A Taste For MIniatures

It should come as no surprise that someone with miniature horses and miniature (bantam) chickens has a fascination for miniatures. I've posted some of these photos before, but it's been several years and I thought they were worth repeating. I have collected some miniature food items just for fun. This tiny birthday cake came with four matching cupcakes:

A roast ham and what I think is supposed to be a plate of short ribs with vegetables:

A whole table full of miniature foods:

Tiny bread and butter:

A cup of tea:

Egg, ham, peas and fries:

And chocolate cake, each piece topped with whipped cream and a cherry:

And a marvelously detailed box of chocolates:

Quite a few years ago I carved these Zuni style fetishes from soapstone: A wolf, eagle, badger, wolverine, turtle and bear:

A friend gave me many miniature dogs and cats. The crystal Scottie Dog was in memory of the dog of my childhood, a Scottish Terrier named Whiskers. The tuba playing hound was just so silly that I bought it at a second hand store:

More miniature dogs:

Upstairs, in a tiny china cabinet, are hand-blown animals which my sister gave me as well as a lamb and a lion from old boxes of Red Rose tea. The blown glass rooster was another gift from my sister. Yes indeed, I have a thing for miniatures:

Around The Farm In April

This is a mix of photos from around the farm at various times, beginning with this Great Blue Heron's nest which my sister and I stopped to watch from the road:

Another view of the Heron rookery. This tree had two nests plus a Heron at its very top:

My sister and I also stopped to watch a Woodcock beside the road. We watched for some time, fascinated by its fantastic coloration, its odd bill and its bouncing, bobby walk. My picture is on the left, an internet picture on the right:

The chickens cover every inch around the house and barn many times per day. They sure do get a lot of mileage!:

And the little bantams love to come inside the barn to cool off and find tasty treats:

They have also begun laying eggs in the bedding hay, a habit I have come to like because I know where to find the eggs and because the eggs are clean when I find them. Some days there are only two:

Other days there are up to nine eggs. I eat very few and give the rest to my neighbors:

This rooster has been non-combative, though his father was a real problem. I suspect that my ignoring this rooster and not trying to make a pet of it have made the difference:

My strange fascination with miniatures found a couple of new items recently. This tiny birthday cake came with four matching cupcakes:

A roast ham and what I think is supposed to be a plate of short ribs with vegetables:

Crazy For Miniatures

I've posted some of these photos before, but it was five years ago and also I now have new items to share. I've long been fascinated by miniatures, and began collecting miniature foods such as these:

Tiny bread and butter:

A cup of tea:

Egg, ham, peas and fries:

And chocolate cake, each piece topped with whipped cream and a cherry:

And a marvelously detailed box of chocolates:

Quite a few years ago I carved these Zuni style fetishes from soapstone: A wolf, eagle, badger, wolverine, turtle and bear:

And a friend gave me many miniature dogs and cats. The crystal Scottie Dog was in memory of the dog of my childhood, a Scottish Terrier named Whiskers. The tuba playing hound was just so silly that I bought it at a second hand store:

More miniature dogs:

Upstairs, I have a tiny china cabinet, housing hand-blown animals which my sister gave me as well as a lamb and a lion from old boxes of Red Rose tea. The blown glass rooster was another gift from my sister:

I found this tiny metal tricycle in the dirt near the back door of the farm house and liked it instantly. The eerie thing was that way back when I was in kindergarten, my mother bought me one like it and I took it to school to show. The teacher asked me to pass it around and that was the end of it. I never saw it again, but this little tricycle seemed like a replacement - a long time coming, yet still a replacement:

An artist in Nova Scotia whose blog I follow gave me these two tiny watercolors of birds and Tudor roses. They are now framed and on my wall. Her blog, by the way, is here:   

Want To "Eat Lite?" Here's How

I've been a fan of all things miniature since childhood and my interest was revived recently when I discovered miniature food for sale on Etsy.com. That's the online marketplace for handcrafters and artisans. It all began when I ordered, as a Christmas gift for my sister, a tiny cherry pie the size of a dime. It'd had a slice cut out of it which came on a separate saucer with an appropriately tiny fork. I found that so amazing that I then ordered a miniature platter of Christmas cookies and the craftsperson included bonus gingerbread men and candy canes. Well I was hooked, so recently decided to order a few for myself:

My own selections came from an artist in England and included a dinner for two of ham, eggs, french fries ("chips" in Britain), peas, tea and buttered bread. I ordered a platter of chocolate cake slices for dessert. Notice that I've included a dime, a penny and a ballpoint pen to give a reference for size:

Bread and butter on a tiny plate:

Cup of tea. This was so tiny that I dropped it while trying to photograph it and had to search under the furniture for the cup which rolled away:

The main meal which does remind me of the home cooked meals I had in England and Wales when I did a Bed-And-Breakfast tour there once with a friend:

The chocolate cake came complete with whipped cream and cherries on top. They were all loose on the platter and I am happy to report that I did NOT drop this one while photographing: