Any thoughts on the new theme, “Pilcrow”? I chose it because it’s the most customizable you can get without paying WordPress.com to edit CSS.
The custom photo header, which I’ve wanted for a long time, is of a gorgeous mixed forest along the Ottawa River in the fall, just outside Parliament.
ClimateSight 
I think it works well; I’ve jumped around to a few older pages and didn’t see anything broken, and the layout didn’t get in the way or make things hard to read. It may even resolve the issue from WAY back (I recall discussing this on the Krugman thread!) about threaded replies eventually being too narrow to read, though that requires experimentation. Also, coming from another Canadian river city, I can say the header is characteristic of more than just Ottawa. (Although Edmonton’s “red” phase tends to be very short; we go straight from green to gold.)
Well, my poking around did find one thing, which is only really an issue on two very long threads (including the previous one): the paging system for comments makes it impossible to navigate to recent comments using the box on the right if the comment appears on page 2 or later.
Thanks for finding that, Brian. I changed the setting that breaks up comments into pages, so it should be fixed now.
I envy cities with “red” phases at all. The aspen parkland goes straight from green to bare branches with a brief interlude of dull yellow.
Good luck with your studies! -Kate
Nice look, Kate.
Aspen? Beautiful.
What do you suppose will populate that hillside after global temperatures have risen 5-10°C? You like red in the fall? We have lots of it; Poison Ivy.
Poison ivy loves CO2 and heat, as long as it can get a little H2O now and then. It can even survive in some desert locations. So we’ll still be enjoying it’s fall colors whenprickly pears have replaced our corn and soybeans.
On another note, does WordPress.com allow the img src HTML tag?
I can edit comments to have images directly embedded in them, but for some reason, if a commenter does that themselves it will disappear. If you want an image embedded, put the link in your comment and I’ll do it for you. -Kate
There was a time when WordPress.com was considered superior to Blogger.
I’m not sure that is still the case. I think Blogger is more flexible now.
The symbol Pilcrow is an excellent choice of a theme. In that it requires thought to use and most importantly it has been used to indicate new directions of thought, it is perfect choice for your blog.
That is a beautiful shot Kate. I have always liked deciduous forests year round. Our Eastern brothers and sisters do have the advantage when it comes to fall colours, but no matter where you are there is a lot to be said for quiet strolls through the trees, kicking at the duff and watching the animals you haven’t frightened. I do find Coniferous forests a little more boring but that would be a personal taste issue. Perhaps changing the picture from time to time would be a task, but it would be fun to watch your choices.
Here is a thought that we do not often hear; there are a number of areas in Alberta, where scrub poplar is taking over pastureland. Historically the poplar and buck brush was confined to the wetter coulees and along more permanent watercourses. Now, with farming and the virtual elimination of the prairie fire, there is nothing to limit the spread of these “weeds”, despite the low annual precipitation. Areas I love have changed from the natural short grass prairie, where you could see for miles (kilometers too) to a scrubby looking vista in 50 short years. Perhaps in another 50 years they will have matured enough or spread enough to create their own little micro climate. But I won’t be here to see. Pity.
It is always interesting to see life do what it does best, reproduce and spread, changing things as it goes. Tough and tenacious is lifes survival.
Kate, it looks nice. :)
I’m using my LiveJournal blog’s sidebars to provide a quick overview of what my blog is about, so that people don’t have to click through to an “About” page to find out. (Incidentally, unlike WordPress themes, most LiveJournal themes don’t actually have a widget for inserting free text, so I had to fish about for one that does.)
— frank
I like it enough to use it for a blog I administer:
http://capitalchoir.wordpress.com/
I’m not sure about your yellow border. I’ve stayed with white.