In Maryland

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Our first local stop in Maryland was our old house. We loaded up the few things we had left (which included some things we had left accidently). I took one last picture through the windows on the upper floor into the back of the house (view of the sycamore and the red maple). The room that had been my office (the picture on the right) was my favorite of the house. I realized that the room I’ve chosen in my new house is quite different…but my favorite of the new house.

The only furniture we left was the table and chairs on the covered deck. The table was just too awkward to move (didn’t fit through doors without disassembly).

We cut two daylilies (with buds) from the front flower bed and added them to a bouquet we purchased at a grocery store to put on my mother-in-law’s grave. She died in 1990 and had purchased the original daylily bulbs the year before…it seemed fitting to include the flowers in this bouquet. We’ve had annual times that we put out flowers/wreaths on her grave – her birthday and the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday. We don’t know when we’ll be back in the area so this might have been a last time.

We took a short walk around Brookside Gardens…a place we enjoyed during all the years we lived in Maryland. It was not a thorough walk around…but enough to be a gentle goodbye to a special place.

We stayed in a hotel near the title company where the closing would occur. It had an impressive shower: a different kind of drain and well-balanced barn type glass doors and textured walls without seams.

The next morning, we were the first appointment of the day at the title company with a waiting room like a sitting room…with a carpet that needed a good vacuuming.  Our part of the closing was uneventful; I was disappointed that the buyers were coming in later and we did not get to meet them.

We made a stop at my favorite grocery store for one last purchased of my favorite salad dressing. It was a bust since it was sold out, but I was still glad to be in the store on last time.

We left the area to head back toward Missouri before noon.

Last Trip to Maryland

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We opted to drive to Maryland one last time…for the closing on the house there and last goodbyes to some favorite places. We started out shortly after 6:30 AM for the two-day drive – with a much longer drive on the 1st day. The first stop from Springfield was the Route 66 rest stop along I-44 near Conway. Our route was the interstate along the old Route 66 until St. Louis.

It was sunny and hot for most of the day – traversing Illinois and Indiana and most of Kentucky. The only big cities on the route were St. Louis and Louisville. We stopped in Ashland, KY for the night; we had driven out of the hot and dry Midwest and into rain. The last rest stop of the day (in Kentucky) was one that included oak leaf hydrangeas in their landscaping…reminding me that I want to plant one or two in my new yard.

The next day it rained…and rained. Most was not too heavy and did not delay us as we travelled through West Virginia and into Maryland. It did change the type of photography is did at the rest stops I switched to macro photography– lichen, moss, buds, insect, shelf fungus. I took several pictures from inside the car (since I wasn’t driving). Sidling Hill is more interesting from the highway than the eastward rest stop!

And then we were at our old house…more on the time we spent in Maryland tomorrow.

Springfield Conservation Nature Center – June 2020

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My husband and I did a short hike at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center in late June. It’s a place I anticipate we’ll explore more fully in the months to come. The area is an oasis with high volume traffic arteries on two sides…neighborhood and lake on the other sides. We started out our first hike on the Boardwalk Trail (map) but extended to the Sycamore Cut-off down to the bridge over a branch of Lake Springfield….downhill to the lake level then back up. The forest is dense with a different kinds and ages of trees…there are cliff faces too. The paths are gravel. We spotted a great blue heron (still roosting) in shallow water….and a very active small bird in the bushes nearby (maybe a prothonotary warbler). There were probably some invasive plants in the mix – but they didn’t seem to be overwhelming. The slideshow below contains my favorites from the pictures I took with my bridge camera.

I am beginning to appreciate my phone – with it digital zoom – for macro photography. I took one image of a bloom that was hanging over the trail…

And then did more as we left the nature center after our hike.

The round blooms of the button bush look intriguing at every stage!

I am looking forward to seeing the trails in different seasons…stay tuned.

Baby Bird in the Grass

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The first sad event at our new house in Missouri was seeing a baby bird in the grass of our front yard. It seemed to want to stay cuddled down in the grass…kept looking toward the maple tree and calling; there was an answering call so maybe the nest where it had hatched was in that tree. It seemed too far from the tree to have simply fallen out of the nest. Maybe it did a glide from the high location in the tree and couldn’t return. Unfortunately – the baby was probably too young to survive away from the nest. We checked on it for about an hour and it didn’t budge. Eventually it would starve or be eaten be a predator.

There were too many leaves on the maple to see the nest properly but the blue marking on the wing of the young bird might indicate it was a blue jay. Hopefully some siblings did survive.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 9, 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.

Bonsai trees tell of winters past – An elfin forest of hemlocks on the outer coast of Glacier Bay National Park…and they hold the history of 4 centuries of winters in their growth rings.

See the vibrant, long overlooked colors of classical sculptures – Greco-Roman marble sculptures were covered in bright hues (polychromy) originally!

Pioneering recycling turns mixed waste into premium plastics with no climate impact – Wouldn’t it be great if suddenly mixed waste could replace fossil raw materials for ALL plastic production?

Understanding horseshoe crabs at Cape Cod National Seashore – A short video about a research project just starting.

