Treats & Tricks

 

Well the latest mischievous bunch of rabble-rousing Halloween welcomers showed up for duty last night...

They were more interested in partying with the Halloween cupcake crowd than actually learning what their official greeter duties would be though, so we'll see if they can pull out of their sugar induced silliness and pull it together for tonight.

The cupcakes on the other hand, have been diligently learning how to scare prospective eaters all morning...very proud of them!

It looks like I'll have be the on double duty tonight though, patiently hanging around, greeting and waiting upon the little princesses and goblins that materialize to collect their treats. One can only hope the P-Crew will lend a hand every now and then...oh wait a minute, they don't have any hands...oh well, their screeching, snickering and sneering will just have to do then.

 Happy Halloween everyone!!! 

The Bountiful Squirrel

Happy Fall everyone! I know it's been fall for a while now but I'm just now formally acknowledging it as the past month has been a whirlwind of relatives moving in and out along with a host of other assorted 'non fallish' happenings that have finally settled down. I'm so very glad to be able to put my autumnal groove on now...thank heavens it's still October.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the season as much as the little squirrels on our property have. They've been extremely busy this autumn collecting the plethora of acorns that our neighbors magnificent oak tree produced this year. It was an outstanding crop, maybe due to the perfect summer we had (all that sun must have made the baby acorns very happy)...and the squirrels took full advantage of the bounty and were the busiest we've ever seen...they were in an acorn collecting frenzy!

And it seems it wasn't only our squirrels that were having a blast collecting the acorns...my students shared that their squirrels had been up to the same! 

 Miss. C's pretty squirrel had a lovely collection of delicious acorns, and was very adept at balancing them all.

While Miss. N's cute squirrel was running about so fast that her acorns were just bouncing all over the place.

Miss. R's sweet squirrel decided to collect pumpkins along with her acorns...very smart girl!

And poor Mr. M's squirrel was just having a rough time of it due to his trying to collect the largest acorns...took him all day just to get this one home!

Actually, collecting is the easiest part of harvesting acorns...getting them up into the tree is the tricky part!

 Then the real work starts!

 

My students and I developed a new found admiration and appreciation for these adorably industrious creatures...now, if they would kindly stop digging up all of my bulbs, I'd have an even greater admiration for them!

 

(Last 2 images: Pinterest) 

Touring With Mayhem & Octocakes!

The camps are finally finished...all six of them. There were three Ocean Camps and three Travel Camps, and for some reason, I was able to take lots of pictures during the Ocean Camps, but the travel camps were so busy and crazy...what with bag packing, flying from country to country, making sure all kids were accounted for, etc...that those pictures I'm sorry to say, are few and far between. But since we do have some wonderful ocean pictures...let's just start with them.

Mayhem was a wonderful tour guide! She introduced all of her friends to us, some of whom swam in especially just for this tour...like Sir Finley the Great White, a very friendly fellow (to most of us), and also, Shetland the Sea Horse, who was kind enough to come even though he was ready to give birth at any moment (we were sorry not to see this phenomenon, and the little ones...but it was for the the best, Puget Sound is very chilly, and their home waters are nice and warm). 

After the tours, the students were able to recreate their their adventures.

Miss. C. remembered her fellow tourists as being a bit 'eccentric' (to say the least)...

She also saw a sea turtle, which I completely missed...so cute!

Some students remembered Mayhem as being blue. Octopi do have chameleon skills you know...I think Mayhem was showing them off a bit for her guests. 

 Some students actually saw divers...

Even kitty divers! 

And some saw these cute little pterodactyl fish that would swim by every now and then (middle left)...they were very interesting!

 We saw so much through the submarine portholes. Sushi the Squid was mostly very cheery and on his best behavior...though that wasn't always the case! 

Mr. G. had quite a different, and rather scary experience on his tour (which he absolutely loved by the way)...it seems that a few of the creatures decided to joke around a bit!
I'm just thankful that I was on a different sub (we went four at a time)...I don't think I would have enjoyed having my submarine rammed and cracked by these two naughty creatures at all!

 Mayhem ended up having a stern 'talking to' with Sir. Finley and Sushi after this tour...she was extremely vexed at the whole situation. The pair said they were just trying to have a bit of fun with the 'tourists'...but as you can see, the sub was a complete mess when they were done with it, and the poor vessel had to go to the repair shop straight away.
Yes...very naughty fishies indeed!

