Underwater Wednesday: Staghorn Coral

Today’s Underwater Wednesday may resemble a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but it’s actually a type of staghorn coral...

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Staghorn Coral photographed in Cozumel.

...And I think its perky symmetrical branches are just begging to be adorned with some festive Christmas tree ornaments!

 

This coral was about 2 feet tall and Michael took the photo at a depth of about 40 feet during a night dive.

Michael and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Underwater Wednesday: Christmas Tree Worm

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree…

Today’s Underwater Wednesday displays the holiday spirit all year long! The festive Christmas Tree Worm is named such because of its two spiral tree-shaped “crowns.”

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Christmas Tree Worm in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• Each spiral consists of radioles – which are feather-like tentacles that catch floating plankton.

• These radioles are also work as gills for respiration.

• Christmas Tree Worms are typically found on stony corals.

• Each spiral is about one inch in length.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 50 feet.

Hmmm...do you suppose Santa leaves any presents under these Christmas trees?

Mikey and the Manger

My favorite childhood Christmas decoration growing up was our nativity scene. Every year I would gaze into it with awe and excitement as the special holiday approached.

Awhile back my dad asked me if I would like the nativity scene for our home someday…I was thrilled and couldn't wait for that day to come. To my surprise, my dad recently shipped the antique-glazed porcelain figurines to me. I was ecstatic!

I had all the beautiful figurines, I just needed a new manger. What a perfect opportunity for Mikey to do some woodworking!

Mikey knew how special this nativity scene was to me, and he didn't take this job lightly. (After all, this project isn't just about my favorite Christmas decoration...it represents the birth of Jesus!) That being said, he was happy and honored to build it for me.

He spent hours researching mangers, measuring dimensions, and sketching plans. He went out into the single digit temperatures (brrr!) and gathered wood and “hay” from our land. He heated up his workshop in the garage, turned on some Christmas tunes, and got to work...



Let's take a peak at Mikey in his workshop...

 

Mikey "the architect" sketched the plans
down to the last detail.

 

Mikey hard at work with the power saw...

Now on to the hammer and chisel!

They fit together perfectly...just like Lincoln Logs!

Ta-da!! Almost an exact replica of the plans he sketched.

A side view. Mikey even weathered the wood to make it more rustic.

With the manger set up, Mikey is now figuring out how to hang the angel. (It was a little more challenging than you might think!)

The beautiful nativity scene...the manger is built, the figurines are in place, the angel is effortlessly "floating," and the hay is arranged.

 

 

A close-up of the manger...check out the detail!

 

A closer view from the right side...

 

 

A closer view from the left side...

I'm so happy with how it turned out! We already have an even better location picked out for next year's display...along with a few other ideas to add!

After the manger was all set up, Mikey asked if I thought my Mom in heaven likes it. I said "I bet she loves it!"

THANK YOU Dad and Mikey for blessing me with this most treasured gift!

Underwater Wednesday: Sailboat at Sunset

I’m shaking things up for today’s Underwater Wednesday…it’s actually an ABOVEwater photograph!

This is one of our favorite award-winning and published photos of Michael's...

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Sailboat photographed in Cozumel.

This photo spoke to me today because it portrays a perfect image of tranquility and stillness…something that’s difficult to feel as the momentum of the holiday season builds up.

So, if you find yourself focused more on your stresses than your blessings, take a few minutes to gaze into a favorite picture or ponder over a comforting verse. It really does help!
 

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10



Cowboy Bought A Truck

Last month I posted about Mikey’s (aka Cowboy's) quest for a new "old" truck. After several weeks of searching, he found her! She’s everything Cowboy was looking for…and more!

She’s a BIG girl...she's a 4x4...she's a one ton with a big 460 engine.

Meet Trigger...the ’97 Ford F350...

Here she comes up the driveway!

Cowboy is so proud of his trusty, new sidekick!



Cowboy loves the rugged look and the straight lines of the "classic" Ford trucks.

Trigger has a beautiful paint job, new tires and rims, diamond plate bed rails with bed tubes on top, a roll up bed cover, a chrome bug shield, nerf bars, dual exhaust, and more!

