Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday Stills: Circles
You might find a few circles in here, though they would be imperfect...
This is the only time of year you will find the hose coiled up...
Lots of knots in trees around our yard...
The neighbor insists that we prune them so that they don't hang over the fence into her yard.
Satellite dish, since cable sucks so much...
See the orange circle or dot on the bottom of the tire too?
It's too bad this challenge wasn't for dots, because when I blew up this next image in its RAW format, I could see the word "dot" inside the tail light...
More tail lights...
Manure is sometimes imperfectly circular...
I found the jackrabbits' restroom...
Rabbit poop is perfectly circular. Instead of worrying about dog hair showing up in my photos, it's so much easier to just take pictures of dirty stuff to begin with. On the way back in the house, I found even more circles...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
2011 Pole Vault Summit
I had the opportunity to attend the elite pole vaulters competition at the 2011 Pole Vault Summit in Reno last night. My son will be participating today. We arrived a little late, so the grandstands closest to the tallest standards were filled. This is the same place where I go to see horse shows.
I ended up sitting across the arena trying to take pictures with my 300mm telephoto lens. Because it was indoors, I had to jack up the ISO just to be able to set my camera to the speed of 1/250th of a second to freeze the action, and then I had to process out the noise later. I purposefully underexposed most of the shots to adjust for more speed, and then processed in a lighter exposure later. Here are some of my favorite photos from the evening. This one illustrates just how high these men and women were jumping. When we left, they were jumping 18 feet. From my angle, they appear to be jumping higher than the grandstands...
I love this shot, because she is kicking out the pole. Not a good thing, but it made for an interesting photograph...
It's amazing how much bend they get on the pole on their way up...
You can see there is a definite form or positioning of their body that they aim for to reach optimum propulsion...
Love this guy's helmet. Nice clearance of the bar too...
These two were having a blast shooting free T-shirts into the audience...
Where's Waldo?
Flying high...
I love how they began celebrating before they even hit the ground...
If this isn't testament to the fact that you need massive muscles to do this sport, I don't know what is...
The vaulters liked to encourage the audience to cheer them on...
The audience joined in with cheers and clapping faster and faster as they ran up the runway...
There was a lot of coaching going on...
It was tough capturing them in mid-run, because these athletes were fast...
On top of the world...
I'm thinking I need to train my horses to drag a little mini pole vault pit around when I ride, so next time I fall a whole 6-feet off a horse, I won't break anymore bones. These guys and gals were doing gymnastics during their landings. It was a fun and entertaining event for all.
I ended up sitting across the arena trying to take pictures with my 300mm telephoto lens. Because it was indoors, I had to jack up the ISO just to be able to set my camera to the speed of 1/250th of a second to freeze the action, and then I had to process out the noise later. I purposefully underexposed most of the shots to adjust for more speed, and then processed in a lighter exposure later. Here are some of my favorite photos from the evening. This one illustrates just how high these men and women were jumping. When we left, they were jumping 18 feet. From my angle, they appear to be jumping higher than the grandstands...
Friday, January 28, 2011
More on the Search for Hay
In my last post I found out that hay at the local feed store is priced at $18 a bale. Technically, it was $18 and something cents, but who counts the change when it gets that high? My husband and I did the calculations for what we paid for the last block of 76 bales we bought, and realized that we had been paying around $15 a bale. That's still too high with me being out of work and my husband getting a 5% pay cut, so today we drove around the valley looking for signs on the side of the road advertising hay. Most farmers don't bother paying for ads. They just put a sign on the front of their property.
We were disappointed to find that many of the farms that have had signs up all year suddenly have taken them down, which means that they ran out. We found three signs in all, and I called the phone numbers when we got home. I had to leave a message at the first two numbers, but someone picked up at the third number. It turned out that he did have some alfalfa/grass mix with three strands, but no delivery. When I asked about the price, I nearly fainted...
