I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Morel Hunting
I’ve posted that I have eggs to sell in some of the local buy/sell groups at Facebook and I’ve picked up a few customers. I like doing it this way because the people can let me know through chat that they want eggs and when they will pick them up. One guy returned on Saturday for a couple dozen. He is a repeat customer. The first thing he asked when EJ and I met him at the door was, “Have you found any morels?” Hunting for morel mushrooms is a big thing here in the Spring and “Have you found any morels?” is a frequent question.
EJ had wanted to hunt for morels in our forest for several weeks, and we finally did so on Sunday. It was a rainy day, sometimes raining so hard that I found erosion fissures in the driveway the next day. The mud in the chicken yard sucked at my boots when I walked through it to care for the chickens. However, there was a period between storms in the afternoon when the sun shone, and we went walking through the forest then.
The weather turned chilly a week or so ago–we’ve had overnight frost and freeze warnings–so that I kept the house windows closed and turned the heat back on. The dampness didn’t help so I wore my warm jacket as we started off on our morel hunt. It was also humid and it wasn’t long before the exercise warmed me up and I carried my jacket instead. We didn’t find any morels, but we enjoyed the walk through the forest, which grows greener every day. Soon there will be a wall of green and we won’t be able to see very far into the forest.
This morning the sun is shining so I’ve been hanging the clothes on the clothesline. It’s a bit chilly so I wore my jacket, but the temps are supposed to rise to the low 60s today. The National Weather Service predicts that the temperatures will climb high every day, reaching the mid-70s by the end of the week. Although doing laundry isn’t usually high on the list of “Fun Things To Do,” it really is a pleasant task. As I pin the wet clothes to the line, I enjoy the quiet beauty of my surrounds, the beautiful birds singing, and the chickens’ contented clucking and crowing.
I thought I’d end this post with a photo of Hannah Joy cuddling with EJ with her favorite toy in her mouth. LOL. She is such a funny dog.
“I See You”
The day after the Not-So-Great Rabbit Rescue, I finally gathered enough courage to walk over to where I had left the baby rabbit. I fully expected to find its lifeless body and I was relieved with the place was empty. The wildlife rehabilitator had emphatically declared that the rabbit would be dead within 24 hours if it had even the smallest wound because of the bacteria a cat carries. So whether the rabbit wandered off or was carried off by a predator, I’m quite sure it didn’t make it. I was glad that at least I didn’t have to find its dead body.
A couple of days ago I put out more orange halves for the Orioles. I stuck them to the birdfeeder pole. EJ and I have rarely seen orioles in our lives so it’s an utter delight to be able to enjoy them now. We both agreed that we have had more oriole sightings in the last week than we have in all the other years combined. I couldn’t help but take photos. The photos aren’t great–I had to take it through the window screen or dirty-ish window. Plus, I don’t think my current camera is quite as good as my previous ones.
This afternoon EJ’s friend-since-high school came to visit for a few hours. We refer to him as Hannah’s favorite uncle because she adores him. She always cuddles next to him on the couch and follows him around. It’s really cute.
Yesterday Hannah must have eaten something that disagreed with her. We try to Hannah-proof our house, but she’s always finding things to eat. This afternoon I caught her coming out of our bathroom with several Kleenexes in her mouth. She had taken them out of the pocket I had hanging in there. If I don’t put my purse out of reach, she gets into it and eats sales receipts and other papers. A few weeks ago, she got a stick of butter off the counter…and a hot pad. I suspect she eats everything because she was starved before we adopted her. I can only imagine what she ate to survive! Anyway, she ate something she shouldn’t have and then vomited all over our couch cushion. It dripped down onto the floor. It was gross. I cleaned the vomit up, and then washed the cushion in the bathtub, and then I sprayed it with pet odor/stain remover. It was rainy-ish yesterday so I hung the cushion where it could drip-dry in the tub. Today was sunny so I took the still-wet cushion outside to dry. It dried much quicker in the sun and breeze than in the bathroom.
I’ve encountered a large raccoon several times lately when I’ve gone out at twilight to shut the chickens in their coop. This evening I encountered it again. This time it was in the garden. It scrambled up a fence post when it saw me and stood there looking at me. I called, “I see you!” and it scrambled down the post and quickly climbed a tree at the edge of the forest. Every now and then, it would pause and peer around the trunk. Each time it did so, I called out, “I see you!” and it would climb a little higher. Finally, it sat in the fork in the tree and looked down at me. I shut the chickens in their coop and then hurried into the house for my camera. EJ went back outside with me. The light was fading so I couldn’t get a good photo. You can just see the raccoon’s head a little above the fork in the tree. The first photo I tried taking, the flash went off, and the photo was scarier. It looked like there was a goblin in the tree:
Yesterday I finished a unicorn amigurumi. I made it with sparkly yarn to add a touch of magic to it. Now I’m working on a Winter Snow Dragon for a customer. I really enjoy making animals/dolls. I always feel as if I am bringing them to life.
You can find these and other creations at my e-store, Terics Treasures.
Life & Death
I had a lot of fun watching the bluebirds build their nests this morning. I do think that we actually have two pairs of bluebirds in our birdhouses. The ones in the house at the corner of the deck is especially fun to watch because they are so close, although I’m concerned we will scare them off when we go outside. I didn’t get much crocheting done because I kept trying to photo a bluebird with its beak full of stuff for the nest. Usually by the time I saw it, and focused my camera on it, it was already in the nest. However, I did get a few photos:
I was looking through the viewfinder of my camera when I saw a very vividly colored bird land near the birdhouse. I thought at first it was the male bluebird, but then I got a clearer look at it and realized it was an oriole! After it flew away, I cut an orange in half and stuck it on a nail on a post. It wasn’t long before the oriole noticed it and began eating it. It ate from it for quite awhile!
The propane guy arrived today to fill our tank. We were astonished when he backed all the way up our long, steep driveway. All the other guys have driven the propane truck forward up the driveway. It’s not like we don’t have plenty of room for them to turn around up near the house. When we walked down to get the mail later, we found that the truck and knocked over a t-post, and gone off to the side of the driveway in several places, making deep ruts and crushing the rock dams and plants that we had put there to stop erosion. It was very disheartening because we have spent several years and a lot of money and effort shoveling dump truck loads of gravel and soil along the driveway, building rock dams, and planting plants to stop the erosion. The ruts will provide a canal for the rain water to run down, which the flattened dams and crushed plants will no longer stop. Sigh. I wrote the company an email later to tell them that we liked their company and service, but please tell their delivery guy(s) not to try to back up our driveway!!!! I mean, that’s just ridiculous.
It was a beautiful sunny day–warm, but not too warm–so after EJ left for work, I planted wildflower and sunflower seeds.
While I was planting the sunflowers along the fence, I spotted Miss Madeline Meadows, our serial killer cat, on the hill with a victim. I hurried toward her and when she saw me, she released it, and it quickly flew away. It was a pileated woodpecker. I think it was a young-ish one because it looked smaller than the ones we usually see.
