February in the shop

Just finished up bundling curly willow for the coming year. About a fourth will go to the flower and patio show, half will go to the Country Living show in September, and the rest will be sold through the shop and other shows. Glad to be done. Production work like this is lucrative, but it does sometimes get boring. I will be glad to get back to making my handmade rustic willow furniture. I did finish a run of vases from plywood and leather, fabric and some nicely patterned vinyl. Next I will finish a walnut slab table for a customer. After that, swings, chairs and love seats will become my focus. I am now hoping for a few warm 60 degree days so the pussy willows will come out and I can get the amount I need for the flower and patio show. This year I will not be doing the Marsh madness show at goose pond, and my buddies will not either. Although we all would like to support this show, it costs all of us money to do it, and that just is not justifiable. I would recommend that birders visit Goose pond in early March. White pelicans, whooping cranes and every variety of duck known will be down there. Not much in the wildlife world. I have seen a few muskrats, a few redwings, still no buzzards. Lots of cardinals, juncos and goldfinches at the feeder. This year is unusual in that I have not seen any tree sparrows, a bird that is usually abundant in winter. I continue to see skunks and the possums are hitting the sunflower seeds on my patio. Watched an interesting tv show about the intelligence of crows. Fascinating.