Everything is Not Black and White

Valentine’s Day Gift, Wasps, and Bees

It has been over a month since Valentine’s Day, but I really liked my gift. It was not jewelry, flowers for the garden, or candy.

I was given this–

Wasp Nest

Yep, it is a paper wasps’ nest.

wasps nest

Detail of Wasps’ Nest

Wasp Nest.

Flip Side of the Wasps’ Nest.

The wasps’ nest was found at the airport, under the wing of this plane–

plane

Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 2 Seat, 2 Engine, French Military Plane

plane

The Yellow Arrow Points to the Previous Location of the Nest

Wasps can be particularly dangerous for 3 reasons–

Wasps like to build nest in air vents. When the plane is in flight, if the pilot opens the air vent the result can be a swarm of wasps inside the cockpit.

Wasps will make their nests in fuel vents preventing air getting into the fuel tank and the engine starves. If you have no gas in the engine it will stop running.

If wasps make their nests in a pitot tube, there will be no air speed indication. What does this mean?

The way you get an airspeed indication is that air pushes into the pitot tube and moves the dial in the airplane. If no air gets into the pitot tube, then airspeed reads zero.

Plane Seats

The interior of the Fouga is quite small, a bit claustrophobic. It was a plane used for instruction, with the instructor seated behind the student.

The plane was most likely built in the 50s.

Volvo

The interior reminds me a bit of my 1968 Volvo.

The plane information was supplied by Touring Machine. I supplied graphics for the site, including a six pack simulator for Unusual Attitudes.

I made the six pack instrument graphics in Flash. Each instrument has multiple layers so they could function properly. I handed off the graphics to the programmer, Michael Whipp.

Last week I read a CBS News story about bees causing a flight delay.

This is a screenshot of the image that accompanied the article.

Bees Delay Flight

Yep, bees can be just as dangerous as wasps.

Hike and Laguna Lake

Just returned home from 3 weeks in Maryland. Went on first hike this morning. The hills are covered with grasses and wildflowers. While I was on the top of South Street Hill, I noticed Laguna Lake is filled with water. Unfortunately, the filled lake does not mean the drought and water restrictions are over.

Laguna Lake

SLO Rainfall

University of California Cooperation Extension, San Luis Obispo County

Trump Could Learn A Lot From Eleanor Roosevelt and Descartes

In Eleanor Roosevelt’s Book of Common Sense Etiquette she writes about Descartes’ Discourse on Method.

“There are four simple steps by which we learn to think logically and thus communicate clearly.”

The first step–

Accept as true nothing which you do not clearly know to be so; avoid hasty judgment and prejudice.

Trump Could Learn A Lot From Eleanor Roosevelt

I am reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s Book of Common Sense Etiquette. This quote seems particularly relevant.

Perhaps even more discreditable is the practice of asserting as “facts” matters which have not been proved, or using as ”evidence” something that is the product of illogical thinking and the drawing of an invalid conclusion.

Wiretapping Tweet

It is Not a Pod…

I am currently staying with my sister’s family in an old farm house in Maryland. When I took my morning walk, I noticed something odd. The fir trees at the edge of the property had what appeared on first glance, some type of pods.

Fir Trees

When I took a closer look it became clear that the “pods” were made by insects.

Bagworm Pods

So, who made them?

According to the Penn State Dept of Entomology it is the work of the bagworm moth,Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth).

“This insect is most easily recognized by the case or bag that the caterpillar forms and suspends from ornamental plants on which it feeds. The bag is made of silk and bits of host foliage. These materials are interwoven to disguise and add strength to the case.”

Bagworm Illustration

The illustration is from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources–Backyard Farmer

It is unfortunate that the bagworm is destructive. The structures that they build are so beautiful. Apparently, it would be a good idea to remove them from the trees to prevent an infestation.

The description of the bag incorporating the surrounding material brings to mind Tinea pellionella, commonly known as casemaking moths.

Casemaking moths are very small. If you are not looking for them or not aware that they even exist. They can be mistaken for a bit of lint.

They are definitely not something I want in my home and studio since I am using natural fiber in my work.

Casemaking Moth Damage

Casemaking moths ate a large portion of the fiber stitchwork of a work in progress.

Casemaking Moth

The photo was taken with my iPad. It is difficult to capture something that is so small,
but it is an example of a red case.

Casemaking Moth

Casemaking moth that was found inside one of my garden clogs.

Living With Bunnies and Birds

When you share a home with bunnies and birds, you must make loads of compromises. Bunny proofing means protecting or removing anything that can be chewed that is up to approximately 3 feet high, unless the bunny likes to climb on furniture. One of our bunnies runs laps on the back of the sofa.

It is incredibly difficult to bird proof a room. Removal of plants and anything that they might want to tear and shred is a given. But don’t forget about the thin iPad/iPhone power cables. They love to chew them.

One of my See a Penny pieces has been hanging on the dining room wall since I completed it in March of 2013.

See A Penny

Completed See a Penny piece prior to hanging in dining room.

Today I found one of the pieces of mirror on the floor. When I replaced the mirror, I noticed damage–

See A Penny Damage

and certain the culprit is either The Bird or Bob.

The Bird

Bob

They both love landing and perching on the piece, but I didn’t realize chewing was involved.

I could attempt giving the birds a misting with water as a deterrent. Probably would not be a deterrent for Bob because he frequently takes a bath in Big Baby’s water dish.

Big Baby

Haven’t decided if I will be moving the wallpiece to a different location. Repair will be time consuming, but doable. The squares are constructed of roofing felt, tree wrap, mirror, hardware cloth, and cotton twine.

See A Penny

See a Penny, Squares Used for Code–Spacer, Dot, Dash

Slipping in a new square of tree wrap won’t work. They squares were perforated for ease of binding with the cotton twine.

So, what is the solution to prevent Elliot from chewing my shoe laces while I am wearing the shoes?

Laces

Repaired laces with embroidery floss.

Elliot

Elliot in the studio.

New Addition to My Terrarium

My niece made a terrarium for my birthday. I have cared for several gardens, but this was my first garden in a jar.

The end of January I moved the terrarium to a new location for a bit more light. When I opened the terrarium Friday morning I discovered a new addition.

Terrarium Interior

Fungus Detail Interior

First glance I thought it was mineral deposits.

Fungus Detail Interior

Sent a couple of images to a friend who works at a botanic garden. Best guess from the images was a fungus.

Removed Ferns

I removed the ferns, cleaned their roots, and potted them up.

Terrarium Interior

Terrarium Interior After the Removal of the Ferns

Curious how the fungus growth will evolve. It brings to mind textural, lichen-like glazes I used when I was working in clay.

Unknown Plant Update and New Planting

Seeds

Unknown Seeds

Seedlings

Unexpectedly, within 5 days there were seedlings.

Plant Update

The plant looked like this 31 October 2016.

Then so much went wrong. The plant was eaten by a furry one, and then it had bugs, it was eaten again…

Eaten Plant

and then it began to die.

Dying Plant

The plant currently looks like this.

New Planting

Sensing that the plant is sure to die, I planted another pot of seeds 4 February 2017.

Now I wait.

Hawthorne Piece Progress

The coded Hawthorne quote used:
Words – innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.

Frame of Stitched Squares