LOOOOOONG yet Beautiful Winter

I don't remember such a long and cold winter as we have had this year.  I attribute it to the fact that this past December was also incredibly cold and snowy.  We don't usually get much snow until Christmas.  I don't know about you but I am ready for summer!

Traveler, our Alaskan Malamute, is one fella that doesn't mind the weather but even he wants to lay out in the warm summer sun as it sets in the late afternoon.

We left our patio furniture out (probably a bad idea) but they made for really cool smurf-like structures!

If our property weren't so beautiful to look at, with things unique to each season, winter would have been even more difficult!

Love the way the light plays on the snow creating stunning shadows...

The Genius of a Sleeping Barn

Every night before bed I take a walk out to the barn to check on the crew out there; making sure that everyone is tucked in, safe and healthy.  On particularly cold nights the horses get another snack of hay to keep them warm for the night.  I usually pull Morgan's (our potbellied pig) fleece blanket over her as she snores in her pile of straw bed.  Tonight isn't particularly cold but very snowy and blustery.  My footprints walking to the barn with me, but had I stayed out there any longer my trek out there would have been erased, looking as though I never had.  There is something cozy even about that. I blogged about this in much warmer months back in May 2010 here: http://czarofthewoodsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/05/genius-of-sleeping-houseand-barn.html
A barn is one of the coziest places on earth.  Tonight it was so quiet in the barn, quiet enough to hear, which is how I have described windless winter nights.  Since the wind was howling tonight the barn by contrast seemed to be suspended in time, noted by the lack of sound.  This is, the genious of a sleeping barn.

I love that the inside of our barn is not perfectly pristine, but rather more like the inside of a pirate ship.  it has a lot of character adding to the cozy factor.  Behind where I am standing while taking these photos is where we did a lot of work adding a bead board to the walls and a new work bench...plus lots of insulation throughout the barn.  We plan on doing the same for what you see in the photo but it will still retain that cozy pirate ship look.  The end of the barn that you see is closed off to the back pasture with heavy blue plastic insulating the doors.  In the winter it becomes a storage area for straw bedding and a full wheel barrow.  In the summer these doors are rarely shut.  Tell me that you wouldn't want to be here right now.  Can't you just smell the hay, the warmth of the horses and hear the sounds of them munching on hay.  Nights like this winter is okay with me.

The other night as I took Traveler out to pee before bed some kind of ghost bird flew down from a tree to make this angelic impression in the snow and then fly up into the tree.  Not sure what he was up to or what his purpose was, perhaps just having fun.  It was an odd time, night, for a bird to be having fun.  I am convinced he was put there and did what he did to simply make me stop and take notice.  Perhaps he knew he would get some blog time in doing so!  (had to run back in the house to get the camera for this one!)

25th Anniversary of Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster

Some moments you never forget...25 years ago today I was a second grader.  I wrote this poem about the infamous date in 2001.

#50 challenger, 1986 by eric kancar

and that was that.

us second grade future astronauts

watched it split in two.

it was cold in florida that day.

we didn’t understand,

and that was that.

the t.v. was turned off

and we learned something that i’ve since forgotten.

NEGATIVE SIXTEEN fahrenheit!

Went out to the barn this morning and had to rub my eyes to make sure that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing (see photo).  I'm pretty sure that I have never before experienced weather as cold as this!  This does not include the wind chill!  The barn, due to the heat the horses give off, was a balmy 24 degrees...crazy and mind bending to think of the 40 degree difference between the 2.  Before work I gave the chickens some warm water, the horses extra hay and Bad Blake (our barn cat) a heating disc for his bed.  Cozy as it could be I guess.
I then used snow, yes snow, to insulate my cold hardy bamboo (hardy down to negative 20...getting close, yeeks!)  You know it's cold out when you use snow to keep something warm...think igloo.
While at work my Dad found the hose that we use to fill the water tub in the barn to be frozen so he dealt with that for 2.5 hrs, including thawing, and helped me out immensely.  I would still be in there working on this tonight!
On the news they said that it was colder here than at each of the poles, both north and south.  Also mind bending.  For those of you that are questioning global warming, this is what is happening.  Sounds weird to blame negative teen temps on global warming but that is how it works.
Stay warm my friends.  It's like Hoth out there!   BRRRRRR!!!!

Interview with Melissa McClelland: Canadian Singer Songwriter and Co-Founder of LadyBird Animal Sanctuary

Melissa McClelland is one of Canada's finest singer songwriters.  She is Canada's answer to Bonnie Raitt.  Her voice is timeless, pure, stunningly beautiful and full of heart.  It will melt yours in the process.  It is hard to pinpoint in which genre she best fits because her voice so effortlessly makes all of them better.  That's what timeless voices do. 

Melissa has had an impressive career of her own, having put out 2 critically acclaimed and award winning albums so far, 2006's "Thumbelina's One Night Stand" and 2009's "Victoria Day."  In addition to that she has had a successful career as a backing vocalist for several bands, most notably, Sarah McLachlan.  Melissa and her husband, fellow Canadian singer songwriter/producer/gunslinging guitarist, Luke Doucet, keep very busy touring the world in support of her music, his music, their music and in the backing band of Sarah McLachlan.  It is never ending; they are ubiquitous; truly working musicians.  Living the dream. 

