Wilma

I’d like to introduce you to Wilma. She loves to frolic in the woods near Woodland Whimsy. She has a smile and a happy thought for everyone she meets.

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A New Creature

A new creature has appeared from the lake here at Woodland Whimsy. She is cute as can be.

Initially, she was very shy and tried to hide. With a bit of patience, she soon decided that we were all right to talk to.

“Hi, my name is Betty. I am a squoozle. There are a lot of us living in the lake, but we are all shy.”  I assured Betty that it was safe for her friends if they wanted to come out.

“I will take to them and see what they say. I’m not sure that they are ready to meet new being though.” confided Betty. Then she headed back down toward the lake and into the water. I hope that we all get a chance to meet some more squoozles. Betty was a very charming creature.

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Montrose Goes to the Zoo (Part 2)

Thank you for joining Montrose and me for our continuing exploration of the San Diego Zoo.

We went to see the koalas next. We were happy that they had photos and names for several of the koalas.

They were mostly sleeping and were very difficult to see, let alone get a good photo of them.

The giraffes were easy to see. They are so majestic.

Isn’t the baby adorable?

This antelope lives with the giraffes.

This little donkey doesn’t look happy to see us, but he sure was cute.

Montrose loved the flamingos! I had to explain to him that they really do not make good pets.

Montrose enjoyed reading the information about the different animals.

He thought the bears were very interesting. They had lovely enclosures with plants and caves. He was glad that they were far away. He is a bit afraid of bears.

We hope you enjoyed part two of our zoo adventure. We are looking forward to sharing part three with you.

 

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Montrose Mushroom Goes to the Zoo (Part 1)

Last summer was my first trip to the San Diego Zoo. I went with two of my children, two grandsons, my daughter in law, my wonderful husband, and Montrose Mushroom. We were in for a long and wonderful day.

Here is everyone before we went inside.

It is very important to have a map so you know where you are going. My grandson (3 at the time) was in charge of the map. He and Montrose studied it to see where we should go first.

The Terrace Lagoon is a beautiful and peaceful area. Montrose loved seeing the fish and the plants.

Montrose is sure that this fish was about to become a mother.

It is difficult to pose with fish!

There are wonderful statues throughout the zoo.

Checking out the plants

Many of the plants are labeled. It was fun being able to see what the names were and where they are from.

The Tasmanian Devil Exhibit was closed when we were visiting, but the information sign and this awesome statue were available for us to look at.

There are so many incredible things to see at the zoo. I hope you will join Montrose and me as we continue to share photos of our trip.

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Ricky Goblin and the Pirates(Spice Trader Tea Company)

Ricky has always been a bit of a problem goblin.

Ricky was often in time out

He gets into things and stays out later than he should.

Ricky and Robyn built this snowman together

He is also a helpful and loving goblin. He found the perfect forever home near Lake Tahoe last month.

The pirate home

Spice Traders Teas is the home of many pirates! They also make really fabulous tea.

Ricky in time out

Ricky gets his time outs lashed to the mast now. He is so happy in his new home. Pirates are often into mischief, so he has no lack of  fellow conspirators in his new home(and many fewer time outs).

Robyn misses him. He has a nice cup of Russian Caravan Tea and thinks about how happy his friend is in his new home.

If you are a tea drinker, I can really recommend the teas from Spice Traders Teas. They have a wide selection of both herbal and regular tea blends. I mostly make my own teas, but couldn’t resist buying some from them as well.

 

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Gabby Finds a Forever Friend

Once upon a time there was a gronk named Gabby. She was happy living at Woodland Whimsy with all the fantastic creatures, but what she really wanted was a home and a special friend all her own.

Gabby Gronk

All of the creatures from Woodland Whimsy go to fairs in hopes of getting adopted. Gabby always made sure that her pig tails were perfect, and that she was happy as she could be when she went. One day, at a wonderful fair near Lake Tahoe, Gabby met a beautiful little girl who was looking for a forever friend. Gabby and the lovely girl felt an instant friendship. Both were very happy to go home together. Gabby and the girl are happy together still and will be so forever after.

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The Tale of Seymour the Wanderer (The beginning)

Once upon a time a young triclops awoke. He felt confused and a bit ill. Slowly he looked around. Nothing looked familiar. Where was he? For that matter, who was he? Starting to feel panicked, he sat up quickly. Then he realized he had a piece of paper in his hand. There was writing on it.

Dearest Seymour,

If you are reading this, the spell has worked and our message has found its way to you. We love you and hope that you are safe and well. We hope by this time that your quest is finished and you are on your way back to us.

