Morning walk

Every morning I drive to work not really feeling awake and a part of the world. I park and begin my 400 meter walk to work.
I await this walk in the spring, because even though it is in the city, there are plenty of reminders of life and growth and newness around me. My favorite these last several weeks has been the lilacs. Along the sidewalk, my company has planted four large lilac "trees". I can smell them from afar, and always make a point to stop and smell them. This transports me to wonderful memories of wandering in Highland park, examining Lilacs of every color and type, from many countries in the world.
I like this unifying theme of lilacs-- a plant that is liked and grown the world over. Nina tells me stories of the lilacs in several parts of Russia where she lives, and I can understand them, because she many as well have been talking about my neighborhood as a kid, where there were lilacs. or any of the three houses I have owned since then.

Eeee GROSS!!!

Talk about unpleasant surprises! Talk about a bad taste sensation - try Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke! YUCK!

I went into our local soft drink 'fridge in my office, paid my $0.50, reached in a pulled out a can of what looked like Diet Coke - my standard drink when I want something with some caffeine. I open it, and take a sip.

It took everything I had to not just spit it back out all over my desk. This stuff is TERRIBLE! It tastes like cherry cough syrup with the added sweet sickness of vanilla.

Glug, glug, glug, glug -- that's the sound of it getting poured down the drain.

Spring Update

Spring is in full swing. Right about now is my favorite time, with the world looking so new and lush. The trees are all in flower, and the leaves, which came out in early May still have their "new" yellow-green look.

The feeling is much different than the "lazy summer" feeling, where it is warm, lazy, with singing cicadas overhead. Instead there is always a feeling of movement, of change. The evening sounds are of spring peepers (small frogs), with the occasional amazing song of the wood thrush. And we have the morning chorus - hundreds of hungry, hormone-crazed birds singing their heart out.

Yesterday the three of us went birding, being peak migration. It was somewhat cold, so we could get a late start. Even at 10 am, the birds were waking up. We started at thousand acre swamp in Penfield, then went up to the Lake Ontario Lakeshore (Webster park), and finally had a very productive stop at the bottom of Irondequoit bay.

The birds were a bit hard to come by, but patience was eventually rewarded. All told we saw 45 species, with several highlights being yellow, Blackburnian and Magnolia warblers, Baltimore Oriole, and ( !!! ) a Bald Eagle. This last was found at the bottom of Irondequiot bay 1.5 km away, and was spotted by Nina and confirmed by Gwendolyn. The bird was pearched on a high tree overlooking the bay, looking very majestic.