Get a Sneak Preview of the 2022 Bird Photographer of the Year Finalists – Capturing birds in action…rather than portraits.

Invasive species taking over some American forests - Amur honeysuckle (a shrub from Asia) is a big culprit. Callery Pear (the ‘wild’ version of the Bradford pear) is a close second.  I just cut down a Callery Pear that was growing in the front bed of my new house in Missouri…almost obliterating a crepe myrtle! Other foreign species that have become problematic: porcelain berry, tree of heaven, winged euonymus, European buckthorn, Oriental bittersweet, common privet and lesser periwinkle...Norway maple, Amur cork tree and white poplar along with herbaceous species such as lesser celandine, garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed and Japanese stilt grass.

A Surprisingly High Number of Wildfires Are Caused by Electrocuted Birds – Awful….good that there is a way to reduce the carnage…at less cost than the consequences of the fires.

Rural areas near coast will bear the brunt of US sea-level rise – Analysis focused on the Chesapeake Bay…marshes forming where forest and farmland is today.

Once-Common California Bumble Bees Have Gone Missing – The survey did not find the formerly abundant Western bumble bee. The last statewide survey was conducted 40 years go…and a lot has happened in that time: habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. None of the species were doing well. Big problem – since bumble bees help pollinate $3 billion worth of crops in the US each year (including tomatoes, peppers, and cranberries).

Scientist war of links between soil pollution and heart disease – The author of the study commented: “Until we know more, it seems sensible to wear a face mask to limit exposure to windblown dust, filter water to remove contaminants, and buy food grown in healthy soil."

eBotanical Prints – June 2022

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22 botanical print books in June. The topics were wide ranging: Japanese landscape gardening, sweet peas (4 books), roses, conifers (2 books), lawns, wayside trees (4 books), natural history of plants (7 books), and irises. The books were published a 56 year period; 5 have color illustrations.

The whole list of 2,412 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the June 2022 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 June eBotanical Prints!

Supplement to Landscape gardening in Japan * Conder, Josiah; Ogawa, Kengo * sample image * 1893

All about sweet peas * Hutchins, W.T. * sample image * 1894

The modern culture of sweet peas * Stevenson, Thomas * sample image * 1910

Sweet peas and how to grow them * Thomas, Harry Higgott * sample image * 1909

The rose book, a complete guide for amateur rose growers * Thomas, Harry Higgott; Easlea, Walter * sample image * 1914

Field notes of sweet peas * Morse, Lester, L. * sample image * 1916

Illustrations of Conifers - V2 * Clinton-Baker, Henry William * sample image * 1909

Illustrations of Conifers - V3 * Clinton-Baker, Henry William * sample image * 1913

Lawns, and how to make them, together with the proper keeping of putting greens * Barron, Leonard * sample image * 1909

Wayside Trees - Series 1 * Mathews, Ferdinand Shuyler * sample image * 1899

Wayside Trees - Series 2 * Mathews, Ferdinand Shuyler * sample image * 1899

Wayside Trees - Series 3 * Mathews, Ferdinand Shuyler * sample image * 1899

Wayside Trees - Series 4 * Mathews, Ferdinand Shuyler * sample image * 1899

The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution V1 pt 1 * Kerner, Anton Joseph, ritter von Marilaun * sample image * 1896

The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution V2  pt 1 * Kerner, Anton Joseph, ritter von Marilaun * sample image * 1896

The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution V2  pt 2 * Kerner, Anton Joseph, ritter von Marilaun * sample image * 1896

The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution V5 * Kerner, Anton Joseph, ritter von Marilaun * sample image * 1896

The natural history of plants, their forms, growth, reproduction, and distribution V6 * Kerner, Anton Joseph, ritter von Marilaun * sample image * 1896

A handbook of garden irises * Dykes, William Rickatson * sample image * 1924

The genus Iris * Dykes, William Rickatson, Round, F.H. * sample image * 1913

Encyclopédie d'histoire naturelle V1 Bontanique * Chenu, Jean Charles * sample image * 1873

Encyclopédie d'histoire naturelle V2 Bontanique * Chenu, Jean Charles * sample image * 1868

Settling in, developing new routines – 1st month

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A new house – neighborhood – city – state (Missouri)…a lot has changed for us this past month. We are still unpacking but have done enough to live comfortably…do the rest of the opening of boxes and distribution of ‘stuff’ at a slower pace. I am starting a monthly post to document the new routines we are establishing.

Trash/recycling. I like that we have a bin for the weekly trash collection rather than just putting big plastic bags at the curb like we did in Maryland. The downside is that recycling comes every other week rather than weekly like it did in Maryland…and the first cycle was cancelled because they were short a crew! Another difference: neither trash or recycle curbside collection take yard waste. So – I’ve been to the recycle center 3 times already (twice for boxes there were not reusable and once for yard waste after I cut down a Callery pear that was taking over a crepe myrtle in my front flowerbed); fortunately, the recycle center is not that far away from our neighborhood.

The mini-kitchen in the basement near my office is perfect for making my favorite snack: popcorn! What a luxury to have it close rather than a flight of stairs away.

