Pirate Ball

The demons have started figuring out if they can make a cannon out of a cardboard tube to shoot their pirate ball around.


Deimos: This tube is big enough for the ball. Now we must check if Niks and Naks fit in. If they do, we can shoot trolls from a cannon!


Deimos: Push harder!

Fomalhaut: I think his ears are too big...


Deimos: Push harder!

Fomalhaut: It's stuck!

Niks: Hey, I can't see. And you are crushing my ears!


Deimos: OK. We'll take it off. On count of three, pull...


Deimos: One, two, three... PULL!


Deimos: It worked!


Fomalhaut: But the tube is ruined...


Niks: There are lots of other things one can do with a ball. Like balancing on it.

Naks: Great! I'll jump onto your head, and we have a great circus act!

*** POUNCE***


Deimos: It did not quite work...

Niks: Naks is too heavy...

Naks: ... and Niks has no sense of balance...



Deimos: OK, we'll just play football...

Niks: We can be the football hooligans!

Naks: Yes! We are great hooligans!

Sock yarn sweaters

Phobos and Deimos have been watching me knit socks. They declared that the variegated (self-patterning) sock yarn is just perfect for knitting sweaters for them, especially the black/grey variety.

They are supposed to pose nicely in their new sweaters...

Deimos: Phobos! What are you doing to my hair!

Phobos: Nothing, Door Knob, your hair always sticks up.


Deimos: Leave me alone!


Deimos: It looks like Fomalhaut has found something...


Deimos: Cool! A Pirate foot ball!


Deimos: What a pity we dismantled the catatpult. This would have made a splendid missile. I wonder if we can build a cannon...

Carousel

As it is still raining, the little demons are at a new construction project...


Deimos: I wonder if we have enough pieces for a carousel...


Deimos: This will be the base. Not quite round, but it will have to do.

Fomalhaut: These will be the supports for the hand bars...



The carousel is ready. The boys set it into motion...


... and round they go!...


...maybe a bit too fast.

Fomalhaut: #¤%/&?#%§!!!!!

Niks and Naks want to try too. They are a bit small to work the carousel, but Fomalhaut and Deimos help to start the spin...


... and round they go...


... too fast again!


Time for the demolition crew to do their part.

Deimos: We'll build something else next week...

The Catapult

When the weather is bad, the little demons must amuse themselves inside.

Fomalhaut and Deimos have found an old box of Legos. Deimos is the mechanically oriented one and he takes charge of the project.

Fomalhaut: What are we going to build?

Deimos: I'm trying to see if there are enough suitable pieces to build a catapult. We'll need some wheels and rods...


Deimos: this will be the tower for the pulley.

Fomalhaut: And this will be the scoop... or whatever it is called. It will carry the ammunition.

When the catapult is ready, Niks and Naks come to investigate.

Niks: It looks cool.

Naks: Will it work?


Deimos: Of course it will work. You put the ammunition into the scoop...


Deimos: ...and jerk the string. The arm with the scoop goes up and the ammunition is hurled a million kilometers away.

Niks: I find that hard to believe...

Deimos: Would you believe 5 kilometers?

Naks: I find even that hard to believe.

Niks: let's just test it!

Niks climbs into the scoop.

Deimos: OK, Fomalhaut, help me pull this... One, two,...


Deimos: ... THREEE!

Niks: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......

The scoop goes up! Did Niks fly a million or 5 kilometers?


Well, not quite, maybe about 10 centimeters.

Naks: That looked fun! I want to try, too.


Deimos: OK, climb into the scoop... ready?


Deimos: .... and PULL!

Naks: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

Umbriel has heard the noise and comes to investigate.

Umbriel: What's going on here?

Niks: We are practicing flying!

Naks: We flew about 100 meters!

Niks: Or at least 10 meters!

Umbriel: It looked more like 10 centimeters.


Umbriel: That catapult looks kind of dangerous, why don't you guys build something a bit less dangerous, like for example a seesaw?

The mechanics are soon busy again.

Deimos: This will be the center pivot.

Fomalhaut: I think these boards would make the seats...

Naks: Do you need more wheels?


Deimos: Now we must test it...


Fomalhaut: It works!


Niks: That looks fun!

Naks: We want to try, too!


Deimos: There's room for everybody!

Guardian of the Winter Solstice

As Winter Solstice was only a couple of weeks ago, the Guardian of the Winter Solstice wanted to go out to see that everything was proceeding as it should. The day was sunny, but as the sun is still very low, it was rather hard to find nice sunny spots.

Not much snow yet, but enough to make the landscape look a bit nicer.


Winter sun is so low that it almost looks like sunset.


Only a narrow strip of sunlight between the shadows of the trees.


The picture was taken at noon (12:07 to be exact). You can see from Fomalhaut's long shadow how low the sun is.


Noon sun in January.


The weather has been rather mild and the big lakes are not frozen yet.


Fomalhaut is satisfied with the order of things. The sun is returning after the Winter Solstice as it should.