Quote of the Day - 03/31/2012

Litter the world in which you live with opportunities to learn. - Chip R. Bell in Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning

~~~~~

This quote contains one of the few instances I’ve seen of ‘litter’ representing something positive. And maybe the negative aspects we sometimes associate with ‘litter’ carry into this context as exactly what we are after for ‘opportunities to learn’: 

• Ubiquitous
• Sometimes messy
• Spontaneous
• Varied
• Attention getting
• Recyclable/reusable
• Trash (maybe still a negative…but it’s hard to tell with learning opportunities)

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 31, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Wind map - a (nearly) current map of winds in the continental US. This is an artwork and quite a learning opportunity for how the winds change over time...I find myself looking at it several times a day. 

Step inside the millennium seed bank - a video that walks through the science facility that stores seeds from 10% of the world’s plants

The Beginnings of Dr. Seuss - An Informal Reminiscence - A short piece done for Dartmouth (where he went to college) and made available online recently.

13 Nature Photos with water reflection - Enjoy! My favorite is the spoonbills (the second one).

Nature and Wildlife Photography Tips Center - from National Wildlife Federation

The Psychological Effects of Global Warming in the US - More people will experience weather extremes than ever before…and many more will develop anxiety disorders

Wind Farm in San Gorgonio - A striking picture of wind turbines in a pass in the mountains east of Los Angeles

Regular Chocolate Eaters are Thinner, Evidence Suggests - Just more data that supports my 2 squares of dark chocolate for breakfast habit!

How Animals See the World (infographic)

First Day of Spring (40 pictures) - From around the world

New inverter design shrinks size/cost of connecting solar panels to the grid - Company that created them will start selling them in May. Could shave $0.15/watt from a solar panel installation. There is a lot happening in the solar energy field right now. It's very exciting.

Re-inventing the toilet (turning human waste into power) - A Gates Foundation project. Watch the video.

Quote of the Day - 03/30/2012

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. - Goethe

~~~~~

The quote above was used in the opening for a summary of a recent workshop on nutrition and healthy aging. It is a particularly good choice when it comes to the continuing challenge of nutrition and healthy choices we all make. Even when we know and are willing…somehow applying that knowledge to the actions we take doesn’t always happen. As the years go by, the not-so-good choices begin to take a toll on our overall health and quality of life.

The workshop was focused on the way communities can hone the services available to support the increasing number of older people within the same communities they have lived all along. With tight budgets in the years ahead, program streamlining and prioritization will become intense. The summary is in prepublication form but is an informative read.

 Nutrition and Healthy Aging in the Community: Workshop Summary (prepublication summary) is available free for online reading.

April Celebrations

April is just about here. What is there to celebrate? Here are some ideas:

Wild Flowers. This is the time of year that many wild plants bloom; hikes to photograph then are a beautiful way to celebration spring. Don’t forget the flowering trees as well - dogwoods and redbuds are my favorites. Information about the wild flower festival in Smokey Mountain National Park can be found here. The one in Shenandoah National Park is planned for early May but the program schedule is already published and could be used to plan your own hikes in the park in late April.

Kites. March is the month most associated with kites but many communities hold kite festivals into April and early May when it is a bit warmer and still breezy.

Palm Sunday on the 1st, Good Friday and Passover on the 6th, and Easter on the 8th.  Observe the days in April that sustain your spiritual health.

Gardens. Formal gardens are greening in April too. Depending on the area of the country - there could be rows and rows of tulips or iris just getting ready to bloom of camelias. This time of year orchards are quite beautiful as well - full of blooms. Just as with the wild flowers - noticing the unfurling of spring is a great way to celebrate spring time.

Spring Break. Some schools have already taken a spring break…others have it early in April. A mini-vacation before the sprint to the end of the spring semester is always welcome. Celebrations can be as simple in a picnic in a local park on a warm day. In many parts of the country, showers are frequent in the spring so have a backup plan for if the day turns rainy and cool (or cold!).

Earth Day on the 22nd. Some communities have celebrations or festivals associated with Earth Day. One in my area is at Brookside Gardens.

