My Neck of the Woods - Strolling around the Lake

There aren't too many days that go by that I don't just sit and admire how beautiful the surroundings are out here in Oglethorpe County. If I could get a decent photo of the night time sky with all it's millions of stars I'd love to be able to share it with you but since I haven't had much luck with those pictures I thought I'd share some of the scenery along the way of the 3 mile loop we do around Lake Oglethorpe. Dan, Debbie and I try to get out and take our walks at least a couple of times a week - weather permitting of course - but I have to admit Dan and Debbie have been more consistent than me here the last couple of months. I'm so cold natured that even though I'm moving I'm still freezing! Now during the spring and summer months we were going nearly every day. And I need to get back at it - all that holiday chocolate is starting to catch up with me! ;)

But here was our first stop on our walk yesterday. This is our neighbor's horse, Doc. At least that's what I think his name is. Although I've been introduced to him before they have several horses and I am TERRIBLE at remembering names and feel bad about asking "Now tell me his name again for the 5th time". So I'm going out on a limb here and saying this is Doc. If it isn't then the tiny little red horse in the background is. ;)
This is Lake Oglethorpe. It's a beautiful 80 acre lake that doesn't allow any boats with motors bigger than 4 horse power so it's always nice and quiet. And it's also where we stop to take a swim during the summer months when we're all equally sweating profusely from the 90 degree plus heat! Even though it was only 60 degrees yesterday Debbie was hot enough that she jumped right in and then got out right in the mud... I think she may be part pig.

You never know what you're going to see but today we ran into a flock of someone's Guineas that were running loose. On almost every trip we run into deer, bunnies and squirrels but we've also encountered beavers, a couple of otters, many turtles including an Alligator snapping turtle, foxes, coyotes, mallard ducks, Canadian geese, turkeys and the occasional groundhog.

And this is just an old abandoned shed on Mr. JB's farm that's at the end of our walk. I don't know what it is but I absolutely love old barns, sheds and houses. I always concoct these stories in my head about who lived there, what they used it for and what kind of animals they had. The older and more run down they are the more I like them. It also warms my heart to see someone restore these old buildings and bring life to them once again. I would love to own a piece of property with a big, old run down barn on it. Maybe one day. I'm pretty fond of my 6 year old barn too =).

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Inside Scoop

New goodies coming to the Loft early next week!

I'll be listing some new Amethyst for all those February babies, Garnet, Prehnite, Scapolite and Smoky Quartz. And possibly some Iolite and Peridot if I don't decide to keep them all to myself ;).

Hope everyone has a great weekend! For us it's all about repairing our smaller chicken coop that was damaged in the wind storm a couple of weeks ago. Even though it's raining today - kind of a light drizzle - that's much easier to work out in than 20 degree weather! It should be nearing 60 degrees here today... guess old man winter is taking a vacation after a hard couple of weeks of work ;).

The Chick Inn has Arrived!

Even though it's cold and rainy I am a happy girl today and so are my little chick a loos - Their chicken condo (aka a coop but it's just too cute to be called a coop) has arrived! So cute that I see 3 other folks decided they needed one too! I asked where the other 3 were going and 1 is going to Dublin, GA, one somewhere near Savannah and the other is going to Lakeland, FL. I ordered it from a company in Pennsylvania (it's built by the Amish which I think is pretty neat in itself) last Thursday and I wasn't expecting it for another 2-3 weeks but they called yesterday and said they were in South Carolina with it and they would have it here by 10am today. Talk about a fast turn-around time! And it matches our horse barn perfectly down to the green tin roof! Some of my neighbors drove by as they were unloading it and I think one nearly broke his neck trying to turn around to see what in the world we were doing ;). They had this neat little pulley system that just rolled it to the end onto a hydraulic lift and then to the ground. They put little rubber wheels on it and the driver and Dan just pushed it where it needed to go! Pretty nifty!

After we got it situated I had to go get the ladies and introduce them to their new home. They've been tucked away in the barn for the last few days because it was just so bitter cold but now they have their own little warm home to come and go as they please. Laverne is checking out all the new "bedrooms" ;).

And here comes Mona to see what's going on. Nothing entices Laverne quite like food - the others came and went but not her! If there's food involved she's staying put! In fact I'm looking out the window now and I think she's still in there!

Now I've decided the chicken condo needs a name and I've about settled on "The Chick Inn" (a play on check in -I know I'm dorky ;) unless someone else has an idea I like better. And then I'll have someone on Etsy make me a little wooden sign to hang out front. =)

If you ever need a chicken coop or a barn - they deliver full size horse barns too! - I highly recommend Horizon Structures! We found them at the Georgia National Fair in Perry this past fall and I have been dreaming about this cute little coop since I laid eyes on it in October. So Merry late Christmas to me and the chick a loos!

