§ Call Me a Flasher!

The other morning, when I went out to water the potted patio plants, I noticed that my Epiphylum [white bloom] was blooming. I went in and got my cellphone and took it out, turning the flash on since it was still just before sunrise and snapped a photo.  It only blooms at night.  I also counted eight more buds on the plants! Afterwards, watering more shrubbery in the ground, I also took a photo or two [pink - Strawberries and Cream Crepe Myrtle] [orange-red and yellow is the Mexican Bird of Paradise]. When I got back in [with a handful of grass for Isaiah to munch on -indoor cats need this to help digestion], I took a photo of one of Bud's wood carvings from nearly 60 years ago when he was just still a 'child'! This one is called El Bandito.  He has since stopped whittling with his arthritic fingers.  Too bad.  I loved the primitive work he did.  Unique and one of a kind.

§ I Didn't Save 15% in 15 Minutes!!!

When several days ago, I walked the back side of the Packery Channel mudflats in hopes of finding some nesting plovers, I followed the shore line of the bay going back to the car when I tallied up my step count to be about 3 miles. While scouting the horizon and the grassy areas here and there, I spotted a small piece of drift wood in the sandbar. My first impression was "this looks like a reptile...maybe an alligator hatchling?" I picked it up, and carried it with me back to the car and placed it in the trunk before I sat at a picnic table to cool down and dry off a bit before getting into the air-conditioned car. At home I asked Bud for his carving knife again [he keeps it very sharp; even when not used often].

I started carving a couple days afterward on the wood, once it dried up, and I was able to get the knife in the wood without ruining the blade. I whittled, and scraped, slowly it took some shape! Then, I broke it! Dang!! The wood, being that it probably sat on the wet sand for years, was close to too soft! I glued it back together and waited a day or two. Got back to whittling away. "Well it doesn't look like an alligator to me, does it you?" I asked Bud. Before he had a chance to answer, I said "...more like a lizard". Bud said, "Well, then, a gecko. Just say it's a gecko. But clearly NOT the Geico Gecko" So, that is what it is. A very PRIMATIVE carving, Gave me something to do on a rainy morning on Tuesday...

...and to continue showcasing my Trolls...

↓ My 16th Troll Share ↓

TROLL DOLL COLLECTION Holiday Themed Christmas Elf circa: mid to late 70s

§ I Know! It's a DragonBird!

 

You may recall a couple weeks ago I posted about walking the beach and finding a couple pieces of driftwood that I possibly could carve birds from them?  Well, I did work on both pieces, but the first one, I trashed.  I just didn't like the way it turned out.  [there are many other fishes pieces in the sea...lol].  But the other one, I really liked the piece just by itself.  When I began working on it, I had a vision of it turning into a Gothic bird.  Then, the more I worked on it, the more it became a winged dragon. I made another trip to the same area in search of two other flatter pieces that will carve out as wings! Erik, Bud and I think 'dragon' more than bird.  My sister is very diplomatic, she says:  "It could be either"!  And Irene, she said it looks like a mummified piece of wood.  LOL

 

I thought of painting it black with white detailing to make it appear Gothic, like a Raven.  Then, the thought crossed my mind to paint it shades of green for a dragonesque  appearance.  After several hours of carving, sanding, adding the wing pieces, and brushing the wood dust, I decided go natural wood.  But, my choice of stains wasn't a good one.  It is quite dark.  Almost sinister.  I know that my ability of wood carving isn't top notch, but I still enjoy creating something from something.

From the original find to:

§ F F f flamingo

All righty then! I finished my wood carving. It has really 'fat' legs. While shaving the wood for legs, and before painting it, the back [left] leg broke. I glued it on. Did some sanding to erase the seal somewhat, and stopped carving so it wouldn't break again. So...fat legs. Anyway, some asked that I share it when done whether I thought it was good enough. Well, I don't think it IS.  It's very primative...but I share it N E way. After staining the twisted piece I was to use for the 'fallen tree', I then brought out the pink, yellow, white and black acrylic paints and painted the bird...

I then mounted it all on a small square mirror for balance and reflection...

§ What Are the Odds?

I'm going to begin and end this post with some things.... odd ...

...at the Botanical Gardens, well hidden beneath a cactus plant...a rock!  Instantly, to me, it seemed like a human mask [Phantom of the Opera, kinda sorta?].  It's natural....not painted....I got down on the ground, and checked!!!

...a piece of rotting tree branch at Paradise Pond...I saw the heart of it all!

...slime covered oyster shells.  The odd thing was, for me, the distinct odor of rotting seaweed.

...what's odd about this?  Nothing really, except I don't know what kind of flower this is.  Oh, and there is a teeny tiny 'odd' bug on the petal.

...two things odd about this...first the fact I stood still long enough to get a photo of this snake!  I HATE SNAKES!!  Second, the leaf is heart shaped?  Odd something of beauty such as a heart can be near something so terrifying to me.  [Yes, it's caught a fish]

...odd!  What did this gull get into?  Oil?

...seeing double?  That's odd...so did I - There are two katydids mirrored [coupled] on the chain link fence.  [you may call them cicadas]

§ The Shape of Things to Come...

Are you like me? Do you look at clouds and see something in the formation? Does a cluster of leaves, way off in the distance, on a high tree branch resemble an animal/bird? The coffee shop specialties with design cream/froth; do they look like a fleur de lis to you? If so, I am not alone then!!

A few weeks back, when I was trekking Malaquite Beach at Padre Island National Seashore [federal park], I was nearing my 10K step total, and decided it was time to turn around to get back in the car and return home. As I watched for any other birds out along the shoreline, I too was looking at my feet at times to search for sea beans and/or shells. Whole shells; not the many broken ones seen all over the shifting sand. Then, of course, being a bit 'bird brained' I spotted a small piece of driftwood that the more I looked at it, the more I could 'see' resemblance of a hummingbird!!!

I put the piece of wood in the car's trunk and headed out of the parking lot from the visitor's center ...I finally get home, and took the piece of wood out of the trunk and placed it on Bud's work bench to dry out..

Now, this is something I have NEVER done before.  Bud has many times and I have most all his pieces from his childhood days of whittling up to his last piece he did - - a coyote sun worshiper, that he carved and I painted and dressed in Native American garb...

When the wood I brought home was good and dry, I asked Bud for one of his carving knives, and slowly started whittling away - yes, I know!...I'm not supposed to carve toward me, but I did anyway!!! The only things missing were my spittoon, rocking chair, and covered porch...

Before I go any further, yes...there ARE tropical hummingbirds with CURVED bills...the Purple Throated Carib hummingbirds [and green throated also]

I started with the beak and made it thin and pointed....if it broke off then no loss - I could just toss it and not have wasted a whole lotta time on the body ...getting close to finishing it, I realized the wings were quite a bit out of proportion, so I went in search for more driftwood on Luby Beach this time...found a perfect piece...all that needed to be done was a bit of sanding.  And then, I cut and added a 2nd thin piece for the 'other' less visible wing.  While walking that same beach, on the other side of the channel, I found a piece I could use for the base...

...I mounted it on the base, varnished it and it's now titled "BEAN" as in Carib BEAN [sea...where they are found]




Luckily, I didn't BREAK anything as I carved....KNOCK WOOD!!!!