High Key Flowers

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I’ve been buying flowers every time I go to the grocery story since the beginning of the year – so there were several different arrangements availablefor my indoor high key photo shoot. My set up was all in my home office…the plants on a small table or the window ledge…the bright sunlight on the other side of the window. The objective is arrange situations where like is coming behind the subject and to overexpose enough that the background goes to white. I sat in an office chair on the opposite side of the room – usually with the camera on my knee to keep it steady. The camera was far enough away from the flowers for the camera’s auto focus to perform well.

I experimented with composition…and focus. I like the textures and colors that seem to pop in the images because of the whiteness of the background and the lack of other clutter.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 22, 2022

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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.

The Roots of Violence – Reexamining bones excavated in the 1960s with new 3D imaging techniques….defining the violence of their lives and deaths shown in the bones. There is a history of archeological thinking here too. For a long time, evidently there was a presumption that prehistory was a less violent time…but the evidence is mounting that it was not.

Reducing air pollution: policies that pay off – An analysis done in Europe of the economic benefit of measures to reduce fine particle air pollution from wood heating and transport. It seems that similar type analysis could happen in other places in the world with some variation to tailor the reductions to have the biggest impact.

30 Incredible Winning Photos From the 2021 Nature Photographer of the Year Contest – Some eye-candy. My favorite is the caterpillar ‘walking among fennels’ – a similar scene happened at our CSA the first summer of the pandemic.

Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2021 – There were 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters that impacted the US in 2021.

Savanna Fire Management Can Fund Africa’s Protected Areas – Another article about the new economics we will need to understand to address climate change.

The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps' – Maybe one long period of sleep is ‘modern’….that humans slept in two phases prior to the industrial revolution. One of my grandmothers developed a ‘two sleeps’ pattern late in her life when she was living alone….and I am beginning to wonder if I will.

The Horned Helmets Falsely Attributed to Vikings Are Actually Nearly 3,000 Years Old – Another look at artifacts…and better dating…and the history derived/assumed previously is changed.

Top 25 birds of the week: bird coloration! – This time of year…a little color from birds is a welcome sight. I’m noticing the ones in my neighborhood: Northern Cardinal, House finches, and red-bellied woodpeckers.

Across the Boreal Forest, Scientists Are Tracking Warming’s Toll – The northern forests becoming carbon emitters….. peatlands are drying out, and hotter, drier conditions are leading to a steady increase in wildfires — all of it accelerating permafrost thaw.

The Legacy Of "Pele's Grandson," Alex Lancaster – Some history of volcano observation on the big island.

22 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

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22 months in COVID-19 pandemic is a long time to be in heightened awareness mode…long enough for new habits to become well established. I would feel very odd going into a store without a mask….or going shopping at a time where there are lots of people in the store…or shopping slowly…or going out to eat rather than getting takeout. These new habits are just part of the way I am out in the world right now; they are not difficult to sustain.

My concern about COVID-19 has increased over the past month as the Omicron variant has become more widespread and the infections/hospitalizations in Maryland (where I live) have increased dramatically. My husband and I have backed off the plans we had for beginning to get out more. We are enjoying our house and yard…doing outdoor activities on our own in areas without a lot of other people rather than meeting a group.

I take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy whatever I am doing:

…a sunrise before going into the grocery store

… the unfurling of yellow roses over several days as I do my normal activities in my home office (I had the vase on the window sill)

…the snow caught in the pinecones/greenery on our front door (I had opened the door to take it down to dismantle/take to the compost pile but decided to leave it)

Making the conscious effort to appreciate my surroundings is my best strategy for sustaining a positive attitude. I have also started setting 30 minute timers all during the day and doing 3 minutes of walking. It is a great way to move throughout the day and stay focused on whatever I need to do during the other 27 minutes!