With Much Love,

Mom and Dad

Seymour felt full of despair. How could he find his way home if he didn’t know where home was? Seymour read the note again and then once more. The words that spoke of love, hope, and family gave him heart. Seymour stood, chose the direction that seemed best to him and began to walk.

Seymour the Wanderer

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Shearing Alpacas

I forgot my camera on Saturday when we went to shear my mother’s alpacas. Even if I had remembered, I don’t think I would have gotten any photos. The three(my husband, son, and myself) of us were constantly busy for the nearly six hours it took us to get it done. We were super happy to have help from my nephew and his friend at the beginning of the day when we had to herd the alpacas into a confined space.

This was my first time shearing an alpaca. I’d only done two sheep before. It ended up being much different than sheep. I learned first hand that alpacas really don’t like their legs to be touched. I found shearing the necks to be the most difficult part. I’m not sure if the fiber on their necks is of a different texture or what, but it was the most difficult part to shear on every one of the alpacas, whether they were cooperative or not.

The first one we sheared (Casper) was super docile and cooperative. The last one (Sunsational) cried, screamed, spit, and/or struggled the whole time. Next time he will get done first. It was pretty difficult to deal with at the end of a long day. The other four were somewhat between those two in behavior. One struggled so much that his neck did not get finished, he looks a bit like a lion. It was hard work, and there was definitely a learning curve. I felt like I was much faster and just better at it by the end. I saw some photos today of some alpacas that had been professionally sheared, it made me feel better about the job I did. I was worried about how very ugly the hair cuts were that I gave them, the professionally done ones didn’t look too much better though.

The important thing is that the alpacas are all sheared so should be much more comfortable for the summer. I also have six huge bags of fiber to use to create more fun art.

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Slerks in the Garden

I’m sure you all recall how much slerks like to be outdoors. I was out taking photos of some of my flowers today. The slerks were having so much fun that I had to get some pictures of them as well.

The little pink slerk had climbed up in the little apple tree that is growing in a pot. This pot was left here by the former owners of the house. This little tree came up from seed in it the first year we were here. I have just left it there. It has bulbs and irises planted around it.

They hyacinths are really beautiful this year. This little guy was having a good time checking them out.

The hellebores are still in bud. They’ve been kind of stuck at this stage. It has gotten cooler the last couple of weeks. This little guy had fun climbing up into the future flowers.

This slerk loves the daffodils. He was hurrying from plant to plant, checking out the beautiful flowers. The daffodils are getting close to being finished, so it is good to enjoy them while it is possible to do so.

The heuchera is pushing up some new leaves. Flowers are still quite some time off, but the leaves are always beautiful.

This purple slerk was playing in a potted fairy garden. The hens and chicks are his favorite.

The berry part of the snow berries are faded, most have fallen from the bush already. This slerk enjoyed the climb up through the newly emerging leaves.

My goodness! Trying to get all the slerks together for a group photo is almost as difficult as getting the snottlings to cooperate. They finally gathered together in the muscari for a quick family photo.

I hope you enjoyed the mini garden tour with the slerks. If you love them, you can order one here. You can see more of my work on my facebook page or my web page.

 

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New Family Member

We are so excited to have a new member of our family here at Woodland Whimsy. Keeta came to live with us a bit over two weeks ago.

Keeta has just turned six months old. She is a German Shepard/Catahoula mix.

She is pretty big. She already weighs over fifty pound and is quite tall.

The other dogs have gotten used to her. Evelyn(my daughter’s dog who is living with us temporarily) will play with her. Keterlyn will sleep with her. Heinrich ignores her.Which is what he does with things he doesn’t really approve of, but knows he has to deal with because they belong to us.

Keeta is a real sweetie, but dealing with a puppy, especially a large puppy, is something we have to remember how to do properly. Puppies chew, and tall puppies can get things from places you think are out of reach.

This used to be Elvin. You have met him here on the blog before, and I still have two other adventures to write about him. I’m not sure how she managed to get him, since he was up high in a room she wasn’t supposed to be able to access, but get him she did. I’m hoping that he can be cleaned up and repaired, but I’m not sure that it is possible. I lost a couple of felted mice as well, but I’m doing better with remembering how very tall she is.

She really is a wonderful dog. My pillows seem to be where she wants to hang out. She tends to jump up there as soon as I move.

We are so happy with our new addition(this photo is when she first came home, I removed that collar pretty promptly). We are her fourth home, including the one she was born in that she left at five week(sad). We are glad to be able to offer her a home where she will be loved and cared for always, not just until someone decides she is too much trouble.

 

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