Mini Holiday 2: Fishes!

Aquariums are always cool. Fish are cool. Glass fish are double cool, just hard to take pics of.

A tiny but relaxed blowfish.

The head of a fish üoking out of the ground

What’s up?

Nobody ever told me that piranhas are sparkling!

A striped scalar with several smaller fish around

No trouble finding Nemo here

All of Frankfurt is decorated in support of Ukraine, and it seems like even the fish are showing their solidarity.

Mini Holiday: A Day at the Zoo 1

For the easter holiday we wanted to do a day trip with the kids, but given the ongoing pandemic we didn’t want to do a theme park with all the screaming and close contact that entails. But even my two very cool teenager can be lured into a nice zoo with interesting animals. This time we chose Frankfurt. It’s easy to reach by train, not too far for a day trip, and the train tickets were still in the affordable range, though they only were because the kids were free.

And my camera got something to do (it’s getting bored in here), with the stalker lens giving insecure men inferiority complexes. So stay tuned over the next days for a lot of animal pics.

A male lion lying on a stone, looking relaxed.

This chill boy has his enclosure near the entrance, and showing off his amazing talent of chilling 20hrs a day, he didn’t move once between us arriving and leaving.

I saw a sloth! At least that’s what the signs claim. But it had moved from the canopy to a location unknown between our first and second visit.

A binturong family with 2 babies on top of mum

Look at those babies! Binturongs are seriously cute, even though they always look ancient, even when they’re babies.

Gingerbread Houses

These are the more “traditional”

gingerbread houses my mother made this year.

Gingerbread Bird Feeder

My mother has tried her hand on something a bit different this year. She has made “ordinary” gingerbread houses too (I will post them later), but she also made this.

Two Bobbin Lace Doilies

My mother was busy over the summer and today I finally could take pictures of these two big doilies – just under 40 cm in diameter.

Simple Finish Knives

I have made twoo puukko. To be honest, I was not a fan of this type of knife at all. I have only decided to make them just as a part of my ongoing knifemaking education. But now I am totally a convert.

The first one has a handle made from birch bark, cow bone, and white brass. It looks a bit like a stacked leather handle but it feels different in the hand. Birchbark can be flattened by boiling it in hot water and pressing it between two boards to cool and dry off, making it into flat hard sheets. They are slightly more brittle than wood, but they do not have any preferred failure direction, so they do not split and break easily.

The second one has a handle from birch wood with a small burl in it. It is not proper burlwood, it was just a piece of firewood that I thought will be interesting. I think I was correct in that surmise. The endcap and bolster are from pakfong.

Both of these knives have just a simple finish to them. The blades’ primary bevels were ground only up to 120 grit and then tumbled after quenching in sand as long as it took to take all the scale off. Bolsters and end caps are not highly polished, as well as the handles. In fact, I took a steel brush to them to roughen the surfaces a bit. And the finish is just several layers of ordinary boiled linseed oil.

I was aiming for a simple, rough-looking sturdy knife as well as a simple, easy-ish manufacturing process. I think I have managed both. I really like these knives and I will make at least somewhat fancy sheaths for them. And I will definitively make more puukko in the future. I also think that this design is ideal for recycling old files into knives, so I will probably do some of that too.

Dinosaur Tracks

We had our first dusting of snow today. And some little birb left these tiny footprints on our pavement.

Frosty Morning Walk – Part 6 – Frosty Leaves

And one cobweb. Frost is very beautiful. It would be more beautiful if it were pleasantly warm, but one cannot have everything.

Frosty Morning Walk – Part 5 – Find the Fly

Avalus has sent this absolutely gorgeous picture of a fly thawing of frost in the early morning sun.

Now try to find the fly in this picture (solution below the fold).

[Read more…]

Frosty Morning Walk – Part 4 – Frost On a Thistle

I do not remember ever seeing a thistle flower with frost on it. Hereabouts they are generally all ripe and fluffy when the frost comes.

With or without frost, thistles are surely beautiful.

Frosty Morning Walk – Part 3 – An Orange Flower

Just like avalus, I have no clue whatsoever what flower this is. And I also agree that it is beautiful, both with the ice crystals as well when covered with tiny water droplets after they melt.

Frosty Morning Walk – Part 2 – The WOODPECKER

Avalus has seen this fellow peck at the grass. What a peaceful frosty morning picture – a bright-colored dinosaur mercilessly massacring an underground ant’s nest.

Fosty Morning Walk – Part 1

Avalus went on a walk one frosty morning and he was kind enough to take his camera and make some beautiful pictures. So let’s begin with some moody shots of colorful fall landscapes.

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Mini Holiday 2: Fishes!

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Mini Holiday: A Day at the Zoo 1

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Gingerbread Houses

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Gingerbread Bird Feeder

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Two Bobbin Lace Doilies

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Simple Finish Knives

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Dinosaur Tracks

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Frosty Morning Walk – Part 6 – Frosty Leaves

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Frosty Morning Walk – Part 5 – Find the Fly

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Frosty Morning Walk – Part 4 – Frost On a Thistle

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Frosty Morning Walk – Part 3 – An Orange Flower

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Frosty Morning Walk – Part 2 – The WOODPECKER

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Fosty Morning Walk – Part 1

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