2021, animals, Farming Update, Uncategorized

Early February Farm

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Today’s post comes from Ben.

Made it to February. I’ve been working on my farm bookwork and getting all the receipts entered. The farm expenses are the ones that matter. The household expenses don’t factor into taxes or anything (for the most part), it’s just keeping track. Gone through the report once to find all my finger slips and I still have to input all the electronic receipts and then I’ll double check it again. (I find it harder to keep track of, and record all the auto payments and things with electronic receipts.)

Ducks and chickens are good. I think we’ve almost made it through the worst of the cold for the winter. We sure have been filling the bird feeders a lot lately.

We have several angel figurines around the house. There is one I’m particular fond of. It’s just always given me comfort.

I’m not sure what it’s made of, I thought it was wood, until she got knocked over one day and her head broke into 3 pieces and it was almost like sand. But hollow too. I glued her back together and she was fine.

Recently, she got knocked over again and while her head pretty much shattered, the rest of the body and wings are fine. I still don’t get what she’s made of.

We were going to throw it out… but I hated seeing it in the garbage, so I retrieved her. I have  justification for this: “The head is what gets us in trouble; it’s the heart we need”. “It is only with that heart that one can see rightly”* And it reminded me of Joseph and the headless snow man that got dumped on a roadside one winter.

How can you just throw them out?? The snowman, yeah, I understand. But Joseph? Heathens, I tell you. We couldn’t just dump Joseph in the garbage. Even if the lightbulb in his back was burned out, he deserves better. I even talked with a minister friend of ours asking what the proper disposal was for religious figurines. (We had a good laugh over ‘pyres of fire’ and his thought was as long as the intent was pure, it was OK.)

Still, we saved Joseph; he moves around the yard and gets sunglasses or hats for the holidays when we can, and we talk to him often. He had some really nice sunglasses that made him look super awesome. (Blue sky sunglasses photo) Until my nephew realized those were his fancy expensive sunglasses he had lost the summer before. Joseph hasn’t looked as cool since.

Any figurines giving you comfort?

*Thank you Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and ‘The Little Prince’.

71 thoughts on “Early February Farm”

  2. One of my coworkers found a medallion to St. Joseph buried in their yard. She found out this is a typical thing here with the Roman Catholic community who often bury such a medallion in the back yard after they buy a house.

    We have a concrete Scottie dog on our front stoep which makes me smile every time I walk past. I love what you have done with your St. Joseph. I wonder about his hair, though. He looks like a 1970’s vintage St. Joseph. He looks like he needs a chainsaw when you have him between those two stumps.

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  4. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    The only figurine I can think of is the little squirrel bird feeder in the front garden. It is metal and rusting quite a bit, and we do not do anything fun with it like you are doing with your St. Joseph. Your St. Joseph, Ben, is really fun and funny. I agree with Renee, that he is very 70’s looking with the shaggy hair. It seems like most religious figure reflect the age they were made rather than the time they may have lived in.

    Two years ago, in the “before times” (before COVID) during a polymer clay class with the group’s Irish friend, John, he made a small figure of a man, and it might have been St. Joseph. That figure was stolen by a class member, and began to show up all over the property of the teacher. Finding Joseph became the theme of the week. He hid in a plant, was posed on the front doorstep, and on a tree stump. I only got to enjoy the pictures, because that was during my knee replacement so I had to choose between the class and surgery. What a choice. I am still pouting about that.

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  5. I have my RBG action figure. I do dress her up in the winter. Right now she’s wearing her so-called “pussy cat hat” or “pussy hat”, whichever you prefer. I made her hat and matching scarf for her because she looked so cold just wearing her collar and robe.

    The other figurine is a nicely carved, wooden laughing Buddha figure that my dad picked up in Korea. When I was younger, it was a bit of a family joke but I’m not sure why. My mom was OCD about cleaning and she used to make me polish him with wood oil. The wood oil has gradually darkened his color over the years. He’s a very dark shade of brown now. I’d have to say he’s my favorite. I don’t dress him up at all. His smile is all he needs.