Trigger is super clean and in great shape. In fact, her previous owner took such good care of her, she hasn't even seen a Wisconsin winter!



Cowboy and Trigger are quite the pair!

 

 

 

So, after looking at hundreds of trucks online, the search for the perfect truck is over. There was just something special about Trigger...it was love at first sight!

And best of all, Cowboy loves her even more than Jimmy! (Jimmy who?!)

I also love the new addition to our family…Cowboy has offered to run countless errands for me! Yippee!!

And, in case you're wondering, YES, she guzzles a lot of gas, but as we say...“We didn’t buy her for her gas mileage!”

P.S. I am not letting Cowboy sell this truck!!

 



Underwater Wednesday: Bubba the Diver

Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to dedicate today's Underwater Wednesday to perhaps the silliest underwater creature I've ever seen...Bubba the Diver!

Who's Bubba the Diver?!

Bubba the Diver photographed in Cozumel.

It's Michael...proudly sporting his "bubba teeth." Yes, he actually took the regulator out of his mouth (just for a quick minute) to pose for this picture! Scary, huh?!

 

Happy Halloween!

Underwater Wednesday: Jackknife Fish

Today's Underwater Wednesday is a shy, delicate little fish named....the Jackknife Fish.  



©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Jackknife Fish photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• It's not much of a mystery how this fish got its name...the formation of the long dorsal and caudal fins resemble a jackknife!

• This unique shape has an important function...it confuses predators as it appears to be two fish instead of one.

• These fish are very recognizable with their black and white coloring, however, don't expect to see a big school of them...they typically swim alone.

• These fish aren't big underwater travelers...they tend to stick around in one place (a coral or rock formation) and swim around in circles!

• Jackknife Fish feed at night on crabs, shrimp, and worms.

• This Jackknife was about 7 inches in length.

• Michael photographed this fish at a depth of about 40 feet during a night dive.



Underwater Wednesday: Coney

Would anyone like fish tacos for dinner?

Well, we’re actually having some yummy homemade soup tonight, but whenever I see today’s Underwater Wednesday I think of fish tacos. Unfortunately, this “taco” just doesn't look too tasty...it's a little skimpy on the fish!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Coney photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• Michael stumbled upon this coney cutie tucked inside a piece of coral during a night dive.

• Coneys use coral pieces to lay eggs...and protect themselves from dangerous predators.

• Coneys are categorized as groupers.

• This coney was about 18 inches in length.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 50 feet.

Underwater Wednesday: Starfish

Today’s Underwater Wednesday may be a STAR, but it’s actually not a FISH. Huh?! The starfish is an echinoderm – a type of invertebrate marine animal.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Starfish photographed in Cozumel.



Photo Fun Facts:

 

• Since this isn’t a true “fish,” scientists are trying to replace the name “starfish” with “sea star.”

• They protect themselves from dangerous predators with their bony and calcified skin.

• Most starfish have five arms, but some species can have up to 40 arms. (Wow, I bet they are great multi-taskers!)

• And if a starfish loses an arm…no problem! They can regenerate what they lost.

• This starfish was about the size of a dinner plate.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 40 feet.

Cowboy Needs A Truck

Mikey (aka “Cowboy” to many of his friends) desperately "needs" a truck. ;)

When we purchased our land to build our home over six years ago, one of the first things Cowboy did was buy a good ole truck.

The truck’s name was Jimmy. (By the way, Jimmy is a "she"!)


Cowboy's old truck named Jimmy.

Jimmy was perfect. She was in good condition. She was heavy duty. She had low mileage. She had a solid sound (very important to Cowboy). She even had a touch of camo (we do live in Wisconsin, after all!) She was just an all-around great truck to use for our house/construction site and woods.

Cowboy loved Jimmy...and so did our teenage neighbor.

Last summer we hired this neighbor to help out with some yard work and he became obsessed with Cowboy’s truck. He told Cowboy all summer how much he wanted to buy Jimmy and even put in a lot of extra hours to try and convince Cowboy to sell her.

The problem? Cowboy wasn’t even thinking about selling her. But, being the big-hearted man that he is, he decided to help the kid out and somehow convinced himself that he didn’t really need Jimmy anymore. Alas, he sold it to him at a great, GREAT price.