My husband and I have planned what we will do after my cancer surgery since there will be a higher than usual chance we will be exposed to COVID-19. For him, being in the waiting room for hours is the challenge; even if he goes outside to eat/drink and everyone is masked when indoors…it will be a lot longer indoors away from home since the initial lockdowns of the pandemic. For me, the exposure could take place during the surgery itself…from the time I take off my mask to the time I wake up from anesthesia; presumably everyone will be masked and the air filtration will be good….but still more chance of exposure than my normal routine. Our plan for 5 days post-surgery is to be on separate floors of our house when we have our mask off (sleeping, eating/drinking, showering) ….and test if we have any symptoms. I’ll post more about it as we implement the pan.

By the time I am recovered from surgery and ready for another road trip to Texas, the Omicron variant may be waning and hopefully another variant is not burning bright and hot….but maybe that is wishful thinking.

Macro Photograph (Brookside Gardens) – Part II

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Continuing the images from my walk around Brookside Gardens….

Even cold damaged flowers are good subjects for macro images…particularly with small water droplets on them. The amount of magnification makes quite a difference!

Juniper adds green and blue color to the scene this time of year.

I am always attracted to the horsetails near the visitor center…in a thick stand. These primitive plants have always fascinated me because they are a plant I learned about in a biology text book (way back in the early 1970s) then recognized in the wild on a day trip to Platt National Park.

And then there are the best of the rest. Do you recognize the gingko bud, a yellow holly berry, a rhododendron bud?

Overall – every time I go to Brookside there is something new to notice. My observational and photographic skills get a workout!

Macro Photograph (Brookside Gardens) – Part I

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Kase Smartphone Macro Lens clipped to my phone and a Bluetooth remote shutter. Speed was not essential because it was too cold for insects, but I got a lot more images that he did!

While he was getting his equipment together, I looked at water droplets on nearby trees reflecting the forest.

The wood hydrangea had lots of surfaces of interest: dried flowers, leave scars, and buds for next season. Someday I want a wood hydrangea in my yard!

There was a vine growing on the wall of the visitor center with tiny tendrils ending in ‘suction cup’ like structures keeping the larger stem attached to the vertical surface.

Another stem with leaf scars and noticeable lenticles….and some bristles. I’m not sure what plant it was.

Finally – there were the camellias that are blooming this time of year: flowers and buds…lots of water droplets.

More Macro from Brookside tomorrow….

Neighborhood Walk in the Snow

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I bundled up in snow pants, hiking boots, scarf, coat and gloves for a walk in our neighborhood after the snow had stopped; it was afternoon, but the temperature was still below freezing. My phone was on a lanyard and the Bluetooth clicker was in my hand….all set to take pictures along my route. Our driveway was still pristine when I walked through; we had opted not to shovel since we didn’t need to get out for a few days and it would melt before then. Our street had not been plowed yet, but cars had made tracks.

The evergreens were flocked with snow. I liked the way the long needles looked from underneath…more green showing. The cedars were heavy with snow, but I didn’t see any broken branches. There was a little breeze that would cause small amounts of snow to fall; the temperature and the wetness of the snow kept most of it in place.

There was a large tree that had many large branches starting a couple of feet above my height; the snow seemed to highlight their juncture. I wondered if the primary stem had been damaged when it was young.

The pond was surrounded by cattails holding snow. It appeared that erosion has reduced the size of the pond since it was dredged a few years ago.

I photographed a branch from a small tree from underneath. The branches were close enough together to hold a lot of snow….the cohesion of the crystals in this particular snow were impressive. A little breeze came through, but the snow stayed in place.

The fire hydrants in the neighborhood sported snow on every surface that was even a little horizontal. The roughness of tree bark also held snow.

When I got to the main road – I saw that the clouds were beginning to clear…great blue – yellow – orange color for the late afternoon.

I took one last picture before I turned back toward home. Someone had been out with a snowblower to clear sidewalks…preparing for the neighborhoods school children catching the bus the next day….or the day after.

There were some crepe myrtle pods from last fall holding mounds of snow. Two boys were making a small snowman nearby.

