40 Things to do when you can't sleep!

1. Blow up a balloon until it pops
2. Sing soft and sweet and clear
3. Sing loud and sour and gravely
4. Open everything 
5. Balance a pencil on your nose
6. Pour milk in your shoes
7. Write graffiti under the rug
8. Embarrass yourself
9. Grind your teeth
10. Chew ice
11. Count your belly button
12. Sit in a row
13. Stack crumbs
14. Gesture
15. Save your toenail clippings
16. Make a pass at your blender
17. Punt
18. Make up words that start with X
19. Make oatmeal in the bathtub
20. Search for the Lost Chord
21. Chew on a sofa cushion
22. Sing a duet
23. Balance a pillow on your head
24. Hold your breath
25. Faint
26. Stretch
27. Flash your mailman
28. Teach your TA English
29. Learn to speak Farsi
30. Swear in Russian
31. Use an eraser until it goes away
32. Disassemble your car
33. Put it together inside out
34. Record your walls
35. Interview your feet
36. Make a list of your favorite fungi
37. Sell formaldehyde
38.Repeat
39. Fade
40. File your teeth

10 Things to do on a Rainy Day!

1. Make paper airplanes and fly them across the room. 


2. Bake cookies and give some to your family or friends. 


3. Call someone you care about for a talk. 


4. Get pizza delivered for lunch and eat it picnic style on the floor.

5. Draw pictures to send to the grandparents and other relatives. Sit down and write actual letters to everyone.

6. Go to the library and have everyone get a book they like. Take turns reading out loud from your books reading to each other.

7. Watch the Discovery channel and learn about animals and nature. 


8.  Play Scrabble, Monopoly or Candyland or another board game. 


9.  Make shadow puppets with your hands and a flashlight on the wall. 


10. Write a funny story together, everyone writing one sentence until you get to "The End".

Rain

This summer, I am collecting data on Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba), which are playful, charismatic marine birds that breed during the summer on coastal cliffs in the Pacific Northwest.  I am collecting data on behavior as well as prey items the adults provide for their chicks. My research is being conducted on Whidbey Island, Washington, for the Marine Resources Committee, as well as for my masters thesis. I spend five hours a day on several beaches on the island, and I have seen an amazing array of behaviors, and prey items that the adults are feeding their chicks. Needless to say, I am grateful that I have Rite in the Rain paper to take my many notes....each day, I end up writing about 12 pages, which equates to 3-4 pages typed. Here's to a good summer of great data, and to a great product!