davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2023

davidd wrote:
How can summer be almost over already?

YOU HUSH NOW.

"Steampink" sounds like something Groove might do.

If you're curious this is the tv show. Bitz is the girl and Bob is the little boy cardboard robot. At first I thought steampink as a style was a bit ridiculous but maybe if done right it could have a lot of potential.

Alliecat wrote:

davidd wrote:
How can summer be almost over already?  

YOU HUSH NOW.

"Steampink" sounds like something Groove might do.

I was just thinking, "at least the pinyon jays haven't passed through yet." Pinyon jays live in the higher mountains during the summer and down in the lower valleys in the winter. When they pass through in the spring, it is a sign that the weather will be warming up as summer nears. When they pass through in the fall... well, no sooner had I thought about it than a dozen noisy pinyon jays stopped at the garden pond on their way to warmer climes.

CatDragonStorm wrote:If you're curious this is the tv show. Bitz is the girl and Bob is the little boy cardboard robot. At first I thought steampink as a style was a bit ridiculous....

Bitz and Bob looks like loads of fun, as well as being visually engaging. Bitz reminds me a bit of my helpful workers, Triv and Janie. According to Wikipedia, the series has been broadcast in nearly every part of the world except for the United States!

(Altho' it appears I might be able to see at least some of the episodes on the BBC iPlayer website.)

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20 August - A Doll A Day 2023:


Gonna pick ya up at ten, gotta have ya home at two
Mama don't know what the heck's come over you
But that's all right 'cuz you're lookin' as cool as can be!

Head sculpt:  YMToys YMT032
Body: TBLeague S41
Dress & lace stockings: circa 1988 Hasbro Maxie doll
Jacket and pink belt with pack: circa 2019 Mattel Wild Hearts Crew doll
Boots:  1/6 Female Zipper Boots via eBay
Chains: fine link costume jewelry chains via eBay
Goggles: circa 2005 Pinky-Street Tenjo Tenge Aya

Admittedly, I don't think that chick is really 'punk.' At least not hardcore punk. She's more like rockabilly with poseur-punk accents.

So many grasshoppers. While I agree that summer is winding down, it is supposed to be 102 F degrees this week where I live!

We have shorebirds starting to pass through. Also I suspect the hummers arguing over the feeders today are migrants. And some Canada geese were practising squadron formation in the marsh -- looked like travel preparations. It makes me sad to see them getting ready to head south, and to hear them peeping overhead at night, and I wish I could go with them.

Anyway, that's a fun mashup outfit of all the differently sourced parts.

Alliecat wrote: Also I suspect the hummers arguing over the feeders today are migrants.

After a hot summer of having only three hummingbirds flitting around the feeders, two more showed up about a month ago. A week later a few more trickled in, and then the floodgates opened. I am filling three feeders three to five times per day at this point.

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21 August - A Doll A Day 2023:


DID 80154 1/6 WWII German Flying Ace “Star of Africa” Marseille Boots

In short: doll shoes.

This is an illustration of the total random nature of my doll and figure "collection," and of the "because it looks cool" approach I take to action figure and doll purchases.

I was scrolling through eBay listings a few weeks ago (these boots arrived today from a seller in China) looking for something else and these military shoes for a male 1/6-scale action figure caught my eye. I mean... they looked cool. And the asking price seemed reasonable.

I compared prices to another site that carries such things -- MonkeyDepot.com -- and this pair was a better price (usually MD prices are hard to beat)... so I bought them.

I did not have a specific project in mind for these shoes. I was not looking for "male action figure military shoes" at the time. I rationalized the purchase by a) having money to spend, b) I liked the looks, and c) I never seem to have enough male action figure footwear.

Now that I have the shoes, I wonder what additional purchase they will lead to?

21 August - A Doll A Day 2023

That's so cool. They NEVER congregate here. Nesting or migrants, squabble all the time. I wish I could see them not being territorial. Although it sounds like they're keeping you pretty busy -- that's a LOT of refilling!!!
...why are the contents yellow???...
And that's a cool shot with the one bird framed "inside" the feeder.