Later in the early evening, I looked out the window and saw Madeline trotting past the house with a rabbit in her mouth. I quickly slipped on my shoes and ran out. I was able to rescue the young rabbit. It was injured but didn’t appear to be near death. I felt responsible for it since I had rescued it, but I didn’t know what to do with it. I scooped it up in a bucket and took it down the driveway and put it near a tree in an area where we have seen rabbits before. But it just stood there frozen. I didn’t know if that was where its burrow was or if it would attract predators, so I picked it back up and put it back in the bucket. I carried it up to the house and made a little nest for it in a cat carrier where it would be safe. I didn’t know what to feed it or how to care for its wounds. I finally searched the Internet for a local animal rehabilitator. I called the number and explained that I rescued a little rabbit from a cat and I didn’t know what to do next. The woman told me that the rabbit will be dead within 24 hours. She said that cats have a bacteria that will kill the rabbit if its skin is pierced even the slightest bit. She said that I should just put the rabbit outside where it will be most comfortable and leave it. I felt anguished and tearful as I took the rabbit outside. I left it near a wooden pallet so that that maybe it will be somewhat protected as it dies. Death sucks.
I like that Madeline kills mice, shews, moles, and voles, but I hate when she kills anything else. Of course, she is only acting according to her nature and being the predator that she is. And the truth is that although nature is bursting with wonderful life, it is not as peaceful as we would like to believe. We are also surrounded every day by constant life and death struggles as one critter kills another to survive. I just don’t always have to see it. I would prefer not to see it.
Crikey!
I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
EJ and I spent the day…well, the morning, at least…at TSC buying vegetable seeds. Buying seeds or plants is always fun. We found everything we were looking for except parsnips seeds. I love parsnips! We stopped at the Garden Center at Meijers hoping they would have some but, nope, they didn’t. EJ said he would buy some off the Internet. Although we didn’t find parsnips, we did find a sale on blueberry bushes so we bought several and planted them along the back garden fence.
EJ would eventually like to get the outside cats out of his garage. Miss Madeline Meadows, our sweet serial killer cat, brings her kills into the garage and they start to stink if I don’t get them out in time. And in the winter Annie uses the garage as her litter box because she doesn’t like to go out into the snow.
The previous owners of our house left two wooden doghouses when they moved away. We put one in the coop for the chickens to roost on and in and the other was in the garden area that we expanded last year. It would make a very nice house for the cats. We were going to move it up near the garage to keep it out of the nasty weather with straw bales around it and tarp on top to get it dry and insulated. But I worried about coyotes, cougars, and bobcats. They could always get through the pet door into the garage–like the raccoon does–if they wanted but the dog/cat house seems more accessible outside. So I decided to move it next to the garage inside the garden fence where it would be more protected.
We are still getting frost–last Friday we even had a few flakes of snow mixed in with the rain!–so we can’t plant our garden yet. However, we will be able to plant soon so I figured that I might as well move the dog house today. It had been in the area we had expanded last year. We are going to try planting corn there this year. The doghouse was very difficult to move because it is very solidly built and very heavy. I had to take off the removable roof and then sashay the doghouse, moving first one side and then the other. I couldn’t move it in a direct line to the other side of the garden because there is not enough room between the raised beds, so I had to drag it diagonally away from where I wanted it, through the large gate and back along the fence and in through the little garden gate. It just fit! I was very tired afterward so I took a break in the house before going back out to move the roof.
When I went back outside, Madeline and Annie were already in the doghouse even though it didn’t have a roof! With a lot of effort–I believe the roof is even heavier than the house–I heaved the roof onto the wheelbarrow and wheeled it through the big gate and up to the small gate. It was sideways on the wheelbarrow and wouldn’t fit through the gate so I dragged it off the wheelbarrow and over to the doghouse and then heaved it onto the doghouse. Ugh! It was HEAVY! But I finally got it up and positioned correctly. The cats seem to like it: I saw them out in, around, and on it several times today.
EJ did some maintenance on the lawnmower today. I mowed the lawn after he left. It was the first time I’ve mowed this year.
In spite of the cool weather, Spring is arriving. Every day the trees are greener. We’ve also been enjoying the wild birds building their nests. I’ve watched bluebirds building nests in two different birdhouses. I’m not sure if I’m seeing two different couples or one couple that can’t make up their minds about which house to move into. I would love it they moved into the birdhouse(s) because they are such a beautiful splash of color! I do worry about Madeline getting to them though. We’ve also spotted a rose-breasted grosbeak the other day.
The turkeys have been frequently parading through our property. Even when we don’t see them, we often hear their loud gobble-gobble-gobble echo through the forest. This morning three toms and a hen walked close to the house. The toms put on quite a display as they tried to attract the hen.
When we walked to the mailbox a couple of weeks ago we found a pile of poo in the middle of the driveway. It looked a bit unusual. After our neighbor told us about the bobcats and cougars in our neighborhood, I got to wondering if it was left by one of them so I googled “bobcat scat.” I found an article with photos that looked very much like the poo we found AND the article said that it is common for bobcats to deposit their scat in the center of trails or dusty roads. We found the scat in the middle of our driveway. So, I’d say we definitely have a bobcat in the area.
I feel as if I should start exclaiming, “Crikey!” like Steve Irwin did. JJ and I used to watch his wildlife program years ago. We were shocked and sad when we learned he had died.
Friday EJ and I delivered a hooded unicorn blanket to one of my customers. I’ve also finished making an adorable wizard and an awesome Chinese Dragon. I really enjoy making amigurumi. It feels as if I am bringing the creatures to life. I told EJ this morning that I think God had a lot of fun creating. He asked, “Why do you say that?” I replied, “Because I have a lot of fun creating…and we were made in the image of God.” Here is the wizard and the Chinese Dragon:
You can see these and my other items at my e-store, Terics Treasures.
I’m now working on a unicorn. I will use glittery yarn to make it look magical.
Shifting
Now that I know that there are cougars, bobcats in our area in addition to coyotes and bears, I find myself scrutinizing the forest in hopes of seeing them. Not that I really expect to see any because animals blend into the forest really well. But, you never know….
Sunday evening when EJ and I went out to shut the chickens in their coop, we surprised a very large raccoon along the garden fence. I suspect he had been on his way into or out of the garage. I often find evidence that a raccoon had come into the garage through the pet door–the cats’ food bucket overturned or dragged over to the door, their drinking water dirtied, and so forth. The raccoon quickly scurried off into the forest. I counted the chickens to make sure they were all in the coop, and after I had shut them in safely for the night, EJ and I walked up the hill and peered into the forest, but the raccoon had vanished.
Although we have only eight hens, they give us more eggs than we can use in a week. I had originally planned to sell extra chicken eggs, but I wasn’t sure how to go about advertising. However, now that there are so many buy/sell groups at Facebook, it’s very easy to post items for sale. So far I two people have bought two dozen eggs each, and the family that took our drainage tile and snow fence last weekend said they might buy some of the eggs. We won’t get rich from selling eggs, but the money I get can help a little with the cost of poultry feed.
EJ’s had been working first shift, but his company moved him to second shift starting this week. When they hired him, it was agreed that EJ would eventually work that shift. EJ had worked second shift during most of our married life, and we actually prefer it in many ways. On second shift, EJ doesn’t have to worry about oversleeping, he has a chance to deal with his back pain before work, and if there’s a lot of snow overnight (in the winter), we have time to clear the driveway. Also, EJ doesn’t have to take time off to go to doctor or other appointments.
