Because What Fourth Grader Doesn't Want to be Toast for Halloween?

 So for Halloween Doodlebug was Domo. If you're not familiar with Domo he's a big fuzzy brown square-ish monster. He's the official mascot of Japan's public broadcaster. You can read about him here. And I've blogged about Domo before -here and here.

 

Anyway, a few years back I made an awesome (if I do say so myself) costume out of foam board, duct tape and fuzzy brown fabric. It's like trick-or-treating in a huge cereal box. But Doodlebug loves it and gets lots of compliments. The candy goes into the mouth where there is a box to hold it and it's nice and cozy inside, protected from the elements.

 

There are a few downsides though -
A few people tried to jam the candy through the eye slot. Ouch! I told Doodlebug if they do that, he just needs to grab it with his teeth.

It gets rather heavy when the candy builds up. It has shoulder straps inside, and when there is 10 pounds of candy in the mouth hatch, it puts some pressure on the shoulders. Doodlebug suggested some memory foam for the shoulder straps next year.

And for those who are not familiar with Domo and who do not recognize the big red mouth and white teeth as being from a monster, he may look a bit like toast. Two years in a row, the same house complimented him on his 'toast' costume.

Because what fourth grader doesn't want to be toast for halloween?

Quack!

Like a Tiny Furry Pole Dancer

 I have a bird feeder that gets regular visits from many varieties of birds, squirrels, chipmunks and the occasional rabbit or groundhog. Usually the chipmunks, rabbits and groundhogs stay beneath the feeder, gathering up all the fallen bits, while the birds and squirrels take full advantage of the area and eat from both the feeder itself and the ground underneath. Occasionally we see an ambitious chipmunk scale the birdfeeder pole and balance at the very top, but they can't quite ever manage to get to the feeder itself without sliding down the pole like a tiny furry pole dancer.

 

Until this morning.

I must say, I was rather disheartened when I looked out the window and saw that a chipmunk had managed to reach the seeds in the feeder. Not because I don't like to share with the rodents. And not because I was worried about him falling off. It's because he was INSIDE the bird-feeder, doing a headstand, unmoving, on a 20 degree morning. I thought for sure he was an icemunk. I went outside, figuring I would be removing his cold dead corpse from the feeder. Sure enough, his eyes were closed. But then I noticed he was breathing! Hooray! He was still alive.

I took the feeder down and carefully tipped it, trying to slide him out. He eyed me suspiciously and held on tight. So I shook it gently, then not so gently, trying to knock his fuzzy little butt out of the feeder. But that wasn't working. He was way at the bottom with a perch behind him - he must have squeezed past it so shaking him down wasn't going to work. So I reached into one of the seed-holes and poked his tail with my fingers and told him to get out. So he did.

He turned around, paused at the bird-feeding cup, then dashed out right between me and Doodlebug. I know chipmunks are really really fast, but wow! I have never seen a critter move that fast before! He dashed away - hopefully back to his nest to snuggle up with his chipmunk buddies, to wash my foul stench off his tail and to complain bitterly about the traps we've laid for them on the deck.

Quack!

For a Cat She's Alright

Here's the Dutchess. Doesn't she look sweet? Don't let that fool you. She's still a cat. She has claws. And teeth.

But to give her a little credit, she rarely uses those teeth and claws. For a cat she's pretty cool. 

Do you think she's actually looking out onto the deck at the birds and chipmunks? Or do you think she's just admiring her own reflection in the glass? I think the latter. She is a cat afterall.


Meow!

A Bit of Glare

Here's a terrible photo of something else I've been working on. More paint, some thread, some sand and a bit of glare. :)

Quack!

A Kaleidoscope of Color

I've been busy lately. Got out the ink, water and paints. Experimenting with color. I'm really liking my new 'crafty corner'. Here's a bit of what I've been working on:

 

Quack! 

A Slice of Ice Cream With a Scoop of Cake

This may well be the absolutely ugliest, most poorly executed cake I've ever made:
 

It's Finn, from Adventure Time. In ice cream and colored whipped topping. Beautiful, eh? Ok, not so much.

But the well-planned, rainbow, marble cake didn't do a very good job of coming out of the pan. In fact, it was reduced to crumbs. Both layers. So, we had a slice of ice cream with a scoop of cake at this party. Whatever works!

And it was pretty darn tasty, so who cares what it looks like, right?


Quack!

Picking Up Trash . . . And Finding a Use For It

  Hey, you know those little metal things you find on the side of the road? They are about pen length, flat, a half a centimeter across or so.

Well, this year I figured out what they are. It only took me 40 years. They are bristles from the street sweepers! I was so excited when I figured that out! I've been seeing those things in the road for years and years and years. I may be the only person who didn't know what they were. Or more likely, I'm probably the only person who noticed the darn things at all. And I can never stop myself from picking them up. I had quite a stash of them. Well, I actually found a use for them. That's right!

And did I use them for something useful? Like cleaning toilets? Or holding something important together? Or to entertain family and friends? No! I used them in an even better way - to make art! I got out paper, paints, thread, glue, street sweeper bristles and whipped up a series of three paintings. Here's some really bad photos of part of them:

I really like them! And I have some bristles left over for something else. I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike.


Quack!

Confused Upon Waking

  Isn't that the prettiest little moth (or is it a butterfly?) you've ever seen? We found it sleeping on a leaf and took it for a walk around the park. When it woke, it was very confused. We'd moved it quite a distance. Hopefully it didn't mind too much.

Quack!

Let Your Imagination Take Flight

  Here's another picture from that recent trip to a local park. I'm not even sure what to say about this one. I could go so many ways. So, I'll just keep my thoughts to myself and won't taint your imaginings with my thoughts. Let your imagination take flight in whatever direction it is wont to go.

 Quack!

Love Sticks in the Woods

On a recent trip to a local park we saw some love sticks. What?? Yes, love sticks. Like this:

I thought it was so sweet I just had to take a picture! The family thought I was crazy for taking a picture of it since I have no idea who these people are. But hey, it's the idea people! Isn't it sweet and romantic?

Quack!

Mickey Moss and his Moss Buns

We recently visited a local park and saw a few cool things. Here's one of them. It's Mickey Moss!

Which reminded me of another moss picture that I don't believe I posted. It's moss buns!

 Enjoy!

Quack!