Public Art And The Magic Eight Ball

 A few months ago I applied for a public art installation for the town of Ashland, VA. The sculpture was to have seating, signage for the Fall Line Trail - a new bike/walking trail that will go from Ashland, through Richmond and on to Petersburg, and be quirky and have something to do with bicycles. I really didn't think I stood a chance of getting it because it had a pretty high budget so I knew lots of people would apply. Still, James and I drove the 2 1/2 hours to Ashland to check out the town and see where the trail was. Ashland is a quaint town with the train running right down the middle of Main Street. It's where Randolph-Macon College is, home of the yellow jackets. It was an enjoyable day and I went home inspired. I decided, what the heck, what have I got to lose? It took me awhile to come up with an idea that would include all the criteria. Finally I settled on a dog and rabbit riding bikes side by side pulling banners advertising Fall Line Trail, which would actually be benches. I wrote up a brief project statement, which allowed only 1000 characters. I built the dog on the bike so they could see what kind of work I do. They really only required you to send in drawings and plans for it since there wasn't much time between the entry and the deadline. I doubt anyone else built something without knowing if it was worth their time and money if they didn't get the job. I knew I could install the dog at Thunder BRidge if it wasn't accepted. 

Much of the dog and the wheels on the bike are made from railroad hardware, which I thought the town of Ashland would appreciate.

After submitting my entry I waited. I think it was at least a 3 week wait. During that time James and I had another date day and had lunch in Harrisonburg at this very busy diner. On the shelf behind me was a Magic Eight Ball. My aunt had one of those when I was a kid and I thought it was pretty cool. First James asked it if I loved him. It answered, "without a doubt". We asked it a few other questions and it gave positive, expected answers. Then I asked it, "will I get the project in Ashland?" As you probably guessed, it answered, "Outlook not so good". I asked again and got another very negative reply. James told me to stop asking so I did. We had a good laugh about it. 

I forgot to mention, in the Call For Entry it read that after going through all the entries they'd narrow it down to "up to 5 finalists" and those finalists would receive $500 and have to give a presentation to the Parks And Recreation committee. I kept saying I'd be tickled pink just to be in the final 5. 

Much to my flabbergasted surprise I got an email saying I made it to the finals and was to present to them on July 10th. They asked if I could change the rabbit to another animal that was more Ashland-centric like a fox, a frog or a yellow jacket. I chose the frog.  Here was what I had in mind. 

Another friend made some CAD drawings to show the bench in 3D. I wrote up my final plans and submitted them. Last night was my presentation. My sister-in-law, Rachel has given many presentations and helped prepare me. She even researched who was on the parks and rec committee and what the town's public art master plan was. 

We checked out the room in Town Hall a few hours before the presentation to see what I could expect. When we were peeking in the room a woman came out and introduced herself as the woman I'd been corresponding with all along. She informed me there were 3 finalists, told me I would be going second and that it was open to the public. Later we learned there were 22 submissions. 

Are you sweating for me? I am not a public speaker and can't imagine I'll ever find it easy. I'll try to make this long story not as long as it could be. The meeting lasted an hour and a half. The two other presenters were way more experienced in public functional installations. The company TerraCycle is all over the world but this group was from Trenton, NJ. They presented virtually. The other guy from 900 North Studios out of Indiana, was present and went before me. He had a very professional, detailed slide show and showed many of his previous projects all over the country. I don't think he ever smiled. Ask me if I was intimidated. He spoke for about half an hour including questions from the committee. I went next and had these pitiful drawings and a paper with handwritten notes I was using for prompts. I brought my yellow jacket with me to show them a sample of my work. I smiled a lot and knew they were probably all feeling sorry for me, though I'm pretty sure they liked my yellow jacket. 

Knowing all along I wouldn't get the gig I finally relaxed and listened to the last presenters from NJ. They got the job and deserved it. There were so many things I hadn't even considered which both of them did - like a shade structure over it. That wasn't in the call for entry or I would have designed something. They were concerned children would climb on mine and get hurt, which is probably a very reasonable concern. I grew up playing on steel monkey bars with an asphalt playground. Maybe that's my excuse for not considering safety. Or I had a head injury as a child and that's my problem. 

After they removed me from consideration they said to me something like, I haven't heard the last from them and that they adored my sculptures and hoped to have me make something for them in the future for other parks. I won't hold my breath but it was nice of them to say anyway. 

I do wonder why I was invited to present with the other 2. They must have known they weren't going to offer it to me. This is my ego talking here - as an art piece, I feel like they appreciated my vision, but the others, which I thought were somewhat sterile (I know, sour grapes), were safe, well designed, would need less upkeep down the line and met the criteria they were looking for. 

