What will I do different in 2022?

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At the end of 2021, I am thinking about changes over the next year. There will be changes that I don’t anticipate…events requiring me change in some way; those changes I am not going to worry about; I’ll deal with them as they occur. What I’m thinking about for this post are changes that are intentional…that require my action to bring to fruition. Here are some possibilities I’m contemplating:

Releasing myself from some of my daily ‘metrics’ that have accumulated over the years. The one that has certainly gone ‘over the top’ during the pandemic has been book browsing; in 2021, I browsed over 2,000 books! The metric started back in 1985 with the goal of reading a book a week. Maybe some of the others that could be reduced or the metric allowed to float rather than always being a stretch goal for every day.

Look for the unique. Now that my blog has been going for over 10 years, I’m realizing things I repeat again an again…and need to force myself out of the rut more frequently. Sometimes it would be as simple as taking a totally different kind of photograph than I normally do…it would take more effort to go to places I have never been before…or to become more patient in locations where I go frequently to observe them in a new way.

Reverting to a cleaner/neater house. I’ve been gradually getting messier as I’ve gotten older: leaving things out on surfaces rather than putting them away…not vacuuming and dusting as frequently. I want to move back to my younger-self version of housekeeping in 2022.

Moving to live closer to my daughter…within a 30-minute drive seems about right. It would be much better than the current 2-day drive. The situation we’ve be in during the pandemic has made it more important to me. It will be a huge change to move from the house we have lived in for over 25 years and our first long distance move in almost 40 years. There would be a cascade of changes from this one: quickly locating service providers and shopping in the new location, picking new volunteer gigs, etc. There could be tweaks to a new house that would keep us busy for months. And selling our existing house would be a project that would enable the move. The time commitment for this change is higher than anything else we have done in recent years.

Of course – intentions are not sure things. It takes focus and sustained action; there could be events that preclude some of these. Time will tell - I’ve already made a note to follow-up on how these intentions are progressing in July 2022.

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!

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 25, 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.

New copper surface eliminates bacteria in just two minutes – One of the emerging technologies to fight bacteria (and viruses) without antibiotics. Copper is already being used in some applications, but this materials research developed a new structure of copper that is more effective and faster. The article didn’t comment about durability…but still very promising finding.

Home Battery Storage: The (Solar) Rich Get Richer – There is beginning to be more equity in solar panel installation….but storage is still a challenge at lower incomes. Some states have programs that may be the wave of the future and there are incentives in pending legislation. Hopefully a positive momentum will build over the next few years.

California Readies Launch of Largest Food Waste Recycling Program in the U.S. – Part of the county where I live in Maryland has curbside pickup of food waste for composting…but not the part where I live. I have a backyard compost bin…but many people do not so there is still considerable food waste going to the landfill.

10 Winter Birds to Spot During the Christmas Bird Count – Seen any of these in your area?

Why is snow white? – 3 videos…the last one with more ‘bonus’ explanations (such as why polar bears are white).

Top 25 birds of the week: Bird Pigment – This post was a bit confusing since it wasn’t explicit about which colors were from pigments ( as in the red of cardinals) and which were from light scattering caused by the physical structure of the feathers (for example, in blue jays). Read more about this non-pigment phenomenon particular for blue feathers here.

Winter is coming: Researchers uncover the surprising cause of the little ice age – New research shows that the little ice age in the early 1400s occurred when the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) collapsed after a warming period which flushed Arctic ice into the north Atlantic, cooling it and reducing its saltiness. Could the AMOC collapse again with ice melting because of climate change? Existing climate models do not model the impacts of ice melt (making the north Atlantic cooler and less salty)!

From blood clots to infected neurons, how COVID threatens the brain – An overview of the research into how COVID-19 impacts the brain; there is still a lot more to be learned about this - probably one of the most devastating aspects of ‘long Covid’. It appears that the cognitive impact experienced by some COVID-19 survivors improves over time, but half the patients in one study were not back to normal after a year. It is a very sad prospect for individuals and for or society.

Watch This Giant Phantom Jellyfish With 33-Foot-Long Arms Float Through the Deep Ocean – The video is less than a minute…worth watching.

AAA Electric Vehicle Infographic — The Good & The Bad – My current car is a plug-in hybrid….the next one will most likely be an EV.

Old Faithful at Yellowstone (1880s-1909)

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Internet Archive has 4 volumes of images of Yellowstone National Park produced by F. Jay Haynes from the 1880s to 1909. It is interesting to think about what it must have been like to visit the park during those early years. It would have taken a lot more effort to get there than it does today! At the same time – the facilities would have been minimal/primitive….there would not be crowds of people or problems with vandalism either.