...from joy. Six dollars a bale! How insane is that? One place can charge $18 a bale while another place that is just a mile down the road charges only $6. I figured something had to be seriously wrong with this hay, but drove out to look at it. It turned out to be pretty solid 100+ pound bales that were still green because they were protected in a barn. They were from the first cutting, so they had some weeds and thick stalks, but still pretty close to what I've been getting for $15 a bale. So, we loaded up as many bales as would fit in the back of my truck, which was 12 bales, and drove very carefully home so as not to accidentally dump one or two on the hood of a tailgater behind us.
The sad part is that this guy probably only has a couple of dozen bales left, so if my husband is home tomorrow I might go back for more. I'd bring my horse trailer to get it all, but I really struggled to back my truck into his tiny, narrow barn. There's no way I could maneuver a trailer in there.
You know, there's one thing I've noticed about every hay farmer I meet. They all walk hunched over with a limp. It's a tough life. It's rare to find someone who has spent his life chucking bales around who hasn't thrown out his back or knee. This guy helped us load the bales and he pushed them with such force that he farted. My husband and I did a real good job pretending like we didn't hear it. I wanted to fill in the awkward silence, so I stupidly said, "How many times do you cut a year?"
I'm not kidding. I said that.
The guy gave me a funny look and then said, "You mean how many cuttings do we do a year?"
"Uh, yes."
"Two or three, depending on how much water we get during the winter."
Next time I'm keeping my mouth shut.
We were disappointed to find that many of the farms that have had signs up all year suddenly have taken them down, which means that they ran out. We found three signs in all, and I called the phone numbers when we got home. I had to leave a message at the first two numbers, but someone picked up at the third number. It turned out that he did have some alfalfa/grass mix with three strands, but no delivery. When I asked about the price, I nearly fainted...
...from joy. Six dollars a bale! How insane is that? One place can charge $18 a bale while another place that is just a mile down the road charges only $6. I figured something had to be seriously wrong with this hay, but drove out to look at it. It turned out to be pretty solid 100+ pound bales that were still green because they were protected in a barn. They were from the first cutting, so they had some weeds and thick stalks, but still pretty close to what I've been getting for $15 a bale. So, we loaded up as many bales as would fit in the back of my truck, which was 12 bales, and drove very carefully home so as not to accidentally dump one or two on the hood of a tailgater behind us.
The sad part is that this guy probably only has a couple of dozen bales left, so if my husband is home tomorrow I might go back for more. I'd bring my horse trailer to get it all, but I really struggled to back my truck into his tiny, narrow barn. There's no way I could maneuver a trailer in there.
You know, there's one thing I've noticed about every hay farmer I meet. They all walk hunched over with a limp. It's a tough life. It's rare to find someone who has spent his life chucking bales around who hasn't thrown out his back or knee. This guy helped us load the bales and he pushed them with such force that he farted. My husband and I did a real good job pretending like we didn't hear it. I wanted to fill in the awkward silence, so I stupidly said, "How many times do you cut a year?"
I'm not kidding. I said that.
The guy gave me a funny look and then said, "You mean how many cuttings do we do a year?"
"Uh, yes."
"Two or three, depending on how much water we get during the winter."
Next time I'm keeping my mouth shut.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I Almost Fainted
I stopped by the local feed store today to inquire about their price of hay and delivery. Wait for it...
$18 a bale!!!
And I thought my hay farmer was sticking it to me pretty bad. He looks good after hearing that quote. If I lived in any other state besides Nevada, I could get 2 or 3 bales for that price. I think the last time I bought from the feed store, it was $8 a bale, and I thought that was high back then. Is there some kind of conspiracy to starve livestock and make ranch owners go bankrupt?
$18 a bale!!!
And I thought my hay farmer was sticking it to me pretty bad. He looks good after hearing that quote. If I lived in any other state besides Nevada, I could get 2 or 3 bales for that price. I think the last time I bought from the feed store, it was $8 a bale, and I thought that was high back then. Is there some kind of conspiracy to starve livestock and make ranch owners go bankrupt?
