i was down in norwood this morning picking up a testing computer. i saw a billboard that brought an instant smile to my face: the new ikea store in stoughton will be opening november 9th. unwilling to let the good weather go to waste, instead of going straight back home i made a detour to the ponkapoag bog, perhaps the last time for this season.

with all the recent rain, the bog was very wet - quite a difference from the last time i was there, when it looked like there was a drought. the carpet of heavily saturated green and red sphagnum moss were juicy with liquid. there was so much water that the wooden planks on the boardwalk would sink down everytime i took a step, or wobble precariously side to side (like a log rolling contest). the first few hundred yards into the bog i had to hold on to the branches just to get my balance before i got used to the floating platforms. it didn't take long for my shoes to get completely soaked (note to self: buy some rubber boots); once i was resigned to that fact, i sloshed through the cold bog water with reckless abandon. the good thing is the wet conditions kept people away, and i knew i was the first person out there today as i kept on walking through fresh cobwebs.

there wasn't much to see besides the few receding pitcher plants and the tiny wilting sundews. the most interesting thing i found was a praying mantis (female and very much pregnant, with signs of wing damage but still able to fly) followed by all the elodea plants growing at the pond end of the boardwalk. the only sounds were the occasional bird call, the roar of highway traffic off on nearby interstate 93, and every once in a while an airplane or a helicopter would buzz overhead. other than that it was very peaceful. the sun was out (for a change) and it actually got warm enough that i threw my jacket into my backpack. i was hungry but i was too engrossed in naturing to dig into my bag and pull out my emergency beef jerky ration.

after 2 hours and approximately 400 photos, the dramedy that is mi vida reared its ugly head when suddenly the memory card died on me (fortunately i had a spare). i wasn't too distressed since i figured i could always come back again, but it was an indication that i should be getting home soon. red dragonflies (meadowhawks) escorted me out of the bog, in that same way employees follow me around when i go into a store, making sure i don't steal anything.

once i returned home, i spent the rest of the day trying to save the lost photos (i managed to salvage about 80% of the images using photorescue; thankfully i have a habit of taking a lot of redundant shots). i made some oyster chowder for lunch (don't get too excited, it came from a can, and it wasn't that good). did i mention i did a load of laundry as well? i also set up th new pc, a fancy dell optiplex gx620 with a touch screen (a quick search on the internet revealed the machine itself cost $1300).

later in the evening i had dinner at my parents before returning back to cambridge to watch the four brothers on vcd. i ate half a bag of smarties while watching the movie; every roll i finished, i wondered if i'm that much closer to getting diabetes.