On this very wintry day Melissa, on a short break from the latest leg of Sarah McLachlan's tour and after having spent a few days in the studio recording a duets album with Luke (hopefully out this fall) was kind enough to spend some time chatting about music (obviously) and the new animal sanctuary, LadyBird Animal Sanctuary, that she has co-founded with friends and fellow musicians in her hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.  Having long been a fan of her music I recently connected with her because of our love of animals.   On with the interview...

First the animals...

Eric: Tell me about how LadyBird Animal Sanctuary came to be (including timeline)?

Melissa:I used to play in a group called the Ladybird Sideshow.  It was myself, Lisa Winn, Janine Stoll & Erin Smith.  The four of us would play our own songs in the round with lots of added harmonies .  The group only lasted a couple years, but we've all remained really close friends.  Erin moved out to Maui so unfortunately she doesn't have a role in the sanctuary, but we'll put her to work if she ever moves back!  The remaining three of us had been throwing around the idea for a couple years.  We're all animal lovers.  Lisa has been fostering for years & working on & off at the SPCA.  It got to the point a few months ago where we decided we either needed to just go for it or stop talking about it.  So Janine worked really hard at getting the website up, we came up with a mandate & started to set goals.  We put the word out just before Christmas & as I predicted, the momentum just took off.  Now we're all learning the ropes as fast as we can & gaining confidence as we go.  We are a tiny operation at this point, but we plan to grow leaps & bounds over the next few years. 
  

E: What are your short term goals for the sanctuary?

M: Right now we have three different focuses.  Mine will be fundraising, Lisa's will be organizing fosters & Janine will be developing our web presence.  We really just want to learn as much as possible right now in all these areas.  We want to figure out what exactly is needed & then develop programs to address these needs.  We want to work with people within our community & allow this to become more then helping only animals.  Once we have established ourselves, received our charitable status & have become a well oiled machine; we will then buy some land where Lisa will live full time & run the sanctuary from there.  For now, we rescue animals through a system of foster homes.
  

E: Where do you see the sanctuary heading longterm, say in 5 years?  Right now you mentioned that the sanctuary is focusing on word of mouth to get the name out there and fostering animals in volunteers' homes.  Do you envision having a physical structure to act as a safe haven and temporary home for them on an actual piece of property with a building?  A physical sanctuary if you will.

M: We definitely aim to have our own land in at least five years.  This will give us so much freedom in what we want to do & a place to house so many "unwanted" animals.  This is the pinnacle of our dream, but we want to be prepared for it.  Once we have opened the space, I hope it will bring the community together even more.  I want to host festival style fundraising concerts.  Maybe have a free spay & neuter clinic on site.  These plans are very far out of reach at this point, but we are moving in the right direction!

E: You have long been friends with Sarah McLachlan who is, in addition to having superstar musician status, long been an animal rights advocate as well; acting as the face and voice of the ASPCA here in the U.S.  We all know those sad commercials... Has she been involved in LadyBird in anyway?  If so, to what capacity?

M: Well, Sarah was the first person to offer a donation!  She is such a generous & open human being & she is a good friend.  Who knows if & how she will be involved in the future.  That would certainly be wonderful.  

E: Starting an animal rescue group of any kind is no small feat.  It requires a lot of time, effort and energy.  With that being said how do you balance the busy life of a touring/recording musician that travels the world with what you are starting with LadyBird?

M: I love having another passion.  My whole life has been about music, from the time I could open my mouth & start singing.  I tour constantly & the whole idea of 'home' has really just become an 'idea' for now.  I was looking for something to balance me out.  Something to take me out the world of music.  & not that I'm doing this for me, but I was definitely looking for an alternative focus in my life.  Now I sit on the tour bus with my laptop, shooting e-mails back & forth with Janine & Lisa, researching, brainstorming, writing it all out.  You can't tear me away.  & each 'ladybird' is in her own corner of the world working away.  It's something that's brought us together even though there is physical distance.  & when you're passionate about something there's no such thing as 'too much work'.
  

Let's talk some music...

E: How did you and Luke meet and when?

M: Luke & I met about 8 years ago through the Toronto music scene.  He ended up producing a record for me & it got very unprofessional very quickly.
   

E: Is it ever difficult to work so much and so closely with your spouse (read no separation of work and home)?  Do you try and separate the two?  I would imagine that it's hard to not write music at home although you are in a lucky position where music is your livelihood, living the dream...  But i would imagine that it does not feel like work to you, or does it?

M: It is sometimes difficult, but we have managed to pull it off.  We do acknowledge that we're playing with fire & we try & be smart by actually booking time apart.  Whenever I take a vacation it's usually without Luke!  This sounds odd to people, but we do spend a lot of concentrated time together.  That being said, we just spent two months apart this past fall.  It's the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other & we have vowed to never do that again.  It's fun to miss someone desperately.. to a point.  

Writing for me can definitely be 'work' sometimes.   When it just naturally flows out, that's the best feeling in the world.  It's probably my favorite state to be in, when the creative juices are flowing.  But they don't always & its my job to create no matter what state of mind I'm in.  Luke & I just finished 3 days in the studio & it's the first time I've gone into the studio without a single song.  Apparently writing under pressure can make for decent results!  I was literally sending the engineer out for 10 minute breaks so I could quickly finish a lyric or come up with a melody.  Got it done!

