Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Long time ago....

Yup, I know it's been a while, but I have been too busy to write much here lately.  Other things have taken precedent.  Anyway I had a post ready to share, but it was way too boring.

I wanted to show you some pictures anyway of my daughter's new hobby/career... welding.... artistic welding... metal sculpture... well,  as you can see I'm not really sure what to call it, but it's neat and she's looking to sell some of her pieces so if you are interested let me know.

Here is her very first metal sculpture...

This would look really cool in a garden.  I think its great what can be made from scrap steel.  She's quite the creative one.

Her next try was a little more difficult probably because of the cast iron she chose to work with, but I think she'll get it... it's a good start and will make another beautiful piece when it is done....

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project.

We have been very busy on the Millett Farm the past few weeks.  This weekend we will probably be butchering ducks... the ones born in the spring.  I think out of 12 ducks there were only 2 hens... the rest were drakes and gotta go.  Muscovy meat is really outstanding.  Of course as with any duck it is all dark meat, but very lean.  We cooked some in the pressure cooker for supper last night and it was very yummy.  That was a duck from last year.  They are also very large birds and have quite a bit of meat on them.

They are actually quite a bit bigger now and are testing their wings... another reason why we really need to get this job done.

I hope to add more later...

Here's a little LATE fall color for you to enjoy....

Hope all of you are really enjoying this season of the year.

7 comments:

  1. Your daughter's sculptures are cool! She's very talented! Are the flowers made out of horseshoes? That's a neat idea. A while back my mother-in-law gave us some hooks made out of horseshoes that she bought from a catalog. Later Jim made another one (using those as a guide) and spray painted it black; it makes a nice towel hook in our bathroom. It's neat what can be done with scrap metal!

    I keep meaning to ask if the lame duck started eating and survived or if you had to butcher her early? Our two seem to be doing fine now and have adjusted well--they're eating the same food as the chickens, and some cracked corn. We made a little pond for them and hope to move their pen down there eventually. They're getting a lot more friendly now, too, and come quacking to greet us when we come down to the pen. I'm glad we kept them, but still hoping we get some eggs eventually . . . but if not, they're kind of fun "pets"--for now, anyway. :) Hope you're having a great fall!!

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  2. wow ... what neat sculptures - it's amazing to me when I see a piece of metal but someone else sees a beautiful picture!! Your daughter has talent!
    The Fall pics are lovely too!!
    As for your duck pics, that made me think I should have contacted YOU before I cooked off my "bloody, just butchered" ham; I bet you would have been able to tell me how to cook it! :)

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  3. Your Fall foliage pictures are beautiful. And good for your girl -- broadening her horizons and trying her hand at welding. She's a brave soul and is turning out some very clever pieces. I'm all about adding interest to the old garden.

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  4. Carrie:
    "Lame Duck" is doing very well. I think it's a drake 'cause of the little curled feather on the tail. He is hobbling along and gets along very well with the Khakis. He swims with them and often leads the way... you know how they follow one another. He eats along with everyone else now... I guess he just needed to "follow the leader".

    The flowers are made with horseshoes. I like the ones that have 5 petals like a rose flower or apple blossom. You can see that she was having trouble making those hold together. She'll figure it out.


    Connie:
    Cooking just butchered is about the same as any other meat. I like to cook it after it's been frozen or "aged" a little. It seems more "normal" to do it that way, but don't think our ancestors did it that way since they didn't have much by way of refrigeration. We've cooked chicken on butchering day and it just tastes too fresh to me... maybe because I just had my hands all bloody just hours before. EEEw, yuck!

    Jolly Bee:
    I am really thankful that Joanna was able to find someone to help her learn to weld. She enjoys it and it gives her another choice of artistic medium. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work.

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  5. That's some serious fall color in that first picture. I've never seen so much yellow and orange together in one place. Your daughter has a lot of talent. I wish her well in selling her sculptures. They would make an interesting addition to many gardens.

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  6. Yes, Monica... I think the color was enhanced by the sunrise. I go by the same spot almost every day and now most of the leaves have fallen and in fact this morning there was snow coming down. Fall gives way to winter quickly in this part of the world. I'm not looking forward to winter, but it's inevitable.

    Thank you all for stopping by.

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  7. Love Joanna's art work! She is amazing!

    And the foliage/fall pics are just gorgeous. We are so happy that there was still some pretty color left here when we got home. The foliage out west is darker and duller (except for the yellows) but still nice.

    Indeed, winter is coming all too soon. It was snowing when we left Salt Lake City on Wednesday morning. They had to de-ice the plane.

    It's good to be home...

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