Ohhh, so that's why … How to Tame Sequoia’s Window Tiling - TidBITS:

Have windows on your Mac started to expand to fill the screen since you upgraded to macOS 15 Sequoia? … having windows change size underneath your pointer can be jarring. Luckily, new settings in Sequoia let you move windows around your Mac without having them jump around.

Heavy on the religious minutiae, it was interesting that Sister Joan was able to ferret out wrongdoing in spite of the enormous limitations of a very contained life. I may not read more.

A Vow of Silence (Sister Joan Murder Mystery Book 1) by Veronica Black. 📚

There are whispers of virgin sacrifice and suicide, and the mother prioress certainly wears pink nail varnish. And who is the young man hiding in the bracken?

Book cover: A Vow of Silence.

This book grew on me as I read more, but it didn't entirely grab me. Blindsided (Grace Smith Mystery Book 2)by Liz Evans. 📚

When Grace Smith, a down-on-her-luck private investigator with an unimpressive track record, gets a call from an elderly man about a missing person, she’s not expecting much.

Book cover: Blindsided.

Today's Bird World adventure — the flue of our woodburner wears a 'sock' to keep birds out, so it was very surprising to see this sparrow head sticking out into the lounge in the gap between the flue itself and the plate on the ceiling.

Wire mesh covers the top of the flue.
Stuck sparrow.

I extracted it enough so it darted off … straight into a window. After 5 minutes resting on the grass it recovered and flew off. Whew! 🐦

Nicely said:

@checkervest I still skip! It's best to be yourself, early and often. Lest you fall in with the wrong crowd by accident. 😀

Volume up! This little Yellowhammer was singing right outside my open door. 🐦

Yellowhammer on a flax stem.

A wonderful moment today as traffic stopped to allow a Paradise Duck mama to walk her half a dozen or more babies 50 metres along (and all over) the road to a new location. iPhone photos from the car. 🐦

Paradise duck with babies behind as cars wait.
Paradise duck on the road with babies and male behind.

A friend has roped off the Dotterel nest on the beach in an attempt to keep vehicles and pedestrians, horses and dogs away. He has also seen 3 eggs in the nest. 🐦

Roped off dotterel nest on the flat part of the beach.
Dotterel on nest beside a piece of driftwood.

The nests of northern New Zealand dotterels are simple scrapes in the substrate … The main threats are loss of eggs and chicks to mammalian and avian predators, disturbance from human activities on beaches, loss of nests to big tides … Three eggs are laid … Incubation usually takes 28-30 days; the fledging period is variable, but averages about 6 weeks.

Reposted: Yellowhammer through the window. 🐦

Small sparrow-like bird with yellow head on a flax spear.

Explained: Why Kiwis don’t know what a proper cup of tea is | Stuff:

There are also numerous boutique tea blenders in New Zealand like The Tea Curator , Webster’s , Mikaku , Tea Total , Harney & Sons , t Leaf T , Noble & Sunday , Ritual , Teaology , Libertine , and The Tea Thief . They source their tea from all over the place including Sri Lanka, China, Malawi, Myanmar, Japan, and India, then blend and package it here.

6 ways supermarket tea is different to artisan tea | The Tea Curator:

The leaves used for artisan tea are almost always handpicked … usually the newly-emerged bud and one or two leaves or the bud only. For supermarket tea, the leaves are typically lower quality … a mixture of new and mature leaves and stalks … The leaf selection for your tea matters because the younger buds and leaves are richer in nutrients, higher in aromatic oils and produce more complex flavours …

Dammit: had a filling at the dentist today — it was quick and easy, but I had two injections. Now I can't drink a cup of tea without dribbling. 3 hours later and my lip's still numb …

Urgh, I expect today's brain fog, headache, blurry eyes and lack of oomph are hay fever reactions. Not a fan!

I have a dim memory from years ago about an announcement for being able to see a transcript or hear a recording of a voicemail right on the phone's screen … I think …

Anyway, it's now landed in Aotearoa for me, and Wow! That's incredibly useful.

A voicemail asking me to call the speaker has been transcribed and is also available as a recording.

This little Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel came within 2 metres to check me out. A friend has seen a 'nest' with 3 eggs at the beach. He thinks this dotterel and mate are responsible. 🐦

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Red-breasted Dotterel standing erect and looking at the camera.
Dotterel scuffing sand aside with its beak while hunting for food in the sand.

This is the view — from south to north — on arriving at Waikawa Beach over the north track off Reay Mackay Grove.

I actually don't mind at all being awake and drinking tea at 3 am. Yesterday I was tired all day and totally crashed out at 7 pm, so I've actually already had about 6 or 7 hours sleep, and will surely have more before dawn.

This morning's tea, a delicious: Gong Mei.

Little waxeyes were feeding on the small flax flowers — their heads turning orange with the pollen. But before my camera could focus they flew away. 😒

Rabbit eating grass.
Rabbit eating grass.

I was just browsing through photos in my album and came across these Warou | Welcome swallows on the railing from January 2015. 🐦

Two swallows at opposite ends of a railing, facing away from one another as though in a huff.

Hiatus resolution, glottal stops … what's not to like in this interesting 16 minute video from Dr Geoff Lindsey? — A interesting development - YouTube:

A investigation into a increase in the use of a indefinite article without 'n' . Is it only a American thing, or a international phenomenon?