Training....Training Anything...Crossover Trainers...The Positive and The Negative

InCREDible video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k7B-JGowL4 

 

FIRST of all, Hawks are my favorite animal. They are everything that I would like to be. Fierce. Wild. Free. Exquisite. Well-thought-out. Determined. Accurate.

 

I saw this video, and I truly did not think anything was out of the ordinary regarding training. Of course, I have never seen the "other" methods of training raptors, nor have I ever gone to a rodeo....BOTH factions would probably get me arrested....sigh.....

 

Learning the science of positive reinforcement, you don't run the risk of  possible detrimental side effects such as:

Escape avoidance behavior

Increased aggression

Apathy

Generalized fear of the environment

Loss of trust

The animal trained in negative reinforcement will only work at the level necessary to avoid the negative stimulus.

The animal trained with positive reinforcement will look forward to the training sessions and will be more creative and attentive.

..Didja ever go to to Hot Springs when you were a kid and play the Tic Tac Toe games with the chickens in the arcade glass boxes? The chickens Always beat me at that game....durn chickens--I was Such a gambler even at age 8....But Fascinated at the animals' expertise....

 So, over 50 years ago, they were being trained by positive reinforcement...(ever tried to put a choke chain on a CHICKEN?!).

Remember how it was in school?  The teacher that made us  feel smart and safe and creative had us wanting to be there and learn?  ...Now remember all those teachers that scared us  and how we  only did enough to stay out of trouble and never ever offered any more.

Right...sigh...we "grow" thru adversity, but we Learn with the Positive. So, sometimes, "stress" is a Good Thang, stretching our "borders" and awareness---but it should always be done with love and patience and with lots of allotted timespace to learn.  There is Good in both the Positive and the Negative.....

 

I cite this example:  When our Kathryn was a little girl and wanted some ketchup to go with her fries at McDonalds....I told her to go to the counter and get it.  "Well....." she told me, "I'm...shy...

"Kathryn, I don't WANT any ketchup. I don't use it on MY fries. If you want some, you'll have to go get it." (meanest Mommy in the world....The WHOLE world)

So, she trucked her liddle blonde head up to the counter, blue eyes barely seeing over the top, and waited and Waited until someone saw her and asked what she wanted.

Came back to our table, with a glowing, triUMphant smile...."Mom! I got my own ketchup!"

"I knew you would," I told her matteroffactly and with great restraint....Our baby had grown a few inches before our very eyes.

 

She was stressed....unhappy, in fact...but NOT so much that she could not Recover and Learn....

 

Years later, when this child was in Nursing College....she would report in about various achievements she'd reached during the week, telling me, "Mom! I got my own ketchup!" It has become a catch phrase in our household.....

 

ANYway, all this is to say, I believe that ALL very good trainers are actually "cross-over" trainers....We have gone the route of choke chains and jerking and snapping, and have discovered that there is a kinder, more effective, more enjoyable Way.

 

 

If you ONLY use Positive methods ALL the time (with dogs, at least), then I don't believe that you are very real. Frustration HAS to be a factor some of the time---or you are Waaaaay too perfect to be my friend! :-)  And even my Very Sweetest, Kindest Collie needs a bit of "cometoJesus" every once in a while. But that does NOT mean that one needs to put a prong collar on a Collie or slap and scream and kick.Or teach retrieve with an ear pinch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=MBHs4OQcjFA http://www.colliesonline.com/ad_archive_2009/bailey_070409.html

 

 

Over the years the training techniques have changed--certainly lots of new and wonderful tools have been added to the trainer's toolbox, but the fundamentals have not changed.  Good trainers in 1981  sent clear messages to dogs which included  lead pops--these were taught as fast. light literal pops--not punishing jerks and lots of verbal praise, though not too much food at that time.  The signature style of this kind of training was  a happy voice no matter what the hands were doing.  Timing was the most critical element in  trainer-dog communication.  The emergence of clicker training which I learned in 2011 was huge--it enables the trainer to communicate with a dog  efficiently and quickly. 