Alliecat wrote:I wish I could see them not being territorial.  
...why are the contents yellow???...

The hummers are quite territorial, squabbling noisily and constantly.

When I was a kid, anyone who had a hummingbird feeder added a dash of red food color to the mix.

The current "expert advice" is to simply mix sugar with water and omit any color "because the effects of food coloring on hummingbirds has not been adequately studied."

I add one drop of food coloring to each fill. After several years of doing this, I have not noticed a mass hummingbird die-off.

I have not noticed a preference among the birds for any particular color. I tried a non-colored feeder a couple of years ago. They definitely were more attracted to the feeders with colored water. The colored feeders emptied faster.

Sometimes I try to color match the wildflowers that are in bloom, which usually means red, orange, or yellow. After I run out of red and yellow, I use whatever color I have left, blue or green.

An advantage to using colored fill over uncolored is that it's easier to tell at a glance or from a distance how near empty the feeders are.

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22 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

Interesting about the coloured ones emptying faster. I find the red feeder itself quite adequate. I'm kind of laughing at the idea of someone conducting a study on hummingbirds with food colouring. I've never used it nor will I use the packaged store-bought "mixes". Why consume chemical substances you don't need to?

I wonder what adventures Sindy is going on. She has a camera to photograph the hummingbirds, anyway!

Alliecat wrote:I've never used it nor will I use the packaged store-bought "mixes".  

Using the store-bought mix would be a quick way to go bankrupt! At least around here!

I pour one part sugar to four parts water in the feeder, add one drop of color, shake it until the sugar dissolves, then hang it up. Repeat two or three hours later.

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23 August - A Doll A Day 2023:


Sindy has been the undisputed champion of the Annual Side-Eye Glance-Off Competition since 1963!

Shake it till the sugar dissolves
And here I've been not-quite-boiling it to dissolve the sugar all these years.
And all that lasts no more than 3 hours?! Wow. Any idea how many hummers you have around in total?

Never know when you might need an effective side-eye...

Alliecat wrote:Shake it till the sugar dissolves  
And here I've been not-quite-boiling it to dissolve the sugar all these years.
And all that lasts no more than 3 hours?!  Wow.  Any idea how many hummers you have around in total?

Yeah, when I was a kid, everyone I knew of boiled the water until the sugar dissolved, and then kept the mixture in a refrigerator.

One time my grandpa drank the hummingbird solution, thinking it was Kool-Aid. We kids thought that was hilariously funny.

I read somewhere online several years ago that just shaking up the water to dissolve the sugar works just as well, so that's what I do.

I put a length of tape around the feeder to mark the sugar level (the black line visible on the feeder in the photos). I pour sugar directly in to the glass feeder up to the line, then fill it a bit more than halfway with water, shake until dissolved, then top up with water and shake again. Screw on the lid and hang it up.

Night time temps have dropped below 50˚F / 10˚C for a few nights, and all of a sudden most of the hummers are gone. There are probably less than a quarter remaining of how many there were two or three days ago.

Hummers leaving, pinyon jays passing through, grasshoppers almost entirely gone, and I even spotted a bald eagle yesterday; it's looking like an early winter here.

Supposedly the central U.S. is experiencing a heat wave right now. You wouldn't know it here in southern Utah.

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24 August - A Doll A Day 2023:


As is to be expected with the success of the Barbie movie, Mattel Barbie dolls and accessories are displayed prominently in retail stores.

However, Bratz dollz manage to remain stylishly competitive.

Well... maybe not competitive, so much. I mean, four different dollz make up the entire selection currently available.

But stylish, yes.

davidd wrote:One time my grandpa drank the hummingbird solution, thinking it was Kool-Aid. We kids thought that was hilariously funny.

Well, that made me curious so I tasted mine (in the fridge!!).  It's... um... interesting.  But I guess I can see how it might be mistaken for Kool-Aid.  That is pretty funny.
Your mixing method is "interesting" too!

