Catching up...

We've quite the week and a half around the farm.

First let me say that Nicole did well in her Solo and Ensemble competition. She recieved 1sts in her piano, flute trio and duet. She recieved a 2nd in her flute solo (a harder classed piece) and the jazz band received a 2nd. She had "the best day of the year" in her opinion. I was just happy she was happy, and she could shine...

The same weekend we had our first live calf on the ground. Sadly our calving rate is pretty low this year. We had one born premature and one was born in the midst of a blizzrad and didn't make it. Then last friday we had our first healthy heifer born. I was able to assist in the delivery. The cow really didn't need my help, but it sure hurts to watch them have them. I'd rather help if possible. Later that same day our another cow had to have her calf pulled because it was too large. Unfortunately it died the next day. Of course it was our most valuable cow having potentially the most valuable calf. *sigh*

But, on happier news... Spring is on it's way. Even though we about 4 inches of snow yesterday, the next few days we will have rain and warmer temperatures. This means riding is just a few weeks off. I am taking the saddles in for repairs this week.

Now the little mentioned half of the blog... ART!

Yesterday I hosted a 4H project meeting, as I am the art leader for our club. We did a modified version of Batik. I had them paint on fabric with acrylics, then we painted over the designs with hot wax and lastly we dipped the crinkled up fabric in black dye. Next week we will iron the extra wax off of the paintings and mount them on boards. The kids had a lot of fun and I did too. I will post pictures after our meeting next week.

In other art news I am starting book called Creative Watercolor Workshop by Mark E. Mehaffey. I will post in progress pictures as I move through the book.