Postcards
I received more requests for dragon postcards than I had postcards! Never fear, I have ordered another pack and will be able to fulfill all of them. I’m sending them out slowly in batches as I have a chance to write them.

Crossposting question
Is anyone else finding that, if they edit an entry that’s been cross-posted from DW to LJ, it re-posts to LJ instead of modifying the previous entry? I’m getting grumpy about it, as I usually have to edit entries 3-4 times after initially posting because I’ve forgotten a tag or spot a grammatical error.

Beautiful sky rock
[personal profile] kaberett, did you see the cover of this week’s Nature? It is gorgeous. From the Nature web site:


The Esquel pallasite — arguably the most beautiful meteorite ever discovered — consists of centimetre-scale gem-quality crystals of the silicate mineral olivine embedded in a metallic matrix of iron-nickel alloy. The pallasites are thought to originate from a ~200 km radius parent body that separated into a liquid metal core surrounded by a rocky silicate mantle shortly after the birth of the Solar System. High-resolution magnetic imaging of the iron–nickel matrix of two pallasites (Esquel and Imilac) by James Bryson et al. reveals a time-series record of magnetic activity on the pallasite parent body, encoded within nanoscale intergrowths of iron-rich and nickel-rich phases. This record captures the dying moments of the magnetic field generated as the liquid core solidified, providing evidence for a long-lasting magnetic dynamo driven by compositional convection. (Esquel image from Natural History Museum, London.)


I have a paper copy of the issue if you would like me to post it to you.

Birds
As mentioned in my post about the long-tailed tits (DW/LJ), I received a new lens for my dSLR for Christmas and have been keeping vigilant watch on the bird feeders so I can rush out with it when the light is good (not a common occurrence in January). I’ve been posting selected shots to [community profile] common_nature, but wanted to put a record of them on my personal journal for safekeeping as well.


Mob of sparrows: an image that conveys why I have to refill the seed feeder twice a day in winter!


I’ve caught the jay reasonably close to the house once. I hold out a slim hope I may see it whilst I'm actually in the garden (and when it's not so overcast), but they're quite shy.


Goldfinch sitting on a nyger/thistle seed feeder. Inspired by the success of the toroid fat ball feeder, we bought another feeder, for nyger seed, to try to tempt the redwings and goldfinches from the field over the canal into our garden. There were no takers for several days. Just as we were starting to despair, we spotted a flock of goldfinches descending on it. This is the best shot we've gotten so far, but I'm hopeful we'll be able to capture them in action over the coming weeks (and the nuthatch we spotted, too).


A house sparrow in flight, about to take a peanut from a bird feeder.


Two blue tits in an aerial battle for prime position on a peanut feeder. Highlights are blown on this and the subsequent two photos, but I love the poses.


Blue tit hanging off the bottom of the peanut feeder and giving the camera side-eye.


More blue tit side-eye from the peanut feeder.


Rather heroic blue tit pose on the fat ball feeder.]

Cat and boy

Telstar and Keiki napping together on a spare room bed. Telstar has decided he definitely prefers infants to toddlers. Especially toddlers who chase him around gleefully shouting, “No, Teldos!”
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