I packed the weekend with bicycling, and I feel great. Saturday, I drove to an Amish farmer’s market I’ve been wanting to check out, put the food in a cooler, and then went for a ride at Parvin Lake. Where there is a very aggressive swan, which I caught on video! That’ll be the next Pine Baron post. Then on Sunday, it was so beautiful out that after reading my paper and watching CBS Sunday morning, I took my bike to Cooper River park and explored nine miles of paved trails, circling the wide bend of the river, which is more like a lake, with sailboats and rowers out in the sun.
It was a good weekend. I wish I lived in a more bicycle friendly area, but it could be worse. At least I have a lot of parks to ride in.
I took today off work to explore a few places, and to visit my sister, my niece, and my nephew. I’ll write about our adventures soon. Today I’ve got a few good reads to share with you, and a poll about how frequently I ought to write this newsletter. I like sticking to a schedule, but I don’t want to blather when I don’t have much to say. So, let me know how you’d feel about a less rigid schedule than Wednesdays and Sundays, with the poll at the bottom.
In the New Yorker, scientists have found a good use for AI: deciphering the language of sperm whales.
A place I’ve long wanted to visit, the Hopewell culture earthworks in Ohio, will be named a UNESCO heritage site. Larger than the pyramids at Giza, it is a long time coming that the pre-colonial sites such as this get their due.
tells us why my favorite bird, the bluejay, that noisy pterodactyl of the suburbs, is shy this time of year. Vanity!Also,
wrote a fine piece about how everything must be done for profit these days, and not for enjoyment. It smothers the joy out of many things, in my experience.And lastly, the Ringer has a great profile of ultramarathon runner Courtney Dauwalter, who may well be the best human at running 100+ mile races. Read about her pain palace. Ultramarathons are a sport I never took much notice of until I started fight training with Jodi Reicher, who runs them, and after I read my friend Lawrence Block’s memoir Step by Step, about how a prolific writer and traveler somehow also found time to racewalk competitively in 50 and 100 mile races. LB calls it “a pedestrian memoir,” but I found it great reading, and I couldn’t racewalk if I tried.
Don’t forget to vote. It matters.
I’ll chime in to second everyone’s responses -- I think you should write when you want, and if this schedule works for you, that’s great! Also, even a shorter one like this one with links is cool -- I love hearing your recommendations (which are always insightful).
very cool. If you are so inclined, in NE Louisiana there is Poverty Point, earthworks estimated at 1100-1700 BC, also a UNESCO site