The princess and the explorer

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Autumn Biota

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  Nothing completes a delightful home cooked meal like some delicious and fresh herbs. Yet the nearest grocery stores only sells entire plants. I attribute this to the lack of demand for flavoring in Finnish cooking, but it's inspired us to begin a small home garden. Alas, with October finally arrived the temperature and daylight hours are diminishing by the day. Violet's valiant efforts have kept most of the plants alive so far, and hopefully when the Finns discover cilantro we'll cultivate it as well.  To take advantage of the lovely weather I've been spending lots of time birdwatching in local parks and the nature reserve near my campus. Many birds in Europe have cousins in the U.S. that are quite familiar, but there are plenty of new species to discover. I've made it a goal to spot all of the birds that appear in Wingspan that can be spotted in Finland.  The Whooper Swan, national bird of Finland. They have bright yellow bills (compared to the black and  orange ...
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October culture guide

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We had two events in October that I'd count as "cultural"... Choral Concerto: Nine, by Tan Dun :  A performance of this new work by the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and Chorus at Lincoln Center; performed in repetoire with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. as it was written to be. Truly novel, Dun deploys voices and instruments in unique ways but not so much that your reaction is "wow, that's wierd." It was so powerful I was crying at the end. It's not often you hear a piece that makes Beethoven's Ode to Joy feel kind of meh. Bonus, our friend Nate Valsania, is in the graduate program at Bard for percussion and was in the performance.  Mrs. Warren's Profession : National Theatre Live recorded broadcast of a West End stage production of George Bernard Shaw's play. A morality story about economics and class centered on a mother who is a brothel owner and her independent daughter who discovers her secret. This version starred Imelda Staunton and he...
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22 Fishes (that we ate in Portugal)

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Mussels  Sea bass  Octopus  Clams  Net fish (anchovies)  Calamari  Baby squid  Mullet  Corvina  Skate  Yellowtail  Sea Bream  Swordfish  Spider crab  Razor clams  Oysters  Cockles  Tuna  Giant prawns (langoustines) Shrimp  Sardines Cuttlefish At the end of our trip, we captured a list of all the seafood we had while in Portugal, so it's possible that missed some things that may have shown up as part of a mixed appetizer plate. Here's an image from a memorable meal at Escama, in Faro. Their menu includes a list of potential preparations, a mix of cooked and raw, along with three side dishes. The available fishes of the day (all whole fish) are on display and the diner selects the fish and the preparation in consultation with the chef. We were redirected by the chef from one of our original choices which she said was not a good fish for ceviche. And one of the fish we selected - a sea bass whi...
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