Tulip Library in Washington DC - March 2012

When we went down to see the cherry blossoms last week - the tulips were blooming as well. The beds arch in an areas near the tidal basin at Independence Avenue and Maine Avenue. There are so many different kinds and colors. The two slide shows below show some of my favorites: the classic tulips, the ruffled petals, the fringed petals, the double and triple petals, the multi-colored...they were all there. 

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My all time favorite color combination in tulips is green and pink - like the 6th one above - although I'll have to admit the sunrise/sunset colors in the 7th one below comes in a close second. I guess this year the ruffle petals appealed to me too.

Quote of the Day - 03/29/2012

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors. - Thomas Jefferson

~~~~~

This quote is on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial. It reminds that us the founding fathers - and Jefferson in particular - realized that ‘with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times’ and they built a system that included a balance of power across three branches of government to allow that to happen. Over the course of US history, there have been a lot of changes and the system has sometimes worked better than others. One thing we know in our government as well as our personal lives: we can’t ever turn back the clock to an earlier time and start over. Decisions to change - or not change - can only impact the present and future.

Today - note news items that document our continuing struggle to achieve ‘laws and institutions…hand in hand with progress of the human mind.’

Recipe of the Week: Pinto Beans

Years ago I cooked pinto beans with chunks of ham - but now I cook with no seasoning at all because of the variety of ways I want to use them; I safe the seasoning for right before I eat them. My technique for cooking beans (that reduces their tendency to be the ‘musical fruit’) is: 

• Sort the beans removing any small dirt clods or rocks.
• Rinse.
• Soak overnight - or longer - in enough water to cover the beans + about 2 inches.
• Drain.
• Place in a big pot and cover with water + 2 inches.
• Bring to boil on high heat.
• Skim any foam that forms from the pot.
• Simmer covered until beans are very soft. The amount of time it takes depends on how dry the beans are. I recently had a pot that took almost twice the amount of time I had expected. Make sure there is enough water to keep the beans covered while they cook.
• Drain the liquid from the beans.
• Freeze beans that you will not use in the next few days in containers sized for the way you will be using the beans. 

Be creative on how you use the cooked beans to add a nutritional boost to just about any meal. Remember that since no seasoning was added while they were cooking - they will meld with just about anything you put with them. Alone they are quite bland. Here are some ideas to get you started...there are lots of recipes you can find with a simple search if you need more details.

Soups

• Stir fry onion, peppers, and celery while stock/bullion + carrots are boiling (to soften the carrots). Add a teaspoon of your favorite no-salt seasoning, beans, onion/peppers, and tomatoes. Top with parsley.
• Heat V8 or other veggie drink, beans, frozen or fresh peas, corn, and broccoli. Season to taste.

Salads

• Combine tuna, beans, and your favorite creamy dressing or mayonnaise.
• Combine beans, frozen green beans and peas and your favorite vinaigrette.
• Combine lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, beans, a sprinkle of orange zest and your favorite salad dressing.
• Combine beans, an apple, raisins, celery and a sweet dressing (for example - olive oil and orange marmalade or mayonnaise and honey)

Refried beans (a great Southwestern/Mexican side dish)

Muffins (see my recipe below…but there are others to be found on the web)

~~~~~

Pinto Bean Oat Muffins

1 cup pinto beans (cooked)

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup oats (process to a rough flour in a food processor/grinder)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preparation Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Put everything a food processor and pulse process until everything is blended/moistened.
• Take out blade and use a spatula to fold in the raisins.
• Spoon into muffin cups prepared with cooking spray, about 3/4 full.
• Bake until golden brown.

(This recipe was modified from one found on Yummly.)

