Well, here it is -- the end of another weekend, and one week closer to summer break. It snowed nonstop all day yesterday (Saturday), and we were literally house-bound. By the time it finished snowing and blowing, it was actually deeper than these photos show. Today four of us cleaned off and dug out the cars so that we can get to work and school tomorrow. It was beautifully sunny, about 36 degrees, and the snow was beginning to melt in the sun. As we were working, I heard some birds calling overhead. I enjoy trying to identify the local birds by their calls and songs, but this one sounded unusual. Looking up, I saw a group of group of large white birds with gray-tipped wings circling above our yard. Seagulls! We all paused to watch this incongruous spectacle -- a colony of gulls circling and screeching over a snow-covered neighborhood of northeast Ohio. How weird is that?

In searching for the correct name for a group of seagulls, I discovered some very unusual names for various animal groups. Test yourself and see how many you know. You can find the list of answers under my bookshelf. Ready? What do you call a group of:

1. alligators
2. butterflies
3. cats
4. cows
5. hippos
6. jellyfish
7. lizards
8. raccoons
9. spiders
10. wombats

I got this info from the San Diego Zoo site. Made me feel pretty ignorant, actually.