The Rubáiyát of a Persian Kitten

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Oliver Herford’s The Rubáiyát of a Persian Kitten is available from Internet Archive…it was published in 1904 with his drawings….showing that the antics of kittens were as amusing more than 100 years ago as they are today. The swatting of the ink bottle on the desk might date one of the sample images I selected, but the motion of the kitten is familiar… and equally disastrous for any small breakable/spillable object on a counter or table…as we experience every day with our 3 kittens.

Enjoy browsing this book online: The Rubáiyát of a Persian kitten!

London, Ontario: Banting House National Historic Site

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At 2 AM, October 31, 1920, Frederick Banting woke up and wrote down a 25-word hypothesis becoming ‘the man who discovered insulin.’

It happened in the house in London, Ontario after he completed a literature review prior to preparing a lecture on the pancreas and metabolism for the new medical school at Western University. He only lived in the house for 10 months, returning to Toronto where he could access facilities for diabetes research. The transition from idea to clinical practice happened very quickly; he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923.

Banting House is open for tours with a focus on Banting’s life as a doctor and artist…and the impact his medical contribution had (and continues to have) for so many people. The room where he slept…and recorded his idea…is small with original linoleum and restored wallpaper…lumpy bed. The house was a rooming house for a time after Banting lived there but was always well-maintained.

The museum also exhibits artifacts donated by the family of Teddy Ryder, one of Banting’s first patients. He had Type I diabetes and was dying when he got his first insulin injection from Banting when he was 6 years old in 1922. At the time, each batch of insulin was tested for potency since the production was still being done by the researchers in a lab. Teddy lived to be 77 years old! There is an online exhibit about Teddy Ryder on the museum’s web site.

Painting was Banting’s method of escape and relaxation from his professional life and he was influenced by the Group of Seven….often travelled with A.Y. Jackson to paint the Canadian Landscape. One of the rooms of the museum exhibits some of his work. At the time of his death in 1941, Banting was anticipating retirement from medicine to spend more time on painting.

There is a small garden to the side of the house. There was black squirrel that seemed very accustomed to people.

There was an artsy wall I noticed on the walk back to my hotel….another good walk in downtown London, Ontario.

London, Ontario: Thames River and Old Courthouse

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On my first morning in London, Ontario, I waited until it warmed up enough then walked down to the Thames River Kensington Bridge.

There was a hiking/biking trail along the river. I took the branch that went under the bridge and discovered the markers for the floods in 1883 and 1937.

There is a sign (in English and French) from 2000 when the river was designated part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.

I enjoyed taking pictures of the fall plants along the river (since there were only Canada Geese and Mallards in the water and the lighting was not good for photography of the river itself).

I walked back uphill toward the downtown area noticing that there were young gingkoes planted as street trees.

The Old Court House is up the hill from the river. It was built in 1827 and is covered with vines – used today as an event space. There was not an event happening while I was there (and a lot of construction in the immediate area), so I got a good look of the outside. The vines were turning red with the cooler temperatures.

I walked up to the front of the building and took some macro photos of the way the vines attached to the stone…and discovered that the vines had small berries!

Overall - it was a good walk on a sunny fall day….and a good orientation for my plans to explore the downtown area of London, Ontario!

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 15, 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.

Previously deployed military personnel show retained dust in lungs – The lingering impact of deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As Rio Grande shrinks, El Paso plans for uncertain water future – Preparing for a year when there is no river water. Elephant Butte Reservoir that stores water for Las Cruces NM and El Paso TX, where I went on a birding field trip in November 2016, is currently at 5.6% of its capacity. So far – nothing has resolved the water insecurity of the region into the future.

Watercolor seas in the wake of Hurricane Ian – The impact of water surging and running off…natural-color imagery from NASA’s Terra satellite. There is also an image from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite detailing the coastline near Fort Myers.

Solar Community Slammed by Hurricane Ian: “Our Lights Stayed On” – And another Hurricane story…this one from the ground – Babcock Ranch, about 2 miles from Fort Myers.

Pre-Hispanic images revealed on early convent walls in Mexico – Hmmm….the building was not always a Christian convent?

