Fall Projects

In my mind I was going to create one of those catchy slide shows…you know, the ones that click through 100 amazing photos in 2.5 minutes accompanied by some up-beat music…that’s why it’s been so long since the last posting. But the weather has been spectacular and I’ve found a thousand reasons not to be in the office doing computer chores…so here are a few of the photos that may some day make it into the snappy slide show…

Our last two weeks in snips:

This Fall’s honey harvest was bountiful…and the honey tastes of apple blossoms. It’s going to be a sweet winter!

Tray after tray of honey cells…interestingly the color of the honey is the same color I get when we dye our wool with oregano plants.

I spent Columbus Day Weekend on Deer Isle at the Haystack School of Crafts. The program is open by lottery and I won a slot in the Blacksmithing class…it was SO MUCH fun…exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. I loved the molten metal and being surrounded by all of the artistic souls…the hammering was seriously hard work. Steven stayed home and kept the campground running smoothly…how lucky am I?

Arriving at Haystack on Friday afternoon…3 days of learning the art of blacksmithing for Astrig…heaven.

I wanted to make a door handle for the new pizza oven…a honey bee of course. Doug was a fantastic teacher…that’s me with the acetylene torch to make the coil for the bee’s body. (just a few days ago I didn’t know what acetylene was)

This is Jeff Towe of Mount Desert Island. He was the Blacksmith’s assistant…a full artist in his own right and such a wonderful teacher…he guided me through the bee…and did the heavy pounding so that I wouldn’t feel bad.

Hanging out

Steven started the pizza oven at the art studio with Mike and Larry on Columbus Day Weekend using blue clay from the property

Getting taller…

We’ve harvested all the fall wool…pounds and pounds of mohair for winter spinning projects

Betsy helped shear Trevor…while she scratches his ears I clip. It takes a real sheep shearer about 8 minutes to clean an animal…we took about 4 hours to get the job done but can report happily that we didn’t draw blood

We saved Maggie for last…this is her first haircut since she came into our living room last March…click the link below to see her first video

http://searsportshores.com/2013/03/13/little-maggie-the-lamb-first-week-at-searsport-shores-campground-pt-1/

Steve’s hand was steady and Maggie was as compliant as an angel

Working the dye pot...the objective was to match the colors of the dahlias in the dye garden...mission achieved! — The new Maggie munching broccoli caption]

[caption id="attachment_3926" align="alignnone" width="361"] As soon as the wool was washed I start working the dye pot…the objective was to match the colors of the dahlias in the dye garden…mission achieved!

Plans for the winter? Late this summer we acquired 100+ acres across the street and intend to develop hiking and biking trails for all of us to enjoy

4 responses to “Fall Projects”

DonnaLee says:

October 21, 2013 at 11:22 am

What wonderful photos – texture – color – tone- very inviting!
Hike and Bike Trails !!!! 🙂 Fantastic!! Huge smiles. And congratulations

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deb says:

October 22, 2013 at 9:13 am

Hi Astrig & Steve,

Are you going to stay making the trails this fall? If so, a trip up might be in order!

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Shirley says:

October 23, 2013 at 1:15 pm

Astrig, I too took a blacksmithing class a few years ago and fell in love with the heat, the iron, and the anvil. Something very primitive, yet satisfying about this art. Fall looks beautiful in Searsport. I miss it everyday.

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- Astrig says:
  
  October 28, 2013 at 9:33 am
  
  Shirley,
  When you can find our way back into Searsport you’ll always have a home. In the meantime I’ll try to keep the blog updated enough that you know what our little corner of the world looks like on any given week.
  Hugs,
  Astrig
  
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