mona & wes

october, 2009

february, 2010

the long wait (1 month) to introduce ramona staple and wesley adams came to an end this afternoon. chris, olivia, and mr. wesley were in milwaukee today, and we made the trip over for the little ones' first meeting. photos were taken.


this video gives a good idea of the level of baby excitement.


wes and mona are so over it.

it was great to see everyone, and we look forward to many more mona-wes meetings.

citrus family tree

i was eating a tangelo a couple weeks back, and i got to wondering where tangelos come from. i did a little research and discovered that they are a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine. i then started wondering if a tangerine was the result of a cross of other citrus fruit. soon i found myself delving deep into the world of citrus taxonomy. man has been cultivating citrus for thousands of years. as a result, there are a whole lot more species of citrus fruit, and a whole lot more variations thereof than i ever realized. for example, have you ever heard of an oroblanco? did you know that a tangerine is simply a type of mandarin? anyway, it turns out that genetic mapping of different types of citrus fruit has given us a pretty good idea of how the different species of citrus came to be (gloria moore. trends in genetics, vol. 17, no. 9, 2001).

i've compiled a summary of that data, as well as data from other sources (e.g. wikipedia) (click on the image for a bigger view). the most ancient species are at the top (pomelo, mandarin, and citron), and the various crosses are indicated with the lines extending downward. two different fruits combine to form a new one beneath. for example, the orange is the result of a cross of a pomelo with a mandarin. the lime is a cross between the citron and an inedible citrus fruit that doesn't appear on the chart, hence the presence of only one parent for the lime.


i've only mapped the major species, not the different varieties like kaffir limes, tangerines, satsumas, cuties, and ruby reds. i found it interesting that not that much appears to be known about the origins of many specific varieties. in fact, the origins of many citrus fruit were just educated guesses based on morphological, historical, and geographical data until modern molecular biology came along. i'm continuing to search for information about the various varieties and may have more about that later. until then, i'd really like to get my hands on an oroblanco or rangpur (a.k.a lemanderin).

one month!

ramona is already one month old, and has mastered a variety of adorable facial expressions.

the look of expectation.

the look of amusement.

the look of impending expressive dissatisfaction.

popeye impersonation?


possibly.

norwegian dance ski team

give these folks a medal.

winter time fun time

this past weekend, we embraced wintertime by spending the weekend outdoors. we snowshoed with friends on lake monona, and enjoyed a fire and outdoor comraderie. we also attended madison's winter festival on the capitol square. the winter festival hosts various sporting and winter fun events.

part of the snowshoe crew

theran takes a break

sleepy baby
a warm drink buffet, thanks to our generous hostess aggie

good times around a warm fire

winter festival's off-season version of cyclo-cross racing was called the "cyclofrost." we wondered if this bike race was considered a success, as we did not see one person riding their bike in the slushy snow. i know that there are parts of cyclo-cross racing that require the rider to carry their bike through obstacles, but this race appeared to be a chilly, slushy foot race, and the racers happened to be encumbered with bicycles. weird.

competitive cross country skiing sprints

ice and snow carving

hello

fancy veggie burger

david makes a delicious veggie bean burger. he's mastered the vegetable/legume/spiciness combination to create a very tasty treat.

do you know what makes that burger even better? cheese and bacon.

mmmmm.

new cousin!

ramona's cousin is finally here! my sister's little girl lila lucia arrived last week, and we couldn't be happier. she's a beauty.

haiku to my sleepiness

i write a haiku
haiku to my sleepiness
so so so sleepy

eye lids are heavy
i want to let them fall shut
so so so sleepy

how will I make it
through the rest of this long day
so so so sleepy

summer...

i've been thinking about summer a lot today. nothing says summer like a few good friends, an outdoor concert, and some hula hoops. i think this picture sums it up nicely.

where's ben franklin sitting?

atop the refrigerator (keeping an eye on the kitchen)

atop the medicine cabinet (watching him get up there is nothing short of amazing)

atop a tiny parcel (no box is too small for either of our cats)

portmanterrorism

garrison keillor read this poem to us today during npr's "the writer's almanac." we really liked it. it's very clever.
it turns out that the poet Nick Lantz lives in madison too! check his stuff out at his blog.

Portmanterrorism

Would it make a difference to say we suffered

from affluenza in those days? Could we blame

Reaganomics, advertainment, the turducken

and televangelism we swallowed by the sporkful,

all that brunch and jazzercise, frappuccinos

we guzzled on the Seatac tarmac, sexcellent

celebutantes we ogled with camcorders while

our imagineers simulcast the administrivia

of our alarmaggedon across the glocal village?

Would it help to say that we misunderestimated

the effects of Frankenfood and mutagenic smog,

to speculate that amid all our infornography

and anticipointment, some crisitunity slumbered

unnoticed in a roadside motel? Does it count

for nothing that we are now willing to admit

that the animatronic monster slouching across

the soundstage of our tragicomic docusoap

was only a distraction? Because now, for all our

gerrymandering, the anecdata won’t line up for us.

When we saw those contrails cleaving the sky

above us, we couldn’t make out their beginning

or their end. What, in those long hours of ash,

could our appletinis tell us of good or of evil?

snowshoe

ramona can't yet walk, but she can go snowshoeing. technically speaking, she can be carried while her parents go snowshoeing. this past weekend, our family of three took a walk atop the frozen waters of lake mendota. ramona seemed to enjoy it, and demonstrated her approval by sleeping soundly for the duration of the excursion.


ice fissure

snowshoes

nice baby bump, david.

happy valentine's day!

getting out

ramona and i have been enjoying daily walks. today, under sunny skies and in the white glow of fresh snow, we strolled through the nearby neighborhood of maple bluff.

ramona (snuggled within my coat and her baby bjorn, warmed by a green cap knit by a neighbor) and i, strolling along.

burrows park. bright sunshine. beautiful new snow.

the tenney locks, closed for the season, sit at the mouth of the perpetually unfrozen yahara river where it meets the frozen lake mendota. (click on the photo for a closer inspection of the panorama.)

baby's first earthquake

both the news and david tell me there was an earthquake last night at 4am that was felt in madison. i didn't feel it, and ramona hasn't said anything about it. i'm pretty sure she was asleep at 4am. nonetheless, it qualifies as baby's first earthquake (and mom and dad's third).

cousins!

ramona has lots of very cute cousins, and she's met them all.

first, nana, papa, aunt becky, uncle matt, aunt libby, and uncle bob came to visit the little lady on her 6th day on the planet. cousins lilly, rachel and maggie visited and cuddled with ramona.


then grandma and grandpa scott came for a visit, and so did aunt julia and uncle dana. they brought cousin caleb, a 6 month old giggle machine. i don't think ramona knew what to make of caleb.
there's one more cousin due to make his or her appearance any day now. we can't wait!

foxy

my mom recently snapped these photos through her kitchen window. i love a good fox sighting.

hockey classic

the university of wisconsin is hosting the university of michigan and bemidji state for a weekend of outdoor hockey excitement.


reed obtained free passes which provided us with an hour of ice time at camp randall this evening. we were the first ones onto the freshly zambonied ice.


here i am making a lap around the ice on my new skates. they wouldn't let us bring our sticks, which was probably ok.


good time were had by all

thanks reed