the order of returning birds this year

[asakiyume]

canada geese (these stayed; they were on their way further north)
woodcocks (maybe always here?)
killdeer, sandpipers (same?)
wood thrushes
catbirds
wrens
oriole
swifts

just yesterday (May 3), the first oriole, high in an old apple tree not yet in blossom, and the first swifts--maybe these were back sooner, but it was the first I'd seen them, darting up so high, burbling to themselves, splitting cloud from sky.

And the wren, with its song too big and loud to fit in its tiny body.

Meanwhile, the magnolias are dropping their petals, the violets are in drifts across lawns, and in the wetlands, the marsh marigolds are in bloom.

Comments

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I do think woodcocks stick around. The others? Not certain.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The catbirds arrived all at once. One day, nothing. The next day, a whole family of them chattering and mewing in our yard. They always look like they have something to tell me--and I know it's not just me. They're curious about people, generally.

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Why are swifts the slowest?

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Because they're so fast!

They're like the smart kid who knows he can get the paper done in half a day, so he waits until the day it's due to write it and ends up handing it in late. They're like the hare in the tortoise-and-hare story.

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I was that kid.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

You are still, and always will be, as awesome as a swift.

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

That should be my slogan! "Redcoast - as awesome as a swift!"

Hey, I'm learning to type on a Dvorak keyboard. I haven't learned all the letters yet but I can already tell it will be faster than Qwerty when I get used to it.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I was hoping for a live link on "Dvorak keyboard."

Is it the same Dvorak as the composer? Because only one person with a name that's unusual to me is allowed to become famous.

That's cool!

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

I think the two are related somehow.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Heh, Wikipedia concurs: Dvorak was distantly related to the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

It's pronounced differently, if that helps you. On the Dvorak keyboard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard), the home row is aoui for the left hand and dhtns for the right hand; much more commonly used letters than on the Qwerty keyboard. The Dvorak layout is also designed so that for most words, you alternate between hands as you type; that commonly used letter pairings are next to each other; that the most uncommon letters are on the bottom row, because it's the hardest row for your fingers to reach.

You do about 70 percent of all typing on the home row, which is really different from Qwerty. I'm a pretty fast typist, and I was interested in learning a new keyboard layout, one that is faster and more ergonomic, so you have less chance of Carpal Tunnel.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Fascinating! Thanks for the link. So does this mean you have a Dvorak keyboard?

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Nope! But there's a setting where you can change the input on the computer. So my keyboard still says ASDFG for the home row, but when I put it on "Dvorak" it reads it as AOEUI.