As I walked by the pond again, I noted that there were no sled tracks down the hill that my daughter thoroughly enjoyed 20 years ago. Have the neighborhood children not discovered it, or do they stick closer to their own yard and siblings because of the pandemic?  

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 8, 2022

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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.

2021 Year In Review: Top Stories From The National Parks – Lots of perspectives in these ‘top stories’ – lots of challenges but some room for hope in 2022.

Earth in 2021 – A 3-minute video summary from NASA….lots of before and after catastrophic events. The text in the post has a short description of the events in the video.

Top 25 birds of the week: Birding! – Bird photographs…always a great look.

Stopping dementia at the nose with combination of rifampicin and resveratrol – The research was done in mice…they started preparation for human clinical trials in November. If it is effective in humans and can be produced/distributed economically, it could be a boon for aging populations around the world.

Saguaro National Park – A place I visited frequently while by daughter was in Tucson for graduate school. It’s interesting how they are monitoring the keystone species in the park…concern is that fewer young saguaros are surviving these days.

Climate-driven weather disasters inflicted billions in damage in 2021, study says – The cost of climate change already is impacting economies around the world….doing something to reduce/mitigate climate change is quickly becoming the option that makes the most economic sense for everyone.

Poison Ivy – You don’t want to touch it…but it’s best left alone when it’s growing in a place where people are unlikely to contact it. Its berries provide food for birds in the winter, it does not hurt the trees it climbs, and its leaves turn red in the fall.

Chalk steams: why ‘England’s rainforests’ are so rare and precious – This article brought back memories of wading in chalk bottomed creeks in the Dallas, TX area when I was teenager. I don’t remember much about the plants and animals…more about the fossils weathering out of the chalk.

2021 Year In Review - Another Year of Photography During The Pandemic – Beautiful places…and some little photography lessons too.

The year in chemistry: 2021’s biggest chemistry stories – 2021 was quite a year for big chemistry stories! Several of them are likely to have high impact for years to come.

eBotanical Prints – December 2021

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20 botanical print books browsed in December and added to the list. The month started with 8 volumes of Edward Joseph Lowe’s Ferns: British and Exotic from the mid-1800s. Later in the month there were 7 books on New York fruits and vegetables (cherries, peaches, pears, plums, small fruits, vegetables, and grapes) from the early 1900s with U.P. Hedrick as the primary author. The range of publication dates was from 1788-1938…150 years.

The whole list of 2,289 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the December 2021 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the December eBotanical Prints!

Ferns: British and Exotic - V1 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1856

Ferns: British and Exotic - V2 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V3 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V4 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V5 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Ferns: British and Exotic - V6 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1857

Ferns: British and Exotic - V7 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1859

Ferns: British and Exotic - V8 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1860

A natural history of new and rare ferns * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1871

Sertum Anglicum, seu, Plantae rariores quae in hortis juxta Londinum  * Brugiere, J.G.; Didot, Petri Francisci et al * sample image * 1788

Supplement to The ferns of southern India and British India * Beddome, R. H. * sample image * 1876

Burgess flower book for children * Burgess, Thornton Waldo * sample image * 1938

The Cherries of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1915

The peaches of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1917

The pears of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1922

The Plums of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1911

The Small Fruits of New York * Hedrick, U.P. et al * sample image * 1925

The Vegetables of New York * Hedrick, U.P.; Tapley, William Thorpe * sample image * 1928

The Grapes of New York * Hedrick, U.P.; Tapley, William Thorpe * sample image * 1908

Chrysanthemums * Stevenson, Thomas * sample image * 1912

First Snow this Winter

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Our first snow of the season came this week…and it was about 6 inches that fell from the wee hours of the morning until about noon. The temperature hovered around 30 degrees.

I did little photography projects throughout the morning. The accumulation between 7:30 and 10 AM shows in the pictures below.

I stood in the open garage door to photograph the scene from the front of our house about sunrise while it was snowing heavily and leaned out to take a close picture of the holly growing at the corner of our house.

