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May. 14th, 2011 07:31 pmToday I'm terribly, terribly scatty. I gave up on zooming through my lists, because I would get ten pages into something then say "Oooh bright thing" and find myself doing something else. I suspect this is the result of taking a night off.
Anyhow, my bag is half packed for camp. I have crucial items like old photos and a small whiteboard and I have some of my clothes. I guess I could pack the rest of my clothes...sometime. I have a list for the rest of my clothes, though, and today is quite obviously not a list day. Tomorrow, maybe.
Part of the problem is that it's less than four degrees outside. Now. In the early evening. My body wants to drop its personal temperature to join the outside one, and I am spending time with hot water bottles and exercises to prevent this happening. This is the by-product of the migraines earlier in the week. My metabolism wants to shift. In fact, it's very enthusiastic about shifting. Fortuantely, it's a Eurovision night, so I can dance around the room and shift it back and then do three hours of work after things are normal. By that time the outside will claim negative temperatures, but I won't care.
Must pack a hot water bottle for camp, though.
I also must stop wondering where I can go to see the animals native to the Herault. The Montpellier zoo is well provided for and has both kangaroos and emus, but not beavers or whatever wolf was native to the region many centuries ago (it has a lone Spanish wolf, which sounds a rather unhappy thing - wolves should not be alone). Nor does it have sheep and goats of the heritage variety. If anyone knows anywhere in the Herault that has older breeds of farm animals, or does simple walks that show local wild animals (in the garrigue, though, not the mountains or the coastal plains) I would be rather relieved. I find it very disconcerting that I can go to Montpellier to see everyday stuff from here, but that I can't seem to find the everyday stuff from there nearly as easily. I have located the bookshop that has the key books that contain all this information (I think) but I really, really wanted to actually understand plants and animals and insects by seeing them and etc. I can do the plants all by myself, I hope, with a simple walk on a hot summer's day, but animals, it seems, aren't that straightforward. And the eco-tour people don't answer their emails.
I've read one book today. There's still lots of time for impressively overwhelming work. Right now, though, I want to think about why the British Library has a display of Australian flowers and why Montpellier is proud of its red kangaroo. Is Australia *always* flavour-of-the-second in Europe, or is it only when I travel? And should I take some nice kangaroo and emu recipes and offer them to the good folk who run the Montpellier Zoo? (I don't actually like zoos, so I don't mind not visiting them - it's just that I need to understand my setting, and the zoo seemed a good bet.)
I suspect this post shows exactly the paths that cause me to forsake real work on days like today.
PS: When in doubt, look for breeders. This site gives me at least some basics. No Medieval beavers, alas, but I should be able to sort out some of the farm animals a bit further: http://www.agroparistech.fr/svs/genere/especes/bovins.htm During the Eurvision ads, that'll be.
Anyhow, my bag is half packed for camp. I have crucial items like old photos and a small whiteboard and I have some of my clothes. I guess I could pack the rest of my clothes...sometime. I have a list for the rest of my clothes, though, and today is quite obviously not a list day. Tomorrow, maybe.
Part of the problem is that it's less than four degrees outside. Now. In the early evening. My body wants to drop its personal temperature to join the outside one, and I am spending time with hot water bottles and exercises to prevent this happening. This is the by-product of the migraines earlier in the week. My metabolism wants to shift. In fact, it's very enthusiastic about shifting. Fortuantely, it's a Eurovision night, so I can dance around the room and shift it back and then do three hours of work after things are normal. By that time the outside will claim negative temperatures, but I won't care.
Must pack a hot water bottle for camp, though.
I also must stop wondering where I can go to see the animals native to the Herault. The Montpellier zoo is well provided for and has both kangaroos and emus, but not beavers or whatever wolf was native to the region many centuries ago (it has a lone Spanish wolf, which sounds a rather unhappy thing - wolves should not be alone). Nor does it have sheep and goats of the heritage variety. If anyone knows anywhere in the Herault that has older breeds of farm animals, or does simple walks that show local wild animals (in the garrigue, though, not the mountains or the coastal plains) I would be rather relieved. I find it very disconcerting that I can go to Montpellier to see everyday stuff from here, but that I can't seem to find the everyday stuff from there nearly as easily. I have located the bookshop that has the key books that contain all this information (I think) but I really, really wanted to actually understand plants and animals and insects by seeing them and etc. I can do the plants all by myself, I hope, with a simple walk on a hot summer's day, but animals, it seems, aren't that straightforward. And the eco-tour people don't answer their emails.
I've read one book today. There's still lots of time for impressively overwhelming work. Right now, though, I want to think about why the British Library has a display of Australian flowers and why Montpellier is proud of its red kangaroo. Is Australia *always* flavour-of-the-second in Europe, or is it only when I travel? And should I take some nice kangaroo and emu recipes and offer them to the good folk who run the Montpellier Zoo? (I don't actually like zoos, so I don't mind not visiting them - it's just that I need to understand my setting, and the zoo seemed a good bet.)
I suspect this post shows exactly the paths that cause me to forsake real work on days like today.
PS: When in doubt, look for breeders. This site gives me at least some basics. No Medieval beavers, alas, but I should be able to sort out some of the farm animals a bit further: http://www.agroparistech.fr/svs/genere/especes/bovins.htm During the Eurvision ads, that'll be.