#hidden animals

Earlier, my kid comes rushing in telling me to come and look at this frog in the backyard. He said this with such wonder and excitement that I had to check it out. 

“I almost stepped on it. I could barely see him,” he told me.

I looked around and saw nothing. I leaned in expecting to see a tiny frog but still nothing. 

“Where is he?”

“He’s there.”

“Where? I don’t see anything.”

Pointing with his toe, “There.”

“I still don’t-OOOOOOoooooooooHHHHH!!! There he is!” 

The frog had the most perfect camouflage pattern for the grass that every time I looked away and then looked back, I had a hard time finding him again.

2021 really is the future!!!!!! 

IT NOW EXISTS!!!! 

THE THING I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR FOR NEARLY A DECADE... 

A HAMSTER “CREATURE-MUG”!!!!!

When the trend started up it was mainly scary things that you’d be not only surprised to find inside of your mug of nice warm coffee your alleged friend just made for you, but afraid of also. Things like spiders and octopi were the start  

And they became very popular. You’d see them everywhere. And popular products spawn similar products. The greater the popularity, the more massive the spawning. Soon there were all sorts of animals you could get “hidden” at the bottom of your mug. Hedgehogs, Rabbits, Pelicans, Crocodiles, Lobsters, Bears, Owls, Frogs, Triceratops, T-Rex, Elephants, Monkeys... I could go on for pages!! In 2020, the “creature mugs” even branched out to include non-living things hidden in their depths: things like Cacti and Donuts. And plenty of other (non-hamster) rodents became available in “creature mug” form as well across the years: mice, squirrels, beavers. But no hamsters. 

I had long since considered trying to make my own. I thought if I made a mold of one of those bi-colored Iwako hamster erasers they have - you know, these:

And then cast a ceramic hamster using the mold... but how would I fire it? Or would I fire it AFTER coating it in white glaze to match the white interior of the cup and hope that enough glaze puddled around and under it to render it securely attached to the bottom? Could I get away with making the hamster out of plaster and coating everything in dishware enamel paint? 

In the end I despaired of it ever working out, and resigned myself to a world without hamster “creature” mugs. But 2021 is a brand new world. 

There is a seller on Etsy who makes hamster creature mugs on commission. Their name is MarieClaudeRoch. You can visit their store on Etsy HERE They make the world a better place.

National Park Week 2019