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No worries all, it happened here too. We reached the high 60’s’, possibly even the low 70’s, bright and shiny spring weather, I even broke a sweat while outside working and wouldn’t you know, two days later, we didn’t get snow, but we did drop down for a possible freeze and had to cover the plants we got in.
Yay for just going with the flow. I wasn’t ready to sweat just yet! But I knew, this too shall pass, and wouldn’t you know. Brrrrr, it got cold again. This past Sat and Sun were GORGEOUS here. Yay for spring! They’re already sweating bullets in FL, plus all that rain/thunderstorm action they’re getting in certain parts …..
Though I do miss those amazing thunderstorms. Depending on when they happened of course, it usually always meant it would cool off ‘some.’ So I always associated good stuff with thunderstorms. :-> We get a few here, but not like down there, oh no. And I could do without that Derachado crap. It was awe inspiring, but I’d rather set up/deal with a hurricane then a tornado style winds any day. :->
~Hoofer
Ok, that had me chuckle. I have been to the eastern shore, my Uncle kept his boat out there. The tobacco farms were so awesome (I also love all the old buildings/farms up here, everything rots so bad in FL, the historical stuff is minimal compared to here) but I must say, the Chesapeak is nothing like the Gulf of Mexico, NOTHING. Even with all that oil mishap, the shorelines were not destroyed. I’m sure the fishery aspect of the Gulf is (which was #3 in the world at the time), but all the shorelines and rivers where I lived were thank gawds, just fine. Unless of course you’re talking about a different area on the eastern shore than the Chesapeak. I’ve not heard of any good Atlantic beach areas on the MD side. I did go check out Ocean City, NJ side. Oh yeah, again, no comparison to FL.
I’m right next to the Potomac and Monocacy. What you referred to as the mid, southern side of MD with all that land that is still undeveloped. They’re awesome as rivers go, but … I have no desire to jump in and go for a swim. One, unlike our meandering rivers, the Potomac is a formidable river and two, it’s kinda nasty when compared to the FL ones.
The western side is definitely nice. I’ve a friend that is over in the Hagerstown area and I go to the Libertytown area to pick up my horse groceries. Although there’s plenty of groceries grown in the local area, the quality definitely depends on whom you’re getting it from here. I like making the drive because the other fella is definitely consistent with his hay fields. Well that and the drive is nothing for a Floridian. The states so big, everything is practically a long drive mileage wise. Here, it’s not about the mileage, it’s about all that damned traffic.
Gawds do I miss the roadways in FL. You can get somewhere quite far in no time at all down there, but here, well, you know!
I’m dying to go to a Ren Fest again, I haven’t been to one since I was last here, which we won’t go into how long ago that actually was, but I’ve got no one really to go with any more. My Ren Fest buddy is swamped with her dog agility activities. Maybe I can convince her ….
I have to share, I know the lower lying Blue Ridge range isn’t massive, (I’ve skied in Colorado.) So yeah, they are the foothills of that range for sure, but for a Floridian, they’re mountains. :-> I had to take some stuff for some people over into Round Hill, VA yesterday and I tell ya, every time I get into the foothills, I’m just wowed by the ability to look over there, across the valleys, and see all the various hill tops. I have a nice view of Sugarloaf, which I always teasingly call Sugarlump, from the front porch. I missed that so much. When I got back, I said to my friend, “Ahhhh, eye candy again, yay!”
So back to the Round Hill trip yesterday, I asked the old timer who was chatting me up if the actual hill top was called Round Hill and he said nawp, it’s called that because back in the day, the footpath (now a roadway) went a’Round’ the ‘Hill’. I just had to laugh. Neat fella, I had to use his driveway to turn my trailer around in and I asked if he would eyeball for me, because I didn’t want to whack his trees branches that were lining the driveway, his response, ‘No problem, that would save me from having to get up there and trim them.” Lol, my kinda peoples.
Well, it was a horse trailer I was using to take that stuff to the person and when I got done using his driveway to turn it around, he asked if I had horses. Oh yeah. He said well ya know, you’re trailers fixing to be empty, I got something that we could toss on there if you want.
I thought to myself, oh dear, someone’s got an elderly pasture puff and wants to rehome it. Well, he was a nice enough gentleman and comical, that and I’m always game to check out some horse flesh, so I said sure and jumped in his mule with him (he was picking up fallen branches when I showed up) and away we went to his cow pasture.
Well was I wrong about my first thought.