We spent the $500 Ashland paid me by staying in a nice hotel, having a delicious dinner, hiring a pet sitter and enjoying a nice get-away. It was totally worth the stress. 

I learned a ton from this. I learned about collaborating (the benches were to be built by Rails' End in Lexington), asking for help (my sister-in-law, Rachel and a friend, David who did my CAD drawings and of course James, who helps in so many ways), preparing for a presentation to the public and a committee, consider safety more (maybe), and that I have lots and lots of support from friends and family who think I'm more qualified than I am. 

I also learned that the Magic Eight Ball is all knowing. 

Handicap Accessible Bathroom In The Gymnasium

With as many buildings as we have on this 99 acres, you'd think we'd have one handicap accessible bathroom in one of the 30+ buildings. We didn't - until now. The bathroom in the gymnasium was not in operating condition and it was dreary and awful just walking in there. It had 2 stalls with disgusting toilets, a vanity with 2 sinks, 2 stained urinals and a shower with 3 shower heads. 

James and our good friend and master builder, John Meister, ripped everything out, made the concrete block doorway wider and jackhammered the curb out from the shower. 

The walls and ceiling were covered with mildew but it's hard to see how ugly this bathroom really was. 

We had two different people in wheelchairs give us input on what is really important in a bathroom, things we would never have thought of, like drop down grab bars on each side of the toilet since some people can only use one side of their body or the other. They tried maneuvering in the space to show us how much room a wheelchair needs to turn and provided lots of other good information. 

The door John built is very lightweight and slides like a dream. It also has a creative way of locking that is easy for anyone. The light is motion sensitive so there's no need to reach for a switch. 

The new sink and toilet are so much nicer than the nasty ones that were there. The shower has 2 grab bars, a hand held shower and a wall mounted shower, along with a lower faucet. I still need to build a shelf to put shampoo on etc. We'd like to find a narrow bench for outside the shower to place clothes or sit on. Something that won't get in the way. We also need a seat in the shower. For the most part it's done and we're really happy with it. It needs some artwork on the walls and a mirror too 😊

James and John worked so hard on this months-long project and the hard work has paid off. I don't know how it will be used yet, but we're ready if someone asks for a handicap accessible bathroom. 

Bachelor Party Welding Workshop

 Several months ago, after one of our Thunder BRidge studio tours, a young man I had met at the open house, contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in doing a welding workshop for him and 2 of his friends as part of a bachelor "party". I hesitantly said yes, never having taught a welding workshop before. In the months leading up to it I had some trepidation. 

Well, today was the workshop and it turns out I worried for nothing. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, me or them. We all took lots of pictures and it was hard to weed them down to these. I was so proud of how quickly they caught on and also a little proud of myself. I think I might want to do it again. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQyJNBww8yM

From 16 to 35 animals in a very short time (not sure if that number is accurate)

It's been pretty crazy here lately and I think I need to get this down in writing so I remember who, what and how it all went down. This has all taken place within a month. Let's see. Breezy had quadruplet kids (3 girls, one boy), then Junebug had 8 piglets (4 girls, 4 boys). Both Breezy and Junebug delivered with ease and no complications. This past weekend was a doozy though. Delphi had triplets (2 boys and 1 girl) but one of them was in really bad shape and I'm not sure of the cause since I wasn't there, but I have my suspicions. The little girl was sopping wet and very cold and floppy. She couldn't even hold her head up and her body was limp. I brought her back to the house, dried her and warmed her up. After a few hours she could hold her head up. I fed her when she could hold her head steady. She has improved very quickly and now, 2 days later, follows me and Baxter everywhere. Baxter babysits her when I have other things to do. Her name is Florence.

I tried returning her to her mother but neither one wanted any part of that. So, for now, she's a spoiled house goat, who seems healthy, happy and very sassy. Today I took her to my studio while I worked outside. Baxter stayed with her. Here they are on the ride home.

Here are her big brothers, Ferdie and Felix.

Last night after dinner I went out to the barn to check on Gretchen, who I was expecting to farrow sometime soon. Earlier in the day she didn't have any milk but it can come in fast. I got to the field and everyone was out of the barn except Gretchen. Well, Gretchen and all of Junebug's piglets who were all nursing on Gretchen and stealing the colostrum which her unborn babies needed. Every time I pulled the babies off her they'd run right back and latch on. Even when their own mom came in they weren't interested. Finaly I got some food and bribed everyone out of the barn (unfortunately Gretchen followed) and closed some gates that close off half the barn. I was able to coax Gretchen back in. It was all very frustrating and stressful because I was afraid the 2 week old babies would push the newborns away and they'd die. Anyway, she ended up having 5 live babies - 4 girls and 1 boy (1 dead, don't know if it was stillborn or got squashed). I left at 10:30 when there were 4 babies. I sat in the barn for 4 hours waiting. It was the longest pig labor I've experienced. Everyone else was watching us from the other side of the gate. Here's my view of them - cows, donkey, goats, pigs and dogs eyes glowing.