Quote of the Day - 03/28/2012

Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe. – John Milton in Paradise Lost

~~~~~

It’s hard to remember this when ‘overcoming by force’ is easy - which is the goal of most militaries throughout history. Somehow the expedient of exercising physical or military might is very alluring even if there is an understanding that there is more that will eventually have to be overcome. How the ‘other half’ is overcome may be more defining of us and our nation in the long term than the force applied.

Next time you are reading through headlines - note the ones about actions taken relative to ‘foes’ and categorize them as force or other…think about which actions will likely have the most significant positive impact over the long term.

Maple Sequence - Spring 2012

The samaras are ripening on the maple in our backyard (Maryland). I started taking pictures of the buds in mid-February and have enjoyed continuing to photograph the tree as the samaras developed. They are drying now - having lost most of their rosy red color. Enjoy the collage of photos below! I’ll post again when the breezes swirl the samaras away from the tree.

Quote of the Day - 03/27/2012

The fuel of life is new information - novelty - ordered into new structures.  We need to have information coursing through systems, disturbing the peace, imbuing everything it touches with new life. - Margaret J. Wheatley as quoted in Michele Bechtell in The Management Compass (AMA Management Briefing)

~~~~~

It is very easy to get a lot of new information and novelty these days. Our technology has removed many of the barriers to information dissemination so now we find ourselves honing skills to avoid being overwhelmed by the ‘fire hose’ of new information made available every day. The trick is to somehow recognize the misinformation (i.e. recognize information unsupported by data of any kind and/or intentional falsehoods), decide if ‘opinion’ is indeed information too, cull information that is relevant/actionable and then get the highest quality new information ‘ordered into new structures.’ We want the ‘imbuing everything it touches with new life’ not a frenzy of circular motion that produces no discernible outcomes!

The quote is from a management book but applies to our individual lives as well. What positive role does new information/novelty play in your life? Trace a new information/novelty to the change it caused you to make. Realize that learning something may be a step you take to order information so that it can be applied or may simply be a storing away of information is almost raw form.

A recent example for me: I was cooking a big pot of pinto beans to use for homemade refried beans when it occurred to me that maybe beans could be used in other things - like muffins. This is an example of seeking novelty. I did a quick search on the web, found several recipes, picked one, and baked it. I’ll share the results tomorrow!

Quote of the Day - 03/26/2012

We had no external limitations, no overriding authority, no imposed pattern of existence. We created our own links with the world, and freedom was the very essence of our existence. - Simone De Beauvoir in The Prime of Life: The Autobiography of Simone De Beauvoir

~~~~~

Have you had a period of your life like the quote describes? The absolute of ‘no’ - ‘no external limitation, no overriding authority, no imposed pattern of existence’ - is what gives me pause. It is more interesting to think about a continuum:

Where are you right now on the continuum? Where have you been at other times in your life? Is there a correlation with age or financial security or relationships?

Often it is our interpretation of external limitations, overriding authority, and imposed pattern of existence that is more critical than anything that can be measured exactly. If the pattern of existence imposed is what we want to do anyway, is it counter to our concept of ‘freedom?’

Blue Tulip Glassware

I’ve had my Blue Tulip Glassware for a little over a month now. It appealed to me when I first saw it back in December and my appreciation of it continues to grow because its appeal has so many perspectives.

It is beautiful. The blue color of the glass depends on the lighting - all the way from turquoise to a pale Copenhagen blue. The smooth parts are tulip shaped but the nobs often give the impression of sunflowers; at first I thought the pattern was ‘sunflower’ and, based on some questions I noticed on some web sites, others may have made the same mistake. I started a project to photograph the sugar (a cup with two handles) 100 times; 10 of the best images are below.

It has history. Blue Tulip is Depression Glass. It was manufactured by the Dell Glass Company in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of the pieces that I have now were a wedding present given to an Oklahoma couple in the 30s. The set was purchased from the widow many years later by a couple that has known me all my life as they added to their collection of Depression Glass. They added some pieces they found at other places as well. When I visited them last December they commented that they were thinking about selling some of their collection and I offered to buy all the Blue Tulip. They gave me an excellent price for the antiques and it arrived in a big professionally packed glassware box in early March. Sometimes I think the glass is infused with all the happiness around it for the past 70+ years and somehow it rejected any unhappiness; it always seems to speak of home and long term relationships (both general and specific).

It encourages smaller portion sizes. The sherbet cups are a good size for ice cream or custard….any dessert served in a bowl. My husband and I have started using them frequently. The small plates are smaller too; a single muffin fits better than two. The dinner plates are the normal size but I find that the pattern encourages me to put less on the plate - so I can still see the pattern.

It fits the spring and summer season. I love the coolness of the blue color in spring and am anticipating I will like it even more during the summer.

Quote of the Day - 03/25/2012

The 18th century presents an anomaly, long recognized by historians. Rightly labeled the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment, it nevertheless came to an end with an act of national violence, the French Revolution, and the ascendancy in Europe of a ‘man on a white charger’ – Napoleon Bonaparte. - John L. Beatty and Oliver A. Johnson in Heritage of Western Civilization, Volume 2 (From Revolutions to Modernity) (9th Edition)

