Can you see it?

Anna, here.  I've been able to get back at my crafting and craft blogging again lately, which has been healthy for my psyche.  A couple of days ago, I set things up to do a shoot of a crown I'd made, that included putting down a piece of red velvet I have.  

I figured it was appropriate for a crown, don't you think?

The crown is on a glass lazy susan, which allowed me to take photos at different angles without actually having to handle the crown.  It worked out rather well.  After I took the photos and removed it, however, I noticed that the little "legs" under the base had left marks in the velvet.  It didn't take long for that to happen at all.  

I moved the lazy susan, but I didn't bother to move the velvet away, thinking I might use it again soon.  Which is why it was still there, yesterday, when I happened to glance at it and noticed something odd.

Can you see it?

I know, taking photos of red is always a challenge for cameras, but it's still there.

Not the dust and cat hair, though that should give you a hint.

Can you see it on here?  It's the same photo as above, but I used post processing to try and bring it out a bit more.

You can see parts of it a lot more clearly at an angle.

Yes, those are kitty paw prints.

And kitty leg prints.

And a kitty butt print.

One of our cats got on my table and sat there long enough to leave a butt print in the velvet.

Along with the hair.

Now I have to figure out how to clean the fuzz off, as well as how to remove cat indentations.

Note for future reference.  Do not leave things out on the table that I don't want the cats to "decorate."

Mystery Spheres solution

Time for an answer to the last mystery photo posted. I'm not sure, but I think CLarochelle got it - or at least something very much like it. Her answer was water beads from an aromatic diffuser.

What I had weren't sold as part of an aromatic diffuser, but it does give me ideas! Here's another look...



The actual substance is sodium polyacrylate, and they were sold at Micheals as Water Jewels. They're the same as the irregularly shaped crystals sold as a soil-free growth medium. On the packet they came in, suggested useages were for flower arrangements and house plants, as candle holders, or just for decoration.

The above photo was meant to be a fully hydrated pellet next to some dry ones, but in the time it took to get the photo, the little ones were already starting to absorb moisture from the hydrated on.



Of course, we just had to see what they looked like on the inside. *L*

They came as colourless pellets, but I added a few drops of green food colouring to them after they had fully hydrated, and I saw that I'd put in too much water for the amount of pellets. One package of pellets is supposed to be able to absorb 1 gallon of water. We only used 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon and it's sitting in a little rose bowl I've got. We're waiting to see how long it takes to dry out. We've also discovered it's almost impossible to walk past the bowl and resist running our fingers through the stuff. *L*

Myster photo solution: farm implement

Anna: So, did anyone figure out what the farm implement I'd posted about was for?




I still don't know the name of it, but it's a tool for picking up hay bales on the fly. If you look at the bar around the front of the contraption, there's a piece turned inwards. That's the piece that attached it to a fitting on the hay rack. As the tractor pulled the rack and this thing along, the guides on the bottom would put the bales into position for the opening under the tall, rectangular metal piece.



From the back, you can see the chain, which has regularly spaced teeth. These would pick the bale up, lifting it in between the chain and the metal panel. When it reached the top, the bale would tip sideways onto the platform at the top of the ladder. From there, I would take the bale and stack it onto the rack.

Before we got this thing, someone would have to walk alongside, picking up the bales and tossing them onto the rack, where someone else would take them and stack them. As you can imagine, that would get pretty tiring, not to mention difficult as the height of the stacked bales increased. As my older brothers grew up and moved on, there were fewer and fewer bodies to get the job done. With this thing, my dad and I could do the work on our own. My youngest brother had worked out a stacking system he showed me that was very efficient; like building an interlocking brick wall, with each layer anchoring the layer below. I had a method all worked out, ensuring a space around this thing had open floor as long as possible before I had to start putting bales under my feet.

I remember one day my dad and I decided to see just how many bales we could stack on the rack with the help of this thing. We'd never pushed the limit before. In the end, I had to get him to stop, not because I couldn't add any more bales, but because it was so high, the swaying back and forth at the top was causing motion sickness. Normally, when heading back to unload the rack, I'd ride at the top. This time, I had to climb down and ride on the tractor because I was ready to hurl up there!

We calculated it out afterwards, and it worked out to be about 500 bales in that one load. Each of those bales ranged from 55 to 75 pounds (the setting on our baler was broken, so the weight would change on its own, and my dad would have to stop and re-set it every now and then). We never tried to do it again, but were really impressed with how many we were able to get on there.

I used to really love throwing bales!

272:365 Mystery solution

Anna: I was originally going to post the un-cropped photo of the last mystery photo, but it occurred to me that it wouldn't make any difference, since it was really just more of the same. So, I am instead posting this version.

We had a wind storm a few days back. In the ravine we were walking in, a few trees were downed - no mean feat, considering how sheltered that ravine is! We also came upon the remains of a wasp's nest, which my elder daughter brought home a small piece of. She held on to it so I could get a few macro photos.

I've always found the stripey pattern and colours of these quite interesting. It makes me wonder what different trees the masticated fibres came from.

266:365 Mystery solution

Anna: No one guessed that the last mystery photo. Well, here's the solution, anyhow.


It was a pine cone seed. Just the very tip of one. The image was taken with our new zPix digital microscope. It was the first photo we tried taking with it, and it wasn't working well at all. I ended up having to take a screen capture. Philippe then went hunting, found, downloaded and installed the updated drivers, and now it works fine. We might be posting more micro shots here in the future. :-D

Oh, then we got the microscope for free. Those grocery store loayalty points are good for some things! :-D

Mystery Solution - my daughter's face - sort of

Anna: Here's the solution to my last mystery photo.



On New Year's Eve, my daughters and I gave ourselves facial masks. The photo was a cropped section of my elder daughter's cheek. We each had a different type of mask, and hers was the only one that looked like this. (click on image for full size)

I thought it looked a lot like peeling paint.

Mystery pic solution

Congratulation to Lauraliz - the only one who guessed a boiled egg. :-D


More specifically, canned quail eggs. All of these are from one small can. Despite the small size, my elder daughter made deviled eggs out of most of them.

Canned eggs have an ... interesting texture to them. :-/

Mystery photo revealed

Anna: Congratulations to Lauraliz for being the first with the right answer. :-) You guys are spot on! The mystery photo was of the waist socket on my elder daughter's drawing model.

When I first uploaded the photo, Philippe said that no one would get it. My response was that either people would have no idea, or they would know exactly what it was immediately. *L*

150:365 The Show that Wasn't... and mystery pic solution.

Anna: My younger daughter and I went to the museum to take in Fire & Water: The Dragons Awaken. This was to be a production with Scarab Productions and the Edmonton Stilt Walkers.

Unfortunately, high winds knocked one of the towers down during set up - this one stayed up only because they'd tied a concrete garbage can to one of the legs. Those banners had been tied down a few moments ago. The museum didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt and canceled the show. They've got one last performance scheduled in September. Weather willing, we'll be taking that one in instead. :-)








There were three weddings being photographed on the grounds while we were there. One of them had several classic cars. You can see those and more photos here.








Now here's the solution to the mystery photo. Gawdess and TTJ got it right.


This is a Jones Soda mint tin. Not that they're actually mints. The candies are carbonated and start fizzing on the tongue. They come in a variety flavours, much like the drinks (though I've yet to see Turkey and Gravy flavour...). Like the drinks, the inside of the mint lid has some pithy saying printed. My kids really like them. :-)