Macro eye

just reviewing my clear thoughts.

Petal slip and slide

When I saw this in the back yard i amused myself with a monte python cartoon moment:

the ready to fall seeds drop one by one, sliding down the wave of the petal like a floral slip and slide. 

the entire time saying, "whoa whoa whoa WHOAAAAAAA!"

Hair of a bee

Almost gone:

It is that time of the year where the bees are frantic with their last attempts for gathering.

took advantage of getting nice and close to this fellow as he tries to finish off this sunflower.

starting to see more and more bees against the side of the house over the night time.

by morning they are increasingly falling.

really gets one thinking.

Bee and the sunflower photo and the izzi orbit

About a month ago I won an ebay bid for an Izzi Orbit case for a sixth of its retail price

and 

i have got to admit that i really really like this tool.

the lens quality is really quite good.

there are 4 options but really i am enjoying the macro lens the most.

photo taken from their website

I have found myself taking UP-close shots from the dog's nostrils to sawdust piles in the shop

to this bee in one of our sunflowers. 

using the izzi orbit to take take quality macro photos
have to get close to the subject matter so i was glad he was too busy with this sunflower to notice me.

I will say though that i almost always filter my images to better reflect my current disposition and with this particular bee photo i did add a bit more clarity with the camera +'s clarity function.

Haws' green and reflected blue skies

Taking a breather and watching the clouds go by in my bucket of mirror.

filling up water for the top tier:

my skin is starting to get tight from the sun, so i found it refreshing to see the thin layer of overfill water on the ground. 

from one layer of water to another, i just took a moment to watch the reflected clouds go by.

A proper cleaver sheath

Cleavers are one of those kitchen essential tools that also need to be able to GO.

this afternoon i finished a cleaver sheath that the owner can now confidently (in a safe way) take on any hunting trip.

leather cleaver sheath

i used some nice full grain leather from the shoulder. the front is three layers thick and the ends are 4 layers thick. this allows the sheath to better follow the form of the tapered tool.

leather cleaver sheath

i also used my copper penny and nail rivet system. 

this combination seems to be finding its place in many objects that i am making.

leather cleaver sheath.

this was a great project to work on.

Wink and a nod - sunflower and goldenrod

Garden with some prominent yellow.

with a wink and a nod, the sunflower gives the golden rod a look.

the entertaining part (for me) was that the sun was high in the sky yet all but this sunflower were faced to it.

Carrom powder

Labor Day started with labour 

and 

ended with delabouring.

a game of carrom to lower the blood pressure:

carrom powder waiting to be streaked

enjoying how the freshly laid powder sits on the board.

Crossing the bridge

Coming into town, traveling from the east.

whether coming in from the north, east, south or west,

i have a landmark that indicates that i am at the "almost there" moment. 

crossing the missouri river from Iowa, this bridge is it.
damn it good to be home.

Dog vs vacuum

With head tilted, he dog takes down another vacuum.

Trippel refreshing

The word "refreshing" in action!

tipped trippel, nothing spilled.

Germantown hatchet portrait

A hatchet pin up.

dramatically stated, this germantown was and is built to perform.

just looking at it make me want to head outdoors!

Kepler 37-b as a glass of milk

The similarities of a glass of homogenized milk sitting on a black marble table

and

kepler 37-b against the backdrop of deep space.

a glass of cold milk sitting on a quartz flecked black marble table top

kepler 37-b via an artist rendition and a photo app filter

at some time past, not yesterday,

Kepler 37-b was served up as a refreshingly cool -250 degrees fahrenheit glass of moon.

A funeral in the country

Today was cold and windy,

typical beginning to the "spring".

a cowboy funeral for my uncle:

young ones peeking out at me whilst taking the photo.

Spring snow then the moon.

a full moon at the end of a spring snow day

SPRING SNOW

 the central plains provides a full 4 seasons.

this nicely breaks our year into 4 fairly definable categories.

today's "bleeding of the seasons", weather talk, can start and or end all sorts of topics
(tangible or less than).

Final hone on double bit

Putting on the final sharpening before sending this double bit off to Florida.

this double bit will be a faithful chopper.

Volcano vinegar bath and dog hair

On february 4th i took an image of a vinegar bath that still had 3 hatchets on the bottom.

with all of my activity, i have promptly forget about it until today.

i looked inside and saw lava.

what really adds to the image is the dog hair that has migrated into the bath has not even caught on fire.

the similarities between a volcanic rust bath and a real volcano.

Rainsleetsnow

Crappy weather deserves a to be slurred together.

rain is good

snow is good

rain, sleet & snow mixed together is less than undesirable.

the winds will pick up even more (very plains) after 1a.

and 

the temperature will continue to drop.

the ride into work could be a bit entertaining as the rain turns to ice.

Clouds the vision clears the mind

Fog at 5:30 this morn.

I enjoy the quiet of the morning drive, allows for moments of clearer thoughts.

adding the density of atmosphere that comes with the fog accentuates the clarity.

6

Finished the initial polishing marathon.

can still see the last buffing compound smears on the tools.

tomorrow after work i will need to go to the store and get a new 12inch file for blade profiling.

the files dull up fast against the tough steel on a hatchet/axe.