E: Does Luke's infamous Gretsch White Falcon (a perfect and gorgeous guitar for all the non musicians reading this that Luke named his band after) sleep between you guys in bed?  

M: Not a chance!  Sometimes he annoyingly noodles all his fancy guitar licks while we're watching a movie.  He just can't help himself.   

E: What are your 5 favorite albums of the last year and why?

M: I'm a terrible music fan these days, so I'm ashamed to say that even a top five of one year would be a stretch.  I'll tell you, though, the records that haven't left my player for the last couple years.   Timber Timbre's untitled record of 2009 is an all time favorite of mine.  So moody & sparse.  I listen when I'm already a bit melancholy.  I loved the Black Keys 'Attack & Release'.  It is my clean the house cd, or my anything cd, really.  I have their newer cd, but I haven't given it a fair listen yet.  Harmony Trowbridge, a friend of mine from Vancouver let me listen to her cd 'the more we get together' long before she put it out.  I fell in love with it & then basically harassed her until she finally released it.  It's brilliant.  & of course, my ladybird Janine Stoll put out a record with her band the Donefors called 'how to have sex with Canadians'.  It's cheeky, yet serious in all the right ways.  Gorgeous musicianship & well thought out songs.  They're working on a new one right now.  Luke's brother put out an EP with his band Ultra/ Mega that didn't leave my cd player for a good long while.  I also loved Neko Case's record, 'Middle Cyclone'.  Randy Newman's 'Harps & Angels'.  Shad.  Elbow.  Just discovered Karen Dalton, but I'm about 40 years late on that one.

E: Tell me about the "duets" record that you are working on with Luke?

M: Mine & Luke's music has been so intertwined for years now, but we have never officially joined forces.  Whenever we play overseas, it's always as a duo because it makes the most financial sense.  What we came to realize is that it makes the most musical sense too.  We're on the same record label & management team, so we all decided that the best thing to do would be to finally make a record together that involves both my songs & Luke's.  We work beautifully together in the studio & we're so happy with what we're accomplishing.  It will be great to get out there & tour this record with both of us taking center stage.  It's due out either this fall or early next year. 

E: What are your days like when touring, the schedule, the day to day if you will.  Including the rare off days?  Do you get to see much of each city?

M: It all depends on the tour & Luke & I both find ourselves wearing many different hats. When it's our own tour, we take on a lot of the responsibilities, like carrying gear, setting up, tearing down, settling up with the club owner, organizing merch, checking in & out of hotels, flights, car rentals.. sometimes the easiest part of the day is when we step on stage.  On bigger tours with people like Sarah Mclachlan or Blue Rodeo, we get to focus only on the music, which is such a treat.  It leaves my days to exploring, working on animal  sanctuary business or getting some much needed rest.  I do try & see as much of a city as possible, but that only happens on days off.  Show days are too focused & our down time is usually broken up by sound check, dinner & getting ready.  This past tour we spent a day off in Washington DC & we were lucky enough to get a private after hours tour of the Smithsonian.  The curator took us around & gave us exquisite insight into all the exhibits.  I'll never forget it.  What a treat.  We are so lucky that we get to see the world & explore new places while playing music that we love.  I never forget that for a minute.

Thank you Melissa for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to chat.  Good luck with the sanctuary and looking forward to more music this fall, especially when you tour that record.  You'll have to visit the farm next time you're in Buffalo.

Please check out Melissa at http://www.melissamcclelland.com/ on twitter: http://twitter.com/vickiday_mmcc and on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=836200152
For those of you in the Hamilton, Ontario are please consider adopting and animal from Ladybird...

*Recently Sarah and I met Melissa and Luke at the Sarah McLachlan show here in Buffalo.  This was a great night where it (the tour) was coined Sarah & Friends where each of the backing vocalists, including Melissa, got a chance to play 4 of their own songs and Sarah McLachlan became a backing band member.  Very cool!  Melissa, when it was her turn, tore the roof off the place!  
Melissa was nice enough to invite us backstage where we hung out for a bit before they headed off into the snowy night to another show in another city.  Here are some photos (copyright 2011 Eric Kancar).

Winter

If winter can be perfect this one has.  It really is quite beautiful.  Winter started early this year in Western New York.  In Buffalo, winter typically does not (emphasis on typically) start in October for all of you out of towners reading the blog.  We get a dusting of snow up to Christmas and then it sets in for the long haul.  This year it started early, sometime before Thanksgiving and it has pretty much held tight ever since.  One has to make the best of it and appreciate it for what it is otherwise cabin fever can get the best of you.  I, surprisingly have a lot of energy and creative juice flowing these days.  My tonic for endlessly long days, and probably driven by the fact that I can't really go outside and work on the projects that I really want to be working on, is to keep busy both physically and mentally.  Lots of planning!

Winter is never in a hurry.  It is quiet enough to hear.  Take the time to notice this.  Summer is the pretty girl at school.  All hot and makes you full of lust.  Winter is the girl at school that has a great sense of humor, likes to cuddle and looks just as good once she takes her glasses off.  

I took this photo this morning after 2 hours of snowblowing and getting the thing stuck in the ditch (got a little too close, the ditch grabbed the tire and swallowed it up!  Thanks Dad for helping to pull me out with your truck!)

