WILD SKUNK HEAD

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. 

Angela Schwindt

As I have been going through stuff to go in my new craft room, I came across these drawings that I must have done at least 14 years ago. The first one is of Narooma on the western side of the bridge and my daughters are canoeing across the river.

This picture below is a drawing of one of the palm trees outside the West Wollongong TAFE. My daughter was studying Fine Arts and I often used to wait for her in the car.

With the cut backs of the current state government there is no longer an Art Faculty at West Wollongong TAFE which is really a shame.

I noticed on Sunday morning that the cicadas had gone. I don't know when they stopped their loud chirping. I just noticed that on Sunday, when it was light, they didn't start.

After living underground for 7 weeks cicadas only live a few weeks above ground. We are in the last weeks of summer so I guess their time is up. There are dead cicadas all over my yard.


Later on Sunday P:-) and I visited Autorama, a local car show.

P:-)'s knowledge of cars astounds me. He just has to see part of an old car flash by  in a movie to be able to refognise it.


My favourite exhibit at the show is below.

 

It was a pig!

This was the cutest little piglet at the little children's patting zoo. I would have loved to have had a nurse but didn't want to line up with the kids. I just loved it, but I don't think it was a miniature so no doubt it will grow to be very big. P:-)'s daughter M was very keen to adopt a miniature pot-bellied pig a couple of years ago and went to visit some in  Taree But it turned out that the local council here does not allow suburban residences to keep  pigs - even  miniature ones, which is a bit of a shame. If not I would definitely get one!

I made a big mistake on Saturday morning!

I decided I was going to lighten my hair colour, Sienna, to Ombre. In fact I decided to go for the 'wild Ombre look' as it said on the packet. I didn't really want wild. It didn't look all that wild on the picture. I wanted a slight change - a shade lighter - all over. Sure it did say that it was suitable for dark blonde to mid-brown and my hair colour is definitely dark brown, and it was for highlights, but I thought it would work OK.

Well. It didn't work OK! I ended up with a blonde section down the top of my head, and a slight reddish streak radiating from that on for about 6 centimetres on either side. I looked like a mis-coloured skunk. Instead of my hair being Wild Ombre it was Wild Skunk

Luckily P:-) wasn't coming until later in the afternoon. And luckily I had some of my original colour I could redo my hair with. Most of my hair, except the top, had stayed Sienna. I wanted it all back to Sienna. I would have to wait until it dried to put the next dye through. It was already 12 pm. My hair is long and takes about 4 hours to dry.  I couldn't wait until the next day as P:-) and I were going out in the morning and I didn't think  P:-) would want to be accompanied by a woman who looked as if she was wearing a discoloured skunk on her head.

At 3:30 I was ready to go again. How pleased was I when I rinsed the dye out and my hair was all back to brown- just good old plain brown.

What did I learn? I learned that if I am going to go lighter I am going to need professional help. Also I shouldn't have bought those 3 packets of Ombre before I had tried it, even if they were on special. If anybody wants to try Ombre, let me know. I have 3 packets going spare.

What else did I learn this week?

The other thing I learned this week was to be careful with sweet potato in the microwave. Below is a photo of a sweet potato tower. I managed to turn some pieces of sweet potato into cinder blocks. These pieces of sweet potato are just balanced on each other like blocks. They are solid - cooked to a crisp.

I usually bake sweet potato in the oven. To cut a long story short I  was in a hurry, sliced up some sweet potato and ended up microwaving it for a total of 15 minutes. Too long! I opened the door and smoke poured out. I was lucky the microwave didn't catch alight. Even though I opened all the windows, the house smelled of smoke for days.

Interesting sites
1.

 Container houses

Photo source

 Shipping containers make great houses. Click here  to see some great container houses.


2.

 Knitted anatomically correct flowers

Photo source

“Knit, Purl, Sow” is a collection of botany — some very realistic and others abstract – in knitted form. Some of the work in the exhibit is absolutely scientifically accurate. Flowers have pistons and stamens (remember those words from elementary school?) all knitted with yarn. Click here to read more.


3.

 Cat Heaven

Photo source

This looks like ceiling sculpture but it is fun for cats. Click here to see more. 

Cicadas and Peter Rabbit

Don’t be too timid or squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

So it is another New Year - 2014. P:-) and I saw the New Year in with some of P:-)'s children and grand children. Great fun and very noisy with 5 little girls under 5.

I have some readers in other countries, especially Canada so I thought I would explain a little about our cicadas that make such a racket over summer.

The new year has been heralded by the high-pitched ring of cicadas. It is a cicada year. We have cicadas every summer but every few years they seem to appear in abundance. Apparently there are about 200 species of cicada in Australia. Below are two different types that I found in my front garden. One is slightly larger than the other and the undersides are different.

 

 A cicada lives as a nymph underground for about 7 years in Australia. Then it emerges and sheds its skin and comes out as a full grown cicada. Below are some pictures of the cicada nymph shell.

These empty shells are found all over the place hanging on trees and shrubs. Once the full grown cicada emerges it only lives for a few weeks.

 Yesterday, I watched a bird land in a tree in my front yard and a cloud of cicadas flew out.

I used my macro lens to take some close-ups of the cicada wings wings.

