Bluebirds and red clover

I am very excited because we have bluebirds here in Arkansas. I have never lived anywhere with bluebirds, and now we appear to have a pair nesting within sight of our bedroom window. The house behind us (with the shed where Creamsicle holed up during her AWOL stunt last fall) had a large garden with a few nesting boxes, and that is where I have seen a male bluebird several mornings now. Alas, they are just a bit too far away for my digital zoom, so all I get are little blue blurs when I try to take a picture. Instead, here is a picture from Bill of the Birds that is pretty similar to what I can see through binoculars (picture from the April 3rd blog entry).

We also have carpets of crimson clover along the roadsides that I am dying to take pictures of. Alas again, it is only on the roadsides. I may have found a patch that I can reach safely for picture taking - if i do, you will be sure to know. For now, the pictures on Wikipedia will have to be enough.

On Turning 30

So, I turned 30 on Wednesday. I didn't immediately sprout wrinkles, and I didn't suddenly become wise. 30, it turns out, it an awful lot like 29. Huh. Actually, I sort of figured that out a while ago, when I started having friends who were 30+. What's the big deal then? I still get carded if I want to drink alcohol, I'll still get ignored by the sales people at obnoxious stores. Maybe the difference is that now I can look down from my lofty age and call people under 25 punks, and say things like "Kids today, I just don't understand them." And I don't. I may be tech savy, have a blog, use a cell phone, know what Twitter is, know how to IM, but I really don't understand a lot of younger people. Of course, I don't really understand people in general...

Anyway, I am 30, the sun is shining, the azaleas are blooming, and today, life is good.

Wednesday Reference: Science is Fun!

For today's Wednesday Reference I present to you Everyday Mysteries. This website is put out by the Library of Congress and contains all sorts of interesting and fun science facts. For example, did you know that a coconut can be considered a fruit, a nut, and a seed? It's true. The questions and answers are sorted into 12 major categories ranging from agriculture to astronomy, to motor vehicles and chemistry. Each answer includes a list of related websites for more information, as well as a bibliography for further reading. This could be a useful site for science teachers and students looking for interesting topics for papers or experiments.