Even the Dark Side gardens.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

The Dark Side gardens often in my garden.

A rough sketch I did just for practice.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

Very nice. Reminds me of a Criminal Minds episode where the unsub sewed his victims mouths shut.

Basswood carving.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

What does the sign say? He/it looks cold and insecure. What were your thoughts as you were carving him/it?

Seven years ago we had an irruption of buckeyes.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

I can see why it's one of your favorite North American butterflies.

Monarch enjoying my favorite Phlox.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

I don't have any Phlox. Guess I need to grow some (if they are native here).

How long have you been here?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 13, 2018:

I’ve been here since the end of Oct ‘17.

So, I wasn't sure, yet again, where this would be most appropriate.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

Nope!

Picked up a cattle panel today at Tracker Suppy put it over the ramp to my deck.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

That should turn out to be very pleasant to view and to experience.

Something I did a couple of decades ago and sadly still seem relevant. Oil or pen&ink Drawing

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

Strong!

Tiny home restrictions, very sad. ? [dispatch.com]

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

Perhaps in time, tiny houses will gain enough prominence to break down some of these barriers.

Lessons From a Grieving Whale The world continues to watch a grieving mama whale maneuver the ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

I appreciate you and your first hand experiences with this type of grief. I know I have often been on the wrong side in regards to grief.

School shootings: Should parents be charged for failing to lock up guns used by their kids?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

Definitely!

So, just moved to western Arkansas.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

I would say let the moss grow and replace the grass with something useful.

Love this when camping.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

The stars are out of reach, but I sure enjoy looking at them.

Adventure Time

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

I'm not sure this was the most adventurous thing, but it perhaps wasn't the smartest thing. I ran a mountain marathon in Scotland. Mountain marathons are normally two days of orienteering and trail running while carrying your supplies for two days. My pack ended up being about 20-25 lbs. I was living in Germany at the time and didn't know of a partner, so I went online to find one. I found one who said she was good at orienteering and was up for the challenge. After 5 days of bicycle touring Scotland (which was awesome) we were suppose to meet up at the marathon site. She didn't show up until around midnight! She was flaky as well. We ran. She didn't know diddly about orienteering and she was extremely slow going up the hills, so I waited for her at the top of each hill. My ankles aren't the best in the world so I took running downhill a little slower. The course ended each day running downhill. She didn't have any problems running downhill and would charge to the finish line and start yelling at me in a very nerve defying voice. It pissed me off to say the least. We parted ways after the marathon (we did manage to finish). She put me in a bad mood for several days afterwards. I hope to never experience that again. Lesson learned: Only go with someone you know and trust on something as grueling as a mountain marathon. I like hiking, running, orienteering, and low key competitions, and I'd do another mountain marathon, but not with her! What's one of yours?

Dating sites and apps as a nonmonogamous person: Discuss.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

This source doesn't address your post directly, but I feel it's a good way to look at polyamories relationships, which in turn will help you find with less pain and missteps who you are looking for. https://medium.com/@thelolaphoenix/thirteen-things-i-wish-id-learned-before-choosing-non-monogamy-ce3533cbd525

Leaving behind an old life...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

That's a beautiful specimen!

Amy picked the first crop of yard long beans

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 12, 2018:

Now those are l...o...n...g beans.

Jackson Pollock American, 1912-1956 Going West, 1934-35.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

I haven't seen much of his earlier work. Thanks.

Insectra, can you I'D this leafhopper?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

That's really pretty!

When you're watching your parents, LOL

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

... and you say to yourself, "they can't be my parents."

Under Trump, a red carpet for Dinesh D’Souza, who claims Hitler was a liberal in new documentary -...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

I'm searching for a book by Benjamin Carter Hess: "The Death of Democracy: Hitler's Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic". Have you per chance read it?

Found this today. Thought I'd share:

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

It sounds sort of like my thesis show.

Seeking info about elevation-sickness PREVENTION... any tips or tricks that worked for you?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Train at high altitudes before you go on your trip.

Food not lawns!

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Because someone in the past thought I needed unnecessary work to do!

More pics of banana bloom another set of bananas showing

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

I didn't realize they grew in protective 'sleeves'.

Has anyone else tried the Google arts & culture app?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

I tried it. This is what I ended up with. I tried it several times.

Hyles lineata, the White Lined Sphinx Moth, aka Hummingbird Moth.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

That is really beautiful. How large do they get?

"Paper Tiger"

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Do they sting? I don't see a stinger. I got stung today while pruning some hollies. It was a wasp that got me though. Every year at least one sting. Guess it means I'm outside at least.

I'm pooped.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Wow! Looks like you've had more rain than needed.

Love to have one like this to go camping in

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Looks like it should make music. Imagine the bellows opening and closing. Like an accordion.

Today's lunch. Grateful for the cloudy weather and showers.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Looks yummy! Everyone loves a fresh salad.

Straw Bale.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Love your colors as well!

