all this... but I'm trying. :-) And I'm incredibly grateful.

And while I'm at it, I have to give a huge shout out to Jen and Don, for building the loft above the barn, and making it mind-bogglingly awesome, and inviting me to come live with them. I feel like I don't deserve that, and I'm never really sure what to say and it usually comes out wrong but I know they'll read this here so you guys... I can't possibly ever thank you enough, I don't even have the words, but you are truly amazing friends... I hope I don't drive you crazy. :-)

Anyway, the furniture and most of the "stuff" is going up tomorrow, as are the peafowl. I caught them tonight and it was incredibly traumatic and horrible, I don't ever want to do that again. I've spent a long time making friends with them and earning their trust and I hope they forgive me for it.

This is the start of the in-between period, where I'm going to probably feel lost and like I don't really live anywhere. I likely will not actually be sleeping up in the loft for a little while yet, I'll still be camped out in the guest room of the big house. Most of my belongings are packed, except for the things I didn't get to, the things I might need for Blade Show (oh yeah, talk about bad timing!) and whatever else I forgot. And all the chickens, they'll probably be here another month.

So yes, I'll be back, probably fairly often in the next month or two, and less often as time goes on. In fact I'll be back in a few days, and then a week after that, and then who knows. And all you doubters and nay-sayers out there, I understand you. I've had my moments of feeling like I'm making a huge mistake, feeling like I'm about to barf, and wondering what the heck I've gotten myself into. And then I stop and think about a few months from now, all settled, in the routine, getting work done... ah yes. It will be good. I'm just having a tough time with the right now part, and I'm told it's normal to question one's own ability to survive in the world, right? So be nice, give me some enthusiasm and some faith, goodness knows I could use it right now. I'm not good at this. I don't know how people do this. And I can't for the life of me understand how it is that I don't remember the last time I moved. How on earth could I forget?? I know this won't be the last time I move but by golly I won't be doing this again any time soon!

To my friends here, don't forget me. We can still do lunches, and breakfasts, and ice cream, and doggie dates, and dinner... it'll just take some planning. :-)

Well, okay, I have to get up in a few hours, so I'd better stop.

By the way, I always thought I didn't have much "stuff"... until I had to pack it up. OMG.

ode to Angus

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:44:00 +0000

Most people think Angus is my dog. Technically speaking, he's not. Technically speaking, he's my mother's dog. But I do refer to him as "my dog" and I am well aware that he has chosen me as his person. As much as he can sometimes drive me nuts by wanting to be everywhere with me, all the time (I refer to that as the "all Angus, all the time" show), I am obviously going to miss the big lug... a lot.

No, he isn't going with me when I move. Like I said, he's Mom's dog, and she's going to need him. But perhaps more than that, it would be impractical for me to have him there.

But for the past two years and three months, he's been my faithful buddy pretty much all the time. He inspired me to walk. I figure he and I have logged about 1700 miles. I wore out some shoes in that time. I learned the interesting dynamics of the people who drive up and down the road... who waves and who doesn't, who moves over and who doesn't. I saw a lot of the same people every day, and I wish I could tell them all that I won't see them again. Well, most of them.

I met (as in, talked to, not just waved at) 19 new people because I was out walking [almost] every day for the last two years and three months. Maybe they don't all remember my name, but they remember Angus. A few have become good friends, a few it's hard to say goodbye to, a few I will miss SO much... and one I hope I never see again.

So thank you, Angus, for getting me out there and bringing new people into my world. Be good to Mom, don't wear a hole in the yard waiting for me to come back, and I know the Dog Biscuit Fairy will still come see you. And to my neighbors, I'll tell you where I keep the leash... you're welcome to walk him, he already loves you. :-) Just don't let him pee on everything or you'll be out there all day.

because who doesn't love cute baby animals?!

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 29 May 2012 17:38:00 +0000

First I have to give you the update on moving. The ball is rolling, quickly. Like "OMG how am I going to get all this stuff packed up now that it's finally time to pack it up." I remember very little of moving here to this property in Wilton. I don't remember doing all this packing. Maybe because when I was 18 I just didn't have this much "stuff" (and by that I mean the entire studio, loads of reference books, supplies, etc). And I think I also don't remember it because that was not exactly a bright and sunny time in my life, to put it mildly. Moving now is entirely different than that was... now is good and adventure and new and exciting, but packing is still a giant pain in the you know what. ;-) I'm trying to be good and sort stuff BEFORE it goes into boxes, but it's only a matter of time until I reach the "screw it, box it all up and deal with it later" stage!