Scheduling While the Sun Still Shines
You may recall me saying that I had applied to volunteer at my local animal shelter. Well, at the time I applied I was told that my first day would be my orientation day, which is always on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM. The receptionist said I'd be scheduled into either this Wednesday or the following Wednesday and someone would call me. Those two Wednesdays came and went without anyone phoning.
Then this article came out in the paper saying that another animal shelter close by had to lay off all of its volunteers. Say what? You know that the economy sucks big time when volunteers get laid off. It had something to do with The Humane Society doing an inspection and suggesting a total reorganization of the staff.
I worried that my local animal shelter might be going through the same thing, so I phoned them and explained that I'd been waiting for a phone call regarding my interview or orientation. The lady told me she was working on the schedule right then and would call me back. She said, "It will be a Wednesday at 2:00 PM. Does that work for you?"
I said that was fine. She said she'd call back to finalize the plans. Then that Wednesday came and went without her calling. Then I turned the page on my desk calendar and saw that I had my six month dental cleaning scheduled for...
wait for it...
Wednesday at 3:00 PM!
When you consider that I have had nothing on my calendar for the past four months, and then on the one date and time when I'm supposed to start my volunteer job, I have a freakin' dental appointment, you know there's some message buried deep inside that "coincidence" for me. I got upset and stressed out over what to do about this time conflict. I won't have much dental insurance after July 1st, so I couldn't reschedule. If they find something wrong with my teeth, I'll need as much of a cushion of time as possible to schedule in the appointments to fix it before July 1st.
I decided to just let go and let the chips fall where they may. Ironically, the dentist's office called me and said they had to reschedule, because my hygienist had some kind of accident. Oh no. Not good, but at least I now I could attend my orientation at the animal shelter without having to be in two different places at once. Even more ironically, Wednesday came and went without the animal shelter calling to finalize my schedule. It's been over a month since I applied for that volunteer position and I'm starting to think they just don't need my help.
Many years ago I ran a volunteer program in my community, and I knew that I had to get these people in within a week of receiving their application or I would lose them to other things. When people are willing to give you their time, you have to respect that. You can't expect them to just wait around for you to call them several weeks or months later, saying you are ready to train them now.
In the meantime, I've been working on acquiring some paying freelance writing jobs. I'm taking a different approach with my photography too. Instead of marketing portrait services that no one can afford, I'm going to start creating stock photos, copyrighting them, and then either putting them up for sale on stock photo sites or including them in articles I write. The calendar turned out so well, that I'm also going to put together calendars and postcards of Lake Tahoe. People go there from all over the world, and I'm sure they'd like to take home some memories of their visit. It's not a novel idea. Lots of people do it, but there's no law that says I can't join in.
The weather has been cold, but sunny. We seem to have finally permanently broken our routine of having it rain or snow every weekend, (though now that I've said it, snow is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday, the only day I can safely ride on my property without disruptions from neighbors). I've been doing groundwork with the horses and trying to get them into shape for that steep grade on the trails I like to ride. I decided to make it fun for them by rewarding with treats when they did what I asked.
Bombay is good as gold. He remembers everything he's ever been taught. Gabbrielle kept having her speed demon fits, launching into an uncontrolled gallop, crashing into the railing, and flipping on her side, so I had to reward her when she slowed down and moved at a controlled, consistent pace. She is so smart. She picked up on what I wanted right away, and now she has this gorgeous floating trot that's coming all from the hind end that she can maintain for quite a while without any variations in speed. I can't wait to ride that, once I'm totally confident that she's over her need to impulsively burst out of the gate like a racehorse. Oh yeah, and when I say whoa, she slides to a stop immediately, which would probably launch me out of saddle and over her head at this point. I'll have to remember to hang onto that saddle horn before asking for a stop from her.
Lostine bit my hand when I tried to detach her lead rope, because she smelled the apple treat on my palm and assumed I was feeding her. I yelped and chased her off. Then I couldn't get her to stop running when I said whoa, so I had to corner her, and then give her a treat when she couldn't move. From there we worked our way toward treating her when she willingly halted when I said whoa.
