Peggy's Jibber-Jabber: Hinted

The last time we got together I hinted at a project I was working on, but didn’t tell you about it. I’ll tell you about that now as well as another project I knocked off my list.

I made a primitive chicken hanger for my Miss Rosie. She likes chickens. Taking care of the chickens was her favorite chore when she was growing up. If I’m wanting to make something for her, it’s almost always something chicken-themed.

I made homemade air-dry clay with a flour base. I formed the chickens and embedded hooks in them. When they were dry, I painted them, strung them with jute, and sat them on sticks I’d picked up. And gave it to Miss Rosie.

She didn’t have it very long before Miss Rosie reported that it fell apart, breaking combs and tails when it hit the porch.

My mistake was in thinking the clay would bond to the hooks.

“It makes me sad because I really liked them,” Miss Rosie said.

“I’ll make them for you again,” I consoled.

I took the broken chickens, drilled holes, and restrung them to hang on my patio. It was either that or throw them away. After a while they molded. I was told if you put vinegar or lemon juice in the clay, that won’t happen. I did and it did!

That was two years ago. Miss Rosie has been very patient with me and hasn’t once asked after them.

Recently I’ve found myself in an artistic slump. It bothers me that I’ve started a watercolor dog portrait and can’t get it finished. My mistake, if you want to call it that, is I’ve been watching tons of videos. I want to learn how to be a better artist but it backfired. All it did was reinforce that I’m not a very good artist — or so my stinkin’ thinkin’ is telling me. I found it easy and enjoyable to do the first dog portrait of the German Shepherd and Pekinese. The cat portrait came easy and enjoyable, too. I even breezed through the first attempt at a commissioned Lab. Unfortunately, I don’t consider the result salable as it doesn’t look like the dog I was trying to portray. The colors were wrong. Plus, being naïve, I mixed mediums, throwing in some acrylic paints. What a mistake that was because acrylic paint dries shiny. It makes it look all wrong. I did start again, but instead of enjoying it, I’m dreading it.

“What you need is a confidence booster,” Me says to Myself. “Make something you know you can make!”

I don’t know if I can make it or not, but I wanted to try making concrete clay. It should hold up in the weather and since it doesn’t have flour in it, I’m hoping it won’t mold.

I’ve been wanting to do this project for some time and bought Portland last year.

It’s recommended that you don’t use the same bowls for food that you use for concrete. Although stainless steel is nonreactive and does not corrode, mixing concrete can leave microscopic residues in the bowl that might not be removed with standard washing. And because concrete contains chemicals that could potentially contaminate food, even after thorough cleaning, you shouldn’t use it for food again. Being old like I am, I have bowls that I don’t use anymore, so I can dedicate them to making concrete clay.

My Portland got lumpy out in the garage so I rubbed it against a strainer until I had enough for the recipe. I mixed it with equal parts wet toilet paper and white glue.

“Wash your tools up right away,” the lady advised. “Don’t think you can leave them in water and clean them later because it won’t work. The cement will still set. Put your clay into a plastic bowl and wash your tools — but not in the sink. It’ll set up in the plumbing.”

I transferred my clay to a plastic tub and took the bowls out into the yard and washed the concrete off with the hose. Now the fun part. I sat at the patio table and sculpted chickens using patterns I’d drawn on aluminum coil stock and cut out. Halfway through I got to thinking about the times I’ve seen concrete poured using forms during construction. They always spray the forms down with a mold release first so they’re able to remove them from the concrete.

Do I need a form release? I wondered.

It was too late for the ones I’d already molded.

I Googled it and found alternatives for mold release. It seems like almost any other oil will work. I got my bottle of castor oil (one of the recommended oils), from the deep dark depths of the cabinet where it got pushed (it’s not an oil I use very often), and smeared it on the patterns I hadn’t yet cast. I only had enough clay to make two chickens and three wings. I would need another chicken and three more wings. But before I could make anymore, I’d have to wait for these to set up before I could unmold them.