Of course, every shift has its advantages and disadvantages, and it takes some adjustment to change from one shift to another. I’ll have to get used to EJ being home in the morning instead of the evening. It was rather lonely last evening because I’m so used to EJ being home then. Mostly, we will have to figure out how to handle meals. EJ plans to have a really big breakfast, then a light lunch later, and then his lunch at work. But I usually get out of bed at 7 a.m.-ish, and I eat breakfast as soon as I’ve taken care of all the pets. EJ will probably get up around 10-11 am. He will be ready for breakfast when I am ready for lunch….We will be out of sync until we figure it all out.
On first shift EJ had to get up about 4 a.m., and he usually went to bed at 9 pm. Now he won’t get home from work until around 3:30 a.m. It’s going to be a rough transition for a few days. This weekend he worked at staying up later and later. He managed to stay awake until about 1:30 a.m, but didn’t quite manage to keep awake until 3:30 a.m. I stayed up with him each night to help him keep awake.
Coyotes, Bobcats and Cougars (Oh, My!)
It’s been a tough week in which we tried to help someone and got sucked into a lot of unwanted drama, which strengthened our resolve to keep it out of our lives because it triggers huge stress in our lives, and we have absolutely, positively had enough drama stress!!!
But let’s not talk about that. Let’s move on.
Today was our township’s clean up days, which means that we could take unwanted items/trash to the local waste disposal facility for free. EJ had filled up the Suburban yesterday after he got home from work and we drove the short distance to the facility early this morning. We arrived early enough that there wasn’t a line, but we saw several vehicles–some with trailers some without–loaded up and headed that way as we drove home.
We had a few items that we didn’t want but which were too good to throw away, so I took photos of them yesterday while EJ loaded the Suburban and I posted them for free at local buy/sell groups at Facebook. The items included drainage tile, the snow fence that we had bought for our driveway a couple of years ago but which didn’t work as well as we had hoped, and our old printer that maybe someone with skills could fix. We quickly got a nibble on the tile.
The man, his wife, and their 3-year-old son came this morning to get the tile. They also took the snow fence, as well as some tires/rims. The couple lived just around the corner and down the road a bit so they are our neighbors. They were very nice and we had an enjoyable visit.
This is where it gets interesting.
They told us that they frequently see bobcats and cougars in our area. In fact, the man said that early one morning he saw a bobcat in OUR driveway as he drove past.
They have often encountered bobcats nesting on their property–possibly attracted to their pond. Sometimes when they’ve mowed the lawn, they’ve disturbed bobcats that had been lying n the grass only a few feet away. They’ve also had coyotes and, they said, coywolves (which are coyote/wolf hybrids) come right up near their house. They ended up fencing some of their back yard a couple of years ago when their son was only one year old because they didn’t want to risk him getting attacked.
As if bobcats and coyotes were not enough, they’ve also seen cougars. The man said that one day he heard coyotes chasing something, so he turned to see, expecting that they were hunting a deer. Instead, the coyotes were chasing a cougar. He watched as the cougar turned on the coyotes and tore them to pieces.
The wife said that one time when she pulled into t heir driveway, they were so close–I can’t remember if it was coyotes or a bobcat–that she was afraid to get out of their car.
This is in OUR neighborhood. Wow!
I was aware that we had coyotes–we’ve heard them yipping now and then–and I knew there were bears around, but I didn’t realize that we had cougars and bobcats so close to us. For the last year or so I’ve been telling EJ that I would love to get some trail cams on our property so I could see what wildlife wanders through. Learning about the bobcats, coyotes, and cougars in our area make me even more eager to get them–but we can’t afford it yet. At least I have been warned that they are here so I can be watchful and careful.
I’m really glad we met this family and heard such an amazing story!
Spring Coats
Last week our weather forecast predicted a bit of snow over the weekend, but the snow veered off downstate instead. I sometimes chuckle a bit because when we told people we were moving from southern to northern Michigan, they all said, “Wow! It’s so beautiful up there! But I’d hate to live there in winter!” because of all the snow. We do get quite a bit of snow, of course, and I’m sure there are years of very bad snowstorms, but so far it seems to me that downstate gets more frequent storms of all types in every season. Even when we get a lot of snow in our area, the snowplows are skilled at clearing the roads, so it’s really not that bad. The more snow an area typically gets, the better the workers are at clearing it. Of course, our long steep driveway presents a challenge for us in winter, but we still love where we live!
We actually had nice weather over the weekend, although it was a little cool with temps in the 50s (F). It’s colder today with the highs reaching only into the mid-40s. Over the weekend I wore my lined jacket or hoodie, which at times felt too warm. Today I’m back to wearing my winter coat. I have a pile of coats on top of the washer/dryer in the laundry room so I can switch to a coat that matches the day’s weather: winter coat, winter chore coat, warm jacket, warm hoodie. I also have a pile of footwear: chore boots, nice boots, and sneakers. Once warm weather is here to stay, the coats and boots will be put away until autumn.
We are expecting rain all week. But rain is not snow so I’m ok with it. I actually enjoy rainy days. They feel cozy and cuddly. There is a stiff breeze today and I have been watching birds soaring overhead as I write. The wind is strong enough that they are hardly flapping their wings. It looks as if they are enjoying it.
As soon as EJ got home from work on Friday, we headed over to our propane company because they were offering a special low price for portable propane tank fill ups. We took one of our 25 gallon tanks that we use to fuel our propane heater when we lose our power in the winter. We let Hannah Joy go along with us and she enjoyed the ride.
Saturday morning we took Hannah Joy for another ride…to the veterinarian. It was just a regular appointment to test her for heartworm and parasites. Both her tests were negative so she is in good health. We also bought some heartworm and flea/tick medications to protect her from creepy-crawlies. We were going to get Hannah’s nails clipped as well, but she was stressed from the blood draw and injection so we decided not to stress her further. The veterinarian is the one who cared for Hannah and two other dogs when the animal shelter rescued them from a home where they had been kept outside and starved. She gave Hannah lovings and remarked on how well and happy she looked.
We had considered visiting the grand opening of a new farm store in Traverse City on Sunday but we decided to stay home instead. EJ worked on the vehicles and in his garage while I crocheted. I have another order for a hooded unicorn blanket. I was glad to get a second order because I had forgotten to weight the first one, which is important for calculating shipping. I went as far as I could with the yarn I had, but I have to wait for additional yarn to be delivered. At this time our Suburban has a problem that needs fixing so I can only go to the craft stores on the weekends. Also, sometimes the craft stores don’t have the color of yarn I need so I figure it’s actually cheaper and easier to order exactly the yarn I need on-line and have it shipped to me, especially when there are sales on items and/or shipping.
While I wait for my yarn to arrive (tomorrow), I’ve been working on a couple new items. I made a very cute little cow. I also began a wizard and another dragon. I knew I wouldn’t have enough of the necessary yarn to finish either so I already ordered more. I have the wizard all done except for his hat, and a really good start on the dragon. They are adorable and I can’t wait to share them with you. The dragon reminds me of a Chinese dragon so I’m making him in red and gold. I will call him a fire dragon. He will be added to my collection of dragons. So far I have a winter snow dragon, forest dragon, and lake dragon (Torch Lake Dragon). I have a fondness for dragons and other fairy tale creatures.