Here's Mayhem helping out with the repairs, the sweet girl's always willing to lend a helping tentacle...so professional.

 Thank heavens when Ellie (above) went on her tour, all was set right again and she was able to enjoy the normal and peaceful flow of the swimming sea creatures. They actually lulled her into such a dreamy state that it was quite the ordeal getting her off the submarine (thankfully, there are no images of that). Watching fish swim about can be very relaxing you know...if they aren't trying to rupture your submarine and eat you!

Everyone loved recreating their porthole views though...despite all the drama.

Miss. L. as you see, had a lovely experience. Sushi was back to acting nice and proper...funny though, I don't see Sir Finley...he did the most damage to the submarine though, so Mayhem must have had him in a time out, too bad for him...because after all the submarine rides were over, everyone received a very special treat!

Octocakes!

Sweet Miss. J brought them in for all to enjoy.



 It was such a nice surprise, and so very thoughtful...we were all extremely giddy about it!

Well, all except for the poor little Octocake Octopi that were about to be devoured...they were a bit on the nervous side (very Mr. Bill, don't you think?).

 But Mayhem on the other hand was thrilled about it...and from now on, she'll be treating her tourists and friends to after submarining octocakes as well! Nothing like a wave of sugar to help one find their land-legs again after spending time in deep waters of Puget Sound.
A very sweet ending to a very sweet adventure!

 

Next year we'll be adventuring with pirates, mermaids, and sea monsters...I can hardly wait!





Zoe

 I'd like to introduce you to Zoe, the little love that's staying with us for a week while her family is out of town.

She's an absolute angel...even in the wee-wee hours of the night when she insists on patrolling the house (and neighborhood...she in her fur, me in my pj's) to make sure we're all safe!

This is her special spot on the sofa...it's a great vantage point for looking out the window should any shenanigans start up outside. She's a very independent little girl and is perfectly happy hanging out here, monitoring the world.

To our great relief, Ginger and Zoe have gotten on extremely well. We used a few Dog Whisperer introduction techniques which worked like a charm, it's as if they've known each other forever.  

Please excuse the messy art floor (you should see the rest of the studio), art camp season pretty much takes over the whole house.

Here they are snuggled down next to my desk.

 

Could she be any cuter? And she's so funny...she brings my shoe to the door when she wants to go out, such a smart girl!

Now I'm a Yorkie fan as well as a Doxie fan...so happy she's here!

 

(BTW- Mayhem tour pic's coming soon...organizing them as we speak!)

 



New Friends For Mayhem

Well, we're down four camps...one 'Around The World', and three 'Ocean Adventures', which so far has turned out to be my favorite, though there are two more Around The World's, which start this next week, so we'll see...it's just really hard to beat cruising around the deep sea with an Octopus as your guide!

(Stunning octopus by Sir G. ~ 10)

In the previous post you met Mayhem (I like to call her May), our local resident Octopus that for the time being, is so graciously living at the Seattle Aquarium so we can all enjoy her magnificence. The Aquarium is kind enough to keep their Octopi for only six to twelve months, then they are released back into Puget Sound to live out the rest of their very short lives (only 4-7 years) swimming about and having babies.

(Stripey octopus by Miss. M. ~ 8, Sir G's little sister)

And thanks to my amazing little artists,  May now has a bunch of new friends to swim around with once she is released. Our local waters will definitely be brightened by the presence of these lovely creatures, and when they're all done swimming about, several homes will be brightened by their presence as well.

(Lovely yellow-orange octopus by Miss. O. ~ 12)

Green spotted octopus by Miss. L. ~ 7)

(Beautiful red octopus, by Miss. R. ~ 10)

(Wonderful bright orange octopus by Miss. C. ~ 9)

(Pretty pastel octopus by Miss. A. - 7) 

(Cute purple spotty octopus by Miss. E. ~ 7)

(Adorable red octopus by Miss. P. ~ 9)

 In the next post I'll show you how we toured the deep with May as our guide...all while being able to stay very warm and dry...and safe!

 A very happy August to all from Mayhem and her new crew...and from me of course, I'm off to Africa, China, and either Germany or France next week, both if at all possible...

Bon Voyage!