Big mistake.

Where was my wifey intuition?! Why did I agree that it was a good idea to sell that truck?!

For over a year now, Cowboy has missed his truck terribly. It’s like he lost his second best friend. (I think there's a country song in here somewhere!) He's realized that "Gosh darn it Marti, we live in the woods, we just gotta have a truck!"

So, he recently started to look for a Jimmy II. He has very specific criteria with a specific budget.

Cowboy’s Truck Criteria:

• Make: Ford, GMC, or other American model
• Year: 1992 - 2005
• Other: (See Jimmy’s traits above. Okay, so the camo isn’t a "must-have.")

Cowboy has spent hours searching online and we’ve spent a lot of time driving around checking out trucks in car lots and random “for sale by owner” listings. But, nothing has compared to Jimmy.

Perhaps I need to keep Cowboy better focused during our outings….

Cowboy, I think this one has a little too much rust...and it's not a truck!

Umm Cowboy, this isn't a truck either...and definitely not in the price range!

So...the truck search continues for Cowboy and his trusty, patient sidekick :)  He's found a few more to look at and hopefully one of them will be THE ONE.

(He's just gotta find a truck...cuz every cowboy "needs" a truck!)

To be continued...

Underwater Wednesday: Octopus

Today’s Underwater Wednesday features one big head, two strong eyes, and four pairs of arms. We’re talking about the ah-mazing octopus, of course!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Octopus photographed in Cozumel.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Octopus photographed in Cozumel

Photo Fun Facts:

• Because the octopus doesn’t have a skeleton, it can squeeze easily into reef crevices for protection.

 

• Three other defense tactics of the octopus include: changing colors to camouflage into the background, discharging an ink substance, and swimming very fast.

• The octopus is an extremely intelligent invertebrate with a super complex nervous system.

 

• This little guy was only about 8 inches long.

 

• Michael took these photos at a depth of 40 feet during a night dive.

The Great "Grape Jelly" Smack-Down

Summer is officially over. But, Mikey and I are still having fun sorting through his summer photos of our feathered friends. And, we’re still chuckling over "The Great Grape Jelly Smack-Down." Here's how it all went down...


On one tree limb, we have the Red-breasted Grosbeak, looking rather calm, cool, and collected….

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Red-breasted Grosbeak

 

On another tree limb, we have the Baltimore Oriole, looking much more alert, fierce, and determined...

 

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole

 

Both birds have one goal in mind...to get their beaks on that grape jelly Mikey tucked inside a piece of driftwood.



Grape jelly used to lure in birds.

So...Who do you think got to the grape jelly first?!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole and Red-breasted Grosbeak

And, the winner of "The Great Grape Jelly Smack-Down" is....

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Baltimore Oriole

That fierce determination definitely paid off! (Look closely and you can see the grape jelly in his beak!)

To see our favorite Baltimore Oriole photo, click here. For a little backstory on the grape jelly technique to lure in birds, click here.

Underwater Wednesday: Blue-Eye Hermit Crab – Part 2

Well, well, well...Look who's come out of his shell since last week’s Underwater Wednesday…

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Blue-eye hermit crab photographed in Cozumel.

As I was perusing Mikey’s library of underwater photos, I found this somewhat “shell-less” photo of the blue-eye hermit crab and couldn’t resist dedicating a follow-up post to him. Perhaps Mikey caught this colorful crustacean just as he was relocating to a bigger abode?

Side Note: I didn’t realize the hermit crab was such a hairy ‘lil fella!

For more fun facts on this blue-eye "beauty," click here.

Safer Than a Chainsaw

For the past couple of days, my renaissance man has traded in his chainsaw for his microphone!

(Ahhh, I can breathe a big sigh of relief knowing he’s tucked safely in his studio…rather than romping through the woods with a BIG, dangerous power tool!)

Mikey has been busy working on another corporate voice over project for one of Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work for...

Mikey is focused intensely on his script….

 

So focused, he didn’t even hear me enter the studio! (Okay so he did hear me…and I think his reaction spooked me more than I spooked him!)

