Quarantine Diary #682 Did YOU ever save something from social media?

1/25/2025 

 I have a lot of pictures; most are photographs Len or I took, but I also have an incredibly random collection of internet stuff saved over many years.

I’m feeling random today, so I’m sharing a few of them. There will be no rhyme or reason to this. Some days one just deals with what comes along.

This first photo - above - is dedicated to the Lab Workers everywhere. 

…

Andrea Kowch is a brilliant painter. I saved this image because it’s what it feels like to take care of your life while your life is burning down around you. I hope you don’t know what I mean but I bet you do. Her bio for more info is here. 

…

If you have an hour or you have kids – watch this awesome PBS Nature documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGYII1XbE4U

…

Sweeny Todd Teddy Bear makes me laugh every time I scroll past. I have no idea where I found this or why it exists.

…

I’ve only read Pride and Prejudice twice. I’ve watched the 2005 film (with Judi Dench as Lady Catherine) so many times I can play the movie in my mind.

Here is a truly fun fact. You know that scene where Darcy strides through the field at dawn? Lizzie is also up and walking (I love a heroine who walks a lot) because Lady Catherine riled and insulted her the evening before. Matthew MacFadyen’s facial expression is unbelievably romantic; he's so in love with Lizzie he can hardly breathe, his whole yearning soul is written on his face.

I recently heard an interview with Macfadyn. He said they were shooting the scene so early he was barely awake. He didn’t have his contacts in yet so he couldn’t see very well and was trying to not trip. He was worried about his wife who was going to have their baby any day.

Love that movie.

…

When a map is worth a dozen history books:

…

The last time we visited to South Dakota’s Black Hills, Len and I asked a park ranger questions about bison. She explained that in blizzards, cattle huddle in a circle. Because the outside cows are cold they push inwards towards the middle which often crushes and kills animals in the middle of the herd.

Bison in blizzards gather in a herd but they don’t form a circle They stand facing the direction from which the wind is blowing. Their heads and shoulders are cloaked in those tough warm coats. Smaller bison can stand behind ones with bigger shoulders. They close their eyes and their noses are designed to warm their breath before it gets all the way into their lungs. Bison can stand for several days through a blizzard.

Which means if you get stuck outside today in our minus zero temps, find yourself a bison and stand behind it. Hope it didn’t have beans for dinner last night.

...

If a picture is worth a thousand words ... we just discussed thankfulness, misery, cleverness, dark humor, unacknowledged racism, and "How cold is it where you are?"