In addition to crocheting, yesterday I went out and moved the dogloo in the chicken pen a few feet so that I could start a new compost pile where it had been. Once we get the garden planted, the chickens will no longer be allowed into it. They are so good at scratching up the dirt, including in the compost pile, that I wanted to move the pile from the garden into their pen so they can continue their good work. Plus, they can forage among the vegetable scraps for additional nutrients.
The chickens are laying regularly now. They give us more eggs than we can actually use so this morning I posted an “eggs for sale” ad in a local buy/sell group. We only have eight hens so we won’t ever be able to sell a large number of eggs, but if we can find 1-2 regular customers then the eggs won’t be wasted.
In a recent post, I described how the chickens follow me whenever I go into our fenced-in garden/coop. I took a video of them when I went out one afternoon to give them fresh water and gather their eggs. I always give them cracked corn so I can work without their interference. I really enjoy my chickens.
Every year we have a female turkey or two build their nests on our property. Almost every day we spy one wandering through our property looking for food. This year there is a turkey nesting in the forest. Whenever there is a large noise, I hear her loud gobble-gobble-gobble of alarm echoing through the forest. In the summer, her babies will follow her across our property. I think they are adorable.
This morning I worked on my latest newsletter for my store. In the process, I learned how to make a coupon so I can offer discounts. If you’d like to receive my newsletters, there is a sign up button in the menu at the right of my posts. There are links within the newsletter so you can easily share it with your family or friends. Or you can share the direct link to my Terics Treasures webpage. Your sharing through your emails or social media pages will really help me grow my business. I’d totally appreciate it!
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Passover
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter/Passover!
EJ took last Friday off work. Actually, his regular 40-hour work week is ten hours Monday through Thursday, but the company allows–encourages, actually–employees to work additional days as well so EJ usually works eight hours on Friday. The overtime is very useful in helping us pay down some of our bills.
EJ’s previous company let employees dump their household trash in their large dumpsters for free, but when EJ lost his job last winter (because of health problems), we had to figure out an inexpensive way to get rid of our household trash. We figured out that it was much, much cheaper if we took our trash to the waste company ourselves instead of paying for curbside pickup. Even though EJ now has a job, we continue to take our trash to the waste company ourselves. It’s only a few miles away. With just the two of us, we only have to go once a month or so. We made a trash run on Friday morning.
Afterwards, we drove to the store to buy supplies for Passover. After we returned home, EJ worked on the Xterra while I cleaned the house, crocheted for a bit, and then I prepared our Passover meal.
When I began to study Hebrew about 10-15 years ago, I was exposed to the beautiful Hebraic mindset of the Scriptures. I felt as if my understanding of Scripture and my faith went to a whole new level. I compare it to looking at an everyday item through a microscope. You assume you know what the item looks like, but then you look at it at a deeper level through a microscope and it’s like “Wow! I never knew it looked like that!” If you are interested, here is a You Tube video of items seen through a microscope. It fascinates me.
Anyway, when we began learning Hebrew, we started celebrating Passover instead of Easter. Every item in the Passover meal is deeply and beautifully symbolic and engages all the senses. If you would like to learn more, here is a website that teaches about Passover in a simple, easy-to-understand way:
Why Are Christians Celebrating Passover?
Hannah Joy insists on being involved in all our activities and she tried to climb into my lap during our Passover meal. Finally, though, she settled down under the table. There’s a time in the meal when a child is supposed to go to the door to see if Elijah was there. We didn’t have a child so EJ went to the door. I said to Hannah, “Who’s here?” and she ran to the windows barking. LOL.
Hannah Joy makes us laugh a lot. Danny, our previous dog, was very sweet, gentle, quiet, patient, and very polite. Hannah is sweet, but she is definitely not patient nor quiet nor polite. When she wants something, she wants it NOW and she lets us know it in no uncertain terms. She can look a bit ferocious when she’s insisting we give her want she wants, but she’s actually just communicating with her various growls, barks, and other noises. If I don’t move fast enough, she will put her head under my lap table to upset it, or try to grab my crochet pattern, or even pull my blanket off me. I took this video of her last week. She wanted outside and I was videoing her instead. LOL.
Saturday we had a quiet day. I spent a couple of hours organizing my craft eyes by size in the tackle box I “stole” from EJ a few years ago. I labeled the sizes so I can more easily see what I have and reorder when I get low.
Sunday we delivered a crocheted item to a customer. Afterwards we stopped at a couple of grocery stores to post Terics Treasures signs on their community boards. When we got home, EJ worked a bit more on the Xterra while I spent the afternoon figuring out how to add a few things to my Terics Treasures website–such as another payment method and links on this blog (at right) and on my website to sign up to my e-store newsletter. In the newsletters, there are links to share my newsletter, website, and Facebook page. I’d really appreciate if you’d share them with anyone you know who might be interested in my products. I’m trying to “grow” my business to help supplement our income.
Sunday afternoon I spotted Miss Madeline Meadows, our sweet serial killer cat, trotting past the windows with a large chipmunk in her mouth. I am glad when she kills mice, voles, moles, and shrews, but I hate when she kills anything else. I figured the chipmunk was dead, but EJ suddenly exclaimed that it had escaped so I ran out to distract Madeline so the chipmunk would have time to get to safety. At first I couldn’t see either the cat or the chipmunk, but then I spied Madeline sitting not far away (with no chipmunk) on a fallen tree. With her coloring, she blends right in with the forest trees and dead leaves. Yesterday I found the bodies of two rodents–one inside the garage and one just outside the garage. I couldn’t tell if they were mice or shrews, but I didn’t mind that she had killed them. Mice carry disease and I’ve read that they will nibble off the toes of chickens while they sleep at night. And shrews are venemous.
Often at this time of year I see a lone female turkey wandering in our property. I’m sure she has a nest nearby and is just taking a break to eat. We saw Madeline stalking the hen. I don’t think Madeline is any match for the turkey. When we first moved here our dog Danny disturbed a Mama Turkey and she ferociously chased him away. However, I do worry about the babies when they hatch. I hope the Mama sets Madeline a firm boundary if Madeline tries anything.
Monday morning, I saw that the high temperature was forecasted to reach up near 80 degrees! So I got out the screens and inserted them into the windows. Once the temps rose into the 60s, I turned off the furnace and opened all the windows for the first time this year! Whoo hoo!
Today it is cloudy and rainy. The temps are forecasted to reach only 49 degrees so the windows will remain closed and the furnace is back on.
Chicken Run
Our weather was a bit wacky this last week. It began to snow last Sunday afternoon. On Monday morning, we woke to a beautiful snow-covered ground and trees. Here are photos I took:
By Monday evening the snow had disappeared. The temperatures warmed throughout the week. Yesterday evening we had rain rat-tat-tatting on our roof. It looks like rain again today.
I love each of Michigan’s seasons. Autumn’s colors are breathtaking and there is an vigorating chill in the air. Winter is magical when the landscape is clothed in white and the wildlife comes close to the house to eat from the birdfeeders. Spring is exciting when the plants begin to poke above the ground and the flowers bloom. It’s wonderful to work in the garden during the Summer and to enjoy green leaves, beautiful wildflowers, campfires, t-shirts and shoes instead of coats and boots. Of course, Winter is challenging because of our long, steep driveway that we have to keep snow-blowed. Warmer months are challenging because the creepy-crawlies wake up.