I'd really love to get out and ride, but I have got to finish my window covering project first. I finally completed all of the black-out shades, so now I need to move on to sewing the transparent curtains. I think if someone had told me how long it would take to complete this project, and that the sun would be shining throughout the end of January, I probably would have bought some finished window coverings or hired someone to custom make them for me.
Then this article came out in the paper saying that another animal shelter close by had to lay off all of its volunteers. Say what? You know that the economy sucks big time when volunteers get laid off. It had something to do with The Humane Society doing an inspection and suggesting a total reorganization of the staff.
I worried that my local animal shelter might be going through the same thing, so I phoned them and explained that I'd been waiting for a phone call regarding my interview or orientation. The lady told me she was working on the schedule right then and would call me back. She said, "It will be a Wednesday at 2:00 PM. Does that work for you?"
I said that was fine. She said she'd call back to finalize the plans. Then that Wednesday came and went without her calling. Then I turned the page on my desk calendar and saw that I had my six month dental cleaning scheduled for...
wait for it...
Wednesday at 3:00 PM!
When you consider that I have had nothing on my calendar for the past four months, and then on the one date and time when I'm supposed to start my volunteer job, I have a freakin' dental appointment, you know there's some message buried deep inside that "coincidence" for me. I got upset and stressed out over what to do about this time conflict. I won't have much dental insurance after July 1st, so I couldn't reschedule. If they find something wrong with my teeth, I'll need as much of a cushion of time as possible to schedule in the appointments to fix it before July 1st.
I decided to just let go and let the chips fall where they may. Ironically, the dentist's office called me and said they had to reschedule, because my hygienist had some kind of accident. Oh no. Not good, but at least I now I could attend my orientation at the animal shelter without having to be in two different places at once. Even more ironically, Wednesday came and went without the animal shelter calling to finalize my schedule. It's been over a month since I applied for that volunteer position and I'm starting to think they just don't need my help.
Many years ago I ran a volunteer program in my community, and I knew that I had to get these people in within a week of receiving their application or I would lose them to other things. When people are willing to give you their time, you have to respect that. You can't expect them to just wait around for you to call them several weeks or months later, saying you are ready to train them now.
In the meantime, I've been working on acquiring some paying freelance writing jobs. I'm taking a different approach with my photography too. Instead of marketing portrait services that no one can afford, I'm going to start creating stock photos, copyrighting them, and then either putting them up for sale on stock photo sites or including them in articles I write. The calendar turned out so well, that I'm also going to put together calendars and postcards of Lake Tahoe. People go there from all over the world, and I'm sure they'd like to take home some memories of their visit. It's not a novel idea. Lots of people do it, but there's no law that says I can't join in.
The weather has been cold, but sunny. We seem to have finally permanently broken our routine of having it rain or snow every weekend, (though now that I've said it, snow is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday, the only day I can safely ride on my property without disruptions from neighbors). I've been doing groundwork with the horses and trying to get them into shape for that steep grade on the trails I like to ride. I decided to make it fun for them by rewarding with treats when they did what I asked.
Bombay is good as gold. He remembers everything he's ever been taught. Gabbrielle kept having her speed demon fits, launching into an uncontrolled gallop, crashing into the railing, and flipping on her side, so I had to reward her when she slowed down and moved at a controlled, consistent pace. She is so smart. She picked up on what I wanted right away, and now she has this gorgeous floating trot that's coming all from the hind end that she can maintain for quite a while without any variations in speed. I can't wait to ride that, once I'm totally confident that she's over her need to impulsively burst out of the gate like a racehorse. Oh yeah, and when I say whoa, she slides to a stop immediately, which would probably launch me out of saddle and over her head at this point. I'll have to remember to hang onto that saddle horn before asking for a stop from her.
