It's all in stories...Brothers Odd

Yeti once again was complaining that Wisconsin Winters  would be too cold for him.  He moved back from the Himalayan mountain ranges because he was sure it would so much nicer back in his homeland. 

He was a huge Legend in the Himalayan mountains, but he was tired of the winds, snows, and frankly all the humans that were trying to catch sight of him. 

He thought at least if he could get back to his place of birth he'd find the climate much more to his liking. 

Yeti lit a huge on a large match and was going to get a huge bonfire going and put it in the Brother's Odd Hut....

Big Foot shouted out and ran over! 
"Don't burn the Hut down Yeti!"

Hmmm. Whew! 

The Brothers Odd then stood around the fire to discuss the upcoming winter months.

How were they all going to fit in this tiny hut?

A fire inside will surely burn it down and then they wouldn't have a home at all. 

Chewie watches, hidden from view. Maybe his half siblings could use some help. Well, at least some guidance.

He ponders Yeti's aversion to cold. What is that all about? Yetis, by legend, were supposed to love the cold and snow.

He recalls Yeti's father, a mixed breed of Squatch, telling his mom that Baby Yeti was not quite what he expected. Yeti was born pure white in the middle of summer. They decided to send him to a snowy climate so he could hide from the humans.

Chewie thought poor Yeti had gotten a bum deal.

Chewie took a walk to think bout things. The forest animals always seemed to follow him around he noticed. He didn't mind. 

In his galactic travels he'd come across many critters. The forest animals were nice company and not too demanding or dangerous. At least none of them were raccoons and owned a space ship. That was a fella to watch out for.

Chewie hiked to the creek and climbed a large old Oak stump. He closed his eyes and summoned up the powers of heat. 

Perhaps he'd go back to his ship and see if he could figure out a way to help his odd half brothers.

On his way past Miss Stinky's place he made a nice warm fire for her and her little Stinker. Miss Stinky thanked him. She loved Chewie's warm flames that never burnt a thing but gave off beautiful heat.

He rather liked these woods. Perhaps he'd stay a while.... 

But.....

Meanwhile in Lego land

I purchased this from a young man at the farmer's market for $2 early this summer. I liked what he built even though it isn't from any set that Lego puts out. 

It took me a while to figure out what to do with this little figure and his bizarre space pod.

I decided that his name is Arnie and he was a junk collector. Maybe even a junk recycler.

Meet Arnie!

Imagine Arnie's excitement in finding cool things on the farm, like bit and pieces on old farm equipment.

Arnie uses his remote control to pick pieces of valuable materials up.

Then Arnie spots the Motherlode!!!!

A Humanoid Dump Truck!

Imagine what he'd get for that truck!

How on earth will he gather this?

Perhaps he'll have to take tiny pieces off here and there...

Arnie will have more stories in the future but I'm not exactly sure when. 

Being a wildly imaginative person, I do jump from one thing to another just to satisfy my moments of intense creative desires.

The dump truck left before I could finish this line of stories, but each time I walk around another large 'junk' pile on the farm I think about Arnie and his desire for Junk Recycling.

Right now he is parked while I concentrate on the changes of color that are happening quickly around here.

Arnie may have to wait until the Fall season is over...

Have a great Friday!

Play time.

What is there to do on cold dreary days that rain and snow both at the same time? Well. Dress up in warm clothes and go out in it?

I decided to try a trick or two with some Legos and a monster I picked up at the Flea Market.

This is Harry, he usually rides a motorcycle and does stunts and crashes with it. Apparently he decided to try riding his pet Pterodactyl. I mean, doesn't everyone have a pet Pterodactyl?

The Monster is Spawn's Violator from Circa 1997 -- apparently if this one was in great shape and had is packaging it would be worth $50? I got it at the flea market for $4. I had no idea there was even a comic book series called Spawn. My Granddaughter filled me in on these important things I seem to not be aware of!

The creator of the series of comics even started his own toy company to produce action figures from his series of comics. 

--- Ok.

Back to the how I did this! How did I make the Pterodactyl fly? How did I produce rain and snow on demand?

Here is the original. I used about 6 table spoons of flower that I shook out of a cup onto the characters for snow. 
I used a wire to hold the Pterodactyl up above the grass. [I had many failures and mishaps before I was successful.]

There wasn't much to the follow up editing to get rid of the wire. I was surprised at how easy it was to use something called a magic eraser in the ON1 photo program. Photoshop is the go to program for most people, but I don't like to pay a monthly fee to use it.

The rain in the first shot is really rain...created with the help of a spray bottle with water in it.

I thought I'd try a bit more fun with Harry and his motorcycle. Toy Photography is tough if you want action!

So here is an example of the idea. I used a clear Lego 'stick' for this idea. I didn't have a better way to make Harry appear as IF he was in a mid air crash.

I spent a long time trying to get the angle just right.

The wire trick was much easier to 'erase' from the photo, however ... I am pretty pleased with Harry's trick riding. Enough to try some more efforts along these lines.

Of course Harriet and Hobby got out while I was hiking and they had some fun too.

The Maiden Hair Ferns are starting to emerge from the ground!

Last but not least.

My favorite fun shot of the week that includes toys.

I placed Harriet with her long lens on a rock so she could photograph a Wood Anemone. 
I crouched down to take her photo and 

a Miner Bee chose that moment to visit the wildflowers!

