Keeping busy

Not the best of photos, but here is the peanut butter jar house after I painted it. The tree came from Amazon and I'll use that in a summer project. I'm considering trying my hand at making a 'fairy garden'.
I'm not sure about the little house, I will most likely have to spray it with a fixative to see if it can withstand the weather.

The little 'hut' is perfect for the toy dachshund that Allison gave me!
And there is Mr. Morris too.

I have this over my kitchen sink at the moment. Just to make me smile while I do dishes.

So I watched a few more videos and decided to try some more projects.

I put a bottom on a 'mushroom' I'd made with a toothpick in it...

Then I thought I'd try using foil to make a gnarly tree.

I know the clay I was using would crack but I didn't mind as I'd use Elmer's Glue and repair it with a bit of more clay. I think the little cracks make it more interesting.

This is after I patched it in places. Now I have to let it dry and do some magic with moss and paint!

These were experimental mushrooms. When the material is not put over cardboard or foil, it doesn't seem to crack!

Those same little mushrooms now with the bottoms and the tops attached with some glue and clay. I set them upside down in a 'possum skull to dry for the day.

I decided to try another form of Fairy House...made out of things I could find in the woods.

Allison and I gathered some branches and cardboard. Then we had a bit of fun spreading everything over the floor first and then picking out pieces to 'do' something with.

Since I didn't know what I was really doing ... I just winged it. Allison said she kept having new ideas and I let her flow with it.

I was aiming for some sort of little wooden house/hut.
It certainly wasn't as cute as what I'd seen on line.

But.

It is sort of fun and cute!

I have a bit more work to do with some moss and final touches.

On these dreary days, I love to try new things.

Insect hunting

Miss Allie, I call her.
The Insect Girl.

It isn't a bad thing or even an insult. How many young girls do you know that adore insects? Enough love for the insect to have 'pet' Madagascar Hissing Beetles in her room?
She has an insect display board in her room also.

Kudos to the parents for letting her pursue an unusual interest.

Here she is!
Allie and I made a date to go looking for 'Bugs' last night towards evening. We thought the stands of Milkweeds in the meadow would be a good place to start.

I have a LOT to learn about finding insects. I thought they'd be easier to find towards evening. Not.

Anyway off we went in the late evening heat to find bugs.

Allie the fearless, led the way. I loved her spiderweb dress, just perfect for insect hunting.  I know she really had her heart set on some Orb Spiders. But those insects will be in the meadow in a few weeks.
Last night we were looking for butterflies or anything I guess.

No bug too small!
Here Allie turns this tiny insect over to show me its legs and explain that she thinks it will grow up to be some sort of 'Leaf Insect'. Leaf hopper? I don't know!

I found a link that helps ID insects called Bug Finder. It is actually very helpful.

We found this red beetle on a milkweed. I was able to look it up and discover that it is a Red Milkweed Beetle with a long difficult scientific name. It is just fine to call it the Red Milkweed Beetle.

The milkweed had many bees on the flowers, but alas no Monarch eggs that we could find.

However, we did find some insect drama:

A Daddy Longlegs eating a bee?
We watched, fascinated.

The ants were very busy on some of the milkweed and not others.

I kept looking for 'good' shots of bees. I liked this one with the bees wings in motion!

Allie thought it would be good to go into my woods and hunt around.

Bonus!
She found a pile of deer bones...

Some went into her pink bag to go home with her.

Here Allie poses with some of the insects she caught. We headed home towards dusk.

My favorite shot of the whole outing? Aside from all the cool things we observed...

Here is Allie explaining to me what we might find on Milkweed plants and what we should be looking for.

I can only say this. I do know I was surprised by how much fun I really had. I was intrigued by the drama in the miniature world of insects.

My guide may have been young, but her enthusiasm rubs off on you.

We are going to try and do this again soon.
Thank you Miss Allie!