Look Who Was Hiding in my Fireclay Bricks

Today was a blade quenching day because according to the weather forecast, it might have been the only sunny day in a while. Luckily, I have managed to finish a batch of 8 blades to a sufficient state for hardening so I set out to do it first thing in the morning. And when I was taking fireclay bricks – not for fireplace, just to hold the quenching oil receptacle upright and steady – this fellow was hiding from yesterdays deluge in a crack. It got lucky I did not squish it flat when taking the bricks.

When I put it in the sun, it has spread its wings, soaked in some warmth, and buggered off pronto so I only managed to snap one picture with my phone. But it came out quite well, I think.

It is small tortoiseshell Aglais urticae. These beauties justify the existence of stinging nettles.

Another Fancy Bat

I’m pleased to present another fancy bat drawing by Joseph Zowghi. I love the way this artist makes bats look so gentle and appealing, as well as the meditative element the artist creates through repetition.

It’s based on Pteropus conspicillatus, the spectacled flying fox of Australia.

©Joseph Zowghi, all rights reserved

Sunflower Residence – Grasshopper

There is plenty of grasshoppers around, and technically they are a pest. However, unlike slugs, I have never noticed them do any noticeable damage on crops, local species seem to prefer grass over anything else.

This individual is the only one that I have seen sitting – just sitting, not munching – on one of the sunflower plants. And it stayed long enough in one place to get shots from different angles.

Sunflower Residence – Itty Bitty Spiders

I was not trying to photograph this one. I did not even see it – I was aiming for a grasshopper. But the camera autofocused on this tiny spider who seems to have caught an even tinier insect.

There was a beautiful, big facehugger, bright yellow like a bead. But it was raining and the next day I could not find it. I only found this tiny one, hiding behind one of the petals.

Sunflower Residence – Beeezzzzz

Nothing to say, really.

Sunflower Residence – Bush Cricket

I have planted several sunflowers this year. Slugs did a number on them, but they did manage to blossom at least somewhat. And there are some pretty critters showing along so there will be a series of pictures in the next few days.

Today this beautiful female great green bush cricket. I was afraid of these when I was a wee little kid.

Gotta Resin Some More: Pokémon Earrings and Pins

I did a bit of resin crafting, finally making use of the last batch of moulds I had ordered. These require quite a bit of secondary work, painting in the details, but I absolutely love them.

Head of Galar fire starter, next to a 1€ coin

I first cast the blanks. They have all the outlines I need for later. Usually I use one colour only, but the scorbunny has the orange red ear tips. After that I paint in the details, using either acrylic paint or UV resin. Small lines like the nose are painted in with a permanent CD marker. I had to try some out to find one that doesn’t dissolve in the final layer of resin (mostly UV, epoxy only if I’m making some anyway, no use mixing up 5 ml of epoxy) . The hooks are sterling silver, the bead is some semi precious stone.

I love Grookey. I don’t like its evolution that much, but Grookey is absolutely adorable. You can see in the top one where I didn’t wait for long enough for the acrylic paint to dry.

And Sobble. Sobble gets the coolest evolution, but as a baby they’re just a little Emo. I love Sobble.

I also got moulds for the original Kanto starters. If you compare Squirtle to Sobble, you can see how much more complex they got. Here it’s just eyes and mouth, done.

Bulbasaur is the least favourite Kanto starters and I don’t know why. They’re so cute! Here I went from semi precious stones to a glass bead I had lying around.

Original Game Boy silhouettes with Galar Starters as earrings

A bit of an anachronism: Original Game Boy design with Galar starters. Yes, making the tiny silhouettes is fiddly. I still have my Game Boy, btw.

And because not everybody has their ears pierced, I also made some pins. Bulbasaur is missing, because my friends nicked them.

TERFs Failing to Posthumously Claim Pratchett as Their Own

If I were on Twitter (which I am not) and if I were keeping up with what flavor of nonsense TERFs are currently peddling (which I am not) I would probably notice that they are trying to claim late Terry Pratchett as a transphobe.

And if I were making YouTube videos (which I am not) I would make one just like Shaun did (and I did not).

