Happiness Is....

Healthy dogs. Snoopy would agree I'm sure.
Stella, smiling for the camera with two good matching and working eyes.



 And brother Robin, now bored with the whole camera affair.

Happiness is also having wildlife AND camera available at the same time. The camera person really needs to practice holding steady with the zoom.



Monday morning Mr. Grey Fox strolled through to snatch up some sunflower seeds the birds had scattered. He was obviously on a mission, in constant motion and I was wishing like all get out he would hold still for just a few moments.




 It was hard to time the shots exactly with the digital delay and the constant movement.



And then I got my wish! Not quite the great wildlife action shots I was hoping for, but, action shots none the less! I'll take it and am not in the least offended. And where else are you going to get a chance to see a pooping wild fox I ask? ;) Hmmmmm.



 He is refreshing areas of his territory. I often see fox scat on prominent rocks around the property. And there is one place in the woods that everyone seems to use.  It all means he's here for the long haul and hopefully when he is gone it will have been passed onto another family member.

Happiness is, solving a poor cutting job as regards to pattern matching.



 I just didn't allow enough fabric for good matching of this large print and should have cut each piece in a single layer.



Sometimes, mistakes lead to pretty good creative solutions.  I consider this one of them.
Dark brown linen leftovers to the rescue.



Still needs hemming but this duster (Indygo Junction Retro Raglan), will see a lot of wear this fall. The others I've made are in constant rotation except in the hottest of weather.

Valerie had asked in the comment section of a recent posts if I was riding. I was, but then the extreme heat hit and now the choking drift smoke. This is what our afternoons have been looking like.



 The smoke is enough to make you cough outside and provide a little sting at times for the eyes and nose making it awful and dangerous to ride especially for the one doing most of the work, the horse. I feel bad enough that I can't get them out of the smoke for some relief to eyes, noses and lungs.



 The good news is the wind direction should be changing and clearing us out, the bad news, thunderstorms are again in our forecast area. For those that might  be stopping by for fire updates, the incident reports are available on the web here. This shows resources on the fire, size, percent contained etc. of all fires in Oregon. Those that are closer to these fires in SW Oregon and the Douglas Complex are in our thoughts, daily. Our little volunteer fire department is keeping abreast with all the activity.

Stupidity is....going into a smokey wilderness area, after passing numerous signs and postings stating NO FIRES OF ANY KIND, likely hearing on the radio and TV about extreme dry conditions and out of control fires, and then.....building a campfire. That is exactly what one asshat did yesterday in the rough terrain behind Howard Prairie Lake. What are these people thinking?

Parting shot: Happiness is, old friends. Miss Bea is sporting her usual bad summer haircut, so looks a bit thinner than you may remember. She's holding her own though for right now.