OniOniOniArt

"Share a secret or make something inspired by a secret" (Supposed to be October 9, 2016) And thus completes Hurricane Make-up Days, Hurrah!

"Break something, and make something new with the parts" Sea turtle from broken CDs (October 25, 2016)

"Make something inspired by an important teacher in your life" I struggled with this prompt. There have been many important teachers in my life (how to represent them all?) The greatest lesson I've been taught is perseverance in the face of adversity. The well-known story of The Tortoise and the Hare represents but one facet of this important lesson, and so I depict the tortoise plodding along...slowly but surely. (October 16, 2016)

"Start something and have someone else finish it for you. Bonus: work with another sprinter to accomplish this" I started with this mud turtle pencil drawing. My fellow sprinter, AS will finish it. AS added the marvelous color and texture. I love all the gold dots! In her own words: "The attempt was made to add subtle texture to [the] sketch. Turtle's shell is comprised of many tiny star-like symbolic turtles (the One made up of many) as a nod to his sacred role in some cultures and creation myths." Her theme for CS is the celestial. (October 10, 2016)

"Observe a pet or watch a video of your favorite animal. Make something inspired by it" Maceo is the best cat in the world but his 17 year old cat body is now failing him. This is in memory of his fondness for playing with moths in his younger years, which always made me smile. He always let the moth get away. Good Cat. Best Friend. [April 8, 2016]

"Take a 5 minute walk with no set destination. Make something with whatever materials you can find where you've ended up. Leave it for someone else to find but don't forget to document it first!" I timed myself as I walked through my LL's backyard (which is many acres). At five minutes I came upon an area strewn with dead saw palmetto and fern leaves, probably casualties of the blustery Saturday we had. The fern leaves looked like moth antennae, and the palmetto leaves like wings, so I went from there. Those are my feet at the bottom of the photo. [April 5, 2016]

Pseudemys floridana peninsularis , through binoculars Maceo spotted her first through the window, I was too busy making paper flowers. I think this was his first turtle. His posture was hyper-alert, a cross between sitting and crouching on his haunches, with his ears pointed forward and his eyes wide. At first I wondered why the turtle was wandering back and forth around the yard - seemed like odd behavior. Then I saw her attempt a few scrapes...she's going to lay eggs! Lucky for me, she settled on a spot right outside my rear window. I took a few photos of her through my binoculars from the window, and also through the cattle gate at the rear of the Dirt Patch. I know some people have walked right up to turtles laying eggs before and didn't seem to bother them, but how do we know it doesn't stress them out? I decided to stay about 20 feet back while outside. I was a lot closer through the window, but the screen at least formed a bit of a visual barrier since it was...

Kinosternon baurii This little fellow was observed today on my afternoon walk through the backyard. He dove into the water when I tried to get a little closer. The three stripes on the carapace were clearly visible on this individual, but that is not always the case with this species. The shells of three-stripes usually max out between 4 and 4.5 inches in length, making it not much larger than the smallest turtles in the world.