Whenever I think about trans issues and Terry Pratchett, the Monstrous Regiment immediately springs to mind. I did not like that book after the first reading, which was rare for Discworld books – I liked most of them straightaway. But it grew on me with subsequent reading and like most Discworld books I ended up reading it multiple times and I probably will read it some more before I finally die.

We cannot know what a dead person would say about some issue. Even a word from their living friends and relatives might not be entirely reliable, since friends and family could tend to be overly favorable when judging their loved ones who passed on (although when multiple people say the same, it does bear significant weight). Throughout the books, many things about Pratchett become apparent, among them his deep humanism and knowledge of the intricacies and complications of the human condition. There is absolutely no doubt that he would reject any notion of trying to shoehorn people into neat little boxes with simple definitions. All of his books stay and fall on the only “simple” fact about humans – that each is their own person and categories and words are mere imperfect crutches that we use for communication, always imperfectly.

Kyoot Kestrels

Yesterday evening when watering my citruses in the greenhouse, I heard the typical cry from a nearby oak tree and when I looked there, I saw these two cuties sitting atop of it. They were kind enough to wait for me to go inside and fetch the camera, but not long enough for me to get the exposition settings right for the crappy lighting – I only got one shot and they whooshed.

In case you are wondering, the tree is living, but it was struck by a lightning a few years ago and it has one dead branch on the very top and a strip of deadwood down to the earth since then. Right next to it is an ash tree with a dead branch on which I have photographed kites a few times.

Raptors like to sit on dead branches, I guess they provide them with a good view.

My Dearest Deer (plush of the month)

I made another plush from NazFX Studios, just in time before the next project is looming around the corner (yay for holidays).

This one is a cute little fawn, with true Bambi vibes.

I changed my deer a bit from the original version. I used tan instead of white, left off the antlers, and moved the ears to a more natural position. Isn’t she cute? And I’m never going to make another one. Really. You’d have to pay me serious money, but this won’t become a “you remember it’s my birthday” pattern. It’s a good pattern, and it’s a lovely plush, but it’s also a hell lot of work. But I’m glad I finished her and she’s already been adopted by the other plushies.

Lost And Found Birdies

Today, I’m sharing 2 beautiful photos that were taken by Emily Davis, in La Jolla, during March of 2019. They were submitted by her mother, Anne, Cranky Cat Lady, in that same month and, upon receipt, I carefully filed them away in the wrong place! Then, I promptly forgot all about them until a few days ago, when I found them while I was looking for something else. So, here, at last, are two very pretty birds.

Blazing Shades of Fungus

Some delicate mushrooms in bright shades of yellow and orange, courtesy of Avalus,

The Art of …

… Netsuke, a small carved object made to wear with traditional Japanese kimono.

A netsuke is a small sculptural object which has gradually developed in Japan over a period of more than three hundred years. Netsuke(singular and plural) initially served both functional and aesthetic purposes. The traditional form of Japanese dress, the kimono, had no pockets. Women would tuck small personal items into their sleeves, but men suspended their tobacco pouches, pipes, purses, writing implements, and other items of daily use on a silk cord passed behind their obi (sash). These hanging objects are called sagemono. The netsuke was attached to the other end of the cord preventing the cord from slipping through the obi. A sliding bead (ojime) was strung on the cord between the netsuke and the sagemono to allow the opening and closing of the sagemono. Source – World of Netsuke.

19th Century Netsuki, artist unknown. Image from Skinnerinc.com

Netsuke of Mice with Corn, Meiji period (1868-1912). Image from Carter’s Auctions.

19th Century netsuke, artist unknown. Image from Picryl Public Domain Source.

Netsuke, Autumn grasses with praying mantis.Image from Asian Antiques.

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Look Who Was Hiding in my Fireclay Bricks

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Another Fancy Bat

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Sunflower Residence – Grasshopper

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Sunflower Residence – Itty Bitty Spiders

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Sunflower Residence – Beeezzzzz

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Sunflower Residence – Bush Cricket

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Gotta Resin Some More: Pokémon Earrings and Pins

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TERFs Failing to Posthumously Claim Pratchett as Their Own

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Kyoot Kestrels

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My Dearest Deer (plush of the month)

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Lost And Found Birdies

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Blazing Shades of Fungus

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The Art of …

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