Later I went out on our covered/screened deck and opened the door to take pictures of the sycamore – old leaves, tangle of branches, and the snow clinging to the texture of the peeling bark.

The snow was sticking to near vertical surfaces of the deck.

I did some experimental pictures of the maple and a cedar through the screen (the screens were catching snow too). It made a counted cross stitch effect!

I heard a wren singing when I was in my office and looked for it…found it under the bench…and watching for a space at the feeder to open.

I also noticed some crows cleaning up around the base of the feeder out in the yard.

My husband too a picture of the deck. The feeder was periodically full of birds throughout the morning!

I made our traditional peppermint snow ice cream after most of the snow had fallen…skimming off the top layer of snow into a big bowl and then adding milk, pieces of peppermint candy, sugar, and vanilla. Mixed with my electric mixer. Yummy! I was not as successful at another traditional activity: photographing snowflakes. At first it was too warm and then it seemed like the flakes were all breaking on impact with my chilled plate. Maybe I’ll have better luck with the next snow.

Macro Photography (indoor)

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I got a new macro lens for my phone over the holidays – a Kase Smartphone Macro Lens. It comes with wih a U-shaped clip which didn’t fit over the phone + case so I am using the clip that also came in the package. I leave the lens attached to the clip and store it in the small bag that was also included.  The advantage of this lens is the increased distance from the subject (i.e. I don’t have to get as close…a very good thing if the insect has a stinger!). It is a little heavier but, so far, it seems to be easier to hold the phone and lens steady…no tripod required.

My first experiments were indoors around the house. I started with flowers I’d bought recently. My favorite of this group is the yellow rose.

The acrylic yarn of my 40+ year old crocheted chair blanket shows how long lasting the fibers are! A macrame hanging my sister made is the same vintage. The material is twine-like and I wonder if she had to wear gloves while she was making it.

Some images printed on paper are pixelated when magnified…others are not.

Peacock feathers are like abstract art in macro view.

I looked at the way different surfaces with patterns appear in macro: pulp paper (Zentangle with Sharpie ink), plastic, an ivy ceramic coaster (I never noticed the yellow mark in the pattern before), a bamboo back scratcher handle…a joint of the stem, and a clear plastic ribbon with a gold pattern.

Two objects with inlay: a box and an earring. On the earring, the black piece that looks like the arms on a clock…is (unmagnified) a bird flying over a landscape.

And continuing with some other earring…small objects made large with magnification.

1st Morning of 2022

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Every year – I am looking out at sunrise on New Year’s Day…capturing the view. This year the scene was foggy with heavy clouds. It was so dim I used my camera ‘night view’ setting to take my pictures. The oak in front of our house (normally part of my sunrise pictures), was my main subject – standing in my open garage door because it had started to rain.

The sensor in the light near our front walkway still sensed that it was dark!

The forest behind our house (to the west) was even darker….no reflected dawn light. The fog was more visible in the forest.

So – not a beautiful start to 2022 but I am rationalizing that we need the rain; it has been relatively dry recently and every growing thing needs water. The weather will turn much colder tomorrow…more what we expect this time of year. We are still waiting for our first snow and the colder weather in the forecast is dry for the next week or so at least. Hopefully, the change tomorrow will improve our air quality….clear out the small particulates.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 1, 2022

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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.

Spruce Tree House – extreme rockfall management – It’s been decades since I visited Mesa Verde, but I’m still drawn to any articles about it. This one was a reminder of the fragility of the place from a geologic perspective.

4 of the biggest archeological advancements of 2021 – including one ‘game changer’ – I always browse these end-of-year summaries…catch up on any big things that I somehow missed when they were originally in my news feeds.

No more annual flu shot? New target for universal influenza vaccine – Wouldn’t it be nice if this could happen? Even if they did develop a vaccine effective against all strains of influenza…would we still have to get boosters (i.e. would our immunity fade over time)?

