I am a native in this world And think in it as a native thinks

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Astronomy Tuesday


Sometimes it's nice to come back from wandering the universe and enjoy a look at our beautiful planet. This photo was taken from the International Space Station, and shows how twilight appears from space, as day fades to sunset then to twilight and then to night. 

And eventually back to dawn. It's always dawn somewhere on this planet.

Image Credit: ISS Expedition 2 Crew, Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth, NASA

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Saturday reflections on Sunday



I could pretend that I waited until today to post this picture because it's raining again, and I took this picture two weeks ago on my way home from getting my second Moderna shot. (Happy vaxiversary to me! Woo-hoo!)

But yesterday was spent in a frenzy of thinking about writing, making excuses not to write, and, occasionally, writing. My paper is 54 pages at the moment -- okay, some of them are mostly blank, waiting for inspiration for class activities to strike, but progress is being made.

Anyway, here's the walkway by the Gershwin Theater on Broadway, waiting for the day when the (fully-vaccinated) audiences can come back.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Astronomy Tuesday


It's a perfect spring morning here -- breezy, blue skies. A robin is whistling from somewhere in the trees outside my window, and I'm trying to decide what I'm going to have for breakfast.

On Sunday, I will reach the magic two-weeks-after-my-second-shot milestone, and I will celebrate by doing exactly what I've been doing for most of the past several months -- staying inside and doing homework. I finished the paper that was due yesterday with a few hours to spare, so I was able to work on the paper and video that are due tomorrow, finally putting them aside so I could get back to the paper that's due today. I have another paper and video due next Tuesday, but haven't even started on them (and editing videos takes much longer than I could have ever imagined) because I have a very long paper (80-100 pages) due Monday.

If I ruled the universe, writing a hundred-page paper would mean that they just handed you your Master's degree with appropriate expressions of awe and admiration. Unfortunately, in this universe it just means you pass one class.

Fortunately, this universe also contains so much by way of consolation, like this nebula, one of billions to soothe and enchant my very tired brain.

Flame Nebula Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, IPAC Infrared Science Archive - Processing: Amal Biju

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Sunday bird blogging


 

Here's a white-throated sparrow demonstrating that Linda Blair style head-twisting that birds can do so effortlessly.

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Saturday reflections




Here's some color: lights on Broadway reflected in a rain-beaded window.

Friday, April 16, 2021

Shadows




Fire escapes always make spectacular shadows, but I love the way they form a rippling pattern over the curtains in that window.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Urban poetry




I love bicycles, their shapes and shadows, and the curves and patterns of their beautiful machinery.

Here's one from my rainy walk to get vaccinated on Sunday, with a few warm splashes of yellow on a gray, gray day.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Astronomy Tuesday



This beautiful galaxy, NGC 4258, is number 106 in Messier's catalog. As it's only 21 million light years from our Milky Way, it's practically a next-door neighbor in the universe.

As always, I'm fascinated by the glimpses of far more distant galaxies in the background of this image, some of them just a blur, each of them containing far more stars than I can ever count.

Image Credit: NASA, Hubble Legacy Archive, Kitt Peak National Observatory; Amateur Data and Processing Copyright: Robert Gendler

Monday, April 12, 2021

Monday (really I won't make a habit of this) bird blogging



I got my second vaccine shot yesterday, and while I'm not as tired as I was after the first one, I'm not exactly a bundle of energy. (And still waiting for that 5G chip to activate and give me free wi-fi anywhere I go.)

This video, of a particularly noisy group of house sparrows in Central Park, was recorded during the winter. You can just imagine the how loud the park can be during the spring. I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Saturday reflections




Trees reflected in the evening light.

I'm not sure how I'm going to get used to being out in the world again. But oh it is so lovely.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Astronomy Tuesday


My third and final (for this week, anyway) paper has now been submitted, and I am reveling in the freedom, however temporary. (Since I have a class starting an hour from now and haven't finished the reading, it's very temporary indeed.)

I do remember the Sixties and light shows, though by the time I was actually old enough to go to concerts, light shows were mercifully no longer a thing. But that's what this Hubble image of a small portion of the Veil Nebula reminds me of. Or possibly, what you'd be likely to get back if anyone tried to scan what's left of my brain right now. 

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, Z. Levay

Monday, April 5, 2021

Sunday, oops, Monday bird blogging




I was in bed last night, already half-asleep, when I realized that I'd forgotten to post a bird picture yesterday.

My dishwasher failed rather spectacularly on Saturday, leaving me with a bathroom full of wet towels and a sink full of dirty dishes; between that and the three papers I was writing, somehow the birds slipped my mind.

So here's a titmouse. We can always use another titmouse.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Saturday reflections





It's the last weekend of my first official Spring Break in many decades, and I am observing the occasion by writing three papers that are due Monday and Tuesday.

I may also consume a fair amount of chocolate to celebrate Easter and acknowledge the tireless work of delivery bunnies worldwide.

Friday, April 2, 2021

Urban poetry





It's been gray and gloomy this week, but the trees know it's spring. These buds made me smile.

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