The Aviary

I recently ordered a natural curiosities surprise box from etsy because a) surprise presents for myself! and b) my childhood/life so far has in no way prepared me to be any kind of scientist but it did prepare me to be basically a Victorian gentleman who dabbles in natural history in a casual way. And it came today!

( Picture! )
There are wee fish vertebrae (that I have now put into a tiny bottle for safekeeping)! A jewel beetle shell! An alligator osteoderm, which is a thing I had to look up because I had no idea what it was so I got to learn a new thing! And also, there was a vintage false tooth in its original packaging, which somehow did not make it into the photo.

10/10, would highly recommend if you are interested in receiving cool rocks and animal bits in the mail.

Things I am learning about stringing beads in my hair:

- OMG, still totally fun. I am just utterly thrilled. I know that's ridiculous, but man, I love having pretty shiny things in my hair.

- Translucent beads may retain their color when strung on elastic or cord and worn as jewelry but they tend to fade a bit when strung among way too much thick brown hair. Alas.

- Opaque white beads, on the other hand, make an almost startlingly stark contrast to my hair. I'm not sure if I like that or not.

- Most of the beads I have, I bought because I wanted to make jewelry with them. Thus, they are colors that a) appeal to me and b) look good on me, which means that, among other things, they were selected to complement my hair. And thus are mostly warm colors and blacks and browns. Unless I put all of my hair in beads (which would take hours and hours, oh my god), they kinda disappear.

- I need to buy more beads. More blues, I think.

Today, I have figured out a way to string beads in my hair. It is much like trying to thread a needle - annoying, but ultimately worth it.

Right now, I have two tiny bone beads shaped like skulls threaded into my hair, along with a couple of bells (but the bells are practically normal by now, as I do that quite often). Later, when I don't have to get ready for choir, I'll have to figure out which of the rest of my bead collection will work.

Today is a distinctly corvine day.