Friday, February 03, 2012
A Neighborhood Novella
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The State of Purpose
Would I be happy pursuing a PhD and subsequently working in research, or would an MBA be a rewarding career move? Will I have enough savings to retire, or will there even be such a thing in 35 years? What connection do I hold with my maternal homestead?Answers to such questions require fairly well-informed thought and a fair amount of research. But it's alright to take a few years to answer then and well worth the time investment. I enjoy this part of growing up; it's what we do.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
In the stillness of exacting motion, a cessation of hiatus
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A Home on the Range
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The breaking day
I wake while others sleep, but do not wake slowly. Once i have fallen out of dreams, i am immediately, fully awake. Maybe there is a minute of sitting on the side of the bed, focusing my eyes, but it is only posturing.
When last we left, we were bound for Chicago on Thanksgiving vacation. Now, back at work, things are business as usual. My employer announced huge layoffs recently (in good company there, as employers everywhere are doing daily now). There is no certainty, only a bit of anhedonia at CoH.
Some unseasonably warm weather has blessed the locale. Warm winter days are possibly my favoritest season. You have beautiful, blistering vistas, but none of the pesky, biting bugs that mar the warm summer months. My hiking companion and i visited Knob Noster as well as more local spots which during the summer are almost inhabitable.
A deep forest trail is apparently the best place to spot a stealth bomber. They fly out of a miltary base adjacent the park, going, i guess, to iraq or afghanistan.
There is no particular theme here today. Just a general update before the world's alarm clock goes off.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Civilized 1, Bohemian 0
After enduring due derision from essentially every vistor, I got myself a bit more civ'lized, home-stylewize. I found these structures, flanking the patio doors in the picture, which allow one to layer books on top of one another, thus maximizing storage capabilities of living quarters.
So, for example, those two 'chestnut' structures in the included figure just about precisely hold all the books that previously trimmed my primary living space. Now I suppose the next addition is a machine that sucks up dirt.... sort of creates a, how would you say, vacuum of air around the detritus about the perimeter.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Kitty kitty

Got a new member of the household. She's a six-year-old kitty named Kitty. She's a really big sweetie. After spending the first day under the bed, she has begun to come out on her own and snuggle like crazy.
I think she's nocturnal, but she's also house-trained, which is nice. The picture is a bit of a blur, which well represents her dynamism. Now i have to find a vet....
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sábado e Domingo
Sunday, June 03, 2007
A bird on the deck

A little while ago, i noticed a small bird flying up to the door sill going out onto my deck. I remarked upon it, but otherwise took little notice.
Well yesterday, when i stepped out in the morning to check the weather, this bird was inbound and, spotting me, bore towards me in flight carrying worms in her mouth. When i failed to flee, she abated and repaired to the tree of the north end of the deck.
Immediately I realized that this bird, which had for some days been alighting above my door, had the while been nesting and was now returning with food for her young hatchling. Indeed, while I stood at the south end of the deck and watched, a mere chick cried out, head just breaching the top of the nest, while his mother perched not five feet away, watching me instead to determine my intentions.

Seeing now this intruder upon her home, she left off her errand, instead crossing the porch to fly at me, only to turn and land on a step at ground level below. After a few more feints, hoping to scare me off, she returned to the tree still holding the worms. As i failed to relent, simply standing at the far end of the deck, she made a dash for the nest, dropping the serving straight down the chick's throat.
While i snuck back inside to retrieve my camera, she made another foray. I returned camera in hand and waited for her to come with more worms. What a racket the child made, in a rougher and more shrill cry than his family generally makes in song.

Perhaps my naturalist readers can educate me as to the manner of bird nesting here. I could only observe this summer ritual and record what i could with my amateur tools. The bird is brown-coated with a orange belly and yellow beak. They're very common in this area and are the size of a child's fist. I own i took more pictures than would easily be shown here. The rest can be found in an album i put onto facebook.
As a bonus for my patience, while the feathery mother was off hunting, a chipmunk passed just below, stopping on the retaining wall steps before jetting down a hole in the hillside.