 I would love to look at the wings under a microscope. I may see if I can borrow one that attaches to the computer.

 I have never been much of a card maker but with my enforced belt tightening I have decided I will have to change that. 

My elder daughter J had a birthday yesterday and I made a simple card with some pictures I happened to have on hand. J loves rabbits so I decorated a simple card and envelope with Peter Rabbit pictures.

And as a pure indulgence I made the collage below of pictures from the card and envelope.

We will have a birthday dinner for J next week.

Cicada lifecycle

Cicadas spend most of their life underground. It has been suggested that some of the large, common Australian species of cicada may live underground as nymphs for around 6-7 years. This would explain why adult cicadas are much more abundant during some seasons that others, with peaks occurring every few years. The periodical cicadas of North America spend 13 or 17 years underground.
In contrast to that of the nymph, the life of adult cicadas is very short, lasting only a few weeks. After mating, the adult female cicada lays its eggs. It does this by piercing plant stems with its ovipositor (egg-laying spike at the tip of the abdomen) and inserting the eggs into the slits it has made. The eggs hatch into small wingless cicadas which are known as nymphs. They fall to the ground and burrow below the surface. Here they live on the sap from plant roots for a period which may last several years. They shed their skin at intervals as they grow.
When the nymph reaches full size it digs its way to the surface with its front legs, which are specially adapted for digging. It generally surfaces about nightfall in late spring or early summer. The nymph then climbs on to a tree trunk or other object and sheds its skin for the last time. The fully-winged adult cicada which emerges leaves its old empty nymphal skin behind.
For enquiries relating to these insects in the Australian Museum collection please contact the Collection Manager
- See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Cicadas-Superfamily-Cicadoidea/#sthash.aVp4xQkr.dpuf

Cicada lifecycle

Cicadas spend most of their life underground. It has been suggested that some of the large, common Australian species of cicada may live underground as nymphs for around 6-7 years. This would explain why adult cicadas are much more abundant during some seasons that others, with peaks occurring every few years. The periodical cicadas of North America spend 13 or 17 years underground.
In contrast to that of the nymph, the life of adult cicadas is very short, lasting only a few weeks. After mating, the adult female cicada lays its eggs. It does this by piercing plant stems with its ovipositor (egg-laying spike at the tip of the abdomen) and inserting the eggs into the slits it has made. The eggs hatch into small wingless cicadas which are known as nymphs. They fall to the ground and burrow below the surface. Here they live on the sap from plant roots for a period which may last several years. They shed their skin at intervals as they grow.
When the nymph reaches full size it digs its way to the surface with its front legs, which are specially adapted for digging. It generally surfaces about nightfall in late spring or early summer. The nymph then climbs on to a tree trunk or other object and sheds its skin for the last time. The fully-winged adult cicada which emerges leaves its old empty nymphal skin behind.
For enquiries relating to these insects in the Australian Museum collection please contact the Collection Manager
- See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Cicadas-Superfamily-Cicadoidea/#sthash.aVp4xQkr.dpuf

 

Cicada lifecycle

Cicadas spend most of their life underground. It has been suggested that some of the large, common Australian species of cicada may live underground as nymphs for around 6-7 years. This would explain why adult cicadas are much more abundant during some seasons that others, with peaks occurring every few years. The periodical cicadas of North America spend 13 or 17 years underground.
In contrast to that of the nymph, the life of adult cicadas is very short, lasting only a few weeks. After mating, the adult female cicada lays its eggs. It does this by piercing plant stems with its ovipositor (egg-laying spike at the tip of the abdomen) and inserting the eggs into the slits it has made. The eggs hatch into small wingless cicadas which are known as nymphs. They fall to the ground and burrow below the surface. Here they live on the sap from plant roots for a period which may last several years. They shed their skin at intervals as they grow.
When the nymph reaches full size it digs its way to the surface with its front legs, which are specially adapted for digging. It generally surfaces about nightfall in late spring or early summer. The nymph then climbs on to a tree trunk or other object and sheds its skin for the last time. The fully-winged adult cicada which emerges leaves its old empty nymphal skin behind.
For enquiries relating to these insects in the Australian Museum collection please contact the Collection Manager
- See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Cicadas-Superfamily-Cicadoidea/#sthash.aVp4xQkr.dpuf

 Best wishes for the New Year!!

I liked these words from Claire van Ryn at Faith Like A Mushroom.

So, hello 2014.  Your geography is unknown to me, yet I will not allow worry or fear a foothold.  Inexplicable peace is mine for knowing that God has already visited all of my tomorrows, preparing a path.

He goes before me.

Interesting sites 

1.

 The TentCot

Photo source

  This TentCot looks great. It is a mixture between a tent and a stretcher that can be turned into a lounge or chair. Click here to read more.

 

2.

Rare old photos 

Photo source

These rare old photos are really interesting and cover a range of topics. Click here to see them.

 

3.

Polished glass and rock

Photo source

 Tokyo-born artist Ramon Todo creates unusual sculptures by drawing upon basic, solid materials found in nature. To create each piece, he first locates stones and bricks discovered on personal walks through various landscapes. He then removes segments of the stone, and replaces them with layers of aesthetically beautiful, polished glass. Click here  to see more.