the Pipodoll blog has moved!

Hello friends (:
From now on, the Pipodoll blog will make it's new home at

http://girlintheforest.blogspot.ca

It's just time for a move, you know? Some change. Change is good (: Please update your links, and if you are a follower of mine, I would love to see you at my new place..(:

Nix that! Pipodoll is going to stay right here at this blog!

watch this and smile

♥

Ollie. Seven months old and the cutest baby in the whole wide world (: ♥

many days and moments have passed

There is asparagus growing in the front yard

Ollie is very hefty! 6 months old and 20 pounds (: I make good, sturdy babies!

I made this play tipi one day on a whim, out of vintage sheets. A fun place to hang out (:

This amazing drawing is of ME! Drawn by Jude who is 2 years old!!

...and here I am again! Hahaha I love my fat face (:

What I do all day, every day. My back, arms and shoulders are getting remarkably strong.

Jude really took to sewing on this, my 'second' machine. I took out the needle and he had a blast 'sewing' a piece of fabric. It actually moved through so of course he was delighted (:

Look! Underwear! Jude has started the great potty-training journey. Whew! What adventures, I must say!

A special regular visitor to the feeder outside the kitchen window. How I love these sweet and tiny magical beings!

Building a fence to keep 'naughty Talulah' as I sometimes call her out of the gardens. ahem.

Isabella snuggling with our rooster whom we have since then re-homed. He really was a sweet guy, but we just wanted hens for eggs. He'll have a lovely new home with a sweet lady on her farm. A happy ending (:

My studio! I haven't done much in there yet; just whipped up that play tipi, but I can't wait to sew some more. I really do love sewing. It's so much fun, and cathartic. My cheeks are always rosy afterwards so I know it's good for me!

Baby robin. Long story short: Jason found her on the road on the way home from work and didn't see a mama bird in sight so of course he brought her home to me. We had an extra nest, so we set up a lovely 'baby robin abode' in a cage and kept her fed with worms and strawberries every half an hour. The second day I had planned a visit to my parents' house so I brought her along and set her little cage outside on their back deck. I noticed that every time she started chirping when she was hungry, a grown robin returned the chirp from a nearby tree. Back and forth they were communicating and I wondered...would a mama robin adopt our little robin? With only 15 minutes to spare before I needed to get going, I set the robin, nest, cage and all, under a nearby tree and took off the top. I hid on the back deck and waited, and when little robin chirped for food, that amazing mama bird flew to her and fed her a worm! I was floored. Very emotional. It was profound really, and no amount of words can describe the beauty of it. She fed her three times and I felt confident that this little fledgeling robin would be ok, That she had a new mama now. I actually returned a bit later as our plans changed, and watched as the little robin became brave and started hopping around my parent's lawn. The mama robin coaxed her to follow and she did, and they hopped to a place of safety in the long grass. My Mom said she watched little robin during the week, and wouldn't you know it, she lived in our 'last-year's garden', the one that Jason built for me and which brought me so much joy last summer. I was saddened to leave it when we moved to our new home, but not now, knowing that it has served a greater good (: Nature is wonderful.

(:

And here is one of our newest gardens. Jason has been so dedicated to creating, digging, planting and beautifying that we now have a bunch of lovely gardens around the property for vegetables, herbs and flowers. When we first moved here it was a bit overwhelming to look around at all that needed to be done, but now it is coming along so wonderfully! I love our home so much.

I cannot fail to mention that our sweet Mabel-bunny passed away a few weekends ago. She was an old bunny, having lived in two different countries, been on an airplane, lived in numerous homes and was rescued by us from a shelter in California. She was a lucky girl, adorable, and the best bunny in the world.

I saw her fall over in her cage when I was sitting with Jude on the couch and immediately rushed over, only to see her gasping for air and unable to get up. I scooped her up, walked outside and sat in the grass with her on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I held her like a baby and she died in my arms, looking right into my eyes. She was a gentle, loving, peaceful being and we all miss her, but we're so glad that she was in our lives for the time that she was (:

a wee goat video

Here is our dear sweet Talulah running back up the driveway after I called her by name! She is really smart ~ I have never had a goat in my life before so every day with her brings a new discovery. She trots around after me all day and bops her head against my leg occasionally for a pat. I quite like her (:

Chickies!

First a goat. Then 8 chicks. Next...a horse perhaps? I do hope so (:

Our chicks came to us this afternoon, only a day old. They are so so cute. I picked four different-coloured breeds; I thought that would be lovely to see in the yard. We spent most of today loving each and every one of our new fuzzy-bottomed babies! Little cuties (:

self portrait with baby and goat (:

pets and wild things

This is Talulah. She is the newest member of our family and we love her to bits! She has only been with us for four days but somehow it seems like she has been here forever. Funny that. She's a pygmy goat, so she's pretty small but has a very impressive beard. I can't wait to braid it!

This is our visiting fox-fellow. He lazes about on the yard eating frogs, mice and voles. I'm glad he makes his presence known, as it readily reminds us what extreme measures of safety are to be taken when letting Mabel (bunny) outside in the run, and what we need to do to keep our chickens safe one day. He's gorgeous.

We have tons of turkeys strutting about, down the driveway and in the front and back yard!

Here's Jude snuggling with Mabel in the rabbit/goat/used-to-be dog run. She is so much happier bouncing about in the sun than bored in her cage inside. I'm so glad spring has come so she can go outside!

Mabel again. She's so pretty that I had to include a close-up. I love her ears. We got her from a shelter in Oakland back when we lived in California so we don't really know how old she is or what her beginnings were, but since she's been with us (four years now I think) she's gotten sweeter and sweeter. Look how she's snuggled right up to Jude! And he's two years old! That's some serious trust and tolerance on her part (:

Silly raccoon stuck up in a tree, waiting for us to go inside the house so he can figure out how to get down again (: He was likely thieving our compost bin.

I love where we live. There is so much going in the natural environment (and in our world of pets!) Next will be the chicks. We have ordered 8 baby chickens (four different breeds) from the local feed store and will be picking them up at the beginning of May, just a day old! I can't wait!

Gram

I dreamt about my Gram last night. Her name was Constance Mary (: She pops into my dreams from time to time... It usually seems that she's still here on the earth, and as we go about our daily lives she is there, watching us and staying near. She passed away 19 years ago now but it really doesn't seem like that long. The heart remembers in a timeless way, does it not?

foxy guy

A recent visitor to the front yard! (:

my life

crackers!