With omicron, you need a mask that means business – I’ve been wearing KF-94 masks since February. My Christmas present from daughter was some patterned ones…although I still have a good supply of the black (the Ninja look) ones. I wear one anytime I am indoors (and not at home) and if I am outdoors with a lot of people around. Now that it’s cold, I wear them for warmth too; it’s surprising how much the mask keeps the nose and face comfortably warm….and the mask seals well enough that my glasses don’t fog!

Climate Clues from the Past Prompt a New Look at History – Some examples of the outsized role of climate in human affairs….and the interdisciplinary contributions to papers on the topic.

As Wetland Habitats Disappear, Dragonflies and Damselflies Are Threatened with Extinction – Maybe we need to start thinking about having wetland/ponds in our gardens as well as pollinator gardens…reduce the ‘lawn’ part of the area around our houses.

Forest Keepers: The National Park System is an essential laboratory—and also a battleground—in the management of invasive pests – The invasive pest pictured at the top of this article is woolly adelgid…something a learned to recognize in our area of Maryland…that has killed most of the hemlocks. Some of the trees growing in parks were saved with aggressive treatment, but the ones in the forest behind our house are gone.

New smart-roof coating enables year-round energy savings – A technology that changed the reflection/absorption properties of the roof based on temperature would be another step toward increasing the energy efficiency of buildings….reducing the heat island that plagues cities.

Study shows critical need to reduce use of road salt in winter – This has been a topic in several water quality sessions I’ve attended overthe past few years in Maryland. I have noticed the spraying of brine prior to storm events in our area so maybe some jurisdictions are already following the suggestions in this article.

Inside Idaho’s Campaign to Include Indigenous History in Its Highway Markers – Good idea; history of the US is more than European colonization. This article also prompted me to wonder if there are web sites that document the location and text of highway markers. I did some web searches and found several at the state level…and a general one: https://www.hmdb.org/

Zooming – December 2021

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The usual birds and plants in the collection for December – plus some from the light display at Brookside Gardens. My camera’s zoom feature is one I use almost all the time to control what I want in the image….usually opting to make the subject fill most of the frame. Sometimes I want even more magnification and am forced to be content with the max my camera can do. All of the images this month were handheld except for the bald eagle; my camera was on a monopod for that one. Enjoy the show!

Ten Little Celebrations – December 2021

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It’s a season full of celebrations. In my family we have celebrations associated with a birthday, an anniversary, Christmas…and then ones associated with the beginning of winter. Here’s my top 10 for the month:

A winter day at home. Being at home enjoying the forest through the window….still one of my favorite places to be…even in winter. I like I particularly in the morning when the sun first hits the treetops with golden light.

Flannel sheets. The week we change from percale to flannel sheets has a lot in common with decorating for the holidays….it is a celebration of the season…full of warmth and snuggles. It’s such a treat to get into a bed made with flannel sheets prewarmed by a heated mattress pad!

Brookside Gardens lights. Our walk around the lights at Brookside Gardens was even more celebratory this year since we didn’t do our traditional visit to the garden lights in 2020!

Pumpkin roll. Our grocery bakery has this treat seasonally. My daughter is the one that introduced me to them several years ago so the celebration is a special food of the season that prompts me to savor the positive impact she has always had on my life.

My birthday…my parents’ wedding anniversary. Celebration abounds in December for my family…every year.

Coursera course – Anatomy of the upper and lower extremities. What a great way to fill up the lulls this month. It’s challenging enough to require my full attention! Celebrating the course…grateful to the Yale faculty for producing it…Coursera for hosting it.

Druid Hill Park for birding. Celebrating the walk around the park as we did it…and in hindsight that it was before the Omicron variant was spiking in our area.  

My mother’s experience coming home from the hospital. I am celebrating that she is getting focused therapy that is showing positive results….more than any previous hospitalizations.

Telephone conversations. Celebrating all the alternative communications we have…since I didn’t travel in December. Even though we do texts and emails and zoom…somehow the telephone seems to be the one where the deeper communication is occurring (maybe because it is synchronous, one on one and not as ‘quick’).

