May 3rd, photo of the day: more xenomorphism

As I mentioned in my last post, the bonsai collection offered loads of xenomorphism. However, I found other such things elsewhere today too.

I LOVE these guys. Not exactly sure what they’re called. Anyone know?

LOVE

And, how about this thing? Ever seen one before? It’s called a Cherimoya, and is grown in South Asia, South and Central America.

Scaly fruit?

I think we may have gotten a slightly under ripe fruit, but since neither Isaac nor myself had ever seen these before, we couldn’t be sure. It tasted sort of like an apple, though not quite either. It left a bitter taste in my mouth, which I would hope is only due to the fruit’s premature condition. It also reminded me of a Rose Apple, which I ate LOADS of while in Thailand. MMM…those were so tasty.

No, it’s not a dinosaur egg.

In other  news, I’ve decided, that, in honor of the WordCount Blogathon, I’m offering a discount in my Etsy shop. During the month of May, use coupon code “Blogathon” to receive 15% off your entire order! I added several new photos this afternoon!

Alphabe-Thursday: The Letter X: Xenomorphic

I was sort of dreading this week’s letter, as many participants in Jenny Matlock’s Alphabe-Thursday probably were. I kept thinking words that would work if I was willing to cheat a little; “eXamine” or “eXclaim” and so on.

Luckily though, Isaac and I decided to drive down to Federal Way, a town we hadn’t yet explored, and one that is only about 15 miles away. As we usually do before such an adventure, we Googled the town to see what interesting things it has to offer.

One of the things we decided to check out was the Bonsai Collection, curated by the Weyerhaeuser Company. It’s an interesting place to visit, they have 60 different individual bonsai, in a nicely laid out exhibit garden. The exhibit is mostly all outside, and on rainy days like today it makes it a very soggy experience, but cool nevertheless.

These “trees” are works of art that take years (think three decades or more) to mold into the final product. Many of them have been shaped into certain shapes or styles of bonsai, such as the cascade or semi-cascade bonsai, which is designed to mirror the trees seen clinging to cliff-sides.

And so, my entry into the Alphabe-Thursday collection is this:

Xenomorphic: adjective, meaning: in an unusual form; having a strange form.

the xenomorphic bonsai

and a triptych of some of the others:

Each tree is so different, both because of the variety of tree species used, and because of the design.

What X words can you come up with? Check out the other participants/join in the fun yourself here: