2006-05-28, 05:06 PM — hockey humour
Ah Niedermayer, shall I compare thy beard to a muskrat?
Nay, not I; 'twas Harry Neale who did so and thus I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my delicious French onion soup. fishy didn't find it as funny, but I can't help myself. Occasionally my sense of humour stoops to 12-year-old boy levels.
Yes, I've been watching hockey. My poor Sens couldn't touch Buffalo, so I've jumped on the oil tanker for the remainder of this season. I'm pleased to see Edmonton make the finals, but I do have to say, I will miss watching Scott Niedermayer play. If only he didn't play for a team that has the stupidest name in hockeydom.
2006-05-10, 08:26 AM — mommy, why is that lady dancing?
And we're off to Pelee! I'm so excited I keep doing dumb little jigs at the most embarrassing times.
Anyways. I'll be gone for a while. This year my goal is a prothonotary warbler; apparently they do nest at Rondeau, so my hopes are high.
I'm hoping the dearth of warblers here means they haven't come through yet. With my luck, they will be flying north today as I am driving south.
2006-05-04, 08:37 PM — a good spring day
A couple of firsts for me today. First adult newts ever, thanks to Sean at work who spotted them in our little pond. They're... pretty surreal to watch, really. They're pretty graceful, in an awkward way. The tail looks rather tacked-on. What I didn't realize is that red efts, which I have seen before and adore, are the terrestrial juvenile stage of newts, which return to the water when they're adults. Strange little life-cycle, that one.
Second first was a really good look at a flowering plant called yellow bellwort (Ulvularia grandiflora). I knew of it, but I can't say as I've ever seen it and known it before. It's not terribly common, so I was quite pleased to have it pointed out to me. Also a lovely patch of may-apple (Podophyllum peltatum), which I seem to have a soft spot for.
All in all, a pretty nice day. One of my favourite moments in recent memory occured when a little autistic boy in my afternoon class said he thought that Houdini, our albino corn snake, was a "white ghost dragon." And I thought, yes, that's exactly it.