There is a breed of chicken known as "Buckeye" that originated in Ohio

Summer has unofficially officially begun here in Ohio; we finally have weather that is not in the thirties at night… it’s about time, too, as the gardeners and farmers in the area need the warmth.
I’m missing campus and my favourite nooks to hide away in, but it’s be nice to spend time with my cat, get back into my garden (which finally is back to being just about presentable after much hauling off of weeds, pine needles and branches, and moving about of things from their winter huddle.)
Our pond is also getting exciting as it turns one, and will hopefully be outstandingly gorgeous soon. (I’m antsy to see our new flowers blooming, and I spotted the first of this year’s lily blossoms inching toward the surface today!) I also started two lotus seeds in my room just before the start of exam week, and they’ve sprouted like crazy. The seeds are procured not from a plant store or other store where one would expect to purchase seeds, but rather a craft store, from the large, dried pods of lotus usually used in dried/false flower arrangements in homes. I popped them into some soil yesterday and put them in with a lot of hope that the koi don’t get hungry enough to bite one of the delicate stalks in two!

German Word: Toll is a standard way of saying "cool" auf Deutsch, but if you want to sound more modern, hip, and get some odd looks from the older generation, geil might be the 'in' word for "cool" for you.


Pictures!
I had some great shots of our new koi swimming about and a shot or two of the large frogs that have invaded, but my camera decided to be angry and had a memory card error that deleted ALL of my photos. Most frustrating. So instead do enjoy this installment of random pictures.


Behold, a digital painting of a koi I did for my father's birthday.


This fellow is a character I designed for something I'm working on. He's not really bald, I don't think, but rather this is unfinished, and I am indecisive.


Our pond as of last year... it looks barren compared to now. By the way, there has also been some slight talk of maybe possibly getting a pond on campus. Huge maybe on that. But wouldn't that be neat?


Cool friends like these guys could hang out there while students toss various food hall items at them.