2019 - Day 122/243 - Thursday...Quixotic...

This particular hen (not one of ours) spotted around Davila (on the way back from Bryan/College Station) was in no apparent hurry to cross the road. When questioned about the age old motive of crossing the road, the hen turned around, looked at me with a stern look, and replied "Go cluck yourself," or something to that affect. I need to brush up on my chicken translation capabilities, but that is pretty much the response Alexa gave me when I asked for the translation. Of course, I am paraphrasing, but this is, after all, a family friendly journal.

In the last 24 hours, we have received 1.65" of rain, and more has fallen since my last measure. The rain was cooperative enough that it waited until I got home before letting loose, so my drive to and from the Land of Aggies was very pleasant. I even stopped on the way home at a little farm stand and bought some tomatoes (allegedly vine ripened) and a cantaloupe. Very good. The group of colleagues that I spoke with this afternoon were very fun and friendly, and a good time was had by all, particularly the one colleague whose skill surpassed all others in the contest.

Quixotic -- Adjective. 1. foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals. 2 capricious, unpredictable. Pauline characterized her decorating plans for the party as ambitious, but she secretly feared that "quixotic" was a more apt descriptor.

Did You Know? If you guessed that quixotic has something to do with Don Quixote, you are absolutely right. The hero of Miguel de Cervante's 17th-century Spanish novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha didn't change the world by tilting at windmills, but he did leave a linguistic legacy in English. The adjective quixotic is based on his name and has been used to describe unrealistic idealists since at least the early 18th century. The novel has given English other words as well. Dulcinea, the name of Quixote's beloved, has come to mean "mistress" or "sweetheart," and rosinante, which is sometimes used to refer to a old, broken-down horse, comes from the name of the hero's less-than-gallant steed, Rocinante.