I selected pictures of Old Faithful as sample images – a wonderful variety of depictions: 2 in color, 1 at sunrise. Each volume is well worth browsing for the other images as well.

Yellowstone National Park: in water colors (188?....the volume does not have a title or copyright page but presumably it was sometime after fall 1881 when he spent 2 months in the park and took over 200 photographs; he had a lease for a small photography studio in the park by 1884).

Yellowstone National Park: the world's wonderland (1889 with Truman Ward Ingersoll and Charles Frey)

Haynes souvenir album : Yellowstone Park (1909)

I’ve only been to Yellowstone once…and it was before I photography became a hobby…thinking about what time of year I want to go next time and hone my plans for the type of photography I want to attempt there.

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.

Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration

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There are 45 volumes of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration (German Art and Decoration) magazine available on Internet Archive published from 1897 to 1929. They were edited/published by Alexander Koch in Darmstadt, Germany. Below I provide links and sample images (click on the image to see a large version) for the 45 volumes grouped by decade.

Some observations:

  • There seemed to be more color in the earlier volumes….more photography as time progressed.

  • World War I did not seem to impact the publication very much.

  • Lots of ideas for Zentangle patterns.

  • In the early 1900s, there were many of examples of making a room into an entire living space…hiding the bed behind curtains, screens, or boxing it in.

  • Sometimes lampshades seemed to be made of light weight fabric. This migh be more practical than ever with LED bulbs.

  • The art and decoration in the magazines were not limited to German-made. There were examples from around the world: Japan and China, Africa, North America, and the rest of Europe.

  • Enjoy a bit of history…and maybe some ideas worth reusing in 2022!

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V1 (10/1897-3/1898)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V2 (4-9/1898)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V4 (4-9/1899)

Deutsche kunst und dekoration V5 (10/1899-3/1900)

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.

30 years ago – December 1991

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In December 30 years ago – the month was dominated by the joys of Christmas with a two-year-old. There was a party for children hosted by the company I worked for where she got her face painted, a refusal to sit on Santa’s lap at a community ‘Donuts with Santa’, singing Jingle Bells to the new baby at her day care, doing a 6 day count down to Christmas putting plush ornaments from Del Monte on the tree (sweetie pea, reddie tomato, cubbie corn, lushie peach, precious pear, juicy pineapple)…culminating in a an overwhelming Christmas morning which we videoed. Her favorite items at first were a kazoo and watching our cat play with a catnip toy.  It was the most over-the-top amount of gifts in her life!

Outside of the dominate theme – she was enjoying Peter Rabbit stories at bedtime…and then surrounding herself with her collection of plush toys to completely fill the bed. I sent an application for Montessori school for the next fall.

We didn’t have family visits like we’d had in previous months. One sister was settling into her new house. Another’s family had the flu, but it was over soon enough to allow for a happy Christmas with her 2-year-old and her pregnancy was doing well; she made and sent a pine cone wreath – which I still have. Another sister hosted a successful a party for her colleagues. My mother decided to work one more year as a teacher. I cooked a whole pumpkin for the first time…stuffed it with apples, cinnamon, and butter…yummy for all.

The overarching feeling: life being very good but happening too fast!

21 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

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And the pandemic continues …

Just as the Delta Variant seemed to be waning, the Omicron variant appeared…just starting its sweep of the country now; it’s too early to predict its impact over the next few months as the usual cold weather in much of the country and indoor holiday celebrations provide the ideal conditions for the spread of airborne infections (like COVID-19). It helps that more and more people are getting vaccinated but there are wide disparities in vaccination rates across the country.

Things are different than a year ago –

  • A year ago we were wondering when we would be able to be vaccinated…now we are have been vaccinated and boosted.

  • I wear KF94 masks now all the time rather than double masking with cloth masks like I was a year ago.

  • I am going to the grocery store every week rather than every 3 weeks.

  • My daughter came for a short visit at Thanksgiving (road trip from Missouri) – last year we settled for talking on the telephone.

  • My husband observed the Lunar Eclipse with the local amateur astronomy club…rather than just planning on going to some of their sessions. They are still doing virtual meetings.

  • We did some virtual birding events like we did last year but we also attended a Druid Hill Park (Baltimore) birding walk.

  • I traveled to Texas (road trip) to visit my family….something I would not have done last November.

Some things are the same:

  • We are still not eating in restaurants; we do get takeout occasionally…about the same frequency as we did last year.

  • My husband is attending the virtual AGU meeting.

  • We both enjoyed the Crane Fiesta from Bosque del Apache for the second year in a row.

