Bloomin’ bush
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Masses of azalea blooms “pretty up” our gazebo.
See those “wormy things” from the oaks all over the roof?
Musings
Sound above
Friday, 30 March 2007
JCB & I were in the kitchen. Weird noise overhead—not the washer. JCB dashed to the window; I recognized it, a distinctive motory, grinding, deep, penetrating resonance.
Volcano vocab
Thursday, 29 March 2007
Today I’ve been thinking volcanoes, which sent me to the dictionary to check out a few technical terms:
tephra
air-fall material (pyroclastics) ejected from a volcano during eruption
ash
fine tephra particles <2mm in diameter
lapilli
tephra particles 2–64mm in diameter; multiple forms
volcanic bombs or blocks
tephra objects >64mm in diameter
fugacity
a thermodynamic property of a real gas that, if substituted for the pressure or partial pressure in the equations for an ideal gas, gives equations applicable to the real gas (this one has my head spinning)
Pollen constituents
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
The yellow dusting on all exposed surfaces confirms that it’s pollen season, and everyone always says it’s pine pollen. I’ve examined some of those wormy things that the oak trees are dropping, and they leave yellow smudges on the sidewalks, so I’m thinking part of the yellow dusting (current count exceeds 5K) is from the oaks, too. This makes additional sense because in this part of town we have many oaks and fewer pines.
Yeah, I know the pine pollen grains are very large, and the oaks, not so much*, but still….
* …as Jon Stewart would say….
Alley denizen
Tuesday, 27 March 2007
Today I ventured down another alley, this one behind (more or less) one of the larger soup kitchens in this part of ATL, so I wasn’t surprised to find at least four sleeping nests (cardboard, sleeping bag or quilt, nearby clothing and empty alcohol bottles, etc.). This denizen, in all its shining glory, took me by surprise—not at its presence, but at its advancement this early in the season. So, KW, this one’s for you!
Azalea kudos
Monday, 26 March 2007
Lemme be explicit: M, this bud’s for you!.
These buds are in honor of Maureen, who passed her oral comps today (and her writtens last week)! Kudos, M!
I promised that I’d open a bottle of prosecco tonight since I can’t be in Lexington with you and the celebrants, and I want to report that I’m on my second glass! Cheers! Salud!
Alley searching
Sunday, 25 March 2007
One of my secret pleasures when I’m out walking in our neighborhood is to search for alleys, although at this point I think I’ve located, and walked, them all.
Note the profusion of blooms on the wisteria (pronounced wih-stee-ree-ah in the Midwest and more like wih-stair-ee-ah around here) shading the patio of the house at left.
Dogwood dazzle
Saturday, 24 March 2007
We’re in the midst of dogwood season, with lush blooms on those trees not yet eradicated by that virus or whatever it is that’s downing Cornus florida in this area.
Pollen, preservation
Friday, 23 March 2007
Pine pollen festoons the Explorer.
Lacking much in the way of funds, many preservation groups go for publicity as a means of extending their message, using “Top 10” lists. The Civil War Preservation Trust now lists the battlefields around Marietta (scroll down), north of Atlanta, as particularly endangered. Development in this area—housing and supporting infrastructure like roads and businesses—is rampant. In the late 80s I worked on several projects there, including property now a country club. They incorporated (preserved as required by county laws) several Civil War-era trenches into the golf course, and others were in housing lots and to be protected via covenants (never revisited to see if they actually were).
Redbuds open!
Thursday, 22 March 2007
Too much going on over the last few days to make posts, although I mentally composed them—and took photos—each day (posting them now that we’re home and deceptively backdating them—apologies for that). Today we returned to ATL before sunset, and the redbuds (Cercis canadensis) that were tightly furled when we left are now open.