Inktober Day 15 - Aster Design

Busy busy day, so here's some fun with brush pens.

In Which We Have a Truly Massive Garden Update, and Dunkin Donuts Goes America on Everyone's A**

I cannot guarantee that the first half of this post will make any sense to those of you readers outside the New England area. I am also going to suggest (mild spoiler) not reading this half during breakfast. But I think we can all agree that Paramount dropped the ball when they chose not to release the Captain America movie on Independence Day weekend, even though it doesn't seem to be hurting the film much.

Fortunately, their unusual promotional partner, Dunkin Donuts, did no such thing, releasing their tie-in specials just in time for July fourth. Now, I've recently been weaning myself off coffee and it's partially because my local Dunkie's has done something wimpy to their brews (in my day, we didn't need flavor shots!) I'd had my Obligatory Coffee Coolatta back at Comicon and would have been done for the summer season... until this ad, starring a dog with a punny name who wants to kill all humans, started running:



As you may know, if there's anything I can't pass up, it's campy patriotism. So I was pretty determined to get my hands on a Dunkin Donuts cup with Captain America's shield on it. But something far more spectacular awaited me inside.



A TRIPLE red white and blue Coolatta.



Now, it wasn't until I had the drink in front of me that I realized it isn't a physics-defying triple-blend of some kind. The three flavors (raspberry, vanilla, cherry) are each separated in their own little compartments. (In hindsight I have no idea how I thought the alternative was supposed to work.) The taste is basically straight-up sugar with some recognizable flavor and loads and loads of food coloring. Same goes for the matching donuts.

Which is to say, shortly after I hit the bottom of this thing, I may have thrown lots of red dye and patriotism up into the lake. That'd be a sincere thumbs-down on the triple-Coolatta then. At least the cup is cool.

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So what of the Gardens?



I apologize for the blurry picture, but I've been seeing the Oriole and his lady-friend quite often lately.

I also met a couple of cuties at a garden center:



These two fledglings were flopping around one of the center's greenhouses and being cute but cacophonic. I never got a good look at their parents, so if anyone has any idea what species they are, let me know in the comments (best guess is some kind of Icterid). Here's a better look:



And this might be my favorite photograph of a bird I've ever taken. It's a reminder of just how light they really are!



Over in the Victory Garden, we've got flowers everywhere! These are on the summer squash.



The peas are also in flower and they've grown quite tall. I think I spot a pod or two in there!



And lastly, I finally got to do this:



That leaf is fresh from the garden.  I just realized that this kind of thing is only okay to brag about because they are plants.

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Sketch of the Day!
I should do more of these...



Next week, oh-ho-ho, I have quite the book to review. Until then, enjoy this wonderful essay on the legacy of Harry Potter and this very funny Rifftrax montage:

Easy wildlife garden (Along with a Veggie Garden Update!)

My tulips from last week's post have since faded and my oft-ignored front garden needed some love. I got a great deal on perennials at Big Box Home Building Supply Store. Holy hraka, those Harebells!



They're giving a small "bald spot" in the front lawn some color.



More importantly, the Meadow Sage, Harebells, Columbines, Irises, Buddleja, and Delphiniums (the latter three had not yet bloomed when I took this photo) are all flowers loved by hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. In this little sunny spot, I've created a wildlife habitat. At the Big Box Garden and Home Center, the plants cost about fifty dollars total and I had the little whimsical touches. It's that easy.

I may be modifying this garden as the summer goes on, so, as with the veggie garden, I will make myself post periodic updates on it.

Speaking of the veggie garden. In the Herb/Salad Greens section, I added some Rosemary and Parsley that was languishing in the Evil Big Box Store I "rescued" them from. In the Squash/Cucumber section, the plants have grown some real leaves! There isn't anything as exciting going on with the tomatoes; they look about the same. I did just realize that most of the plants in the vegetable garden are actually fruit...

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Sketch of the day! Doves drawn from observation:

Tulips Aplenty -and- Joy from E.I.T.