Has the pandemic changed your personality? – Declines in extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness among adults were measured…particularly in young adults (ages 18-25). I found myself wondering whether the political upheaval that was happening at the same time contributed to the finding; the collective stress levels were probably heightened by more than the pandemic.

A field guide to Jackrabbits – An animal to look for in the west….next time I travel there.

Multiple health benefits of b-type procyanidin-rich foods like chocolate and apples consumed in right amounts – The study showed that peak benefits are achieved at mid-range doses rather than high or low doses. But it is not clear how to get the mid-range dose through diet…which made this article interesting but not actionable.

How did Vikings make glass beads? – Evidently by salvaging Roman and Byzantine mosaics as their raw material!

Scientists are finding fungi in cancerous tumors – A surprise…and lots of research still to be done to understand if the fungi are a correlation or contributor to the tumor.

Carl Lumholtz eBooks

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I am featuring 5 books, available from Internet Archive, by Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, Carl Lumholtz. His way of working influenced the field of ethnography – broadening the field to include of social relationships, attitudes, and the role of women. The illustrations from 4 books about his work in Mexico skew toward material culture – which was, from the beginning, part of ethnography; he spent longer in the field than most researchers of the time. He was in Mexico off and on between 1890 and 1910.

Decorative art of the Huichol Indians (1904)

New Trails in Mexico (1912)

Unknown Mexico V1 (1902)

Unknown Mexico V2 (1902)

His expedition to Borneo was from 1915-1918 and it turned out to be his last. The sample image I chose from this book is a high-status couple. I was intrigued by the woman’s clothing…of the different kinds of materials and where they might have originated.

Through Central Borneo (1920)

 Lumholtz died in 1922 of tuberculosis.

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory Grounds and Aquarium

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Continuing from yesterday’s post about our visit to Belle Island, Detroit, Michigan….

The conservatory has a koi pond that had some large specimens that seemed particularly dense near the waterfall. I liked the turtle fountain…reminded me of similar ones at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. I wondered what happened to the koi pond during the winter. Detroit must get very cold.

The structure of the conservatory has some high portions and there are some plants that have grown very tall…filling the spaces.

The grounds are grassy areas with some flower beds that were beginning to fade. I took a few macro images

There was a black squirrel that zipped across the very wet grass (we dodged the soggiest areas). There were black squirrels in London, Ontario too – more than the gray/brown ones.

The grounds also included a Japanese lantern and tower.

We went into the Aquarium. It reminded me of the

Washington DC aquarium that was in the Department of Commerce building; it closed in 2013 but I remembered touring it when I was pregnant with my daughter back in 1989…and becoming very queasy from the fish smell.  The aquarium in Washington DC was completed in 1932. The one on Belle Island has been operational since 1904! They used the lull during the pandemic for renovation…it seemed to be in great shape (and no fishy smells). The lighting was such that it was easier to get reasonably good pictures through the glass! I particularly enjoyed the puffer fish, brittle stars, sea horses, and anemones.

Overall – our visit to Belle Island took about 2 hours. We headed back into Detroit to find a restaurant before we continued our journey to London, Ontario.

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

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The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is on Belle Island (in the Detroit River). It is the oldest continually-running conservatory in the US….opening in 1904. The original wood framing was replaced with steel and aluminum in 1949. My daughter and I stopped to see it on our road trip from our homes in Missouri to London Ontario.

The place is filled with interesting plants. It was challenging to get wide views from the relatively narrow walkways other than looking upward.  

I quickly reverted to macro type photographs.

Some plants interested me so much that I took multiple images of the same plant.

Curly crotons were new to me.

The Venus flytrap and pitcher plants were inside a terrarium type structure that somehow made it even easier to photograph them.

The cactus room was one of my favorites…my theme was to photograph the various configurations of cactus spines.

The conservatory is not the largest I’ve toured…but it probably packs more plants into its space than any other! Tomorrow’s post will be about the grounds around the conservatory (including a koi pond) and the aquarium.