Anyway, the furniture's moving this weekend, and then I'm off to Blade Show in Georgia next week, and there will be a lot of back and forth in the next month between Wilton and Oak Run, but hopefully within about a month I'll be able to move the birds up there.

On Friday, on short notice but on an opportunity that I could not pass up, my horse Shylah moved up to Oak Run. So that morning while moving the last of the hay out of the barn and into the horse trailer, lo and behold I found a baby cottontail rabbit. OMG cutest thing EVER. Not the least bit scared, totally healthy, and just barely old enough to be on its own. But... my sweet darling cat Olin has been proudly presenting me with a lot of dead bunnies lately (to my absolute horror) and I really didn't want this one to be his next victim. So I had a day to adore it and take photos and then it went home with my friend Jan, to a nice cat-free yard where it will be released when it's a little older and the scaredy instincts kick in a little more.

Here's some pics! All together, now, awwwwwww! :-)

Eclipse!

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:23:00 +0000

In case you didn't know, there was a solar eclipse on Sunday evening. It was an "annular eclipse" meaning that although the moon would be directly between the sun and earth, the moon would be far enough away from earth that it would not entirely cover the sun, and a "ring of fire" would be visible. I happened to be up in Oak Run over the weekend bringing up a load of furniture and working on a few items, and that just happened to be right under the central viewing line for the eclipse. Couldn't have planned that any better!

It was really neat to see, and fun to share the experience with a few friends:

I'm one of those people who can get totally mind-boggled looking up at the sky and pondering the universe, and it really was a rather moving experience to stand there and watch this happen (with appropriate eye protection of course!) Made me feel like a tiny speck in a great big universe.

I wish I had a better grasp on how to use my camera, but I did manage to get some decent photos. Here's a link to the album I just posted:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116179690629313838944/AnnularEclipseMay202012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

"Romeo" scrimshaw Pomeranian dog finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:10:00 +0000

"Romeo"

Pomeranian Dog

full-color scrimshaw on Corian (TM) tile

2 by 2 inches

custom commission, sold

Isn't he cute?! :-) I love how this turned out!

May 12 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:18:00 +0000

I know I know, super creepy with no eyeballs! It's just that there are some real subtle colors in the reflections on the eyes and I didn't want to risk muddying that area with all surrounding black ink, so that's why the eyes ended up being last. So what still needs to be done: eyes, probably adjust the shadows a little, and signature. And don't think that'll happen in a few minutes, ha ha nooooo.

Anyway, now that you can see what my scratching is turning into, I'll tell you about the image. This is Romeo. He's a Pomeranian and a therapy dog, not to mention obviously extremely cute! He is definitely the apple of his owners' eyes. :-)

I have to say I loooove scrimshawing furry critters!

I think it's pretty safe to say this'll be the last thing finished before the big move. Unfortunately that means I won't get a knife done for Blade Show, but life goes on. I need to start packing. You're thinking "wait, I thought you did start." True, I did. And then I stopped. But now that the ball is really rolling and it's getting down to the last minute, I need to resume in a big way. Clock's a-tickin'.

Well, I think I'll call it a day in the studio, I've been scratching lines since this morning and there's a couch and a television and a DVD and a cat calling me from the other room. Typical Saturday night, woo wee. I thought really hard about going to Reno today for the Californios Ranch Roping competition. I went years ago when it was still up in Red Bluff and it was pretty cool to see, it would be a great place to shoot some photos, and I'd found out that one of my favorite people in the world was going to be there but unfortunately it's enough of a drive that I'd pretty much lose an entire day, and there's just too much to do right now. I need to put that on my calendar for next year though!

May 10 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Scrimshaw, as you surely know from reading this blog for a while (right?) is a form of engraving. What gives it the color to stand out against the (usually light colored) surface is ink. So before it's inked, it doesn't look like much:

In fact, it requires some strategic positioning under the microscope in order to get enough reflected light to see what one is actually doing.

