Tom: For Q and A Who makes that mini-truck you have? I want one. Do you know Shreve Stockton, she must live nearby?
My little white truck is a Mitsubishi Minicab. Google “Japanese minitrucks” and you will find many styles and prices! Some are pretty decked out, but mine is pretty plain. We put on the four wheeler tires with some great help from a minitruck dealer in Oklahoma. It needed a lift kit and he was very helpful… wish I could remember his website because I’d send him your business!
I do know Shreve. She’s the one that got me writing this blog!!! She’s very busy, so we don’t see each other very often, but we try to catch up every now and again… usually at the library!
Della: Is Spot a mix? He’s a beautiful rooster!
Remember that one lone chick I managed to hatch out last year? That’s Spot! His dad was the Black Cochin, his mom, most likely, was one of my Buff Rocks.
Joanne: My question. Often when travelling (no motorway driving for me) on our busy motorways with three lanes either way of fast moving traffic, I think it would be nice to drive Carol’s route 16. Beautiful scenery, not much traffic. BUT then I think WAIT. No street lights at night, no houses to call on in an emergency, possibly no cell phone reception. So what are the ‘road rules’ you would pass on to visitors. My daughter drove and I map read in 2009 from Casper to Moran and north past Jackson lake. Best views ever.
Hmmm. Excellent question!!! Here’s where your pioneer spirit might need to kick in! It’s true, much of Wyoming doesn’t have great cell phone reception… the majority in the mountains. But remember that older couple that Vernon rescued last year? They were just over the lip of the hill, and had no reception in their car. Had they done a bit of a walkabout, they could have called out about 100 yards away. So, think how you can get your cell call out, climb a hill, a tree, heck, Daniel’s friend even threw his phone in the air once to get a text out! So, no cell service, you know you shouldn’t rely on GPS in Wyoming as well… common sense and map reading skills will do a better job! So, say you’re stuck or lost… BE PREPARED. Have blankets, food, water, coat, hat, gloves, flashlight, and firestarter all in your vehicle. Don’t leave your vehicle if you can. It’s warm and easily spotted. Don’t leave the main roads and you’ll be fine. People in Wyoming are very friendly… we’ve all been stuck and we just pay it forward!!! The no street lights at night thing???? Just wait til you see all the stars…
Marilyn: Question – how does Lucas like riding on the extension of your truck?
Do you mean the bed of the pickup? He loves it! Of course, he needs help getting up there, and since we’ve started putting flatbeds on our pickups, he usually rides up front since I’m SO PARANOID with no edges to keep him in. He’s pretty much a “stick your nose in the air and smell the world” kind of guy!
Gina: Would you and Shreve ever consider teaching a photography class. I know I can get a couple people from Wisconsin to come out for one.
I have to admit, that kind of “artist retreat” has crossed my mind! I am just a hobby photographer, though, and probably couldn’t add much to a class besides composition… and driving you to some scenic spots! Shreve is a much better photographer and more qualified to give a class… but I wouldn’t speak for her! You need to post that question over at Daily Coyote!
Gina: How did the straw bale work for planting into? I was thinking of trying lettuce in it. What worked best in the bale? Or was it a bust? I don’t remember seeing out it worked out.
Mine was more bust than not… I grew some small carrots, a couple of tomatoes and peppers. It wasn’t great, but I was growing a lot of mushrooms (not the edible kind) and I was wondering if it didn’t get enough sun… The tomato did the best. If you want to do lettuce, I’d put a good layer of soil on top and keep it pretty soggy. I’d be tempted to cut a depression into it to keep the lettuce within reach of the wetness. The high sides would wick away the moisture, but the lettuce would be lower… does that make sense?
Elaine: (re: copper wire weavings) Third from left intrigues me – is that a leaf? a centipede?
It’s an ugly feather! I was trying different techniques… Yeah, that one wasn’t very successful!
Bert: I’ll pass the spirit of his message on to you. Some of us set very high standards for our work and are too critical of our work. I needed a little confidence boost to present my work. Consider yourself ‘boosted’, at least by me. You’ll never know until you present your work. Just be sure to price your work fairly for the materials, effort & creativity you put into a piece. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder! p.s. What is the price of the Buffalo? I think it’s Great!
Thanks so much, Bert! That was very sweet of you! The buffalo seems to be very popular, but since there are two major mistakes in it, I’m going to keep that one, and hopefully, set up a guide so I can make more without struggling so much! That design was kind of difficult since I really didn’t know what I was doing… now with a little practice, I’m ready to try it again. I’ll post the next one when I get it finished.
Thanks, everyone, for another good Q&A!!
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Thank you Carol. Your night sky sounds spectacular. My one regret about our stay in Grand Teton is that we did not go outside our cabin to look at the sky. We even took the car to the restaurant as earlier there had been a grizzly bear in the parking lot. Park Ranger came to the rescue.
Thank you for all the answers. I enjoyed them, and I liked the close-up of Spot!
I happen to love that feather you made, so it’s a matter of artistic taste.
How are the temperaments with Black Cochins and Buff Rocks? I know Buff Orpingtons tend to be very friendly and sweet (from experience, anyway.) We had a Black Star rooster that was a big beautiful boy, but he was so rough on the hens, just from weight, I think. He was also hostile to people he wasn’t used to. He would hear my brother-in-law from a ways away, and would start a challenging crowing. We then had his son (mixed with Buff Orpington) who was also very large and gorgeous, and much better around anyone, but he took too much of a toll on the hens, again from sheer weight, I think. I’m trying to figure out a good size and breed of rooster for the next try.