May 10, 2008
Dave invited a visiting colleague from Austria to come north with us for a long weekend. I think he might be the perfect guest.
He likes long walks and is interested in the flower and local history lore we share (even when we’re wrong about the details). He was game to purchase a fishing license [...]
May 5, 2008
It’s the time of year when everything is bursting open - while my tulips have faded, the redbud in the back has finally decided (after several years of skipping flowering and going straight to leaf, just to spite us) that it is, in fact, a redbud. We’re thrilled it has deigned to bloom in our backyard, [...]
April 27, 2008
Jointly with the mother of the bride, I hosted a bridal shower for a friend this Saturday. The bride’s mom called me from New York and said she wanted to throw a party, but needed “support on the ground”. So, I agreed to pull together a guest list and host.
I had a lot of fun [...]
April 21, 2008
I like plants. I was a plant ecology graduate student. I memorized their names, collected their seeds, learn how botanists classify their variety, and I grew and planted some in field experiments. I have worked as a volunteer to rid a nature preserve of invasive weeds (ongoing, neverending work), and I enjoy playing in my [...]
April 14, 2008
I’ve been noticing the birds. Maybe they’re returning from the woods (robins) or returning from the south (hawks). Or maybe I’m just more tuned into the sky.
Sandhill Crane Sense of Motion, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.
We drove to Indianapolis Friday evening, and then back on Sunday. On Friday evening there were thunderstorms forecast, and [...]
April 8, 2008
My friend Andy is going to laugh at me. He’s the kind of guy who collects the names of things, so he was a great help when I was in grad school and wondered about the name of, say, any plant, insect, or rock near at hand. We used to work together, and so we’d [...]
April 6, 2008
We dusted off the grill and had the first BBQ of 2008 last night. Bahamian grilled chicked from the The Barbecue! Bible. Tasty. Not quite weather for dinner outside, but getting there. Almost time to break out the outdoor table from the garage.
I noticed all the neighbors out in their yards yesterday, picking up the [...]
March 30, 2008
This week is the Internet User Experience conference, a conference spotlighting methods for dramatically improving today’s web site user experience. I attended the conference last year and gained a lot from listening to my colleagues in other usability, web design, and human factors companies locally and globally. I was grateful for the things I learned [...]
March 24, 2008
So, when I went to meet my sister for the Heinrich family reunion in Logansport, I brought with me some local treats for my Atlanta-based sister and her family. Specifically, I transported the following:
lovely Arbor Teas’ organic, fair trade, and sustainably packaged green tea. She had ordered some black tea for herself, but I included [...]
March 23, 2008
My aunt Mercedes is the organizing force behind the Heinrich family reunions. My mom is one of 5 siblings, and her family is spread out across the US, with my sister’s family forming the southern border in Atlanta, my cousin Donie as the northeastern representative in Weymouth, MA, and my cousins Seamus, Anita, and Willow [...]
not particularly objective musings on odds and ends - Dunrie Greiling, Ann Arbor, MI 48103