Saami the Reindeer in One Piece

It had been nearly eight months since we had visited the carving studio. We had a grand surprise, seeing Saami, our reindeer, upright for the first time. She is vertical, supported by the stand and her front legs are attached. Yeah.


Jack, the head carver, attached her back legs, neck and head so we could take a photo.


Saami had her first rider - our grand daughter Mariah who just had her 11th birthday. What a great sight is was to see her on the reindeer.


Saami is the name for the Laplanders of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola peninsula of Russia whose best-known livelihood is reindeer herding. We wanted our reindeer's name to reflect our Scandinavian roots.


A second big surprise was the section of the Rounding Board on display. It looks stunning.



Here's a fun image of some of the carved heads.


We peeked into the warehouse where the new platform is being built. Here's the latest image:


Several new animals have been started since our last visit. Here's Geno the Orca whale:




And below is Timber, the bulldog, sponsored by alumni of Albany Union High School.


We saw great progress of some of the animals. Below is Taz, the black buck antelope with its fabulous horns.


Peace, the lioness, is below. In the background you can see the baby lamb who will be at her feet.

Peace's profile is a mirror image of the drawing of the head posted on the wall behind it.

Progress since our last visit is evident on Sally the Swiss cow below:

Buster the pony has a saddle blanket laden with memories. It looks nearly ready for final sanding.

Several animals whose progress we have followed are being painted. Taffy the alpaca is below:

Hope the giraffe, below, is finished being painted. After the paint cures, she will receive her clear coat.

Mariah took a ride on Lightning, one of the three finished animals on display:


and on Munchie the Lhasa Apso


and on the zebra.