 

Most trainers who started when I did assimilated the new stuff as it came along and edited the tool box on the fly--most of us who grew up this way are eclectic, not based in a single method.  I edit my toolbox ALL the time! At this point, I have actually thrown out my clicker! Yep! I use the one "in my mouth." A wonderful tip from FS teacher Michele Pouliot. 

(see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5yAOu8HLc  and  http://cdf-freestyle.com/audio-video/smile.wmv   ).

She ALSO suggests that we keep our treats out of sight, hidden in our pockets, even taking time to dig them out. Once you have clicked, and the dog understands that click means treat, you don't have to be quick! to get the treat to him.....Interesting concept. Makes for Wonderful attention.  "Clean training," she calls it. 

Most tools are perfectly reasonable if applied correctly with the right owner-dog combo, but none work for all dogs all the time.   Ever raised a kid?!  Methods that worked for first daughter did Nothing to help out #2....When you think you have it all sewed up in a neat little package, the planet will send you something completetly different!  One thing that I think that God and the Universe do not like is complacency.....

 

While you can and have to train some animals as this hawk is trained as dolphins and killer whales are trained, dogs are more resilient and also more defiant sometimes than the hawk is.  I can Definitely say that James was more defiant than a dang hawk! :-)  Prosper, not so much...but in his own way, he does that "passive/assertive" thang... I don't know how many times in and out of class I have seen dogs thumb their noses at their owners and choose to ignore what the owner was doing or saying.  At this point I'm going to add some compulsion to the training--something like a come-for recall onlead where the dog gets a pull  if he fails to respond to the recall command.    OR, as Prosper loves to do.....PEE before he turns around to come to me....arrrrruuuuughhhhh!!!! Durn boydawgs.... I would also be using a negative verbal to mark a missed command....I say "Wrong" very sadly, and turn around. 

 

  

 I am a lot happier training with positive, understanding methods. With communicating with the dog instead of dictating. I love being a team and joining up with my dog.

 

What I have learned  is that one should not rush training....even if it means WE are getting older day by day! Eventually, the Bond between human and dog will begin to explode, and the dog will realize that Teamwork is the Most fun of all. Assuring the dog that YOU have his back, that YOU can be trusted to fulfill his every need, that YOU will take care of each situation. THIS is the most important element of any training. AND....you can take That into the ring with you.... Every. Single. Time!.

 

Sixty Two years ago

And, now, it will tell you the story of The Day I Was Born........

Memphis Tennessee.  Early cold morning, snow falling.  My mother had had a couple of false alarms, and wasnt quite sure that this was, in fact, THE Time.  Besides, it was Early, and like most all the Jasper wimmen, Early Morning is an almost insurmountable challenge. 

My Daddy was not taking any chances this time ( after all, it was their third child), and insisted that they were, in fact, going to the neighborhood hospital. 

He scurried my mother out to the car, in the snow, only to find that the tire on his 1950 Chevy was flat.  

We are talking dark ages here, folks.  There was no InstaAir to plump up the tire.  Not even a Spare tire in the trunk.  His only option was to get out the hand pump and pump up the tire.  Manually.  Like a bicycle pump. 

So he did!  He knelt down and began to air up that flat.  In the cold morning snow.

My mother, waiting for her knight in shining armor to slay this dragon, did what any Southern born princess would do.  

She laughed.  She jumped up and down, her turgid belly rolling like Santy Claus, and clapped her hands and Laughed.  

And as the snow blew and the tire filled with air, my father doubled over in severe abdominal pain, exactly coinciding with his wife's labor pain. His appendix later ruptured and he nearly died, but not this day.  That is another story.

