What are you doing today?

[WhistlingBadger58 14]

Well, my Bob Ross costume was a huge hit with the fourth and fifth graders yesterday, which gives me some hope for the upcoming generation. Then I helped direct the band (and played baritone horn with them when the main director was handy) at the football game, which our team won despite an outrageously terrible call the handed the other team a touchdown. I think it made our guys really mad. It sure made the band play louder. I'm super proud of our band kids this year. They have worked their tails off in marching band, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

Today was a good day: Woke up at 5:30; spent most of the day setting up the 30 gallon as a West African stream bank, soon to be populated with anubias, bolbitus, kribensis (exact variety to be determined) and killifish (also to be determined, but I'm leaning toward A. bivittatum). Got the rockwork in and quite a lot of juniper branches simulating tree roots growing into the water. It will be interesting to see if those stay in place when I fill up the tank.

Juniper wood is notorious for taking FOREVER to get waterlogged and sink. I moved a rock in my hillstream tank the other day and a juniper branch floated to the surface...after being submerged for three years. If it weren't so crooked, it would make amazing boats. Anyway, hopefully the silicone will hold. I'll let you know.

After a nap, I went over to the park with the Badgerling to grab a few more river rocks and catch some scuds. There's a little pool over there, probably about two feet square, that is full of them. Big ones, too, up to about 3/4". I bet there are a few hundred of them in that tiny pool, super active. We caught maybe 20 or 30 and brought them home; I put them in the hillstream tank. At least one of them immediately got torn apart and eaten by the padamya barbs. But most of them made it to the substrate; I saw one grazing on biofilm. Hopefully they'll last long enough to provide some ongoing nourishment and entertainment for the fishies.

Around 6 p.m. the trick-or-treaters started showing up and it was pretty steady. We ran out of candy about an hour ago, turned off the porch light, and no one has knocked since then. I'm staying up for another hour or so to make sure that no gouls or goblins are misbehaving themselves on the grounds of Badger Manor. But I'm not worried --most of my students like me.

 

[GaryE24 22]

I went over to feed my friend's cat yesterday, on a standard street of bungalows. It was not long before sundown and both the neighbours were out, fussing over their Hallowe'en decorations and setting up for the trick or treaters. I think it's great that the holiday creates such a buzz when the entire thing is trying to make an evening fun for kids you might not even know. People who may not be rich spend money on pleasing on other people, and just... give stuff away.

We miss out on the fun. Across the road and behind our place are cemeteries, and we have a long dark driveway up to our house. It's a little too Hallowe'en for kids to come up here.

Today, the clocks have changed but my body clock hasn't, so I'm up at 4:25 in the morning. I got some kind of virus that gave me a fever and chills yesterday so I went to bed early, and it seems to be largely gone. I'm on the well rested side. Happy November, everyone.