Yellow Svok

Today we got a surprise visit from our birder friend, Kevin, and a new friend, Svok the common yellow throat. Kevin found Svok outside of the science center earlier today. He put him in a box and brought him to show Orleia, to have her guess what kind of bird he is. She was correct! (Guess that birding seminar is paying off).
Svok is still alive, poor thing, but not so well. He is dying of conjunctivitis in his eyes, and damage to his brain caused by the disease. He is still very pretty, though his eyes are rather swollen. Little Svok will eventually pass on and make his way into the university's museum.
It was nice to have met you little guy!

*This is not Svok, but a bird like him.
This photo courtesy of Dan Jackson:
http://kvr.state.wi.us/birds/bird_photo_get.asp?photoid=347&locid=115

A Fair Weekend

This week is Delaware County fair week! Opening day, this past Saturday, my mom came down to go to the fair with me.

We had a great time! I love the fair.

I love the sights - cows, horses, and chickens, colorful quilts, whirling ride cars and the spinning Ferris wheel...











...the sounds - sheep bleating, cows mooing, girls screams and giggles, the announcer's voice booming from the stadium...





...the smells - hay, manure, funnel cakes, corn, tractor oil...














...the tastes - fresh squeezed lemonade, salty french fries, buttery corn on the cob, sweet and sugary cotton candy.










[Through the door...]




















[Hooray for dairy cows.]













[A young Delawarean rider.]

















[Tractor Wheels.]



It was a wonderful weekend!
I wish I could go to the fair this Thursday. That's the day of the Little Brown Jug, a huge horse race held here in Delaware. In my four years here, I've never gone, and I fear that I'll have to miss it yet again this year.
Ah well, at least I got to go to the fair!

*All photos are thanks to my mom. My camera battery ran out of power, so my mom had to take all of the pictures on our weekend outing.

Movie watchin', yet again.

It's another movie night in 115 (our room).
My roommate Phoebe and I are having another movie marathon.
(There are four of us in the room: Pheobe, Orleia, Nellie, and me.)
Currently it's a double feature.

First up is "An Affair to Remember"
with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.










Following that, "Sleepless in Seattle"
with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

These two movies are connected in that the former is frequently referenced in the later.

It's an amazing night of chic flicks, old and new. I just need some chocolate and we'll be all set!

Birding

Megan's major is Zoology. Currently , she is in a weekend birding seminar. I created this series of pictures with her in mind.

This is my "Birding at Atwood"...


[It's a plane, it's superman? No...]

















[...it's a...birdie?]


















[Why, here's another one on the fence!]









[Birdie in a tree.]


















[Two little birdies, sitting on the deck.]

















[Birdie on a mailbox]


















[Hungry birdie]













[Thirsty birdie]


















[Birdie house]













Hope you enjoyed my birding photos!
Keep your eyes peeled for those birdies.

Goobies!

Here are a few pictures of our little fuzzy roommates. They're degus, a small rodent from Peru, and they're the sweetest little things! Orleia calls them "goobies." They crack me up. Usually they stay in their cage, but sometimes they roll around in their hamster ball, or occasionally they make a trip to our bathroom and we have some human-fuzzy roommate bonding time.

The larger of the two (though it's often hard to tell) is Odin.














The smaller is Horris.


















[Climbing into the shower...]




















[Feeding the goobs.]


















[Awww, so cute.]

Swingin' and Sight-seein'

This weekend was the weekend of Swing Dancing and Plant Sight-seeing.

On Friday I went with my swing dance club, The Swingin' Bishops (our school's mascot is the Battling Bishop, who looks much like an angry version of Mr. Magoo) to a Big Band and dancing event in Columbus. The music was live and well played. I loved the name of the band: In Full Swing. They have an event in Columbus every second Friday of the month. I can't wait to go back!

On Saturday I woke up early to travel up to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens with the Horticulture Club. We got a tour of the gardens, plus a behind the scenes tour of the animal facilities. I took a ton of pictures, of course. The gardens are so pretty! If you are from the Cleveland area and haven't ever been to the gardens, you really are missing out.

A link to the Cleveland Botanical Garden's website, if you are interested.

And now for come pictures.....






[Purple Passion]

















[Bumble Bee]
















[Daisies]
















[Many Colors]

















[Hydrangea]
















[Cluck Cluck]















[Lilies and Goldfish]
















[Musical Waters]















[A Doorway to Beauty]


















[Chameleon]









[Butterfly in the light]
















[Fern]















[Owl Butterfly]











[My butterfly friend, Schmetterling (German for butterfly, and the punch line for a very funny joke). He didn't want to leave my hand!]








To end the day, Orleia and I went to pick out a bottle of wine. Orleia wanted a fruitier wine and picked a white wine variety, Bella Sera. It was possibly the worst wine I'd ever tasted. I highly dis-recommend it! >.< I opted for a raspberry Smirnoff instead.

So Many Goings On!

There's been so much going on her the past two weeks!
My roommate Orleia's birthday.
Black-light party at Chi Phi.
A visit back home to see my friend Coleen.
A weekend back at Atwood with my family.
Late night parties.
My first exam of the semester.
And there's still more to come!

It's been a whirlwind two weeks, and thus I have not been here to tell you about it.

[A Jockey on a lamp at a local restaurant in Delaware, OH (the city I go to college in) Horses and racing are big in this town.]