They arrived at the hospital in plenty of time. It was Morning, remember......I was not born until after 4 that afternoon. My father consumed an entire bottle of Paragoric (a camphorated tincture of opium, commonly used to treat belly aches, available overthecounter in those days), and staved off the appendix rupture for a few more months.  He also endured taunts from his friends about "sympathy labor." 

I was quite ugly when I was born.  Dark, ruddy skin and exploding straight Black hair.  My eight-year-old sister looked upon me in horror and asked my proud father, "you mean we waited all this time for....for....This?!"

Quickly her mothering instincts kicked in, and I became a Permanent Appendage upon her right hip.  I did not walk alone until I was nearly two.  Beloved and confirmed and doted upon by my older sister and brother, I grew up believing that Life was beautiful and everyone loved me. 

As the third and final child, my parents raised me with the idea that I would outgrow any unacceptable behaviors, and my siblings just thought I was plain fun.

It is a True Miracle that I am not more annoying than I am....

Mornings At Seven

My old dog
Lies on the rug beside my bed
A SableandSnow tapestry

He is close to me as he can be nowdays.
His legs no longer allowing him access to my bed.

Softly, his legs run in silent rhythm in dream fields of cats and sheep.
He sleeps the sleep of old dogs
And dreams the dreams of young pups.

He carries the memories of me as a younger woman.
I remember the strong and fluid moves of a dog in his prime.
Together we grow older, and our slowing down is an opportunity to Reflect.

I stir under my bedcovers.
His royal head lifts to meet my eyes.
Then drops again between his paws
Neither of us are ready to emerge from the cocoon of sleep and rest.

My bare feet touch the floor beside him.
He rolls to his back, legs askew, whole face smiling.
"What are we gonna do today?" he asks with Joy and Delight at my attention.

I stand, creakily, reach for my robe.

And the slippers under his paws.

Yoga-stretch to stroke his redgold head.

He, too, struggles to arise, old hips uncooperative and unpredictable.

It is no longer a race for the door.  I win every time now.
I leave him behind  to convince his muscles to perform again for him another day.


And my heart remembers a flying Collie.

It's Friday. Is the Biopsy Report In?

Sunnybank, 2012

Yes.  Yes it is.  And it is Good and it is notsogood.....


I thought he would live forever.  Some days I wanted to kill him.  Some times I thought he would kill me.  Most days were roller coaster rides with James on the front seat, barking, "Faster! FASTER!"

I hung on for dear life, learning skills I did not know were within me. 

He's never done anything slowly. He has barreled thru Life, calling all of it "his due," and making us stop and take notice of his 

Incredible  Magnificence 

(his words, not mine)......

And we have.  We All have.  

Never a Champion in the Breed Ring.  Never a    High in Trial in the Obedience, Rally, or Agility Rings. 

But allow him to make his own way, write his own script, choreograph his own dance......and there you have an Incredibly Magnificent Collie.

Perhaps that is what he came here to teach me...

Choose your Path.  Don't be stiff.  Don't even be brave.  Just expect your Public to love you and be thrilled you are in their midst. Bark at thunder.  Allow children to put their tiaras on your head.  Rush up to people in wheelchairs.  Trade valuable objects for a taste of food.  And dance!  Dance because you know they want to see you dance. 

Broken

Taking the challenge here....a five minute writing challenge.....Just to get me in the Blog again.....

Keyword here is "Broken."

I do not Like broken things.  For a person who collects and rescues many things, Broken Ones soon find their way to the trash.

Broken, chipped, cracked,unfixable.......Nope.....as my grand baby said......"No Want."  Not in my cabinet, not on my coffee table.

Several years ago I was introduced to a magical world of Mosaic. My friend Joanne had some beautiful flowerpots in her home, mosaiced with all sorts of whimsical items and broken pieces of pottery and plates.  Even cup handles and teapot spouts!

Intrigued and not just a little envious, I cajoled her into inviting me over the next time she and her Art Friends convened to create mosaics of their own.

Never having been acquainted with the "visual artist" types, I sat mute before my large flowerpot while the others nipped and stuck and laughed and praised.

