Crochet pattern for a slightly fierce but friendly really Dragon

I was introduced to a really cool crochet pattern: http://heavens-hellcat.livejournal.com/807.html , I finally finished it, it took a few trial and errors for a beginner like me but the result is freaking awesome and I got a lot better at crochet-ing.

Nostrils:
8 sc in ring
FO leaving a bit of a tail.
8 sc in ring, then sc into any stitch on the first ring and go all the way around both of them, ending up with 16 st. Use the tail to sew up any gap between the 2 parts.

Head & Body:
16 sc
do the following reductions at the middle top and middle bottom of the nose
14 sc
14 sc
12 sc
10 sc
do the next 4 increases at the top to create the head
14 sc
14 sc
14 sc
do the following decreases at the top
12 sc
10 sc
8 sc
8 sc
8 sc
increase by one stitch anywhere
9 sc
10 sc
10 sc
10 sc
11 sc
12 sc
do the next increase at the bottom to create the body
18 sc
18 sc
increase every 3rd stitch
24 sc
24 sc
24 sc
do the following increases at sides
26 sc
26 sc
26 sc
28 sc
28 sc
do the following reductions at the sides, but a bit randomly, or there will be a distinct line
26 sc
24 sc
22 sc
20 sc
18 sc
16 sc
14 sc
14 sc
12 sc x 11
11 sc x 3
10 sc x 3
9 sc x 3
8 sc x 4
7 sc x 10
6 sc
keep reducing every 2 st until the hole is too small to do any more
FO

Back legs (make 2):
6 sc in ring;
12 sc x 4
6 sc, dec 2, dec 2, dec 2 -> 9
9 sc
9 sc
6 sc, inc 2, inc 2, inc 2 -> 12
1 sc, inc 2, 1 sc, inc 2, 1 sc, inc 2, 1 sc, inc 2, 1 sc, inc 2, 1 sc, inc 2, -> 18
18 sc
18 sc
3 sc, dec 2, dec 2, 4 sc, dec 2, dec 2, dec 2, 1 sc -> 13
2 sc, dec 2, dec 2, 2 sc, dec 2, 1 sc, dec 2 -> 9
2 sc, dec 2, 2 sc, dec 2 -> 7
keep reducing every 2 st until the hole is too small to do any more.

Front legs (make 2):
5 sc in ring
10 sc x 4
6 sc, dec 2, dec 2 -> 8
8 sc x 6 rounds
keep reducing every 2 st until the hole is too small to do any more.

Spikes on back (make a long as needed):
ch 3, sc into 2nd ch from hook, hdc into 3rd ch from hook, ch1

Wings (make 2):
ch 16
skip 1st ch, 3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 2, turn
7 hdc, 5 sc, 3 ss, ch1, turn
3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 3, turn
skip 1st ch, 2 ss (to make claws), 7 hdc, 5 sc, 3 ss, ch1, turn
3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 2, turn
7 hdc, 5 sc, 3 ss, ch1, turn
3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 3, turn
skip 1st ch, 2 ss (to make claws), 7 hdc, 5 sc, 3 ss, ch1, turn
3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 2, turn
7 hdc, 5 sc, 3 ss, ch1, turn
3 ss, 5 sc, 7 hdc, ch 3, turn
skip 1st ch, 2 ss, 15 sc
Then sc along the base of the wing and along the other side, ch3, turn, miss 1st ch, 2 ss to make last claw.
FO leaving tail to secure the last claw to the rest of the wing.

Ears:
Ch 6, turn
skip 1st st, sc, dc, sc, ss.
Leave the last ch and ss up the other side of the ear to the tip.
FO

Completing your dragon:
Sew it all together!

*** this pattern was slightly adapted (made a bit simpler) from http://heavens-hellcat.livejournal.com/807.html , all credit due to heavens_hellcat ***

The last harvest

With sub-zero temperatures just around the corner, it’s time to remove all the unripened fruits of our plants. Preserve will be made out of the green tomatoes.

 img_0003 img_0012

and all that is left of the garden is a decrepit mass of dying plants img_0015

Fresh produce!

 pict0015 img_0001 img_0010 pict0090Zucchinis, tomatoes, eggplants, salads, pickles, pumpkins, potatoes… et cetera. The garden has been a frank success this year and for the first time since we’ve been gardening.

We have more than enough vegetables for our consumption. We’re canning some of them and although they won’t last us a whole winter a little more effort next year will allow this.

We also have 6 chicken, get about 4 eggs a day and are thinking about a goat.

I feel like we’ve taken a huge step towards self sustainability.