A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ocean breeze

Just found this picture while looking for another. My senses were overwhelmed with warm salty air, sunshine, and a warm breeze. Hope it brings you the same.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Another great weekend (heavily doctored photos)

So I got a new camera. It happens to have a phone option as well. Here are some of the pictures that I have been creating with it. We are entering full on fire season here in ithaca... it was actually so cold last night and this morning that I was sporting a fleece coat.

I made a prototype of a super manly end table. Chainsaw carpentry is good fun, but has some challenges, including but not limited to precision, danger.... well, i guess that really is it.

This is how our kitchen looked until last weekend. I can't believe we lived with it like this for so long. No new tile floor, back splash, or counter top, but the transformation is still impressive. C'mon up and check it out!

The tools of the trade: cordless drill, journal, oktoberfest beer.

This is what I am doing, guys! Now stop inviting me to come over for a beer. Come here if you want to hang out.

Painting and beer. They go together like yard work and beer.

The dogs are wondering why they're not allowed on the big dog bed anymore and why there is no fire in the stove.

This breakfast brought to you by Erik and Margret's chickens, the Piggery (a farm to table establishment), our tomato plants, and Trader Joe's coffee.

The stove still looks and operates like garbage, but somehow the new paint in the kitchen makes it look a little vintage... a nice surprise.

Went for a hike with Sarah and the dogs on Sunday

Still hiking

I actually did nothing to this photo. This is actually really what the Brooktondale swamp looks like right now. Very pretty.

Rambo is ready to go.

So is murph.

Kodah chromed this one. Field and sky out by Pat's house. Shot from horseback.

Our long horns. Shot from horseback.

Did a lot of work on this photo. The corn definitely doesn't look like it's been painted onto the sky in real life

This took some work, too.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Went to the New York State Fair Yesterday

It was an intense experience with lots of mouth breathing and some really bold outfit combinations, but we had a good time. Our three favorite things were all talented olde dudes. We didn't get a picture of the bebearded gentleman demonstrating the use of such tools as a fro, a draw knife, spoke shavers, spoke pointers, and a shaving horse to make spokes and axe handles. From him, in addition to learning the relevant skill of making wooden spokes for our covered wagon, we also learned that people used to say things like toward (pronounced two-ward) and froward, hence the fro, and to and fro. Additionally, he told us of the origins of "sleep tight" when he demonstrated the use of a bed key for tightening the ropes on a traditional rope bed... sleeping loose meant your butt was on the floor, hence, "sleep tight". He was predictably eccentric, and was rocking a hat to match both his beard and his personality. Imagine a stove pipe hat make of woven reed and you won't be far off.

Speaking of hats, the second guy we loved but didn't photograph told us EVERYTHING about how he made is striking wooden cowboy hat. The wood was shaved down to maybe 1/6th or 1/8th of an inch! You could see light shining through it when it was held in the air. Truly incredible. His veracity was unarguable when he admitted to spending too much time alone in his basement shop. He'd obviously come to the fair to get his gab on!

Lastly, and our favorite, we found a venerable man hunched over an improbable looking machine, making brooms from branches and broom corn. Pictures of his machine are below... I don't like to point my camera at strangers... feels odd and voyeurish. In this case I apologize, all the men deserved to be remembered and seen.

While we watched Walt Thomas turned the gears on the machine pictured here, spun the broom on it's branchy axis and wove the ends of the broom corn to fasten it on in the traditional style. Sarah commented on the machine and he just shrugged and nodded to the right. "There's an old one over there." His daughter in-law told us that he'd made his machine by hand after seeing another one in action.

We couldn't leave without buying one of these great brooms... besides a stomachache (see below), this was our only souvenir. Walt's wife, Clara Rose, was selling hand woven mats and wall hangings. We're planning on going to their fall sale in November... mostly just to see them again.

Happy mouth, angry stomach. Thanks dinosaur BBQ pulled pork and Chicken Spiedie sandwich!

Our new broom!

Carrots from our garden! Happy homesteader! We're currently making a batch of spaghetti sauce to can for the fall as well! I'm so happy. Also slacking a bit, too, so I'm gonna go get back to work. Sorry about the shoddy picture quality. It's from my phone.