Slowly, I reached my hands out to a chipped Christmas dinner plate I had contributed to the stash of raw materials.  It was one of a set of dishes that had golden trumpets on it with red poinsettias--- a beloved pattern that had called my name many years before. I did not even wait until the
after-Christmas sale to purchase them. Omigosh! Trumpets, Christmas, and Red--- allinone.

I was so sad when the chip appeared.......I did something I never had done before.......I did not toss it in the trash.......I put it back in the cabinet.....on the bottom of the stack.  There it remained, year after year, unused, hidden, a silent reminder that I no longer had a complete set......

I took the nippers and broke off a piece of golden trumpet and red Christmas flower.  Dabbed a bit of mastic on the back, and carefully found the perfect contour of the flowerpot.

One of the artist-friends had brought a ceramic letter"T."   She held it out to me, smiling, knowing before I even knew, what was to come into my life.

And, this was the beginning of a new discovery within me.  The discovery of  the Artist Inside Toni Bailey.  Emerging in the sixth decade of her life to create beautiful works out of Broken Things.

I now have a Studio in a corner of our storage barn.....My iPod plays while the dogs lie peacefully on the ramp in the evenings.  The cool winds waft thru or the portable fan blows its breeze.  My creations come from the not-so-ordinary into the world of re-acceptance.  What was broken or chipped or even tossed aside has a New Life and is declared beautiful once again.

So......bring your broken thangs to me.  I, the Artist, will transform their brokenness.  Or, better still, I can introduce you to your Artist Within.  She exists in all of us.

Catching the Squirrel

My daughter's MIL had a dachshund who lived to chase squirrels.  Chased them thru her yard, chased them up trees, high line wires, over and under fences.  She chased squirrels for years, this little red sausage. And they, in turn, tormented her, taunting her from the high places and the outsideofthefence places.

Ginger made  her Life's Mission to catch a squirrel.  Just ONE squirrel, so she could experience the triumph and Joy of having known she could do it.

But the years of practice rolled by, and even with daily exercises and Encouragement from her humans and dog friends alike, she never achieved her goal.

Then, one day, Ginger and her human were walking in the park across the street from her house. A familiar face showed itself on the path around the pond, and Ginger took off, her owners leash flying like a banner behind her.  She flew like the wind, and the squirrel, who was unaccustomed to such unbridled menace, had no instinct to escape this marauder.

Ginger caught that squirrel, right square around the ribcage, turned and headed towards her mistress to display the prized trophy.

If you have ever been around squirrels for any period, you will quickly come to realize that they truly are the embodiment of the definition "squirrelly."  Their movements are jerky and fast and certainly unpredictable.  They are squirrels, and they act like squirrels. And they have sharp teeth. And they bite.

Ginger is a very sweet dachsie, unaccustomed to violence or even discomfort of any kind.  Mostly she burrows under the quilts on the couch in winter, and people's laps in summer.  She's never bitten anything except her chew toys and various chair legs....

So What! does a city dachshund DO when she finally captures her prey in a beautiful park by the lake with her panicked mistress trying vainly to regain control of leash and deal with an hysterical rodent.

Ginger had caught the squirrel, and did not have the "tools" to complete the task.

She walked around with the semi-comatose squirrel wiggling in her jaws, telling the world around her, "Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! I caught the Squirrel!!"

Eventually, Ginger released her prize,allowing the sodden rodent to run up the nearest tree. Ginger remained triumphant, proud, and a bit bewildered. She had received her Heart's Desire, and her life was changed.

Last week, I, too, Caught The Squirrel.

My Collies and I have been asked to dance at the Collie National Specialty in Wisconsin this spring.

At this point, I am still walking around repeating OmigoshOmigoshOmigosh.

Dancing Thru Life

Below you will find a note from our older daughter.......Their life has been in a (wonderful!) upheaval of moving to another state, selling and buying a home, unpacking, finding the closest Target and Kroger, deciding on a new church, locating a new hairdresser.......