This is how Sarah keeps warm this winter...by wearing Boysenberry (one of our indoor cats) as a hat!

And this is how I stay warm...by growing a cat on my face!  HA!

And what better way to spend an evening than cuddled up with your wife and animals in front of the fire!  I haven't played the guitar in quite a while either; feeling inspired I have once again picked it up.  There she sleeps on the chair.

This photo is a panoramic view of our property standing at the ~ northwest corner looking ~ southeast.  Click on it to make it bigger.

The Animals Don't Seem to Mind...

The horses don't get to go out as much in the winter but whenever there is a break in the heavy snow or wind I put them out and they make the most of it.  They usually run around like kids, then roll and then have a snack.  Because we insulated the barn (thanks Dad for your help) the barn is quite toasty.  We hit NEGATIVE EIGHT last week and it was in the 30's in the barn.  No frozen buckets, no frozen water tub.  So much better.  The horses don't even need their blankets most of the time.  It's downright balmy in there!  HA!

 Most handsome dog ever, Traveler-our Alaskan Malamute, loves the snow more than anyone.  He will beg to go outside in the worst of weather so that he can curl up in a ball out there.  His coat keeps him so warm that the snow falls on his coat and stays there without melting because he loses zero body heat.

The chickens have a truly cozy coop...they have been working very hard, laying plenty of eggs despite the cold.  The barn is so warm that I don't have to heat their coop but I do provide them with 14 hrs of daylight everyday in there which is required for chickens, especially to lay eggs.

Albums of the Year for 2010

There isn't as much going on around here in the winter, in my mind there is but I can't work on most of the projects due to the snow, so I am expanding my typical topics a bit.  Music has always been an important part of my life so I am going to share my top 10 album list of 2010. No particular order...sort of.  Click each title for a link to Amazon (you can also hear samples of the songs there). and PS...if you click a link to amazon from this blog and buy the album I get some money!  Consider it a donation to the farm animals! Thanks!

10) Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs : Beg Steal or Borrow-this album reminds me of warm summer days as I listened to it quite a bit this past summer.  Ray lives in a farm, plays with vintage motorcycles and has a very manly beard.  Hmmmm, remind you of anyone?  He has a timeless sound.  Love his voice.  Check out his live performance of Beg, Steal, Borrow from Jimmy Kimmel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLw3V2RYf0s

9) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo -It's more about Tom Petty than this album itself.  The man still puts out great albums and throws one hell of a concert.  We saw him at Darien Lake this past summer and he tore through some of the best rock and roll of our time.  This album in particular is a very bluesy affair and Mike Campbell, probably one of the more under-rated guitarists of our time was told by Tom to turn his amp up to 11.  He did and the results prove just that!  Check out this video of " Learning to Fly" from this past year's tour.  It isn't from MOJO but it's my favorite song from TP and the Heartbreakers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s1H16PeQus&playnext=1&list=PL06BE0929B9EAADD2&index=12

8) Luke Doucet: Steel City Trawler-Arguably Canada's busiest musician, and one of its best.  Luke is one of the touring guitarists in Sarah McLachlan's band but more importantly he has a pretty stellar career of his own as a singer songwriter and producer.  I first happened upon Luke a few years ago when I went to see Kathleen Edwards at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo.  He was the opening act and for the first song he sang it through an old telephone giving a great sound.  WOW!  I have been hooked ever since.  That was 3 albums ago.  His new album is great and Sarah and I were lucky enough to see he and his wife, Melissa McClelland play in the Sarah McLachlan show at Shea's, it was a mindblowing show.  Stay tuned for more on Melissa in a future post.  And PS: Luke plays one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen and heard-a white, hollow body Gretsch he has named "The White Falcon."  It's more than a guitar, it's his band member.  Here is Luke with his White Falcon (notice his wife Melissa, in the background looking somewhat jealous...since you're probably reading this Melissa, I had to throw that in there.) Check out his video  for "Thinking People" from this album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lwqlnMsIVY   Also stay tuned for an interview that I am conducting with Melissa McClelland that will be posted on the blog soon!

8A) publisher's note:  not sure how I managed to forget about one of my favorite albums of the year initially so let's think of this list as a top 11!
The National: High Violet-My former band the stephen hero was doing what they are doing some 10+ years ago, so yea, we were ahead of our time.  This is a fantastic album that begs to be listened to in order get a handle on just what it is.  Lush, rhythmic tracks paired with a very unique rich vocal.  They hail from Brooklyn via Cincinnati.  Check out their video for "BloodBuzz Ohio" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg and "Terrible Love" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efg1h0EzLeE&ob=av2em and lastly "Anyone's Ghost" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XnRl-m5QPI

7) Gord Downie & The Country of Miracles: The Grand Bounce-Gord Downie is the lead singer of quite possibly the best Canadian band ever, The Tragically Hip.  The Grande Bounce is his third solo album.  Previous releases married rock, pop, poetry and a generous dash of the avant garde.  His latest effort is more straight forwward rock and roll.  His backing band The Country of Miracles is stellar and with them he has put out an album that is top notch.  Many of the songs could easily be on a Hip album, they are that good.  Not that this album needs to sound like the Hip, but simply put, it does.  They put on a moving set in Niagara Falls, NY this past summer.  Check out the video for "The East Wind" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk-QlpQquGo&feature=related