I have been thinking about another two year old that I could train up, like I did with my two. They’re not exactly elderly, but just like me, they are getting up there. OMGawd, I think I’m getting another critter. She’s just at two, very friendly, been owned by the current woman since she was 8 months old. She’s obviously been worked with, no trouble at all picking up her foot, I asked very gently for it and once she realized what I was asking, she picked it right up for me. She’s already been sacked out, lounged, etc. However, the prior people this woman got her from has to approve the place and the fencing here isn’t exactly in pristine condition and although it’s fine for my girls, they might want it perfect and that it definitely is not.
I’m excited and at the same time, I’m asking myself, are you so sure you’re ready for a new critter? Heh. I figure it this way, I’ll let their approval decision be the, ‘if it was meant to be, it will be’ factor in this.
Life is so funny like that, I’m glad I like to just ‘ride it out’ and remain open minded to what comes my way. It’s made for some amazing circumstances.
Thanks for letting me share you all. :->
Weeeell, technically I’m a Floridian. But I like that thing you Marylanders call seasons, oh and mountains. I was back in FL for a bit (a much longer bit than I thought I’d be there for) and I couldn’t wait to leave the 7-8 month long sauna.
While most hated it, I actually enjoyed freezing my derrier off this year. This was a nice doozy of a winter. And that’s the thing about winters here, you get all kinds of different types.
Now don’t get me wrong, parts of Florida are pretty amazing and I miss that, but it’s that eight months of high humidity. It sucks feeling that sticky for that long.
I wonder if there are any other Windstone fans on here that are close to us. Not to long after I joined the forums here, I met up with a member who was near where I used to go pick up my load of horse groceries. She kewl people. :->
~Hoofer
In addition to the above, prices vary quite a bit from year to year. Stuff used to bring in very different prices just a few years ago. It is all subjective.
What they said and definitely what Jennifer said. I’ve been watching eBay prices for a number of years also and yes, there is a downward tick in the eBay market when compared to 3, 4 and even 5 years ago. There’s also a timing in some of the auctions, items. Certain times of the year definitely bring better prices. Winter vs summer. People are more apt to spend during the holiday season, plus they’re inside more vs summer, they’re usually outside a whole lot more and not so apt to be at their PC spending money. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.
It also depends on how often a piece is available for sale. White Unicorns show up way more than blacks, simply because way more were released, bought and so survived through the years.
I saw the more rare white baby Pegasi, without necklace, easily sell for $80-100 bucks 5 or so years ago, because they are so rare. Very recently I saw one sell on eBay for a pittance in comparison. It’s still worth more resale then the more available white baby Pegasus with a necklace, but the seller probably didn’t realize how rare this particular one was and didn’t set their price accordingly. The buyer got a nice rare piece for a great price.
Certain color schemes are very scarce, not many were made, and very rarely show up. So those tend to hold their value, even if they have a few fleabites. Some color schemes are way more desirable than others. Some sculptures are newer than others and haven’t had many color schemes released in those particular molds, making them less common.
Your Peacock in question is a common color, beautiful, but more common than the ruby or red fire. So pricing it with a few flea bites for resell later would be completely dependent on how many are selling on a regular basis and how the economy is doing. It’s a relatively easy color and sculpture to find.
Some collectors have their eye on a particular mold in a particular color scheme and have much deeper pockets than what the actual market value would dictate. Those are the anomalies you see when something goes for a super high price. Right time of listing, right piece being listed and right deep pocket wanting it badly enough.
I’ve always said it and I will say it til the day I take my last breath, things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and some people have the ability to pay a whole lot more for things than a lot of other people.
After dealing first hand with some seriously deep pockets, I’ve used this question as an example, ‘Why does someone pay $50-100k for a horse? Usually, simply because they can.’
Just a suggestion, buy what YOU want to collect. Pay what YOU think is fair. Don’t ever pay based on what you think it’s value might be in the future. If you do that, you’re setting yourself up for a real let down later on down the road. We have no idea what the future value of anything will be, with or without flea bites. :->
Wow, what a neat idea. Glowy pendant from absorbing the light is neat enough, but add in the personal touch of knowing the moon was in that phase during your birth, definite hit I’m sure.
I know if I thought the item was a bit pricey, but the knowledge that the moon was in that phase when I was born, that would sway me to spend a few more bucks for it.
Pictures of it please.
Curious, were they using a computer program to calculate the moon phases for all those birthdays? I know I downloaded a really neat, inexpensive program that someone made that showed you the phase of the moon for any particular date. I don’t recall if it went backwards in time though, sadly it’s on my old PC that needs a little TLC from a tech savy person. I booked a ski trip based on the full moon over a weekend with that program. Now how many people would do that?
Their extremely high internal temperature makes them buoyant
That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking! You know, heat rises kinda thing, they blow flames. It’s a physics thing, not a gravity vs weight/mass thing.