After several hours, I checked to see how it was drying. The wings that were on oiled patterns slipped right off. The ones on un-oiled patterns seemed to be stuck pretty good and I didn’t want to break them by applying too much pressure, so I let them alone. I’d have to wait at least a whole day for the concrete to set before I tried again.

The next day when I tried, the chickens came off the metal patterns with very little trouble. The only issue was where the clay had oozed over the edge of the metal, like when my bread overflows his pan and once baked, holds on tight to the pan. I took my time and wiggled the chickens free.

I noticed a difference in the concrete between the oiled patterns and the ones that weren’t oiled. The concrete that sat against the oiled aluminum was smoother. The non-oiled ones had more air holes. That made it an easy decision to oil all future projects even though I didn’t really need a mold release.

“Peg, how are you going to take care of all those air holes?” you ask.

I’m so glad you asked! Since the project is “primitive” chickens, I could probably leave it alone and just paint it. We can call it character. But I know from working with other clays that you can make a slurry and coat it. That’s what I thought to do. But did you know that wet concrete won’t bond with dry concrete unless you have a bonding agent.

I don’t have one.

I went to my handsome mountain man to help me figure this out. “Mike, you’ve got some concrete floor leveling stuff, don’t you?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“It’s got a bonding agent in it, right?”

“I think so. Why?”

I told him what I was up to and he suggested I give it a try. I mixed a little and used an old paint brush to apply it. I didn’t like the grit in it. Just for kicks and grins, I decided to try just the Portland in a slurry and use it on the other chicken. What’s the worse that can happen? It’ll flake off. That wouldn’t be the end of the world. Turns out, the Portland had a little grit in it, too. Once dry, I was able to brush the sand off, the Portland stuck as well as the leveling compound, and all was good.

Now, how am I going to attach the wings?

Since the Portland adhered, could I use it to attach the wings?

I made another slurry and stuck one of the wings to one of the chickens.

I sat there, on my patio, sipping coffee and watching the birds, waiting. It would be a whole day until I could see if it worked.

A House Finch came to the jelly feeder. It was kinda funny to watch this little guy come back time after time.

“Peg, how do you know it was the same one?” you wanna know.

Easy. He had a gob of jelly stuck under his chin. I did wonder how ever he was going to get it clean.

My little shadow, my Velcro dog, sat in another chair, content just to be nearby. Speaking of Raini, I bought her a leg brace for her bad knee. I’ve had it on her a couple of times but it doesn’t stay in place. I’ll keep working on it, trying to figure out how to keep it on her and on her knee.

I really wanted a photo of the male Baltimore Oriole, but he was more skittish than his female companion. He’d come in for a bite of jelly but the slightest move or sound sent him back into the trees.

The female was a little more tolerant. Here, you can see drips of rain.

Waiting sucks. Now that I’d started this project, I was anxious to be done with it.

What else will bond it? I wondered and Googled. Silicone or a strong glue. I have some really good glue that’s multi-use and dries fast. I get it at Walmart and it’s called Beacon 527. It bonds metal, cork, tile, ceramics, wood, paper, glass, and more! the label declares. I decided to try that on another chicken. Five minutes later I checked. Hands down, the glue won. I was able to put two of the chickens together but I had to wait until the next day to see if the concrete slurry worked, which, by the way, it did. I didn’t pry on it too hard but it seemed to be stuck fast. I figure if it falls off somewhere down the road, Miss Rosie will let me know.

I painted the chickens and a little heart I’d made with the leftover clay.

While they were drying, I went in search of a stick. I only had two for my perches and needed one more. I looked and looked and looked and couldn’t find any that matched what I had or that I liked. Then I found this stick! “Take me!” it seemed to say. It was a pretty stick. I picked it up and turning it over in my hands I got an idea on how to use it. I didn’t find a third perch but thought I could hang the heart from the last chicken and it would be just fine.

