Pictures of Pandas Painting Pictures
Yup, it's picture time again.
In this edition: Hammond organ, through the Dry Swamp, steampunk beetle.
My organ, let me show you it. Hammond M3, circa 1957 judging from the serial number. I now have it wired into AC by the power of wire strippers and electrical tape, but it only makes pathetic grinding noises. However, I just got in some mail-order Hammond Oil, so next time I have a free evening we'll see if that helps or if it needs more work.
Anything with vacuum tubes gets automatic extra cool points. (This is the amp inside.) Check the tag gallery for a couple other pics, including the amazing feat of fitting a Hammond into a VW.
A while back I went back and hiked all the way through our currently very, very dry local swamp. It took me an hour to make my twisty way through an area that's less than a couple thousand feet as the crow flies - even without a speck of water, the very uneven terrain is often invisible beneath a riot of grasses and shrubs growing out of the newly exposed fertile soil. This is currently supporting a huge community of insects and birds, probably only some of which would normally frequent the swamp.
This snag is pretty much dead center of the swamp area. I'm pretty sure last spring I watched a number of geese and ducks happily swimming around the spot where I'm currently standing. We really really really need some rain. (More new pictures can be found in the "swamp" or "wanders" tag galleries. For those who need more stalking material, you can find the swamp itself around here in Google maps
Finally, this beetle which alit on our office door is wacky. over an inch long, it appears to sport a gear embedded in its upper back. It can fly, as I eventually found out while trying to take a better photo.
In this edition: Hammond organ, through the Dry Swamp, steampunk beetle.
My organ, let me show you it. Hammond M3, circa 1957 judging from the serial number. I now have it wired into AC by the power of wire strippers and electrical tape, but it only makes pathetic grinding noises. However, I just got in some mail-order Hammond Oil, so next time I have a free evening we'll see if that helps or if it needs more work.
Anything with vacuum tubes gets automatic extra cool points. (This is the amp inside.) Check the tag gallery for a couple other pics, including the amazing feat of fitting a Hammond into a VW.
A while back I went back and hiked all the way through our currently very, very dry local swamp. It took me an hour to make my twisty way through an area that's less than a couple thousand feet as the crow flies - even without a speck of water, the very uneven terrain is often invisible beneath a riot of grasses and shrubs growing out of the newly exposed fertile soil. This is currently supporting a huge community of insects and birds, probably only some of which would normally frequent the swamp.
This snag is pretty much dead center of the swamp area. I'm pretty sure last spring I watched a number of geese and ducks happily swimming around the spot where I'm currently standing. We really really really need some rain. (More new pictures can be found in the "swamp" or "wanders" tag galleries. For those who need more stalking material, you can find the swamp itself around here in Google maps
Finally, this beetle which alit on our office door is wacky. over an inch long, it appears to sport a gear embedded in its upper back. It can fly, as I eventually found out while trying to take a better photo.