Just like everyone knows ’15 minutes could save you 15% or more on ….’ Wink
GEICO!
WARNING IMPENDING TANGENT
Yay for them. I have them now. I had Allstate for YEARS, then when I moved back to MD, they DOUBLED my rates. I was like, WTHeck? I’m still the same driver with the same EXCELLENT record. FL is known for bad drivers and large amounts of uninsured motorists and they go and DOUBLE my rates? In a state where there is no way they let you get away with no insurance.
I was like, hello other insurance companies. Geico beat them all! Then when I read through the policy and really asked the important questions, I discovered that I was barely covered by their policy write up. I mean, the other persons were, but if I goofed and I got hurt, say no one else was involved, I was SCREWED for coverage.
I was like, “What?! Dude, do you know how absurd that is? I’m the one with the excellent driving record. I’m the one working my butt off every day paying super attention, working super hard at avoiding all the dummies on the road, staring super hard with my laser beam eyes at all the dummies texting or talking on their handhelds AS THEY DRIVE. I’m the one paying you (the company) and if I happen to finally screw up cuz a deer ran out in front of me and I slammed my head into the dashboard as I crashed into a tree, I’m only covered for 10k? Dude! How lame is that?! That wouldn’t cover one night in an emergency situation. Maybe in a podunk Hickville town, but not a hospital stay around here. Does that make any sense to you buddy? I’m the one paying you to cover ME, I’m working my arse off to not have an accident with ANYONE else and I’m not actually covered unless some idiot get’s the best of me and THEIR company pays for me, at whatever limit THEY’RE paying for? Dude, does that make any sense at all to you?!” The agent was in total agreement. I then asked, how much to increase this cheezy 10k for me coverage.
So yeah, I put an additional extra buffer on myself, increasing my per accident $ amount, cuz you know, I am special and I do deserve more than that for coverage, if I finally goof up after all these years and wouldn’t you know, the annual rate STILL is 1/3 of Allstates.
Go Geico. Heh
If you do have Geico, make sure you understand fully what and whom is covered in your policy, especially yourself.
/TANGENT
I wonder if all those ” Hokays” are legally binding.
< :
Yes, but only if there are a minimum of three Poads and one Unicorn who witnessed said Hokay(s). It’s in the fine print that apparently is so tiny, only Poads can see it. That and they told me. :->
How many Poads and Unicorns are sitting around you at the moment Melody?
There is an out clause, but I’m not willing to release the details as of yet.
;->
That’s so awesome of you to post that. Although I knew about it, one must be bright and shiny for work, so one can buy moar Windstones!
I can’t remember the exact year, but it was definitely more than 8 years ago. I knew there was going to be an eclipse and I also wanted to tape it. I asked permission to go to a particular property that had no impeding light. I’m so glad that I did. It turned out to be the most absolutely amazing fall, red harvest moon eclipse that I think I will ever have the pleasure of seeing.
The one thing I learned, as I placed my video camera on top of a large hay roll to record it, was how amazingly fast this planet spins.
I swear, just as soon as I had the video camera perched perfectly on that hay roll so that the red moon was centered and began viewing it on the screen, I’d have to move it. This happened again and again and again. I’d reposition, start watching it and by golly if it wasn’t almost out of the frame again!
I kept thinking that my hay roll base was to soft and that the camera must be shifting on it. After enough times, it finally dawned on me that it was the rotation of the earth and as the light bulb went off over my head, the realization of just how fast we were spinning was definitely awe inspiring. Thank gawds for gravity. :->
I really need to dig that tape out and view it again. Nothing like a red harvest moon.
Speaking of moons, does everyone here who’s lunar oriented know that a blue moon means two full moons in a single Julian calander month and not a reference to color?
I know I was, “Huh? Really?”, when I learned that little tidbit.
~Hoofer, definitely a fan of the moon. “No, I’m not an insomniac, I’m nocturnal, there’s a difference ya know!”
I think we should use a combination of these options for quests (different options for different quests), but announce it when posting the quests so people know what they’re getting into. That way if someone doesn’t like the idea of store credit, they don’t have to do the quest, or if they still want to participate in the quest for fun, maybe they could give their winnings to another member. But by announcing it along with the quest, there won’t be disappointment later.
And this way, we can use a unique piece/test paint/whatever as a prize IF one’s available at the time, and if not (this would probably be more often), one of the other options can be used: store credit, or a certain sculpt in a color of our choice or with eyes/jewels in a color of our choice, etc. but just rotate between those options from quest to quest. And again, by announcing it, people wouldn’t have to enter for anything they weren’t interested in! I think a number of us would be thrilled to get store credit or also the choose-an-eye/jewel-color-for-a-sculpt though!Actually, I agree with this great idea from phantomess … use a combination and what makes sense at the time. This would be a good suggestion not only for the Quests, but also for the monthly Raffles, if one is planned during a month.