I took my dog (Raini goes with me everywhere!) and my stick back to the patio. Lovingly, I took all the bark off and sanded it smooth. I needed something to bring out the color. Would linseed or tung oil do that? I wondered. Then I wondered if we had any. Mike was napping and I didn’t want to bother him. I looked in the garage — twice! I checked through all my craft supplies — twice! I couldn’t find either one.

Would another oil work? I wondered and grabbed a bottle of motor oil.

“Peg! Motor oil!” you exclaim incredulously.

Well, no one’s going to eat off it! I applied the oil and it just looked like shinny dull wood. Can I put paint on top of the oil? I dabbed the rag in the still wet Miss-Rosie’s-favorite-color green and tapped skipped it along the wood. It worked! No one is more shocked than I am!

I did that for all the pieces and put the primitive chicken hanger together. It's almost three feet long!

I can see, only after the fact, that I should’ve made the orange chicken a little lower, but I didn’t see it at the time. And maybe I should’ve tried a little harder to find a perch. But it’s too late now, it’s delivered!

Miss Rosie loves her mobile. We’re calling it that because the wind turns the whole thing in circles as well as spinning the chickens. I was a little worried my design might be flawed and they’d bang together. The concrete makes it really strong so I don’t think they’ll break even if they do.

Oh gosh! I get here the whole way to the end of the story and realize there was one more thing about this that I didn’t tell you. Something that the words “design” and “flaw” tripped in my recollecting.

“What’s that, Peg?” you ask.

The whole reason I had to make these again is because of a design flaw in the first place. The wire rings pulled out of the chickens. This time I put shoulders and hooks at the ends of my rings before embedding them, just like Mike said I should’ve done the first time!

“I love my chickens!” Miss Rosie said. “It’s truly unique — one of a kind! I was sitting here, drinking my morning coffee, watching them turn in the breeze.”

I had a request from my friend and editor, eldest daughter of the Kipps, Jenn. She lives in a place where the delivery guys leave her packages at the wrong door — all the time! Sometimes her stuff gets rained on before she discovers it.

“Can you make me a sign in blood-red-dripping font?” she asked and drew out her desgin.

Pffft! Can I make sign in blood-red-dripping font. Of course I can!

Mike helped. He found a piece of old wood paneling. I painted it white and cut the vinyl letters on my Cricut machine. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!

You would think with two successful projects complete and off my list that I’d be ready to tackle the Lab again, wouldn’t you? Well, that’s what I thought, too! I pulled it out, got my paints and brushes around, sat down, and stared at it for a while. I only have the underpainting done and realize it’s in its “ugly” phase, that as more color and detail is added it will get better, but I couldn’t make myself pick up a brush and start. I was considering a red plaid background but thought it might be too distracting. I went for a textured brown leather-looking background and what I have is so close to the dog color that the dog is gonna get lost. Then I wondered if I should bring the background down a little lower. Then I wondered if I can fix the color or even if I should try. I’m afraid I’ll make it worse. Then I wondered if I should scrap the whole project and start again. At that point I’m so overwhelmed that I closed my paint set, put the brushes away, turned around to my desk and got lost down the rabbit hole of Reels on Facebook. Short little minute or minute and half videos.

I actually had another failed project this week but it’s not a big deal. The bell house I hung in my Zebra Finch cage has a loose weave to it and isn’t dark inside. I could cover it with paper and glue! I thought.

I get the paper and the glue and set to work. My mind wanders when I’m working on something that doesn’t take a great deal of attention.

“The birds will pick at it,” Myself says to Me.

“So?” queries Me. “Elmer’s glue is non-toxic.”

“It is for people, but what about birds?”

“Good question!”

I pulled my phone from my bra pocket and asked Copilot.

“Elmer's glue is generally considered safe for birds...” Copilot says and goes on to say that it should be dry before I put it in for them and only use it in a place where they’re not likely to pick at it and if you think they’ve eaten some, contact a vet. Copilot ended with this caveat, “For the safety and well-being of your Zebra finches, always choose bird-safe materials and adhesives.”

