Friday I finished up making and canning the apple butter we had started the night before. It'd been simmering in the crockpot all night. I used my secret super power and knew that it'd take exactly two pints, four half-pints, and just over half a pint left for immediate eating. I swear. It was that exact. I just have this uncanny knack for guessing exactly how much room the leftovers need and pick the container in which it fits without any breathing room - or any cramming - or any eating that last bit to make it fit. Anyway, the jars are beautiful.

In the afternoon I hiked at a small forest preserve. I hadn't been there before but I was glad I went; there were signs saying it would be closed for renovations in a couple days for about a year. It was very nice and I really enjoyed it. Found buckeyes and saw may apples. Saw fish, a turtle, a toad, and non-mallard ducks (my duck identification skills are measly). The fish was quite large, about as long as from my fingertips to my elbow, and was in shallow water where there was lots of weeds. At first I thought he was stuck and I was looking for a way to shoo him back into the deeper waters but then I realized he was just fine and not suffocating. There were also weird random slabs of concrete. There's no actual road back there, so I had fun making up stories about secret government labs or hidden communities in the 1970s.

Quick Linux update: I'm currently using Linux Mint 9 and really enjoying it. It reminds me a bit too much of the sluggish side of Ubuntu and the fan is acting up a bit but it's working just fine (MUCH better than Puppy) and I hope to make it better. Also, we've got the printer networked now so we don't have to physically plug it in but send print jobs via wifi. Pretty nifty.

Okay time for bed!