APR 4, excursions: around Monterey and Carmel

selfie at Monterey hotel with large palm tree

old theatre with whalebone decor

old whaling station, Monterey 

old codger with old wisteria vine, old Monterey

view of Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey

view from Fisherman's Wharf

view from Fisherman's Wharf

 

wall art, Cannery Row district, Monterey

Basilica at Carmel Mission

bird-of-paradise plant,
Carmel Mission

fantasy house, Carmel

APR 3, birdlore: turkey on the roof (Berkeley)

 

TURKEY ON THE ROOF -- Berkeley, California

TURKEY FLIGHT

SUNSET, SHORTLY THEREAFTER

You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLIFE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

APR 2, excursions: SF Bay, local wildlife

western fence lizard,
Pinnacles National Park

coot, 
Lake Merritt, Oakland 

 

black-capped night heron,
Lake Merritt, Oakland

hybrid duck (male),
Aquatic Park, Berkeley

greater scaup (male), 
Lake Merritt, Oakland

Canada goose,
Point Lobos Natural Reserve

wild turkey,
North Berkeley

turban snails, etc., in tidepool,
Asilomar State Park

cormorant and pelican rookery,
Point Lobos Natural Reserve

harbor seals (mother and pup),
Point Lobos Natural Reserve

flight of the hybrid duck,
Aquatic Park, Berkeley

California gull,
Moss Landing

APR 1, organic brain poetry: cerebral metastases

 

You can view and review all our verses on the topic of 'Organic Brain Poetry' by following this link to the encyclopedic collection on "Edifying Nonsense."

MAR 31, excursions: Oakland, CA

plaque at Heinold's Saloon, founded 1883,
Jack London Square

The saloon had been patronized by iconic American writers such as  Oakland resident Jack London and visiting guru Robert Louis Stevenson. 

statue at Lake Merritt,
evoking the aboriginal myth (Ohlone/Castanoan)
of a sea monster

In a recent rehabilitative project, Lake Merritt, landlocked during the period of development, has had its connection to  San Francisco Bay restored.

drum circle near lake Merritt

Australian teatree, planted in the first decade of the last century,
part of an arboretum function

black-capped night heron

Lake Merritt is claimed to be the US's first wildlife refuge.

a greater scaup, more or less

a great number of scaups and other waterfowl congregate at the lake

trail-break at the nearby Reinhardt Redwoods Park

 

a resident socializes with visitors

MAR 30, excursions: Berkeley, CA

 

Pictured at left, bottom row, is pride-of-Madeira, a beautiful, but invasive flowering shrub.

Mar 29, binomial phrases: "birds and bees"

  Another alliterative example ...

Authors' Note:  Birds and bees is an alliterative binomial phrase used here in a euphemistic sense.  The counterintuitive fact that MENses are a female function could make this poem a companion-piece to the authors' verse on gender-neutral language. 

 

To review the poetic effusion that we have accumulated about binomial phrases, proceed to our blog "Edifying Nonsense", and check out the post  'Grandpa Greg's Grammar: Binomial Expressions'.

 Click HERE !There is also an entire collection of lyrics to patter songs, somewhat older material, dedicated to various kinds of binomials, that provides more didactic material and an extensive series of examples, and allows you to sing these expressions for your own enjoyment, or for that of others around you. Click HERE !

A personal INVITATION: Come along, and enjoy our upcoming trip to California, starting tomorrow !!!

MAR 28, mammalian wildlife: California sea lions

Ed. Note: This poem had initially been concocted with an upcoming trip to California in mind.

Authors' Note:  The California sea lion, Zalophus californianus, native of the west coast of North America, has increased in population considerably in recent years.  The marine mammal is sexually dimorphic, with males larger in size and having more commanding vocal abilities than the females. Both genders are larger and more socially active than the true 'earless' seals, which can move on land only by scooting on their bellies.

   Sea lions are highly intelligent, and positioning their front flippers, they can support themselves in a 'four-legged' walk; their ability to learn and perform tricks has given them a role as the (misnamed) 'circus seal'.

Follow-up note: As is often the case, e.g. with bears or raccoons, feeding wild animals can result in untoward behaviour. On our subsequent two-week visit to California in early April 2022, we saw no such disreputable behavior by sea lions (but it must be admitted that we saw no sea lions, although we certainly heard them barking, particularly around the piers at Monterey). 

You can review the whole collection of illustrated verses about mammals (both domestic and exotic) by checking out the more extensive post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

any other date: scroll over to the calendar-based listings of 'Past Posts' in the righthand column on this page, and select (by clicking) the month of your choice from 2020 or 2021. 

MAR 27, death and the afterlife: Will's last testament

 Author's Note:  Although the short forms 'Will' and 'Bill' may be casually interchanged as first names (short forms of ‘William’), the nouns 'will' (as in 'last will and testament') and 'bill' are generally used with more careful scrutiny. ‘Will’ and ‘testament’ being essentially synonyms, the expression is a prototypical example of the redundant binomial expressions that seem to be loved by lawyers.

 Subtle differences in the form of idioms may underwrite important differences in meaning. ‘At last’ and ‘at the last’ seem similar, but in fact their usage and meaning differs considerably.

 You can review more poems about 'Death and the Afterlife' in context ('death and the afterlife') on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!

Incidental photo:

 recently added signpost with directions for tourists ...

MAR 26, bar-fauna: at 'The Lizards' Lair'

BTW, should you ever need to log in directly to this blog, its simple address is...

daily.edifyingnonsense.com

(Just type that into your browser search-line.) But, here you are for today, so welcome aboard!

And, here's a photo of the barkeep; he's a fence-lizard, and a little vignette about this species can be found HERE.

                                                                   

photo info: Images of the anole, the skink and the fence lizard were recently captured by G.C. on his i-phone7 camera. 

If you liked this submission, you might want to refer to our entire collection of verses about human and animal denizens of bars, pubs and other watering-holes. Click HERE.

MAR 25, at heart: atrial fibrillation

Authors' Note: Atrial fib, also abbreviated to a-fib or AF, is medical jargon for atrial fibrillation. Causes for AF include various heart and lung conditions, particularly valvular heart disease, but half of cases occur spontaneously.

AF may be symptomatic or not, and may be intermittent rather than sustained, particularly in its earlier phase. In any case, it is associated with the formation of clots in the atria of the heart, leading to an increased risk of brain stroke, caused by emboli.

To reduce the risk of stroke, patients with AF may be asked to take blood thinners for life.    

You can view more poems on this topic by proceeding to "Cardiologic Tracings: AT HEART" (parts #1 and #2) on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!
 

MAR 24, toxic vignette: moonshine whiskey

Authors' Note:  The toxic effects of illicit moonshine whiskey often result from the solder of car radiators, items that are conveniently incorporated into clandestine distilling equipment. Chronic kidney failure may be a delayed effect of repeated exposure to lead, cadmium and other heavy metals which leach into the brew from this source, allowing 'Whiskey Rick' and his ilk to escape responsibility for the most devastating effects of their concoctions. 
    

Review all our poems of toxicologic interest by clicking HERE.  

 

MAR 23, poetry of healthcare: treatment compliance

You can view these informative verses in a wider context by proceeding to the collection 'Poetry of Healthcare' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!