I waxed domestic today. Acquired and installed a carpet. Redecorated. Vacuumed-oh yes. And scrubbed.

Microgardening: My second crop of bell peppers has emerged, and is challenging the carrying capacity of my window sills. I re-"potted" about 70 of them to give them their own bathroom-rinse cups. Seventy babies are probably too many for me to take care of, especially if I want to try another crop as well (soy beans?) so I am trying to give away as many pepper-babies as possible.
If you want one and are around Providence, let me know.


And I read. About bats. Imagine walking around blind, screaming at 100 decibels and painting spaces by the echoes of your own voice.

And about birds. Some birds appear able to sing with two distinct voices, simultaneously. My friend Jakob insists that he can do this two--I have heard him sing chords. The white crowned sparrow, even if it never encounters another bird from the day of its birth, can sing. But to sing the song of its kinsfolk, it needs to be among its own kind--or a recording of them. Somehow, though, it can recognize the song of its own. Trapped in a cage, having never seen a bird since he hatched, the white-crowned sparrow can stare into a speaker and, from a disembodied playlist, pick out the white-crowned sparrow song. To learn his song, he must already know it is his own.