Spring Day

We are in the middle of a stretch of perfect weather -- a reminder of why we live in this part of the country.

Daffodils are a hallmark of the season.









The lilac bush nears full bloom.  Old timers call the year one of the best in many for color and fragrance.  It will be a big week for the Highland Park Lilac Festival in Rochester!










We have a small display of tulips that made it through the deer attack.  The simple fence seemed to add some protection.












Another smaller group around another tree.  Maybe we didn't get the fence up early enough!














Inspector Suki enjoys the beautiful day.  She scratches her back by rolling on stones and stays close by so that we can take more pictures of who surely should be the main attraction!

Cass

This is Cass, a lovely young Belgian mare that was getting a break from being on patrol duty at Pittsford Plaza.



















She was donated to the police by the woman who raised her, and she has a very sweet personality.













Her break included grabbing a few mouthfuls of fresh grass -- like M&M's for horses said her rider.

Burning Grass

The perennial grass garden is left to over-winter and add nice form to our landscaping.  It is very dry this time of the year and ready to go.












The fire is a quick and efficient method of getting rid of last year's growth.  It is gone in seconds!













The great plains of the western part of our country was rejuvenated in this manner through millennia.  Before there were humans, lightening strikes did the job.









The plants are not destroyed.  With the area open to sunshine and rain, the grasses will soon return.










Some weeding of unwanted clumps needs to be done.  A little additional mulch will set up this garden for the year.

Pond cleaning

The yearly ritual of cleaning a couple of our ponds was scheduled for a cold April day, or as we call it this year -- Spring!









The fish and water are removed, and the attractive but hard-to-clean cobblestone base is visible.  A rubber membrane underlines all these stones.













The pond is filled from our well, and the fish are returned along with a few frogs who made it through the winter.  Our job now is to control the algae buildup.











The men are discussing the clean-up process.  Dave and Shawn have done this work for many years with various seasonal helpers.  Bill assumes the usual supervisory role -- crucial to the operation -- or so he says!!

Earthquake Faults at Images 2013

I'm pleased to announce that Earthquake Faults has been selected for Images 2013, the juried gallery exhibition of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, by juror Joyce Robinson.

The exhibit will hang in the Robeson Gallery of the HUB/Robeson Center on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University from June 5 to July 14, 2013.

April Meeting

The Peeps gathered for a regular monthly meeting. 

In preparation for our upcoming exhibit, we took a look at several of the quilts that will be on display.

The exhibit is "Holy Mola!  Art Quilts Inspired by Molas from Panama." 

Each artist selected a mola to use as the starting point for a new quilt, and we'll be displaying the molas with the quilts they inspired.





Bev's "chicken tracks" and Pat's "leaves."
















Anne's piece titled "Fifty."















Mary brought this piece with lots of quilting.  She's thinking of adding some trapunto.

New deck

In our continuing campaign to upgrade our home and build with long-lasting, low-upkeep materials, we chose cellular PVC deck material for this project.












Peter is removing the screws from the cedar planks that comprise the existing surface.  The original deck was built by Dave Koeberle and his brother almost 20 years ago and has held up well.












Some of the cedar needed replacement and rather than replace six or ten planks per year, we decided to rebuild the whole surface.  The treated 2-by-6 under-structure was in fine shape and did not need work.












Paul works on some railing we added to the step off the deck.  As we age, a hand-up or down will probably be a good idea.











A look at the completed structure from the interior porch, as seen through one of the new windows (Note the nice interior framing).

The contrast board around the upper deck serves as a nice accent piece, along with being a visual reminder of the proximity to the step up or down.

Form, Not Function

I'm pleased to have a quilt selected for the 2013 exhibition, "Form, Not Function:  Quilt Art at the Carnegie."

"Doormats I" is one of the 25 entries accepted from 341 individual entries from 128 artists.

The show runs from May 10 through July 13, 2012, at the Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, IN.  This is the tenth anniversary of the exhibit, and a print catalog of the exhibit will be available.


Doormats I   (49h X 67w)

The big windows

In putting in new windows around the house, the large upper group on the porch represented a serious challenge.   The windows were framed at the factory, which helped in proper sizing.












Some of the existing wood around the openings needed an upgrade and replacement.  Peter and Mike work to do so on a cold, windy day.















Paul and Mike haul one of the new units, while Peter waits on the scaffolding.  They are double-paned and heavily insulated.









The three carpenters "gently" ease the windows into place.  Obviously, this is not the time for a crack or fracture.  It goes without saying that these are very expensive!

Thankfully, no mistakes so far....
Peter prepares the final opening with the last pane to be inserted visible on the porch floor.

The whole job was completed successfully!  Whew!!

Men at Work

A good-weather day brought on a burst of activity in the sunshine. 

Here Peter is at work on the saw, and Paul and Mike put up the soffit beneath the south porch.









Our cars are outside now, and the garage has turned into a workshop.  This has been particularly helpful on rainy or snowy days.













More sawing of the fiber cement siding takes place before installation.  Mike and Paul worked as a team on the siding project.














The  men pick up and leave at the end of a long day.  They start at 8 am and take very few breaks during the day -- sometimes even skipping lunch!

New Siding

We have decided to stay at our current domicile for the forseeable future assuming our health holds together.

We are in the process of upgrading with construction materials guaranteed for at least the next 25 years.










Our new siding was delivered by a mini-forklift tractor that came on the back of the delivery truck.









We are using the fiber cement siding with a factory-applied finish with the 25-year guarantee against fading and no painting required!  We'll see.....
















The existing fiber board siding is gone, and the walls await new covering.  We will also replace the cedar deck.

Nancy's Solo

Nancy hosted a reception for her solo show, "From Thought to Image - Art Quilts of Nancy P. Hicks."

The exhibit is up until April 7th at the Williams Gallery of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester on Winton Road.






Here's Nancy (on the left) chatting with some fellow members of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club.












Her work looks wonderful in the gallery space, and her guests were very interested in the pieces she had on display.







And we all enjoyed the delicious snacks and the lovely piano music too!