Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY

 Today is David's big day to go see all the fish he wants to see at the Newport Aquarium.  This aquarium is situated on the Ohio River, and therefore has a lot of exhibits on freshwater fish and creatures common in the Midwest.  David and Jonathan went around with their notebooks and pencils listing and drawing fish and creatures.  This aquarium as has 4 or 5 instances where you can walk under the fish.  You really the underside of fish that almost no one gets to see, and you can really get a sense of the sheer size of some of the larger aquatic creatures.  There were also a couple of albino American alligators and a pond of baby alligators, which is common in the American south.  One tank has a palm size cuttlefish that can change color and texture in a flash, and the boys have recently just watched an episode on PBS about how cephalopods do that.  The exhibits were informative without being overwhelming.

In the afternoon, after a lunch at Findlay Market, we stumbled into the Cincinnati Public Library.  It turns out that this library has a "Makers Space."  Anyone with an Ohio library card can come in and use high end equipment and software such as 3D printers, laser cutters, large format vinyl printers, digital sewing machines, book binding machines for free or at the cost of the paper and ink.  Someone was using the vinyl cutter to make signs for her campaign to run for a seat in the local school district.  Another woman was making laser cut wood plaques for selling on Etsy.  This is a boon for all students and creative types in the area.  I am actually kind of jealous that people here have access to all of this with their tax dollars.  As a souvenir, the boys made buttons with a button maker to take home.

Covington, Kentucky

 We went exploring in Devou Park in Covington, Kentucky.  While looking around, we found a couple of short woodsy trails in this very large park.  I get the feeling that a park here in Kentucky can mean a neighborhood park with a playset as well as a giant piece of green wooded land that has multiple trails.  We ended up have a couple of impromptu hikes through a dense forest of red maple trees and oak trees.  This is not something we can do at the moment in California, since all national forests are closed due to high risk of wild fires.  We packed our hats, but there was so much shade from the forest that the hats were not needed.  Sure it's muggy, and there were strange bugs such as bumblebees and red wasps.  There were plenty of birds and cicadas making quite a bit of noise, but there are definitely no mockingbirds trying to sound like car alarms.

Cincinnati Zoo

🦛, 🦒, 🐯, 🐢, 🐟, 🦎,🐍,🦍,🦢,🦜,🐘,🐆,🦓,🐜,🦋,🐛,🐝!!!

One Week in Cincinnati!

Day 1:

We visited the Loveland Castle, a small Norman style castle built one stone at a time by hand by a WWI veteran obsessed with medieval architecture.   There's a very cool collection of armors and swords inside.  A very nice garden with some very modern features that people would consider as part of off-grid living.  Read more about it here: https://lovelandcastle.com/

We took a 3-mile round trip nature walk along the Little Miami River and encountered interesting flora and fauna, including a family of deer, a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle, a caterpillar of the Agreeable Tiger Moth (is there a Disagreeable version?), and 5-inch long American Giant Millipede.  There are so many trees and creatures that are nothing like what we're used to seeing in the American West.  I use Google Lens handy on my phone to identify things on the go. 

Tomorrow: Cincinnati Zoo!  We're going to see Fiona the Hippo! 

SUMMER!!

It's summer.  There are swim classes for both boys every single weekday at the local pool.  The local pool has a level system for teaching kids to swim.  Level 1 is water safety, while Level 7 is where people prepare for the swim team. 

David had spent the previous 3 summers going slowly from Level 1 to Level 2, but in the last 6 weeks, he has advanced from Level 2 to Level 4.  He is getting taller, stronger, and much more at home in the water.

Jonathan is spending his first summer in swim classes, and it looks like he's about to graduate from Level 1 to Level 2.

They're both nice and tan because of all the swimming they've been doing.

I've decided to mostly let academics go until about August.  

How is this thing still standing?!

 PBS episode of the week: the Hagia Sophia

The boys were interested, because it involves destruction.   This episode also reminds me of my days as an undergrad in Structural Engineering.  The department had one of these shake tables too, except the professors were shaking a 30 foot tall concrete wall.

the current earworm

So I was playing a CD in the car, and "Little Fugue in G minor" by J.S. Bach rolled around and got stuck in the kids' head.  Then I found them a video that explains the musical form of a fugue using that fugue.  It sure beats "Baby Shark."