Cool beans...

As the sun moves north, I get a great view of the old oak tree to the east of our place. The skies have offered up a few nice sunrises this week.

 

Other projects I have going on are fun and playful.

This Steampunk Character Minifig is one that I've been pining for! So many possibilities for portraits and cool dioramas I can make from junk stuff!

I actually made Digital Backgrounds for this guy...Cog and his dog Gear. 

Oh I do so LOVE Steampunk! If I could dress like that and just walk around our little town, I'd be happy for the stares. 

In fact, I'm looking at getting some tiny craft Steampunk gears to make a diorama of my own for just this character!

Next we have Boooo! How on earth did anyone know that I also secretly coveted this crazy blue monster???

I had even imagined how I'd photograph him in an eerie way.

In the early afternoon I took a break from indoor things to do outdoor things and take Charlie into the valley to see if we could find a skunk cabbage or a Marsh Marigold.

We were 'skunked' on the skunk cabbage, but the Big Spring had a few Marsh Marigolds popping up!

At the start of February, I went to a large dry run that was filled with ice from a small spring. The dry run is a 1/4 of a mile long and filled with boulders and rocks.

In the winter the ice forms in the run and actually covers up the boulders.

The layers of ice formed over the winter are too many to count!

Meltwater has created a canyon in the thick ice.

In this spot I measured the ice. It was up to my hips which is well over three feet thick. I just cannot wrap my mind around the power of ice and the power of water. Nature is simply amazing. I'm almost sorry to see winter go because the ice will leave and I'll have to wait again for cold weather to enjoy it.

Once spring really starts I will enjoy hunting each wildflower in the forest.

Until then I will continue to await the appearance of the skunk cabbage flower. It is quite an unusual flower and generally shows itself in late March and early April.

Meanwhile, my partner in 'crime' is assisting me in some Lego Therapy.

And I am thinking up new ways of presenting Legos. The dirt pictured below is simply dried used coffee grounds.

"Our birds may be small compared to you guys, but they have magical powers too!"

I have these awesome Aarakocra Rangers now who may join with Princess Sara in her quest to save the Magical Dragon Egg from the Rock Monsters...

Yep. Good versus Evil. Who can resist a story like that?

I'm still working on a couple of more 'scenes' for the other minfigs I received as a Happy Up Day Gift!

Taking a Moment to live in the moment

This is how I can live in the Moment. For whatever reason the other day, I opened up my video stuff and this came up. 'Wisdom at 96: Life Advice'. 

I thought, why the heck not? I decided to watch it. The lady was calm and interesting. No advice on living the right way but living in the moment. I just liked what she had to say and I found her so calming and so inspirational in a quiet way. 

The next morning, the winds howled the rain slashed the windows and it was cold. I thought "What a horribly yucky dismal day."

But after chores and cleaning and getting stuff out for supper, I decided to go live in the moment and do something that would use up all my brains cells. Something that wouldn't allow for outside world distractions and worry.

Can you make something out of nothing? 

And so the toilet paper tree began.

So in truth, it all started with an empty TP roll and some cheap foil.

Hubby walked into the room and gave me the side eye. 

'And what are you doing?'

Obvious! I am building a tree!

He shook his head, 'And I am the one they say has dementia and mental health problems.'

Well with twisting and shaping pieces of foil and a bit of hot glue, I made this odd looking tree with curly cue roots. I was/am hoping to make it into a fantasy tree that is small enough to use with Lego People.

And she seems to fit in there just fine. Since the top of the tree doesn't matter, I didn't put branches on it.

Now, how to make it look -- tree-ish. I wanted it to be a dead tree. So the first thing I should have done was spray paint it black.

But with howling winds and driving rain, I opted to just paint it with a mix of Modge Podge and black paint.

Hmm. What now? I know! Try to add some color and texture with some brownish, orangish, reddish mixed paints.

Ewww, it looks nasty and ugly.

The cool thing is, I can bend the foil a bit to reposition it. 

And perhaps with the right lighting and background it may even look cool instead of butt ugly.

However, Wanda seems to like it.

Later in the afternoon when the sun came out, hubby had placed her on a spot at the top of the tree. 
Actually this looked really cool in the bright sunlight.

Well now. She needed to have this tree in a haunted forest.

What do witches need? A pot to boil stuff in. A creepy forest. A creepy tree. Magic crystals.

What? Magic Crystals???

Back to the thinking box.

Wanda needed magic crystals. [See how this mind works? It isn't ADHD. I have flights of ideas....I prefer to call it: positive constructive daydreaming]

If Magic Crystals are involved, then dragons must be involved, if dragons are involved, sorceresses must be involved...if good is involved, then evil must be involved...if....then there must be wizards too, right?

Phew. I had to put on the brakes and prioritize.

The Old Creepy Tree, a weird forest. Crystals... 

Did you know you can 'make' crystals with Borax and water? 

The smaller ones are coiled pipe cleaners. The large one is an actual rock.

Maybe the forest needs a couple of crystalized trees?

Stay tuned! 

Wanda is really quite happy!

Poetry and art?

I had some sort of epiphany while studying a certain type of photography. I've done macro before. I love macro in every sense because it fits with the world around me.

But I wanted to take it to the next level. 

Maybe Macro is the wrong word because it isn't truly macro macro like itty bitty insects and microscopic items [although I really love tiny tiny things to photograph!]. 

I think 'Artistically' different may be what I want to say or

...try.

I even decided to try my hand at creatively writing a blurb -- in the poetic sense to describe what the feeling was when I took the shot.

This whole process uses more thinking skills than I've previously done.

Maybe it is just a phase or a distraction to keep my mind occupied during the 'brown' month of November. It is fun though.

I sway
whispering secrets
untold
with the 
zephyr's sighing song...

The sun golden light

illuminates 

the last fern.

Autumn whispers...

Miss Aurora introduced me to her fascination of grasses a couple of years ago. Since then, I've stopped and looked at grasses and tried to figure out the best way to make them something special when seen through my camera lens.

Catching the sunlight
the grasses sway
in the wind
waiting for
the seasons to

pass

In a sense, that is exactly what grasses do. The have beautiful seed heads that the winds spread over the ground. The seeds wait for spring to arrive and sprout up with new life.

So fall in a sense is just a way for nature and plants to take a break so they can resume their jobs come spring.

These photos were taken while Aurora and I explored the Old Settler's Trail. I enjoy walking with another visual artist that introduces me to new ways of looking at nature's beauty.

And of course, I could not resist taking along our Minifigs to represent us hiking together.

How to take a photo of Minifigures in the wild by Aurora:

...with Charlie's help of course!

Have a safe and wonderful weekend.

Toy time

 Here is Frank. He is leading his troopers. I don't know if Frank really knows where he is going...

Frank needs more riding lessons. He crashed the Speeder Bike.

How embarrassing!

Joan of Arch!

I really like this figure. A female knight!

Joan of Arch in Film Noir

Fred the Fly

Friends out checking the last of the ice in the creek as it melts off and enjoying the sunshine.

Last but not least...HO Scale people.

What is she doing in my coffee scoop?

Hopefully, this gives you a distraction and makes you laugh.