How lucky is that?

Saturday Adventures Abound

 Here is the prize Ugly Chair I got. I love it! It has been painted green underneath which shows through the ugly brown paint. It has scratches and worn spots, but it is sturdy and fits me just right. This summer I'll sand it and prime it, then paint it into a wildly colorful Happy Chair.

Hubby wants me to strip it and finish it. A Happy Chair is always more popular. My grand kids used to try and get to the colorful chairs first when they stayed with us. It is no secret that I like fun stuff. It is no secret that there is an in law who is horrified that I don't have one matching wooden chair around my old wooden table. 

The kids loved this chair! It was an old wobbly one I found in the shed and cleaned up. I did my best to unwobble it with glue and screws, but eventually it came apart.

It has been a while since I got to do a nice chair for inside. I found another neat chair at the Flea Market, it was SO ugly I loved it. The last layer of paint that chair had was bright pink with a white splotch on the seat. 

Another great find at the second hand shop was this jacket. Since I wear children sized clothes, this XL kids jacket fit perfectly.

Bonus! Mickey Mouse! Yes!

I went out to the woods after breakfast and chores to see if the Spring Beauties had appeared in the upper woods.

Imagine my surprise at finding Mayflower plants emerging where I'd burned weeds a few weeks ago.

Looks like my pals were out too! Doing selfies! Good thing they found that Quad pod!

Spring Beauties!

They have started! I was so thrilled that I didn't mind sitting in the midst of briers to get close to them. While there I heard thunder and the sunlight faded out.

A big thunderstorm moved in for about 40 minutes. As soon as it passed I trotted back out to look for cool things.

Virginia Waterleaf plant emerging:

Catkins on a Maple Tree:

Another thunderstorm threatened to move in and then hubby wanted lunch. Sigh. Spring was Springing and I wanted to be in it!

After the storms hubby went for his nap and I went to a place where I knew I'd find wild flowers.

Wood Anemones:

Virginia Bluebells:

Trout Lily leaves! That means they should flower very soon!

Remember Frank who had so many misadventures with his Storm Troopers? Well, he decided to get some R&R.
I found him doing this:

After chores and about supper time, we got a visit from Olive, Aiden, and Gerti. But that is a whole new blog entry regarding neighbors and barters. 

Now it is Sunday. It is cold, wet, and yucky. We will be under a Winter Storm Warning tonight into tomorrow morning with 8 to 12 inches of snow predicted. The days after the snow will be in the 50's so this will melt rapidly.

That means more excitement in the woods. Since I can't go anywhere until it melts, I imagine I'll have fun watching a large snow melt and run off in the creek and valley. 

Who ever said living in the boonies was boring? I'm absolutely over the moon with the weather and flowers.

Hubby says I am not quite right in the head.

Puddles

Me to Hubby: I'm going outside to play in the mud.

Him: Oh. Um isn't it too cold?

Me: Sort of, but the puddle is getting smaller in the driveway.

Him: Isn't it mostly mud?

Me: Yes. I am going to play in the mud.

Him: Ok. Well I knew you weren't ever going to grow up.

My driveway has a low spot that needs to be fixed. In the spring it is like a small pond at first. It holds water at every rain and at every snow melt. In the evening the light is just right for some play time.

Yep, I was that kid that played with my cousins and made mud pies. 

I grew up in a time when dirt was okay to play with. We could use it as a compliment to our little plastic soldiers or move it with one of the Tonka trucks we had. We could toss it, wet it, mold it, shape it.

I put my coveralls on. It was cold outside, but I had a plan and a story line running in my head. 

The Misadventures of Frank and His Troopers.

Frank is always trying to find a way out of marching with his troopers....

the horse threw him so he decided to try...well....a

dinosaur?

I see one of his other 

troopers did a face plant in the water.

and then...

it was Frank's turn...

That dinosaur was not a good choice, it wouldn't even behave for me and I was supposed to be in control!

My fingers got full of mud from throwing chunks of dirt into the puddle behind the figures. I also swept up the cold water to splash behind them. 

My hands were numb by the time I finished. 

I abused my camera by getting the strap dirty and some of the buttons on the back dirty.

But.

I also experienced the power of imagination and concentration to 'make' something. And it distracted my brain from dealing with the everyday stresses of being a Caregiver.

So, in my book. Puddles can be great things.

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.

Wild life...

It's story time again! What has Hobby the Photographer been up to lately?

She is still on a mission to photograph wildlife.

I'm not too sure she is going about it the proper way though.

Really? Pizza for

a Saber Tooth Tiger?

Funny how she seems to work things out.

One thing for sure, is she needs warmer clothing. I convinced her to put on a hooded snowsuit for her adventures in the snow .... finally.

And of course, what does she find?
Penguins! Penguins!
Who would have thought she could find them?

[This idea came from fellow blogger Aurora. Hobby will blame her for that.]

OH and see that light? We had sunshine for a whole hour yesterday!!!

Hobby asks the penguins to take her to their friends.

No Hobby, I don't think Penguins eat hotdogs!

Whoops. Perhaps I am mistaken!

 After finding penguins, she asked them to show her where she could find some Polar Bears.

I think she should be more careful around wild animals. Don't you?