6) Crazy Heart Soundtrack-It's the Dude's finest hour, since well the Dude!  For readers that are familiar with me, it's true I have a man crush in Jeff Bridges.  He absolutely deserved the Oscar win for this film.  He was Bad Blake, the washed up country star that was trying to get his life back in order.  We named our barn cat after him-Bad Blake.  He was so much this character that it was hard to believe that he was acting.  Not only that, but Jeff played the songs and sang them as well making for a truly real film.  The soundtrack coupled Bad Blake's songs from the film with other old school country songs that appeared in it as well.  A great listen.  Sarah and I saw Jeff and his band play these songs at a show up in Canada this past September.  Only for Jeff Bridges would I miss The Black Keys show on the same night at the Town Ballroom.  Here is a video I created using the song "Somebody Else" from the film: http://czarofthewoodsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/02/somebody-else_14.html

5) Fitz & The Tantrums: Pickin' Up the Pieces-I discovered these guys by accident one night watching Carson Daly.  I was blown away and watched the entire song without blinking, wanting to hear and know more.  What I was seeing and hearing was pure 1960's soul/R & B elevated by a great sense of fun and style, all held together by a white guy, named Fitz.  If the Black Keys hadn't put out "Brother" this album would be album of the year for me, easily.  It is a timeless sound and this CD hasn't left my car stereo for the past 3 weeks.  It is that good and it makes me feel good.  Play it loud!  Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6cBKE3WzQ

4) The Secret Sisters: Self Titled -Gorgeous harmonies over an old school country sound sung by 2 sisters with voices that will melt you heart.  A perfect sounding album.  Perfectly produced by the ubiquitous T Bone Burnett (ps-he also produced the Crazy Heart album and just about any other country (not pountry aka pop country but country) album).  My dad is also really digging this album!  Check out their live performance of "Tennesee Me" on Letterman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7YxDqP-GaY

3) The Flaming Lips: Embryonic-My other man crush, Wayne Coyne.  This album came out in 2009 but I didn't get it until 2010 (no idea why) so it has made the list.  This past summer we saw The Flaming Lips put on a life affirming, life changing and brilliant show at Artpark.  Because of this show, which was comprised mostly of this album, I will never look at music the same again.  It made me realize that we are obligated to be good to one another and to love life.  These things have always come easy to me to understand but never before has music and one musician, Wayne Coyne, re-affirmed these concepts so much.  I have to share a video from this tour because it is a visual spectacle like no other.  My Flaming Lips review (including Todd photos: http://www.toddkancar.com/) appeared in the December 2010 issue of Playgirl magazine, yes, that magazine.  Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpkFaubGcrk&feature=related

Wayne is also one of the most accessible and genuinely nice rockstars out there.  He game me his home address on Twitter for God's sake so that I could mail him copies of the review.  Not only that but he signed 2 copies of the copies we mailed him (one for Todd and one for me) and sent them back to us.  YESSS!!!

 

2) James: The Morning After the Night Before -a pair of mini albums (released as a full length in the US) that came out last year by one of my favorite bands and arguably one of England's best kept secrets.  They have been around since the early 80's (influencing the Smiths-that's how long they have been around) and the fact that they are still writing new relevant music, but more importantly playing shows that are full of more life and energy than those of bands half their age.  They are not greatest hits shows.  Bands at this point in their career often get comfortable goind through the motions, happy to take your money, play the hits and one show is the same as the next.  Insert audience.
Not James, on their most recent US tour in support of these albums they played a set that pulled from 57 of their songs, making each show different from the next.  The grace and energy and love of playing that this band has is unparalleled.  They have changed my life.  These albums are among their best, some 30 years into their careers.  We saw them in Philly this past summer and in Toronto in 2008.  Perfection!  One of my best friends named his son after this band.  Enough said.  They have a daughter due in March, sorry little Ted Nugent! ;)  Here is a live video of a show they played in NYC this past Sept.  Here is a live version of "Tell Her I Said So" from NYC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVCVNjuSTQk  The song is called "Dust Motes": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyL0B9gL9vg&feature=related Both are from this album.  Here is one of their best songs ever, played live from this past tour, "Ring the Bells": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGLXupMGTc
 
1) The Black Keys: Brothers -This album is about as near perfect as one can get.  Two nerdy looking white guys have written an album full of soul, fuzzy guitars and a nice thump.  They hail from Akron, Ohio.  It's funny that for the album that has spent the most time in my car stereo this past year and that I have told pretty much everyone to check out is for some reason causing the most difficulty for me to write about.  It's that good, you simply have to hear it.  Had tickets to see them at the Town Ballroom only to miss the show due to a scheduling conflict with the Jeff Bridges show that same night...again, not too many people out there that I would have missed this show for.  Here they are playing "Howlin' for You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2-GO4XI_Xc&feature=related and the album version of "These Days": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBze4iwzhAY

Beautiful Winter Yet Longing for Spring

I woke up yesterday longing for spring.  The focus of my attention and day dreaming was the thought of how beautiful all the landscaping I designed and built last year will look in year 2!  My ubiquitous ornamental grasses and bamboo plants that I planted last year will really take off this year.  A friend recently told me this about plants: "In the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they LEAP!"  I love that!  Hoping they do a little "leaping" in year 2.
The bamboo that I planted is a cold hardy (survives down to 20 below zero!) clumping species named Fargesia Rufa.  I love that it has remained green throughout winter so far and its leafy culms are the only splash of green in the Hoth-like world of white that is January in Western New York.  I made sure that I gave them plenty of straw compost mulch to keep them warm and so far they appear to be quite happy.