Josey Ranch – September 2002

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Carrollton’s Josey Ranch Lake still had noticeable problems. The broken sidewalks and disassembled boardwalks were still the same as in August. The heavy crane was gone. 3 city trucks drove on the walkway to get to the other side of the lake to begin repair to the boardwalks while I was there. Maybe the broken walkways will come next….or they’ll wait until next summer.

I saw one swan in August but didn’t see any in September and there were a lot of white feathers in the water and mud near the remaining cattail area. They were not native swans…but they have been at the lake from the beginning. They will be missed if they are truly gone.

I did see some other birds which made for a good morning of bird photography.

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron


Green Heron

Snowy Egret

Hopefully the work around the lake will be done before the winter birds arrive.

Kittens! – Month 2

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The second month with our 3 kittens has continued the small adventures within our household.

The kittens had their first visit to the vet…which confirmed our suspicion that Puma was a female rather than the male her foster family had thought. The kittens took the visit in stride, traveling together in a large cat carrier and not being too traumatized by their first shots. They will have more shots in the coming month and are scheduled for surgery in early December (we don’t want more kittens!).

Their favorite toys often have dangling (snake like?) parts….like my husband’s shoes. They are hard on feathers (note the white fluff on the blue rug from the toy Pooky is clawing and knowing). My husband is on the hunt for toys that are more durable than feathers.

They are big enough to not generally sleep in a pile like they did when we first got them. They often are in the same room for their naps though. In the picture below Puma is in the blue chair, Pooky is in the box and Sooty is curled up in the gold chair. Note that my husband still leave things precariously perched on the end table….when the kittens play chase through the room, those items often end up in the floor!

The cats like high perches for both play and sleep. The cat tree is still popular (and shedding carpet fibers from their antics). Puma likes the bar stool in the big bathroom. She has to endure Pooky grabbing for her tail….but the height makes it worth the hassle.

All the cats seem to like being on top of the suitcase. I must always keep it zipped!

The unique aspects that we’re noticing at the end of the second month are:

  • Puma leaps the highest.

  • Pooky is the most vocal and will stay cuddled in a lap the longest.

  • Sooty is the biggest and can be the bully…maybe he’s feeling the pressure of being the only male. On the flip side, he enjoys being picked up more than the other kittens.

Previous Kittens! Posts: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, week 1, week 2, month 1

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 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.

Photography Collective Highlights Washington State’s Beautiful Vistas in New Book – My husband and I were talking about a trip to the northwestern US before the pandemic…maybe it’s time to think about it again. It’s one of the few areas of the country we have not visited.

The people resurrecting India’s ancient fruit trees – Saving varieties of trees through grafting…mangos being the dominant example in this article.

Longhorned tick discovered in northern Missouri – I perked up when I saw ‘Missouri’ in the title…since I now live in the state. It turns out that this tick is originally from eastern Russia and Australasia…and was first found in the US in New Jersey in 2017. It has been spreading rapidly with Missouri being the first state in the Midwest. It has a negative impact on cattle.

Cactus holes and cobwebs: the weird nesting habits of birds – Some unusual bird nests.

James Earl Jones Retires from Voicing Darth Vader – End of an era….but not the sound because that will continue on recreated by a proprietary AI.

As carbon dioxide grows more abundant, trees are growing bigger – Increased CO2 accelerates photosynthesis and plants grow faster. The phenomenon is called ‘carbon fertilization.’ That can help reduce climate change if we can keep our forests intact (and increase forests). Drought, insect infestations, and wildfires are a big challenge toward that goal.

NASA successfully crashed a spacecraft into its asteroid target – A baby step toward defending Earth from space rocks.

Cacao consumption no limited to Maya elites – Cacao residues were found on jars, mixing bowls, serving plates, and drinking vessels used all over the El Pilar site.

Neonatal sepsis: the new threat posed by superbugs – Antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, saving many lives…but they have been over-used – unintentionally breeding resistant microbes that no antibiotic can treat. In India, 20% of neonatal deaths are caused by sepsis.

US Plan to Add 500,000 EV Chargers in All 50 States Gets Final Approval – Hurray! I am enjoying my plug-in hybrid (Prius Prime) right now but want my next car to be an EV….and I still want to be able to take road trips! This project getting underway is a start toward making that easier.

