marathon: (n.) A long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 kilometres). A long-lasting or difficult task or activity; an endurance contest. Al Howie: The short warm-up run ahead of a very, very long outing. During a…
As editors, we regularly make style sheets for our clients, documenting the decisions we’ve made about spelling, capitalization, and so on that aren’t covered in the larger style guide we’ve been directed to use. Sometimes clients actually ask us to…
In March, mature coastal Douglas-firs are 12 months into their 17-month reproductive cycle. March is the time of pollen making, and in April the pollen-bearing cones burst and pollination of the seed cones begins. Pseudotsuga menziesii was first discovered on…
T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruellest month. To my mind, January on the West Coast runs a close second. Even though we’re past the winter solstice, the hours of darkness still exceed the hours of light, and the…
Posting a blog entry today, I am, of course, tempted to write something farcical, outrageous, or dare I say, even foolish, it being April 1. But humour can be a dangerous thing when shared with readers unknown. Some so-called jokes…