yeah, apparently I made a new subforum because I was bored.

Anyhoo, this is part of an outdoor sculpturish thing I did last week on that horribly cold day when sticking berries in the snow seems liked a good idea... the whole thing is a lot bigger but this is my favourite part.

And because all picture threads should be initiated with something amusing/disturbing, I give you:



This isn't something I found on the net. My parents seriously bought this stuffed squirrel for my sister at an auction. Note the, erm... position of the branch. Taxidermy is one weird profession. Here's a closer view of it's hideous face:



Now enjoy that image haunting your dreams

I guess that squirrel will become the ugly gift item that was given by a relative and thus cannot be thrown away. So, let's give it as a gift to another relative...

This way, the squirrel will make the full circle and you will regret buying it when it is your turn again to be the person who receives it as a gift.

That reminds my of the flying squirrel in the cupboard in my aunt and uncle's summer house in the adirondacks. Its back is arched, and its teeth bared, as if it died suddenly upon the moment of confronting some foe. In fact, this is not the design of a taxidermist, but the actual appearance of the squirrel upon it's death. When my aunt and uncle arrived one summer at the house, they found the body under the pillow on one of the beds. Apparently it had been seeking refuge from the cold, and had found its way into the house. Unfortunately, the house was unheated, and the pillow was insufficient protection against the cold of an adirondack winter. It froze to death, and remained there until discovered.
It is my understanding that it was never stuffed or preserved, but it has nevertheless remained untainted by decay, although the fur tends to fall out when touched. The body has remained rigid, as if the cold that killed it permanently froze its insides, although, having been wasted by starvation, the body has little substance to it.
If the story were not so fascinating, they would never have kept it, because it is very ugly indeed.

This charming fellow was in my backyard when I woke up this morning. He set about destroying our birdfeeders (ignoring the angry woodpeckers chirping at him) then wandered back into the woods.

Aw, man, I never see bears. I've gone on plenty of walks and rides with my family where everyone who saw them but me, never once pinpointing where that "there that everyone was pointing at was. I suspect I will die someday, stumbling into a bear that, true to form, I will never see.

That's really funny! Not because of schadenfreude, I mean that it would make a good skit: The Girl Who Couldn't See Bears. Or maybe a children's book!

gammyun, are you familiar with the artist Andy Goldsworthy? If not, look him up. That first picture with the berries reminded me of him a little.

Lol, that pic was actually from a sculpture project based on Goldsworthy^^
I still remember how freakin' cold it was that day brrrrrrrrrr. It was a like a hazing into process-oriented art.