Settling in, developing new routines – 4th month

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Our 4th month in Missouri was calmer than the first 3. There is still a lot to be done but we stopped pushing ourselves to keep the pace we had earlier. There are boxes to be unpacked but they are in the storage area and not things we use frequently.

The kittens got their first visit to the vet and are engaging in all our indoor activities. More about them in an upcoming post.

Our yard is looking much better than it did earlier in the summer when it was so hot and dry. We have a yard service for this season so all I am doing is pulling weeds in the flower beds. I am cutting roses to bring into my office. I am also making big plans to transition caring for the yard to myself (the new lawn mower will be electric!) and putting in more bushes (American Beautyberry and oak leaf hydrangea are at the top of my list).

The morning routine in my office has changed slightly because it is dark when I first get there – no watching the birds at the feeder while I enjoy my 1st breakfast (dark chocolate). It is also cooler. I’m using the halogen lamps to flood the room with light and provide a little heat.

Our thermostats in this house are not as sophisticated as the one we had in Maryland. We’ve stayed on ‘Cool’ so far; it’s chilly in the morning but comes on once or twice in the late afternoon and evening. The wall heater in the main bathroom is wonderful – something we haven’t had in any of our previous houses…another aspect to appreciate about this house.

Travel. I did my monthly trip to Carrollton TX…and we made several local outings. We haven’t started the day trips as quickly as I thought we would but October is a prime month for being outdoors and enjoying the fall. I am anticipating my first travel not associated with the move or family in the coming month.

I got out our Halloween decorations (one of our neighbors has a very elaborate Halloween yard) and discovered that they don’t work very well for the front porch in this house; the front door is a muted red…does not go well with orange…and there is not nail in the door. I may just put the decorations inside. On the plus side – the front door will work very well for our Thanksgiving Indian corn and our Christmas wreath…once we add a nail.

I’ve decided to wait for volunteer activities or in-person classes. I would miss too much since I already am committed to be away from home a week of every month. When I am at home…I need to finish the unpacking and continue the hone everything about this place into the home we want.

Carrollton Yard (1) – September 2022

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The elderly mulberry with a thermometer is close to the garden room. The days I was in Carrollton TX in September started in the 80s and got up to the 90s every day! We did everything we needed to do outdoors before it got above 90! The sprinklers are keeping up although some plants have not recovered from the many days of 100+ temperatures with almost no rain in the first months of summer.

The chives are blooming with seeds beginning to form. By next month, the seeds should be visible. Crepe myrtle and hibiscus and cosmos weathered the heat…got enough water to make it to September and still bloom.

The surprise of September (for me) were orange spider lilies. Evidently, they have been there for years, but I just wasn’t visiting at the time they were blooming. They look great in the garden and can be cut for dramatic and long-lasting bouquets.

I captured a tiny landscape found in the garden: wandering jew, a yellow mulberry leaf…framed by a hose.

Lizards like the garden. I saw one in a sunny patch of grass…then on the trunk of the sweet gum. His coloring helps him blend into the tree bark better than the grass!

More tomorrow on other plants of the September Garden….

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 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.

What is the right age to get a smartphone? – No set answer or surprises in this article. I was a little disappointed but maybe the answer will always start out with “it depends….”

Air pollution might spur irregular heart rhythms in healthy teens – Air quality is important for everyone…not new news, but this study has supporting data for a segment of the population we generally think are very healthy.

A rapid shift to clean energy would save the world $12 trillion – I wish I was more confident that the people of the world have the will to save the planet (and ourselves).

Seven healthy lifestyles may reduce dementia risk for people with diabetes – Getting all 7 might be hard….but the 5 or 6 out the 7 should be something everyone can do.

Cool and Overlooked Critters of the Sagebrush Sea – Someone commented that they had driven across Kansas once and it was such a long slog that they didn’t want to do it again. This article reminded me that learning to look at unfamiliar places is a challenge…one we should consciously accept!

Daily multivitamin may improve cognition and possibly protect against decline – Easy to do!

