We have a rare visitor in #Toronto. An immature Purple Gallinule, slowly getting its rich purple colour.
Look at those incredible feet! Those help them distribute their weight and walk on top of floating vegetation like lily pads, as well as cling to plant stems.
Purple Gallinules are known for their long-distance vagrancy, with records from places far away from their usual range, as far as Iceland, South Georgia Island, Galapagos Islands, Italy and South Africa!
I just read 'The Ardent Swarm' by Yamen Manai, translated by Lara Vergnaud, and liked it. Took me somewhere I've never visited in literature before: Tunisia. Got reminded of 'அஞ்சுவண்ணம் தெரு' by தோப்பில் முகமது மீரான்.
Some place in South America next?📚 🌎
Magnolia warbler in his breeding plumage. Look at him!!😍 Will forever remember the moment that this guy came and perched just above me, totally unmindful of my presence!
I just finished 'The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt' by Tobi Wilkinson
A nice first step into Egyptian history, it gives a broad overview of a ~3,000 year period in 656 pages. I'm definitely revisiting the Egyptian gallery in
the Royal Ontario Museum in #Toronto
after this!
#Books #Bookstodon
Veenadhara Dakshinamurti, Thirupazhanam.
The current two-storied shrine in stone was likely constructed during Aditya Chola I's reign, around 872 CE.
An inscription in Thirumazhapadi. Dated 1026 CE, says it is in accordance with another 1013 CE inscription that mentions copying old inscriptions from the main shrine in a register when it was rebuilt & reinscribing them.
1026 CE: "விதிதபடி முன்பு கல்வெட்டுச் சொர்த்த பொத்தக படி"
1013 CE: "திருக்கற்றளி யெடுக்க ஸ்ரீவிமானம் வாங்கி இஸ்ரீவிமானத்துள்ள கல்வெட்டுப்படி பொத்தகத்தில் சொர்ப்பிக்க"
I love how these show the language of the time - பொத்தகம், சோர்த்த etc.
Where I live, crossbill sightings are usually "fly-by" sightings or <30 second stopovers during fall migration if one is lucky. So, to just stand for more than an hour and watch this lovely white-winged crossbill couple (that has been hanging around for nearly a month now!) dig into those spruce cones was an absolute pleasure!
Read this lovely book, a small compilation of letters written by Marcel #Proust
Lydia Davis's afterword had something that surprised me. Those long, winding sentences so typical of Proust were not just a literary flourish, that's apparently how even his conversations were!🙂