Lostine bit my hand when I tried to detach her lead rope, because she smelled the apple treat on my palm and assumed I was feeding her. I yelped and chased her off. Then I couldn't get her to stop running when I said whoa, so I had to corner her, and then give her a treat when she couldn't move. From there we worked our way toward treating her when she willingly halted when I said whoa.
I'd really love to get out and ride, but I have got to finish my window covering project first. I finally completed all of the black-out shades, so now I need to move on to sewing the transparent curtains. I think if someone had told me how long it would take to complete this project, and that the sun would be shining throughout the end of January, I probably would have bought some finished window coverings or hired someone to custom make them for me.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
My Dog Solves Puzzles
Yes, Midge is a miracle on four very short legs. She does amazing things. A while back I downloaded this free word game onto my Kindle that displays seven letters, and I have to come up with as many words as possible by mixing up the letters in different ways. I'm addicted to it.
I had found all the words except for one when Midge jumped into my lap. I said, "Midge, you have to help me solve this puzzle. Can you think of a word that would come in between TRAIT and TRITE?"
Midge immediately cocked her head and then "pointed" at the closet where we keep the dog bones. I said, "No, I'm not going to give you a treeee - TREAT! That's it! That's the word that comes between TRAIT and TRITE. You're a genius, Midge!"
She really did help me solve it. TREAT is one of the words in Midge's language. We can say, "Do you want a treat?" and she will run for the dog bones. TRAIT and TRITE sound very much like TREAT, so she was actually responding the way she would had I said the actual word. I laughed so hard. When I asked for help from my dog, I didn't really expect much beyond her keeping my lap warm.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
My Customized 2011 Calendar
Every once in a while something goes smoothly, and it's an amazing feeling. Of course, it always seems to happen when you put in a minimal amount of effort, and by some miracle, everything just falls into place. Last summer I was offered a free photo album from Shutterfly. It wasn't until December that I actually registered for my free album. In the process of registering, I was given 250 free 4x6 prints. I didn't have the time to upload my photos after registering, so when I logged back into Shutterfly.com in January, I found that my free prints were no longer available. They expired.
I was a bit irritated, but no major loss. Then I received an offer for a free 2011 calendar. Nobody got me a wall calendar for Christmas this year, so I decided to give it a try. I only had to upload 13 pictures for the 12 months and the cover. Easy peasy. I picked out the proverb style for my calendar and uploaded pictures of people and pets in my family for the months they were born. I didn't know what the proverbs were for each month until I was all done. Amazingly, many of the proverbs ended up being incredibly appropriate for the corresponding picture. Here's the cover with my favorite picture I took of Lake Tahoe...
I don't know when Scrappy was born, so I put his picture in January. I thought it was funny that he's a tiny dog chewing on a huge bone, and the proverb reads, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Chinese Proverb
My husband's birthday is in February, and I liked this picture of him hiking beside our son. Again, the quote was perfect: "A loving heart is the truest wisdom." -Charles Dickens
Gabbrielle's birthday is in March. Her quote reads, "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." -Oscar Wilde. That's perfect for her, because she's so silly and sensitive.
Bombay's birthday is in April. I chose this photo for the motion, not because I love my butt. His proverb reads, "A kind word is like a spring day." -Russian Proverb
May just may be my favorite. May is Lostine's birthday. I worry about her, because she is a senior horse. I never know how much longer we have to be together. Her proverb reads, "May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live." -Irish Proverb
Midge's proverb reads, "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
July is my son's birthday. Again, the quote was eerily appropriate for the picture and the person: "Energy and persistence conquer all things." -Benjamin Franklin
August is my daughter's birthday. The proverb fit the person and the picture perfectly: "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." -Celia Thaxte. My daughter is grateful for everything and her personality is filled with sunshine.
September is my birthday. When I think about how far I've come in my path to good horsemanship, the proverb is right on the mark: "Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was."
October is just plain colorful. "It is not what you are called, but what you answer to." -African Proverb
November sports my favorite photo of Gabbrielle asking my son for a kiss. "Carpe diem. Seize the day." -John Keats. How perfect is that?
