Errant Box of Wet Wipes

It's unusual for me to put up two "errant" posts in one day, but these were happened upon within a couple of days of each over the past week, so here goes.

Errant Die

"Alea iacta est!" (but it looks like it's actually stuck in the Rubicon^)

Related posts:  Errant

Yet More Camouflage

Another bollard making like a background-matching octopus.  A better illustration of the idea of achieving quasi-transparency through camouflage than this previous one from January.

Rich Evening

When I went out for a walk late this afternoon, I wasn't expecting much in the way of photogenic sights.  Evening was approaching and the partially overcast sky was not very promising.  I was glad to be proven wrong, however.

There was this intense iridescence low in the evening sky;  kind of looks like "The Mark of Zorro";  plus it sure looks like I was risking my neck in the traffic here

Then there was this amazing "winged figure" near the horizon

Oh, and I just happened to be listening to Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" on AirPods when I came across this outdoor display^^

Seen On A Neighborhood Stroll

The four stages of chicken roasting

Versus loaves of bread for recent converts to veganism

A Blood Dream

This morning I woke up unusually early.  I didn't feel like I needed any more sleep, so I got up, made tea, and sat down in front of the computer as usual.  But then, after a while I decided I needed to go back to sleep after all, so I got back into bed and fell asleep.

During that extra couple of hours I had a dream about my cat Blood.  Yes, after nearly three decades I still dream about my only pet now and then.  In the dream I had given him away to someone else some time before, but I'd come to their home for a visit.  Blood was glad to see me, and when time came for me to leave he followed me to the front door, seemingly ready to come back with me.  I had to lead him back into the house and close the door behind me.  It made me sad.

Once I woke, I noticed two things about the dream.  In the dream Blood had orange stripes, rather than tabby markings.  Also, his being dead was symbolized as "being away" -- he was out of my life and I couldn't have him with me any more.  This was similar to how my mother's passing was symbolically represented in a prior dream as her "going away".

Related posts:  More Dreams

                         Blood Comes Back For A Visit

Sometimes, The Sun Has The Wings

of an albatross.

September 27, 2017

Unusually intense iridescence over downtown L.A.  On the drive home from work, eight years ago.

Rude Plant

O.K., maybe I'm just being overly sensitive, but I couldn't help feeling vaguely insulted by this plant, whatever it is.

Diving Dog

looking over his shoulder the instant before splashdown.

Worm Rescue, But...

It's been drizzling pretty much all day today.  Earlier, when I was out walking in the rain as I'm wont to do, I came across a worm on the sidewalk.  A small one this time, not one of those scary giant ones.  It was evidently quite weak, very slowly crawling along on the polished stone tile.  I picked it up gingerly, and it didn't offer much resistance, obviously on its last "legs".  I carried it to the verge, dug a shallow hole with my finger and put it in.  By then the worm had stopped moving altogether.  I watched it for a little while, then resumed my rain walk.  I don't know if it managed to recover.

Number of worms rescued:  79

Another Well-Timed Shot

WOW!

Today I was lucky enough to spot a really late straggler while out for an evening walk.  I just had time to take one quick shot before it sped off.  But what a shot!

Detail:

 

It also reminded me of this shot from October, 2016:

A Well-Timed Shot

Some Kind Of Larva

Almost walked into this little varmint hanging from a branch overhead by an invisible strand of silk, just swinging back and forth in the breeze.  I spotted it at the very last instant -- Imagine if this had glommed onto my face.

No. 5 Exit, Revisited

Yesterday I decided on an impulse to visit Myeongdong, the busy, tourist-friendly neighborhood where, almost three years ago, I accidentally discovered a beautiful view out of subway exit 5.  It had rained all morning (and would continue to rain all the rest of the day), and as I remembered this luminously beautiful sight from back then,

November, 2022

I became curious as to how different the view would be on a rainy afternoon with thick overcast as opposed to sunny midday, so I took the shuttle to the subway station, hopped on a No. 3 train and off I took.

Once I got to my destination though, there was a surprise waiting;  the young ginkgo tree, the star of the original photograph above, had been trimmed down to the point of looking dwarfish!  Ah well, it will grow back.  And I will some day come back to photograph it again in its reclaimed glory.

Anyway, as expected there was a heavy, unceasing stream of visitors and I had to wait a long time for an uninterrupted shot.  The moment it happened I actually yelled aloud "Yes, yes!" and this hapless lady with a boy in tow saw me with my smartphone glued to my face and stopped short.  I took three shots in quick succession and smilingly thanked her for hanging back.  She smiled back.

September, 2025

Related post: An Amusing And Touching Dream

Errant Arrow

Noticing and becoming preoccupied by odd little things that nobody else pays the slightest attention to, is one of the standard symptoms of OCD -- and perhaps a sign of mild autism as well.

 

Related post:  Errant Needle

Last Stragglers

Dragonflies from earlier today.  Actually, I hadn't seen any dragonflies for a while and was not expecting to see any, not today, and certainly not a swarm -- not even a small one like this.  It won't be much longer before the weather cools down beyond their tolerance and they will be gone, until their progeny return in their place next year.  I wanted to commemorate them in these "aged" photos that suggest their old lineage.

One Of My Very Very Favorite Pipes

An eleven-inch churchwarden with a repaired crack.  So sleek and pretty that even my mother admired it.  I've thought about painting that paste.  Either to match the wood, or maybe just going wild and painting it jewel-like -- jade-green, or sapphire maybe.  I'm not sure.  For now it's going as is.

After The Rain

Fallen leaves

(Uh...)

Cool Pigeon

And cloud asking for a kiss

Is That You, Alfalfa?

"Morphic Resonance"?

Today, as I stepped out the door after a heavy rain, I saw something remarkable in the distance.

A bank of mist trying to climb over mountain peaks!

What's For Dinner

Century eggs from the neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

It's a very "divisive" food.  Some people swear by these (largely Chinese), others (the majority of non-Chinese -- especially westerners, from what I've seen online) think it's weird and appalling, on a level with *balut.  Myself, I wouldn't say I'm a yuuge fan, but I do like them.  The lady at the restaurant counter seemed just a tad concerned, and she actually asked me if I'd had them before... I had to smile.  And she advised me that the sauce provided would improve their taste -- except, the sauce wasn't strong enough to suit my palate, so I added a bunch of stuff from my pantry, and yes, they were good.

*Filipino name for boiled duck eggs with partly developed embryos inside.  It's reputedly a popular street snack.  Which is why some people humorously claim it's best to eat them after sundown, so you can't see too well what it is you're eating.

Iridescent Day