Local ice cream recommendation of the day: Purity. This was vanilla and strawberry in a gluten free cone. Delicious and very generous scoop size.

Every time I visit I decide to take on some sort of gorge trail and every time I think I'm going to expire. Turns out all the walking I do in flat Central Ohio doesn't prepare my ailing body for this.

On one of my séjours at Cornell. I saw a few of these around Ithaca on my visit, and I'm happy to see them. Especially from the perspective of what's being done in higher Ed in Ohio.

It was too hot here to be out and about today so I read for around 6 hours & finished this. It was excellent. My only regret is that I did not have access to the original French edition, but the translation was well done. Highly recommend for those interested in art history or 20c Italian culture.

Adding on a little bébé Rodin at the Columbus Museum of Art, photo taken last week!

Post 1 photo of a painting that you took with your very own hands. La Liberté guidant le peuple, Eugène Delacroix June 2019. My last visit to the Louvre.

@skwinnicki.bsky.social look at this artist at the Worthington Arts Festival! She said she became obsessed with birds first, then became an artist. I think she's trying to paint every bird species in North America? The festival is still on tomorrow if you wanted to check her out!

A bird I couldn't identify was making a ruckus in the area behind my house (comprised of several yards with many tall trees over 50 yrs old). Did a #TenMinuteMerlin to see who was there today. Turns out it was the Red-bellied Woodpecker making the most noise this morning!

This is what I got. It was a little alarming for a while!

Today's #TenMinMerlin from my backyard! The usual suspects plus a few new friends. It's a lovely soundtrack for a Saturday morning.

Anyway, think I'll read some Old French this weekend and dust the cobwebs out of my brain. And I encourage any other colleagues who have lost touch with whatever your passion or prior calling was to dust it back off occasionally. Sometimes it's good to reread past chapters. #LangChat

Finally I give you what sounded like a shouting match between a squirrel and a Carolina Wren. I do not understand why they both felt the need to be so loud 😂

I did another capture from an upstairs window which added a few more species. The ones marked as "unlikely" don't strike me as impossible b/c I'm 1/4 mi from the river, a lot of birds pass through the area.

Today's #TenMinMerlin was actually about 6 minutes, cut short by my neighbors and their leaf blower. But I was impressed with what I found in that short time.

Today's #TenMinMerlin was not as interesting as I'd hoped it would be. It was 80° today and I headed down to the trail by one of our two rivers in town. In addition to these friends, I also saw some Canada Geese and mallards in the river.

I did another session in the forest, where it was a lot "busier". I am assuming the Wood Duck was down by the creek but I couldn't spot him.

Today's #TenMinMerlin was actually multiple sessions because the park I walked in has varied terrain so the bird population varies. They have mowed the prairie area which limited the action there (in the summer it's filled w Red-winged Blackbirds) but I did see several Eastern Bluebirds

Warning: I am super obnoxious about animals and am speaking in a ridiculous baby talk voice. I'm sure they were hoping to be fed, but I know better.

Today's #TenMinMerlin took me to a park that is composed of mini lake (filled former quarry) and a section of the Olentangy River. The cardinals really have Main Character Syndrome, but once I got close to the river I picked up everything else. At the end, I met the mallards. Pardon my silly voice.

Poetry may be one of the few things to get me through the current hell scape.

I managed to get a video of one of the many cardinals showing off his voice.

Today's #TenMinMerlin was a deviation from the previous ones. It was 80° here, so I went to the rose garden nearby to walk (along w a lot of other folks!) the first screen capture is the first 10 minutes, the 2nd is what I captured in another area of the park.

I just talked about using @wayground.bsky.social and Formative in the languages classroom at OWLA 2026 Conference! These are two tools I use quite a bit in my instruction. #LangChat

I'm really enjoying Gary DiBianca's session on teaching culture at the OWLA conference. The emphasis on scaffolding and providing key phrases & sentence starters aligns w what I do w @gianfrancoconti.bsky.social EPI method. Refreshing to see alignment w methods. #LangChat

Today's #TenMinMerlin was later than the others! The birds were loud but there wasn't the variety of the other days. I'm laughing at the pic & caption of the Carolina Wren, because they had taken over my mailbox w a nest, so apparently they thought that was a bird box I left for them 😂

Today's #TenMinMerlin was not as interesting as I'd hoped. I could hear birds that weren't being picked up by my mic, for whatever reason. Given what I know about my neighborhood, there could have possibly been wrens, jays or chickadees.

Today's #TenMinMerlin wasn't as interesting as yesterday's. Anyway, here are my captures today. I didn't actually hear my dove friend but I know they lurk around the more sheltered back yards here, the mic must have picked it up.

Prof Winnicki sets the phone on the windowsill for 10 minutes, I decided I'm going to walk my Central Ohio neighborhood (which is a National Wildlife Fédération Certified Wildlife Habitat) for 10 minutes. Here's what I "caught" today. 2/

For my francophone followers, France24 streaming right now "Le Débat" has a group of experts with incredibly sharp and informed commentary on the war begun by Israel and USA. I'm especially appreciating this Lebanese professor and his commentary.

I'm so proud to be a #waygroundgamechanger! Check out how to join us! wayground.com/home/certifi... @wayground.bsky.social @alanacolabella.bsky.social