Saturday, May 17, 2025

I was strolling in the park one day


A couple of brief stops along the way, first to watch a bluebird whose box I'd walked by, and then to admire a patch of Dame's rocket along the creek.  Interested today in the distance, not the time on task.

Automotive Geography




 Palisades drive.



Palisades park.



I ask you...


... if you get wings at a wing bar, then what do you get at an Asian bar?

Monday, May 12, 2025

Spring flowers

Seen along area roads today.



Philadelphia Fleabane.



Dame's Rocket.

I didn't bother

Things I saw but didn't photograph:  At the traffic light exiting a shopping center, across from the former world headquarters of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.   In the grass between the sidewalk and a chain link fence, two Canada geese were walking.  As I turned onto the road, I saw several goslings walking with them.  

I took a shopping list into a store, and in one aisle I found someone else's shopping list.  Both lists had been written on paper that bore the name of the same children's charity.  

Saturday, May 10, 2025

At the end of the day



   

The worm/caterpillar on the left was dangling at eye level over the sidewalk from an oak tree on the next door neighbor's property.  Between its size and its constant motion, I knew it would take a miracle to get a good focused image, and after four blurry tries, I settled for the one you see above.  What it is doesn't feel as useful to remember as just recording that it was there, and that I almost walked into it.

And now, what you've no doubt been waiting for:  Google Lens guessed that the thing in the photo above right is possibly an x-ray of a tibia, or else an image of paint peeling from a Ford F-150.  Guess I'll have to try something else.

Later:  Blue-tailed damselfly?  OK, I can accept that.

Ancora Imparo:  (1) learned that the WIN/Shift/S combination that does screen grabs also records videos, the way Dropbox used to do.  Used it to save a clip from a post on Xitter that showed a dog jumping ropes being twirled by a human and two other dogs.  (2) learned that FastStone accesses the latitude and longitude recorded on pictures taken with my Samsung Galaxy, and it can place them on a screen in Google Maps (Windows 11).  The grab below shows where I saw the insect on the right above.


Lots of unnecessary eating today, so I needed a walk late this afternoon.  The timeline on Google Maps (Android) isn't as detailed as it used to be, so when it told me just now that I'd only walked half a mile, I had my doubts.  (There should be an app for that.  A free one would be best for my budget.)

EDIT:  Did some searching and eventually settled on MapMyWalk.  Yesterday's walks totaled a bit over a mile and a half.  

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Extra pep

Pretty good at staying focused today.  Besides the longer walk, I took an hour for practice at home and filled it with meaningful action.  No naps, and just one Pepsi in the category of junk food.  Good cereal for breakfast, a ham sandwich for lunch, and... and... no memory of what I ate at 5:00.  I think it may have involved whole milk yogurt from Whole Foods.

I wish this photo had been better, but at least I got a picture. There were a couple dozen rabbits in the yards I passed during my walk, including this one, who was stripping a young plant of the highest leaves it could reach.  

Google Maps and my timeline say I walked a mile and a half this evening.  Must have had some extra energy and motivation.  


  

This was in the field that last year grew soybeans.  Nothing planted this year, from the looks of it.  Nature is taking its course, with unpredictable results, like this large, brightly colored volunteer.  (Yes, yes, it's out standing in its field.)  Google Lens made a guess, but an unlikely one; I doubt that it's a plant that their AI says is native to Australia.  

Otherwise, I did some reading for pleasure, spent a minimum of time on Xitter, and burned a CD for PG with music I believe she'll enjoy.