Conversation today with Ryan while grocery shopping:
Me: "Ryan, I think you might be a cheeky boy."
Ryan: "No, I'm not cheeky! Don't call me that!"
Me: "But I'm not sure if I can, Ryan, because sometimes you're just so cheeky!"
Ryan: "If you say that... I'll give you Diet Coke."
Me: "I'm not sure that's going to convince me that you're not a cheeky boy. Are you saying you'll do that to stop me saying it?"
Ryan: "Yes."
Me: "But Ryan, I think you're just too cheeky for me not to mention it."
Ryan: "...I'll give you coriander."
Me: "Well, that escalated quickly."
bt, it is my fervent wish from this moment forward, to have someone in my life as clever and hilarious as you.
I would give up my other two wishes were a genie to grant me that one!
I'd pay good money to be front row for the BT and Ryan show on a regular basis.
I'd pay good money to be front row for the BT and Ryan show on a regular basis.
Perhaps with a side of JZ & Matilda ("Polar Bear!")
Oh Steph, I don't know if you watch Unforgettable, but Friday's ep had an actor bearing a striking resemblance to the dead best friend of a certain green-masked superhero. (That's for if your interest is in the actor, if it was just the character, well, never mind).
The Matilda Fashion Parade - that's a hit right there.
Hee. You are all very kind. Oh! I wanted to share another conversation (two, really) with my budding biologist. The first was on leaves.
Ryan: "Daddy, why are leaves green?"
Me: "That's the colour of the chlorophyll inside them. Chlorophyll is what plants use to make food out of sunlight. That's a good trick, isn't it?"
Ryan: [nods] "Are all leaves green?"
Me: "No, not all of them. Some trees, when they're growing new baby leaves, have leaves that are red or purple. Do you know why?"
Ryan: "No, why?"
Me: "It's to stop the insects eating them all while they're still young and tender. Most insects can't see red; so while the leaves are red, the insects can't see them and won't lay their eggs on them."
Ryan: "They can't see them?!"
Me: "That's right! Then when the leaves are bigger and stronger, they turn green so they can start making food."
A few nights later, we were watching a nature program about the cloud forests in the Andes. These forests are hummingbird central, and the program was going through the relation between beaks and the shapes of the flowers they pollinate. (The flowers benefit from making species specialise, as that makes it more likely that the next flower the bird visits is of the same species and pollination can occur.) Ryan had questions:
Me: "See, Ryan, the bird gets pollen on it. When it visits the next flower, it leaves some pollen behind so the flower can make seeds."
Ryan: "They don't use insects?"
Me: "No, not these flowers, they use birds. This is high up in the mountains, I think it gets too cold up there for bees and such."
Ryan: "...Oh! And the flowers are red, so the bees can't see them!"
Me: "...That's -- That's exactly right Ryan, well done! That's right, if a plant has red flowers, then it probably uses birds and not insects."
Ryan: [basks in the glow of insect knowledge]
Clever boy.
I love watching connections get made.
I never knew that about the red leaves, bt. I had even wondered why they were red, but hadn't thought to look up the answer. Well done, bt family!
I love the Ryan discovery series!
IoN: FML. Actually got picked for Jury Duty (i've always been dismissed in the past) and it is the MOST BORING civil (federal) case I could have possibly imagined. I had no idea federal cases could be so mind-numblingly boring. One day down, at least 6 to go.
Silver lining: I still get paid for missed work days at my regular rate of pay. Dark cloud: due to my super bizarre work schedule of rotating days off, I'm trading 4 work days to 5 days off for 7 work days and 2 days off. This weekend would have been one my occasional super long weekends off....any i'll be spending it in a courtroom with bizarre lighting that makes me nauseous. Plus a much longer, more annoying commute into downtown during rush hour. *bangs head on desk*
Silver lining: the courthouse is only a few blocks away from a really great and not super expensive vegan restaurant so I know where i'll be treating myself to lunch for the next 6 business days. At least.
