A new fossil bed along the Qingjiang River in China, dating back to the Cambrian era (slightly earlier than the Burgess Shale), has turned out to be a treasure trove. Half the species found there haven't been previously described, and an incredible amount of soft tissue has been preserved, yielding unprecedented detail: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/03/spectacular-trove-of-cambrian-fossils-uncovered-in-china/
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The hen had few desires; to grow fat on grubs and grains, to keep eggs warm and to soar through the clouds.
She excelled at the first two, but her flying efforts, though determined, were limited. Still,she managed to reach many of the highest treetops and rocky outcrops, further than the rest of the flock.
During her highest flight, she found a cliffside cave with a nest cradling two cooling eggs. Without hesitation she began to brood.
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The hen brooded diligently, so much so, that if the layer of the eggs had returned, she would have fought to remain on the nest.
She wasn't very smart. She was a chicken.
But nothing ever came to reclaim the eggs. The hen trilled and cackled comfortingly to the eggs. She wasn't smart, but she was there for them.
Some time later, travelers would report a pair of clucking, cackling, fire-breathing dragons protecting a wild flock, taking turns carrying their aging mother up to the clouds.
re: anticipations of the future, seen in hindsight (~)
I wonder if that's when I stopped being able to anticipate things clearly. I wonder if it'll ever come back.
anticipations of the future, seen in hindsight (~)
Sudden flash of memory - watching That Monster leave at the airport on what was to be his final trip to visit me, walking out of sight through security, and abruptly just KNOWING that I would never see him again. I told myself it was just being sad to see him leave and tried to push it out of my mind.
About a month, as I understand the timing, before he would meet the girl that he'd fall in love with, hide from me, and eventually marry and start a family with.
Wish I'd listened to myself.
My favourite extinct monster is anomalocaris. Creatures during the Cambrian period were so strange looking. Which makes them interesting! Anomalocaris was basically a gigantic brine shrimp with an appetite for anything smaller than itself. Which was everything, because it was the largest animal in the world when it was alive!
"So..deer noises!" #outofcontexttheater #concert
Jeez. Once the sun came out from the clouds and I got home and showered, the day and my mood got a hell of a lot better. I'm solar-powered in more than one way...
(And while this is the mildest winter I can remember for personal emotional state, I'm still definitely at low ebb right now - I don't feel hollow and empty inside, but there sure isn't a lot in there right now.)
for those wondering how to establish trade relations with crows:
- feed crows food A regularly
- when crows decide to bring you gifts, feed them food B
- when crows bring you different categories of gifts, feed them a food-per-category, ex: food C for jewelry, food D for paper money, etc
- crows will recognize these exchange patterns and opt to bring you things in order to acquire desired treats
good luck! 🐦
snek
You and me both, kiddo:
Rare coastal dragoness, often found by sunny sea cliffs. Nonbinary but fairly femme-leaning. If you're under 18 don't follow.