2015-06-02 - Tuesday - Old man

Binkley is officially an old man. On June 20, 2015 he will turn 14. That's pretty amazing for an 80-pound dog. He's having a slew of problems/challenges, such as he's going deaf, his back legs don't work too well and he frequently falls, his eyesight is questionable, he coughs and hacks a lot, and his bladder is not what it used to be.

These are all things to be expected in an elderly dog, but he still has a strong will to live. He never misses a meal, he's always glad to see us, and he still tries to play and romp like a puppy. This makes it all the more heartbreaking to watch him falter. We feel as long as he has a good quality of life we will handle the bumps in the road, but where is the tipping point? We discussed there will be a time when he doesn't have any interest in food, is in constant pain, or isn't genuinely glad to be alive it, that it might be time. The problem is that his body is giving out while he still very much wants to be around.

We live in a split level home and I can't see a day when I'm carrying him up and down the stairs or out to the yard to do his business. But I also don't want to think about the alternative.

I hate that our pets have such short lives.

He is so much a part of our family that I often refer to him as my fuzzy son. There will be a huge hole in our lives when he is gone so we're trying to give him extra time and love now while we still can.

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."

6-2-2015

5-6-2002

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2015-06-01 - Monday - Pumpkins and terrible weed

I have a volunteer pumpkin vine growing in my (too cool) compost pile from last fall's pumpkin. Since it's growing in straight compost it's very vigorous and spreading rapidly. We'll see if anything comes of it.

We have some very irritating neighbors to the rear of our house. They erected a tall wooden fence before moving a stick of furniture into the house. The workers who built the fence let much of the scrap lumber fall in our yard and left it there. The new fence was built inside their existing metal fence creating about of foot of no-man's land where weeds readily grow. Their dogs are constantly barking at me whenever I'm in my yard.

One of the most irritating things is that they planted some trees about six feet from the fence and they don't tend anything between the trees and the fence. This means that any weeds and vines that grow in the area come right over the fence. One year they had a bumper crop of 7-8 foot thistle plants that all went to seed. I'm still fighting the results of that.

In the last couple of years, it's mainly poison ivy vine, virginia creeper, and the dreaded porcelain berry. This plant grows like kudzu and latches onto everything it can reach. I am constantly slashing and spraying it, but like the tide, it just keeps coming in. I suppose it would help if they were fighting it on their side of the fence, but I'm apparently the only one battling it. Grrr. You can see it all coming over the fence behind the compost pile.

I've never seen these people, let alone met them, but I sure wish they'd take a little bit more responsibility with their yard.

Good fences don't always make good neighbors.

Pumpkin vine eating my compost.

Pumpkin flower.

Porcelain berry [shudder].

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2015-05-30 - Saturday - Pineville Sale

Saturday was the inaugural Pineville Spring pottery sale. It was a hot day and since I didn't use my tent I slathered on the sunscreen and used an umbrella in the afternoon.

The park is a beautiful location and we all set up on one side of the lake. It was fun watching the fish between customers.

The traffic was pretty steady and I was surprised at how many people came out for a daily walk around the lake. A few friends also stopped by to chat and share the nice spring day.

Looking into the booth.

Looking out of the booth.

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2015-05-28 - Thursday - New pots

Thursday was a big day as I got lots of work out of the cone 10 and cone 5 kilns. I was very pleased with the results from the different types of firings.

My favorite method is cone 10 reduction firing and I am very pleased with my pots from this firing. The shinos have a nice variation in hues with lots of carbon-trapping. There was also a lot of crazing on some of them and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's a heating/cooling rate issue, but I'm not complaining as it adds another layer to these forms which are not meant for food anyway.

Good firing.

Shino w/crazing.

A closer look.

More shino crazing.

 

Another closer look.

Another batch of bowls with graphic designs came out too. I am enjoying these as I get to play by doodling in them with underglaze using different applicator and brush techniques.

Bowls w/cobalt.

Inside one.

The last group of bowls I retrieved was a commission from my high school friend, Stan Godlewski. He requested a large bowl and I ended up making three just in case one didn't come out the way I wanted it to. The orange color is not one I normally use, but it was his choice and I like the way it works.

Attention!

At ease.

I just had to include a close-up of
Eddie. He was waiting for it.

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2015-05-27 - Wednesday - New bowls

Wednesday I picked up some of my finished bowls.

I had a large, orange commissioned bowl for my high school friend Stan Godlewski. Stan is a very talented photographer and if you have a moment, check out his site.

There were some more of my bowls with the graphics inside. They take a lot of work, but I'm really enjoying these and I hope my customers enjoy them as much as I do.

Last, my large slump-molded bowl with the sutures. I was hoping for a bit more drama in the glazing, but I'm starting to enjoy the quietness of it. What you can't see in the photo is the three stubby feet underneath it.

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2015-05-26 - Tuesday - Salt kiln and bowls

Tuesday we fired the Clayworks salt kiln. There was a good turnout and everybody lent a hand.

Later I snapped a photo of some of my new bowls.

Getting to temperature.

Adding soda.

More soda.

Adding salt.

New bowls.

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2015-05-25 - Monday - Glazing and kilns

I finally finished glazing on Monday and got everything in kilns. It was a long run and I was worn out by the end of it. I have helped to fire the gas kiln at Clayworks many times, but this was the first time I fired my own electric kiln there. Moving through the process, step by step...

I have a whole cone 5 electric kiln and some things in the cone 10 gas kiln.

Refreshments and music help the glazing process.

The electric kiln on the rise.

Ditto the gas kiln.

Nice reduction flame
searching for oxygen outside the kiln.

The salt kiln was also loaded today.

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