 This row here is along the barn between the barn and the front arena.  It was one large bamboo plant that I split into 6 smaller plants.  The will be ~ 12 ft tall when mature.  Can't wait!  STUNNING!

I never cut the ornamental grasses back until March because I love the way their dusty brown spiky leaves look bursting out of the snow.  Once the heavy snow weighs them down I like that because they then act as their own insulators and mulch protection from the cold.  This is a great guide: Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses (Timber Press Pocket Guides)  Take it with you to the nursery!

This one here is called Miscanthus Sinensis Gracillimus.  Love it!  I planted a row of them along our drive way.

This is Sargastrum....need to get more this spring.  Really digging it's look.

A Hole in Our Hearts

I am sad to say that we are unable to keep Mirka (pronounced Meerka), the stray pitbull that we adopted/fostered.  Things were going incredibly well with her and Traveler for so long but they have now gotten to the point where they cannot even be in the same room.  It appears that both want to be top dog and neither is willing to relent.  This can happen with two strong headed dogs.  She used to respect Traveler's authority and obeyed him when he gave her a look, a growl or raised lip when she got too close-this all being normal dog communication.  Now this sets both of them off and they have gotten into scuffles that we were luckily able to break up.  We don't want either of them to get hurt, obviously, so we can't let this go on and let them figure it out.

It breaks our hearts that we have gotten to the point where we cannot keep her.  We love her and have bonded with her over the past month.  She found her way into a hole in our heart that we did not even realize was there.  To lose her now will leave an empty hole.  We will miss her cuddling, her snoring, her "meerknado" when she would come out of her crate each morning and squirm around on the bed causing pillows to fly everywhere.  All the while spreading her love.

She is great with people, kids, cats (once she realizes that they are not to be chased) and other dogs that have no interest in competing for top spot.  Unfortunately our house is not the perfect situation as much as we wanted it to be.  We have worked so hard with both of them to make it work but we can't force what won't fit.  It simply wouldn't be right for either she or traveler.  To have bonded with her for almost a month and now know that we don't have a choice is heartbreaking; as much as we know it is right.  I assure you that we have done our due diligence in trying to rectify the situation.  In my professional veterinary opinion we cannot rectify this.

We are working on getting her into rescue group foster situation and will keep her until that right situation arises obviously keeping them apart.     

If she were our only dog, she would be staying without question.  She is that great.  

I assure you that this situation that we find ourselves in has nothing to do with her being a pitbull.  It could have been any breed that wants to be top dog.  Traveler is as much to blame in that sense but he was there first.  We have to side with him and again, do what is right for both of them.  For some reason things were going great for she and Traveler but that "honeymoon" period ended and there is no going back to the way things were.

We will keep you posted as to what happens.  Whatever it ends up being she will end up in the right forever home.  I take comfort in knowing that we saved her from running the streets.  We will miss her.  Animals can have a profound effect on us in such a short period of time.  How many humans do you know that have done the same?

Happy New Year from all of us at Czar of the Woods Farm!   

BRRRRRRR It's Cold: Animal Update

I took this photo of the chickens eating breakfast on Christmas Eve morning.  They are a beautiful group aren't they!

For those of you that wonder what the temps are like in the barn and how the animals cope they do quite well.  If the temp outside is hovering around 20 degrees it is typically 32-34 inside the barn because of the horses.  Horses, as they eat and digest hay, create heat so in a sense they are the furnaces of the barn.  We had done quite a bit of insulating in the barn as well so it is quite cozy.  The temp outside this morning was 12 degrees without the wind chill taken into account and it was around 30 in the barn.  Last year I was dealing with frozen buckets and a frozen water holding tank every day.  So far so good this year due to the new insulation.  Last night was the first time so far that there was a very thin layer of ice on the water holding tank.  Not bad at all.

Morgan, our pot bellied pig, finds warmth under a big bed of straw with fleece blankets.  The chickens have their thick feathers and are doing very well so far without a heater.  Laying lots of eggs!  Bad Blake, our barn cat, has lots of coziness in his "apartment" in the barn and if needed we have a heating pad for him that we have yet to need.  Last year you could feel the wind in the barn.  Now it is as quiet as winter itself.

Woke Up Feeling Sad or Christmas is Over

So that's that!  Christmas is over!  Childlike I waited for it all year and it has already come and gone.  It is always perfect on so many levels.  My brother Todd and my sister in law Jenna were to head back to NYC sunday night but due to the looming snow storm they tried to get a jump on it and decided to fly out sunday morning.  This was not to be as their flight was canceled.  Having to go to work on monday staying another day was not an option so they took the train across the state.  Rather than hanging out with them for the day on sunday Sarah and I had a lazy day, which in and of itself was pretty great.  We watched The Flaming Lips - The Fearless Freaks documentary which was amazing.  We also watched Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II on AMC.  A very cozy day of relaxation after several days of running around for the holidays.

