Life Magazine in 1949

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Continuing my look at Life Magazines on Internet Archive….

As I looked at the issues from 1949, the advertisements often stood out (for fossil fuels, Pillsbury, Lionel trains, train travel, World Book Encyclopedia) …and also items that were the beginnings that of things that have developed since then: farmers using lady bugs to control insects on crops, the launch of Viking II, Prince Charles (now King) as a baby, shale oil, a pipeline in Saudi Arabia, big oil in west Texas). Some articles referenced back to World War II: art depicting the Germans trying to burn out London and war babies starting first grade. Evident the cold in the first months of 1949 were very damaging in the Midwest and there was heavy snow in the Cascades in May!

The Life pictures are windows into what the publishers (and a lot of other people) thought was newsworthy in 1949.

Life Magazine 1949-01-03 - Farmers use ladybugs to control mealy bugs

Life Magazine 1949-01-11 - Picture of 28-day old Prince Charles

Life Magazine 1949-01-17 - Death through the Midwest from winter storms

Life Magazine 1949-01-23 - Puerto Rico housing, hotel, dam

Life Magazine 1949-01-30 - Truman inaugural, toddler sleeps in stroller afterward

Life Magazine 1949-02-07 - Mr. Churchill on holiday in Provence

Life Magazine 1949-02-14 - West fights worst winter in history

Life Magazine 1949-02-21 - Mauna Loa erupts

Life Magazine 1949-02-28 - Firemen’s paintings recall how the Germans tried to burn London out

 Life Magazine 1949-03-07 - Longwood Gardens Conservatory (called DuPont greenhouse in the article)

Life Magazine 1949-03-14 - Natural Bridge…Navajo sheep

Life Magazine 1949-03-21 - How oil builds for tomorrow (interesting that the illustration for the ad looks rather dystopian)

Life Magazine 1949-03-28 - Trans-Arabian Pipeline in Saudi Arabia

Life Magazine 1949-04-04 - Barcelona slum…and a palace

Life Magazine 1949-04-11 - Spring in Mississippi

Life Magazine 1949-04-18 - Weighing less than pie meringue, plastic froth can float on gas

Life Magazine 1949-04-25 - Hazford Rubert LXXXI – the grand old man of Hereford bulls

 Life Magazine 1949-05-02 - Texas bluebonnets

Life Magazine 1949-05-09 - Blue Bell play clothes

Life Magazine 1949-05-16 - Volkswagen Factory

Life Magazine 1949-05-23 - African Animals (flamingo and crowned crane)

Life Magazine 1949-05-30 - Snow drifts in May (Cascade Mountains)

Life Magazine 1949-06-06 - Niagara Falls paintings

Life Magazine 1949-06-13 - Go by Train! (advertisement)

Life Magazine 1949-06-20 - Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park)

Life Magazine 1949-06-27 - New Harvest adds to big wheat harvest

 Life Magazine 1949-07-11 - Grasshopper plague from Illinois to California

Life Magazine 1949-07-18 - Oil is mined in Colorado (oil shale)

Life Magazine 1949-07-25 - Yosemite National Park

Life Magazine 1949-08-01 - Jackie Robinson

Life Magazine 1949-08-08 - Arms for Europe

Life Magazine 1949-08-15 - Polio (uncontrollable disease)

Life Magazine 1949-08-22 - Earthquake in Ecuador – 5,000 dead

Life Magazine 1949-08-29 - Margaret Mitchell dies (after being hit by a car)

 Life Magazine 1949-09-05 - Swiss watchmaker

Life Magazine 1949-09-12 - Tito defies the Kremlin

Life Magazine 1949-09-12 - The war babies hit the first grade

Life Magazine 1949-09-26 - Soviet citizen prisoners marched off by the thousands

Life Magazine 1949-10-03 - The Viking’s flight

Life Magazine 1949-10-10 - Robert Oppenheimer

Life Magazine 1949-10-17 - Fall tree lined road in New Hampshire

Life Magazine 1949-10-24 - How to choose your Christmas cards (Grandma Moses)

Life Magazine 1949-10-31 – Petra

 Life Magazine 1949-11-07 - World Book Encyclopedia (advertisement)

Life Magazine 1949-11-14 - Holiday cooky (Pillsbury)

Life Magazine 1949-11-21 - Deformed fish reveal radiation effects

Life Magazine 1949-11-28 - Lionel train (advertisement)

Life Magazine 1949-12-05 - West Texas taps a big oil pool

Life Magazine 1949-12-12 - US constructs 60,000 miles of highway

Life Magazine 1949-12-19 - Christmas lights

Life Magazine 1949-12-26 - Armstrongs see the country…. (road trip)

Suburban Savanna – 5

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Continuing my series on progress toward transitioning my yard to a suburban savanna…..