And in the midst of all this Change, her daughter crossed into "Womanhood," momentarily blindsiding her and causing a great deal of introspection, and yes,...worry........

As we each rotate into our individual roles in Life, we expect the World to stop and slow down a bit. We need to get our bearings and understand  our management of these new titles.....

The planet doesn't wait for us to interrupt its rotation and gradually cope.  Instead, it insists we continue to fly thru the universe by the proverbial "seat of our pants."  

It makes us stronger.  Causes us to think on our feet AND savor each moment as well.....

 Here's what Emily wrote to me:

Well, yesterday I went shopping for sanitary pads with my baby daughter and today I taught her how to shave her legs.... I am still in a state of shock because she is just a baby.  She is so interested in discovering all that it means to be a young lady and it is difficult for me to watch her stretch out her longer-than-mine, beautiful legs and ask me questions about pubic hair and Listen to her whisper that "everything was okay when I went to the bathroom....".  We shopped for new, cute panties to celebrate "The Event".  She has quizzed me about my cycles and we have discussed how important it is that she be thinking ahead in preparation for the Job her body will someday do when she becomes a 
momma.  So much.....so fast.  I know it is a big change for her but I had No Idea as to what a big change it would be to me.  So, to you that have experienced it I want to say Good Job and Thank You. To those of you who are waiting to
experience these changes I want to say..... Soak everything up while you are where you are.   Everyone talks about the changes that a young woman goes through during puberty but no one warns the momma that her baby slips through her fingers In a mere second..... 
Em 

And here is my reply.....Red a tenting, indeed!

I have never met anyone so Eager to start her period! I heard the "catch" in her voice when she called to tell me, and I melted....Delicate snow turning to rain on my skin.....

It is so wonderful that you can discuss this and cherish the Moment in Time when she steps over to Womanhood.  This is the Perfect age for her....She knows enough to be in awe of her body and to appreciate the miracle that surrounds and grows within her.  She is not afraid of going forward into Life, tho she certainly welcomes the company and the Support.

What a Great Age!!!  PERFECT timing on her Creator's part.

And you!  YOU get to sit beside her and watch her journey into places you can never go......You travelled this road at this age with your head in the stars, counting it all as Normal and Quite Easy.  You had no fear for the future, only anticipation and delight. You wondered how you could incorporate jewelry into each moment and desired, above all, that those around you be as content.....

Yes, I marveled at you, as I watched you depart from me into worlds I could not go. I see you now experiencing the same joy and trepidation and sadness that I felt when I realized you had to do much of this Alone, without me, and in your own style. 

Here I am, two generations away, and confirming, once again, what a Good Job I did......

xoxox

Momma

Musings of a 61-year-old on her Birthday......

Yesterday, January 21, I turned 61.  Not so bad.  Except that I'm fatter than I want to be.  More wrinkled than I want to be. Less limber and less graceful than I want to be.  More grey of hair than I want to be.

All outward appearance disappointments....Some of which can be modified with diet, exercise, Mary Kay, yoga, and Loving Care.....Mail order or WalMart should take care of most of these....

Where am I on the Inside matters? What have I done in these six decades to warrant another trip around the Sun? Have I improved Life on this planet?  Have I managed to leave the woodpile stacked a little bit higher? Have I accomplished anything of Merit as a woman way past her Prime?

This is one of the earliest photos of me. Probably the only "baby" picture of me.... Third child. Older sister, older brother....If you look closely, you can Tell that this is an "impromptu" photograph....taken while visiting my parents' hometown in Arkansas. Looks like Mom had hurriedly tucked in the front of my brother Nic's shirttail....My sister Sherry was dressed in playclothes, and why Daddy had on a suit and tie, I do not know. Mom seems relaxed. Almost sensuous.....Like me, she Enjoyed her role of wife and mother....

