Category Archives: labrador retrievers

Hello September!!

Aside

 

Oh my gosh, it has been weeks since I have had an opportunity to sit and put together a post.

I have had lots to say but just didn’t have the time to sit and put my thoughts together. I have had many wonderful visitors here this year. My new digs have served us well, stayed cool even with the heat wave we had all summer.

I have ventured into a new line of works, a collaboration with my favorite artist Molly A Poole which just deserves a whole post on its own.
Today I am going to be short and just give a heads up that the annual Labor of Love Auction for Labrador Life Line has started. LLL is an organization that will forward funds to families who have a Labrador Retriever needing urgent medical care. In these times when a dollar can’t stretch any further groups like this are a godsend to both the dog’s family, the dog itself and their veterinarian. It is one cause I will take the time to make something special for.I saw these words on another item on Facebook awhile ago and it made me laugh. I wanted something fun to make so here is my Labrador take on my Facebook hack.

Can be hung on a door, wall fence or even put on a stake and placed near your gate or in your garden.

So if you share your life with a dog, Labrador or not check out the wonderful offerings in the LLL  Labor of Love Cyber Auction  

Talk soon and enjoy the last long weekend of summer.

Brenda

 

 

A True Local Nursery and Plant Store

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With spring just arriving I wanted to to let you all know that MacPhail Woodlot and Ecological Center’s Native Tree & Shrub Nursery is opening this week. It is a wonderful place to buy wildflowers, native shrubs and trees that have been grown right at the nursery from seed collected from native species throughout the Island. One of the mandates of the woodlot is to help bring back the species that were here in the Acadian forests, thus helping to restore the diversity of plants that have been destroyed with some not so earth friendly practices throughout the last century or so.

There is wonderfully helpful information on their site with recommendations of plants suitable for a variety of situations from hedgerows and native landscaping for a variety of situations from wet, dry or shady areas to plants that will attract a variety of wildlife including birds and butterflies providing natural cover and food for overwintering species. It is worth browsing their site and making a list. The plants are uber healthy and so reasonably priced, they are used to our climate and soil..I haven’t had any setbacks ever with the ones I have purchased there.

You can email in an order, set aside a day to pick it up and make sure you leave some time to wander around the beautiful grounds, take the dog and go for a hike on the great hiking trails that they have built. It is a favorite spot for Jack & Hazel..they start whining with excitement as soon as we turn unto the clay road to MacPhails in Kinross..wooded trails, water, bridges..it just doesn’t get any better for 2 Labradors.

A few years ago Paul and I decided to pull out a nasty old culvert that was in the small stream that runs a few feet behind my wood studio. We built a small wooden bridge to span the stream. The previous owners had planted lawn right along the stream banks and we wanted to restore the native cover that is found in the wild….So we shopped at MacPhails, the site was readily available to help us in our choices and we didn’t break the bank. With the native plantings we put in a few favorites from our other beds ..

All the shrubs and trees for this garden came from MacPhails Woodlot Nursery

We planted trees that like the moisture…and shrubs for wildlife..the birds are loving it…..as are the frogs, toads and little salamanders along the bank. dragonflies and butterflies bless us in the summer….These are photos from last spring, getting to this point this year almost…I had just set out the Mason Beehouse I turned from beech that was packed with eggs, stored in the shed for the winter and ready now for the big hatch.Jack is sitting in front of a patch of Meadowsweet a great showy native plant that is one of my favorites. These are native cowslips that we transplanted from river below the stone railway bridge that is behind our property and where the dogs swim daily. They are so beautiful along the waters edge and among the wild Blue Flag Iris we also transplanted from the Waterside Road marsh. There are also cinnamon ferns, the little fiddleheads are just popping up..they are so beautiful when they are in full show.This is the beautiful Red Oak in the fall that is among the red maple and yellow birch trees we planted, this is just a year after planting…beside it are the butterfly houses we make here to offer protection from weather and predators for the beautiful butterflies loving the native plantings. There are also MacPhail fir and spruce along with red dogwood for winter color and interest.

I wanted to show you what can be done with native plants in your yard and garden……..So before you dig in imported species, do yourself and the Island a favor..check out MacPhails…it is one of our treasures here. You can also take in native landscaping workshops and how about a late night OWL PROWL with the kids!!