This is only my first summer implementing the strategy, but I am already experiencing some areas that are overgrown…with natives. In a larger space, the tangle would simply be allowed to continue but in my third acre suburban savanna, actions are needed on my part very similar to my actions when it comes to invasives!

Virginia creeper is great near my front door, and I can easily keep it controlled there because I see it all the time. In other places (in a corner of a flower bed behind some crape myrtle and boxwood, for example), it tends to be problematic, and it requires me to get back there to hack it out. I have been cutting only what is on the brick but now I will cut more and hopefully eventually reduce it to a once-a-year job.

My strategy with poison ivy was to leave it unless it was in a place I would likely be without gloves. Now I am rethinking that even though the patch is interesting because it has the poison ivy leaf gall too. I’m going to gear up and clean out that bed…maybe plant some cone flowers there!

Last year I had a clump of White Heath Aster near my driveway, and it is there again this year….and there is clump in my backyard too. I am leaving both since they are great for pollinating insects in the fall – but I don’t want more of them in my yard.  If they come up in more places next year, I will mow them!

I am learning to cope with pokeweed. If it comes up in an empty space, I leave it…but I trim it to keep it low and leafy. It has filled in an area under a window where a non-native cedar died, a slope on the side of the house (reducing the area I mow and holding the soil with its deeper roots, and filling in a corner (it is hiding a place I dump grass clippings too!).

Grapevines seem to be everywhere this year. I don’t mind them in some places…but I will keep them out of my trees. It is going to take some vigilance.

The same is true with the black raspberry canes. They have lovely pale green stems and white underside of the leaves. There are thorns too. I want to leave some of the plants since wildlife like the fruit…but I will be cutting them in places I want to be able to easily access!

I like violets for the ground cover in all my shady areas but they hide young redbuds and maples and oaks that will eventually need to be cut. Hackberries are everywhere – growing with the hollies and in other bushes. I am considering leaving them but also realizing that I will eventually need to cut them down since they are not in places where I want a larger tree!

All these native plants that I am considering controlling and this is my first year thinking about my yard as a suburban savanna!

April 2026 – Overview

May 2026 – Planting Natives

June 2026 – Shade Garden

July 2026 - Water

Lake Springfield for Wildflowers

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Many of the wildflowers at the field near the Lake Springfield Boathouse were going to seed…but there were will a few blooms to find and photograph.

My favorites were the lotuses in the shallow water near where the rose mallows were blooming.

There was a honey locust in the trees across the path from the field – the curly seed pods still green.

Of course the bees and skippers were around…

Dragonflies

Turtles on a log off an island in the lake

A Mississippi Kite in a tree eating (there were 4 kites in all…they entertained us with their swoops in the air over the field – finding prey)

The flowers would have been more numerous a few weeks ago – but the outing was more comfortable on a day without a heat advisory/warning!

An Edge around the Native Plant Garden

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Up until a week ago the native plant garden in my front yard was mulch that had been laid down last fall – originally 6+ inches thick – with plants added last spring. Installing something around the edge to define the space required too much back-straining work for me to do myself. I decided to have stone installed, but the work was not scheduled until October; I was thrilled when the company had a cancellation and fit in the work last week!

The two-person crew dug a trench for the stones and finished it in a few hours. Now I can easily do a quick round with the weed-eater and then mow neatly around the garden. I love its irregular shape.

Plastics Crisis – The Personal Economics of Less Plastics – Update

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Last January I posted about what I had done over the later part of 2025 to reduce plastics around my house and the advantages we were observing. We are still benefiting from the investments I made without a lot of additional investments since January. I’ve notice that our grocery lists are generally shorter and we have less trash and recycle….and we aren’t feeling the full bite of inflation as much as I thought we would.

Trying to reduce plastic in all my purchases has encouraged more thoughtful purchasing. It slows me down enough to decide not to purchase something…realize that the item is not a ‘need’ and that I don’t really want it enough to purchase it. Identifying (and avoiding) ultra-processed food is another goal that seems to correlate with plastic reduction! What’s not to like about reduce costs and eating better at the same time.

