Some more summer pictures

When Veneta came up she surprised us not only with a nice hammock, but also a sweet cherry tree.  Zhora was nice enough to come over and give us a hand planting it.

There was more help, too.

We did a little research and found out that the cherry tree needed a pollinator, which was convenient since we needed a tart cherry tree for pie and baking.

From another day.  Eva likes to help get the dry laundry off the line.

This years garden expansion is looking good.  I'll have to post some pics of our current crop.  Maybe after we do some weeding.

From one of the morning hikes Jonas and I have been going on lately.

Why oh why do the weeds grow more voraciously than any of our crops?  Honestly.  Anyway, it's nice to get my hands and feet into the soil.  Sarah's garden kneeler makes this less brutal on my back.

This and the next two are from another morning hike.  Lots of red newts and big ferns and one happy dog.

Perfect

This from Jenn.

Life is good

These pictures are from a few weeks ago.  Jonas and I went out to the ranch to convert a few sick trees into firewood.  Here you see the inside of the ol' truck.  Still goin' despite the rust and the electrical issues.  The truck, not Jonas.

Happy dog, looking forward to a full day of supervising.

A pretty good indication that what proceeds will be fun.

The canopy before we begin.  Note all the odd bends and angles.  By some strange coincidence, the trees I cut never grow straight or have a clean fall line.

Look at that hinge!

Makin' a clear fall line.

Jonas likes to supervise.

The primary target.  I'm pretty proud of my problem solving skills here.  The tree was rotten (as you can see) from the roots to about half way up and posed a real challenge to a controlled fall.  Using a humboldt undercut allowed me to take advantage of the worst of the rot, and cutting high increased the "good" wood to help control the fall.  Plus the stump makes a great end table now.

Paul Bunyan's pick up sticks.

Rest.

Supervision duties have concluded for the day.

Nothin' like a well earned hammock ride... 

does that tree look a little crooked to you?

Hangin' out

 After a day of horseback riding.

 After a day of mountain biking.

 Cut down, bucked up, and split three trees.

 Great place to do some school work!

Weeded and planted all day.

Thanks for the awesome hammock Veneta!

Aprons

I'm a bit behind on blogging.  It's been a bit busy up here lately what with spring planting, summer gardening, horses, farm festivals, work, and school.  That's not a complaint mind you(well, the last two might be), just an excuse for not being inside on the computer.  Another excuse, if I need one, is that the weather has been fantastic and we've spent several evenings sitting by the fire.  Campfire season is always so welcome, like greeting an old friend!

This post should wrap up the winter activities series.  This past winter was fantastic!  I got new old cross country skis and worked on that skill, built an end table that is effective if not elegant, and did several leather projects.  So far, these aprons are examples of my best work.  They started life as an 8 oz side of leather.

You can see some of the blemishes here.  It was a fun challenge to use all of the leather and incorporate the brands and marks in a pleasing way.

I cut the leather to a similar pattern, but made Adam's a little bit longer thinking he could use the length to kneel on while he works on his bikes or whatever.  Dad's is a little shorter as stained glass work doesn't require so much kneeling.

These buckles were fun to make.  I like using the rivets and grommets to give the whole thing a little bit beefier look.  Hopefully they hold up.

You can see my sketchbook here.  If I keep making these, I'll need to standardize some of the measurements and patterns to make the work go faster.  The pockets and loops could definitely be made with a standardized pattern even if the size of the apron changes a little.

These knives were the starting point for the whole apron.  I saw a short film about R Murphy Knives and was stoked to see affordable blades made in the US.  These shop knives were too cool, and I immediately saw a shop apron take shape around them.  Since I already made my apron and have a critical mass of knives, these became gifts.

The workbench.  Multifaceted and super handy!

One apron, almost done.

Attaching the hammer loop.

Thanks again to Veneta for hand delivering the finished product.