How to build a stick house for a Fairy Garden

The weather turned down right dangerous with air temps at -18F and who knows what the wind chills were. I bundled up, did the chores and made sure all the equine had plenty of hay and heated water.
Since I had to be outside for a length of time, I dressed for it.
I actually was comfortable doing the chores and hauling hay in the large sled.
Going for a hike was out of the question, if I slipped or started to get cold, I'd be too far from help.

I decided that I'd collect some of the sticks I'd gathered while hiking with Charlie and Sven the other day [when it was mild] and 'create' a new Squirrel House.

I decided to use my cell phone and then write on the photos as I went through each step so here it is:

This is an old sour cream container that I cut a window in. Since it is a squirrel 'house' he/she can climb in and out easily right?
I painted the container black first so that if there were gaps, the sour cream lettering wouldn't show through.

The gorilla two sided tape is weather proof and will hold up to 15 lbs or so the package says. It is so much easier to use the tape and then put the sticks on than trying to glue them in place.

I was fascinated that I could break chunks of bark with lichen on it and press it onto the tape in the gaps ... seems it will stay? Time will tell.

I used hot glue and more scraps to fill in some of the other gaps that didn't have tape on it.

I was going to make a fancy top with some clay or something else but I decided just to go into my scraps area and grab some old bark I'd found laying in the woods. I used Gorilla Tape to hold down a layer of scraps. Hot glue works best on a porous surface so I glued more scraps on top of that to make a roof.

There. But I still had some a few more touches to add.

I think the Squirrel likes the little shack.

I rather like these little projects. This will be fun to put in a section of the new mini flower garden I'll do this spring. I may have to think of something to make the stick house heavier so it will stay put.

The stick houses are a lot of fun to make and cost nothing as I can gather the materials needed when I take a walk.
This was a great little day project to do while the temperatures outside kept me safely indoors.

One of the reasons I liked this project is that it did not have to be perfect. Too many 'Fairy Houses' look perfect. If a person was to do this with a child, it could be just like this.
I think it is still cute in its very non perfect way.

Besides, if a squirrel were to make this?
Well, have you ever seen a squirrel nest?

I rest my case!

Black and White

I was challenged by a fellow photography friend to post a week's worth of black and white photos on Facebook. I do like black and white and that is partially why I decided to jump into Infrared Photography.
If the colors don't always trip your trigger, you can always convert it to a stunning black and white photo. Well, that is, if you have a decent photo to begin with.

I hiked earlier this week and took only my converted camera. I used an 850nm filter on it which will only produce IR photos in black and white. In the summer, leaves would appear pure white as would the grass. The clouds would stand out much better in a blue sky that appears black.

Well, here are some of those results with snow!

The bark of the trees are reflecting in a lighter color than a standard black and white shot. The old leaves of the oak tree are reflecting as white! The original photo in camera and when I bring it up at first is really a shocker. It is dull and listless.
So editing with a heavy hand is a must.

Here is a sample of this shot as it came off the camera:

Pretty dismal looking right?

With infrared photography, there is always editing involved.

I find that the infrared in the winter is not always a bonus, but that doesn't keep me from experimenting anyway.

I did use my little pocket IR camera to take this shot of pine trees. This was with a 665nm filter. Here is what it looks like straight out of the camera.

Kind of cool. The pines are a bluish white and the clouds show up pretty well.

Channel Swap:

The colors are pretty wild. Sky is a bluish color and some of the green pines are pinkish.
I could brighten it up some, but thought I'd see what it looked like in black and white.

I liked it!

And then I decided to blend it with a layer of Topaz Glow which sort of emulates a brush stroke.

Well, this final version tickled me. Just enough pizzazz to make it something I'd put on my walls. Not perfectly realistic, but in an artsy sort of sense, dreamy...

I've always thought that winter was perfect for black and white because the colors are so often muted and dismal looking.


I think I should work on some Still Life next....

Oh and the Fairy house?
It is coming along!

Still ugly, but...

It has potential!