Since yesterday I have encountered three wolf spiders. One was right up on the threshold of our front door. They especially seem to like snuggling right up to the bottom of the door, which means that if I open the door, they are likely to drop inside the house. When I saw the spider as I stepped onto the porch, I grabbed a straight-edged shovel to move it away. I wasn’t deliberately trying to kill it but it left behind some of its legs when it hobbled off. Probably to die. Oh, well. I know there are spider-lovers out there, but I am not one of them. I figure there are billions and billions to the nth power of spiders in the world, and they will not become extinct if I kill a few. I let them live if they remain outside, but I kill them if they are in the house. Or near the house. Or on me. Or in my personal space. A few hours later, a second spider dropped down from the ceiling onto the porch when I opened the door to go outside. I thought, “Great! Now I have to be alert for spiders falling from the ceiling!” I’d have had to walk over the spider so I quickly shut the door, found my spider spray, and then when out and sprayed it until it was dead. I saw a third spider lurking near the door inside the house in our entrance hallway this morning. It was small. I stomped on it. I have put traps in strategic places throughout the house to lure creepy-crawlies to their deaths. I have to be careful now with sprays because, for some reason, Hannah Banana likes to try to lick the places where I have sprayed. We can’t have that! So I bought pet-safe traps and put them in out-of-reach places around the house–like inside cabinets, under furniture, and in closets.
Last weekend–I think it was Saturday–I had sort of a chicken misadventure. About 4 pm each afternoon, I go out to give the chickens fresh water and gather their eggs. The chickens always run up to me when they see me coming. Fun Fact: I’ve read that chickens consider the humans who care for them as honorary members of the flock. If a rooster believes his human to be lower in the pecking order, he will try to boss the human around. I think this is what happens when roosters are mean–they consider themselves to be dominant and they are trying to get the human “in line.” When my roosters were chicks, I made sure to establish my dominance–I would occasionally “nudge” them with my cane when they fluffed their feathers and got sassy–so my roosters consider me Chicken Leader One and they are quite nice.
Anyway, when the chickens crowd the gate, it is a bit tricky to get through it–I have to shuffle through the gate so I don’t step on any of the chickens crowding around me while carrying the egg basket and bucket of water, and then get the gate closed again before any chickens get out. I’ve never had a problem with them escaping–until Saturday. Sassy, our primary rooster, squeezed by me before I could get the gate closed. Chickens like to be with the rest of their flock so all I had to do was open the gate and steer him in the right direction and he would go right back in…except all the other chickens were crowding the gate so when I held it open for Sassy, a hen escaped. Now I had two “free” chickens. I couldn’t keep the gate open for Sassy and the hen without letting more escape so I ran inside the house, shouted to EJ that I needed his help, and ran back out to make sure Sassy and the hen didn’t wander too far away. When EJ joined me, I stood near the garden gate while he walked toward the escaped chickens. They ran toward the gate, I opened it, and in they went. Easy peasy.
The chickens always put themselves to bed in their coop when twilight descends. I simply go out and make sure they are all inside and then I close their little door so they are safe from nighttime predators. Usually Sassy and six of the hens roost on top of the TSC coop inside the shed while Captain and his two hens roost inside it. I feel like Mr. Tweedie in the Pixar movie Chicken Run when I shine my flashlight at them to count them to make sure they are all in. Sunday evening when I went to the coop, I counted only eight chickens. I was heading out of the coop to see if I could find the missing chickens when I heard a loud clucking as if one was saying, “Here we are!” We have three dog houses in various places outside so the chickens can run into them for safety if there are predators around. Fortunately, the crows in our Enchanted Forest chase away flying predators. I saw two crows driving off a hawk a few days ago.
Anyway, Captain Ame-roo-ca, our second rooster had gone into the dogloo with a hen when it started snowing and they didn’t want to walk through the snow later to go into the coop. My chickens hate snow. The hen came up to me when I neared the dogloo so I picked her up and took her into the coop. However, Captain didn’t want to leave the dogloo. I had to get out my rubber-footed cane, which I use like a shepherd’s staff, to reach in and nudge him out of the coop. It took a bit, but he finally came out. He ran across the snow and got into the storage part of the coop where we keep the food and straw. However, Sassy, our primary rooster, was standing in the door way to the chicken part of the coop and Captain didn’t want to go past him. Instead, he flapped up on top of a straw bale. I picked him up, took him into the coop past Sassy, and set him on top of the doghouse in the coop.
I told EJ that I always feel a deep sense of contentment when the chickens are all settling down in their coops in the evening. It such a cozy, homey feeling. In fact, it is very “warm fuzzy” to have the chickens run up to me when they see me. It’s often very difficult to walk in their area because they walk along with me, even stepping on my feet. I like chickens. They are interesting.
My e-store website is hosted by Bluehost. Woocommerce is a related company that sets up the store plugins–the shopping cart and payment and shipping options, and things like that. Constant Contact is another related company that helps a person grow his/her e-business by helping with contact forms, contact lists, and emails/newsletters. I talked to a person from Constant Contact yesterday because I wasn’t really sure exactly how to get started with them. The woman was very helpful (I have found Bluehost, Woocommerce, and Constant Contact support people to be awesome.) She explained how they can help ME. She set up an awesome newsletter/email for me so I could share my news and products with people and she explained how to set up and edit their various templates. My first newsletter/email has links to my e-store products, links to sign up for emails, as well as links so people can share it with others on various social media. I think it looks amazing and professional. Take a look:
The Constant Contact woman told me that she helps many people grow their businesses. Right now, craft businesses (like mine) are doing very well. She thought my items were beautiful/cute and very well photographed. “I’ve seen many craft products that aren’t photographed well, but yours look great!” She also asked me who designed my website. I said, somewhat sheepishly, “I did!” She said, “Oh! Wow! Well, you will certainly have no trouble using our services.” She made me feel very encouraged and proud of my accomplishments. She made me feel like “I can do this!” I am so thankful for these support people who are helping me set up my store. I couldn’t do it without them.
Well, I’ve got to go back to work!
Hannah Joy’s Game
The weather this week has been very, uh, variable. Last weekend temperatures reached 70 (F) degrees! It was so warm that I went outside without a coat and I wore shoes (instead of boots) for the first time this year! Woo hoo! Tuesday the weather cooled and became increasingly cold. Yesterday it snowed. About an inch, I’d guess. It was just enough to cover everything in white again. I’ve had to put my coat and boots back on when I went outside. Today it is raining. But, hey, it’s no surprise: during April in Michigan the weather tends to get a little crazy.
During the mornings and evenings, as the sun begins to rise or descend, it often touches the tops of the trees, making them shine with a golden light that is extremely beautiful. It makes me feel as if my forest really is enchanted. It was so especially beautiful one morning this week that I ran outside with my camera. The camera can’t capture just how truly beautiful it is, but it does give a glimpse.
The magical golden light only lasts for a few minutes. And then suddenly–poof!–the light is gone as if it has been switched off.
Our Hannah Joy is such an intelligent, funny, quirky dog. She loves to play “Fetch” with us, but she has developed her own version of the game. She likes to place her ball in various places near us: On our laps or legs, to the right or left of our recliners, in front of our recliners, hidden in our blankets, in the end table drawer where I keep the yarn for my current project, under the end table…When she has placed her ball, she backs up to sit on the rug and wait for us to throw it to her. Many times she is so quiet and sneaky that we aren’t even aware that she has put her ball somewhere until she barks sharply and looks at us expectantly. Sometimes she is so clever at where she has put her ball, that it takes us a moment to find it. I made a point of photographing her and her ball this week so you could see:
Hannah Joy keeps us laughing. I don’t know what we’d do without her!
