I know, I know, what a cliché. But in this case, it's the literal truth. One of the few things my dear husband does with his horses on our home place is the spring harrowing. And now is the time for it, after the snow has disappeared but before it's dry enough to be dusty. Harrows come in many types (spring-toothed, disc, and so on) but they all do more or less the same thing: tear up the ground a bit to loosen the earth and encourage better growth of the crop, which is to say grass. The process is always a visual delight to me, what with the horses walking in tandem, manes tossed by the breeze, in the midst of the freshly green fields and sun and scudding clouds (typical spring weather). This year, it was even better, because a young family, friends of ours for many years, came along to learn to drive the team.
My dear husband had Oscar and Ivy harnessed up and hitched to the harrows by the time the kids and their mum and her cousin arrived. Dh made the first few passes to take the edge off the horses' friskiness and settle them down. Then it was the turn of the elder daughter. She was amazing! Not quite eleven years old and a gorgeous sprite of a girl, she seemed to get the knack at once and was even able to handle almost single-handedly the tricky business of turning a tight corner at the end of a row in order to head back in the other direction.
Her younger sister the country and western girl, all grin and freckles, was next up: she's an accomplished rider and considered the "animal" person in the family, but she couldn't beat her older sister at this new skill.
Then it was their mum's turn, and then their mum's cousin's turn (I'd stopped taking pictures and started back into housework by that point).
The two little brothers weren't part of the teamster instruction, and they had a hard time keeping themselves occupied while everyone else drove back and forth across the field. The rest of the family watched intently while the driving lessons were in progress, but check out the body language of the little boys here. Soooo bored.
The big excitement for them was the barely-visible tail of a deceased ground squirrel they spotted in a burrow, the aftermath of the dh's go-round with the .22 earlier that morning. The ground squirrels are enormous pests, and we're grateful to the coyotes for helping to keep their numbers in check.
Oh, the frustration when they couldn't figure out how to pull it out! Younger brother went to find a stick, but the dogs were convinced he was planning to throw it for them and wouldn't get out of the way as he tried to walk back to the burrow: they knew that stick was behind his back. And then there seemed to be some disagreement about whether the younger dog or the younger boy had first dibs on the ground squirrel.
Then younger brother decided to race back to the house to fetch a shovel.
But he couldn't find one. So hard to be four and having to figure these things out without any help from adults who have other things on their minds. The adults thought that leaving the dead ground squirrel alone was the best plan, so none of us was much inclined to help.
Nor did the adults think that the little boys should throw a stick for Sass, because Django turns into a crazy barking fool when that game starts. So Sass had to cool her heels too.
Tuffy spent the morning alternately looking noble and eating.
The morning's session ended with a lesson on rigging, so that everyone could understand how their instructions to the horses through the lines were translating into the work being done.
The field got harrowed, the girls and women learned a lot about driving a team, the dogs had fun with new people to hang out with, and I got some photos. Rachel gets the credit for suggesting this day: she's a home schooling mum and her notions of a well-rounded education include the skills of ranch life: how many city kids get to spend a day like this? My dh did a great job, I think, with instructing, and the stars of the show--Oscar and Ivy--were their usual sterling selves: generous, patient, and willing. Good horses are a blessing, but my dh gets the credit for turning them into such a well-broke team. I'm very proud of all three of them.
As elder sister said to me, "Oscar and Ivy must be feeling really confused with all these different people driving them, all of them beginners." We thought that was a pretty sharp insight for a youngster.
In other news, I have a bit of a ta da! moment for you, not in terms of a new quilt or piece of knitting but with respect to my studio. I showed you my "Gallery of Shame," a few months ago, showing a studio so packed and cluttered with stuff that it was a wonder that any sewing or designing was happening in there at all.
Back in March, dh and I went looking for some second-hand furniture to give me better and more attractive storage for the studio. We found two pieces for storage, and a table top that is turning out to be a vast improvement on the worn, grooved, and uneven kitchen table top I used for years.