I’ve refined some of my behaviors over the past few months that have reduced plastics further:

  • I have a collection of cleaned out/reused peanut butter (glass) jars that I use for making sugar water for my hummingbird feeder and am reusing the lovely green glass bottles (lemon juice) for storing filtered water in the refrigerator (or for the ice chest when we travel).

  • Our store has catsup in glass bottles again – and we have started purchasing it rather than the larger plastic bottles. It works well for us since we do not use it as often as we have previously.

  • I have enlarged my ‘favorite salad dressings’ to include honey – lemon….and am able to easily find honey in a glass jar and lemons in a bin without packaging at the store. I haven’t bought salad dressing since my original decision to avoid plastics in close contact with acidic or oily foods!

  • The net plastic is sometimes less or similar between fresh and frozen foods. I have started buying frozen broccoli, corn, and peppers/onions rather than fresh. They reduce prep time for stir fry and there is no wasted food (i.e. something going bad before I can use it). The plastic is probably not degrading into the food since it is cold! I never cook the frozen vegetables in the bag even if the bag advertises that it is OK to use it to steam the veggies in the microwave.

  • I had planned to use violets in salads this summer and it worked well. The cyclosporiasis outbreak is an added motivation for me to continue to use this green – although this late in the season the leaves are better cooked than raw.

  • The main area of investment now is clothes. I am gradually replacing things that  are 100% synthetic (i.e. plastic: polyester, rayon, nylon, etc.) with equivalent items that are 100% natural fibers or a blend that is dominated by natural fibers. It is unfortunate that Amazon searches tend to return synthetic items – overriding the search terms completely! Sometimes local stores have what I want….and I am checking their stock more frequently now.

Progress is slower now…but I am still enjoying discovering ways to reduce plastics in my life!

Yard Work in August

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The day was in the 70s rather 90s…a good day for yard work. I had big plans. The latter part of July had been relentlessly hot and/or rainy…so there was a lot to do. And the company that we hired to put some edging around my new native plant bed in the front yard was coming the next week rather than in October (they’d had a cancellation – good for us) which meant I needed to do so clean up of that bed as well.

My first project was to get the Virginia Creeper under control. I don’t like it to get all the way up the brick façade of our house or in the bushes or tangled with the air conditioner compressor/other external ‘boxes.’ It’s going to be a continuing battle but I do like to have enough of it showing now so that when it turns red in the fall, the house will look spectacular!

There is also the bed that has been taken over with poison ivy (with the yellow gall on it). I will wear my protective clothing (including gauntlet gloves) and take it out.

And there is a little bit of weed eating along the fence that needs to be done as well.

Around the edge of the native plant garden there is some encroaching grass which needs to be pulled. Hopefully after the edging is in it will be easier to keep it all under control.

On the way to the back yard the pokeweed has turned into clumps (I had cut them to keep them short). They are deep rooted so good for the slope. The corner of the backyard also had a nice clump. I cut the tallest one to keep it mostly below the fence level.

There was a pokeweed that almost hid the American spikenard when viewed from the  yard (although not from my office window). I cut the poke weed even though stepping into the sea of violets left a hole. Maybe the violets quickly

The pathway I take from my office door to the hummingbird feeder is mostly rocks but the violets are taking off there too. I try to avoid stepping on them. Closer to the feeder (which is suction-cupped to one of my office windows) there is a sad crepe myrtle, thorny black raspberry canes, and grapevine that makes getting to the feeder hazardous in less that yard work garb. I cut back everything but the hosta!

The day turned misty and my back started hurting faster than I expected – before I got everything done. But I made good progress and will be out every day it isn’t raining until I catch up. So much to do….and I need to plan to do it in 30-minute chunks to keep my back happy.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 8, 2026

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

07/29/2026 NASA Sizing Up the Sargassum Belt - Sargassum, a type of brown floating algae, has shifted its range in recent decades, thinning out in the North Atlantic’s Sargasso Sea while proliferating in the tropical Atlantic. That trend, underway since 2011, continued in 2026 as the algae, commonly known as a type of seaweed, reached its annual peak in June across a stretch of ocean known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. The belt’s Sargassum abundance in June 2026 made it the second-highest Sargassum year in the satellite record, slightly behind 2025, according to scientists at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Marine Science. Regionally, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) both hit record highs, according to USF’s June 2026 Sargassum outlook. The western and eastern Caribbean saw 3.6 and 9 million metric tons, respectively, while the Gulf saw 5 million metric tons—nearly double its previous record, also set in 2025. 