Okay then. To the sink I went, peeled off the still wet, glue-soaked paper, and washed glue from the house. They’ll just have to live with it the way it is.

Speaking of my finches, they’re way more talky being in a group like they are. They go back and forth between the cages, even the white one now, and lots of times they’ll all be in one cage. I figure they like it that way or they wouldn’t do it.

We had an egg early in the week. Yep. Had an egg. I took it from the nest, shook it as hard as I could, coated it with oil, and put it back in the nest. I know from watching that show on TV where the family-owned pest extermination business was called out to manage nuisance geese. Billy gave his brother an umbrella to fight off the geese while he coated the eggs with oil. That stops air transfer and the eggs suffocate. The geese would abandon the nest after a while and not come back, according to Billy.

So I shook the egg, coated it with oil, and put it back.

Sometime later I got to thinking about it. Why, oh why, am I such a slow thinker! What happens if she lays another egg? I won’t know which one I already shook! I got up, got the egg back out, was getting ready to get a marker to put a dot on it, when it broke. I gave it to Raini. A day or so later another egg appears in the nest. I wasn’t in any great hurry to destroy it because she wasn’t incubating yet.

I don’t know if it was that same day or the next when a great amount of chatter emanated from the birds.

“What’s wrong with the birds?” Mike called from the other room.

That’s how different this chatter was from their normal chatter. Even Mike noticed. “I don’t know,” I called back. After a while I got up and looked in the nest and egg was gone! Glancing at the bottom of the cage I spotted the shattered egg. I don’t know if maybe the dominant female was getting rid of an egg from a lesser female, or if it was an accident.

>>>*<<<

The day after Mike helped me mow the dog run, I went out and the run was full of beautiful yellow dandelions. I know! I know! Not everyone is a dandelion lover! They sprang up overnight. Inevitably, my yellow field has now turned into a field of wishes, still beautiful, just in a different way.

Buttercups are blooming.

Buttercups often symbolize happiness, wealth, prosperity, and childhood nostalgia. Children would play a game where they held a buttercup under the chin on a sunny day and if it reflects, it means you like butter.

There are over 500 kinds of buttercups.

In folk medicine, buttercups were used to treat wounds and for skin conditions such as eczema, warts, boils, and abscesses. Fresh leaves were used as an external rubefacient (causes redness of the skin) for rheumatism, gout, arthritis, and neuralgia.

Although folk medicine did use it for digestive issues, buttercups are toxic. They contain a compound called ranunculin which can cause irritation and poisoning if ingested in large amounts.

I can’t say this enough — know your weeds before you consume any.

Chokecherries are blooming.

So is the honeysuckle.

And the Autumn Olive.

My Sensation Lilacs are blooming, too. One of my bushes, the one that has a branch of all white lilacs, has died back and Mike cut all the dead branches away.

We made a trip to Tunkhannock town and I took some road pictures for you.

All along the highway, the Dame’s Rocket is blooming. This wildflower is often confused with Wild Phlox but there are some key differences. First, and the only thing I’m basing my identification on is, Dame's Rocket blooms in spring and Wild Phlox blooms late summer, early fall.

If we weren’t barreling down the highway at sixty miles an hour, I could’ve stopped and counted petals. Dame’s Rocket has four petals and Wild Phlox has five.

Dame’s Rocket has been traditionally used to induce sweating, promote urination, and loosen a cough. The leaves, rich in vitamin C, have been used to treat or prevent scurvy. You can eat the young, tender leaves raw or cooked. They have a sweet and slightly spicy flavor, similar to arugula. But too much of a good thing is bad. It could cause vomiting.

We were just leaving Tunkhannock when I see something I’ve never noticed before, despite having lived here for eight years and traveled this road many times.

“Is that a purple tree?” I asked Mike and pointed.

He glanced then turned his attention back to the road. “Looks like it.”

It was raining and dreary out and I cleaned the picture up as best as I could. From the way the flowers are draping, I’m wondering if this is Wisteria. Anyone know?