Inside and Out
One misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather
I met with an old man a-clothed all in leather
He was clothed all in leather with a cap beneath his chin
Singing how do you do and how do you do and how do you do again
That nursery rhyme is on my mind this morning because I woke up to a misty, moisty morning with fog shrouding the distant hill. We’ve had some warm days–yesterday the temperature reached to near 70!–and our snow is long gone, except for the patch of ice just outside the back garage door. Even the snow on the hills across the road is almost gone. Their snow always lingers a long time after ours has melted because they live on a north facing hill.
I thought this cozy, misty, foggy morning would be a good time to write as I drink my coffee.
Last week I found a few moments here and there to make business cards that I can give to people who show an interest in my products when I am crocheting in waiting rooms or delivering finished items to a customer at her company. Avery, which sells blank cards and labels, will either professionally design and/or print business cards, labels, etc., for people at their website or they let people use their templates to design and print them themselves. I, of course, printed the business cards myself to cut costs. I think they turned out quite well. I put some in my purse and gave some to EJ because sometimes he tells his co-workers about my work.
Using the templates from a photo program that came with my Canon camera, I made signs that I can hang up at local stores. I printed off my actual business cards on business card sheets that Avery sells, but I also printed off the business cards on regular paper. I will cut them apart and staple them to my signs so people can tear them off if they are interested. (I used my computer’s snipping tool to copy the sign to share here and it makes it look blurrier than it really is.)
It’s not entirely comfortable for me to promote my work, but I know I have to do it in order to build my business. I think that setting prices for my products is even more difficult than promoting my business. It’s difficult for me to place a value on what I do. I don’t want to over-charge but my friend tells me I don’t charge enough. I know that handcrafted items are expensive, but the creator has to charge enough to pay for all the supplies used in making the item–including yarn, stuffing, eyes/noses, and shipping supplies. And we have to make some profit. I sell items to supplement our income. I calculated that if I charge $30 for an item that takes me three days to make, subtracting the cost of supplies, I make less than $10 per day. Not many people would be willing to work for so little. I do it because I really enjoy the creativity, working at home, and being my own boss. In addition to my crocheting, I can take care of the house, the chickens, the garden, and other tasks. Plus, Hannah Joy is such a cuddle bunny that I think she couldn’t handle being alone every day.
On Thursday I finished the adorable bunny that my customer ordered. We delivered it to her at her workplace on Saturday morning. I enjoy making crocheted animals and dolls. I always feel as if I am bringing them to life. 🙂
I couldn’t begin the customer’s unicorn blanket until I could get to the store to buy yarn, so after I finished the bunny I quickly made a crocheted dog to resemble our Hannah Joy. I’ve been wanting to do it for quite some time. It’s just a simple representation of her, but I think it’s rather cute. I am using it as a profile picture at my Facebook page.
EJ’s regular work week is four 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday. However, he can sign up to work overtime, so he usually works eight hours on Friday. He gets home about 3 pm on Fridays. This last Friday we left as soon as he arrived home to run some errands. We first went to a farm store on the other side of the city to buy two big 40 lbs bags of cat food. We were almost out. We store our cat and dog food in big plastic trash cans in our pantry.
Next, we went to Hobby Lobby to buy the yarn for the unicorn blanket I am making for my customer. The pattern called for Hobby Lobby’s own brand of yarn called “I Love This Yarn.” Yarn comes in different “weights”: #2 is a very fine yarn for making items like socks, #3 is great for baby items, #4 is a medium weight used for most projects, and #5 and #6 is bulky or chunky for larger projects. Even yarn of the same weight has different softness or are a bit smaller than others. The type of yarn used can affect the size or softness of the blanket. I never shopped at a Hobby Lobby until just a month ago when they opened a store in Traverse City. I usually like to buy yarn that I can find anywhere–like Red Heart, Caron, or Bernat–but I just bought the specified yarn because I wasn’t familiar with the texture of “I Love This Yarn” and didn’t know what would be a comparable yarn in a familiar brand. I bought a pretty soft pink “I Love This Yarn” that is soft and which I think has a sort of light poofiness to it.
On the way home we made a brief stop at the grocery store and we also stopped at an auto parts store so EJ could buy some belts for the Xterra. He worked on the Xterra Sunday. He told me that as he worked, he could hear the birds singing, and sandhill cranes and geese flying overhead. It was very pleasant.
I spent Sunday morning cleaning the house and then I went outside to rake a winter’s supply of Hannah’s poop from the yard to the sides of the driveway. I think it will enrich the ground there to help stop erosion. When we first moved to our house, we found deep gullies along and across our driveway that had been caused by erosion. Our first summer here, we shoveled (by hand) more than 90 yards of gravel, stones, and dirt into the gullies. I have used potato stones (stones the size of potatoes) to build–and rebuild–dams along the driveway to slow the rush of erosion-causing rainwater, and I have been planting flowers along the driveway to hold the soil. I am winning the erosion war, but it takes yearly maintenance.
In a few weeks it will be time to start working in the garden. Until we get the garden planted, the chickens are free to wander in it. Every time I go out to the back yard, I admire how their scratchings are preparing the ground. In my photos, you can see the difference between the ground outside the fence and the ground inside the fence where the chickens have been at work. I’m eager to start caring for the garden, but it’s too risky. Despite the Spring-like weather, we are expecting some snow on Thursday and we can get frost into May.
Even though it’s too early to plant the garden, I can spot tulips, daffodils, and lilies beginning to poke their heads above the ground. That is always exciting.
The Cleaner
Last night I was able to finish the last of several items that a customer had ordered so EJ and I delivered it to her this morning. I worked at adding a few more products to my Terics Treasures store this afternoon. Then I saw that a customer had sent me photos of a cute little bunny and a unicorn blanket and asked if I could make them for her. I was able to find the patterns on the Internet so I’ll begin working on them this week. It will require a trip to a craft store to buy more yarn. I have coupons for Joann Fabrics–if I can keep Hannah Joy from getting into my purse and eating the coupons. She has been guilty of doing it before. She’s such a pit-pocket!
I often watch a program on Netflix or Amazon Prime while I crochet. It gives my mind something to do while my hands are busy. If I find a really interesting series or movie, EJ and I watch it together when he is home in the evenings or weekends. I have found some really good programs, like The Man in the High Castle, Longmire, and The Blacklist. We just finished watching The Blacklist on Friday evening. From The Blacklist, I learned about cleaners, which are people who clean up crime scenes when the investigation is finish. One of the characters in The Blacklist was Mr. Kaplan, a cleaner who cleaned up for criminals, making it appear that no crime/murder had been committed.
On Saturday, we watched a four-part series based on the book, Watership Down. Watership Down is a story about rabbits, but not a documentary or children’s story. Replace the rabbits with humans and you’d have a nail-biting story about a search for a new home and escape from an oppressive regime.
Ok. so who really cares about what EJ and I are watching on Netflix? I told you because it relates to what happened yesterday. Sort of.
