Happy thanksgiving, my American friends!

I had such an exciting walk this morning. I listened to the Imaginary Worlds podcast episode about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which points out the similarities between the current refugee crisis and the reading of the Monster as dispossessed humanity after the 1815 Tambora eruption. Recommended.

Then I found a Coscinasterias muricata Verrill (with ten arms, not eleven).

They’re a keystone predator. I used to find them all the time at the beach, but not for years. We’ve had a problem with recreational overfishing and it badly affects the marine habitat. Maybe they’re recovering. And wouldn’t it be cool if they ate peoples? Kids would grow up know never to fall asleep on the sand, but drunk teenagers often do foolish things . . .

Then horses! HORSES!

Plus the rain held off until the second I got back to my car.

And now I get to write all day after a week packed with errands and appointments. It doesn’t get any better than this.