Summer Quarter

Five weeks down, three to go. With only eight weeks, rather than the usual ten (eleven if you count finals week), it's been kind of intense.

Last week, the first three assignments in my 3-D Design (Strata) class were due.

The first two (the letters and the wine carafe and glasses) use material that the instructor provided to us. He also provided templates for the third (alien flowers), if we wanted to use them, but I decided to try creating my own.

I'm pretty pleased with all of them.

Lots of Green and Growing Things

This afternoon, after being gone for a couple of days, Tim and I went out to check the status of the garden.

The main change that I saw was that the two poppy buds had bloomed.

They're a little out of focus, because my camera kept wanting to focus on the lavender in the background.

I also saw that some lilies near the side deck were also blooming.

The daisies are still going crazy . . .

. . . and the bees are still busy in the lavender.

Elsewhere, the basil is looking good . . .

. . . and the zucchini is coming along.

My First Animation

Today in my 3D Design class, the instructor showed us how to create simple (very simple!) animations.

This three-second video took me 20 to 30 minutes to create (including my first attempt which I finally just chucked and started over), and then about six minutes for the computer to render.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Ever since it became clear that the tree in the front yard was pushing up the driveway, we've been talking about getting it removed. About a month ago, we finally had an arborist come out and take a look at it. We finally found out what kind of tree it was (Atlas spruce) and that it would only get bigger. So, today it finally came down.

Before (this morning) 

 

After (this afternoon) 

It was a three-man team, one in the tree and two on the ground. The fellow in the tree worked his way up, and then worked his way down.

 

 

I must say — the kitchen and the front room are a heck of a lot brighter now!