Progress as of tonight... A lot of what might look like white highlights is actually reflection. Quick point-and-shoot photos under the fluorescent light is not the way to take good photos. I'll do good photos when I'm done! :-)

May 9 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:11:00 +0000

To clarify, the Corian is not actually a weird greenish color in real life. When photographed under the fluorescent light of the microscope it looks that way, but it's really just an off-white color.

Let me just say it takes a LOT of lines to get an image that dark! This image will be a mix of dots and lines (dots more so when I get to the non-black areas).

May 7 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:56:00 +0000

This will be done in color, but it's almost entirely a black and white image. Actually, it's almost entirely a black image. The furry areas there around the muzzle will end up MUCH darker than they are right now, this is just the "first coat" so to speak. But since it is a very dark image, I will end up doing all the black areas first. Long way to go... gonna look a little spooky without eyes for a while!

a new scrimshaw piece in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:13:00 +0000

I've just started a scrimshaw piece, I'll just let you watch and see what develops, without saying too much about it yet. The material (because I know someone will ask) is Corian. This is a custom piece. And I need to get it done before the time comes to pack up the studio.

Looks like I'll officially be moving at the very end of May or very beginning of June, depending on how people's schedules work out. No doubt there will be at least one or two trips up and back in the mean time though. I painted the inside of the loft last weekend, and I like how it looks, really gives it character. Still needs flooring and plumbing and all that good stuff, and I'm still not entirely sure about the chicken coop situation, but things are coming together well. If I had the ability to teleport back and forth that would sure simplify things. ;-) I know it's going to take a while after I move to get into a routine and feel like life is back to normal! But I really really look forward to that time, when I'm settled in, know what I'm doing, and can really dig into the ever increasing backlog of work. I'm one of those people who needs a routine, I (obviously) don't handle change and uncertainly particularly well. ;-)

Oh yeah and I'm going to Blade Show again in June!

This year is nuts! :-)

ps- Jan, the new blogger settings have me all messed up too, took me a while to find stuff, and to remember to title my posts!

pps- MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!!!!!!!!! (I know I should have said that to you all at the beginning of the day rather than the end, oh well, I did plaster it all over Facebook this morning though!)

oh, hello!

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Hello, blog, my old friend. It's been a while, hasn't it. Heh heh...

So, I'm the kind of person who gets super duper stressed out about stuff and tends to gripe and rant a lot when that happens, and I really have not wanted to inflict that on the world lately, so I've been rather quiet. All is well, just chaotic. See this? I think the inside of my head kinda looks like this right now as well:

Nope, don't know exactly when I'm moving. Some time between the end of May and some time thereafter. Everything's going well, I'll head up there soon to paint, and I've been diving into the depths of all the "stuff" I have accumulated in my life to determine what I can get rid of before trying to squeeze it all into the loft. Yes I think I've finally picked out my paint colors! Colors, plural... I hope I don't make this too strange. ;-)

I am all done hatching chicks now, finished out the season with about 100 of the little buggers. Anyway, I'm just coming up for air, waving hi, going to finish up sketches and email clients, and wrestle with computer problems, and since a friend of mine gave me some lemons I'll whip up a lemon cheesecake tonight.

Here, have some poppies! It's the best I can do for you today!

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:16:00 +0000

I actually am still alive

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:02:00 +0000

You wouldn't know it by the lack of blog postings for the last two weeks though, would you. Ummm yeah, sorry about that. I seem to have a lot on my plate right now. And then I was thinking well what's a blog without pictures, and that means walking over to the OLD computer to use my website software so I can upload stuff, and then I finally realized that oh yeah duh I can just log into my web host and upload pics that way. Sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb. ;-)

So the big question, which I think I was actually asked by three different people today, is when am I moving. The answer: I'm not quite sure. Soon. When it's ready... I was up there last weekend helping out with sheet rock (can I put that on my resume now?). There's still quite a lot to do, and the actual move process is going to take a while, what with the horses and birds and stuff and everything. I need to hire someone to help with chicken coop construction. Unfortunately my handy people here are, well, HERE. And there is nearly 200 miles away. Still pondering how that's all gonna work!