Hope your Sunday is filled with pleasant little surprises! =)

Cold Sunrise!

Even though the sun looks warm and toasty coming up over the hill off my front porch this morning it's definitely deceptive! It was 14 degrees when I woke up! Now I know that some of you northern folks are thinking "That's nothing - that'd be a heat wave here!" but you have to remember that's the coldest temperature we've seen around here in 6 years! So I had to bundle myself up to go feed all the "kiddos" this morning and I'm about to have my 3rd cup of coffee to thaw out!

Thelma and Louise have become my "house chickens" because it's just too cold outside for them and they're still not quite 8 weeks old yet. And honestly I enjoy their company and their little chatter during the day ;). There are several people who think I'm just a little looney for keeping chickens inside (I won't name any names but "hi" mom) and maybe I am ;). Maybe I'll just tell everyone they're a new breed of parrot and no one would think twice about them being indoors ;).

Hope you're staying warm!

Working Away..

I've been a bit lax in my blog postings since Christmas so I'm going to get back at it! But it's not from being lazy I can assure you ;).

If you've visited my jewelry shop lately you'll have noticed that I have been busy listing some new work including these little sparklies - my "Potion" earrings. I plan on offering them in Amethyst too for all those February babies! Obviously I've been inspired by the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday as most of my new work is centered around reds and pinks. If pink and red isn't your thing not to worry I have some Moonstone and Labradorite danglies coming this week as well!

It's been pretty calm around here on the little farm the last few days, which is how I like it, and which is quite the opposite of how the new year started out. First Buster, the rescued pony across the street, busted out and wrecked havoc around here. Every horse in the neighborhood (and there are quite a few) including mine were all bent out of shape at the site of him running up and down their fence line. So I spent an entire Sunday afternoon in the rain trying to chase him down and he wasn't having any part of it. Finally Mr. Norman and his son were able to corral him at 10 o'clock at night using their truck. I think this episode of spending the day out in the cold rain led up to me catching the flu for several days and causing me to miss my gem show =(. And finally this past week we had some major winds from a cold front that came through and completely destroyed my chicken coops and took the top out of one of our trees. Dan and I spent the entire day this past Friday re-building the coops. Luckily none of my little chick-a-loos were hurt but I'm sure it gave them a good scare!

Now maybe, just maybe, things have calmed down for good! Hope your new year is less "interesting" than mine! =)

Calling in sick to the Gem Show

Sadly I had to miss the gem show this time =(. I've been battling with a cold/flu bug since Sunday that Dan was nice enough to give to me (poor guy he's been battling it for about 10 days now) and I was trying my best to get well but it just didn't work. I thought that if I got plenty of rest and loaded up on Nyquil earlier in the week that I might be up to the trip today. Even though the show today is 3 hours shorter than yesterday's you can usually find pretty good deals on the last day if everything hasn't already been picked over. But as my alarm went off at 6am I realized that I'd probably need someone to drive me home (and carry me to the car) if I actually was able to stand up and walk around for 5 hours straight. So I'm pretty disappointed I didn't make it but there's always next time I suppose! And I still have everyone's requests in my little shopping log so I'll be sure to take them with me on my next trip.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone's 2009 is starting out wonderfully! Me? I've been super duper lazy the past couple of days and it felt really good after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I spent the day on the sofa with Dan (who has been sick with that nasty cold bug that seems to be getting everyone around) watching TV. Something I never, ever do. I have the hardest time just sitting still for any length of time. So to keep my hands a bit busy I finished approximately 10 crossword puzzles out of probably 200 in this huge book my mom gave for me Christmas. I did get up to fix us some lunch which was not collard greens and black-eyed peas, both of which I can not force myself to put in my mouth. I'll take my chances with the boiled shrimp and artichoke dip we had instead ;). If you're not familiar with the practice of eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's day it's probably because it was a tradition that was started in the south. From what I was told you eat it in rememberance of tough times and it is suppose to bring wealth and good luck the coming year. The peas represent coins and the collards paper money and although I'd love to have more of each I just can't bring myself to stomach peas and collards - yuck! My grandmother has jokingly said that I must not be a true southern girl since I don't eat collards or really like grits ;).

Today I plan on getting off the sofa and working on some new ideas I have for a few pieces that hopefully I can have listed by the end of next week. Tuesday I'll be in North Carolina for the gem show and then Wednesday and Thursday I'll be organizing, photographing and listing all my new goodies. And if you've left me requests for the gem show be sure to check back Tuesday night or Wednesday morning for a list of all the goodies I found and will be listing!

Happy 2009 everyone and thank you all for a wonderful 2008! =)