The fog is slowly erasing and re-drawing the trees and houses outside the window. I think I'll go walk in it soon. I wonder about the birds, particularly tired migrants, in this weather. Is this difficult for them? Does it push the margins just a little too far for some?
Moving boxes, tables, chairs, organizing libraries, attending plant talks, starting a simple dichotomous tree key, and doing odd tasks like sorting rope filled the time this past week. I can't imagine doing this work every year, as well as doing the probably equally time-consuming and tiring task of packing it all up again. It was a relief yesterday to sit down and work on the tree guide. It's fun to think of how to express the keying out of a tree with a kid's perspective in mind. It should be efficient, but not simplistic; accurate but not needlessly detailed. I enjoy seeking the most accurate and efficient expression of information. It's like a game to use the least space, include all pertient information, and still make sense without dilution. I hope (and I do think this will happen) that in the next week, our mostly-physical labor will transition into mostly-intellectual labor.