From a mental health perspective, I am probably less anxious about COVID-19 than I was a year ago because I am vaccinated and my masks are KF94s…that protect me as well as others. I am frustrated that COVID-19 is still a pandemic. I acknowledge being uncomfortable in crowds….and realize that it could be years before I choose to go to a concert or fly on an airplane or go into a grocery store on a weekend. Maybe it is more than COVID-19 that has caused the feeling; there are so many events in the country that surprise me (not in a positive way) and avoidance, under the umbrella of being COVID-19 vigilant, is my way of coping.

From a physical health perspective, my cancer diagnosis and coming treatment are my priority…the health of my 90s-year-old parents is a close second. I’m anticipating trips to Texas – hoping that there won’t be an emergency trip to Texas before my surgery. My confidence in making road trips safely (from a COVID-19 perspective) is high based on my 3 road trips since being fully vaccinated in April: carrying all food with me, air purifier to run in hotel room, KF94 masking any time I am inside, making most stops at interstate rest stops.

I am anticipating a quiet holiday at home this month…and then a lot of action in the first half of 2022!

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 11, 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.

Top 25 birds of the week: Shorebirds! – Always lots to see looking at birds!

Everglades' Wading Birds Had Mixed Success In 2020 – Overall wading bird nesting in South Florida has increased…but is still a fraction of the target. In 2020, an early arriving rainy season impacted the availably of food for chicks.

De-cluttering may not help people with dementia – People with moderate dementia perform better surrounded by their ‘usual’ clutter!

U.S. Is World’s Top Generator of Plastic Waste – Not surprising. And the US should take the lead in figuring out what to do about it: how to produce less and recycle more.

A Mosaic From Caligula’s ‘Pleasure Boat’ Spent 45 Years as a Coffee Table in NYC – Still a lot of mystery about how the mosaic got from its recovery when Lake Nemi was drained by Mussolini and then becoming the top of a coffee table for 45 years. It was seized in 2017 and returned to the Italian government.

Roadrunner: Meet the Real Bird Behind the Cartoon – I can remember seeing one a little north of where my parents live now (north of Dallas) in the 1980s…but they are probably long gone from that area now. I’ve seen them in west Texas more recently; one was at a rest stop between San Antonio and Laredo. They always seem to thrive in relatively harsh environments.

The bustling hidden world of hedgerows – The closest we come in North America to hedgerows are fencerows or windbreaks….and even those have been reduced over the years. Near where I live the advent of glyphosate/Roundup ready crops has eliminated the herbaceous growth along the edges of fields which in the past included milkweed and other plants that were attractive to butterflies and other small animals.

Master Artisans Fixed Mistakes Made by Apprentices at Ancient Egyptian Temple – I enjoyed the 6 minute video in this post…it’s quiet enough to hear the birds in the ruins.

Managing water resources in a low-to-no-snow future – We need to be thinking of adaptations to this manifestation of climate change now rather than waiting since the solutions will be challenging….take time to design and construct.

Old-fashioned rice custard – I have a container of rice from some Chinese takeout…..and plan to make this rice custard. I am anticipating that it will be yummy (and high protein too).

Country Life (magazine) Christmas

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Back in August and September, I was browsing through volumes of Country Life magazines on Internet Archive and collected Christmas/winter images from the first half of the 1900s. It occurred to me that none of the images fit into what my grandparents or parents would have experienced in those decades; they lived in rural or small town areas in Oklahoma and Texas….not where there were deep drifts of snow every winter…and their houses would have been much smaller and single story dwellings. It’s interesting how the images still evoke the idealized version of Christmas and winter. Enjoy!

Country Life V51 (1926 - 1927)

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 4, 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.

How driverless cars will change our world – A little realism in the projections….rather than hype. Hopefully by the time I am old enough to no longer want to drive myself, driverless car options will be convenient and safe.

Ubiquitous food additive alters human microbiota and intestinal environment – The research was about carboxy methyl cellulose specifically. As I read the article, I wondered if this additive -that isn’t really about the nutritional value of the food at all – is one of the ways ultraprocessed foods are bad for us in unintended ways.

120 Volt Heat Pump Water Heaters Hit the Market and Make Gas Replacements Even Easier – This is good news. I’ll be watching as these come on the market…see how they are reviewed. I am assuming a line will quickly form with people wanting to replace their gas hot water heaters!

When Wildfire comes to Nature Conservancy Preserves – The preserves are managed with prescribed burns and forest thinning…and can provide examples of effective ways of managing wild areas against destruction by wildfire.

