Kickapoo hike

Between all the cons and other intrusions, I haven't been getting out much, even on Saturdays, and I was ready for a nice hike today.  Unfortunately, (a) it's deer season, which means Kennekuk and some other good places are not so good places, and (b) we have a major winter storm forecast to come through, with a freezing rain advisory starting at noon, so I didn't want to be out too long.  I woke up at 6:30, earlier than I'd planned, and got up.  I puttered around for a while, and then got over to Kickapoo by about 8:30.  I hiked the Riverview/Clear Lake loop, and then took the South Riverview extension.  As I was coming back to my car from that, a little bit of icky stuff started to come out of the sky, so rather than wait around until the icky stuff became more pronounced, I just headed home.  Probably about 4 miles total; less than I wanted, but better than nothing.

There was a thin layer of ice on the smaller and more sheltered ponds, and few birds.  I did get a very good look at a tiny wren who seemed to be about as shy as the sparrows on campus, and when I got home and checked the bird book, I decided he had to be a Winter Wren.  (He looked more like the "Adult Western" picture than the "Adult Eastern" in color, and his supercilium was not distinct at all.  But he was really tiny, kinglet size, he kept his short tail cocked up, and the only other possibility, the House Wren, should be in Mississippi.)

Dang it's cold in here

So here I am sitting at the computer puttering around instead of doing anything useful, and I realize that I'm feeling cold.  I've usually felt a little chilly since heating season started, but I'm still wearing a sweatshirt and thermal underwear from my hike earlier.  I look at the thermostat, and it says it's about 61.  I look at the furnace, and it's flashing a code.  One short, four long, chart says the flame proving sensor isn't proving.  Recommends cleaning it with sandpaper; I don't have any, but I blow the dust out and brush the thing off.

Fortunately, that seems to have been enough to kick start it -- the furnace is working again.  I haven't had the furnace guy out to give it its regular service for a long time -- it's such a pain in the butt -- but I guess I'd better suck it up and do it.  A scheduled service call ought to be less bad than an emergency call on a Saturday evening...

Book review: Throne of Jade

Today's book review is Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik.  This is the second book in the Temeraire series; it would probably mostly make sense on its own, but better to start with His Majesty's Dragon.

I find it somewhat difficult to review this book properly.  Certainly, it's a fast-moving story, engaging story.  But I find that I am so utterly smitten with Temeraire and the dragons in general that I may not be paying proper attention to flaws that would trouble me much more in most books.  I know even less of China in Napoleonic times than I do of England and France, but I find the Chinese society -- based on the improbable premise that everything is the same except there are dragons -- even more improbable than the English one.  But it seems as internally consistent as many pure fantasy novels, so it doesn't really bother me.  The world is a flight of whimsy, but it's entertaining, and some important issues about the human condition do work their way in.  The plot is at least a little contrived, and some of the characters' motivations, especially the non-human characters', are perhaps a little off.  But then, dragons ought to be a little different from humans.

I enjoyed it a lot; my disappointment that it's over is mitigated by the fact that I have the next two waiting on the shelf.  9 out of 10.

( plot summary )