Just two examples of the kind of art I do.  My favorites are clay, sketchy ink drawings, and oil pastel.  The only kind of art I DON't like is paper mache.

I have included some of my science note booking work, so you can learn more about Cephalopods -  Cuttlefish, Octopuses, Squid and Nautiluses.

Cephalopods (sef’ uh loh podz), a group made up of Cuttlefish, Octopuses, Squid, and Nautilus, are considered (scientifically speaking) mollusks, however they do not really fit in this group.  Nor are they truly fish or herps either, so this is the only spot they even kind of fit into.

What is a Cephalopod?  Well, most Cephalopods have special cells called chromatophores, but a Nautilus does not.  One distinguishing feature that all Cephalopods have are tentacles.  A octopus (obviously)  has eight arms, while Cuttlefish and Squid have ten, and Nautilus can have anywhere between 38 and 90 arms!  While Cephalopod means “Head foot”, Cephalopod’s tentacles are called arms, even though they aren’t actually arms.

Those arms each have a personal set of suckers, and they use those suckers for eating.  Pray, what do they eat with?  In the center of all those waving tentacles  is a beak.  Some Cephalopods are poisonous, while most eat crustaceans and other mollusks.  They use this beak to crush their prey’s shell.

Besides these amazing features, Cephalopods have other surprising aspects.  For example, their body is smaller, but they have three hearts that pump blue blood!  Cephalopods moving in a similar way that jellyfish do.  They open and close their arms and are pushed forward.  Some also move in a similar way that sea horses do, by grabbing and pulling.  With all this, Cephalopods can produce ink!  They use this ink to confuse predators.  If they are bothered, the shoot out the ink in a great black cloud while they propel themselves to safety.

Cuttlefish, despite their sleepy look, are dangerous nighttime predators.  Well, at least if your a gastropod, another kind of mollusk, or smaller bethnic animal.  They are usually colored a kind of mottled brown, white, grey, and other neutral colors.

Believe it or not, Cuttlefish DO have a shell!    Rather than having an exoskeleton, like a crustacean (these don’t actually have a shell) or a shell like an oyster’s or conch’s, Cuttle fish have their shell under their skin, called a internal shell (or in un-scientific terms, a cuttlebone, but it is not a bone, it is a shell).

Why is a Cuttlefish a deadly hunter?  It is a poisonous animal!  Under the eight arms around it’s mouth, it’s beak will inject a toxin that will kill it’s prey (lobsters, crabs, shrimp, snails, scallops, etc.).  A Cuttle fish is a master at hiding because of it’s chromatophores.  It has two tentacles under each eye, stored in a pouch, which come out and seize the prey of the Cuttlefish so that the Cuttlefish can eat it's meal.

Squid are fascinating creature that can grow from a couple of inches or to as much as 40 feet.  The one I really like is called the Giant Squid, whose members grow up to forty feet!

Giant squid were first thought of as fables.  People on land insisted that no squid could grow that big.  The sailors (especially whalers) said that it attacked ships and whales, and that they had found scars around sperm whales’ mouths that were the size of dinner plates.  Finally in the late 1800’s, a shoal of Giant Squid washed up on a beach, and so the myth was proved.

A Woodcut of the Fabled Giant Squid.  No Date or Artist.

Study of Giant Squid remains shallow, due to the fact that Giant Squid are designed for deep ocean water with lots of pressure.  Going into warm, pressure-free water causes it to die fast.  Scientists are doing their best however, and discoveries are being made - slowly.

Octopuses can change colors, like all most other Cephalopods.  How?  It has special cells called chromatophores.  These chromatophores  produce pigments (chemicals that have color) which can be manipulated to change the color of the Cephalopod’s skin.  Octopods are masters: they even can change textures!

Some octopuses (also called octopods) will change colors with their feelings.  They might turn white when they are frightened, red when their angry, etc.  Most use their chromatophores for just camouflage.

Octopus's brains are HUGE!!!  Their brains are close to ours, in fact, scientists estimate that they feel pain the same way we do, so there are laws that say that you can’t operate on an octopus without anesthesia.  Octopuses have been known to climb on ships and out their tanks and even play with objects like pill bottles!

Fiction.

Camouflaged Octopus.