She wasn't giving them any attention so I didn't have very high expectations this morning when I went out to feed. I was pleased to find 5 lively piglets. One of them is the tiniest thing I've ever seen and I was shocked to see her still alive this morning. She was pretty weak, eyes sealed closed (which I worked on getting opened) and just so tiny. She runs around now just like the rest. I've kept Gretchen closed up all day with them and tonight too. Tomorrow I'll open the gates and hope they can fend for myself and Gretchen won't feed the others, though I feel pretty sure she will.

They're pretty darned cute. Aren't all piglets cute though? It's pretty quiet in our house tonight. Florence is asleep. I will have to feed her one more time tonight and then again at 4AM, which I can't say I enjoy. So, that's where things stand now. None of the piglets have names. 13 is a lot of names to come up with. I'm sure you'll be seeing many more pictures and videos of them.

Losing our matriarch, Pessa

The last time I blogged here was 2 months ago when we lost our herd queen, Luti. This morning when I went out to tend to the animals I found Pessa lying in her final sleep in the hay. It was the way we hope all our animals will pass, in their sleep. She and Luti were half sisters and I brought them here together 12 or 13 years ago. They couldn't have been more different. Luti was bold and demanding of attention. Pessa was no nonsense, independent and an extremely easy keeper. One thing they did have in common was that they were great mothers, milkers and wonderful goats to have trained me as a goat farmer. In the photo above Pessa is the one on the left and Luti on the right. 

Pessa had a wide girth and everyone always thought she was pregnant. She never needed any assistance kidding. Babies practically fell out of her. When all the other mothers left their babies to go out to graze Pessa hovered near hers and wouldn't let them out of her sight. As a matter of fact, all the babies stayed by her. They climbed on her and she never complained. She was everyone's laidback babysitter. She never fought me when it was time to be milked. She came in, ate, gave milk and left. Done. Same with having her hooves trimmed. No complaining. Just give me my feed and do what you need to do. I don't remember her ever being sick either. She was sturdy in every sense of the word. She asked for very little.

Well, that's how she left this world. She didn't need me to pass on either. She was shivering 2 days before in the cold and I worried about her, but then yesterday she was out eating with the rest and all seemed well. While Luti was the herd queen, Pessa was the matriarch. She was the mother of our Breezy, grandmother of Delphi and great grandmother of Sally and Mander. The herd feels very different without these old girls. 

My Girl, Luti

 Today I said goodbye to one of the first 5 goats I began with. Luti was one and a half years old when I got her in 2009.  I can say with confidence she was the smartest goat I've ever owned, hence, she was the herd queen and everyone respected her. She was also my best milker. As a matter-of-fact, even though she hasn't kidded in 3 years, she still had milk in her udder this morning when the vet was checking her over. 

We don't know exactly what was wrong with her but she went downhill really fast overnight and had very little energy this morning and I could tell she was in pain. The vets ultrasounded her abdomen and had a very hard time understanding what they were seeing, but it appeared she had fluid in her abdomen and her bladder didn't look right. After I made the decision to put her down they asked if it would be ok if they did a necropsy on her so they might learn something. I said yes.  They called me later this afternoon to say we did the right thing. She was in bad shape and probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. In some ways, I felt really good about that. She had a very good life and I'm glad I owned her for most of it. 

Here's a photo of her in her younger years. What a sweet face.

Thunder BRidge, Our New Adventure

 I was going to begin a whole new blog for this, but I didn't have the energy tonight, so thought I'd just write about our new adventure here in Holes In My Jeans. We're getting many holes in our jeans these days so I suppose it's fitting to include it here.  

Many of our friends and family know we've been embarking on this crazy undertaking, but many of you may not. More than 7 months ago we made an offer on a piece of property 2 miles south of our home. After the long wait, today we are the proud owners of almost 100 acres and more than 30 buildings, first built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the '30s, and more recently it was the Natural Bridge Juvenile Correction Center and also a Big Brothers/Big Sisters camp, which closed their doors in 2009. More about that in another blog possibly.

I'll try not to be too long winded about this because I could go on forever.  For now, I'll tell you what our initial plans are for the property, though we have many dreams that may or may not come to fruition. First I'll say, the property is absolutely beautiful and the buildings on it and the work that needs to be done is overwhelming. It consists of 35 developed acres and 64 wooded acres bordering the Jefferson National Forest. Any pictures I post on here will not do it justice. 

I won't tell you the hoops we had to jump through to get to this point, but I feel like it will all be worth it one day. The first thing we plan to do is to set up a very small, primitive campground, where folks can experience camping like James and I remember doing when we were kids. We want campers to have space to enjoy the outdoors without being bombarded by close camp neighbors, loud generators and TVs, etc. In the wooded part of the property, where most of the campsites will be, are also 2 log cabins, 3 screened shelters and a pavilion with a bath house. We do have plans to have 10 RV sites in the clearing. At this point an RV could not maneuver in the woods. The tree cover is too low and the roads aren't wide enough. 

The rest of the sites in the woods will be tent and van sites, many of which will be in listening range of this creek.

Our son, Adam, will be hosting the campground and will live in one of the houses on the front part of the property. There are a handful of livable, albeit outdated, structures, along with a full gymnasium, commercial kitchen, auto shop, maintenance shop, ball fields, an obstacle course, a barn, barracks, sheds and on and on. 

James and I have already chosen the buildings that will be our art studios, which is pretty exciting. It will be nice to unclutter our home, which has become a dumping ground for canvases, art materials and to put it plainly, a general mess. 

Here are a few aerial views of the property. 

I have lots more photos of buildings and interiors but I'll save them for another post because it's getting late and this is getting longer than I had planned it to be. I just wanted to start somewhere so when we start taking videos and moving forward you'll know what I'm talking about. 

Way more to come. 

Baxter, he's a mess, but he's loved

I'll have to go back through my blog to see when it was that Baxter came to live with us.  He was a stray that had been at the SPCA for 3 months before we adopted him. He's not pretty, he snores, he runs away and pretends he's deaf when I call for him. BUT, it's impossible not to like him. Here he is looking like a demon, taken today after he returned from his adventure. 

We usually don't let him out unsupervised, but lately he's been so obsessed with a groundhog living under our barn, I'd come to trust he'd stay in the yard. That was a mistake. I'm a VERY slow learner. He and my son's dog, Maia, ran off the moment we turned our backs. They were gone maybe an hour and a half and we looked all over for them. Well, it seemed like we looked all over. 

I went to the street across the creek from us because that's where Baxter always goes when he escapes. It's the only way I know some of those neighbors. There are 3 neighbors, in particular, that he visits. They all know to call me or bring him back home if he shows up. It's embarrassing and a relief when they call. 

Well, today was no different. I drove to their houses to see if they'd seen him. They actually seem happy to see me and say, "oh, how is Baxter? I haven't seen him in a while". They promised to call if they saw him. It was unusual for him not to show up at their houses.

Well, the dogs came home without anyone having to bring them back. The funny thing is, around dinnertime I got a call from one of those neighbors, whose name I don't even know. She wanted to be sure Baxter made it home ok and that she was worried it was getting dark. I assured her he was ok.  During dinner there was a knock at our door. It was a man asking if we'd found Baxter. He said he was a dog lover and wanted to be sure Baxter was safe. Again, we don't know this man's name and he doesn't know ours. BUT, everyone knows Baxter's name. No one complains that he shows up there. He loves people and wags his tail and some of them let him in their house. 

He frustrates us to no end, but we love him and I'm glad others love him too. He's sound asleep right now  It was a big day. 

Teamwork

 I love days like today. First of all, the weather was great for working outdoors, which all 3 of us did. James was planting in the garden for several hours.  I'm not sure what he planted, but I'm sure it will be on our plates this summer.  His spring garden is doing really well. 

When he was done in the garden he glazed windows.  

A large portion of one of our sugar maples fell during one of our recent windy days, so Adam spent the day cutting it up, a job neither James nor I would want to do, nor have the strength for (at least I don't). 

I spent my time building a grate for a fire pit. It's made from parts of an old gate, a wood stove, and other random pieces found here and there. Don't look closely at the welds. They're not pretty, but they're strong and once it blackens from a fire you'll never notice my amateur welding job. 

I plan to make more grates for a project I'll tell you about in a future blog. They'll all be made out of scraps we already have. Can you say, "cheap"?

Maia and Baxter did their part by protecting us from the groundhog that lives under the barn. They're obsessed with it and determined to catch it. 

All-in-all, it was a very productive day.  Now we're beat.