AnatomyAnagoge

It’s Vidal to keep your cool as you grade, otherwise things can go off the Riesling.

Ben Stein as the monotone economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He’s standing in front of a chalkboard, wearing a tan tweed jacket, blue shirt, dark tie, and large glasses, mid-lecture during the famous ‘Anyone? Anyone?’ Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act scene.

“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the… anyone? Anyone?… the Great Depression, passed the… anyone? Anyone?… the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs on imported goods.
Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects?”

A star-nosed mole on the ground, showing its unusual nose with 22 pink, fleshy tentacle-like rays splayed outward. Its large front claws are visible, adapted for digging in soil.

The star-nosed mole has 22 squishy “tentacles” on its nose,not for smelling, but for touch. It can tap the ground 10+ times per sec, making it the fastest eater in the mammal world (prey gone in ~120 ms!). It’s the first mammal proven to smell underwater by blowing bubbles and sniffing them back in.

A green katydid clinging to the white trim of a house. The insect’s leaf-like wings and long antennae are clearly visible.

Saw this katydid on the deck door today. They’re close relatives of grasshoppers and crickets, but you can tell them apart by their super long antennae. At night, they’re part of that background chorus you hear in late summer.

A concrete doorstep with a dark doormat on the left. On the step are three banana chips placed in a line, and a small pebble near the edge, as if left in exchange. In the background are rocks and the corner of a house.

I leave peanuts and banana chips on my steps for my chipmunk neighbor. In return, it leaves me a pebble. Sometimes part of an acorn. It’s our little trade agreement, no tariffs involved.

Several turtles are lined up on a partially submerged log in a pond, basking in the sunlight. The water is calm and reflects the trees and sky, creating a peaceful scene.

Saw a line of turtles sunning themselves on a log during my walk today, probably painted turtles. In another month or so, they’ll enter brumation until early spring. Some days, I wish I could too.

I still get mileage out of SpongeBob references, but I’m already starting to see blank stares with Harry Potter. My older colleagues have it worse; nothing stings like watching their Monty Python lines fall flat.

Teaching isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. You do it because you believe in your students, not because it makes financial sense. Most people outside education don’t see the training, the time, or the heart it takes. It’s deeply undervalued, but teachers do it anyway.

A Great Blue Heron stands still at the edge of the Cape Cod Canal, partially hidden among green brush, with the calm water stretching out behind it under cloudy skies.

A view of the Cape Cod Canal Trail on a gray, overcast day. The paved path runs alongside the canal with utility poles lining the left side and the iconic arch of the Sagamore Bridge spanning the water in the background.

Spotted a heron standing still by the Cape Cod Canal earlier, just before reaching the Sagamore Bridge. It stood motionless as we passed, eyes on the water waiting for the perfect strike.

Wispy cirrus clouds stretch across a deep blue New England sky, resembling delicate brushstrokes or strands of hair.

Beautiful cirrus clouds brushed across the New England sky today. “Cirrus” comes from Latin, meaning a curl or tuft of hair. But it doesn’t just belong to the sky - in biology, it’s a feathery limb on a barnacle or a coiled organ in a worm. In botany, a curling tendril. Here it means good weather!

A close-up photo of a White-Spotted Sawyer Beetle perched on a dirt-covered gardening glove.

Just met this longhorned guest while gardening - it’s a White-Spotted Sawyer Beetle! 🪲
Not a pest - just helping nature recycle dead trees. Their larvae break down deadwood, returning nutrients to the soil.

A bobcat is mid-step crossing a quiet, tree-lined road in a wooded area.

Spotted a bobcat casually crossing the road during my walk this afternoon. They may look small, but these cats can leap up to 12 feet in a single bound and can take down everything from rabbits to deer fawns when the moment’s right.

The only good thing about the dewpoint being outrageously high yesterday was getting a sunset like this. Sky was on fire.

A crow perched atop a bare white birch tree along The Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine.

A crow followed me along The Shore Path in Bar Harbor, Maine - landing just ahead of me, then again, and again. Felt less like a bird, more like a guide. Or a test. 🖤🐦‍⬛

A White Spring Moth with a torn wing landed on my window while I was stuck in road construction traffic in Camden, Maine. It rested quietly for a moment, then flew off into the trees. Happy to give it a safe perch for a bit.

Nah I’d say it was amaize-ing 🌽😉

A sunset sky with layers of altocumulus and stratocumulus clouds lit by golden and orange light. Darker cloud masses hang to the left, while scattered, glowing tufts stretch across a blue sky. The silhouetted tree line and rooflines below frame the tranquil transition from day to evening.

