Morning walk

The red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) that I saw yesterday morning was back; this time, we saw him on the way out, meaning cattitude got to watch him as well. Someone asked me "That's not a mallard, is it?" so I told her it was a merganser and, after another question, that it's a diving duck. The first red-winged blackbirds have also arrived; they, and the robins, are singing loudly, trying to claim territory.

Many daffodils are blooming, as are the chionodoxa, and we still have lots of crocuses. It's a gorgeous blue morning, and I watched the merganser some more after walking Cattitude most of the way to the subway. At one point, the merganser tried to surface right under a swan; he dove again immediately, and I laughed quietly. By the time I'd headed back in, he'd taken some time to preen and apparently gone to sleep.

Morning walk

The red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) that I saw yesterday morning was back; this time, we saw him on the way out, meaning cattitude got to watch him as well. Someone asked me "That's not a mallard, is it?" so I told her it was a merganser and, after another question, that it's a diving duck. The first red-winged blackbirds have also arrived; they, and the robins, are singing loudly, trying to claim territory.

Many daffodils are blooming, as are the chionodoxa, and we still have lots of crocuses. It's a gorgeous blue morning, and I watched the merganser some more after walking Cattitude most of the way to the subway. At one point, the merganser tried to surface right under a swan; he dove again immediately, and I laughed quietly. By the time I'd headed back in, he'd taken some time to preen and apparently gone to sleep.

Afternoon walk: not so good

My old con-running injury is being a problem.

This is the one that left me, among other things [1], with hyper-sensitivity to bright lights. Having that confirmed by an eye doctor does not constitute a cure, or even a palliative treatment. On a bright afternoon like this, with almost no shade (because it's too early for the trees to be in leaf), my dark glasses weren't enough protection from the sunlight.

It also didn't help that I seem to have gotten sunscreen in one eye. A quick rinse with cool water only seemed to help: I've rinsed it several more times since I got home, and at this point am not sure if there's still sunscreen in my eye, or if I'm now suffering the aftereffects of both the sunscreen and rubbing my eye.

I'm going to sit in here, try to ignore the loud PA system from across the street, and resist the urge to go outside, even if it is 22°C.

[1] Other things include my difficulty with flash photography and strobes.

Afternoon walk: not so good

My old con-running injury is being a problem.

This is the one that left me, among other things [1], with hyper-sensitivity to bright lights. Having that confirmed by an eye doctor does not constitute a cure, or even a palliative treatment. On a bright afternoon like this, with almost no shade (because it's too early for the trees to be in leaf), my dark glasses weren't enough protection from the sunlight.

It also didn't help that I seem to have gotten sunscreen in one eye. A quick rinse with cool water only seemed to help: I've rinsed it several more times since I got home, and at this point am not sure if there's still sunscreen in my eye, or if I'm now suffering the aftereffects of both the sunscreen and rubbing my eye.

I'm going to sit in here, try to ignore the loud PA system from across the street, and resist the urge to go outside, even if it is 22°C.

[1] Other things include my difficulty with flash photography and strobes.

Please pardon any inconvenience

I'm going to be fiddling with my journal layout, to make it easier on my eyes. I hope not to break anything in the process.

Please pardon any inconvenience

I'm going to be fiddling with my journal layout, to make it easier on my eyes. I hope not to break anything in the process.

Company

After reading my post earlier today, sinboy called. I wasn't in a mood to go out into the brightness even for a couple of blocks, so he came over here. We drank jasmine dragon tea and talked--tea, food, people, odd possible employment, that sort of thing. When cattitude got home from work, they geeked about gaming for a bit, then I cooked dinner for myself and Cattitude, and Sinboy went home to his own dinner.

Company

After reading my post earlier today, sinboy called. I wasn't in a mood to go out into the brightness even for a couple of blocks, so he came over here. We drank jasmine dragon tea and talked--tea, food, people, odd possible employment, that sort of thing. When cattitude got home from work, they geeked about gaming for a bit, then I cooked dinner for myself and Cattitude, and Sinboy went home to his own dinner.