Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sweet Sunday


Sweet because we are finally getting some weather that at least slightly resembles spring.  Temps are still below normal, but at least we have sun and warmth in the middle of the day.

 Proge took the leaf net off and started the little waterfall because the fish were getting active.  The water is still clearing but fish are coming up to the surface.  

I got out the fish nonwhistles to prepare them for going outside.  It's still too cold to be messing around in water, but they will be ready to go out in a few weeks.  I call them nonwhistles because I screwed up when I was doing the whistle parts.  I forgot to check them before putting them in the kiln.  If they don't whistle when I bisque, I can usually correct them.  But not if I forget to test them!

I'm getting to the point where I want to start adding holes for ocarinas.  I have to look at relative hole sizes on my old recorder.  I find the book From Mud to Music by Barry Hall an invaluable resource for clay instruments.  What I remember is that the tones will stay relative to each other, although shrinkage will change the key.


After all that about clay fish I had to put in a photo of the real guys.  A couple of dollars worth of fingerlings has certainly paid off and brought us much enjoyment.  These were supposed to be the trial fish to see if we could manage them.  If they keep having babies we may have to give some away!  That's a far future worry!


This post will be on Sunday Ceramics #11 and Mud Colony and my own site (suzi caswell and, yes, someday I will put up a link) on Facebook.  Look around and see what's cooking in the world of clay!

Enjoy spring, or fall as the case may be.

 As always, thanks for stopping by............*s*

22 comments:

  1. I am keeping my daughters beta fish for her right now and I just love him, I would really like to have a fish pond one day, such soothing creatures.....
    Love your clay non whistling fishes :-)

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  2. Hi Tracey....You don't have to have a very big one to enjoy some fish. My brother's was about four feet across. They should be non whistling fish. Non fish are another kettle of......

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  3. Lovely fish. I've never made instruments out of clay. If a workshop comes up around here, I'll probably try it sometime. My goldfish live in a 10 gal aquarium inside...and haven't had any babies yet. That would be a hoot! Five cents each they were.

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    1. Hi Barb.....Thanks. Whistles and ocarinas aren't hard once you understand how to do them. There are probably instructional videos on YouTube, but I think in person instruction is best.
      Your goldfish probably need a pond to have enough space to have babies. I spent $2.00 on fingerlings. Seven survived; the raccoon got three. We now have about two dozen all from those original four fish. A big bang for the buck!

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  4. amazing they are having babies; they must have a healthy habitat. we have a plan to make a waterfall and a koi or goldfish pond at the bottom, judging from the hard rocky soil the pond will probably be above ground

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    1. Hi Linda....From your description of putting in plants it sounds like you are going to be doing a lot of above ground stuff.

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  5. Dearest Suzi,
    That is at least one step into the right direction for spring. Your nonwhistles still will show their beauty when added to the pond area.
    We will have again frost Tuesday night; unexpectedly as the forecast was good at first. Too bad, Pieter did bring out all the potplants from our greenhouse. So we have to keep our fingers crossed.
    Hugs and happy new week to you.
    Mariette

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    1. Hi Mariette....One step forward; two steps back! It was sixteen at 7:30 AM this morning. Cold tonight and maybe snow mid week. The little waterfall is still going strong and keeping part of the water open.
      I hope all your plants survive the unexpected cold. In the fall I go out and wrap plants in blankets!
      Stay warm!

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  6. Your fish are funky! They remind me of Flamenco dancers' dresses! : ) I hope it gets warmer soon for you! We had frost this morning despite we hadn't had any in January or February!

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    1. Hi Midori...Now that I look at them again, they do have a flamenco quality.
      I spoke too soon; the temps have dropped with snow expected mid week! In reality this is not terribly unusual for this area!

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  7. The non-whistles are still sweet looking.
    It's so good of you to remember to post on Sunday's. I try to make it a day off so I often forget.

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    1. Hi Lori.....Thanks. I think Kim puts the link up early enough so you could post on Saturday, but I have often posted on Monday, myself.

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  8. Ooh, I would love to have a fish pond. I'm sure the cats would too. :)

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    1. Hi Claudia....A friend's cat sits and watches by the pool for hours at a time. She has never caught any as the banks are too steep; I think she fell in once!
      Our guys are indoor cats; we do have to watch out for wildlife. Winter keeps that in check.

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  9. Dear Suzi,

    So lovely that you have sun and warmth there in the middle of the day.
    Love your pretty fish you made with the frills and colour and your outdoor pond is fabulous.
    Happy week
    hugs
    Carolyn

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    1. Hi Carolyn...The sun is out and hopefully it will stay that way after more cold and wind!

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    1. Hi Gary...Thanks. I should make a few that actually whistle!

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