Today I completed adding the characters of the pectoral
girdle and limb, and now I am working my way through the ilium. Six new pages have been written, which brings the total to 361. The fevered
ordeal of measuring the bones that are fixed to the armature has paid off -
I’ve been able to provide the measurements that are required to quantify several
of the characters that I’ve included today.
It brings me a great deal of satisfaction to find I have the
measurements to answer the literature; I’ve spent several afternoons in the
gallery measuring the pelvis (fixed to the mount) and crus, at times balanced
on a stool, and working against the clock in a sweat. It may not sound believable, but does take a great deal of time, focus, physical exertion, and stamina with two sets of digital calipers to fill about 250 cells in an Excel spreadsheet. Satisfaction also comes
from knowing I’ve followed through on the trust and patience of the museum
staff who have let me behind the gate, and scuff the platform during those
rounds of data collection.
It’ll be another day between nights before I’m back at the museum
to wrap up the cervical ribs…
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