UPDATE: Lost horses claimed!

The horses had a four day holiday at Great and Small Farm and were claimed on Sunday night... leaving on Monday fornoon. They came from just a few miles away at a homestead which lays on the other side of a creek from the road- so not visible as you drive by- which might explain why no one could say they had ever seen these animals before.

It turns out the beautiful horse belongs to the Chief of Police. Currently I do not know if he knows his horse was ever missing because this other guy was supposed to be taking care of him... perhaps the reason why the lost horses were not called in and reported to the Sheriff was because he was hoping that he'd find the animal before the chief of Police found out... !? (maybe I'm reading too much into it)

Wild Horses.... not actual wild, or feral even... but currently lost... arrived at my farm sometime in the pre-dawn hours of the day. Causing a big commotion among our resident herd of four. A cute pair, I know they look like a mommy and baby, the big one is actually a he, and the little one is a pony. Spoke with several nearby horsemen, none of us recognize these animals. Call to the sheriff- no leads. (the sheriff has let me down in this way before- I once called in a different found horse, and the owner had called in a lost one... but the sheriff's office failed to make the connection that my found red mare with the white stocking was one and the same as the lost red mare with the white stocking)

Drought report- Horrible. Hay- scarce and expensive... and it's only September.

Every person I spoke with seemed delighted to suggest to me that these animals may have been purposely set free rather than to starve inside their pasture fence or face their fate in the market of horses being unloaded by all the people who can not afford to feed an animal twice it's market value in hay in a few months.

18 hours so far and no one has come looking.

A beautiful gift!

A swift!

I received a wonderful gift the other day, from a person who may not have even understood fully what a truly wonderful and appreciated thing this is. She's never even seen my spinning wheel, so she had no way of knowing that it is the exact color as my spinning wheel. The wood turning looks as if it was even done by the same craftsman. And this... the weekend of the community wide yard-sale... To think that she could have set it out and instead she set it aside for me. It's a very small delicate piece with a stamp on the bottom which says "Made in Italy" The woman who gave it to me, Ida, hails from Brooklyn and is as Italian as they come. I hope to find that there might be a little bit more to the story behind it.

For those who are not familiar with the job of a swift... I am sure you have seen cartoons of a patient old man with his hands held out while the old wife is wrapping a ball of yarn... if she had a swift he could be out golfing. It allows you to wind or unwind a large hank of yarn (for example for dying) without it becoming a tangled mess.

FIVE!

Wow the time sure flew by.

That little baby in my avatar is five.

(and yes, I'm wearing the same dress for our portrait)

We wrapped up a week long birthday celebration with a "Tinkerbell Tea"

Originally we'd planned to have it in a grape arbor outside, but due to my run of bad luck with thunderstorms and events I plan- after a summer long drought- we had a big storm 45 minutes before the party was to begin. The last time we had a good rain was way back in mid-July when I had planned a seminar to introduce people to AnySoldier. (There was even a thunderstorm at our outdoor wedding in 1995) Had I picked up on this trend sooner I might have planned something earlier in the summer and we'd have had rain when it could have helped! So the party was moved inside to Grandma's apartment.

Instead of floating around inside the leafy walls of grape vines of the arbor- the giant fern stood in as a Fairy environment and I think it worked out very well, combined with their little notes, the whole thing reminded me a lot of "the Chuckle Patch" from the Magic Garden (does anyone remember that show?) There were seven Fairy guests, and six little girls. (One special fairy is for a friend who could not attend) Each fairy had a note which told her name, her special talents and loves, who she was attending the party with and where we might find her in the future (in a tree overhead, dancing with autumn leaves, collecting raindrops from a rainbow... etc)

The fairies were a Dollar Store find- only a buck... but no wings. The winged porcelain dolls they did have were, frankly hideous... they looked more like trolls than fairies, so I got the ballerinas and took on the "figure out how the heck to make fairy wings" burden on myself.

Of course crafty readers I will tell you my solution: I got some iridescent crepe type fabric in a few shades and some white floral wire. I taped the floral wire to the fabric with wide packing tape and simply cut the wing outline- the upper wings are long and leaf shaped and the lower pair are smaller and rounder. The tape is clear- it prevents fraying and adds just a little stiffness. This will not hold up to regular play- but it should be fine for ornamental or decorative uses. I did wings and flowers for the seven fairies in under and hour. Composing their notes took a little more time.





One aspect of Birthday parties that always bums me out is that your precious birthday child inevitable turns bratty during the present opening scene- and all the other kids seem longingly left out. So we kept the presents to the family party and at the Tinkerbell Tea every girl got a gift. Each bag was tailored to her age and personality as well as her fairy's attributes (or was it the other way around?)

I was concerned that the bags may not have been perfectly fairly balanced in terms of whatever the heck it is that can make these things turn sour- but to my delight, each girl seemed to respond as if she had gotten the very best gift.

See ya (see ya!)
Hope you had a good good time...(na-na!)
Hope you have a good good morning, to ya
Hope we get to see ya again!
(Nah nah! Na-nana-na-nana-nah)

Anyone who is a regular reader here will know that I am a big fan of amphibians. A three minute video of the American Toad Amplexus? Comon!? I know. Here... wait folks please... hear me out. This Frogman is not like the others... really... he's a MIME! Please... just six minutes of your time- I know you will laugh. (Stay through all the credits)

***La farándula***

Parents caught out on the town: evidence posted on internet at MidwestLatino.com!

It was a great night for a martini and a cigar in downtown Cincinnati at the Havanna Martini Club. The giant band was smokin' and the dancers were hot stuff!

Are Salsa lessons in order?