Children’s Teeth Reveal Breastfeeding Practices in Ancient Peru – A detailed study of the remains of 48 children from 2,500 years ago revealed that they were breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months of life and were weaned when they were about 2.6 years old. I wonder how many other ancient cultures have been studied this way.

Transparent Solar Windows: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – If solar windows could be produced at reasonable cost….a lot of people would be motivated to replace their windows/power their house. There is a pleasing aesthetic to this type of solar power too.

Why Putting Solar Canopies on Parking Lots is a Smart Green Move – A great idea…hopefully it becomes the norm. The first one I noticed was at the Patuxent Research Refuge.

Top 25 birds of the week: Nectar Feeding Birds – Always worth looking at some bird pictures!

The Colon Cancer Conundrum – Research is trying to determine why rates of colorectal cancer are climbing in younger adults….staying level for other age groups.

Our National Monuments, a Photographic Testimonial to Wild America – Some more places I want to visit (via an extended road trip perhaps).

eBotanical Prints – November 2021

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20 botanical print books browsed in November and added to the list. There were several topics that show up several times in the list this month: grasses and grasslands, language of flowers, rock gardens,  ferns, and plants in particular geographical areas if the US. The age range of the publications is from 1808 to 2007…just under 200 years.

The whole list of 2,269 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the November books is at the bottom of this post.

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

Rich Grasslands for Missouri Landowners * Missouri Department of Conservation * sample image * 2007

The Floral forget me not; A gift for all seasons * H.F.Anners (publisher) * sample image * 1854

The Language of flowers : an alphabet of floral emblems * T. Nelson and Sons (publisher) * sample image * 1858

The Language and poetry of flowers : with beautiful illustrations * Geo. A. Leavitt (publisher) * sample image * 1867

Collectio plantarum tam exoticarum, quam indigenarum, cum delineatione, descriptione culturaque earum V3 * Wendland, Johann Christoph * sample image * 1808

The Gentians of Canada, Alaska, & Greenland * Gillett, John M. * sample image * 1963

Plant studies for artists, designers, and art students * Haite, George Charles * sample image * 1886

Alpines and bog plants * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1908

My Rock Garden * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1907

The English Rock Garden * Farrer, Reginald John * sample image * 1919

Hortus gramineus Woburnensis or, an account of the results of experiments on the produce, and nutritive qualities of different grasses, and other plants, used as the food of the more valuable domestic animals - 1816 * Sinclair, George * sample image * 1816

Hortus gramineus Woburnensis or, an account of the results of experiments on the produce, and nutritive qualities of different grasses, and other plants, used as the food of the more valuable domestic animals - 1826 * Sinclair, George * sample image * 1826

Flora of West Virginia * Millspaugh, Charles Frederick * sample image * 1892

An illustrated guide to the flowering plants of the middle Atlantic and New England states * Stevens, George Thomas * sample image * 1910

Toadstools at Home * Hastings, Somerville * sample image * 1906

The vines of northeastern America : fully illustrated from original sketches * Newhall, Charles Stedman * sample image * 1897

The shrubs of northeastern America * Newhall, Charles Stedman * sample image * 1897

Our Native Ferns V1 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1865

Our Native Ferns V2 * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1865

A Natural History of British Grasses * Lowe, Edward Joseph * sample image * 1858

Zentangle® – November 2021

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30 days in November…so 30 Zentangle® tiles to showcase.

There are a few ‘special’ tiles this month:

This one was started as I was leaving Texas and I took the glittery orange gel pen with me to finish it since it was about out of ink. It ran out before I finished all the fill I had intended….but I still like the tile.

Another special tile is one of the first tiles I made after one of my aunts died suddenly. I acknowledged my preoccupation with her death by using the first letter of her name (L) as the string. There were many other tiles made this month that provided me quiet time to grieve…and remember happy times with her.

And now the 28 other tiles for November 2021!

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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.

A few more notes from November…

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As November is ending - there are a few more items I want to post about….

My 90-year-old mother still enjoys making breakfast herself and my dad. I photographed one of her more elaborate breakfasts when I was visiting: microwaved sausage patty, sauteed peppers, mushrooms and onions + cheesy eggs from a skillet, and a freezer biscuit heated in a toaster oven. I’m glad that modern conveniences (microwave ovens, precooked sausage patties, frozen biscuits) make it easier for her to prepare meals.

A brown-headed cowbird visited out deck on a cold morning….alone, looking very round scrunched down in the cold. It stayed around for a bit. I wondered if it had become separated from a flock or was just enjoying the sunshine and relative safety of our deck.

The sun backlighting oak leaves gives their color more definition. This was a morning that the grass was frosty; by the time I took the picture the frost was beginning to melt but it still added a sparkle around the leaves.

