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ellarienThe weather's been nice, since the rainy weekend, with fresh breezes and washed-clean air. Accessible yellow cactus flowers are opening on campus, and the giant prickly pear I've been watching for so long finally vouchsafed me an open flower I could see from above. The oleanders are heavy with blossom, white and pink and cherry-red. Yesterday I found a purple orchid tree, sadly past its best, in a distant corner of the campus, and a couple of mexican poppies sprouted from the stony ground of the cactus garden. Just about every saguaro sports a lopsided crown of buds, and some have open flowers.
One of the giant prickly pears around the back of Old Main is half-dead and falling apart, revealing its insides. It appears to be supported internally by what looks remarkably like fine-meshed vegetative chicken wire, rolled tightly to make the woody stems and with layers of flat sheets stiffening the oval parts.
My Amazon package for May has arrived. This is good, as it means I have a couple of paperbacks for next week's trip. It does mean there are 37 unread books in the house again -- well, 36.5. Apart from the four new ones, all I've read this month has been half of a Steven Erikson doorstop and a bit of a history book that's been in-progress so long it's already marked as read in the database. Can I blame it on taxes? The last time I read that few books in a month was during the renovation frenzy of 2002.
Next week, I may well be effectively cut off from the internet from Monday through Thursday. The scariness of this thought suggests that it is probably no bad thing to have an enforced break. Still ... eeek. Gibber. Or maybe I'll be able to buy access at the hotel. I don't usually, because if there's pay internet at all it tends to be prohibitively expensive, but if I'm desperate I might indulge.
Also, I have no idea what clothes to pack for DC at this time of year. I suspect it'll end up being the spring-weight stuff that counts as summer clothing for the UK.
Yes, I know. This is uncannily like the generic post a few days back.
One of the giant prickly pears around the back of Old Main is half-dead and falling apart, revealing its insides. It appears to be supported internally by what looks remarkably like fine-meshed vegetative chicken wire, rolled tightly to make the woody stems and with layers of flat sheets stiffening the oval parts.
My Amazon package for May has arrived. This is good, as it means I have a couple of paperbacks for next week's trip. It does mean there are 37 unread books in the house again -- well, 36.5. Apart from the four new ones, all I've read this month has been half of a Steven Erikson doorstop and a bit of a history book that's been in-progress so long it's already marked as read in the database. Can I blame it on taxes? The last time I read that few books in a month was during the renovation frenzy of 2002.
Next week, I may well be effectively cut off from the internet from Monday through Thursday. The scariness of this thought suggests that it is probably no bad thing to have an enforced break. Still ... eeek. Gibber. Or maybe I'll be able to buy access at the hotel. I don't usually, because if there's pay internet at all it tends to be prohibitively expensive, but if I'm desperate I might indulge.
Also, I have no idea what clothes to pack for DC at this time of year. I suspect it'll end up being the spring-weight stuff that counts as summer clothing for the UK.
Yes, I know. This is uncannily like the generic post a few days back.