07/29/2026 Smithsonian Magazine A Metal Detectorist Discovered Tiny Tiles in a Farmer’s Field - John Hill was surveying a farmer’s field in southwestern England when his metal detector identified a Roman-era coin hidden beneath the soil. Now, almost two decades later, archaeologists have returned to the site and excavated the ruins of an ancient villa—complete with a lavish mosaic floor. Stretching across roughly 130 square feet, the mosaic is located near Halberton, Devon. Experts think it dates to the fourth century C.E. The thousands of colorful tiles, each measuring less than half an inch, form a flower with eight petals. This design is bordered by a guilloche pattern, featuring two bands woven together.

07/28/2026 Science Daily 4 in 5 toddler foods are ultra-processed - A grocery-store audit found that many foods marketed for toddlers may be far less healthy than parents expect. Of nearly 2,800 products examined in Texas, 81% were ultra-processed, and almost half failed at least one World Health Organization nutrient standard, often because they contained too much sugar, sodium, fat, or too many calories.

07/29/2026 Planetizen BLM could allow oil leases near sacred New Mexico Indigenous sites - The Bureau of Land Management is considering several options for opening up oil and mineral leases near Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a massive complex of Native American ruins and a sacred site in New Mexico. In 2023, the agency withdrew roughly 336,000 acres surrounding the area from leasing for 20 years, explains Marni Rose McFall in Newsweek. Now, the agency could keep the protections in place, reduce the protected area to a 5-mile (instead of 10-mile) buffer, or remove the protections altogether. 

07/29/2026 NPR The Trump administration's move to end subsidies for Medicare drug plans could cost consumers - Project 2025 was pretty blunt about wanting to push more people into Medicare Advantage…One way to really accelerate that is to make it very expensive to stay in traditional Medicare.

07/29/2026 The Conversation Ten simple and proven ways to reduce your exposure to pollutants in your home - Reducing environmental exposures does not require major lifestyle changes. Small, everyday habits can help create a healthier home environment. For example: Avoid synthetic fragrances and Cut down on Plastics.

07/28/2026 Archaeology Magazine New Thoughts on Wall Paintings in Japan’s Kyushu Tombs - Dated to the sixth and seventh century A.D., the tombs are horizontal stone chambers that could be reopened and were reused for generations. They were decorated with colorful images of spiral circles, horses, boats, and stick-like people. These stick figures were often depicted without faces and shown as smaller than other objects in the paintings. A new study suggests that the images are not portraits of the dead, but anonymous figures who symbolize the journey undertaken by any dead person.

07/28/2026 Yale Environment 260 In Germany, Wind and Solar Overtake Fossil Power - Together, wind and solar generated 44 percent of Germany’s electricity, while fossil fuels generated roughly 43 percent. Germany shut down its last remaining nuclear power plants in 2023. It is aiming to wean off of coal power by 2038, though experts say it will likely achieve that goal much sooner. By 2045, its target date for net zero emissions, Germany plans to convert any remaining gas-fired power plants to green hydrogen.

07/28/2026 BBC Future The spotted lanternfly is ravaging the eastern US. Pet dogs are coming to the rescue - Frequently found plastered across windscreens along the US's Atlantic coast, spotted lanternflies are an invasive pest and a multimillion-dollar disaster for the US's wine industry. A citizen-science program is training pet dogs on demonstration plots like this to find the eggs before they hatch so they can be destroyed. It's revealing the surprising power of pet dogs' noses, with even unconventional sniffer-dog breeds like the humble pug able to play their part.

07/26/2026 Clean Technica Renewables Provide More Than 30% of US Electricity - New data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign, reveal growth of more than 10% in electrical generation by renewable energy sources in the first five months of 2026. Moreover, solar, wind, and battery storage are projected to add about 83.0 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity in the U.S. by May 31, 2027 while total fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity will fall by almost 4.7-GW. By comparison, the electrical output of the nation’s nuclear power and natural gas plants experienced much slower growth — just 1.3% and 2.5% respectively. Electricity produced by U.S. coal facilities fell by 10.9%. The combination of just wind and solar, including small-scale solar, provided over 22.2% of domestic electrical production.

eBotanical Prints – July 2026

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Twenty more books were added to my botanical print eBook collection in July – all are available for browsing on online (mostly on Internet Archive).   15 of the books are a continuation of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletters; there are 4 volumes per year so this month includes 2017 to 2020; I’ll continue browsing this periodical in August. There were a few miscellaneous volumes at the beginning of the list – with a wide range of publication dates (1787 – 2025).

