I didn't train yesterday, oops

Hey hey hey! Here I am with a little update for you.

I know you want to know about me, about my life. I received a super sweet email yesterday from a girl, one of you readers... she asked me to tell you more about my training, because lately I've been talking so much about fish, and not so much about my fitness routine.

Well, girls, remember, I'm a marine biologist, not a boxer! But the truth is... okay, the truth is, unfortunately, last night I was too tired for my usual boxing session, so I skipped it. I'm trying to do a little training every day, focusing on consistency to gradually build endurance and strength, but after a day of aquatic (and terrestrial) exploration, I was really tired, sleepy, and I took advantage of what free time I had in the late afternoon and evening to do some work. I guess swimming and exploring are still valid workouts! Maybe not as much as boxing, but arriving at the evening more tired than usual probably means I've done a fair bit of training.

And then, once we got home, we also had to set up the jarrarium (the mini-aquarium made from a large jar, with the word jarrarium being a portmanteau of "jar" and "aquarium") and observe the reactions of the new creatures that will now live there. Luckily, the Phorcus richardi, the little snails, are behaving exactly like their companion that was already in the jarrarium before them: they're reacting calmly and eating without any problems.

The new copepods that have arrived are behaving very similarly to their freshwater counterparts. We have a small plastic freshwater aquarium, built from what was supposed to be a lemon juice dispenser (really, a dispenser! It even has a mini faucet at the base... obviously never intended to be used), which sits on a windowsill. Inside, there are practically nothing but snails, copepods, and, of course, aquatic plants.

See, marine copepods behave identically to freshwater copepods.

Anyway, I plan to work out today, even though I have to fit it in between various commitments. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I don't have any social commitments, but I do have work commitments, and I also have a few things I absolutely have to do because it's not good to procrastinate on your projects. In short, time will fly by, but I hope to be able to throw a few hundred good punches! I already lifted some weights this morning.

And now I'm leaving, my dears, because I see some delicious chicken breast steak with mixed vegetables on the table; it smells delicious!

Mouth shout + a day among the rocks

Today my sisters and I talked about something... important.

It's absolutely infuriating that I can't talk to you about it yet, but at the same time, I'm a little happy about this, about the fact I have to keep my mouth shut. Kinda. Because at the end of it all, when Mrs. Alkahest finally gives us permission to talk to you about it, probably what... no, I can't phrase it that way, it would be too obvious what I'm talking about... um... okay, let's just say it'll be interesting.

We're also involving Sangreal himself; he doesn't think he has the talent to do what we asked of him, but he'll make himself available to us anyway.

We're gathering more information. Some of it will be difficult to find, but we really can't afford not to verify the sources. Oh no, um, I have to find a way to talk to you about it that doesn't break the silence clause Seras imposed on us, damn it.

I won't talk to you about it anymore. Imagine me whistling, with my hands behind my back.

No, no, don't worry, there's nothing strange about this blog, nothing that could help you understand what it's all about. Whistle, whistle.

Anyway, today was an incredible day! We went to the pools (that's where we talked about the project) to take some samples, and there were the fluffiest algae in the world, but more importantly, there were some new mini-fish! It really looks like spring has arrived.

Lots of Palaemon shrimp crowded the shallow, warm water, beautiful, with their transparent, streaked bodies bursting with intense shades of color, making them look like glass toys. They weren't even afraid of us! Sure, they didn't want to be touched (maybe a giant poking you with his finger isn't your thing, and I can understand that), but they seemed more curious than scared.

We found several dead crabs, and this is interesting, because while some were open, a sign that someone had pried open their shells and eaten their flesh, others were dead but closed, with some legs missing. Two different causes of death, perhaps two different predators? According to my brother Seraphin, even the first crabs were probably not forced by a predator, but rather lost structural integrity post-mortem, but I'm not convinced.

And then we also observed a "mysterious" creature. Nothing sensational, but it was a small black mass, wagging its tail from a pool, and then dived back into the sea before we could photograph or even see it. Could it really be the mysterious crab predator?

Of course, we also observed some live crabs, but above all, an enormous number of hermit crabs! I swear, there seemed to be more hermit crabs than snails; every shell we turned had a small red-orange hermit crab inside. Absolutely adorable!

Ionia continues her experiments to reproduce small marine environments in jars (very spacious jars, obviously, I want that on record), and thanks to her experience, it's working! Well, I mean, she's a marine biologist with a thing for micromanagement, and it's obviously working. Three new Phorcus richardi snails have joined the "family" in her latest jar (she'd already gotten one before, to see how it handled itself, and since it was doing so well, she increased the number), some algae (I'll have to ask her what they are later), and the shell of a large limpet covered in smaller ones.

We'll see how it goes!

And that's it, until next time (hoping to be able to give you some more information about our special little project. But until then, we'll keep our mouths shut!).