This time of year just makes me sad.  The earlier sunsets have become obvious... the air feels different... the sense of a shift in the balance of life as the flocks of birds become restless and start travelling.  Might not be so bad if there wasn't 6-7-8 months of cold to follow
We don't have the huge flocks of shorebirds they get up the bay, but there've been a few sandpipers on the beach in the evenings.  I feel bad disturbing them.  They need to rest and save energy.

I can imagine the marketing on the Barbie movie is in overdrive.

The marketing on the Barbie movie is in overdrive - but you can't find the dolls anywhere.

I have had one hummer in my yard this year. The bird did not empty the feeders, and it was 100 degrees here this week, so I dumped it all out so it wouldn't go bad and left them empty to dry out. I will refill one tonight. I also use the not-quite-boiling method.

I still have plenty of grasshoppers though, and the goldfinch are still busy raising their young.

The thing I love most about this forum is that I learn so much not just about dolls but plants, horticulture, animals, birds. We don't have hummingbirds in the UK, but since I watched pocahontas as a child I always wanted to see one up close. Your feeder photos are very cool! Also I love sandy and the monkey that's very cute!

So many forums in the past were like - no, you can't talk about that here, that's off topic. I want the Dal House Forum to be a fun community where we can chat about our interests even if they aren't directly related to dolls!

CatDragonStorm wrote:The thing I love most about this forum is that I learn so much not just about dolls but plants, horticulture, animals, birds.

I've learned a lot of interesting things on this forum, about the topics you mention, plus about what it's like to live in various places around the US and the world! It's all interesting to me: like, what the weather is like in different places today, how the seasons are changing, what's popular, what people are doing, sometimes touching on what the current social or political trends are. It's informative and more "real world" than watching the TV news.

TrueFan wrote:So many forums in the past were like - no, you can't talk about that here, that's off topic. I want the Dal House Forum to be a fun community where we can chat about our interests even if they aren't directly related to dolls!

And I, for one, am very very very... I'll add one more very... happy that the mods and admins (like, one Admin, pretty much ) never, that I have seen, step in to chastise anyone for veering off-topic. In my experience, even off-topic forum discussions usually end up back on topic at some point. Things are a lot more fun if we never know where a conversation is headed!

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26 August - A Doll A Day 2023:


Two objectives with this photo (beyond mere wanton violence):

1. Participate in a "photo emulation challenge" on another forum – https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t7142-the-jig-is-up-miskatonicnick-photo-emulation-challenge-ii

2. Try to compose a more "active" scene using dolls or action figures. My photos tend to be static. I want to convey a greater sense of "something happening" as opposed to "standing there."

I always give mine a quick scrub out with a drop of detergent before refilling -- in case there is mold, and they'll always be sticky.
Cat, I hope you can see a hummingbird someday.  They are magical.  You might like the book "The Hummingbirds' Gift" by Sy Montgomery ... quick read, nice story.
SOME DAY when I have the time, I'd like to set a doll near the feeder and try to catch a photo.  But every year the season slips away before I do.

Nice action shot, davidd.
Is Sindy thinking about becoming a pirate if the TV thing doesn't work out?  The monkey is a change from all the parrots...  

Alliecat wrote:
Is Sindy thinking about becoming a pirate if the TV thing doesn't work out?  The monkey is a change from all the parrots...  

That's a fun idea, worthy of serious consideration!

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27 August - A Doll A Day 2023:

TrueFan wrote:So many forums in the past were like - no, you can't talk about that here, that's off topic. I want the Dal House Forum to be a fun community where we can chat about our interests even if they aren't directly related to dolls!

This what I like best about this forum, it feels more free but more intimate as we all learn new things about each other and the world.
@Alliecat- if I ever make it back to your side of the globe I might see one!
@Davidd- you've got in some really good action shots of late, how did you get your dolls to balance so well?

Goodness. Did somebody expose that bunch to a Fruity Oaty Bar commercial or something??

Alliecat wrote:Goodness.  Did somebody expose that bunch to a Fruity Oaty Bar commercial or something??

Firefly/serenity??