From Top to Bottom:

Cuttlefish (Cephalopod)

Baby Sea Turtle (Herp)

School of Fish (Bony Fish)

Fiddler Crab (Crustacean)

Scallop (Mollusk)

Octopus (Cephalopod)

Right Whale Breaching (Baleen Whale, Cetacean)

I have been learning about these in science.  The most recent are the Cephalopods (Sef - uh - low - podz), er, should I say Cuttlefish, Squid, Octopuses, and Nautiluses.

For those of you who shook their heads when I said Octopuses, it's right!  Octopi is incorrect.  Some books will say Octopods, but I know that it is Octopuses.

I am not only a military kid, but I homeschool and am a single child.  For those who haven't had the chance to be a homeschooled kid, it is NOT an all day pajama party!  In fact it is just a mini school in your house.  For us, I read a school book a breakfast and then I am in the school room by eight o'clock (sharp).  From there on we do school non-stop, including lunch.  (I read a school book then too)  The advantage is not only do you finish early, but you have a more extensive relationship on your learning.  It is not just your teacher, but it also your parent, so you feel more comfortable in one-and-one experiences.

For those who have not gotten to see her, this is our dog, Skoshi, who has recently turned two!  The collar was her birthday present, along with a bow, from me.

Just got back from a cabin, where we spent thanksgiving week.  The temperature was NOT at all giving.  Fun, but I don't want to LIVE that way ( there is no running water in the house).

They're tasty, they're stubborn, we see them at the beach - what are they?

They're Mollusks!  I'm learning about these little guys in science, and they are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!

Like that moon snail above (the bottom one), he looks like a alien, doesn't he?

If you are interested, look up Queen Conch, cowries, and moon snails for more on these fascinating animals.

  I have a rule in life, a rule that makes sure that my life works.  This is it:  "Lead, Follow, or get out of the #@%^&*! way."   It works very well.
  This is why my life doesn't work very well.  I don't seem able to follow this rule.  Oh well.  Sharing good rules is good, because then society will work much better and every one will be very happy and that is good.

  For those of you whom I haven't seen in a while, here is a update on my family's life.  My dad is going to command for a year in Honduras.  The base there is very small, and we will not be living with him.  Instead, we are moving to Texas, where we have a new house with a POOL!  I have graduated to sixth grade, have turned 11, and have finally started decimals!  Ogee (my grandfather) is here and tomorrow (monday) we are going to drive up to Pennsylvania to stay in a log cabin for three days.  No bathroom in the house.  Other than that, there is nothing interesting going on.

  I have to suggest the series books 'Kiki Strike' (two copies) and 'Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls' (six books).  You can visit both Kiki's website and Allie's rules if you click on these links.
  I also suggest visiting Mark Kistler's website (he is a drawing Master whom draws the best way ever, he promises improvement in your drawing) if you click here.  You WILL need to get a password, but it is extremely easy. 

Homeschool Art Class:

Foil Picture

This is a foil picture that I did for home school art class.

Supplies:
• Cardboard
• A pencil
• Permanent markers
• Foil
• Glue
• String
• Scissors

Instructions:
1.  Draw a pattern, landscape, still life, or just random lines on the cardboard (or card stock).
2.  Using the string, scissors and glue, trace your drawing with string, so that the create ridges where your pencil marks were.
3.  Allow to dry.
4.  Cover with tin foil and smooth.
5.  Using permanent markers, color where there are NOT ridges.  Finished!

  I love to make a brand new room, all white and all, nice and cool looking.  The problem is, I always want to go back to where ever I was before that.

  Many people say to me when I mention being military, "Oh, you must go so many places."  This may be true for people who stay in one place all their life, but moving is part of my life and I don't like it one bit.  Imagine leaving everything behind you.  That's what moving is like.  And trust me:  visiting a little French village does NOT make up for leaving your BFFs behind.

Intoduction!

Hi there!
I just started this blog.  Actually, technically I didn't!  Even though this post is the first one, I've been posting for over a year, and I realized I never did an into to my blog.

I'm Noelle (I'm supposedly 11).  I'm a artistic, slightly conky, not-at-all athletic blogger who loves...um blogging.  That's all you really need to know before reading on!  At the time I wrote this, I had almost 200 hundred posts, but it'll have gone up by now, so read on.  It should keep you fairly busy for a week or so.

OK, that's all for now folks!  Don't forget to tell your friends!