I also echo what many have expressed… these ‘extras’ are really appreciated and we all know that they are ‘above and beyond’ – you guys at Windstone Editions really take care of your fans! Thanks so much for thinking of us. 🙂
Ok, finally weighing in also.
I think the above is a great way to attack it, assuming you get approval Kiya.
1) Is an awesome prize for a unique/special piece, assuming botches are available.
2) Is an awesome prize for those that can’t afford a production piece, but have been eyeing a particular one. I would assume there would be a limit on the price range of the pieces they could choose from.
3) Is an awesome prize for someone that wants something with that extra special touch (eye color/jewel combo) and would be easy enough to facilitate.
4) Is an awesome prize for perhaps someone who wants one of the bigger sculptures, but it’s just out of their price range and a Gift certificate would help them obtain that bigger, pricier piece.
Some members would weigh option #1 higher than the rest. I know I do for the test paint OW, the one I so fondly named, “The Purple People Eater”, that I won. So perhaps if one of those were available for a quest prize, it would go for the tougher quests, whereas #2-4 could either be on a rotational basis or as an option for the prize winner, since a price range for the certificate and production sculpture would be pre-set and I assume, similar amount.
I also echo what many have expressed… these ‘extras’ are really appreciated and we all know that they are ‘above and beyond’ – you guys at Windstone Editions really take care of your fans! Thanks so much for thinking of us. :-> ~Hoofer
Right now the challenge we have with voting is that we can either let you vote for as many as you want (so you could conceivably vote for all 15!) or for just one. There’s no “pick 3 favorites” option. 🙂
Since we need to end up with a winner, the “just one vote” has been working relatively well as a way to get to that point as well. 🙂
But, if everyone would like more votes, maybe we can get the voting mechanism adjusted to allow 2-3 or something! 🙂
It’s so awesome of you to even consider it Kiya. There’s definitely no need to adjust the way to vote. It’s like you said, there can be only one winner for these things.
The only thing that would change, by allowing us to vote for more than one (say for a max of 3), would be the ability to accurately list who the second and third place entries were. And although they wouldn’t win anything, they would probably get the grins from having placed in the top three.
I have at least narrowed it down to two now, the one that had me giggle out loud when I viewed it and the one where I thought, ‘Wow, now that’s a neat scenario’
I would also like to add, although I knew that the secret keeper was a VERY large sculpture, seeing it up there on that kitchen counter with the Old Warrior across from it, Holy smokes, she’s HUGE! That’s like a cubic butt-ton of gypsum. :->
I have the color version of this print. I think it is printed and not hand colored. I could be wrong though. I’m not sure how to tell. The mother is brown with rainbow mane and tail and the babies are white with rainbow manes and tails.
Skylover,
Any chance you could snap a shot of that print and post it here? I would love to see how she did the rainbow manes on those Unicorns.
~Hoofer
Bodine, you’re missing one thing in that photo op, a teeny weeny dollar bill in that Foo’s mouth.
Heh
Gawds, I went and reviewed them again and I must say, I now know what you all went through with some of the other contests where you had to judge them. This is narrowed down to fifteen and I have a top three. I’ll let is set a few before I narrow it down to just one.
Dadnabbit, this is like cookies, you can never have just one!
NE-VER
P.S. LupusLunae, I hear some kitties and puppies like brew. You have any of those running about?
How can I choose just one????? …make life difficult why don’t you :bigsmile:
tdm 😉
I know! I want to be able to vote for a descending order of three.
I will say this, of them all, one of the photos made me giggle out loud. Just the absurdity of the movement if this was really happening …. I’m kinda leaning towards the real world reaction.
Although, when I take into consideration the time put in to the rest …. ARGH !!!!
Damn good thing I’m not trying to run the world or anything.
My oh my, don’t these two look similar.
~Hoofer, dreaming that Ms. Melody gets some more inspiration to finish this bad boy one day.
P.S. That scratch board Pegasus is just amazing.
WOW! I had to drop the money on the three family members still available (male sold out before I got online), I had no choice! XD I love blue morphos, and I love the look on the griffins, very lovely. My first griffins, too!
I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. Obviously, since I just spotted them this morning, no males were left for me either. :-
In any case, if I manage to miss the next release of male Griffins, I’m sure the female Griffin will display nicely with the two black sunset Pegasi and the black Unicorn family that I have grouped together.
Hoofer
P.S. This is NOT helping my car savings account.