First Bloom, Asclepias tuberosa

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

That's my kind of yellow!

I thought this group might appreciate this mural. This is not my photo, I found it on the internet.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Wonder if they have bug problems?

[facebook.com] this could be you if you don't stake the tent down.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 11, 2018:

Wow. Free rides!

A monster bullfrog that I moved off the road tonight, on my way home from trivia.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

My daughter loves bullfrogs. I showed her your photos. She instructed me that I have to wet my hands before holding them. I told her I didn't know that and she said, "you're so old you should know that."

Last year's tropical milkweed cuttings have grown well but some pruning was recently in order.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

There are so many different kinds of milkweed. Truly amazing! Nice photo.

We are seeing the first banana showing up on our ice cream banana tree

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

Really cool!

Gregarious caterpillars of the Datana genus. They are feeding on scarlet oak along my driveway.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

They must love oaks. Is this the batch you had covered earlier in the year?

Entry to home we built of cob (adobe-in-place) and straw bales, with ‘bottle wall’ adjacent.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

I'm interested in the bottle-wall. I would like to put the longways through a strawbale wall. Do you have any sources that you could recommend?

For a couple of hours while camping I enjoy this, how many of you do?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

Love thunderstorms and the ion boost to the atmosphere.

Hiked 4 miles on part of the Carolina Thread Trail yesterday.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

A really cool hiking outfit!

Sounds like rain... [youtu.be]

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 10, 2018:

Love it. They all are very intensive.

Going back a while when i made this.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 9, 2018:

I'm guessing the blue is not part of the piece. It's a very refined piece. When did you do this and are you still doing stuff?

Digital artwork by my son, his version of a campfire story.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 9, 2018:

That's quite good.

Bucket List

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 9, 2018:

Seeing as much of the world as possible. Everything takes time.

One of the neat things about living in a smaller community is that the local paper is often looking ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

Cool! You're a celebrity!

Finished retrofitting a closet into a new home for Rita! She loves it.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

A handywoman!

Has anyone else ever camped in a tree?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

No. The bears aren't THAT bad around here!

Red Spotted Purple on my feeder. It doesn't get any better than this

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

The red is really subtle.

brewing, digital

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

To me, it appears as if the rocks are blowing in the wind and the clouds are cynical masks. It looks dry but not necessarily hot. The burnt umber band at the bottom is a little distracting. It's great to see someone exploring!

[youtu.be]

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

This is what I do. I add moisture as I add compost material via rain or watering hose. I turn the pile 2-3 times a year. The worms appear naturally. Photo: This is my compost pile, ready to be turned the second time. There is a 60% chance of rain this evening so might be a good time to start.

Helen Frankenthaler American, 1928-2011 Jacob’s Ladder, 1957.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

Guggenheim: "Frankenthaler's method of paint application was markedly original: she thinned the oil paint to the consistency of watercolor so that it would soak into and stain the canvas rather than accumulate on its surface. Inspired by Pollock's drip style, her soak-in technique resulted in fresh, appealing expanses of color that spurred similar experiments by Kenneth Noland and Morris Louis (whom Greenberg took to Frankenthaler's studio in 1953) and prefigured Color Field painting of the later 1950s and 1960s by Louis, Noland, Jules Olitski, and Frankenthaler herself." Photo: Mountains and Sea 1952

Someday real soon..

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

Or bling!

Metal covered box, mixed media, 4.5x4x6" Just needed to make a little box to put a gift in ;-)

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 8, 2018:

Love it!

A pic from 2017: A freshly emerged pipevine swallowtail that I reared from a caterpillar I collected...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 7, 2018:

That's pretty. I've never seen one before. I have a pipevine!

This toad was kind enough to pose for me last night and I came upon this dragonfly on saturday.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 6, 2018:

Good thing you mowed the grass early!

More Amsterdam 2017

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 5, 2018:

I'm never been to Amsterdam but I've been to other parts of Holland. It's the only place I've ever been where they use their umbrellas while riding bikes.

Two unknown moths

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 5, 2018:

Pretty and handsome!

Nighttime gold The only ID I know for sure is the last moth, the basswood leafroller.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 4, 2018:

Wow, you don't know the names! I like the one with the pointed nose.

Do you see the copperhead snake on this tree?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 4, 2018:

You wouldn't notice it until it moved!

Orange Least skipper, Common spragueia, Ailanthus webworm moth, pearl crescent, monarch, golden ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 4, 2018:

The milkweed bugs: The mature ones are more colorful ... contrasting?

Monsanto and Bayer are Maneuvering to Take Over the Cannabis Industry

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 3, 2018:

No surprise. Onward with Seed Saver.

Gardeners never die.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 3, 2018:

Here are some others: * Old gardeners never die ... They just spade away. * Frog parking only. Others will be toad. * Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes.

I move that a button be added to profiles: "Last Here" with the automatic date (of the last ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 3, 2018:

The phone app already has this feature.

Do you think WW3 will rear it’s ugly head within the next ten years?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 3, 2018:

No, but if Trump remains president for another two years, all bets are off.

With each succeeding day , Donald Trump is making is more abundantly clear that he is ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

We're all here sitting on our thumbs waiting for something to happen.

'BIGFOOT EROTICA' BECOMES AN ISSUE IN VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN. NY Times ?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Politicians throwing sand.

Anyone here have one of these tents, if so how good are they? [ilovecamping.us]

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Are regular tents so difficult to set up? I have a two-man Hilleberg. It's light, easy to set up and take down, light enough to backpack and bike tour with. It wasn't cheap, but it's going on twenty years.

My TShirt and pen came in the mail! Woo-Hoo! How do I look?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Hot like only an alien can be!

Victor Brauner Romanian, 1903-1966 The Surrealist, 1947.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Not familiar with him. Thanks.

"Garden Goddess", terra cotta, 6x7 in.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 2, 2018:

I like your relief. Here's the real green man!

Climate Change’s Newest Effect: Gentrification - TheHumanist.com

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

You're just full of good news. I watched a movie the other night. I think it was called The Time ( ? ). It was about when people collected time like they do money now. The common person lived day by day (literally) where the more affluent had decades, centuries, and beyond. It's the second time I've watched it. Easy to draw comparisons to today's culture. Bonnie and Clyde (sort of) reference.

I am, at the same time, deeply saddened and deeply angered by the degree of fraud and corruption ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

Capitalism at its finest. As long as we continue to annihilate our environment we are in fact condoning fraud.

Excerpt by David Whyte: "Unrequited love is the love human beings experience most of the time.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

No one can. Does 'love' keep score?

Deep thought of today.

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

That's about as deep as I can handle today.

Guess who?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

It looks cautious.

How can I tell if somebody blocked me?

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

Search their profile name. If nothing shows up, you've been blocked.

I have given up in growing zucchini squash! (I did not find the way of controlling the pests ...

AstralSmoke comments on Aug 1, 2018:

We call them butternut squash here. Excellent choice.

Micrathena gracilis on Russian sage

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

This is a picture of a female? Sounds like the males are good for sex and an after sex snack?

"You raise your voice when you should reinforce your argument.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

Often times I find myself reacting emotionally ... that's when I raise my voice. Once I back away and let the emotions subside (this has been known to take days), I then can respond in a logical, rational fashion.

These shots were taken about 12 years ago at the Bridgeport Covered bridge over the South Yuba, ...

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

Yes, you caught her!

For AmelieMatisse.......a Ghostly Angle makes it's presence known.......

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

Familiar with James Turrell?

National Palindrome Day - August 1, 2018 8-1-1-8........How will you be celebrating?

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

My writing is constrained enough.

Isn't it nice to wake up to 'No Sunday church attendance'.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 31, 2018:

You must not be busy enough if you're thinking about church.

Unique......

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 30, 2018:

Yes, just like everyone else.

What do you do? I like hiking or camping.?

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 30, 2018:

I don't have to do anything to forget about my phone.

Some more Arizona photos, a Sunset and flowers.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 30, 2018:

I'm attracted to the first photo. Have you ever been to burning man? Do you have future plans for another strawbale house?

Some interesting non-moths from tonight: The green mantidfly (Zeugomantispa minuta) and the ivory ...

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 30, 2018:

Between you and Leafhead, we've got it covered! What does the borer bore into?

My town's been invaded by body-snatchers and zombies, otherwise known as tourists.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 28, 2018:

Tourists make easy pickin’s.

A pretty garter snake that lives under the front step of my house.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 28, 2018:

Pretty! I have a black one, but I haven't seen it this year yet.

8:30 a.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 28, 2018:

It doesn't quite do it for me. Perhaps a hint more detail in the dark section?

Just for fun, what is wrong with this picture?

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 28, 2018:

Carrot trees are the best!

Happy Friday! May you all find some 1%.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

A very nice wish. Thanks.

Spirituality

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

There's a meditation group on this site. Here is one. There might be others. https://agnostic.com/group/SecularBuddha I agree there are energies given off by every living thing. I don't call them spirits, but I don't have a problem with this word referring to energies. And redirecting some of this energy to better tap into your body sounds like it should be a plus. With all that said, I don't meditate. I have done pilates before though ;-)

I don't really know which group is best to post in concerning this.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

I'm a tad bit older than you. We've always taken selfies. We just had to use a tripod before. Birds, sunsets, and nature are great!

Try not to look down until we're out of here.......

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

It goes all the way to the center of the earth. There, there is no up or down.

I Dream I Hold the Key to the Meaning of Life Created tableau, photographed with colors flipped to ...

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

It's more meaningful when art isn't the real art.

A few days ago I posted some pictures I took along the northbound road from where I'm staying.

AstralSmoke comments on Jul 27, 2018:

Northbound was corn fields. Southbound is possibly wooded?