9-20-2009

last night I got through 90 scales, not 120, which is still good progress. that just means I have to do 60 today instead of 30, which isn't too bad. part of the reason I didn't do the last 30 is because I found a hummingbird in the road. she's a ruby-throated hummingbird that seems to have not been able to make the flight south so I am attempting to nurse her back to health. she has no visible injuries and she seems pretty perky, but when she tries to fly, all she can do is vibrate her wings and she never gets into the air.

she's very pretty. I've been feeding her sugar water out of the spout of my tiniest teapot. I'm going to get some healthier solution later today if she can't get herself off the ground. if I can't nurse her back to health in the next couple of days, I'm going to find a wildlife rescue center that will be able to provide her better care than I can.

my ferric chloride came in the mail last night. I need to pick up a casserole dish to put it in and a funnel to put it back into the bottle when I'm done. I bought my own ferric not because my university doesn't provide me with the facilities but because the shop hours are very limited and I can speed up my process by quite abit by having it in my bathroom with the fans on and the windows open, of course. I don't think I'll be doing any etching in my room until the hummingbird has gone though, hopefully by power of her own wings.