Anyway, it'll happen when it happens. I'm the obsessive sort who wants to make plans for EVERYTHING even though I know that doesn't usually work, so I'm trying to go with the flow even though I'm not good at that. There's no rush though, no deadline. I've started in on a cleaning/organizing spree though, and will start packing the non-essential stuff. There's nothing like thinking "do I really want to pack this, move it, unpack it, and find a place to put it?" to make a person get rid of stuff (or box it up and leave it behind, as the case may be!) ;-)

I have four batches of chicks hatched out, and three more on the way. Decided to do that as early as possible this season, and I'm glad I did, I think I'd be going nuts if I waited, and skipping a year would have really set the breeding program back (besides, my neighbors like to come over and play with the chicks!)

On the art front, I have a stack of sketches and price quotes underway. If you happen to be awaiting one of those two items, rest assured I will get to you as soon as I can... I'm way behind right now.

If I could kinda freeze time for a bit and catch up on some things, I totally would. Like, um, taxes. Copying my mom's recipes. Cutting out fifty billion squares of fabric and sewing the quilt that I FINALLY have enough fabric for (after years of collecting it!) and meant to make before Christmas.

Anyway! How bout some pics, just to get back into the swing of things!

Of course I still bake!

Aren't they cute?! The big one's not mine, the little one's a Rosecomb.

This is a couple miles down the road from where I'm moving to. These elk come onto the property sometimes. I only had my little camera with me...

Omar's getting really friendly! He comes right up to me now and always expecting treats! The girls are shy. Then again, he's not good about sharing.

Home Depot must hate indecisive people like me who take one of nearly every paint sample card. ;-)

"The Greatest Generation" Bowie knife

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:54:00 +0000

Hellooo, sorry for not blogging more... I'm back and forth between two computers, with no photo/website software on one and tempermental old software on the other, so blogging is kind of a giant pain in the you know what right now. I need to get all transferred over so I can resume normality here on the internet.

But, nevertheless, I finished second part of the "The Greatest Generation" project, the Bowie knife, a few days ago. This is has been an incredible project, and I SO honored to have been a part of it. So here's a big huge heartfelt THANK YOU to Dennis and to Mike!!!

I think I talked about this earlier, but I'll talk about it again... the theme of this piece. Originally there were some ideas kicked around that just weren't feasible for various reasons, so I started on the grips for the 1911 first (with Patton and MacArthur) while we all thought more about what to do with the knife. And I was reading one of my art magazines one day and found an article about a photographer of horses, and what really stuck in my mind was the dramatic clouds in the photos. And that got me thinking about the knife, and the long horizontal space... and airplanes! Iconic WWII airplanes! That idea was well received, and we were off and running. My client selected the types of planes (a F4U Corsair to represent the Pacific Theater, and a P-38 Lightning and two B-17s to represent the European Theater), the types of ships shown on the Pacific side (Essex, Gridley, Baltimore), and the general theme of each side, and I designed the layout. But I kept thinking back to the horse photos and the clouds, and I knew I wanted the background and the scenery to be just as important as the planes.

I'm not sure exactly how to explain this, but I think my biggest challenge here was trying to give these inanimate objects a sense of life. It's not like depicting a person's face, or an animal. I feel that I accomplished that goal. :-)

I am thrilled, THRILLED, with how this all turned out, I wouldn't change a thing on any of it. I can't wait to see it all finished, all the parts together. I know that Mike is still working on engraving the pistol, but the whole set will be shown at the Colt Collectors Association show this fall, and at the Firearms Engravers Guild of America show next January.

Now, I gotta tell you I'm not set up AT ALL for photographing metal. I took about 987498745 pictures and they all sucked, so I got fed up and scanned the darn thing. Unfortunately this doesn't do justice to the beautiful blade or to the engraving, so I've put in some of the closeup shots as well. I'm sure this will be professionally photographed at some point when the whole project is completed.

Knife made by Larry Downing
Engraved by Michael Dubber
Scrimshaw by me, obviously ;-)
Total length of knife: 11 inches
Length of ivory handle: 3-5/8 inches (at the longest point)

If you click on the pics you can see them bigger!

This should give you a sense of size:

March somethingorother work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:59:00 +0000

This was from a few days ago. This is the last WIP pic that you will see. It's soooo close to done right now (right now being much farther along than what you see here). :-)

the new arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Like I don't have enough going on... I'm really kind of starting to freak out about moving. There is so much to do, I have no idea where to start, blah blah blah, etc, and so forth. I don't want to get into that today.

