Plastidon mastodan

The world’s most famous ice age fossil excavation site is located in the heart of Los Angeles, California at the La Brea Tar Pits. Fans of ice age animals can view a heartbreaking scene: a daddy mammoth and a baby mammoth bidding a sad farewell to a mother mammoth trapped in the deadly ooze and sinking fast.

Of course, these aren’t real mammoths. They are made of durable fiberglass, created by sculptor Howard Ball and installed at the bubbling site in 1967.

How did they get to the tar pits? Towed behind Mr. Ball’s 1958 Volkswagen, of course!

Looking good

Conch shells are something to blow like a horn on special occasions and otherwise keep proudly on a shelf of treasures.

In the ocean, however, conch shells are something else entirely.

Occupied.

We see you, conches!

Yuri’s bears

The wonderful illustrator Yuri Vasnetsov was born in Russia in 1900. He studied modern art but found his greatest inspiration in traditional Russian folk art and his love of wildlife. Animals of all kinds spring to life in his drawings and paintings with much humor and sometimes a touch of dread. Bears were a favorite subject. Here are some terrific examples.

Mr. Vasnetsov was able to give all his animal creations a strong and distinct personality. Despite having lost a leg and trekking in deep snow, this bear seems to be looking on the bright side of life. It’s good to be home!

⌃Here are the famous Three Bears in a happy daytime woodland scene.

⌃And a different trio in a nighttime setting.

⌃This bear has found a  reluctant sailing companion, who also serves as a boat!

⌃And this painting shows Yuri’s love of bears is shared by all.

Farewell, summer. Welcome, autumn!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy #LaborDay to all the hard workers out there trying to build a better world one grain of sand at a time! pic.twitter.com/piP3oq6Va8

— Monterey Bay Aquarium (@MontereyAq) September 3, 2018

A little perspective

Hedgie hero

Azuki, a hedgehog from Japan, has 270,000 followers on Instagram. And more are signing on every day. Why? Because Azuki is irresistibly cute. And Azuki has a more interesting life than many people. Including me, possibly. I haven’t been camping in ages!

Ghastly glances

These trees looked so ordinary yesterday.

Why do they seem a little sinister today?

IT’S BECAUSE OF TOMORROW!

Happy first day of fall!

Today the sun crosses the plane of the earth’s equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth. It’s the autumn equinox, the end of summer and the start of fall. From here on out, nights will be longer and days will be shorter. And hibernation will start to sound pretty good!

Buggy beauty

Fueled by a concern for nature and a scientific curiosity, Japanese artist Hiroshi Shinno creates ikimono (life/living) sculptures of imaginary insects out of metal and resin. Shinno intends for these fantastical forms to remind us of the wondrous variety that is found in the natural world. Even insectophobes have got to be onboard with that!

Shinno keeps an Insect Diary, in which he sketches ideas for future works. Take a look!