Glass Starships

 Ms Scarlet made an island with hers. I made glass starships:

 

 

There. 

P.S. It took me ten months to gather up enough sea glass to make these since sending the previous collection to Ms Scarlet.  (There are a few more bigger, more wonky bits just out of shot...)

Lurkers

 The last couple of days have seen some unusual suspects lurking on the cusp of Hexenhäusli Device's sphere of influence.*  There have also been some entirely usual suspects but, before we get to them, the first of the unusual: a buzzard!

 

 Buzzards are a regular occurance around here, but they're usually found circling high above with only their tell-tale cry a giveaway that they're about.  They roost in some of the tall trees behind Hexenhäusli Device, but this one looks like it stopped for a rest in the sycamore tree overhanging the garden, which is very unusual.

 

"I don't think that's a tower full of cows..."

 After the Garden Photos Event announcement and various Star Trek-related scribbles, sketches, and photo-comics, I thought it was time to get back to a post full of photographs.  And, unlike many photos displayed here over the past few years, you may be surprised to discover that some of them are of subject matter never before seen on this blog!

 First of the unseen-til-now is the lake at Felbrigg.  I was dragged across fields and countryside by my sister, Inexcuseable, her husband, and Count Podgkinson (although he spent quite a lot of time in his pushchair... lucky sod), on a boiling hot day back in mid-September.  It was all right, I suppose...

There were cormorants!

Art Trek miscellanea

 Hello! Did you know, it's been nearly two months since I put up a Star Trek-related post?  Well, it has. So, I'm going to remedy that with this selection of Star Trek art.  

 Don't worry, it won't take long. 

 

 Oh, pay no heed to Lying Cat.  She's like a broken record.  Always spouting off that tired catchphrase.  Anyone would think it's the only word she can say...

 Anyway, there is a point to Saga's Lying Cat featuring here - it's that she was the inspiration for the following two photomontage comic-style dalliances starring Deanna Troi.  For those who don't know, Troi is the telepathic/empathic counsellor and diplomatic officer aboard the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation (and my favourite character in that show), and could also tell when someone was lying (mostly).

Here she is with Doctor Beverly Crusher in the Enterprise's hair & beauty salon:

And here she is again assisting Captain Picard in the downfall of regular Romulan antagonist Tomalak:

Infomaniac Garden Photos Event - Reminder #3

The House of

I N F O M A N I A C

10th Anniversary Garden Photos Event

 

will take place here on this very blog commencing on 31st October.

 

::

 

 You may recall that The Very Mistress has handed off the hosting duties for this auspicious botanical occasion?  This year, the various consciousnesses - including the SubConsciousnesses (for some reason...) - of yours truly, Inexplicable Device, will be your host/s.  Remember?  Remember?  REMEMBER?!?

 

 

 If you haven't already done so, I'd like you to get your unruly bushes in order, trim those straggly overhangs, and mow that fuzzy patch.  Then, set-to with your camera and send me your photograph/s - along with an enlightening blurb - by Wednesday 28th October.  My blog email address is in my profile (just click the link on the right.  Or, for those few of you who have my personal email, use that instead).

 

 The Infomaniac Garden Photos Event will kick off on 31st October with some of your Terrifying Triffidery* (as long as enough Triffids can be rounded up without too many fatalities, that is), then a couple of days later the main exhibits - i.e. your gardens/window boxes/pot plants/contents of your salad drawers - will be on display for all to enjoy.

 

 

* The Terrifying Triffidery Exhibit will be a place to show off your horticultural horrors or otherwise ordinary plants that have been photographed from odd angles/close up/while drunk which make them look out of this world. So, get inventive/within-2-metres/drinking and get that camera out!

Sea Swims and Sodden, Sparkling Groynes

 I'm on holiday!  Two weeks off work and the weather is playing ball, for a change.  With the global travel situation as it is, I have the perfect excuse not to go anywhere or see anyone.
 So, just like every other day, week, month, year etc. etc.
 Yes!  Isn't it fabulous!?!

 Anyway, on with the show: Here are a few photos from the last three or four days. 
 The sunrise below is from a week ago Monday, taken from my home office/library/blog room, and the first set of beach photos below are from Saturday (no swim then as it was a little chilly - there was a swim on Sunday as it got out a little warmer, but I didn't take any photos).

Saturday

A Little Broad, perhaps?

 On Sunday, I made my way to Little Broad in Frogshall - somewhere I've been meaning to go for years, but have never got around to.  Until now.  Or then, rather.
 Like many people-

Oh, gods, we're common!

 Shush, you! Like some people, I'm drawn to water - particularly the less obvious (i.e. not the sea) freshwater streams and ponds that are tucked away in the countryside.  Even a big puddle can be fascinating!  But Little Broad, despite the name, is significantly larger than a puddle.

 As you might have surmised, I took one or two photos while I was there, and here they are:

As I picked my way through the undergrowth towards the sluice gate, I startled two small deer - possibly Chinese water deer (they didn't have white bottoms, so not muntjacs) - but wasn't quick enough with Camera to get any photos.

Shrieking Pit Saturday

This was taken from the front of Hexenhäusli Device yesterday evening.
The sky looked like it was on fire!

 I'll just have a quick walk to get some fresh air and stretch my legs, I thought.

 Two and a half hours later - and with Camera's memory card full - I returned home...

 So, you should know what's coming next, then?
 Yes!  Reams of photos!

Here we have the views from the top of Tower Lane in Sidestrand (last seen here).
Above is the view west to Overstrand,
and below the view east along the coast to Trimingham.

There were also some cormorants on The-End-of-the-Line, as per...

Thursday Swim: Wet Winkles & Gloomy Groynes

 Before we get to the good stuff, first I must announce that one of my Ipomoea tricolor "Heavenly Blue"s has finally flowered!*
 I have been envious of Jon's and Madam Arcati's displays for the last couple of months, but now, at last, I have my own Morning Glory!

* Of course, had I sown the seeds back in March/April instead of at the end of May, these blooms would have come out that much earlier.

~o~

 Anyway, here's what you came here for: warm, wet groynes with a sprinkle of winkles!

Infomaniac Garden Photos Event - Reminder #2

The House of

I N F O M A N I A C

10th Anniversary Garden Photos Event

is being held here rather than at The Very Mistress's this year.  Remember?  Remember?!?

 We're posting this reminder mainly for Savvy.
 Yeah, you all know what she's like with competitions, challenges, and events.

Absolutely hopeless.  I don't know how many Tin Foil Hat Competitions she's missed?

Well, to be be fair, the one she did remember she actually won!

 Oh, yeah!
 Anyway, for the rest of you, we still haven't decided exactly when the Garden Photos Event will begin, other than at the end of October/beginning of November.  There are a number of reasons why the date is still undetermined: One of which is that it's our 15th Blog Anniversary on the 15th Octob-
 No it's not!
 What?
 I said: No.  It's not!
 Well, when is it, then?
 Ummm... [hastily looks it up]  The 9th.
 Oh.  That's too early.  The Very Mistress's garden may still not have thawed out by then.  We need to give her frozen greenery time to put forth at least a couple of shoots before winter sets in again, so we can't have it coinciding with our anniversary.
 Well, shit.  Now we'll have to come up with an actual anniversay post!
 What about Hallowe'en?  If we have the grand opening then, we won't have to come up with a separate Hallowe'en post?
 Oh, that's a good idea!

For a change...

 Hey!

~o~

This book might come in handy:

Gardeners Guide to Unfuckable Plants

[seen at Tor.com and MacMillan Publishers]

~o~

Art Trek Not Trek: Hellrunner loves Spineback

 Good news, Everyone! 

 August's Star Trek Art Challenge has been cancelled!

 However, don't start celebrating just yet, as in its place is a load of other (mostly) old sci-fi properties that you probably couldn't give two figs about either.  Such fun!

 Here's the brief:

Welcome to the August 2020 Art Challenge — the 189th edition, for everyone who's taking count. That's 17 years of art challenges, with a majority of them focussing on Trek. Well, this month shall look a little different, because the theme is called Not Trek.

If you're anything like me then Star Trek isn't the only sci-fi universe you feel comfortable in. Well, this month is all about that. Basically the only requirement for your entry is that it somehow features a sci-fi entity other than Star Trek. Maybe you are passionate about Star Wars, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf, Doctor Who or The Orville. Or are you more into obscure stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Odyssey 5, Charlie Jade or Sliders? Anything goes, as long as its within the genre.

 Farscape instantly popped into my mind when I first saw the theme, then later on while in the bath (where I do all my thinking) I came up with this list (WARNING: Almost all the following links are to YouTube clips/trailers):

Ulysses 31, G-Force: Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman), Flight of the Navigator, Asgardians of the Galaxy (because I can't decide between Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy), Transformers (UK G1 comic and toys), Zoids (UK comic and toys), John Carter of Mars (Disney film, because I still haven't got around to reading the books), Jupiter Ascending (Bees! Gravity boots!! That wedding dress and hairpiece!!!), Primeval (Dinosaurs!), Day of the Triffids (the nightmare inducing 1980s BBC TV series), and The Tripods (I couldn't find a non-blurry clip with the original music, so here is the actual theme).

Not The Device Mansion Gardens: The Sequel

 Yesterday saw a return to the Old Vicarage Gardens in East Ruston. But this time, instead of going on my own to spend as much time as I liked there in peace and quiet, I reluctantly agreed to go with my sister, Inexcuseable, and three year old nephew, Count Podgkinson.
 Needless to say, much of the visit passed by in a blur - which wasn't as bad as it seemed as most of the gardens had obviously had their day and were looking a bit tired.  However, I did manage to get some snaps of a handful of unusual or distinctive flowers.

These are seed heads from some sort of ghastly lily, I think?

A feathery, clockwise-curving fern