Phenology, and a boring health update

It was gray (though not actually raining) today, but I went for a walk in the park because going outside during the day is good for me, and walking is good exercise. (I also threw in a few stretches while I was out.)

There are still violets, I counted half a dozen (fewer than over the weekend), and some late dayflowers. Weirder, there's still jewelweed: five open blossoms and some buds, on at least four different plants, all in one area. Less purple clover, but not quite gone yet.

The dandelions are doing well, bright and yellow. I saw insects (either bees or odd striped flies) on three dandelions, all in the same area under a regrowing (storm-damaged) willow.

I think some chickadees have come in for the winter, but it's hard to do bird identification in that sort of diffuse gray light, from below. My first thought was kinglets, but their behavior and calls suggested chickadees.

( boring health update )

Phenology, and a boring health update

It was gray (though not actually raining) today, but I went for a walk in the park because going outside during the day is good for me, and walking is good exercise. (I also threw in a few stretches while I was out.)

There are still violets, I counted half a dozen (fewer than over the weekend), and some late dayflowers. Weirder, there's still jewelweed: five open blossoms and some buds, on at least four different plants, all in one area. Less purple clover, but not quite gone yet.

The dandelions are doing well, bright and yellow. I saw insects (either bees or odd striped flies) on three dandelions, all in the same area under a regrowing (storm-damaged) willow.

I think some chickadees have come in for the winter, but it's hard to do bird identification in that sort of diffuse gray light, from below. My first thought was kinglets, but their behavior and calls suggested chickadees.

( boring health update )

(no subject)

I suspect I'm the only person whose reaction to that "50 significant sf/fantasy books" list/meme is the increasing feeling that it's time I reread Dhalgren.

I am also wondering why Shiras's Children of the Atom is on there, since nobody is saying they've read it.

(no subject)

I suspect I'm the only person whose reaction to that "50 significant sf/fantasy books" list/meme is the increasing feeling that it's time I reread Dhalgren.

I am also wondering why Shiras's Children of the Atom is on there, since nobody is saying they've read it.

I've wanted this since I was ten

I am in love with the Web tonight, and with Google which brings me so much of it.

I was online earlier, reading about astronomy, and suddenly found myself wondering what the genitive of "lupus" is [1]. We have a Latin dictionary, but julian_tiger was sitting in my lap and I didn't want to disturb him. So I typed "genitive lupus" (without the quote marks) into the Google search bar. The first result was exactly what I wanted, telling me that the genitive is "lupi" and citing Wikipedia. Below that I was offered an assortment of astronomical sites talking about things in the constellation Lupus.

It's little surprise that a system that answers that quickly and accurately has "about 49,700" hits for "Gimli Manitoba" (with the quote marks; without them, "about 245,000," which I suspect include some people talking about Tolkien).

[1] Yes, I know, -us, -i. But not always: it might have been fourth declension or something else weird.

I've wanted this since I was ten

I am in love with the Web tonight, and with Google which brings me so much of it.

I was online earlier, reading about astronomy, and suddenly found myself wondering what the genitive of "lupus" is [1]. We have a Latin dictionary, but julian_tiger was sitting in my lap and I didn't want to disturb him. So I typed "genitive lupus" (without the quote marks) into the Google search bar. The first result was exactly what I wanted, telling me that the genitive is "lupi" and citing Wikipedia. Below that I was offered an assortment of astronomical sites talking about things in the constellation Lupus.

It's little surprise that a system that answers that quickly and accurately has "about 49,700" hits for "Gimli Manitoba" (with the quote marks; without them, "about 245,000," which I suspect include some people talking about Tolkien).

[1] Yes, I know, -us, -i. But not always: it might have been fourth declension or something else weird.