Random crap with Uno.

[Unorthodox]

Maybe.  If my process wasn't so disjointed I could probably do a video, but I bounce around too much to have that make any sense without serious editting. 

Though the BYOB tutorial has gotten quite a few skeletons made....most of them have been for anatomy classes...poor kids.

[Rusty Edge]

You know a thing lately that ROCKS MY WORLD?  We've actually got a bench four-deep of competent artists working modding these days, (all but Kil, taught by me), and several of them are interested in stuff besides their own projects.  I've been doing this and teaching with considerable success for four years, and this has never happened before.  Any art job Jarl or Sigma does for anyone is pressure off me, and I still have some pride of accomplishment.

 

That is pretty cool

[Buster's Uncle]

Yes.  Oh my goodness, yes.

It's like realizing you've built a forum from nearly nothing...

[Unorthodox]

Strong wind out of the east last night.  This is the same scenario that tore off our roof.  Winds out of the east are rare, but powerfull, thanks to the geography. 

Didn't get to that damaging level.  Few treebranches down here and there.  The corn held up pretty well.  That field corn, som of it is leaning, but not knocked down.  Hoping it bounces back. 

[Geo]

Strong wind out of the east last night.  This is the same scenario that tore off our roof.  Winds out of the east are rare, but powerfull, thanks to the geography.

A line of trees on the eastside of your house (to break the wind) isn't possible?

[Buster's Uncle]

He's in the 'burbs - no room for that.

[Unorthodox]

I definitely want a shade tree or three out front (east).  I'm looking into getting the local gambel oak actually.  Most houses around here kept some in the yard, mine was clear-cut for an orchard long before the house was built (and then the orchard chopped and burned to clear the house, according to the neighbors trying to scare me one of the workers died in the orchard bonfire).  I could make something resembling a forest with the gambel oak...dream setting. 

[Unorthodox]

Wind still going today.  Come home to find a couple more monarchs over in the butterfly garden. 

Unfortunately the wind was blowing it around too much for a good pic.



Butterfly garden.  All that milk weed, the little purple flowers are nectar factories for food, known as a butterfly bush, there's another on the other side of the fence just left of the pic. 



The butterflies were flitting in the wind to try to find shelter.  I went inside to get some containers, going to bring them in for the night, went back to find one smashed on the fence, and no sign of the others, so shifted to inspecting the milkweed. 

Long legged fly.  Probably not a good enough pic to make a more specific identification.



But, what I was looking for...





I'd need to magnify to be 100% but fairly certain those are monarch eggs.  Several more had either already hatched or been eaten. 

[Unorthodox]

Sign of how bad the heat/drought have been this year. 

Spring, these dianthus usually survive the weather great.  That's an arizona flower in the back, picked for drought hardiness.



The dianthus have all withered.  Only the arizona flower remains. 



Audrey II coming up out of some Utah Wildflowers, planted for the bees.  Nasturtium around the base as well. 

[Unorthodox]

Well, had a lot of tomatoes this morning, decided to make some salsa.  Went down to the little fruit stand because I needed an onion. 

I know it's been a rough year, but I had no idea how good I was keeping up.  Their tomatoes looked awful, as did the peaches, beans and potatoes.  Onions, corn, and melons were the only things really doing well from what I saw.   

[Buster's Uncle]

Odd.  Last month we had the, to my knowledge, all-time record for rain here in America, 13 inches and change.  That's probably related to the hopeless crapulence of my connection of late.  And it's been a very cool summer, with temperatures often only hot because of the sodden humidity.

[Unorthodox]

This morning, one of the eggs showing signs of life.



This evening.

[Unorthodox]

Sorry, BU, Kyle decided to have her cover her face.  You can see me on the right, Alec on the left, tonight's corn doll assembly line. 



Alec makes the body, Tali makes the dress, I slap on the belt. 



No signs of life in the other egg...mom's been out all day laying more, so I brought a few more in.  Not all is doom and gloom, though, eggs typically take 3-5 days to hatch. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, Talia still has an adorable ear, so that's not nothing.

What bothers me, you know, is that I think she looks like you more than her (cutie of a) mom - your face looks great on a girl her age, but I wonder what it'll look like in ten years.

[Unorthodox]

Still first instar, but starting to darken up and show the characteristic stripes.