Quiche. When I make quiche…I simple use what I have on hand – so I am celebrating that one I made recently turned out great!

Favorite Foods of December 2021

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November and December and January are probably the peak months for me to try some new recipes…and making old favorites…enjoy ramping up the foods we enjoy in winter!

Rice Pudding

I had a container of left-over rice from a Chinese food delivery on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I knew I wouldn’t eat it right away, so it went into the freezer. A few weeks later I decided to make rice pudding (recipe). It started out easy since the rice was already cooked. I used cinnamon instead of nutmeg and honey instead of white sugar called for the recipe and didn’t measure the raisins (probably added at least double the amount!). The results were yummy but could have used even more raisins (I added some to the top of the serving in the picture). Next time I make it I’ll round up on the milk as well. It seemed a little to dry for ‘pudding’!

Quiche

I made a quiche with what I had in the refrigerator and pantry…made up the recipe as I went along. It turned out to be high protein!

  • 6 eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1+ cup ‘Mexican blend’ grated cheese (didn’t measure just make a layer of cheese that I mixed with the veggies before I poured the egg and milk mixture over it)

  • 1 red bell pepper

  • 1 cup shelled edamame

  • Pumpkin seeds on top

Yummy and colorful too!

Chocolate Mousse (made with avocado)

Yummy 2 servings of the dark chocolate treat (I made half the recipe…using honey for sweetener and cocoa powder as the chocolate) and ate it over 2 days for 1st breakfast rather than my squares of Lindt Dark Chocolate. It turns out that is slightly less calories than the Lindt! It appeals to me because the ingredients are so straightforward….not as processed as the commercial chocolate.

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese

I started with this recipe but then modified it because I wanted to use beet root powder rather than red food coloring….and add a citrus note to the flavor….and avoid refined sugar. Here’s my markup of the ingredient list (I didn’t end up using any milk in the glaze even though I forgot to mark it off).

It was partially successful. I didn’t like that the pancakes turned brown on the outside (they were red on the inside). The big success was the ‘cream cheese glaze’ which melted very nicely over the pancakes and the orange flavor was wonderful. I will be using it on gingerbread cookies (and anything else I want a little touch of sweetness); it would be excellent on raisin bread toast, for example.

Hope you are enjoying old and new treats for the holidays too!

My Favorite Photographs of 2021

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It was a challenge to pick one picture from each month of 2021 to feature in this post….but a worthwhile exercise. I did not use consistent criteria for my choices, so these images are special for a variety of reasons.

January for witnessing interesting bird behavior – A bluebird on our deck railing looking up at our bird feeder full of other members of the flock…waiting a turn!

February for learning to make high key images – A high key image of a lily….the flower purchased at the grocery store. I had just watched a video about high key photography and was thrilled to have some easy successes.

March for beauty old and new – The crocus were out at Brookside Gardens but I found the remnants of last seasons flowers more interesting.

April for a bird trusting that I wasn’t a threat– A bird looking rather assertive. I had paused its search for food in the leaves to make sure I wasn’t a threat; evidently I wasn’t because it went back to its search a few seconds later.

May for memorializing a bird – A juvenile little blue heron in the cattail leaves at Josey Ranch in Carrollton TX. It had a broken wing so I think of this image as a monument to its short life.

June for something that only happens every 17 years – The periodic cicadas seemed to be thick everywhere – even our yard. This one was under our red maple.

July for interconnection in nature– Back in Texas…am insect on a cosmos flower on a cool morning.

August for the fragile beauty of a new butterfly – A monarch butterfly seconds after it emerged from its chrysalis is our front flower bed.

September for capturing a small thing, seeing it better than I could with my eyes – Some birds nest fungus in the mulch at Howard County Conservancy. I was thrilled that I had my gear (phone, clip on macro, clicker) even though I hadn’t planned to do any macro photography!

October for being in a river – More macro photography – this time the wing of an insect on a rock just above the water line….photographed on a volunteer gig before the students arrive.