As you can see in the above photograph, my tulips took a beating from the winter storms. I certainly don't have as many as I did last year. I will definitely have to replenish them once it comes time to plant bulbs.

That said, I did get a nice surprise.



Look at these funky tulips! I know this kind of tulip has a special name (are they Darwins or Parrots?) Does anyone know it? I want to plant more of these.

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For the sake of a little more substance, I did a little archive binge-ing (?) at Everything is Terrible and found these life-altering films:

Remember that one weird play your whole elementary class had to do?

This one actually made me feel sad for record executives.

Oh, how I wish I could retroactively add this to the Art Evolved Elephant Gallery.

Watch this video immediately after the immediately previous one and you will have seen the whole of not-fondly-remembered early '90s superhero cartoons.

And this last one might be the most beautiful thing they have ever shared with us.

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Sketch of the Day!

Veggie, Fruit-Fruit / Veggie-Veggie, Fruit-Fruit / Veggie, Fruit-Fruit / CHA-CHA-CHA!!!

It's spring! It's spring! It finally came! My gosh, it's actually nice out! The snow is gone and the air is full of bird song and frog song and pollen and mosquitoes and the little blackflies. Always the blackfly no matter where you go.

This week and next week will be nothing but gardening posts to celebrate (and also I will be very busy these two weeks). I've got a doozie to begin with.

Last week, my family and I started in on a grand science experiment: we built a raised vegetable garden. It's out by the side of the house and has not yet been eaten by ungulates knock on wood. Here's the tale of it's construction.

We'd been intrigued by the idea of making a raised bed for a while now and decided to start with a very simple one. We just picked out our five favorite plants and were a little overwhelmed by the options. We got a bunch of different tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, basil and mint, seeds of nasturtiums, beets, and spinach, onions to deter squirrels and marigolds to repel bugs. Ideally these plants won't know what pesticides even are.

With our "software" acquired, it was time for the hardware. The garden is basically a box full of dirt. We mixed the peat moss in with the garden soil to retain more water. Now for the fun / emotionally satisfying part: placing the plants in their new homes. They got a nice big soaking to settle the dirt. Hopefully, I'll remember to do weekly updates on it. Any advice or suggestions? Sound off in the comments please. Remember, I'm more used to plants who can essentially care for themselves.

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In other news, the Mtv Movie Awards were this weekend and... It'd be easy to say "this generation of young people has failed." But really, Mtv needs to change the "you can vote online as often as you like" policy. My one vote for my favorite movies isn't going to mean squat against fifty Sucklings with lots of free time.

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Sketch of the Day!



And just to get it out of our heads...

America Plants!

When last I talked about my garden, it was overrun with tulips and onions. Those have since gone to fruit, but there are loads of wildflowers taking over the big garden:



You can see the "spent" onions, lots of Rose Campion (to think some people would call this a weed!), and some yet-to-flower daylilies and chrysanthemums.
I don't remember if I showed off my irises, but here's what's currently blooming in their part of the garden:



Some crazy Asiatic Lilies I don't remember planting! Really, I don't remember planting these. I do remember having lilies in this garden, but they were all eaten years ago by those horrid little red beetles whose larvae spend all their days eating lily leaves and (from the looks of it) coating themselves in their own feces.
Perhaps they weren't all eaten? It is a mystery...



I apologize for the blurriness of this picture. This wasn't a particularly good year for the Delphiniums. They are so pretty but one strong rainstorm and they flop over. At least the bees don't care.



On the other hand, my Clematis is having an incredible year. I've never seen so many blooms on it! They only lasted a week or so but what a show!

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Sketch Costume design of the day!

It's almost Independence Day, so how about some patriotic pants?



This was part of a costume I designed for a Fourth of July party called America Pants (for reasons un-freaking-known; but there's your title significance). Some of the rest of the clothing I made for the occasion can be seen here.

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Oh, hey, is that a Drawgasmic button at right? The party happens on July tenth! That's only days away! If you're in the St. Louis area, please go!