... everyday miscellany
I keep notes on most things I read in my Notes blog — but most of these notes are for my own use, and are not particularly readable for whoever is happening along. However, buried among the notes entry are occasional reviews, or at least more compact and accessible descriptions. Here are three from the … Continue reading Recent Reading: Three Good Books
I recently learned that aragonite occurs in sea shells and corals, and was curious why an ‘unstable’ mineral would be useful in a biological setting. Is it common in shells, or is it rare. Does it have advantages over calcite? Or is it just easier to synthesize?
October 2024 It is the peak of fall. Not the peak of color, but the peak of sound and the peak of smell. A few weeks ago the ground was patterned, the leaves of each tree pooled around it in fallen skirts of color: yellow here, orange there, reddish brown over there. Now they mix … Continue reading Falling Leaves
29 July 2024 I did an early run at Minihaha Creek. Our summer, which after an exceptionally dry winter and spring, has been relentlessly moist, continues in its steamy mode. So morning is the time to run, when the temperature is still in the 70’s. It was pleasant to run, feeling the air, heavy with … Continue reading Midsummer: Minihaha and the Sierra Nevada
17 March 2024 (posted late) Our not-much-of-a-winter has passed, notwithstanding a few flakes eddying about in the gusty air today. I went for a run along Minihaha Creek yesterday. The ice is entirely gone, and the muddy spots from the last snowmelt are dry. We’ve not had much in the way of moisture, either snow … Continue reading Winter’s Leaves (Minihaha Creek)
19 February 2024 After a long unusually warm period, we’ve had a brief period of cold and snow. The creek is still flowing free in most parts, and ice is mostly opaque white granular frozen shelves that protrude from either bank. However, there are areas where recrystallization has occurred, often, though not exclusively, under bridges, … Continue reading Yet More Ice on Minihaha Creek
5 February 2024 We continue to have above freezing weather during the day, dipping below the freezing point at night. The leads to a lot of melting and re-freezing on the creek. There are areas where the creek is entirely frozen over, and others where it runs free, except for a fringe along its edges. … Continue reading More Ice Crystals on Minihaha Creek
2 February 2024 Today I took my usual run along Minihaha Creek. We are in the midst of an unusual warm spell. It is not unusual to have a few days of above-freezing weather in January – enough to melt the top layer of snow and ensure that in a few days everything will be … Continue reading Mud Along Minihaha Creek
11 January 2024 I returned to Minihaha Creek five days after my previous visit for a run, and a look at the ice. The snow, not very deep before, has receded, and the fallen leaves arch above its surface, leaving a myriad of little cave-lets speckling the surface. I wonder if there are any organisms … Continue reading Ice on Minihaha Creek, 2
6 January 2024 We had a nice outing today. The main event was the play ‘Art’ at the Guthrie. ‘Arts,’ a play by Yasmina Reza, is not about art per se, but rather a satire on friendship, and the dynamics of the power structures that underlie, or perhaps constitute, friendships. The play begins with a … Continue reading Theatre: ‘Art’ at the Guthrie