~~~~~

Why do we seek to name periods of time with such glorious phrases? Calling a period ‘the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment’ implies that the whole period can be characterized in a sound bite when, obviously, there were a lot of other things happening during the time period that do not fit with the words at all. It is always a simplification and simplification is only good if we remember that it is just that.

It works for summation but presents a challenge when we want to dig deeper. In the example of the Age of Reason - Why did it end in the bloody violence of the French Revolution and ignore (or promote) the profiteering in human trafficking taking Africans to the Americas? There was darkness to the Age of Reason that runs counter to the words.

What about names for other historical periods of western history? What do they mean to you and how aware are you of elements of those time periods that are not represented by the names? (Note: I’ve intentionally sorted them rather than listing them in chronological order. They are all easily findable on Wikipedia. 

• Age of Discovery
• Age of Sail
• Between the Wars
• Classical antiquity
• Dark Ages
• Little Ice Age
• Medieval
• Modern Contemporary
• Neoclassicism
• Pre-Socratic
• Renaissance

Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

Friday, March 23 was a great day to walk around the tidal basin in Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms. The fog of the days before was gone and the rain of the weekend was yet to come. Yes - there was still a lot of haze from moisture in the air that shows in longer shots and some of the petals had already started to drift down from the trees but the drifts on the ground still retained their light pink color. 

Hope you enjoy my photos! I took series at some of the monuments and a tulip garden that I’ll post over the next few days.

Quote of the Day - 03/24/2012

A cat’s skin is a bigger envelope than is necessary to hold the flesh and bones inside it. - Muriel Beadle in The Cat: History, Biology, and Behavior

~~~~~

Cats have a grace and fluidity to them all the time and part of it might be that their skin is not stretched so tightly over ‘the flesh and bones inside’ as our skin is. Even when they contort themselves, their skin does not seem stretched. My first cat was one that had longer hair which made this observation difficult but now I have a short haired cat - and it is pretty easy to see. The cat’s skin is like a baggy coat.

Now for  a positive thought of the day about what happens to us as we grow older - think of the wrinkles and sags of aging as our skin becoming more cat-like - ‘a bigger envelope than necessary to hold the flesh and bones inside it.’ Are there other ways you want to be like a cat? I want to 

• Walk at my own speed even though someone is trying to rush me
• Be totally comfortable when I still
• Focus intently on what is happening around me (even if I am stealthy about it)
• Go to sleep easily

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 24, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Fundamental Steps Needed Now in Global Redesign of Earth System Governance - the argument of 32 scientists and researchers that some fundamental reforms are needed to avoid dangerous changes in the Earth system

How Monarch Butterflies Recolonize Northern Breeding Range - About 10% of the Monarchs in Canada have come all the way from Mexico. 90% were born en route mostly in the central US.

Feeding Habits of German Wolves - Less than 1% of their prey is livestock

The Physics of Cooking (Science and Cooking) - Videos from Harvard that talk about the mechanics of various culinary techniques (there are 42 hours - 26 segments - of videos on the topic!)

America’s First Cuisines - A chapter from the book that focuses on produce that came from the new world

A brief history of solar energy - Beginning in 1767….

Monarch butterflies down again this year - The scene from Texas - 30% fewer monarchs this year

Surface features on Vesta (giant asteroid) - New pictures from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft

Civic Engagement and Local e-Government: Social Networking Comes of Age - a study of how local governments are using social media…a ranking of the 75 largest cities in the US

What is your Water Footprint? - A calculator of how much water your lifestyle takes

Quote of the Day - 03/23/2012

One of the truest pleasures of marriage is solitude. Also the most deeply reassuring. I continued to do my own job…she hers. - John Bayley in Elegy for Iris

~~~~~

I’ve been married for close to 40 years and I find that Bayley’s observation is true for me. It is the ‘alone but not too alone’ aspect of marriage. It is such a pleasure to have solitude without loneliness. These days my husband and I are often in the house together but doing separate activities. We come together periodically for meals or a project…or just because we need some interaction. Neither of us feels obligated to interact more or differently; we are well tuned to each other.