We were in the middle of watching Watership Down yesterday when I had to pause the program and go out to give the chickens fresh water and gather their eggs. The fastest route to the coop is through our attached garage. Just inside the human-sized garage door, I found the headless body of a rabbit. And its head. Another murder by Miss Madeline Meadows, our sweet serial killer cat. She tends to bring her kills into the garage and I often find dead bodies. I’m glad when she kills vermin like mice, voles, moles, and shrews, but I hate it when she kills anything else. Like rabbits. I don’t know how she manages to bring large rabbits–her size or bigger–up the driveway and through the pet door into the garage. I don’t ask and she’s not telling.
Anyway, the body took me by surprise and I gasped. The dead rabbit seemed especially horrifying because we were in the middle of watching Watership Down with its rabbits and beautiful scenery.
I thought, “I will take care of the rabbit after I take care of the chickens.” So I continued on my way to the coop. The coop is a shed (12 x 10 if I remember correctly), and inside it is a nice coop we bought at TSC and a well-built doghouse that the previous owners of our house left behind. The chickens like to roost in or on top of them.
I walked into the coop/shed and immediately saw this long pale thing on top of the gray TSC coop. It sort of looked like a flesh-colored carrot….or a rooster toe. In horror, I tried to tell myself that I should rake the thing–the toe–outside but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t. I felt like vomiting and tried not to look at it or even think about it.
I went back inside the house and told EJ about it. I bargained, “I’ll take care of the rabbit body if you take care of the rooster toe.” He agreed. We went out through the garage together, and while he continued on to the coop, I got a shovel, scooped up the rabbit body and its detached head, and walked around the garden/chicken fence to the back of the property where I tossed it down into the ravine. It’s where I dump all Madeline’s bodies.
I put the shovel back in the garage. EJ met me there and said he couldn’t find any rooster toe. I’m thinking, “How could you miss it?” We walked to the coop together while I described where the toe was located. He said, “That? That’s not a toe! That’s a broken egg!” A hen had laid an egg there and it somehow got broken and stretched out so it looked like a chicken toe. I felt both very stupid and extremely relieved that it wasn’t what I thought it was. Whew!
As we walked back into the house, I said to EJ, “You realize that I am Miss Madeline Meadow’s cleaner, right? I take care of the bodies of the critters she kills. I clean her crime scene.” Someday, someone is going to come across a pile of bones where I dumped the bodies and they will wonder what on earth happened.
Life in the country isn’t all gentle and peaceful. Sometimes it involves real headless rabbits and imagined rooster toes.
Early Spring
I wrote my last post on March 18. I haven’t meant to ignore you all, dear followers. I have been very busy crocheting from morning till evening. I had to make a Torch Lake Monster and six dolls–three girls and three boys–for a customer before Easter. The six dolls have the hair and eye color of her grandchildren with clothes in their favorite colors. The pattern I used was for a girl doll only but I adapted it to make the boys. I think they turned out rather cute.
I still have to make a bib, bonnet, booties set, but I’m taking time to write as I drink my morning coffee.
The dolls used up most of my smaller eyes so I’ve had to order more. My usual on-line source seems to be wonky. They are out of some of the colors and my payment doesn’t go through. I wonder if they are shutting down the site? Whatever, I’ve had to look elsewhere. I think I found a better source–more eyes for less money. Sometimes I feel sort of like a fairy tale witch because I live in a forest, grow herbs in my garden, have black cats, and have a collection of eyes and a few noses.
Once I get my current orders finished, I hope to spend a little time setting up more of my e-store. I have it basically set up, but there is still more I’d like to understand and do.
Spring has sprung! Ok, so there is snow in the forecast for this weekend but the daytime temperatures have been warmer, the sun feels stronger, and most of the snow on the ground has melted. Best of all, the driveway is no longer snow-covered or icy so I don’t have to worry about our vehicles getting stuck in the snow or me falling on the ice and breaking a bone when Hannah Joy and I walk down to get the mail.
I haven’t yet gotten around to putting away the bird feeders, but I have stopped filling them because, uh, you know: Bears. Although I’ve never seen any bears, I’ve heard reports of bears in the area. They are attracted to food sources–like bird feeders–so I make sure to stop feeding birds and other critters before the bears wake up in the Spring. I hate when I have to stop because I love to watch the animals–the non-bear ones–up close. They stay hidden in the forest during the warm months when there is no food to draw them out.
Last week I mucked out the chicken coop. It’s hard work shoveling out the winter’s accumulation of dirty straw. It packs down and actually provides insulation during the winter. Or so I hear. In the Spring I use a hoe, flat-edged shovel, and rake to chop, push, and pull it out. It comes up in layers like an old carpet. It’s hard work and I can only keep at it for about an hour or two at a time. I spent about 2 1/2 hours over two days cleaning out the coop. Then I spread fresh straw in it. The chickens happily spread it around.
The chickens hate cold and snow so they don’t venture out in the winter. With the nicer Spring days, however, they have come out of the coop. It’s nice to see them wandering around the garden once again. Once we get the garden planted in early May, we will have to shut the gate so they can’t get in and kill the plants with their scratching. The fence encloses both the garden coop and we can close a gate between them so the chickens can’t get into the garden section. However, until we get the garden planted, they are welcome to roam through it. Their scratching in the dirt actually helps prepare the garden for planting. 🙂
With the chickens outside, I can hear their cluckings and crowings. I don’t know why people complain about roosters crowing. I think the sound evokes a sort of warm nostalgic feeling of days gone by–sort of like Norman Rockwell paintings or like the picture at the right.
The chickens have begun laying eggs again. Searching for their eggs each day is a bit like an Easter egg hunt. EJ has a guy at work who wants to buy a dozen every week. Our eight hens provide more eggs than EJ and I can eat so it’s nice to be able to sell the extras. At $2 a dozen, we won’t get rich, but it might help a little with the cost of poultry feed. I supposed that if more people wanted our eggs, we could get more chickens, which would require more feed. I think that I’m content with the chickens we have.
EJ’s birthday was last Wednesday. When I asked, he said that there wasn’t anything he wanted for a gift. He said that if he ever wanted anything, he can just buy it. However, early Wednesday afternoon I drove down our snowless, iceless, and nontreacherous driveway to the local grocery store and bought him a cheesecake and some candles. I thought about buying a small carton of Moomer’s ice cream, which is made locally and is the BEST ice cream EVER with flavors like “Carrot Cake” and “Blueberry Cheesecake” Mmmmm! However, we have to watch our health so I figured the cheesecake was enough. EJ agreed–too much sugar causes him to “crash.” Plus, it’s easier to resist temptation if I don’t have any Moomer’s at all. If I eat any, I think, “Oh, my goodness! This is DELICIOUS!” And then I want more and more and even more. So I just pretend that Moomer’s doesn’t exist. It’s sort of like doing a Jedi mind trick on myself. I tell myself, “This isn’t the ice cream you are looking for” and I walk right past the freezer in the store.
Last night when I went out to shut the chickens safely in their coop, I saw a huge fire burning a few hills beyond our back property line. Concerned, I went in and got EJ to come out so he could determine if it was the beginning of a forest fire or someone’s huge bonfire. He saw it and yelped, “Holy Cow!” because the fire was so big. He stood and watched it awhile, and then determined that it was people either having a bonfire or burning a pile of brush. He could hear voices and the sound of a tractor out there. The fire was so large that it looked as if it could easily get out of control, especially if the people didn’t make sure it was completely out when they went to bed. However, while we can see smoke rising this morning, our house is still safely standing.