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      2. I bought Kelly one for Christmas a few years ago. But she doesn’t decorate her.
        Years ago I got the Jessie Ventura Action figure. He sat on my desk for a while.

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  6. Years ago, when my daughters were early teens, we bought about four large blow-molded rabbits on clearance. Over the next year or two, my daughters decorated them variously, transforming one rabbit’s basket of eggs into a basket of bloodshot eyeballs, for instance. Another rabbit got completely (and quite skillfully) covered with blue fake fur. They all lit up. We used to put them out for Easter decoration. No one found them comforting.

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  7. No, but I have a big stuffed teddy bear named Buddy who sits in a chair in my office and watches me work. He gives me comfort because he never judges or criticizes. 😉 (Mellowest bear I’ve ever had)

    Chris in Owatonna

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      1. Really the opportunities for decoration are endless: bunny ears, clown nose, clown wig, Groucho glasses with mustache. Local thrift stores will be a treasure trove of “decor.”

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        1. My friend, Lori, has a large ceramic goose on her front step. Goose does not have a name,but does have an extensive seasonal and sports wardrobe. Including cheerleading outfit for Notre Dame!

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  9. I have a little carved wood Norwegian troll, just like the one I originally got the first time my family visited Estes Park, CO.
    https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=FkXG7tBQ&id=38F947D4B00EA6139170A30D03A8C96E67295FB9&thid=OIP.FkXG7tBQX2GDJW_Qtxum2AHaHa&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.etsystatic.com%2f10373706%2fr%2fil%2f9d234e%2f1214042434%2fil_fullxfull.1214042434_g1p0.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.1645c6eed0505f6183256fd0b71ba6d8%3frik%3duV8pZ27JqAMNow%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=2200&expw=2200&q=norwegian+carved+wood+trolls+artists+oieih&simid=607998452563330585&FORM=IRPRST&ck=FFB5F48D1BDF59243F01194ED5F08431&selectedIndex=0&idpp=overlayview&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

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    2. Your troll, BiR, looks like the sort of thing that I imagine Clyde used to carve, although I don’t actually know what Clyde carved, but that’s what I imagined; folksy and whimsical characters.

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        1. These are made by the Danish artist Thomas Dambo. I love that they are made out of recycled materials. I’ve have seen a couple of them in Copenhagen and surrounding areas where they are hidden away in places where people don’t expect to find them.

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        6. One thing that you could do yourself, is make a Deborah-Butterfield-inspired sculpture of a horse (or some such creature). I’m pretty sure you are familiar with the pottery of Wisconsin based potter, Randy Johnston, and more than likely have been to pottery sales at his and his wife’s home and studio near River Falls.

          Some years ago, one of his students had made such a Butterfield-inspired horse, and it was prominently displayed in the Mckeachie-Johnston wonderful back yard. By the time I saw it, it had been there several years and was coming apart, but I’m sure it had been a fun project to work on, and looked good.

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  10. Actually, we have a lot of figures around the house if one were to start itemizing. There are many Japanese ones- doll figures, kokeshi, daruma, netsukes, a tanuki, plus a Frida Kahlo kokeshi, a jointed frog and bear that sit on the piano, hand built Japanese pottery figures, a couple of buddhas, some small religious figure in the upstairs bathroom including a Mary night light and those are just the non-seasonal ones. They are cumulatively decorative, antique, interesting and amusing. None of them aspire to be comforting.

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  11. I have several small sculptural figurines that I enjoy for esthetic reasons. One of them is an wizard-like figurine created by Vern Rollin, an artist from Texas. Her head and hands are sculpted in clay, she has a head of white fur hair, and wears a fancy dress with a lot of amulets, signifying her power, circling the bottom hem. Her feet are wrapped in leather and she carries a stick with beads and tiny feathers hanging from the top. She stands guard on our front porch, keeping an eye on the plants that winter there. She’s doing a good job, so long as I remember to water them.

