10 February, 2010

Today, we took a drive and ran some errands for the first time in over a week. My youngest sister wanted to drop by one of the hospitals here for photographic purposes and, while we were there, we saw their Flight for Life helicopter. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

9 February, 2010

Another snowy day. My youngest sister, Boom, and I took my dog and a football into the backyard and played around a bit. It was nice to get some fresh air and Wisdom had plenty of fun.

8 February, 2010

Okay, this is one of those "That is too cool, I must photograph this" pictures. I trudged out into our snowy front yard this morning, hoping to find bunny prints to photograph. I couldn't find any in front of the house, so I headed to the side, just in case a rabbit had passed that way. I didn't find anything but cat and dog (not our dog) tracks. However, I did spy an interesting bit of scenery. Right by the fence, my dad had planted a holly bush. The little thing does not care for Colorado's dryness much and thus, has barely grown since we got it. However, it has survived, which is more than we can say of some plants we've purchased. Around the bush, we have a bed of mulch. The bed of mulch was completely covered in slush; the plant was covered in snow! I've never actually seen such a difference. I checked the mulch beds of our other plants and none of them were surrounded by slush like that.

Here in the photo, you can see a portion of the bush, the slush around it and the snow by the fence behind it.

7 February, 2010

Given that today is the Superbowl, I thought I'd photograph my favorite football. I'm an avid supporter of the Navy Midshipmen. As I'm not a fan of the sport itself, I support the (college) team because of the branch they represent. Go Navy! Beat Air Force!

6 February, 2010

While at my grandparents' house one evening, my grandma and I observed that the little wooden "spoons" that came with some ice cream cups she had purchased were reminiscent of Mr. Peanut of the Planters nut brand. So, the two of us collected some unused "spoons" and I ventured to create Mr. Peanut. I couldn't draw the hat on him, so I had to craft them out of construction paper. The entire process was fraught with trial and error, but I ultimately managed to create two unblemished Mr. Peanuts.



(I actually made these guys yesterday, but photographed them today.)

5 February, 2010

I'm one of those horse nuts that doesn't only get a kick out of riding horses, but grooming them, collecting horse models, painting them and coloring them. My favorite part about making my own horses tends to be creating leg and facial markings. I spent a bit of my afternoon coloring a carousel horse. Sure, it's a bit juvenile, but I had fun with it. *whistles*

Unfortunately, the colors in the photo aren't quite true to the real thing.



In case you cannot read the text:
"Mexican carver Luis Ortega was revered for his horses with flamboyantly carved and painted manes that resembled Aztec headdresses. The horses were often posed with their necks twisted back, which created a powerful, menacing appearance."

4 February, 2010

This is a closeup of a cactus that I've kept for about two years now. I haven't any clue what type of cactus it is, but it has stunned me by staying alive for so long. As hardy as cacti are, I've never had any luck with transplanting any of mine into larger pots, so this one is still in its original housing. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out the secrets to keeping transplanted cacti alive.



The neat part about this type of cactus, I think, is that it grows a type of fuzz around its spines.

3 February, 2010

Given that all but one member of my family is ill, we haven't accomplished much over the past couple of days. We have, however, made it a point to occupy our minds by playing games! This is my winning hand from the second round we played today - included is the card that I consider to be the reason I didn't win the first. What can I say, I just couldn't bring myself to let it go. *whistles*

2 February, 2010 - Hedgehog Day!

As you may or may not be aware, today is Hedgehog Day. "Hold on a moment," you might be thinking, "It's Groundhog Day." Well, yes, that is true, but a little known fact is that Groundhog Day would not exist without a Roman tradition of watching a hedgehog for the weather forecast.


(Can you find Punxsutawney Phil amongst all the hedgehogs?)

Thousands of years ago, on the exact same day as we now "celebrate" Groundhog Day, the Romans would watch the hedgehog to see if he spied his shadow. If he did, it meant there was a clear moon and there would be six more weeks of winter. As America has never had an indigenous hedgehog species, the tradition was changed (over two hundred years ago) to accommodate our native groundhog. Pretty neat, huh?



Being an ex-hedgie owner and a current collector of all things hedgehog, I thought I would celebrate the prickly little insectivores by photographing my collection. My family and friends are the big reason my "hedgie herd" is so extensive. As soon as everyone found out I had become the owner of two hedgehog brothers, figurines, magnets and even articles of clothing were given to me for my birthday, Christmas or just because!


This post is dedicated to my Quentin and Knot Quentin. Rest in peace, boys.

1 February, 2010

I picked up the Sherlock Holmes volumes I ordered on Friday, started reading the first (A Study in Scarlet) on Saturday and finished it off today. As you can probably tell, I was hooked from the start. It's been nice to work on a fictional plot line, since I've been reading so many non-fiction books lately. The next Sherlock Holmes tale that I'll be working on is The Sign of Four.