Below is me in first grade.  I'd already lost a few teeth.  We were growing out my bangs....unsuccessfully, it appears.....I never was a pretty child, and never thin.  But I had an Open Smile, and my eyes always said "yes."   

Birthdays make one think. At least, the more I have, the more I think about these things and where I am in relationship with the Earth, its Creator, and the folks travelling with me......

And, so, I believe, a List is in order.....For no one elses benefit except mine.....

 

 

 

If you continue to read, then perhaps this might cause you to create a similar list....and in doing so, perhaps it might help you sort some things out as well....Tho very few of you readers have orbited around the Sun as many times as I have, maybe the following paragraphs will give you a bit of insight regarding how it feels to live in an aging body with a mind who thinks it is still 17.....

Accomplishments:

  Probably the biggest and best and most important (besides the ones involving God, of course) would be our marriage of 41+ years. This, beyond all else, is the most difficult, frustrating, time-consuming, delightful thing I have ever done. Yep.  Certainly the most Difficult. And I am certain that Bikeman would agree to this. Being married to me is a Challenge at best, Hell at the worst.....And HE's no picnic, either! There were many days, weeks, months that both of us wondered What for and Why we were even Thinking of continuing together.
  As it turns out, we have come to realize that we both admire each other more than anyone we know. Respect and Honor are the hallmarks of our marriage (Lust comes in there as well, but that's another Blog). Understanding and Agreement never seem to come in to play, but give us another 41 years, and we'll see what happens.
  People who were married in the '70's did not tend to stay together.  It was the era of divorce and infidelity.  Look around you.  There are plenty of folks who have celebrated their 50th and even 60th, and their 25th.....but not many 40th...We are a strange and rare item, indeed.  A Great Accomplishment for both of us.

  Then there are the children.  I think they might just go hand-in-hand with this struggle of 41 years.....Whatever the reason, our beautiful (inside and out) daughters, maturing into successful women with families of their own----They are certainly an improvement to this planet....
  If you search the archives, you will see many pictures of them.  They even have blogs of their own. The links are there on the side of this post.

This is Baby Toni and Baby Emily.......We kinda raised each other.....

Here she is with a baby of her own......A true Treasure on this big blue marble.....

 

This one is very like ME....only an Improvement, to say the least. 

 

She tells me very Wise things....I learn a lot from her....

 

 

 

Ah.....Sisters......

And Red Tenting (Have you ever read The Red Tent by Anita Diament?  I will SEND you a copy!)

 

  So.....even though I cannot take much credit, because I certainly was sent some very GOOD raw material.....these women are truly people who continue to improve the planet....At least I can say that I had a small part in developing that.  Stir in a wonderful father, Girl Scouts, love of God, Music, and a sense of Humor, and itsa nice formula.....

 

And the Third Accomplishment.....Helping the Animals of the Earth......

  From the time I was very small, I was always bringing home ill and injured animals to heal and be whole again. My parents were very indulgent in allowing sodden, broken-winged birds and flea-infested mammals and disgusting reptiles into our home. Mostly they were defenseless to my tears, and hoped that I would eventually outgrow this need to comfort the wild things.

  I never kept count of the creatures I helped return to the lives intended for them.  I only know that I got "better" and more aware as more came into my hands.

 

 

  Several years ago I discovered that I could actually communicate with animals, and have been able, through wonderful mentors, to hone my skills and use them to help out the Animal Kingdom.  Plants and Rocks, too....

  This is a mystery that continues to unfold and develop before my very eyes.  ALL I have had to do is keep myself open and willing, and The Creator does the rest.  The most Difficult part has been moving beyond the ordinary norms of society and allowing myself the freedom to continue on this unfamiliar path.

 

So......Marriage.  Children.  Animals.  Not a bad assessment, now that I have written it all down.  I could probably take a few more years of life on Earth....and maybe, just Maybe, continue to improve my surroundings. Please remember me always with a smile....and perhaps a shake of your head....