The train from Buffalo to NYC takes at least 8 hrs due to all the stops in between.  They had a stowaway, Teddy, their maltese dog.  Amtrak does not allow pets which I was quite surprised about.  Most of the people that were on the train had flights canceled and that was plan B or C.  I was picturing several hundred stowaway dogs emerging from their hiding places once everyone got off the train.  How cute would that have been!  I got a text from Todd at 4 in the morning.  They had finally gotten home and it was a blizzard; the cab having to drop them off a block away from their apartment.  This involved carrying several bags of luggage and Teddy.  I was picturing very deep snow, Jenna on Todd's shoulders and Teddy atop Todd's russian fur hat with luggage in tow!  HA!

At one point I woke up from a nap in the afternoon feeling very sad because that overwhelming feeling that you get when something that you have anticipated all year has come and gone, coupled with missing Todd and Jenna, had washed over me.

I didn't have time to dwell on in though because right after that it was dinner time in the barn and the animals were so excited to eat, despite the bitter cold.

Gord Downie (of The Tragically Hip) wrote this poem that sums up how I feel about Christmas once it's over:

Christmas Day (for Edgar)

My dad always used to say, 

just after the presents'

"Well, it's as faraway now

as it'll ever be."

I'm thinking about that as

the stewardess cracks the 

public address system:

"For those sitting in Economy,

there's no music 

for you today."

Merry Christmas everyone!  Mine was perfect.  I hope yours was too.
For those of you that did not yet see the Christmas card that I designed for us this year, here it is.  I was going for a vintage hockey sweater look.  I took the logo that Todd designed for us and "Christmas-ified" it with color.  Boy would I love to get a jersey made for the farm!

front...

back...

Familial Plug: www.toddkancar.com

Art and design has always been a big part of my life.  It is in my genes: my maternal grandfather Leo, my mom, my dad and my brother.  It isn't a small part of me.  It is very much who I am.  I see art and design in everything.  It is very much part of life on the farm.  From the photos for this blog, the general image of the farm that is important to us, the landscape design that I love to do so much and my love of interior design as well.  It runs deep in our family.  I encourage all of you that are reading this to check out my brother's new photography book on his web-site.   http://www.toddkancar.com/
Many of you that know him, know that he is an incredibly talented artist and photographer.  If not you will once you see his site.  On his site he posted his entire book that is full of his photos: a combination of rock and roll, portraits, buildings, etc.  It is one of the most gorgeous books I have ever seen.
For any rock stars/musicians reading this blog...you can't afford not to have him photograph you.
Yes, he is my brother but he is hands down one of the most creative and talented people I know.  He inspires me to be the same.  We both love life and take the time to capture its moments.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy or simply want to tell him what you think of it please email todd at toddkancar@yahoo.com  For those musicians reading this contact Todd.  He'll make you look good!
ps-check out my design and photography as well at http://www.erickancar.com/  There is a link to my mom's site above.  Be sure to check it out.

The Dirty Life

I got this book from my parents for Christmas...amazing read so far...true story (memoir) of a writer's life change as she fell in love with her future husband, a farmer, moved from manhattan to a 500 acre farm in northern NY state and fell in love with an agrarian life. Great book! Can't put it down.
I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys reading this blog as her experience is very much that of my own. So good!  They are truly self sufficient, growing and raising everything they need to eat and live on their own land.  Not only that but they are a food co-op supplying food to 150 people throughout the year.  click this link to order the book: The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love

www.kristinkimball.com/

Christmas Time at COTW

Last year we did not put up a tree as we were just moving in right before Christmas and Traveler was hospitalized with leptospirosis.  I couldn't be happier to see a Christmas tree in our house this year.  It always ups the coziness of a house!  This is the view from the back patio looking in.

This is the view from the kitchen looking into the great room...

If I don't get to blog again before Christmas I want to thank all of my readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a Happy, healthy New Year!  We love you all!  Thanks for your kind words and encouragement in our first year at Czar of the Woods Farm.

Peace and Glory arrives at Czar of the Woods Farm

Peace and glory arrives at Czar of the Woods Farm.  Have you ever been blindsided by love at a time when you least expected it?  Has that person or animal ever filled a hole in your heart where you didn't even realize there was one?  It usually happens when you are going along in life thinking that things are complete and perfect, at least for now, and along comes someone or some animal that finds you, more than you find them.  Paths cross for a reason and maybe you push those feelings away, trying hard not to believe them or maybe not wanting to upset the balance that is your routine as you have known it.  The more you get to know them the more you realize that they are perfect and it would be silly for you not to jump off the cliff and give it a try knowing full well that if you didn't you would kick yourself.  Probably forever.  Insert Mirka, pronounced Meerka and meaning peace and glory in polish, (into our lives and hearts).  Mirka, a dog, came in as a stray to the hospital (brought in by a good samaritan that found her) and after doing my due diligence trying to find her owner and having no success she is now at her new forever home, czar of the woods farm.  Mirka is full of love, has not a mean bone in her body and wants nothing more than to be part of the family-other animals included.  If these are her wishes then she has won the lottery in finding us.  I am shocked that no one was looking for her.  Their loss, our gain.  For the 5 days that she was at the hospital, you have no idea how hard i tried not to fall in love with her.  As we bonded, and bonded, and bonded some more (even napping on top of me during my lunch hour last thursday) she decided that she would have nothing of the sort and used all the love that she had to seal the deal.  I may have been the last person at work to accept that she was coming home with me. 

