Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity

Word of the Day:  

Pietrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity:  The state or condition of not having the faintest idea what's going on. 

            I can't seem to shake the feeling that there is something terrible looming on the horizon.  To steal a quote from Neil Gaiman, "He had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out all at once."  So, if something has gone awry in the lives of two close friend's it's fairly safe to assume you are next, right?  Of course, perhaps said terrible and looming thing has already occurred and managing to survive I have allowed myself to come to the conclusion that it was not so terrible after all, and there will be more to come.  Maybe I'm safe now, maybe I'm just being paranoid.

                So, 68,455 minutes until I board a plane to Tucson.  In between now and then, there will be much waiting.  Sixteen days travelling by car, boat, horse, and helicopter from Tombstone to Yellowstone.  I think I am most looking forward to the sky.  The night sky in Arizona, the large opened expansive sky of Wyoming; both have me eager to hit the road.  There's a place we'll be staying outside of a Flagstaff with an observatory.  This is particularly cool because, with the addition of a t-mount adapter, I will be able to hook my camera up and get some amazing shots.  Below is a picture taken through the same telescope (Also pictured) I'll be using.  (On a side note I have decided I need one of these:  http://www.segahomestar.com/  for my apartment.  I wish there was some practical use for it.)

                Current list of destinations include, but are not limited to: Tombstone, San Xavier Del Bac Mission, Apache Junction, Route 66 (which is not so much a destination as a detour), The Grand Canyon, Havasupai Falls, Mesa Verde, Arches National Park, Cisco, Utah, Jackson Hole, and Yellowstone.  There's a few things I have always wanted to witness, and it will be nice to know I can cross some of these things off the list after this summer.  As far as this trip goes here is what I would most like to see along the way:

- Buffalo herd.

- Lightening storm over the rim of the Grand Canyon.

- An active geyser. 

- Window rock.

-  Havasupai Falls, from the bottom.

                So lately I've been building terrariums under bell jars.  I have the image in my mind of my apartment brimming over with all of these little separate ecosystems.  Tiny worlds sporadically placed in round stands or mounted to the walls.  There's something about it I really like.  Currently my apartment has a large number of fossils, and antiques.  Somehow this seems to fit.  I like old things.  I also like things that are living, and while fossils aren't living it's nice to think that they once were.  There's something about holding a thing holding a thing that is roughly 65 million years old; it makes you feel like your life is less fleeting.  I would say, it's grounding.  This is why I particularly like ammonites.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are ancient.  That's one below:

                Anyways, back to the subject of terrariums.  I have two at current, and four more in the works which should be done by the end of the day if I find the time to stop procrastinating.  Funny how I still procrastinate even when the thing that I am putting off is something I am really looking forward too.  My first one is pictured below.  This one is sweet, girlish, floral.  While I really like it I have to say I prefer the more wild look of the second one I made.  The rest of them will follow suit. 

                I've also started becoming interested in making my own Bonsai tree.  I worked on a practice one yesterday, but out of pure embarrassment I will refrain from posting any pictures of the end product.  Starting over tomorrow with a new tree.  Perhaps I will take some before and after shots so I can track it's progress over time.  Also, lest I forget, there are orchids!  I've decided my house desperately needs some of these, so I suppose it's time I learned how to care for them.  I've always loved horticulture, but beyond the random house plant I never really brought it inside; so this is new for me.  In my next post maybe I'll throw up a little how to for creating a terrarium with all of the things I've learned since starting this project.