The Blacksmith

He is back at it! Forging, that is. Mr. W has a brand new shop, awaiting insulation (yay!). Till then, he is still forging Garden Trowels and other Good Things in his old Blacksmith Shop (my future She Shed, Potting Shed, etc.. yay for me too!).

Here is a little glimpse at what it takes to make a garden trowel from a railroad spike.

 
Only the best finished products are kept. That is a “scrapper” you see on the lower right.

finished trowel.. a keeper!

These are, without a doubt, the sturdiest trowels ever.. with a nice “feel” in the hand. Made to last a lifetime..  they make awesome and meaningful gifts for almost any occasion. Railroad Spike Trowels are always available in the Flat Creek Forge Etsy shop (with free shipping!).

bona fide

[boh-nuh fahyd] authentic, true. What does this have to do with anything? It’s just one of my very favorite words. Or would that be two words?
Remember our Goldie Pup? Well, she has finally won over the rest of the family (for the most part). She and Chloe are actually playing in the top left photo, although it looks like a scuffle!

The chickens have been molting, therefore we’ve had very few eggs for the past several weeks. The good news is their feathers are almost all grown back and they are looking good. After months of picking/pecking each other (and actually eating the feathers.. gross!).. they really needed some improvement. Their manners toward each other have thankfully improved as well.

We’ve had some pretty skies… during daytime hours and at night.
 
Hmmm… what else has been going on around here? I made 35 half-pints, plus 4 pints of Green Tomato Relish (delish – recipe here). We had loads of green tomatoes at the end of the season.


I painted this sign.
  
Life’s been busy, but good. And bona fide.
{these girls are truly bona fide}

Hope all is well and bona fide with each of you!

Garden trowels on Etsy

Today we listed some garden trowels for Flat Creek Forge on Etsy - “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade.” Thanks to Preston’s ‘opinionated blacksmith’ buddy Ed for reminding us about this venue. I’ve bought several items from Etsy sellers in the past, and we had been intending to try our hand at selling there for a very long time. Here is the link to Preston’s first item for sale on Etsy <drum roll please>
the most wonderful authentic railroad spike garden trowel.... ever :^)

Wonder what my tip will be for spending a good part of the afternoon tackling this new venture? More garden tools? Yippee!

Flat Creek Forge

Yes, there REALLY IS a Flat Creek Forge. A small, rather active blacksmith shop on the farm. It may be small in size, but I’ll bet that you cannot imagine just how much is enclosed in that little building. Tools galore, works in progress, and an ever-growing list of homemade or traded-for *useful* equipment and machinery. And, oh the stories that have been told in that building.

Today I’ve been working on Flat Creek Forge’s website. I’m doing an overhaul of the original website which began around 2005. Next up will be the RubyGracie website re-do.

Here’s a preview of the new Flat Creek Forge banner, and also your chance to meet “Pinhead” the blacksmith shop cat. He’s a sweetheart.