On the heels of this morning’s raccoon encounter, check it. At first glance this thing I found on the walkway outside our house may look like a nicely formed 2″-long piece of poop, but upon closer examination it’s the chrysalis of a gonna-be butterfly. If you don’t believe me wait until near the end of …
So many urbanites are taken by surprise when they find our denatured environment is actually full of furry or feathered fauna beyond your average fox squirrel or rock pigeon. I’m a bit more accustomed to (and appreciative of) wildlife encounters, and in the case of the critter in our backyard this morning, the shock was …
With the running I’ve been doing these past few months, I’ve been negligent in allowing the resultant lactic acid buildup to overstay its welcome in my upper thighs. I’ve tried stretches and a large but ungainly foam tube to work it out, unsuccessfully. But not anymore. With a simple rolling pin and some clenched teeth …
Winter always freaks me out when it comes to our Russian tortoise, Buster. Why? Hibernation. She doesn’t eat at all during that season and instead literally hunkers down and “sleeps” through the short days and cold weather. Even though I know it’s what tortoise are awesome at doing for the 250 million years they’ve been …
There’s a subset of strangers and acquaintances I meet and or interact with out there who — despite all evidence to the contrary — find it perfectly acceptable to call me “Bill.” I find it fascinating. What I also find fascinating is that it’s not a two-way street. If I did go by “Bill” I …
Yeah, so early this afternoon I took a crappy iPhone cam snap of this parkway tree backed by a church in Echo Park and ran it through the fauxtograph cycle wherein it emerged as this somewhat stylized shot (click it for the bigger picture), all to represent what an absolutely gawd-beautiful day it is here …
The marker in the top left of the image (click it for the bigger picture) is the bottom of what’s referred to as Nike Hill in Whittier and the marker in the bottom right is the top. In between those two point, it’s 1.81 miles at an average grade of 9%. To put that grade …