My list of eBotanical Prints books now totals 3,403 eBooks I’ve browsed over the years. The whole list can be accessed here.

Click on any sample image from June’s 20 books to get an enlarged version…and the title hyperlink in the list below the image mosaic to view the entire volume where there are a lot more botanical illustrations to browse.

Enjoy the July 2026 eBotanical Prints!

The Philosphy of Botany * Thornton, Robert John * sample image * 1799

Cours de botanique * Alyon, Pierre Philippe * sample image * 1787

Boccone Museum rariorum plantarum : nominibus linnaei specificis * Cabrini, Aloysio * sample image * 1791

Hortus Cliffortianus plantas exhibens quas in hortis tam vivis quam siccis, Hartecampi in Hollandia * Linne, Carl von * sample image * 1738

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.46:no.2 (2017)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2017

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.46:no.3 (2017)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2017

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.46:no.4 (2017)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2017

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.47:no.1 (2018)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2018

Native Plants for Stormwater Management Projects - Species Selection for the Lower Midwest * Shaw, Daniel; Schmidt, Daniel * sample image * 2025

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.47:no.2 (2018)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2018

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.47:no.3 (2018)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2018

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.47:no.4 (2018)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2018

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.48:no.1 (2019)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.48:no.2 (2019)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.48:no.3 (2019)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.48:no.4 (2019)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2019

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.49:no.1 (2020)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.49:no.2 (2020)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.49:no.3 (2020)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Carnivorous plant newsletter v.49:no.4 (2020)  * California State University, Fullerton. Arboretum * sample image * 2020

Lake Springfield’s Hibiscus

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Last week there were quiet a few hibiscus flowers and buds at the edge of Lake Springfield near the Boathouse. I enjoyed photographing the various stages of the bloom. My favorite shapes/color is the underside of the flower!

In the shallow water and just a few feet from the hibiscus are lotus plants. I need a better camera than my phone to take good pictures of them.

Hot Afternoon in the Forest (2)

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Continuing our hot afternoon in the forest….

It was too hot to hike so I took a few pictures of wildflowers near the cabin

And looking up from my chair in the shade.

We stayed until just before dusk when the fireflies were beginning to come out…and I took a few pictures across the field as I got into the car. The moon was up and there were some clouds in the sky. Some year I’ll stay longer to see the moths that are active at night – but not this year since I had signed up for the next morning shift in the Butterfly House.

As we made our way back on the rutted road, it got darker. We somehow didn’t notice when we passed the cemetery.  The road obviously wasn’t bumpier than when we drove toward the cabin, but we went a bit slower in the gloom and were glad when we got back to the paved road.

Hot Afternoon in the Forest (1)

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The potluck event I wrote about yesterday was for the volunteers and staff that support the Roston Native Butterfly House. It was a very hot day, but we persevered to experience the forest along Bull Creek south of Springfield. After the turn off from the paved road, the way is a rutted historic road which should not be done in a low-clearance vehicle (my daughter has an SUV, and it handled the road well at low speed). Parts of the creek are visible from the road!

The trees form an arch over the road. There were three cars in our group. I shared my insect repellent spray when we got there – didn’t want anyone to get bitten by a tick.

One of the first things I did was see how far along the spicebush fruit was (I knew where there were some female trees from a previous visit). There was one red one and the rest were still green.

The moss on the shed and well roof shingles was about the same as I remembered.

I was glad I brought plenty of water and a peas/corn side dish (cool) for the potluck….and appreciated that the food was in the air-conditioned cabin.

The high point of the evening was seeing some young bluebirds that had been rescued after their parents abandoned them in the their nest box. They were being hand fed and would fledge soon.

More about the adventure tomorrow -

Plastics Crisis - Potluck Event

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I recently went to a potluck event and realized that there are quite a few people bringing dishes in metal or glass rather than plastic! Most of the dishes still have plastic lids – but still, the direction is encouraging. The (catered) barbeque came in a foil container with a cardboard top. Note that the serving pieces are metal too!

The host provided paper plates (maybe plastic coated) but one family brought their own plates and utensils just as my daughter and I did.

