There is so much to love about @quammen.bsky.social's The Song of the Dodo, but I am particularly enjoying how he intersperses a wealth of information on island biogeography, evolution, and extinction with moments of levity. And dad jokes.

I was delaying starting intermezzo because I love Sally Rooney's other works so much I was afraid of being disappointed in this one. Instead, I'm again impressed at how she renders the hidden tenderness of people who love deeply but struggle to say it aloud. Very much want to give Ivan a hug.

Seriously #hotstick spotted while walking up Gilboa mountain in the Karkloof!

When I say this tree was foaming with orchids!

Some beautiful fungi from a walk through my local park yesterday. #fungifriends

Just started Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel. It's the forth book of hers I've read and I'm perpetually in awe of how she manages to create such a frictionless, immersive reading experience. It looks effortless but I'm certain it's not.

#booksky

Yesterday I learned that my applications for PhD funding were rejected. Spent most of the day crying. Today, I woke up determined to find some other way to make it happen. The whole experience put me in mind of this glorious Bake Off moment. Got rejected, had a breakdown, bon appetite!

Love a moody seascape while running. There was so much spray it felt like I was breathing in salt!

Another poem that makes me go wow, someone else felt that?
#poetry #booksky #adalimon

Every year I look forward to nectarine season, and every year I am reminded why their name literally means "nectar like".

Can you tell I enjoyed my reread of The Overstory?

I prefer dog-earring pages to mark a highlight over using sticky tabs. I enjoy how the book gets a little thicker from the folded pages. It's like it has swollen a little from our interaction.

#booksky

Another fungi photo from the vault. I found this one last year with my dad when he took me to an old wood pile in our neighbourhood, certain we'd find something cool. He was right!

#fungifriends

Another Mary Oliver, found on my wander through Devotions.

#booksky #poetry

Some incredible lichen, found while hiking.

There's a couple of Mary Oliver poems I treat as prayers and read whenever I'm in need of a bulwark against the world. This is one of them.
#poetry #booksky

Thought I'd make a contribution to #fungifriends from my backlog of fungi pics. These are glistening ink cap, if I'm not mistaken.