November for the colors of the flower – Another view of a cosmos flower. I like it when the light is such that a black background is possible.

December the new orb sculpture at Brookside – A surprise (for me) at Brookside – I hadn’t seen this sculpture before…and I also enjoyed the holiday lights (missed them last year).

Cancer Diary – Entry 6

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A month of waiting for surgery and almost another month to go….assuming that the hospital does not become overwhelmed with treatment of COVID-19 patients and the surgery is cancelled/postponed. I am not anxious about the possibility….yet; my concern has been ramping up over the past few days with the hospitalizations in Maryland increasing and the indicators that the Omicron variant’s being more contagious than the Delta variant….and knowing that a lot of people are gathering for the holidays (more than last year….with vaccinations available, a lot of people made big plans for this year prior to Omicron emergence). By early January – the medical system could be very stressed. There is little I can do to improve the situation aside from staying healthy myself; I am trying to keep myself busy and focused on other things.

There was little in my activities this month on the critical path toward my surgery other than continuing to take the medication. The surgery date was moved forward by a couple of days and an appointment made for a pre-surgery COVID-19 test. I was glad there was a lull; I thoroughly enjoyed my daughter’s whirlwind visit (road trip for her) for Thanksgiving and then had time to focus on supporting my sisters’ from afar as my mother was hospitalized. Fortunately, the hospitalization was short, and the follow-up seems to be improving her condition rapidly; her quality of life is improving beyond what it was a month ago! And I am relieved that I didn’t need to make an unplanned road trip to Texas.

We ventured out for a walk around Druid Hill Park and through the Christmas lights at Brookside Gardens. Both were enjoyable outdoor experiences…good for our mental health. There are other outdoor activities we’ve planned…but on our own in uncrowded settings rather than organized events. The more we learn about Omicron, the more cautious we are becoming.

It’s cold enough that I have ramped up indoor activities… another effort to avoid thinking too much about my cancer. I am spending considerable time on a Coursera course: Anatomy of the Upper and Lower Extremities (from Yale University). During the holidays, I spend more time cooking…making more complicated recipes and trying new things. And there are the regular things like Zentangle tiles and book browsing that I can ‘do more’ too. I’ve started buying flowers every time I got to the grocery store since the view from my window now is bare trees; on the plus side, the birds are easier to see.

Overall – this month of waiting has not been hard at all. At this point, my mental perspective is about the same as it was a month ago although I find myself bracing for the possibility of the increases in hospitalizations from the pandemic causing a postponement of my surgery…an event that would be a major setback from my perspective.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 18, 2021

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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.

Monkeying Around with Venom – Hadn’t heard about ‘Snake Detection Theory’ before; it is the idea that snakes have exerted a selection pressure on the origin of primates’ visual systems, a trait that sets primates apart from other mammals. This paper is some recent research that supports the theory.  A condensed description of the research paper is found here.

Why climate lawsuits are surging - Lawsuits are becoming tool to force change…in conjunction with activism, policy and science. There have been some successful lawsuits…and more in the pipeline. Sometimes the suit is about better enforcement of environmental laws…and sometimes it is about climate protection for future generations becoming a constitutional issue.

Florida to Feed Starving Manatees, as Pollution Shrinks Food Supplies – Florida farm runoff caused alga blooms that cut the penetration of sunlight into the water so much that it killed the seagrass that manatees eat…and there have already been more than 1,000 that have starved. It is estimated that there are about 8,000 manatees remaining in Florida waters. It is unclear that the seagrass can be restored.

Top 25 birds of the week: December 2021 – Enjoying bird photographs!

How volcanic eruptions helped the ancestral Puebloan culture flourish – Response of people to the stresses of abrupt climate change evidently resulted in larger population centers…universal pottery making and turkey cultivation…more sedentary living…increasing social inequity.

