Little Fliss, in her third day, is so photogenic. Photo: stripy baby Japanese quail. 🐦
A few hours later: Mother quail, Felicia, and babies Fliss and Flop are doing fine.
Birds can change sex
Sex Reversal in Chickens Kept in Small and Backyard Flocks - eXtension tells us (of chickens):
How does spontaneous sex reversal occur? Typically, a female chicken has only one functional ovary, the left one. The right ovary and oviduct are present in the embryonic stages of all birds but usually do not develop … Most cases of spontaneous sex reversal result from a disease condition that damages the left ovary. … Residual tissue in the right ovary develops in the absence of the functional left ovary. This regenerated right gonad is known as an ovotestis … There are reports of hens with ovotestes producing semen, making them capable of fathering offspring.
The MOST exciting thing: we unexpectedly have 2 baby quail! Especially unexpected since the adults are all female (but apparently birds can change sex). They are soooo cute.
Dark mode was so hyped that I switched to it immediately on installing Mojave when it was released. I really really tried to like it but have found much relief in turning it off again. Ahh, nice clean, easy-to-read screen. Screenshot: light mode.
Are you familiar with earth — a visualization of global weather conditions? I visit daily. The screenshot below shows a ‘river’ of rain arcing down to New Zealand from the tropics. This time last year we were in a declared drought. This summer it’s all about rain.
This Micro Monday I’d like to mention @smokey who is thoughtful, generous, interesting, and a pillar of this community.
As a contribution to our shared lunch with friends tomorrow I’ve made Lemon Butter Biscuits and Gingerbread Dinosaurs. Unfortunately Halide, while a fab photo app for iPhone, sometimes loses photos. The butter biscuits photo is before cooking. Dino photo after.
The Levin dog park, next to Lake Horowhenua, is splendid: 50,000 square metres (12 acres), fully fenced, large and small open areas, shaded areas, loads of trees. Free poop bags, lots of bins, drinking water for dogs, seats. Wonderful!
A “hidden figure” in the development of GPS technology has officially been honored …. Mathematician Dr. Gladys West was recognized for doing the computing responsible for creating the Geographical Positioning System, more commonly referred to as the GPS. Via vdebolt.
The pause point
It’s 4.45 am on summer solstice. I have been awake an hour already. Sunrise will come soon, bringing more than 16 hours of daylight.
I sip my tea — a Rare Kenya Silver Tip — and am eating fresh sweet strawberries from the tunnel house.
A nearly full moon is setting behind clouds in the west while the birds start their dawn chorus all around. The constant sea roars gently behind me.
Oshi has come up on the bed. He’s lying quietly by my ankle, occasionally hiccuping, as he sometimes does.
This is a moment of peace as the world reaches its turning point. The year-end holidays have begun, the longest day has arrived, the summer is underway. We will rest now before launching ourselves into a new year.
Nice: 16 hours and 12 minutes of daylight today.
After several fatalities recently, we have new signs between Waikawa Beach Road and Levin on State Highway 1. “Keep left, high crash rate.” The new soft barrier in the median strip along some stretches might help drivers behave too.
Today’s Te Reo Māori quirk: tātahi is the beach. You don’t put a ‘te’ in front of it, just like you wouldn’t put a ‘the’ in front of a placename. So: “Kei te haere au ki tātahi.” I’m going to the beach. “Kei te haere au ki te whare pukapuka.” I’m going to the library.
So, any thoughts about what’s heading our way and how long it’ll take to get here?
Interesting word of the week, bdelloid
: From the Ancient Greek βδέλλα (bdella, "leech").
That bd
combination at the start! Can't wait for this to come up in Scrabble.
Where I got this word from: a SciShow video.
Your New Social Credit Score: A powerful 3 minute video about a possible, even likely, future. I specially like: “If you’re a citizen of Google, Facebook, or another corporation…”
We like the horses down the road. Moose has recently joined the other two. When he's standing right beside them you can see what a big fellow he is. The other day he joined me in a selfie. Photos: 3 horses grazing in a paddock; big horse next to me — headshot.
Drat! Last week’s sutures from a trivial excision came out today. Except for one that resisted. Now I have 4 new sutures in the middle of my back. No actual pain, but ouchy! Plus it was so muggy I may have been approaching fainting in the nurse’s office. Recovering at home now.