Happy International Women's Day!

Today is International Women's Day - a day hardly recognized here but a nation-wide holiday in some countries and widely celebrated in many.

International Women's Day was born in 1910, as a day of international action in the struggle of women worldwide for fundamental rights, social justice, peace and democracy. It is a day about recognizing not only the struggles that some women face but also celebrating the progress that many have made and the empowerment that enables women to challenge oppression and break down barriers to equality. For further information, check out the International Women's Day website.

For the first Saturday in a long, long time I spent all day away from the animals and the farm. My friend Ellen and I signed up for a "Women in the Workshop" hands-on seminar at Lee Valley. The focus was on using large-scale power tools: table saws, band saws, drill presses and so on. Although I use power tools routinely, mine are all handheld ones, with the exception of my power mitre saw. So it was interesting to me to learn more about the larger tools and think about which ones I might want to add to my workshop.

I did discover, however, that my forte is the outdoorsy stuff I already do like building gates and fences and piggy stalls, and not the finicky little detail work with a horrible little tormentor called a scroll saw - I will NEVER master the fine art of starting the turn at just the right time to get nice smooth circles and scallops and curves.

However, since Ellen dared me to post a picture of what I built today, I will. (So there, Ellen, never let it be said that I lack guts. I am woman, hear me ROAR!!!)



But the absolute best part of the day was coming home to my critters, even though they let me know their displeasure at being left alone all day. The piggies were mad at me and didn't come out of the barn squeeking and squealing like they usually do. Martin the alpaca was as far back in the pasture as he could be and refused to come down when I called. Even the dogs didn't rush to the door when I opened it - I had to call them and then they slowly sauntered out of their respective beds. However, once I had fed everyone and walked the dogs I was forgiven for daring to take a day to myself.

And the big news? Sadie, dear sweet new-to-the-household Sadie, survived the whole day without me, without a single accident, without a door chewed or a wall scratched or a pillow destroyed. So much for assessments that yellow-flag her as having separation anxiety!! This girl is right at home and that's all she cares about.

Happy International Women's Day, Sadie. You are one courageous girl.