Author Archives: admin

Reading List 7

Posted on July 4, 2017 by admin

A total of 60 for the first six months of the year (helped by having very little gainful employment for most of the time). Literature Oranges are not the Only Fruit — Jeanette Winterson The Passion — Jeanette Winterson To … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 1 Comment

Gutenberging 2017

Posted on June 29, 2017 by admin

This year I finally managed to complete and post two long-term projects. The first was Pictographs of the North American Indians — A preliminary paper by the American Bureau of Ethnology, which started on Distributed Proofreaders back in 2004. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Language, Learning, Nature | 1 Comment

The OC

Posted on May 14, 2017 by admin

Yesterday saw a rather special musical event in Oxford: the 17th performance (since it was written in 1930) of the Opus clavicembalisticum (hereafter OC) by Sorabji. Supplier of stamina and skill on this occasion was Jonathan Powell. Sorabji was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Oxford, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Otmoor Days

Posted on May 11, 2017 by admin

A healthy walk from Headington is the Otmoor reserve, which the RSPB has been rehabilitating over the last twenty years. The reserve is dominated by a series of ponds and lagoons, so waterbirds are a big feature. Lapwings have been … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Nature, Oxford | 1 Comment

Little Guys

Posted on May 2, 2017 by admin

In between raptor and heron appreciation, we’ve been taking some time recently to enjoy the smaller dinosaurs. The main disadvantage is of course that they’re harder to spot and (especially) to photograph, so picture quality decreases with size. In reverse … Continue reading →

Posted in England, Germany, Nature, Oxford | 1 Comment

Corvid Collection

Posted on March 9, 2017 by admin

We tend to focus on the big, scary, and generally impressive raptors, but this part of the world also has some splendid corvid species to enjoy. Perhaps the most common here are the rooks. Their bare beaks remind me a … Continue reading →

Posted in Austria, Nature, Slovakia | Comments Off on Corvid Collection

And then there were two

Posted on March 7, 2017 by admin

At the end of February, we welcomed back the first stork of the year. A few days later, and we found: Not just a second stork, but the right second stork. A close-up of the ring revealed that this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Slovakia | 1 Comment

Birthday Present

Posted on February 25, 2017 by admin

Perfect (slightly early) birthday present today: first stork of the year! No ring, so it’s not our female; sentimentally, I’m hoping it’s our male (finding distinguishing features on storks is beyond my powers). Whoever he is, he’s tired and filthy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Slovakia | 1 Comment

Be Aware … Be Very Aware

Posted on January 20, 2017 by admin

The 20th of January is, of course, a very important date across the world. Yes, it’s International Penguin Awareness Day! Here are a few things to be aware of. Penguins can fly: Penguins make pictures perfect: Penguins sing: Penguins dance: … Continue reading →

Posted in Antarctica, Nature | 1 Comment

Reading List 6

Posted on January 1, 2017 by admin

40 books read in the second half of 2016. The emphasis has been on “straight” literature, mainly because I’ve been working through some of the mountain of paper books which I bought in my youth and never got round to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 3 Comments