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  12. We have an Apache-made knock off Kachina Corn God doll we got in the gift shop at Mesa Verde. The Hopi’s are too reverent to make them and sell them. I was taking a nap on the sofa in the living room several years ago and I had a terrible dream about the Corn God being very angry. He was about 30 feet tall, and stomping everything in his path. I took this to mean he was unhappy with his location with a bunch of Venetian Carnival masks, so I moved him to a different curio cabinet and sprinkled field corn around him. I haven’t had a dream about him since then.

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  13. I also have two Dala roosters, a Dala pig, and two Dala horses. Then there are the three Finnish Julbukka, an Icelandic sheep made out of twigs and wool, a Lewis chessman reproduction from the British Museum, and a wooden carved guy who carries buckets of water in Hamburg who was famous in the 1800’s for telling people to kiss his heinie.

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  14. Today I came as close as I probably ever will to guessing the Wordle word in my first try. I had every letter right, three of them in the correct spot, so all I had to do was switch the two remaining letters, and voila! solved the puzzle in two guesses. Not nearly as satisfying as using at least some skill to figure it out.

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      2. I tried one. It took me five, which seems not so bad since there isn’t anything like a number frequency chart to guide you. There are probably some strategies but I haven’t figured them out yet.

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        4. Oh man, that’s the sort of thing that would have given me panic attacks back in high school! I, too, got five on my first try, but that took some serious work that my grey matter isn’t used to. Not sure I’m up for that on a daily basis, at least not until I have had some coffee.

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    3. Today I had four correct letters in the right places on the third try, but getting the second letter correct took me all six tries! AAARgh.

      But then, I was convinced for 10 minutes this morning that my eyesight was deteriorating so quickly and the glaucoma treatment is not working because everything was blurry. And then I examined my glasses which had greasy smudges everywhere.

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      1. That second letter gave me a little trouble, too. I had the right answer in my third try, but before submitting it decided another letter in that spot was a more likely answer to the puzzle. So, four guesses for me today.

        Glad it was just your glasses, Jacque. Cleaning them may be a good task to add to your morning routine.

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    1. Google tells me “As one of the Chinese good luck animals, pigs, when spotted in a clover, are thought to be a sign of money and fortune coming your way.” I will have to find a patch of clover for Walt – he usually gets periwinkle.

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        1. He is about 10 inches tall or so. I don’t remember where I got Walt. He wasn’t a purchase, I think I rescued him from some stuff that was getting thrown away. Who could throw away a pig with a face like that?

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      1. I’m trying to overwinter some impatiens. Apparently they are delicious, so they have been moved to TheClosedRoom.

        So far, the mums I rescued from the compost site (before seeing the signs that that is now verboten) are doing ok.

        Everything else is so far out of reach. I really should make a bed of cat grass for them. I know wheat grass is a possiblity, but I also read that a square of sod in a tray is a good thing and less likely to get dug up/ tipped over. If only I knew where to acquire a square of sod.

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        2. It used to be just wood, because of invasive species that might be living under the bark. Maybe there is something they’re worried about that lives in soil. I haven’t seen the signs, though. Dunno.

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  17. One nisse out in the front garden. Downstairs, 3 polar bear figurines on the mantel as well as two little Guardia Civil figures given to me by a friend from Spain. Upstairs, I have two sets of toritos (little pottery bulls) from Peru, a ceramic Chinese horse, a beaded pig from South Africa, my matryoshka (nesting dolls) from St. Petersburg and, of course, my little penguin from my time in the Fourth Burton Penguin Society. This doesn’t include any of my pig banks or stuffed animals that are sitting around the house!

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  18. Oh my heavens that’s hysterical!! I can’t believe you move it around and add sunglasses 😎. The temperatures here in north Georgia are warming up as well and I couldn’t be more excited. Our ducks and chickens have also thrived this winter. So much to do before spring!!

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