STILL HANGING ON

The leaves on this tree are still hanging on from last year. Even in color, they are almost white.

THIS WAS NO BOATING ACCIDENT...

While walking along the river I saw something yellow and picked it up. It was this toy outboard motor, it even worked at one time(batteries were included). But alas, the boat was swept away in the flood and all that was left is the motor.

SMART COYOTE

Granville, MA - This coyote was thinking, he dug a hole in a cemetary and I'm guessing, but probably scratched through the old boards in the 200 year old casket. Inside he would have a pre-made room and probably a few bones to chew on. Now that's thinking!

WATERING HOLE

I was out walking the dogs and I came across this small stream. This was the only water around and you could see various tracks around the "Watering Hole". There were Turkey tracks(see above) and Deer tracks (I should have taken a better photo; not shown).

DAFFODILS HAVE BLOSSOMED

After the hard winter where the daffodils were frostbitten, I wondered how they would fare. Well I don't think they are any worse for the wear.

RUSTY ARC

This windchime has been hanging around my backyard for years collecting rust. It make for an interesting subject.

JUMPIN' PUP

We met my wife's sister at the dog park in Southbury CT Saturday. We had our two dogs, Sophie and Thatcher. My sister-in-law and he boyfriend brought their dog Montecore, Thatcher's brother. While we were there I saw this dog across the park jumping high in the air for a Fisbee. He are a few photos of him taken from afar.

PUSSY WILLOW BLOSSOMING

I like the way this pussy willow looks against the sky, very surreal. You can see how it is blossoming.

GETTING THE TOBACCO FIELDS READY

Bloomfield, CT - This week they started to place the netting for shade on the poles in the tobacco fields. Pretty soon it will be planting time.

SAPLING IN THE SNOW

While on a walk in the woods I came upon this sapling in the snow which I thought made a great photo.

CAT COOP

This is a piece of furniture located in the bathroom that we put towels in. It is a replica of roosting boxes that chickens would hang out in. Well, our cat decided that he would like to hang out in one too.

APRIL STORM

We just stayed inside yesterday because the weather was just yucky(technical term). I took some photos in my backyard after the snow and during the start of the rain.


Out my backdoor.


Some snow covered plants.


Birds that wished they spent a tad more time down south.

CROCUS

These are some crocuses that are growing in my front yard. A sure sign of spring but I guess someone didn't tell the the flowers this year. They must be quite confused, the daffodils were sprouting in December now the crocuses are sprouting at the right time but a Nor'easter is coming in today.

RABIES CLINIC

Granville MA - Today we brought Thatcher to the Annual Rabies Clinic to get his first rabies shot; he said it wasn't too bad. Here he is with the vet.

STOCKBRIDGE MA - MAIN STREET

Stockbridge MA - Here is the Main Street immortalized by Norman Rockwell in his Stockbridge at Christmas painting. The buildings really haven't changes much since he did that painting.

FIREHOUSE HOUSE

Stockbridge MA - When I was in Stockbridge I noticed this house that appears to be a house that was originally a firehouse. If I remember correctly, it says the "Old Firehouse" on the side. I know there is another old brick firehouse in town. None the less it is cool house.

STOCKBRIDGE COLONIAL

Stockbridge MA - This old colonial house is just down the road from the center of Stockbridge. It kind of stuck out because it was between a lot of houses that were, well, painted. This house was in more of a "original" state.

PUPPY PARK

Granby, CT - We brought our two dogs to the Granby Dog Park and they had a great time. There are dog parks in the city but they are just starting to come to smaller cities. Up until now we just walked our dogs in the woods but they like to interact with the other dogs. Here the dogs are playing "Follow the Leader".



Every time a new dog comes into the park a greeting committee forms.


Here is our new dog Thatcher. He likes people more than dogs.


Always remember to pick up your dogs poop!


Here is a regular at the park, "Kramer" the Labradoodle.

WESTFIELD WHIP COMPANY

These are a few of the whips that are made at Westfield Whip.



These are in a display case for when they go to trade shows.



This shows just a few of the handles of whips for dressage. The little white pouch on the end of one of the handles is to protect the fancy metal piece during shipping.



This is one of the labels that go on the whips.



This is a whole file cabinet of all the labels.

I hope you enjoyed the tour through Westfield Whip Company.

WESTFIELD WHIP - MORE MACHINES

These machines are cotton braiders that put the cover on the whip. If you notice the ropes above the machines, they pull the whips up as they are being braided. To protect the cotton it is dipped in several coats of lacquer.



Since the whips have to start from the bottom, they are fed down these holes, through the machines before being pulled up towards the ceiling.



This is a rolling machine, to insure the whip is nice and round it is put in this machine.



Or as they did in the old days,resorted to the manual roller.




To tell the truth I'm not quite sure what this machine is, I think it is the braider for the handles of the whips.



This gizmo is for putting on the metal ends of the handles. If they don't quite fit, this "persuades" the handles to be the correct size.

WESTFIELD WHIP - SOME ORIGINAL MATERIALS

This is a piece of baleen ,what whales use to filter out small marine animals. The baleen is cut into small strips and then bundled, small strips of wood that look like quarter round are placed around the baleen, dipped in lacquer and bound until dry.



This is the trough of lacquer that is still used today to seal the whips.



Our young model PJ is holding the start of a whip with a baleen center after it has been bound. Today, fiberglass is used for many of the whip centers.



Goose quills are used to hold the lash on the end of the whip. As the quills are bound they tighten around the lash. To tell you the truth, I am not completely sure if they are used today. The lash looks the same as on most of the whips I saw.



These are horse hair whips and are still made from real horse hair. They are used as fly swatters to swat flys from the front of the horse when the horses real tail swat them in the back. The handles are wood carved to look like bamboo.

WESTFIELD WHIP MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Westfield, MA - Westfield, MA has the nickname "Whip City". In the late 19th Century most of the population of the town was employed in whip making and they produced tens of thousands of whips a day, dominating the US market for riding and buggy whips. There were over 60 companies involved in the manufacturing of whips, now there is only one left, the Westfield Whip Manufacturing Company.




Above are two of the four 18th century braiding machines in existence or at least in use. There is one against the far wall and the other is just off camera. So this factory is like a museum. I was told the manufacturing process is the same as a hundred years ago, just some of the materials have changed. At one time these braiders were motorized but then converted back to manual so there is better control.



This is a close-up of the inside of one of the braiding machines. The one against the wall braids more plaits(strips) of leather.

Stay tuned for more on Westfield Whip. There is a lot more of interesting information.

What is it answer

Goat head is correct.

WHAT IS IT?

OK, some fun.

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