Well, I should let Mikey get back to his script. He wants to finish up so he can go play (err, work!) in the woods...with his chainsaw. (Oh, great!)

Mikey is still hoping to one day land his dream voice over job!

Underwater Wednesday: Blue-Eye Hermit Crab

Our Underwater Wednesday today is quite the cute crustacean with those bright baby blues! Meet the blue-eye hermit crab…

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Blue-eye hermit crab photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• Hermit crabs don’t naturally have their own shells. To protect their soft, exposed abdomens and to protect themselves from predators, they look for shells to live in (and carry with them.)

• This particular hermit crab is residing in a conch shell.

 

• As the body of a hermit crab grows, it needs to "house hunt" for a roomier shell.

 

• Evidently, real estate hunting is quite competitive among hermit crabs, so don’t be surprised if you see multiple crabs quarreling over the same conch!

 

• This hermit crab was about 4 inches in length.

• As most hermit crabs are nocturnal, Michael took this photo during a night dive.

 

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 40 feet.

Underwater Wednesday: Social Featherduster

The “social featherduster”…what an interesting name for today’s Underwater Wednesday! These marine creatures may resemble a common household cleaning tool, but they’re actually tube worms. Each lives in its own thin tube (as seen in the first photo below) which they can retract into if they sense danger.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Social featherduster photographed in Cozumel.



©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Social featherduster photographed in Cozumel.



©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Social featherduster photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• Each tube is a little smaller in diameter than the average drinking straw.

• The delicate “feathers” are actually radials that extend out of their tubes to catch food (such as plankton) drifting by.

• When extended, these particular social featherdusters were about three-quarters of an inch to an inch in diameter.

• Michael took these photos at a depth of about 40 feet.

Well, I'm suddenly motivated to grab my own featherduster and dust the house! :)

Mikey the Lumberjack

A renaissance man’s job is never done.

Remember that bad storm we had last month? We had 7 trees fall down around the house, and several more trees fell down deeper in the woods. Michael has been nervous because a few big treetops fell in the creek. His fear was that if we would have another bad rainstorm, those treetops would create dams and the water would rise towards the house.

So, Michael had a plan. (He always has a plan!) Early last week he was busy doing what lumberjacks do…tuning up his chainsaw, reviewing safety procedures, and lining up some helpers to clear those trees from the creek.

Friday was the big day!

My words can’t possibly describe how hard Michael and his helpers worked. Michael gave me a tour of the progress so far and I snapped a few pics...

This part of the creek was completely blocked with fallen treetops.
(I’m not sure how the little beavers could swim through the branches!)

Michael and his crew had quite the assembly line going. They would saw the limbs, pull them out of the creek, cut them into smaller pieces, and stack them into neat piles.

This is just one of 25 piles!

Anyone need firewood? Some of these logs were so large that they had to use the winch on the 4-wheeler to pull them out of the creek.

I love this picture. The look on Mikey’s face says it all! Plus, it looks like he's looking up at God's light thinking "Are you serious? Another storm?" :)

Oh, and this is how Mikey came home after working so hard in the woods all day…
his pants were covered with stickers…ouch!

I think we need to toss these pants into one of the “burn" piles!

Mikey the lumberjack had a very productive day, but he is so sore and tired. I’m glad he’s taking my advice and is taking it easy this weekend. Thank you Mikey for all your hard work to keep our land and home safe!

Underwater Wednesday: Hawksbill Sea Turtle

One of our favorite sightings while diving was the beloved sea turtle. Whether swimming out in open waters or resting peacefully on a coral reef, it was always a thrill to stumble upon a sea turtle. (Hey, that’s me in the background!)

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Hawksbill sea turtle photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts: 

• You'll notice the hawksbill's head and jaw are particularly narrow. This allows the turtle to nudge its way into coral reef crevices to snatch up some food. 

 

• Thousands of sea turtles nest each year on the beaches of Cozumel. Approximately 60 days later, the hatchlings emerge to the surface of the beach (usually at night) and scurry their way to the ocean. 

 

• This sea turtle was about 2 feet in length.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 50 feet.