Snowy, farmy day

Today is a snow day. It was originally a day off for school kids anyway, but the teachers were supposed to have in-service. Thanks to our winter storm, we got a snow day, too!

I actually made good use of the day to enjoy being home and on the farm. This morning, I braved baking and actually made some banana bread. I had to call my mom half a dozen times, but they didn't turn out terrible and my husband said they were good...so that is a success for me!

Above: This is the moment I was pretty worried I put in too much of the batter into each loaf pan. Thankfully, they just domed over and never spilled out. Phew!

Above: Maybe not pretty, but they are functional. Story of how I live me life!

The rest are just some photos I took while out with the dogs. One of them was wearing the GoPro so I might edit that down and post it somewhere later. Beautiful snow though! Praise God.

Above: Dog photo bomb 1.

Above: Dog photo bomb 2.

Above: Dog photo bomb 3.

My Inventive Farmer

This won't be the most exciting video I have ever done. But I am just too stinkin' proud of my farmer's ingenuity.

His background as a welder makes a perfect combination with farming. I have no idea how he can come up with this type of stuff and it actually works!

He took bits and pieces of some things he found around the farm and combined them with a few new pieces, and made a fully functioning hydraulic log splitter. This will save his back a LOT of work since he no longer has to split it manually.

I hadn't seen it in action until today. It was way cooler than what I had expected!

He created a whole attachment for the tractor forks. They simply slip into it like a glove and then he can pick the whole contraption up, hook it to the tractor hydraulics and away he goes with splitting wood!

Now, if only we could do all of this somewhere besides on the back lawn ;-)

Speeding things up

I put the Camaro work on hold for a few weeks, but started it back up this week. I now have the front and one side completely finished. I worked on the grill of the car yesterday, but just wasn't satisfied with it. So I did it again. I think the second time looks better.

 

I thought the angle of the silver lines was just too severe the first time after I finished it.

 

So I started over and I'm more satisfied with it now.

 

Sorry about the bad quality of framing this photo. I was struggling a bit this morning.

Hoping to get this all finished in the next few weeks.

 

You've got a friend in me

My heart never grows tired of seeing how attached my dog gets to our nieces and nephews.

Deer hunting

Well, this post is pretty late, but thought I would update you all on my deer hunting escapades. We hunted the entire season...and I didn't get a deer.

Deer have an uncanny sense of when they are being hunted. We had been watching some big bucks for weeks prior to when the season opened, and then when we could actually hunt them they disappeared.

After striking out on our ground, my brother-in-law put me on some bucks. The first was a small whitetail, which I missed. Then the second one was actually two nice bucks together...and I missed. I hunt with my husband's black powder gun and that means that unless the deer is really, really dumb, I only get one shot at it and I also have to be closer than if I would have a rifle. But I also like the challenge of it and, quite honestly, the excuse I have if I don't get a deer ;-) It also seems to hurt less when it kicks. I'm not a fan of guns with a lot of kick.

I was pretty mad I didn't get a deer this year, but I guess that's how it goes.

However, it was a gorgeous time of year and at least I got to enjoy the scenery ;-)

Closer to the Finish Line

I have done a bit more work on the Camaro project this week.

I have figured out that drawing straight lines on an object that has few, if any, actual "flat" surfaces is a little challenging to say the least. I have resorted to doing a lot of the work with Sharpies.

The paint I'm using is a high temperature paint so it can stand up to the grilling. However, that also means it is expensive and very high in fumes. Also, the white spray paint I managed to find is a flat paint and the black paint it glossy. So I'm trying to figure out better ways to do things rather than using the white paint to mix with the black, because the result is a very non-shiny grey paint. And it just doesn't look right with the rest of the paint.

Trial and error, trial and error. Like I tell my students, art is really more about problem-solving than anything else.

Another new art challenge

A few months ago, a friend approached me about doing a unique painting project for him. I finally got around to starting it this week.

He is a huge car enthusiast and his daughter managed to find him a grill that is shaped like his Camaro. The problem is that it still needs a few details. I have had to do some problem-solving (like always) but I'm finally getting it to look more like his beloved car.

 

1. This is the top of the grill before I started painting.

 

2. This is what he wants it to look like, except with black stripes. 

3. I was pretty excited when I finally figured out how to tape it off.

 

4. But the problem is, that the tape didn't seal very well and the paint crept underneath the tape. 

5. After several hours of going cross-eyed with paint thinner and a paintbrush, I sort of got the lines cleaned up.

 

6. You can't really see it, but the next step is to start painting the other details I have drawn on, such as windows, wheels, etc.

Stay tuned.....