My husband was out at a county park/astronomy site for the lunar eclipse in the early morning hours of the 19th. It was cold but he was prepared for that and stayed until the clouds obscured the moon about 5 AM. He took lots of photos!

Finally – I enjoy finding ways to reuse single use plastic. I’m not sure whether this was a bowl or a dome from a food purchase….but it makes an excellent stand for my laptop when I am using an external keyboard! It allows for plenty of air circulation around the laptop, raises it off the surface of the desk (in case I spill something), and the light shining through it is appealing too!

Ten Little Celebrations – November 2021

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Celebrating a month of Thanksgiving…

A 90th birthday.  Both my parents turned 90 this year. I couldn’t be there for the 1st one (wasn’t vaccinated yet) but celebrated the 2nd on my last trip to Texas in 2021.

Coconut wind chimes. There are wind chimes outside the bedroom I use in Texas….and there were several days where the wind was brisk enough for their sound to be my evening lullaby….a celebration of the day.

Josey Ranch birds. The winter birds in Carrolton, TX are probably more exciting than the summer ones. I celebrated that I was there for their arrive this fall.

Fall foliage…and mowing leaves. The burst of color that is the last hurrah of summer foliage is always worth celebrating. This fall I saw more along the road as I travelled between Maryland and Texas than I did at my house….so I celebrated the effectiveness of mowing the still colorful leaves after I got home.

Narrow bridges over the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. A little driving adventure…a route not taken before. I celebrated an uneventful and scenic hour on two lane roads going from Missouri to Kentucky…particularly the bridges over the big rivers.

Cuddle socks. I love the thick socks I wear in the winter indoors; I celebrate the way they feel and my sister that bought them for me every time I put them on.

Hike with volunteer group. Celebrating being outdoors with people that enjoy it as much as I do…lots of shared field trip experiences before the pandemic and slowly starting up again.

New low weight for the year. Taking off weight requires a lot of focus so I celebrate every ‘new low.’ In November it happened just before Thanksgiving (which, of course, was a couple of weight-gain days!)

Daughter’s visit for Thanksgiving. Finally, we celebrated the holiday with a visit from my daughter. It was the first time she and my husband had seen each other since before the pandemic.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 4, 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.

Top 25 birds of the week: Predatory Birds – Starting out the gleanings list this week with birds…and photography.

The ingenious living bridges of India – Maybe other kinds of structures could be grown instead of built. The bridges look like Ewok structures from Star Wars movies!

Watch Over 150 Bison Weave Through Traffic in Yellowstone as Winter Migration Begins – I remember bison on the roadway during the early summer we went to South Dakota more than 20 years ago. It is an awesome experience to see them – using the car as a blind.

Chocolate: From Witchcraft to Miracle Worker in Early Modern Europe – A little history of chocolate as it was introduced to Spain.

More than ceremonial, ancient Chaco Canyon was home, new study says – I’ve only visited Chaco Canyon once…want to go again.

Richly Adorned Egyptian Tomb Could Rewrite the History of Mummification – Maybe….there is still testing to be done before the mummy in the tomb is confirmed to be old enough to be the man the tomb was built to hold.

Surprising Tales of Toxic Animals – I enjoyed the historical perspective in the information about several of the animals.

A diet of essential amino acids could keep dementia at bay – I wonder how long it will be before the patent for the supplement is awarded…..and it is released as a supplement. Hopefully there will be testing him humans beforehand.

This New Installation Pulled 20,000 Pounds of Plastic From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – We need to stop producing messes….and clean up the ones we’ve already created. This is one attempt to start a massive cleanup of plastics that are in our oceans.

Bone-loss discovery points to new treatment for osteoporosis – I am glad there is ongoing research on this issue since the existing treatments don’t seem to work that well….often have side effects. Hopefully there will be more effective treatments by the time I might need them.

National Park Service Publications on Internet Archive

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Last September - I browsed 18 publications from the National Park Service that have been scanned and are freely available on Internet Archive. They are all decades old….reflect history of the places. The oldest one is from 1917 (The National Parks Portfolio) which is clearly a snapshot from the early years of National Parks. I was particularly interested in the “Astronomy and astrophysics national historic landmark theme study” published in 1989 – the year my daughter was born and she has grown up to be an astrophysicist! The only park I visited before the publication was Yosemite; the publication is from 1990 and I visited in 1984. I’ve provided a sample image for each volume. Enjoy some armchair traveling with some browsing via Internet Archive…find some correlations in the publications and your own life.

Wind Cave, 1979

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 1980

Astronomy and astrophysics national historic landmark theme study, 1989