Eight feet of slick, smooth arborite that fits perfectly on top of the table support I was already using. Can you imagine what an improvement this is when it comes to a flat, even surface for cutting? I'm thrilled with it.
And for storage, I bought these two wardrobes. The smaller one was pretty much usable as it was, although my dh added a couple of door pulls to make the doors easier to open.
And it has built-in slide-out shelves for all those little containers of things like beads and marking tools.
My collection of solids can now be seen at a glance (hm--I need more yellows), beside piles of potential backing fabrics and piles of what I'm calling "palettes in waiting": collections of fabrics that I think might sing well together.
The second wardrobe is much larger, about six feet by five, and required quite a bit more work. Dh had to work out a way to cover a long gap in the back wall so that the mice wouldn't slip in. And he made and installed shelves, added magnetic closures and door pulls to the doors, and rehung the middle door, which at first wasn't hanging at all. All of this work took more than a full day, and I'm grateful that he was willing to take it on. And look what I have now for my small scrap bins and my round-the-colour wheel, everything-but-the-brights plus black and white fabric collection!
In the compartment on the right side of the wardrobe I've stored my treasured Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, and Denyse Schmidt fat quarters (none of which I've had the courage to use so far), my entire collection of batiks, plus quilt tops, constructed fabrics, and miscellaneous things for which I never had a dedicated space.
Isn't that a sight to thrill a quilter's heart? Every time I open this door I want to grab fabrics and start designing a new quilt.
With my two new wardrobes, all of my fabric is now happily stored in wood rather than plastic, an aesthetic change that pleases me greatly. And I'm happy that all of these pieces of furniture are second-hand: not only did I not pay an arm and a leg for them but these pieces are solidly-built, have some history, and have ended up with me rather than in the dump or on someone's burn pile. They fit in happily with my third wooden piece, the old cupboard that my mum used for storing church music. I've showed you this one before, but the contents change as time goes on: here's what it looks like now. Colour punch!
There are times when I have to pinch myself to believe my luck in having such a space in which to make quilts, having a job to pay for the fabric, and having a spouse who cheers me on and helps me get out of my own way when I'm making difficulties for myself.
I'm also incredibly lucky in my mum. In honour of Mother's Day, I want to give a shout out to her, not only for being a terrific mum but for her spirit and determination. She has, at the age of 80, just acquired a Macbook Pro and is learning to use it. This is no mean feat for her: not only is she having to learn about the hardware (she's never used a computer before) but she's having to learn the software too. We're doing our best over the phone (she bought the Macbook partly because I was convinced she'd find it easier to use than a PC but also because I'd be able to help her learn its ins and outs) but that's hardly the most efficient way for her to learn. And my dad can't help her much because he's a Windows/PC guy. And she's brand new at email, so she's having to learn her way around a gmail account. Plus, she has never learned to type, so she has all of those skills to acquire as well. Quite a plateful of challenges for one person, no matter what age! I'm reminded of a similar degree of grit and moral fibre when she learned to drive in her 40s. Yay, Mum! You're an inspiration to me.
Finally, I'll leave you with a bit of a critter gallery. Last week, the focus was on Django and Winston, so this week it's the turn of Sass and Soop.
Soop first, looking by turns malevolent, intrigued by something outside the studio, and fascinated by the swallows darting over her head.
And then Sass, curled up and about to take a nap, and then incredibly charming sitting at my knee.
Isn't she winsome? She's a darling.
Great and interesting post - so varied. Love the driving pics and the learning curve, and also terribly impressed with your new studio storage. Wonderful to have everything in full view and not to have to go digging......
Posted by: Hildred Finch | 05/15/2015 at 01:30 PM
Thanks, Hildred! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I agree that the best thing about the new storage, other than the aesthetics, is ease of access to my supplies. Though it's a bit sobering to realize just how much I still have in the way of supplies, despite the weeding process . . .
Posted by: Anne at Shintangle Studio | 05/16/2015 at 08:10 PM