All posts by ruthsoaper

Recent Craft and Sewing Projects

Crafts, Reflections, Sewing

Hello and welcome. I thought I would share some of the craft projects I have completed in the last couple of months.

For Christmas I made cork boards as Christmas gifts for the girls.

My husband’s father used to own a wine shop where he sold wine making supplies. When he passed away my husband inherited a lot of the wine making supplies. For over a year we had large bags of corks stored in the barn that we had no idea what we would do with. When one of my daughters mentioned wanting a bulletin board, I had an idea. I used a top to a banker’s box for the frame and covered it with some scrap fabric that I had on hand. I ran some jute through the side of the box as a hanger. Then I hot glued the corks in. The picture above is one of three that I made.

I was very pleased with the way they turned out and the girls loved them.

I made this bear with some scrap fabric and a bag of stuffing I had. Since I used buttons for the eyes, she (my husband decided it was a girl bear) was made completely with things I had on hand. Her name is Melody.

When I came across this free pattern/tutorial for a shopping bag/purse I decided to try my hand at making one. For this my sister and I made a trip to the fabric store and selected the fabrics. Selecting fabrics is at least half the fun, especially when you have a sister or two to shop with. 🙂 The inside of the bag is completely lined with the solid blue fabric and has pockets like the ones on the outside done in the flowered fabric. Thus, the bag is reversable.

This hoodie for my grandson, Jackson, is my most recent sewing project and I have just started one for his sister Addie. While hers will be made of different fabrics I am using the same pattern.

I have to say with each of these sewing projects I’ve learned something new.

Thanks for visiting.

A February Walk at the Farm

Chickens, Dogs, Eggs, garlic, Horses, Pond, Reflections, The Farm

Hello and welcome.

We been having some nice weather this week so I thought maybe you might join me for a walk at the farm.

One of the first things you might notice is that our neighbor to the east, who has horses, extended their corral. The fence that my husband put up last spring is their barrier to the west, so they come right up to our property line. For the first couple of weeks Ruby and ranger would go over and bark at them, probably thinking they were doing something they shouldn’t. But Ruby and Ranger have since gotten use to them being so close and while Ruby and Bernard might touch noses through the fence, she no longer has an issue with them being there.

Ruby greets Bernard and Colby Jack

My husband said that every morning when he goes to open up the chicken coop Bernard and Colby Jack greet him at the fence. He likes to have a couple of carrots or other treats for them.

Bernard

They are very friendly horses, especially when there are treats to be had.

Colby Jack

The chickens out enjoying the nice weather. The hens started laying more eggs this week. For several weeks we have only been getting between zero and two eggs a day, but in the last four days we have collected 18 eggs.

Rex, our rooster, is one of the chicks that we got last spring. Unlike roosters we have had in the past he not aggressive toward people or the dogs. It’s nice not to worry about turning my back on him.

Garlic Sprouts

They are a bit difficult to make out in the above picture, but the garlic is about 4 or 5 inches high. I spotted daffodils, lilies and irises sprouting as well.

While things have started to dry out a bit this week the pond is still running over its bank. This is the highest we have ever seen the pond this time of year.

Most of our beach is under water.

As I walked down the west property line I loved this view of the barn.

The thin layer of ice that covered much of the pond early this week has since melted since temperatures reached up into the 50’s and 60’s F on Thursday and Friday.

There is still plenty of time for winter weather to return but we will certainly appreciate these nice days while we have them.

Thanks for joining me.

How’s the weather in your part of the world?

Monthly Inspiration

Inspiration, Love, Reflections

Hello and welcome! February is known as the month of love. Valentines Day is just around the corner and my husband and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary. Thus, our monthly inspiration is dedicated to love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Thanks for visiting.

Feeding the Birds

Birds, Reflections, Suet Cakes, Tallow

I don’t have a bird calendar hanging in my kitchen this year, but we have been enjoying watching the birds at the feeders outside our kitchen window. We didn’t have a feeder when my husband brought home the first bag of bird seed, so rather than buy a feeder I decided to make suet cakes. We had a lot of tallow in the freezer that would be perfect for this project. Since we purchase our beef in bulk, ordering 1/4 cow from a local farmer, we always get the suet (fat from around the kidneys and loins of the cow). Long time readers might remember this post when I explained the process of rendering suet into tallow. Even though they are called suet cakes, technically, they are made with tallow (rendered suet).

To make the suet blocks I melted the tallow, about 6 cups then added about 2 cups oatmeal, 2 cups corn meal and 2 cups birdseed. I then poured it into freezer containers. I poured it about 1 1/2 inches deep because that is how thick I wanted my suet cakes. I then put the freezer containers in the freezer. Once the suet cakes were solid I took them out and used a sharp knife with a long narrow blade to drill a hole in the center of the cake. I then strung a ribbon through the hole and tied it at the top of the suet cake. I could now hang the suet cakes in a tree or on a shepherd’s hook for the birds to enjoy.

That is a suet cake hanging on the right-hand side of the shepherd’s hook in the picture below. My dad then gave us an extra feeder that he was not using so we hung that up as well.

These pictures were taken through my kitchen window so are not very clear.

Regular visitors to the feeder have been Tufted Titmice, Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, and Sparrows. I did see a Harry Woodpecker a couple times and there is a squirrel who keeps steeling the suet cakes. I saw him (or her) the first couple of times eating from the suet cakes before they were knocked to the ground and disappeared, so it is safe to assume that the same thing happened to the last two suet cakes as well.

On Saturday a large flock of starlings visited. Mostly they sat in the maple trees (and pooped on my car) but a few did grab a snack from the bird feeder before they flew off the parts unknown. Since then, I have seen a few more starlings stop to eat.

Sunday afternoon my husband quietly called me over to look out the window. As I looked out, I saw a small hawk sitting in the arborvitae right next to the bird feeder. While I’m sure it was looking for a meal, it clearly had no interest in the bird seed. Thankfully all the little birds had disappeared, so the hawk had to look elsewhere for dinner. I do understand that hawks need to eat too, but I would prefer that they find field mice and other small rodents, and if they do have to eat a smaller bird I don’t want to see it.

Yesterday afternoon the feeder was visited by three Blue Jays and while most of the smaller birds cleared out while the Jays were there it was delightful to see.

At this point the only bird I am still hoping to see is a cardinal or two as we usually do see them in winter or spring.

Thanks for visiting.

Do you feed the birds?

Happy New Year and Monthly Inspiration

Inspiration, Poetry, Reflections

Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a nice holiday season. I did buy a new calendar but the calendar I selected for 2024 is just pretty rooster pictures. It looks nice in our kitchen, but there are no inspirational saying to draw from. I have decided to continue to do my monthly inspiration posts, but they will be a little different this year.

This month our inspiration is this poem I wrote – something that has been on my mind for the last week.

In The Spirit of Christmas

The holidays are over, another year through.

It’s common at this time to start feeling blue.

The tree is down now, and lights put away,

but the spirit of Christmas can be here to stay.

To keep it around is up to you,

but read on and I’ll tell you some things you can do.

Greet other people with a smile upon your face.

Comfort those who are hurting with a warm embrace.

Show appreciation along the way.

A simple compliment can make someone’s day.

Offer grace or forgiveness to those who offend.

When you’re wrong admit it and make amends.

Use your time and your talents to do a good deed.

Donate your excess to others in need.

It’s good will toward others that begets peace on earth.

There is no currency to measure it’s worth.

It lives within you, the spirit I speak of.

This Christmas Spirit is AKA love.       

If you liked this post or have found it inspiring feel free to share it on your blog (reblog) or on your social media pages.

Wishing you all the best in 2024.