Not wanting to upset the balance at home with our current animals we decided that we would at least try things out with her for the weekend to see how they all accepted her.  She was going to be fostered until we said otherwise.  Mind you, Sarah hadn't even met her at this point yet was already in love with her.  I only told her about her a couple days before while I sat in my truck getting ready to pump gas.  Sarah, being the great wife that she is, and animal lover, at this point, already opened her heart and told me to bring her home site unseen.  She has that much love to give (and trust that I know a good animal when I meet one I suppose).

  

The bottom line was that Traveler, who is now 10, needed to accept her.  If it wasn't going to work out with him it wasn't going to work out with us, no matter how much we loved her.  We couldn't do that to him at this point in his life.

Surprise number one: Traveler loves her!  He first met her at work for a meet and greet.  accepting if not somewhat indifferent towards her.  Excellent.  Once we brought her home he took her as his buddy.  He really has taken a shine to her-they are buddies.  They go for walks together; Mirka wanting to be right next to her big brother.  He lets her play with his toys and he is very possessive of his toys-especially the stuffed ones.  I have seen him greet her with kisses on the mouth which is a dog message of acceptance and greeting that dates back as long as wolves have been around.  He is not jealous when she smothers us with kisses and lets her bound around the house in her ~year and a half full of energy body.  She is just the right temperament for him.  She is very well behaved and allows Traveler to be the boss and lets him relax (sidenote: sorry Nala, who was a pitbull that lived with us for a bit in 2003 but drove Traveler nuts because she wanted to play play play and he wanted to relax relax relax.  She has lived happily with Sarah's parents ever since) 

Traveler-check!

  

Test number two: she does not want to eat the cats (any dog that may have never met one might want to).  Initially she was afraid of some of them, indifferent towards some and interested in the rest.  Mirka knows that command "leave it" and if she tries to play to hard with the cats, a simple "leave it" does the trick.  The cats are quickly realizing that she is not there to eat them. 

Cats-check!

I really didn't know if I could deal with a change in routine either.  Walking 2 dogs in the morning in addition to barn chores...but you know what, it has been fine.  I give all the credit to Mirka.  It is amazing how a dog that a little over a week ago we didn't even know has now figured out our routine to the point where it feels as though she has been there for years.  They are amazing animals indeed.

Routine-check!

  

Parents-this one is short...they met her and loved her immediately.  Bought her a winter coat the next day.  You can see how Mirka is a spreader of love and smiles, bringing light to everyone she meets.

Parents-check!

I brought her over to my parents house for her to meet my Gram, whom if you didn't already know, is Traveler's best friend.  He comes first in her world.  Mirka was on her best behavior exploring the house first and then spreading her love there as well.  My Gram quietly watched to see how Traveler tolerated her and I think she was surprised at just how much he did.  She didn't say much but i could tell she was opening her heart to another polish "stara baba," even though mirka is a young lady!

Gram-check!

On the ride home from my parents house she curled up in a little ball on the front seat; sound asleep, Traveler in back.  She only awoke when I pulled in our driveway and shut the truck off.  She woke up from that deep sleep and seemed happy, if not still a bit surprised, to be home.  This warmed my heart.

At this point you are probably wondering what kind of dog she is.  Wait for it.  Mirka is a pitbull.  "OH THE HORROR!"  Right?  Isn't she going to eat all the kids in the neighborhood, us, the animals, fight to the death and kill, kill, kill?  Don't you have to feed her a steady diet of babies?  NO.  period.  For all of you that were enjoying the story up to this point and turned "breedist" on me and now have backed off a bit it is now my turn to educate you.  It was no accident to wait until much later in the story to reveal Mirka's breed.  I wanted you to fall in love with a nice dog rather than be mentally blocked by her breed.  Pitbulls get a bad rap because on the news you only ever hear about the bad one's that do bad things.  Any breed that is raised in a bad environment has the potential to do very bad things, that's right any breed.  Even your favorite breed.  With any breed of dog that has a few bad seeds it is a product of irresponsible ownership, bad breeding and ignorance.  This is especially true with pitbulls because they often live in bad environments, are around bad people and as a result can be bad dogs.  These are the exceptions i promise you that.  Pit bulls, by nature, are loving family dogs, that love people, kids, most other dogs and always seem to be bursting at the seams with love and those "clam face" smiles.  They are happy to be alive, happy to be loved and share life with you.  All the while making your life better.  They want to play, cuddle and sleep.  I know plenty of people that own them and they all would agree.  

Introducing Mirka (again pronounced meerka): she has brought us peace and glory...and I will add happiness to that.  Welcome home Mirka!

us-check!!!

ps-this morning before I left for work Sarah was in the bed with Traveler on one side and Mirka on the other.  A Sarah sandwich with dog bread if you will!  I hope Sarah left for work eventually...I wouldn't blame her if she didn't! :)
pss-thank you to our friend Erin for finding the name!


Mirka tries on her new sweater!

 Babooshka on Pani Mirka!

 Sarah and Mirka napping...this is one of Mirka's favorite things and she is somewhat of a blanket herself.

Traveler and his new little sister, Mirka.

Traveler catches a snowball while Mirka romps around in the snow.