I love my Loon stuff!

Slowly but surely, my log home is becoming a "loony bin." I'm trying not to overwhelm the decorating with only loon stuff. But then when I'm out and about - I hear the call of the Loon!


Here's a tapestry I recently picked up at the Call of the Wild Museum in Gaylord, MI.





Here are keys to the loony bin! Ha!





How about a cookie from my Loon cookie jar? By the way, I haven't put any cookies in here yet. Do you have any good cookie recipes you've come across recently?




This photo represents one of nature's miracles. Sometimes at the end of the summer, the Loons will have a social hour and gather on a host lake. It will usually only happen for 1 day. They will swim in synchronized circles - almost like a dance and dip their heads in the water, mimicing each other. The chances of seeing this are pretty rare. Which is why when I witnessed this a few years ago, it became one of the best nature experiences of my life. Have you ever had a moment like this?



In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia. ~Charles A. Lindbergh, Life, 22 December 1967

Pay It Forward.

These are the wonderful gifts I received from Jen at Unglazed from the "Pay It Forward."




Isn't this homemade wooden flag beautiful? (I am going to hang it in my Log Home Jen - it's perfect! Thank you!) And I love the note pads - Jen must know I love to leave notes everywhere in the house teasing Greg (i.e. "Thank you in advance for picking up the dog poop honey!"

Now it's my turn to Pay it Forward. I'm going to follow Jen's variation on the rules of this:

• My first pay it forward is going to the Dearborn Animal Shelter to help the 100 neglected chihuahuas they took in from a person's home.
• My second and third pay it forwards are going to TWO of you! And yes, they will be from my Nature Store. To be a recipient ~~ you must Pay it Forward also.
  You can do it on the blog such as this; (you can do a handmade gift, or purchase something for the individuals it's your choice)

OR

• (Jen's rule change)
  *Promise to Pay it Forward outside of this blog. (a random act of kindness, a planned volunteer activity, help a friend or stranger) do something for someone else that you know or don't know, big or small it doesn't matter~~but someone that needs help.
  You need to Promise to complete three Pay it Forward acts by the end of the year.
  

Just leave a comment on this post that you want to participate, and I will draw two people's names on Sunday, August 7th at 8:00 p.m. Those two people will be mailed out surprise gifts. Good luck and thank you!

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

~Mark Twain

Log Mill

I recently attended training for the new log home company I joined - Expedition Log Homes. One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing the logs prepared at the mill. I'm a log junkie so it would be like a candy junkie being locked in a Hershey's chocolate plant!


Check out these beautiful pine logs....








I really wished someone would've let me drive this truck! I would've been cornering on rails at 80 mph! (Just kidding!)











This is our new dealer group watching the logs being loaded to be debarked.







Pine log being debarked.










These are half logs being prepared. (Expedition offers full log and half log homes.) I wish someone would've let me operate this machine..... (I'm sure my hubby warned them all ahead of time. Don't let my crazy wife near big vehicles or complex machinery!)









This crew is working hard with a draw knife (all done by hand) on the logs to give them that handcrafted style. I would've wimped out after the first pull with the knife!



On the off chance some of my new friends from Expedition are reading this - thank you for the fellowship and thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!