Everyone had their own water reusable bottles since it was a very hot day. There were very few single use cans or plastic bottles.

The trash and recycle kitchen sized bins did not overflow!

Zentangle® – July 2026

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31 Zentangle tiles for July – one selected for each day of the month. There were two themes for the month: complex strings filled with 2-3 patterns and empty spaces. I am still enjoying the colorful tiles.

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 1, 2026

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

07/22/2026 I’m Plastic Free 8 Plastic-Free School Supplies & Zero-Waste Tips for Students – Some good ideas for reducing plastics for the beginning of the school year.

07/22/2026 Clean Technica It’s Time to Adopt a New Mindset About the Planet - The author suggests: Begin with the Billionaires. Oil companies must clean up their pollution. Chemicals need to be reined in, not excused. Accountability for climate change. Returning rivers, streams, and the oceans. Vote!

07/21/2026 BBC Future A stranding in Ireland sheds new light on the long, slow, ice-cold life of a deep-sea shark – Some species factoids: The Greenland shark, the longest living vertebrate on the planet, can live for around 400 years; Greenland sharks are among the world's biggest sharks, measuring up to 5m (16ft); Greenland sharks are slow-swimming, solitary scavengers and predators. The post documents the study of a Greenland shark carcass that washed up on an Ireland beach in April.

07/21/2026 Yale Environment 360 Long Presumed Dead, a Thriving Coral Reef Is Discovered in West Africa – A paragraph in a 1960s report…and then no investigation again until recently. Researchers have classified the site as a mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE). Such systems are light-dependent communities existing at the lower limits of reef-building corals. At more than 175 feet below the surface, the coral garden they discovered appears patchily scattered on a rocky substrate.

07/20/2026 Cool Green Science The Bird That Needs Fire: What Bachman’s Sparrow Can Teach Us About Restoration - Long before most people spot one, a Bachman’s Sparrow announces itself from a patch of native grasses, delivering one of the first songs of the season. Small and easily overlooked, it has become one of the most important indicators of whether longleaf pine forest ecosystems are functioning as they should.

07/17/2026 Science Daily Tiny plastics in drinking water may be making dangerous bacteria stronger - New research suggests nanoplastics can actually help harmful bacteria survive by strengthening the slimy biofilms they form inside water systems. These tougher biofilms become more resistant to disinfectants, making them harder to remove and potentially increasing public health risks.

07/17/2026 Smithsonian Magazine These 16 Splendid Aerial Views Capture Wildlife from Above, Revealing the Beauty and Mystery of Nature - A selection of the photos that spotlight animals from a new perspective – from the Second International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest.

07/15/2026 My Modern Met Tennessee Introduces Anti-AI Seal Supporting Photographers Taking Real Photos of the State - Tennessee tourism has been booming, breaking new records in recent years for the Volunteer State. In 2024, they brought in 147 million visitors and $31.7 billion. This was the fourth consecutive year to break the record in tourist spending, which has surged 36.6% since 2018, more than double the national average. It is important to the state that “what you see is what you get.”

07/23/2026 Science Daily Goodbye, cavities? New gel could regrow tooth enamel - Inspired by the proteins that guide enamel formation in infancy, the gel fills microscopic cracks and draws calcium and phosphate from saliva to grow a new mineral layer that closely matches healthy enamel. After the gel is placed on a tooth, it forms a thin but durable coating that penetrates the tooth's surface and fills small cracks, pores, and other damaged areas. This coating then acts as a framework for rebuilding the mineral structure of enamel. When applied to exposed dentine, the gel can grow an enamel like mineral layer over the surface. This could help reduce tooth sensitivity while also creating a stronger surface for dental restorations to bond to.

07/23/2026 The Prairie Ecologist Those bugs are eating my flowers! What do I do? - If a species is reducing the resilience of a site - mitigate that. Stepping back to put that scene in context with the broader area usually helps answer the question about whether or what to do anything about it. After all, one of the benefits of facilitating ecological resilience is that it gives prairies the ability to adapt and absorb impacts, including Japanese beetles shredding some plants here and there.

Jessie Wilcox Smith – A Child’s World

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I was browsing through the December 1909 issue of McClure’s Magazine when I found A Child’s World – A Series of Pictures by Jessie Wilcox Smith. I always enjoy her illustrations and it was a pleasant surprise. There are only 5 illustrations – one shown in this post to entice you to follow the link to the others for the quick ‘book of the week.