December sports my photo of (rein)deer fighting. "The journey is the reward." -Chinese Proverb. I loved the placement of that quote, knowing I watched these deer cross a busy street just barely avoiding being hit by cars in order to get to the other side, and get into this fight.
I'm really impressed with the quality of the calendar, and the fact that Shutterfly's website warned me when I attempted to upload a photo that wasn't the right resolution for this purpose. I think I'll buy more stuff from them in the future.
I was a bit irritated, but no major loss. Then I received an offer for a free 2011 calendar. Nobody got me a wall calendar for Christmas this year, so I decided to give it a try. I only had to upload 13 pictures for the 12 months and the cover. Easy peasy. I picked out the proverb style for my calendar and uploaded pictures of people and pets in my family for the months they were born. I didn't know what the proverbs were for each month until I was all done. Amazingly, many of the proverbs ended up being incredibly appropriate for the corresponding picture. Here's the cover with my favorite picture I took of Lake Tahoe...
Monday, January 24, 2011
Stylish Blogger Award
Thanks to achieve1dream and Mrs. Martyr for passing this award on to me. The rules are as follows:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!
Here are 7 things about myself:
1. I write a lot of lists. I can't function without them. If I try to rely on my brain to remember something, I'll forget it sooner than I can take my next breath.
2. I spent an entire day last week dusting everything in my office and it is already back to having the same level of dust as it had before I cleaned. Dust is everywhere in Nevada. You can't escape from it. You can't keep up with it.
3. I like to melt sprinkle cheese over shredded chicken and mix in some diced tomatoes to make it zesty.
4. When I blog, it is usually while I'm eating, because that's usually the only time I sit down during the day.
5. If I could choose how to spend my time for the rest of my life, I would choose to write, take photographs, trail ride, and hike in the mountains.
6. Even if I lived to be 100, it still wouldn't be enough time to finish all the projects I have started during the first half of my life.
7. The best feeling in the world for me is completing a task or project. I think the reason why it affects me so much is because I get interrupted so often by people and random events that steal me away from the task at hand that it is rare for me to actually be able to follow through on something from beginning to end. I have a hard time committing to activities or attending events, because I know something will get in the way and I'll have to cancel. So, I've spent a great deal of my life trying to get out of commitments, because I don't want to set myself up for the stress of having to fight off all the problems that get thrown my way that prevent me from being able to stick to my promise or initial plans. There was a time when my life was simpler and I could actually make promises and follow through with no problem.
With that, here are the 15 bloggers I'm passing the award to:
1. I forgot the first one.
2. Dusty Breeches
3. Three Cute Horses
4. Arabian Asylum
5. Too Much Poo
6. Shovel Me Elmo
7. Wait, all of those link back to my site.
8. Get serious, NuzMuz. These people want their awards.
9. But don't you think it's more special if you give the award to just one blogger?
10. Yes, I do.
11. Who should that blogger be?
12. Someone special.
13. I agree.
14. Why am I talking to myself?
15. Cowgirl By Proxy
Oops. I forgot to mention an 8th thing about myself. I can't follow rules.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
I'm Covered
...in horse manure. Every day for the past few days I've been hanging the horses' muddy, poopy blankets on the fence with the intention of hosing them off, scrubbing them with detergent, and rinsing, but every day something else came up so that I didn't have time to do the job. This is what they looked like after their first rinsing...
I decided to spare you from seeing their condition before the rinse. As usual, the universe repaid me for my kindness by splattering the caked on manure all over my face and clothes. Thankfully, I had my mouth closed. This is what they looked like after I scrubbed and rinsed, scrubbed and rinsed for about two hours straight...
I'm also due for another block of hay, which is disappointing to me, because I really, really, really wanted to make it until March before having to dole out $1,300 or whatever my hay farmer is charging at the moment. We need time to recover from paying several thousand dollars for college tuition.