Why you need a 'wellbeing wardrobe' – Most of my clothes are over a decade old and some were bought from a thrift store. I wear them until they are worn out and then I turn them into other things, compost them (if they a compostable fiber) or donate them (hoping that they can be sold or recycled). My sister commented that she was saving jeans to make a quilt. There are some items that seem to last longer than they did in the 70s (I remember inexpensive underwear and panty hose that were rarely worn more than a few times). Since I don’t buy many new clothes, I wondered about the demographics of who is buying so much clothing…and then trashing it so quickly.

Older adults with regular activity routines are happier and do better on cognitive tests – Picked up a vocabulary word from this article: zeitgebers – time cues which help set the body’s internal clock and can also assist in creating a stable routine. Some examples of zeitgebers are sunlight, exercise and eating…pets that require certain kinds of attention at about the same time each day.

Why plastic doesn't dry in the dishwasher – A little physics. I’ve noticed that we are using less plastic these days…more ceramic, glass, and metal. The last change was the containers we use for leftovers; I’ve gradually been replacing plastic with glass containers. My popcorn bowl (that I use in the microwave) is still plastic…but that’s about it.

Meet the Bat Falcon, the ABA Area’s Newest Bird – About the bat falcon, the ABA checklist and its importance to birders chasing a Big Year.

120 interiors…from 1912

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I like books that reflect when they were written…provide illustrations that allow easy comparison with today. Casimir Hermann Baer edited 120 interiors in colours, designed by modern artists and it was published in 1912 in Cleveland OH. It’s interesting to pick out elements of the designs that look familiar. It’s one of my favorite ways to think more deeply about history – in this case, the best-that-money-could-buy shelter in 1912…in contrast to modern homes. Here’s are some samples from the book:

Open floor plans and natural light

Bedrooms with plenty of storage, rugs near the bed

Plenty of room for dining

Sometimes exotic wall treatments and high ceils for entries/stairs…chandeliers

These illustrations are clearly not from 2022!

There were no pictures of kitchens or bathrooms in the books. Those have changed a lot over the last century!

Ten Little Celebrations – September 2022

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The 10 celebrations I am featuring in the September 2022 of this monthly post are about foods and health and getting things done. There is also a lot to celebrate about the outdoors this time of year.

Frito pie. I have discovered Dickey’s Frito Pie with brisket, beans, and cheese. It is packed with the Fritos in their own bag for takeout….and I like it without the Fritos! It’s a good thing for me to get when my husband is hungry for a barbeque sandwich…celebrating that the barbeque places where we live now are much better than the ones convenient to us in Maryland.

A birthday. We celebrated by daughter’s birthday. I was chagrined that ice cream cakes are harder to find these days, but she said she wanted ice cream sandwiches…and those were easy to purchase!

Getting the flu and COVID vaccine. I celebrated that the shots were available in time for me to get the shots early enough for them to protect me during my upcoming travel.  

Legal updates completed. My sister and I collaborated to get my parents legal documents updated according to their wishes….and celebrated the completed milestone.

Rings of Power series. I don’t watch much television but I am enjoying the Rings of Power….celebrating the quality of the production and seeing more of Tolkien’s world.

Our large wind chimes. My office is situated where I can hear the wind chimes on breezy days…I celebrate their sound and the memory of when we bought them too.

Poke weeds. Yes – they are weeds…but they are native, and they do produce berries that birds eat. I celebrate that I have several plants that out of the way in my landscaping so I can leave them rather than battling them all through the season.

Springfield Botanical Garden. I find something to celebrate every time I go! This time there were lots of insects to photograph.

Spider Lilies. I don’t know how I missed the orange spider lilies in my parents’ garden in previous years…but I was there at the right time this year to see them!

Great weather for being outdoors. There were still some hot days but as the month progressed, I celebrated some cooler temperatures….the ease of getting outdoors without being concerned of high heat or poor air quality.

Favorite Shoes

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I will probably have to retire my favorite pair of shoes soon and I am savoring them to the end. I like their rounded toes and decorative stitching….their metal decoration over the Velcro closure…their arch support and very slight wedge.

