August 2023 Highlights: whales, osprey, sandgrouse, fly fishing
A few leftovers from the end of July... Friday July 28 Beautyberries in my back yard, berries just starting to form. They last until well into the fall, turning a deep purple. Saturday July 29 Love how perfectly circular and pleated these mushrooms are, looking a little like tiny, delicate Japanese fans. Sunday July 30 After my father died, I couldn't quite bear to part with his fly fishing gear, including the wooden box he made with tiny drawers divided into yet tinier compartments for keeping the colored silk threads, feathers, hooks etc. that he used for tying flies. I wasn't planning to take up fly fishing myself, but I wanted to give his fishing gear to someone who would appreciate it. Twenty years later, giving a talk on the materials science of feathers to my colleague Jennifer Lewis' research group, I mentioned that my students had obtained some mallard wing feathers from a fly fishing supply company. Jennifer immediately said - oh, you should talk to ...