Because the winds ripped my brand new tarp, water got into the hay, and because I didn't catch it immediately and remove the tarp to air out the hay, there was mold everywhere. I had to throw out several bales of hay, and there were webs of white mold stretched across the wooden palettes that the hay sits on. I cleaned out half of them, but the wood was so rotted that some of the palettes just fell apart.
Once I cleaned out the palettes, I raked all the dregs and mold out from underneath them and let the ground dry out. If I place more hay on wet wooden palettes over wet ground, that hay will just mold too.
It really pays to have some kind of shelter such as a hay loft. I'm thinking that if this winter is going to continue to be as wet as it has been, I might be better off buying just a few bales at a time. The problem is that my son and husband always have some kind of injury that prevents them from being able to lift the bales in and out of the truck, and I am just not strong enough to do it. It's so much easier to have a farmer deliver a block with a harrow.
Regarding tarps, I've learned that it is possible to have too much tarp. Over the years, I keep buying bigger and bigger tarps, but once the hay stack starts shrinking, the edges of the tarp lie on the ground where snow and ice collect. Then a big wind comes up and blows between the tarp and the hay, but because the edges of the tarp are frozen to the ground, the only way the tarp can relieve pressure is to rip.
Also, you don't want to cover your entire haystack with a tarp. You want air to circulate through the haystack, but have enough tarp over the top and part of the sides to prevent rain and snow from getting in. Once the haystack starts shrinking, double up the tarp so that the sides aren't completely covered.
Take it from someone who has been burned by this problem one too many times.
Because the winds ripped my brand new tarp, water got into the hay, and because I didn't catch it immediately and remove the tarp to air out the hay, there was mold everywhere. I had to throw out several bales of hay, and there were webs of white mold stretched across the wooden palettes that the hay sits on. I cleaned out half of them, but the wood was so rotted that some of the palettes just fell apart.
Regarding tarps, I've learned that it is possible to have too much tarp. Over the years, I keep buying bigger and bigger tarps, but once the hay stack starts shrinking, the edges of the tarp lie on the ground where snow and ice collect. Then a big wind comes up and blows between the tarp and the hay, but because the edges of the tarp are frozen to the ground, the only way the tarp can relieve pressure is to rip.
Also, you don't want to cover your entire haystack with a tarp. You want air to circulate through the haystack, but have enough tarp over the top and part of the sides to prevent rain and snow from getting in. Once the haystack starts shrinking, double up the tarp so that the sides aren't completely covered.
Take it from someone who has been burned by this problem one too many times.
Sunday Stills: The Color Green
I had been looking around all week for something green and just wasn't seeing anything interesting. Then one night I was standing in the kitchen in the dark and realized there was green all around me.
Though this next one is blindingly bright, I made some adjustments to bring out the green in the background for the part of the digital display that wasn't lit up.
What do you think this next picture might be? I'll give you a hint. I'm still in the kitchen, and it's not grass.
It's a scrub brush.
This one is also a scrub brush, but with sponges rather than bristles on the end.
Life just wouldn't be the same without Lava soap. It saves me from snarfing up paint thinner when it comes time to clean my paint brushes and hands.
Ever wonder how much salt is in your trail mix?
This is a block from a quilt I made years ago.
Oh, and it has a dog hair on it. I can thank my macro lens for showing me how dirty my house really is.
To see more photos by participants in this Sunday Stills Challenge, click through these comments.
Though this next one is blindingly bright, I made some adjustments to bring out the green in the background for the part of the digital display that wasn't lit up.
What do you think this next picture might be? I'll give you a hint. I'm still in the kitchen, and it's not grass.
It's a scrub brush.
This one is also a scrub brush, but with sponges rather than bristles on the end.
Life just wouldn't be the same without Lava soap. It saves me from snarfing up paint thinner when it comes time to clean my paint brushes and hands.
Ever wonder how much salt is in your trail mix?
This is a block from a quilt I made years ago.
Oh, and it has a dog hair on it. I can thank my macro lens for showing me how dirty my house really is.
To see more photos by participants in this Sunday Stills Challenge, click through these comments.
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