Is this true for all marriages that have been sustained over a long time? Does it make a difference if one or both people are introverts?

Sewing Skills?

In the first years of my marriage, I economized by sewing most of my own clothes and making quite a few shirts for my husband as well. It was an activity that made sense economically and was also a useful hobby – something I did while my husband indulged his photography hobby by printing photos or watched football.

Fast forward over 30 years - It is not possible to save money through sewing whole garments. The fabric stores now run to crafts like quilting rather than dressmaking and there are not as many of them. Fabrics, patterns, and notions are expensive. The turning away from sewing happened rather suddenly for me when I required suits for work and became overwhelming busy with obligations that had a higher priority. I’ve only recently cleaned out the drawers of supplies – fabrics, buttons, zippers, bias table, and interfacing. I kept the thread although I doubt I will ever use much of it. The sewing machine is still stashed in a closet somewhere. If I ever move to another house, it may get donated before the move.

So – is there any value from that experience from years ago…something that should still be taught as a ‘life skill’ to children and grandchildren? Maybe – but I think it’s the parts that don’t require a sewing machine. All of them have to do with altering or mending clothes already made. A trip to the local cleaners could accomplish the same thing (with an associate cost) and would be more time consuming than simply doing the job yourself. So – here is my list of still-useful skills from my sewing days:

• Putting in a hem. I’ve done this several times recently on pants that were slightly too long for me and on machined hems that have come out with one pull of a thread.
• Sewing on a button that has come loose or off
• Darning up a hole in a favorite sweater (that I can’t bear to throw away)
• Patching a ripped knee or covering a logo with an iron on patch then embroidering around the edges

I avoid more extreme alterations by simply buying clothes that already fit since I’ve had the experience of alterations costing more than the dress!

Quote of the Day - 03/22/2012

Lost cities, erased from living memory – for centuries even their names were forgotten.  After the splendors of their golden age, in the 9th century the Maya cities suffered the ravages of famine, war, and depopulation and then were finally abandoned.  The forest returned.  Roots wrapped themselves around the stelae, bringing them crashing to the ground.  Thrusting branches weakened the temple walls and forced their way through the roofs. - Claude Baudez and Sydney Picasso in Lost Cities of the Maya (Discoveries)

~~~~~

We tend to think of the buildings and houses we inhabit having a kind of permanence that they really don’t have. If we walked away - even buildings of stone would not last long. Would what we leave behind be enlightening to someone finding the ruins 1,000 years from now? Probably - but would their understanding resemble the way we think about ourselves at all?

Consider the people that left the Mayan ruins behind. Maybe many died in an epidemic or civil war…or maybe they simply rejected what the buildings represented and reverted to the way they lived before the stone edifices were built. We are curious about everything that has gone before us and the pieces of a puzzle that we may be able to solve holds our attention. It is the seeker in us that is keen to discover the secrets of the ruins in the forest.

I find the image of the forest ‘bringing them crashing to the ground’ fascinating by itself. It’s a good reminder - what a difference there is in biologic time (plant life times/our lifetimes) and geologic time. Our creations have a lifetime closer in length to our own.

Amaryllis

Two amaryllis bulbs were blooming in the Brookside Gardens Conservatory recently. I enjoyed creating a series of macro photos of both plants. The buds and flowers are quite large so the detail of the coloring is visible.

In the red flowers - I particularly like 

• The veins that carry the color (middle picture and upper right)
• The curves of the petals and buds (lower left and upper right)
• The green at the center that extends up the underside of each petal (upper right)
• The ruffling of the petals near the center (upper left and center)

The white flowers are more nuanced. In this series notice

• The pleats and puckering of the petals (lower right)
• The dots of red against the white (two lower photos)
• The extension of the green center to the tip of the petal’s underside (upper right)
• The sunlight through the petals (upper left)