I bought them used several years ago. The padding on the sole is very thin and there are small tears that have formed on the sides. The metal decoration is tarnished and dented. The bottom has almost worn smooth.

I wish I could find a new pair that is the same but that is (most likely) impossible. Shoes are produced in quantity and then production is stopped for that style. A new style is produced in quantity, and it happens again…endless change hoping to attract new buyers in a faster and faster swirl of newness that encourages early trashing of products before they’re worn out. My favorite pair of shoes will be thoroughly worn out…but I am putting off buying anything new to replace them for now.

Unique Aspects of Days – September 2022

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The unique aspects for September….

Queen Elizabeth II died. The event is something that will be memorable about 2022. Her coronation was in the year I was born...she was the only well-known person I can think of that was on the international stage for that long period. Closer to home – her death accompanies the older generation of my family ebbing away. I am fortunate that both my parents are still around.

Making a quick run to Walmart for coffee. My dad makes coffee every morning and had somehow forgotten to tell anyone that there was not enough left in the container to make another pot. If I had not been visiting…they just would not have had any morning coffee that day!

Murmuration of pigeons over the Walmart parking lot. Somehow lots of pigeons were on the Walmart parking lot…and they flew up in a big swirl when they were startled by something (maybe a car?) and they did the usual turning in unison….the undulating ebbs and flows in the air. It seemed like they stayed a loft longer than required to escape danger and I wondered if the birds enjoy the ‘dancing’ in the sky.  

Talking with a man hauling hay at the gas station. I stopped to buy gas at a very large gas station just off the highway and a man with a trailer full of the round bales of hay pulled up on the other side of the pump. We had a short conversation and l learned: he is getting $60/bale rather than $30 he got last year, his fields are Johnson grass and cows like that kind of hay, this haul was from the 3rd mowing.

A upside down truck on the highway. The only time I got on the highway once I was in Carrollton, there was an upside truck on the other side….traffic just beginning to back up. It wasn’t obvious how the accident occurred; the truck was against the dividing wall that kept it from crossing over to the other side of the highway. I came back an hour later and could see that the truck was still there (upside down), but a crane has been brought in….and it was rush hour. Fortunately, I was already at my exit and the backup only slowed me down for about 5 minutes.

Rats. My parents had their house treated for rats. Insulation in the attic was replaced and holes in the eaves were sealed. There is a 10-year warranty. Hopefully this is a truly unique experience.

Grilling when it was windy. We didn’t use our gas grill when it was windy at our Maryland house, but we discovered that the house does a reasonable job of blocking the wind at our Missouri house….another reason to like our new location/house.

Laundered/dried our pillows in our new appliances. We don’t launder pillows frequently…and this was the 1st with our new washer and drier. We discovered that the sensor in the drier thought they were dry when they were dry on the outside…but not on the inside. We had to manually run the drier again….but the process was still faster than with our older appliances.

Bakery bread. I have started looking at the list of ingredients for breads…and buying ones where the ingredients are about the same as for homemade bread. It seems like commercial breads have a long ingredient list. I’m finding that the bakery breads with the shorter list taste great and are easier for me to digest.

A third COVID booster. My husband and I got the 3rd COVID booster along with a flu shot (one in each arm). I had more side effects (sore arm, aches) with this 3rd shot than I did the second…but they only were bothersome for about 24 hours and were completely gone in 48.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 24, 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.

Photographer Captures the Vast Beauty of Alaska Through Breathtaking Mountainscapes – Eventually I’d like to visit Alaska…but pictures are the next best way to experience the state.

Characteristics of older forests can buffer effects of climate change for some bird species – Results from an 8-year study (2011-18). Forests can provide refugia for some species….our stewardship is important.

Ruby was the first Black child to desegregate her school. This is what she learned – I’m glad she survived and thrived….don’t want any child going through this type of experience in the future. Education is challenging for child without accompanying trauma from the community or institution or bullies.

Should you feed garden birds? – Right now we have 2 bird feeders and baths…with a few plants in the yard that attract birds as well. Over the next few years, I will be planting for the birds – native plants that will support insects the birds need particularly during their breeding season…produce pollen and nectar and seeds to round out their diet.