But in the midst of all the craziness, I went and got more birds. Peafowl. Am I insane?!?! It's quite possible, I admit it.

Friends of mine who live about a half mile down the road have a pretty large flock of peafowl. I've house-sat on numerous occasions, and became increasingly charmed by these birds. I know they're loud. Really, I know. But I got to thinking that having a few when I move might be kind of fun. They'd have plenty of room to roam, trees to sleep in at night, they'd keep the grasshopper population down, they're supposed to be pretty wicked snake-hunters, and well, they're really pretty! And besides, I'm moving to a place where there are horses, cows, dogs, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl... really what's another loud animal?

So when my neighbors offered me a deal on a trio if I would help them sell off a bunch of their other ones, I agreed to make that trade. I took photos, posted ads, and the within a few days the birds were nearly all sold. I wasn't planning on getting mine til I was moved and settled in, like maybe in May, but they asked if I'd take them now so that they wouldn't accidentally sell the ones I wanted.

Eeek! Well, I have an empty 12x30ish aviary, so I went ahead and picked them up last night. They will have to stay cooped up here, and then they'll have to stay cooped up on the new place for at least a month before I can let them out to free range. The two females are totally calm already, but the male is still endlessly pacing. Oh well...

Anyway, I now have peafowl. My brother says this cements my white trash reputation. Here I am sticking my tongue out at him: :-P I really hope I haven't made some big mistake, I hope they don't become totally obnoxious.

I opted to give them names that would represent their Indian heritage. So the male is Omar. He's a two-year-old India Blue. He won't get the really long feathers til next year. The females are Nara and Jovita. Nara is a one-year-old India Blue, named after my beautiful bellydance teacher. Jovita (pronounce the J, it means joy) is a one-year-old Black Shoulder peahen. I'm excited about them... I hope I stay that way! :-)

March 6 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:12:00 +0000

The end is in sight! I say that not out of relief, but just excitement. :-)

I spent some time last night figuring out what to do with the background, and looking at lots of photographs of skies and clouds and landscapes. I've got it all planned out now, so in about a gazillion more dots I'll be done. (That's how I should start measuring time, dots, as in "sure, I'd love to go out to dinner, just give me 4500 dots and I'll be ready, okay?")

eggs for sale this spring

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Want to buy eggs this spring? Here's what you need to know:
1) I am only listing them on ebay, so go sign up for ebay
2) I only accept payment from PayPal, so go sign up for PayPal. It's free, and everyone uses it. Make sure you have enough $ in your PayPal account to pay for the eggs, otherwise shipping gets delayed and... they don't hatch!
3) Quantities will be VERY limited. I should be listing some through early/mid April, but beyond that who knows... just depends how long it takes to get settled in, coops built, birds relocated. By then it may be just too stinkin' hot, so if you see something you want, bid on it!
4) The Random Rosecombs web page and Facebook page will stay up to date with whatever's available.

March 1 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:15:00 +0000

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I'm having software problems up the wazoo. I recently bought a brand new shiny iMac (yes I'm very proud of that) but I have not moved all my stuff from this ancient iMac over there yet, and the ancient iMac (on which I have photo editing software and other magical things, and on which I am currently writing this) is having issues. Things might get all complicated here for a while in my world as I attempt to switch over in the next few weeks. Oh how I hate computer problems!

Anyway...

No scrimshaw today, I tweaked my wrist pretty bad somehow yesterday and it said I needed to work on some other stuff today.

Moving Sale: Chicken Paintings!

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Like I said a while back, I have a lot of art that needs to go. And it needs to go for one of two reasons: I will have not have room to store it, or it's no longer the kind of work I am actively creating (therefore not something I take to art shows).

So I'm having a somewhat loosely organized "I'm moving and can't take it with me" sale. Today's featured art consists of chicken paintings!

These are all 6x6 inches, original paintings, acrylic on masonite. The backgrounds are all shades of metallic gold, which look REALLY pretty in some nice lighting! Each painting has a string on the back from which you can hang it, or if you'd rather prop it up somewhere or frame it, you can just remove the string!