Major Contract Awarded To Rehabilitate Section Of George Washington Memorial Parkway – The parkway is along the Potomac River between Great Falls and Mount Vernon. It was one of the first beautiful and history things we discovered when we moved to the area in 1983…and long overdo for renovation. Parts of it carry a lot of daily commuter traffic in Northern Virginia.

The impact of drugs on gut microbes is greater than we thought – Most people are aware of the impact of antibiotics, but other drugs impact the gut microbes too…and some of those drugs are treating chronic conditions so are taken for years. It appears this study was mostly about methodology to tease out the impact of drugs vs the underlying disease….much more work still to be done before concrete recommendations can be made.

The race to make vaccines for a dangerous respiratory virus – RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). There are currently 4 candidate vaccines and one monoclonal antibody treatment that are in last-stage trials. It appears we are at the cusp of much faster vaccine development times because of what happened to develop the COVID-19 vaccines.

The tomatoes at the forefront of a food revolution – The idea is to use Crispr modification to sustain the productivity of the tomato crop as the climate changes.

Chronic exposure to air pollution may increase risks for ICU admission or death among COVID-19 patients, study finds – Sometimes it is hard to separate the role of the environment on health disparities. This study analyzed 6,500 COVID-19 patients admitted to 7 New York City hospitals.

Holiday Plants

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I have purchased 2 plants this holiday month – not traditional ones. The first one is a tiny aloe with an ceramic pot that is a Zentangle pattern! The pot was the attraction for me…the plant just an added benefit. The plant is in an inner pot so I can repot it soon and start something small in pot. The other plant is lavender with the pot wrapped in red foil for Christmas. When I first bought it, the shape was more like a Christmas tree but the plant is already growing into more traditional lavender form; I’m thinking about ways to use the trimmings before I start cutting – just one time to keep it looking like a small Christmas tree until the end of the month; I like it at the kitchen window…plan to keep it there until it’s warm enough to plant it outside in the spring.

I’m not a big fan of houseplants -I like the view of the outdoors vegetation from the windows of my house better. But - a small plant on the window ledge in my office and a larger one in the kitchen window appeals to me for this winter.

Christmas Lights at Brookside Gardens

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Brookside Gardens ‘Garden of Lights’ is a Christmas tradition that we restarted this year after a year away because of the pandemic; now that we are fully vaccinated and boosted, we are venturing out -- slowly. Tickets are required this year to control the crowd size and there is no model train exhibit in the conservatory. Our time slot was immediately after dark which worked well for us. It was in the mid-30s when we got there; we bundled up and headed into the gardens; I wore my mask even though we were outdoors the whole time since it was in the mid-30s and the mask keeps my nose warm!

The sky was slightly overcast. I noticed the crescent moon several times…never sharp because of the clouds but always there.

The caterpillar is looking good. We entered through the mouth and came back from the other end after we’d made the loop around the lights.

The rainbow was static this year….no ‘lightning’ flashes from the cloud. I took pictures of it from several perspectives. The night scene mode on my Canon bridge camera (Powershot SX70 HS) which takes several images then stacks them into one did reasonably well with all the displays.

In some cases, it provided a very intense ‘plant’ image. This bush had blue lights which appear as brilliant ‘flowers’…the green is the bush’s natural leaves!

The dragon with baby was in its usual garden room…no smoke or sound effects as it has had in some previous years.

There was a new orb sculpture in one of the rose garden fountains – perhaps part of the renovation. It will be interesting to see how it looks in the warmer months of the year with water.

Giant dragonflies were high in the trees.

There were also the usual animals: giraffe, dolphins, snail, and lion….among others.

The whole landscape of the gardens was full of lights…all with a garden theme. The spider web was very well done this year.

During our walk, the happy noise of children responding to the lights surrounded us. They were bundled up in snow suits or riding in strollers wrapped in blankets. There was one young child carried facing outward by its mother that made an awesome happy sound and waved his arms…everyone around laughed with him and his parents.

This year might have been the all-time best experience I’ve ever had at Brookside’s Garden of Lights.