Watching the clouds catching the last rays of scattered sunlight on my evening walk, tomorrow’s weather should be calm and fair.

This object is a vintage anatomical eye model, used historically for medical or educational purposes to teach about the structure of the human eye.

Locked eyes with this vintage hand-painted Denoyer-Geppert Co. anatomical eye model in an antique shop today.

This photo shows Tom Morello performing at the Boston Calling Music Festival on the Allianz Blue Stage. The backdrop prominently features a bold anti-Trump visual with large buttons spelling out “F*** TRUMP,” and several additional buttons with the same message scattered across the stage design. The large screen on the right shows Morello mid-performance, playing guitar in front of a Marshall amp stack.

Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) at Harvard Athletic Complex

Scientists have lost their jobs or grants in US cuts. Foreign universities want to hire them As the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to scientific research, thousands of scientists in the U.S. lost their jobs or grants.

The Great Brain Drain. apnews.com/article/trum... Scientists have lost their jobs or grants in US cuts. Foreign universities want to hire them

Photo of dense, gray, rope-like scat on a woodland floor. Pine needles, twigs, and roots are visible in the image.

Rope-like gray scat on a forest floor covered in pine needles, twigs, and roots. The material appears dense and fibrous, likely containing animal fur, and is coiled in several loops.

Spotted these on my trail walk today. Thinking fox or coyote scat? Both packed with undigested fur and rope-like. Any scat experts want to weigh in?

Young Virginia creeper plants growing among dry grass and leaves. Each plant has glossy green leaves divided into five leaflets, radiating from a central point like fingers on a hand. The stems are reddish and delicate. The ground is covered with brown leaves and sparse dried grass.

Young Virginia creeper plants growing among dry grass and leaves. Each plant has glossy green leaves divided into five leaflets, radiating from a central point like fingers on a hand. The stems are reddish and delicate. The ground is covered with brown leaves and sparse dried grass.

Also found this glossy little vine on my walk - looks like poison ivy but it’s Virginia creeper: five leaflets instead of three. Easy to mix up at a glance, but the leaflet count is a key giveaway.

Close-up photos of a young plant found growing in partial shade. The plant has compound leaves with three to five serrated leaflets, reddish-purple stems with fine hairs, and a bushy, upright growth pattern. The leaves are vibrant green, some with a reddish tint on the undersides and edges.

Close-up photos of a young plant found growing in partial shade. The plant has compound leaves with three to five serrated leaflets, reddish-purple stems with fine hairs, and a bushy, upright growth pattern. The leaves are vibrant green, some with a reddish tint on the undersides and edges.

Side view close-up photos of a young plant found growing in partial shade. The plant has compound leaves with three to five serrated leaflets, reddish-purple stems with fine hairs, and a bushy, upright growth pattern. The leaves are vibrant green, some with a reddish tint on the undersides and edges.

Spotted this on my walk - looks like a young raspberry cane to me: compound serrated leaves, reddish stem, soft hairs. Growing wild in partial shade. Can any plant experts confirm?

A tan, woody stem with a round, swollen gall in its center, surrounded by fallen oak leaves and green plants. The gall is a plant growth caused by an insect larva living inside.

A tan, woody stem with a round, swollen gall in its center, surrounded by fallen oak leaves and green plants. The gall is a plant growth caused by an insect larva living inside.

Just a few steps from where I found the owl pellet, I spotted this swollen lump on a stem - turns out it’s a gall, likely caused by the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis). Inside is a single larva, safe and snug until it emerges. Nature’s tiny bunkers!

A blue cucumber in a bag tied to a door handle.

A door. A bag. A questionable shade of cucumber.

a man with a beard says the force will be with you always . ALT: a man with a beard says the force will be with you always .

May the 4th be with you.

That might be it then. If you’re always in zone 3–4, then you’re building stress not endurance…that “gray zone” pace keeps your nervous system wired and can raise resting BP. If you slow down to true zone 2 a few times a week and let your body reset, hopefully you’ll see a difference.

Can happen if the body isn’t fully recovering between runs. Any changes in your training load or intensity? If so, could be sympathetic overdrive from overtraining…stress system stays active instead of shifting into rest mode on non-running days. Track BP…maybe consider lowering intensity if high.

Asperitas clouds form when atmospheric gravity waves disturb a stable cloud layer, sculpting it into waves and folds. They look chaotic, but the turbulence follows hidden rules - an atmospheric rhythm sometimes just before the rain.

My evening walk, the sky looked like a storm-wrung ocean flipped upside down. Caught this rare asperitas cloud formation just before the weather is expected to shift. Unreal, like the atmosphere was holding its breath.