They are $40 each. Shipping in the US is $7 for up to two paintings, or $10 for up to five paintings. If you want something shipped outside the US, I need to know what you want and where you are so I can calculate it! CA residents pay 7.75% sales tax. PayPal preferred (katherineplumer @ gmail.com, remove spaces), checks and money orders and cash are also fine. Proceeds will help offset moving expenses and the construction of new chicken coops!

Oh! The giant typed copyright text is NOT on the original paintings, that's just for my web images!

Interested? Comment, email, call, etc. :-)

Red Pyle Old English Game rooster

Black Minorca hen

Wheaten Aseel rooster

Mille Fleur Belgian D'Uccle Bantam rooster

Buff Brahma rooster

Brown Red Old English Game Bantam hen

Buff Laced Polish rooster

Black Sumatra rooster

Mille Fleur Belgian D'Uccle Bantam rooster (head)

Black Tailed White Japanese Bantam rooster

Brown Red Sumatra rooster

Red Pyle Rosecomb Bantam hen

Lemon Blue Modern Game Bantam hen

Black Rosecomb Bantam hen:

Blue Ameraucana rooster

Silver Penciled Plymouth Rock Bantam rooster

Wheaten Aseel hen

White Crested Black Polish rooster

Partridge Wyandotte Bantam rooster

Blue Orpington Bantam rooster

Dark Brahma rooster

February 25 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:34:00 +0000

Okay, the planes are done! (unless I need to tweak something... always a possibility). I more or less know what I'm doing with the background. At least, I have the ground part figured out. I don't know yet what I will do with the sky, kinda depends how everything else looks. :-)

February 23 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:49:00 +0000

February 20 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:35:00 +0000

last show of the season

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:14:00 +0000

Well, my poultry show season went out with a fizzle. This'll be the only year where I have nothing listed on my "show record" page on my website. So sad! Means I need to raise some really good stuff for next season! The light bulb in the chicken coop finally seems to be doing the trick, I'm getting lots of eggs, and will be setting a batch every week for about the next month. This'll be a goofy spring, I'm sure!

I'm glad I survived my little "midlife crisis" that I had with the birds a couple years back, you know, when I was determined to get rid of them all. That would have been a very bad idea. I think I've finally figured out that it's a people-thing for me. I have a great little group of poultry friends who I absolutely love, and (other than enjoying the birds) I think that's what keeps me going in the hobby, thus the midlife crisis was when I was feeling a little lacking in the friend department... Of course, the fact that I'm moving to a place where someone already is raising and showing more birds than I am keeps me motivated too. ;-)

I do have to say, after going to four shows in the last two months, and please know this is NOT a reflection at all on show management because they really do a wonderful job... but I really hate one-day shows. One of the shows I attended was a one-day show, meaning you can bring the birds in on Friday if you want, but you don't have to be there til Saturday morning, and all the action is finished by Saturday evening (most shows finish on a Sunday morning).

A long long time ago, when I first started showing birds, the judging of champions was a big deal. It seemed like everyone would gather around to watch, and everyone would congratulate the winners. There was anticipation, and drama! What I saw last Saturday was people cooping-out and leaving while their classes were still being judged, if their birds were not in the running for any class awards. By the time the champions were picked, most of the birds in the show were gone, hardly anyone was gathered around to watch, and it was really kind of chaotic. I hate that, and I miss the old days where people were more polite about it, and actually seemed to care. Now so many people just want to leave as early as they can. Not me. Remember how I said it's a people-thing for me? I actually enjoy visiting... And I get that having everything done on Saturday potentially saves people the expense of a night in a hotel, because they can drive home Saturday evening (like I did), but it kind of sucks all the fun out of it when people just spending the day thinking "let's hurry up and get out of here." I like the Saturday night banquet, but even without it I wish that people would be courteous enough to stay until the show is over.

Anyway, that's my rant. And again I do not want anyone to think that I'm in any way complaining about the show management, I know they have their reasons for having this schedule. I'm just annoyed at all rude people and saddened by how the camaraderie seems to have disintegrated.

And no, I have NO idea how to fix the early-cooping out problem. I know all the shows are struggling with this, largely in part because that's when there have been some problems with bird theft!

Next show for me: in November? Time will tell!

February 15 work in progress

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine Plumer) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:35:00 +0000