Oh and seeing as I make my living from wood, I encourage mass tree plantings of various species from everyone !!

Pinterest, good or bad ??

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The new boy on the block seems to be Pinterest, I know it is one of my latest obsessions..I love it !!

I have been reading so many posts about how it may rob artists and craftspeople credit for their work..OH, maybe so in some circumstances HOWEVER I am finding it gives my work exposure to a huge audience and drives traffic to my site and my online store..folks who I never would have reached. I am thrilled when someone likes my work enough to ‘PIN IT’…sure maybe someone will copy it….. go ahead if you are that type of ‘maker/faker’ !!

I guess if that is your big fear as an artisan….you just go ahead, hide all your work and keep it private.  Me, I will take the exposure I get for my work AND the exposure to seeing the ideas and creations out there..

I see wonderful things from incredibly talented people on Pinterest or on the internet in general, Do I think ‘OH WOW, I must make that??...NO, many are mediums that I don’t even work in or have that much talent…even with wood it gives me a chance to see what others are making, new ways of doing something, how many great woodworkers there are and last but not least what is trending, what folks are liking. I admire great work and seeing it restores my faith in the creative life.

I try to pin from the source and not just repin so I will be sure the link to someones work is there …I think that is good practice.

Pinterest inspires me, it gives me thoughts of new pieces, really everything we see affects our work, I don’t know how many NEW IDEAS are out there but the things I make come from the things I see and think about every day. Sure a picture I saw somewhere would have an effect..here is an example of my ‘stealing others work’

I have a friend who does the most wonderful paintings..my walls are a shrine to her work.  I sell her cards and some prints in my studio..her name is Molly Poole, her studio Granite Dog. She has a yellow Labrador girl who plays a huge role in her life but also her work..below are her paintings inspired by her life with Lucy .

So I look at these paintings, admire these and they stick with me. She has two paintings ‘Scout in the Canoe’ and ‘Old Town’ which I LOVE…..how could you not, I have Labradors, if it is related to water, it is for them.

Then I saw this vintage whirligig on Pinterest from One kings Lane..Now I LOVE whirligigs..love that word and love that they are a true form of folk art..some crack me up, some blow my mind with their ingenuity and some are just beautiful …made by regular folks just like me or my Grandpa….so I want to make a few. While admiring this vintage yellow canoe with the First Nations paddler it occurred to me to make the Labbies in a canoe, probably because I have Molly’s labs in canoes rolling around up in my head…..I started with this small scale sample of one lab to try to get the paddles right… have a big one drawn up so I can put a chocolate, a black and a yellow…happily paddling down the river in their canoe……So I will make a few adjustments to the paddles, I turned then carved these, a little too heavy, me thinks….and the three labs would bring some more color, plus a longer ‘canoe’. This was a quickie to try. No wind this afternoon on PEI either to see if it whirls…

Maybe I will be cursed for doing this..[Molly, be sure to tell me]…..But know that your paintings had an effect on me, they stayed with me and inspired me, same for the old timer who crafted the yellow canoe….. it is a testament to your abilities as a creative person..true art should get a reaction from someone who sees it and gets it….. they remember it, it has touched them somehow…..

I get a reaction with Molly’s work…she has a gift.

So if someone sees her work on Pinterest….they will be drawn in to her world and can thank Pinterest for the opportunity to find her paintings, to find great things….Who knows what she may inspire !!!

I wanted to have the three lab whirligig for the Heart Dog Auction for Labrador Life Line that is happening now..I was into a couple of jobs that didn’t allow me the time. I did however donate a sweet carved Lab head & bread board, plus some tags…Molly has an original framed painting that is gorgeous. Check it out, oh there are some wonderful items, auction ends tomorrow, Friday at 5 central time. Help LLL help some labs and their families by taking part.

Smiles, Brenda

Cattails Woodwork

Christmas Fairs or Poppytalk Handmade

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This year I decided to forgo the Christmas Fairs and set up a virtual table on Poppytalk Handmade. There seem to be so many fairs and while they are wonderful, it is hard to choose which ones you will go … Continue reading →