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Breaking Things as Art

 

Well, who knew that breaking things into pieces and gluing them onto something else could be considered "Art." I've never considered myself an artist until a friend of mine who is an incredible artist, introduced me to the art that I have within.....She showed me that I Do have an "eye" and a gift for placing color in beautiful designs. So we broke a few plates together, and she set me free to find my Muse.

 

It quickly became an addiction.......

 



Here's a few examples of some of the creations I've made.

 

Mostly, the colors are broken dishes, cups, chunks of pottery, marbles, and glass "dots" that go into fish aquariums. They are mounted on various pieces of ceramic/pottery stuff.

Can you guess what THIS base might be.

 

 Yeh....it's uh....well....it's a Toilet Tank lid.  Dunno HOW I have come across so many of these, but they make wonderful "yard art," or even fit upon some of your exisiting toilets. 

 This is supposed to be a human/dog dancing.  It was a prize for one of the dog dance competitions that we go to.

 

Here is another one.......

 

 

And another.....

 

Below is one of the many bowling balls I have "re-created" into a face.  This one is my Nerd.  His glasses are cup handles, and his hat is a lid to the base he is setting on....Any suggestions for a name?

 

 

This green guy I named Stoner.  He was a gift to one of my dog dance friends. His nose is a "bonnet" from some figurine that was broken. He is pictured on the turnaround in my Studio.  A nice way of saying that DH Bikeman has agreed to hand over half of the storage barn to my "broken-ness."

 

 

 

And then, there's Pinkie.  She is made from mostly pink Fiesta ware.  She is pictured before she got grouted.

 

 

Here she is with her "makeup" on.  Her hat is an upside down vase. I love the green eyes. And the border of yellow hearts for hair. Cup handles for nose and mouth.

 



 



 Here's a birdhouse I decorated for Habitat for Humanity auction.  I think it sold for over $100!

 Our birdbath.....remade into something more colorful for the birds' needs.

 Oh, yes....Here's a wonderful mosaic of the heavenly bodies.....It's actually a toilet tank, but I've made it into a planter.  The design goes all around....Jupiter and Mars and Earth are on the other side.  The moon with the cow jumping over it (a cow-shaped cup handle) is on one of the ends.

 

 

Finally, here are a few more pictures of a work in progress. It is a turquoise toilet tank lid (from the 60's?), and will be a prize for the Thanksgiving Dance competition in Oklahoma City next month.

 

First, you draw a design (thanks for the help from my artist friend JT DeShong ), then you stick on the pieces with Liquid Nail.

 

 

And here is the finished product.  Wonder whose prize it will be?!

 

 

 

Everyone seems to enjoy these mosiacs in one way or another.  Remember Mrs. Whitworth? Well, she has been with us almost a year now, and truly enjoys being a part of a Home instead of a shelter...One of her favorite passtimes is to sit on the front porch, advertising that This is HER place of residence now.  And forever.  A Mosaic Cat on a Mosiac Chair.  She knew where to land....From broken-ness into something beautiful......

 



 



 



 

A Moral Issue

Digging in my east garden yesterday. Planting some lavender and sage that a friend gave to me.  Oh, and some "society garlic." 

I love this garden.  Used to be full shade until my neighbor's 100+yr-old tree fell across the fence and had to be cut completely down.

Now the garden is full sun.  Some of the plants, well, most of the plants, are stressing from the full sun since the tree fell.

Now I am trying to replace some of them with plants that will tolerate the heat and the burning sun.

I overturned a ceramic pot, and this is what I saw:

 

 



Black Widow spider, right?  Poisonous, right?  Could possibly ruin my day/weekend/life if I came upon her, and she got scared, right?

 

 

Prolly should kill her and put me out of my misery.....right?

 

I turned the pot back over, and will strive to remember where she is from now on....

 

Yes, it was a moral delimma to me....and the spider won....