Earth’s Iconic Waves, observed by Landsat – A 3.5 minute video about places on earth where the waves are significant enough to be visible from satellites…and a little about why those spots produce the types of waves observed.

The sands of Mars are green as well as red, rover Perseverance discovers – The discovery of volcanic rocks on Mars rich with large grains of olivine! I remember going to a green sand beach on the big island of Hawaii – olivine on earth.

Enhanced Geothermal Technology Cracks The 24/7 Energy Code – Maybe a technology that will be as important as wind and solar in our renewable energy portfolio.

What older adults do while they sit affects dementia risk – Passive behaviors like watching TV increased dementia risk-- on the plus side active behaviors while sitting like reading and using computers reduced dementia risk. The study had more than 145,000 participants aged 60 or over with nearly 12 years of follow-up.

Cataracts: we’re working on eye drops to treat them so people don’t need surgery – Glad the research is happening…probably not fast enough to be available when my cataracts will require treatment.

When Told About Flood Risk, Homebuyers Shun Vulnerable Homes, Study Finds – I shouldn’t be a surprise that people don’t want to buy properties that flood….and there are a lot of expensive coastal properties that have an increasing flood risk.

Advertising and British Art in the 1920s

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Walter Shaw Sparrow published Advertising and British Art in 1924. The illustrations in the book are historical as art…also for what they were ‘selling.’ Quite a few of them were about travel…places to go and how to get there!

The book got me thinking about art and advertising 100 years later. We do so much with photographs and digital media now….very different than the 1920s. Some of us have shifted somewhat to experience over additional possessions when it comes to discretionary spending – which would fit in with the ideas for travel in the book. But it seems like most of my ideas come from destination or topical searches rather than advertisements!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 17, 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.

Federal flood maps are outdated because of climate change – The challenge of record rainfall events becoming more common and resulting in flooding of places not seen as vulnerable previously.

Hundreds of Monumental “Kites” Spotted in Arabian Desert – Low stone walls that could be enclosures used to guide game for capture/slaughter as early as 8000 BC.

The mystery of the human sacrifices buried in Europe's bogs – Sacrifices or maybe burial for anyone that died mysteriously or unnaturally. I remember being fascinated about the ‘bog bodies’ back in 1970s…buying the book about them by P.V. Glob.

Diet change may make biggest impact on reducing heart risk in people with hypertension – Too bad that the study also found “the availability and affordability of healthy food sources does not easily allow people to follow the DASH diet.” Diets are hard enough to sustain without those extra challenges.

Despite its innocently furry appearance, the puss caterpillar’s sting is brutal – The don’t look vicious….but the hairs have poisonous barbs! There are other caterpillars that also have ‘hairs’ and can deliver painful stings – like the saddleback caterpillars. In general…I avoid handling caterpillars with hairs or bristles!

Cancers in adults under 50 on the rise globally – Earlier detection could account for some of the increase…but it is unlikely to be the sole reason. 8 of the 14 cancers on the rise are related to the digestive system. With those types of cancers, the hypothesis is that the food we eat has changed dramatically and has changed our microbiome composition…and eventual these changes influence disease risk and outcomes. There is still a lot of work to be done but it appears that the drastic rise in early onset cancer began around 1990.

The biggest myths of the teenage brain – Hopefully some of these findings will be factors in decision making for things like high school hours and how to help teenagers better understand themselves.

NREL Study Identifies Opportunities & Challenges of Achieving the U.S. Transformational Goal of 100% Clean Electricity by 2035 – No single solution….having multiple pathways to the goal is probably a good thing.

Arctic lakes are vanishing a century earlier than predicted – Warmer temperatures and more abundant autumn rainfall have caused permafrost around/beneath Arctic lakes to melt…and the lakes shank between 2000 to 2021. The reduction in lakes impacts migratory birds and other wildlife…and human communities in the Arctic.

Fall Foliage Prediction Map – My road trips this fall will offer many opportunities to see fall foliage: 1st week in October in Michigan and Canada, the rest of October around Missouri, then Texas later in October into November.