Musings

I got curious about what word or phrase rhymes with hydrangea. I couldn’t think of any, so I requested suggestions from Out There. AI must have generated the lists I saw, as offerings included grandma, grandpa, and raffia. Mentally, I give each zero points and a nasty buzzer noise.

Posted at 10:21 PM | Comments Off on I’m no rhymester

I’ve been mapping the distribution of Bronze Age mounds in modern central Turkey, and thinking about the (human) population density, and the agriculture and distribution system it took to feed those people. This is the era of the Hittites (not what they called themselves). I’ve been vastly ignorant of Hittite history, which perhaps is just as well, as there have been several breakthroughs in recent research that has changed our ideas about their political economy to some extent.

Posted at 10:29 PM | Comments Off on __ on the past

I try to be sanguine about political news, and keep my distance (as in: not get emotionally tied to outcomes)…but I have to confess I did not see Biden and DJT agreeing to having two debates.

Posted at 9:17 PM | 1 Comment »

The other day I recommended to the Guru that he read an article in the New Yorker, and I told him the title. A bit later he asked if I was sure it was in the New Yorker, as he couldn’t find it. Surprising…he’s a guy who knows how to find stuff on the web.

After the dust settled, I found the article by searching the author, and it turned out the title was totally different on the web. Howizzat?

Posted at 10:18 PM | Comments Off on Hrrrrumph

Here in North America, gardenias are non-native plants, so maybe I shouldn’t enjoy them so much; however, the heavenly scent cannot be overlooked…over-smelled?

Posted at 9:08 PM | Comments Off on In the moment

The gardenias are out. The best thing is to stand by them, close my eyes, and inhale.

Posted at 8:59 PM | Comments Off on Heavenly

Today was sunny and windy, which is pretty much all you need to know to deduce this photo is from the other day.

Posted at 11:00 PM | Comments Off on Coming up roses

I do find my eye drawn to mini-worlds. Here’s a Liriodendron tulipifera creating its own micro-world…a safe place to germinate and try to get established despite serious canopy shade, modest amounts of soil, and irregular dog urine deposits.

Title phrase is “stolen/borrowed” from the WikiPee article on this tree species.

Posted at 9:44 PM | Comments Off on Stout peduncles

The English word avocado etymologically traces to the Nahuatl (“Aztec”) āhuacatl also written auacatl. The spelling is different, but the sounds are more similar. That final -tl is tricky. We English speakers tend to stick a vowel sound between them. Nope. It’s slightly easier for me to eliminate the vowel temptation by starting with tl- in practice. Still, -tl without a vowel sound is against the customary English sound patterns.

It’s better to learn a language by listening rather than reading/writing, I think….

Posted at 9:50 PM | Comments Off on Fruity thoughts

My horticulturally talented neighbor-ess has both acid (blue) and base/neutral (pink) soil under this bush. Also, the chemical soup requires aluminum, I’ve read. You’ll have to look it up yourself, if you want more details.

Posted at 10:28 PM | Comments Off on Ph (no D)