A Child’s World (in 1909)

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2026

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July was hot…making is more challenging to enjoy time outdoors – but I still found plenty to celebrate!

Car chargers on my way to Texas. I noticed that there were car chargers at a place I normally stop along my route between my home and seeing my dad in Texas. That bodes well for me buying an EV next year!

Children in the butterfly house. I enjoy my shifts in the Roston Native Butterfly House – particularly if there are children that enjoy their visit too. Their awe as they follow the flights of butterflies or watch the butterfly get nectar from a flower seems to transfer to everyone in the house!

Spicebush Caterpillar. There was a spicebush caterpillar that disappeared from the plant on the table just as I was leaving….and we weren’t seeing it anywhere. Then as I walked by – I noticed that it was on the other end of the table…crawling along the edge. We all celebrated that it was found and could be put in the pupation cage instead of risking getting squished on the floor.

Gall Webinar. Celebrating an interesting webinar that introduced me to new organisms that I will look for when I am out and about.

Blooming American Spikenard. Celebrating that the plant is bigger and has more blooms than last year. It’s one of the first native plants I added to the yard and probably my favorite.

250th.  It wasn’t as fabulous as I remember the 200th – but still worth celebrating.  

Home alone. My husband was away for almost a week and I enjoyed the time without the television blaring! Then again – I am glad it doesn’t happen very often.

Salmon. I celebrated making a dinner that I wouldn’t make if my husband was home!

Watermelon. It’s the summer food for celebration. I wish we could still buy the big watermelons with seeds that seemed to be even more flavorful.

Missouri Master Naturalist. I celebrated my chapter showing resilience to change….forging ahead.

Zooming – July 2026

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All the images in this month’s slideshow are from around Springfield: the Lake Springfield Boathouse, Springfield Botanical Gardens/Roston Native Butterfly House, and my yard. There is a lot to see this time of year! The weather has been hot enough that I make short forays for photography rather than longer hikes.

Empty Eggs

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A few weeks ago, I was cutting back the spent stems of coreopsis at the Lake Springfield boathouse garden when I came upon empty eggs in and around a small hole – almost hidden by the remaining foliage. The shells were curled into themselves – no sign of what had emerged although we all thought it was probably turtles.

They had plenty of vegetation to camouflage their escape! A big drift of cone flowers was right next to the nesting site and Lake Springfield is not too far away either.

Plastics Crisis – School Supplies

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It’s still full summer…but the beginning of school is not that far away. Although I don’t have any K-12 aged children – there is a Missouri Master Naturalist core training I am in the final stages of planning that will be happening in September and October. School/office supplies are something to think about.

I have a lot of office supplies that have accumulated over the years so most of the time I simply draw on what I have rather than buying anything. Printer paper is my most frequent purchase – and that doesn’t happen all that often; I did notice that the last ream I bought had a ‘sustainable forest initiative’ label but was wrapped in plastic!

Most of the pens I have are from organizations or hotels…lots of plastic there. My plan is to stop picking up pens at events until I have drawn down my supply! There are a few that might take common refills – a way to reduce the amount of new plastic but not eliminate it.

I am already packing waste free lunches and carrying a reusable water bottle…but I need to make sure the students in the core training think about doing it if they are not as far along in their plastic reduction journey.

Check out 8 Plastic-Free School Supplies & Zero-Waste Tips

Added note: I recently purchased printer paper. It was the only kind that was wrapped in paper rather than plastic…and it was the least expensive per sheet…and its packaging said it was sustainably made from sawmill waste chips using wind energy and hydropower!

American Spikenard Buds/Flowers

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The American Spikenard I planted my first summer in Missouri (2023) might be my favorite plant in the whole yard. I see it from my office window. It is thriving with violets as its understory. When I planted it, the violets were mostly between the new plant and the house; once I stopped mowing they have filled half the side yard. I thought that the spikenard had been killed that first winter, but it came back the next spring and has been bigger every yearsince. References say that the plants get 3-5 feet tall but this one is taller!

And it is full of buds/flowers right now. They are not showy as individual flowers, but the cluster is noticeable because of the change in texture from the large compound leaves. The fruits will be even more noticeable this fall because they will be reddish purple.

The American spikenard is not as common as many of the other native plants, but it certainly has worked well in my garden. It should contribute to the lushness of my shade garden as it spreads via it roots or seeds. I planted a second plant this year at the northern end of the shade garden and wonder if the two plants will eventually expand to meet in the middle!