Well….I’ve got to get back to work!
With Special Care
Sunday EJ and I delivered the Big Foot, Yeti, and unicorn to my most frequent local customer. She has really kept me busy with orders. I think she has ordered about seven of my creatures, and all the baby items on my site were originally made for her soon-to-be-born grandbaby. As we handed over the latest order, she asked for a Torch Lake Monster, a bib/bonnet/booties set, and six dolls for her grandchildren.
This customer really keeps me happily busy. And she is an amazing motivator and supporter. I wasn’t planning to make baby items, but when I delivered the first couple orders to her, she asked if I made blankets. I said no because they take too long to make, and use too much material, and cost a lot of money to buy. But she asked, “Will you make me a baby blanket?” I thought, well, why not? A baby blanket is small. And then she said, “Will you make me baby outfits….? And that is how I started making baby items. I actually really enjoy it. Now this woman is asking me to make dolls. We’ve searched the Internet for patterns she liked. They will eventually make it into my store.
I have other friends who have sent me patterns to make for them, or bought me books of patterns because they wanted me to make some of the items for them, or from customers who have asked me to make special requests for them. They have stirred up my creativity in ways I’ve never imagined.
Anyway…The customer told me that the woman who used to do all her crocheting for her died a few years ago. She’s been searching for six years for someone to make crochet items for her but she didn’t like their work. However, she said, she loves my work. I felt humbled and thankful.
I have a label I include with each order that says “This Item was Handmade with Special Care Just for You.” Sometimes my local customers tell me who they are giving the items to, and as I make each item, I think of its recipient–a precious baby, a small child, an old uncle–and I make the item with them in mind.
So, after we delivered the items on Sunday, EJ drove me around to the various craft stores trying to find the color I needed for the dolls. EJ is my amazing hero support: He encourages me in my endeavors and willingly takes me where I need to go without a word of complaint. Not only that, but on the weekends he does most of the cooking so I can keep crocheting. He is amazing.
None of the three craft stores we stopped at had the right color yarn so when we got home, I just ordered yarn off the Internet. While I wait for the yarn to arrive, I will be working on the Torch Lake Monster and bib set.
I took time today to work on my store. I already know how to set up a WordPress blog, but setting up the business part of it had me stymied so I called the Bluehost/Wordpress support for help. They had included help setting up the site as part of their services. I was on the phone with the support guy for about two hours this afternoon as he helped me install various plug-ins and iron out bugs. I never could have done it without him. He was very patient and helpful. Toward the end, he put items in my store shopping cart to make sure everything was working right. He said, “Do you make all these things yourself? Your items are amazing!” He told me that he was bookmarking my site because he thought his wife and children would love my items. I thought that was funny. And very encouraging.
I still have things to do and tweak at my store, but it is now active. You can take a look at it if you would like. It’s at tericstreasures.com
We’ve lived in Northern Michigan for almost four years now, and I think that three of those years I’ve received a jury summons. I think I must get summoned so often because there is such a low population in our county. Although that doesn’t explain why EJ has NEVER gotten a summons. I think that in all my life, I have gotten eight or nine or maybe even ten summons, although I’ve never had to serve, while EJ has only ever gotten one. ONE in his entire life!
So, any I got my Jury summons last summer and a month or so ago, I was mailed my group number and told that my day to serve was on March 19 and I was to call the courthouse the evening before–that’s tonight–to see if I had to serve. I was sort of dreading it because, even though it’s a privilige and a right, I’m have so much to do! About 5:30 p.m., I braced myself as I called the Jury phone number. The recording said that the case had been settled so I would not have to go in tomorrow. Woo! I danced around, feeling like I did when I was a kid and school had been canceled because of a snowstorm.
Tomorrow I will crochet. And maybe tweak my sites a bit.
Coming Soon
Hear that?
Do you hear that sound of hammering, banging, and pounding? Do you smell the sawdust and fresh paint? Do you see the boxes getting unpacked and products being loving arranged on the newly built shelves?
That’s me setting up my new store.
Not literally, of course. I have no physical location or building. My store is an e-store, located only on the internet. But in my imagination, I am hammering, pounding, painting, building shelves, and lovingly arranging my products on the shelves.
My store is a WordPress website, but my Landlord is Bluehost. They connect my site to the Internet. Although I’m familiar and comfortable with regular WordPress features, I am not familiar with the business features so I have a lot to learn in setting up the business parts–like the payment and shipping options. I have to write a description of my business, FAQs, policies, and so forth. It also takes a lot of time to list each product. I have to take photos of my items and upload them, decided on pricing, weigh and measure items for shipping. I would like to make business cards to give to people I meet who are interested in my store. For example, when I delivered the last of the baby items to my customer at the hospital where she worked, people in the waiting room saw them and asked about them. I gave them the name of my Facebook page, but it would have been better to give them a card with the information on it.
I was contacted by a Bluehost sister business on Friday who said they will help me handle a contact list and form, newsletters, emails, and things like that. They will also help me with marketing tips. The guy I talked to said he would give a photo of one of my creations to their graphic design people to make up a logo for me.
There is a lot more to setting up a store than a person might imagine. My website is not yet “active,” but I’m working as hard as I can to set everything up so I can open its doors soon. I imagine myself standing in the middle of the chaos and thinking with excitement: “This store is MINE. It’s real.” It’s deeply satisfying.
I work on my store in between crocheting to fulfill orders. I just finished a Big Foot, Yeti, and Unicorn for a local customer. We will deliver them later this morning. As I finished up her items, she ordered more items. I am kept constantly busy.
On Wednesday another local customer who told me that her little grandson is having surgery on Tuesday. The hospital said he could take on toy with him so she wanted to give him a Torch Lake Monster. She lives an hour or two north of me but she said that she and her husband would be passing through my area the next day on their way home from out-of-state. I literally worked all night long to complete the monster. I think I finished it at about 6 a.m. Fortunately I had a Netflix series to keep me awake as I worked. When the grandparents called to tell me they were about getting close, I walked down the driveway with the monster. I didn’t want them to attempt to drive up the very icy driveway. As I walked home, I met EJ arriving home. He parked the Xterra in its spot and then walked down to wait with me. When the grandparents pulled up alongside the road, we handed over the monster. They said they tell everyone about my items, and they plan to order more to give to their other grandchildren. It’s quite fun meeting my customers and I feel humbled by their encouragement and support.
Later, the grandmother messaged me that her grandson loved his Torch Lake Monster, and she sent me a photo of her grandson with it. I love when my customers send me photos like this. It warms my heart to hear that my creations are loved.
Spring is slowly, slowly creeping in. Last week we had some warm days, and the snow began to melt.
There were even a few bare patches of ground around the trees. My chickens don’t like snow and they stay inside their coop all winter. I don’t even bother opening their little door anymore during the winter because they never go out. However, with the warmer weather, I went out and the door and some of them even ventured outside!
The next day we had more snow, but I see on the National Weather Service website that the temperatures are slowly climbing so I know Spring will eventually arrive. When warmer weather gets here, I will have to clean out the chicken coop, getting rid of the winter straw. I’ll also have to start working in the garden.
Ok, I’ve gotta run…
I Love To Go A Gardening 