A Place to Bark

Ok, I don't ask for much from my interweb buddies but I think this is important so...

http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/2011/06/30-days-small-miracle-needed-20k.html

This lady is truly amazing, a real live inspiration, and she helps a crap load of animals in need. If you can donate $10 (or paypal even $2 to [email protected]), or just spread the word that her rescue needs help, I'd love you forever.











P.S. I'll love you forever anyway

Houdini

This is Houdini.

We acquired this wee fella the other day. He's been living in the garage until he gets a bit bigger and can slowly be introduced to the rest of our chicken-y gang. The other night my husband woke up in the wee hours and went into the garage. He did not hear the usual "peep, peep, peep" and, dreading the worst, looked inside the caged box expecting to find a small dead pile of feathers... the chick had disappeared!

He heard a little "chirp" and found the chick inside a small green house ```````````````````````````````````` (excuse that small interruption... that was Houdini saying hello). Anyway, we really aren't sure how the tiny chick managed to make his way to a shelf five and a half feet up from the ground. The next night he did it again. And so he has been dubbed with an appropriate name.

Anyway our newest feathered friend is lots of fun and I'm pretty sure he thinks he's actually a kitten. The wee thing is most content when cleaning himself, being given a good pet or having a little cuddle. Who would have ever thought that chickens like to cuddle?! I've decided to move the little guy out of the garage and into my office so he can sit beside me as I work. Right at this moment he's snuggled in a blanket on my lap watching me type away. 

X-Lrg Faerie Houses

My BIG project this summer? To begin building an entire faerie village(s) on our property. Summer solstice seems a grand time to begin setting up and showing off what I'll be up to with the Big D this summer. These houses measure between 18" and 36"... a heck of a lot bigger than the wee ones.

Good luck spying the wee folk tonight! Don't forget to leave them some jam and bread.

More Faerie Journals

Yesterday I whitewashed a load of book pages and hung them on my laundry line. Anyone seeing those pages fluttering in the wind was probably wondering what in the hell I was up to :P Those pages will go into a batch of blank books for others to make their own messy goodness. I'll hide a few around town and put the rest up for sale.

I've just finished up two little "night" themed books and I think that will be it on the book front for a while. I have a number of things on the go a the moment and a HUGE totally magical project that I'd like to get started this summer. When I make some progress on it I'll share it with you. Ha! I'll probably be begging you for help.

Anyway... here's some pics of those last two wee books...

On etsy ...

Starry Night - Altered Faerie Journal
The Night Sky - Altered Fairy Journal

The Garden

While I stand back and say "Ohhh! Look at our lovely garden!" it is in fact the Mr. that does all of the work. Last year this spot was all grass and trees. He's done a load of work back there and we're already seeing the rewards (mmmm, fresh spinach). Here's a closer look at what's going on back there...

This patch has all sorts of carrots, radishes and spinach. That might sound like a bit of a yawn but some of those carrots are purple and the radishes striped like peppermint!

The herby part of the garden. We keep the things we use regularly (basil, thyme, sage, rosemary) close to the house and the rest gets put here for the bees to enjoy.

Tomatoes! This year we're trying some heirloom varieties along with our old favourites. The plants with grow up those spirals and, hopefully, become drippy with fruit.

The Mr. built this box and placed it in the garden with the glass lid closed to warm up the ground. We've been eating lettuce for a month now thanks to this box. The heat that builds up in here is incredible. If we could just convince the clover to move out.

Raspberry canes that all came from the kindness of others. In no time at all this will become a beautiful brambled mess.

One of several compost bins we have on the go. The stone on top keeps out the raccoons and the weed to the right is the herb yarrow. A few leaves tossed into the compost bin helps to speed up the decomposition process.

Baby pumpkin plants! This is D's job this summer. We're hoping he can sell one or two in the autumn... though I'll probably buy them all because I LOVE pumpkins :)

Lastly, here's our happy girls enjoying a summer treat this morning. Chopped watermelon and orange slices. Despite the fact the Mr has named one "Chops" they are fast becoming our little clucky princesses.

For a far more impressive gardening/farm blog you should definitely visit Missing Willow Farm. She's totally inspiring and makes me green with envy :)

Colourful Faerie Journals

Two posts in one day! When it rains as they say...

I just wanted to share these four new faerie journals that explore different colour themes. Each of them measures around 3" tall and they filled with so much stuff they are quite chunky (which I think is rather nice).

I have a hard time adding to colour to things so little experiments like these are really helpful. I think they are great little tools if you are feeling like you are stuck in a creative rut. The more willy nilly, the better with these wee things.

Taking a breath.

It's been a busy month here at the Knickertwist house and I've finally got a few minutes to take a breath and post an update.

One of my darling aunties came to visit all the way from Ireland.  We took her to a country auction which was an absolute giggle. Some more family came and at one point there were five ladies in the kitchen rolling gnocchi... again with the giggles. The only mishap was forgetting her bag at our house (with her passport inside!) and her having to drive the 2.5 hrs to get it before catching her flight.

We've got ourselves some cluckers. They've gone from this...

To this... 

...in just a few short weeks. It's amazing how fast they grow.

The chickens above are Rhode Island Reds. They are full of personality and are a lot of fun to watch. We're hoping a good portion of them are ladies and will provide us with some yummy fresh eggs. Any boys will likely meet the chopping block as we have neighbours who won't appreciate morning crowing. We lost our littlest bird to a cheeky fox that I had to chase off by yelling and banging. We've since added extra protection for our girls so no one else meets the same end as that poor wee fellow. 

Above is our second batch of chicks. These birds are destined for the dinner table and will be ready to 'harvest' in a an amazingly short time. Don't feel too badly for them because they'll live a grand life with fresh grass, good food, clean water and lots of space to scratch and roll around.

A local farmer was offering free wool so I decided to swipe some. I got two garbage bags full! I have absolutely no experience with wool and have been having a grand old time experimenting. It's amazing that the stuff on the right can be turned into the stuff on the left with just a bit of soap and water. The goal will be to dye some with the Big D during summer vacation and give needle felting a try.

Last but not least... our gardens.

This is part of our veggie patch. So far we've taken radishes, lettuce, spinach and rhubarb. There's loads of other stuff planted back there too... beans, carrots, sprouts, potatoes, raspberries, pumpkins, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, garlic (to name just a few!). We also have herbs like thyme, sage, bergamot, southernwood, wormwood, mint, mugwort and much more. I can't wait until everything comes in. There is nothing like food from your own garden.

Right now the whole place is blooming. Just look at these gorgeous iris' and poppies.

It's hard to believe that just a short while ago we happy the grass was poking through the snow.