1. What were the flocks of tiny birds that made the high-pitched twittering? I would guess Pine Siskins or Golden-Crowned Kinglets, based on the season, their flight patterns, and their gregarious behavior, but I couldn't actually see any of them close up, and I don't know either call.

2. Halfway up the Rapids Loop Trail, on the river's right-hand ( Read more... )

I need to write in my journal more often. I enjoy going back and reading about things that I have experienced. If I don't write them down they slip away into memory and squeeze together, like thin sheets of sediment compressed by time into a single massive whole. I remember the really major events, and I remember a general sense of the tone of each ( Read more... )

If anyone wants a postcard who hasn't spoken up yet, say so now. I head home in three days. Yes, I know you all want photos and updates, but I've been too busy having fun to even sort through my photos, much less upload and re-size and write about it all. The folks who've gotten postcards have gotten mini-updates, at least. I sent out the last ( Read more... )

We landed safely in Melbourne yesterday. Our trip was as uneventful as could be expected (we missed a connection, but I knew we would when I saw that we had been booked for an hour layover and had to clear immigration, pick up our bags, go through customs, and get checked back in in that short a time.) I felt like royalty flying Qantas. I've ( Read more... )

shoes_the_dog and I are doing so many fun things this Summer, I really wanted him to keep a journal of some sort so that we could look back on it years from now. His writing isn't really fluent enough for that yet, though, so I got him a high-quality bound sketchbook. It is small enough to carry with us easily, bound in black leather, with sturdy pages and a ( Read more... )