Spring blossoms

I don't want to jinx us, but we've had a remarkably mild winter! Only one big snow (before the semester started, phew), and generally warmer-than-usual temperatures. Last year was much worse, and since I'm commuting to teach a 9:30 am class this semester, I'm particularly grateful for the mild weather – fewer of those nightmare commuting mornings where everything is late or canceled, the LIRR doesn't tell you anything, and there are hordes of angry, entitled Long Islanders on the rampage.

A few weeks ago, I went for the first time to the New York Botanical Garden, with Julie, to see their "Orchidelirum" show. The show was full of impressive and interesting orchids of all shapes and sizes. And it was enjoyable to learn about the Victorian craze for orchids and the life of orchid-hunters around the world. Plus, it was a beautiful morning, and the company was the best! I'd like to go back to the Botanical Garden when the rest of the grounds are in bloom. Here are some snapshots from our visit:

What I called "Mount Orchid"

All smiles!

San Francisco

The weeks are flying by, especially now that the semester has started. We're in deep freeze this weekend in NY, but I don't want to forget the lovely and mild weekend Dave and I spent together in San Francisco last month. I was out there for a conference, and Dave flew out to join me afterwards. It seems like a pretty great city! But I don't think I'd be tempted to move there from New York. I felt very hip and tech-y, though – we booked our first Airbnb stay and took Uber cabs everywhere! The future is here.

Dave's cousin and his wife took us on a tour that included a walk in beautiful Muir Woods.

So majestic! I always feel short, but I felt especially diminutive here.

Then we went for a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge:

It was too long, so we only went across part of it! Haha. It's the return journey that always gets ya!

The next day, we took the ferry to Alcatraz. Funny how things change...the most notorious criminals for their time tended to have committed crimes like bank robbery, organized crime, post-Prohibition-type stuff, less violent crime than I would have expected. I find it hard to believe that there was a time when the most fearsome lawbreaker was a bank robber. Now you can rob a bank with a hoodie and a toy gun! Not that you'll get very far...

We ate some delicious dim sum:

And on our final morning, went for a peaceful walk around Golden Gate Park.

Next time, we want to stay longer in California so that we can visit other nearby places, too. 'Til then!

Monkeys, agoutis, and sloths, oh my!

The most exciting thing about Costa Rica, for us, was getting to see cool animals in the wild. And our favorite ones? The mammals! It was such a thrill to see them pass by (or in the case of the sloth, peacefully snooze), as if they didn't care at all that we were in their forest. Very magical!

No wonder they call them 'monkey bars'...

I love this howler monkey's expression.

A sleeping sloth! Curled up on a high branch

 The agouti trots down the path.

A sniffing coati...

Some birds of Costa Rica

I've never been particularly fascinated by birds, but after this trip, I can understand a little better why people can be obsessed with observing them and cataloguing their endless varieties. Maybe it's time to get into birdwatching!

The "reclusive" and "resplendent" quetzal! We were very lucky to spot this bird during our short stay. Look at its gorgeous coloring!

 We met this owl on a night hike in Monteverde. Hoot hoot

 A sleeping blue-crowned mot mot

A series of pictures of hummingbirds follows here. There was a hummingbird garden just outside the nature reserve, attracting all kinds of gorgeous birds. Such a variety of jewel-colored little birds!

 And finally, a pair of macaws that greeted us at a rest stop:

Don't Bug Me

I used to be pretty excited about insects, back in high school. I've forgotten a lot, and my collection is now crumbling into dust at my parents' house – never did use formaldehyde to preserve my specimens. Still, it was exciting to observe (and not collect) some beautiful and unusual (to me) species in Central America!

A walking stick in the night, looking just like...a stick.

 Cool translucent wings on this butterfly

This shade of blue is so rare to find in nature!

When I first saw this beetle, I thought the white dots on its thorax were eyes...

I was stymied by this insect for a while...it reminds me of a damselfly, but it only has two wings, and the way the wings are positioned isn't like anything in the dragonfly family. I looked it up in my guidebook: it's a kind of wasp! an American pelecinid – never saw one of these in PA!

a weekend in the desert

Last weekend, I accompanied Dave to Phoenix, where he had a conference. We were lucky to be headed to a warm location. First things first – as soon as we got off the plane, we headed to In-N-Out:

We drove up to Sedona, and along the way, stopped at Montezuma Castle:

It is neither a castle nor related to Montezuma – it's a set of limestone dwellings carved into the side of a cliff, active around 1000-1400. Pretty neat! Then we hiked up Cathedral Rock. The first part of the hike was pretty leisurely and had nice views:

The final climb got pretty steep – part of it even required some climbing:

But the views from the top were worth it.

Back in Phoenix, we visited our first Frank Lloyd Wright house, Taliesin West. It was his winter home, and today remains the site of his Foundation and school of architecture.

I got to try out FLW's piano!

Lots of Asian art everywhere

My time in Phoenix ended with a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden. So many...prickly things! It was fun to see all of these plants outdoors, though, rather than in a greenhouse exhibit. There was much cactus-imitation.

 A roadrunner. Beep beep!