another baby

No time for any smithing lately. But we're still making babies. Little girl born July 3rd...

ugly bugs

Survivorman did have to go and eat a scorpion. In a few minutes the kids had found one and ate it just to see what it was like.


And the other day they were playing with this ugly critter...

We watched an episode of Man vs. Wild and definitely enjoyed it more, but probably only for the higher entertainment value.

survivorman in the sonoran desert

I watched an episode of Survivorman last night with my kids. It was the one about the Sonoran Desert since that's where we live. I confess I was disappointed. I know Man vs. Wild appears more staged than Survivorman, but I expected Les Stroud to be a little more hardcore. Let me share some of my observations. He needed water, so he hiked over a couple of hills and just "happened" to find a running stream. I live here and it is very hard to find a running stream. You have to drive miles and miles to find water, let alone hiking. I refuse to believe that he did not know where that water was ahead of time. He used a number of parts from his motorbike to help him survive. He had a number of shots with javelinas which he called javelins, and he expressed a fear of these creatures and the danger they pose. I have run into many javelinas, both during the day and the night. Like the vast majority of other wild creatures, they are more afraid of us than we are of them. I've been within a few feet of them multiple times. They sure stink, but they have never acted aggressively. I'll probably try watching a couple more episodes. I hope they're better.

garage sale specials

I found some cheap goodies at a couple of local yard sales. The hammer especially was a real find!









I was interested to see the factory edge put on star drills.

lorelei sims workshop

A friend of mine dragged me to an Artist Blacksmith Association event. I didn't know it but Lorelei Sims, author of The Backyard Blacksmith, was the presenter. She focused on making floral projects. I was most interested in her tools. She loves the hammers and tongs made for her by her teacher, blacksmith Elmer Roush.

nubian dairy

We visited the Nubian goat dairy over the weekend, and were very impressed. The lady wants our girls to join her 4-H club. We hope to buy a couple of her goats.

desert walking

Walking with my dog in the desert never gets old...