Chief Ten Bears: July 2006

Shelving Away

Summertime is when I tackle certain projects that can only be done in the summer, when the garage door is open wide and the table saw runs into the night. This year Dave decided to tear out the darkroom portion of the garage and install a metal workbench. I added all the shelving you see here, and moved a far amount of our tools in. This room is quaint in a grubby, dusty sort of way.

Kick-knack shelves before and after, the former hobbled together with previously damp pallet wood two years ago and the latter with store-bought knotty pine and moulding for trim. Not a big difference visually but it makes me feel better that its done right second time around.

A casualty of remodelling. It's a good idea to remove breakables away from where you're screwing wall brackets. Poor guy stood below my elbow on a lower shelf to where I was working.

Display cases are always welcome at my house, something I usually have to make because these sorts of dimensions are impossible to buy at Ikea. Here is another before and after, and nicely bolted to the wall.

I still managed to make some time for bearmaking. A detailed post and introduction into 'Ye Olde Ten Bears Shoppe' will follow soon.

First of a Kind

I've been banging out wooden bears out of the garage for almost two years and it didn't occur to me to make a panda till last week. Here it is, 4" tall and 5" long. I'm keeping it as a prototype for future project ideas.

Panda Table Manners

Bai Yun doing what she does best (besides being a good mum), eat. Taken 7/16/06

These nighttime sightings are becoming less rare as Su Lin seems to be stirring around in the wee hours more often. A nice surprise for a fellow nightowl like me, who likes to log in at the San Diego Panda Cam at all hours. These were captured 7/6/06.

Check it Out!

illustration Friday: Skyline

Not the usual view a polar bear would see... but this combines two favorite things; bears and my backyard mountain view.

Check it Out!

Gotta Go, Gotta Go

spiral track
Originally uploaded by pyongphoto.

Hey girls, do you wonder what it might look like to let it loose on the pavement? Female bears in particular pee whenever and wherever it is convenient. If I didn't see it here first, I'd have thought it was a case of random sidewalk grafitti.

Busy Girl

Treehugger

Li'l Su is spending a bit more time on the ground, eating bamboo and exploring the gravity's effect on twigs and things. She has short ears and a round face like her big bro Mei Sheng.