It is also a luxury to do my back exercises on the twin bed near my office rather than getting down (and then up) from the floor.

Groceries are different too; the closest store is a Walmart which does not have as much selection as Wegmans in Maryland. I may look further afield for groceries eventually even though the close location of the Walmart is a big plus. I get to the store about 6:30 AM just as I did in Maryland; shopping in a store with more stockers than customers is something I’ve grown accustomed too…prefer!

Laundry has been an adventure. There is still a flight of stairs between the laundry room and the bedroom, but our Missouri house has a laundry chute! We’ve added handles to the doors of the chute (not sure why they didn’t have handles before) and bought large baskets to catch all the laundry at the bottom. And what a luxury it is to have so much room to hang up clothes that we don’t want to put in the drier!

Barn swallows. When we moved into the house, we noticed almost immediately that we had bard swallows nesting under the deck….easily viewed from our patio or through the windows around it. The babies hav since fledged and I’ve tried to clean up the bird poop that fell from the nest onto the patio…the price for having an easily observable nest. We didn’t have barn swallows at our Maryland house, so this is a new bird for our yard. We put out two bird baths but they haven’t been used very much….the neighborhood ponds are too close probably. We haven’t put up bird feeders yet.

More new routines next month….

Springfield Art Museum

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The first time I went to the Springfield Art Museum was back in June 2019 when I was helping my daughter move from State College PA into a rental house in Springfield MO; the key had not worked to open the door to the house and it was too hot to wait outside for the rental agent; we escaped to the air conditioned space of the museum. It was another hot day last month when my daughter, sister and I visited although we went for the museum itself rather than an escape for heat.

The Mend Piece participatory exhibit was just off the large entry way. There were tables of broken white cups with supplies to put them together (twine, glue, white rubber bands).  My daughter and sister went on to see the other exhibits while I made my ‘creation’ with ceramic pieces, rubber bands, and a little twine. The twine was more decorative than structural.  It was a good experience for me…caused me to realize that my daily Zentangle practice has developed my artist side that had been buried for most of my life! A man that was working on his creation when I came into the room and was still working on it when I left commented that it seemed like it was very familiar with this kind of activity!

I caught up with my sister and daughter in the Watercolor USA exhibit.  That exhibit encouraged people to vote for their favorite. It was a difficult choice.

After walking around the rest of the museum, my sister decided to do a Mend Piece as well. She created a flower! It looked best still on the table…not clear that the glue was going to hold well enough.

We both put our pieces on the display shelf along with creations of other museum visitors.

A hot afternoon well spent!

Springfield Botanical Garden – June 2022 (2)

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June is the month the lilies start to bloom and the beds at the Springfield Botanical Garden lived up to my expectations. The leaves were a rich green….there were lots of buds and plenty of flowers. Some of the beds had wire fencing; do the deer (or some other animal) only eat some of the lilies? I didn’t find a bed of the bright orange lilies that often grow wild along roadsides…the lilies here are the fancier kind: frilled petals, double petals, lots of different colors (even green!). Enjoy the slide show of the summer lilies.

I wonder if there will be some left in July. Now that I am a resident of the area, I am setting a goal for myself to visit the place at least once a month.

Springfield Botanical Garden – June 2022 (1)

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So much in gardens changes between visits. The mosaics near rose garden of the Springfield Botanical Gardens are a constant although they depict aspects of the garden during the warmer part of the year.

June is still early enough in the season that the roses were full of blooms although the hot days were coming earlier in the year; hopefully the watering regime would keep them going a bit further into the summer.

The hosta garden is one of my favorite places when it is hot…very shady and plenty of plants that thrive in the dampness (sustained by mist watering) under the trees.

It was a bit of slog over to the Kickapoo Edge Prairie…but I was rewarded with a stand of milkweed in bloom near the end.

My route looped back by the Monarch play area…on the way to….

More about my walk around the garden in June tomorrow.

Posts about previous visit to the garden and Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden in April 2022

Zentangle® – June 2022

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30 Zentangle tiles for June; it was challenging find the time to make tiles in June with the crescendo of activity for our move to Missouri…but very worthwhile to help me decompress.

I found myself enjoying new Sharpie Ultra Fine pens and savoring some newly discovered gel pins; both provided the smooth glide of color onto the variety of tile materials during the month. The paper coasters (round and square) were in the box I carried with me on all my travels. I rediscovered an unopened box of the round ones as I was packing…will return to them in the months ahead.

My favorite tiles are probably the light brown ones made from recycled lightweight cardboard or old file folders. Both square

And rectangular.

There are still a few tiles made from old pocket folders saved my daughter’s K-12 days; I found more of those folders as I packed to move…will cut them into tiles as some point.

I had a few tiles that were a narrower rectangle…the back of pads of paper I used up….and then had the cardboard left to repurpose!

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

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 25, 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.

Ukrainian Students Are Taking Haunting Grad Photos in Rubble Created by the War – Life going on during war…graduation pictures that reflect a very different year in Ukraine.

The surprising benefits of fingers that wrinkle in water – A lot more questions and research than I expected!

Single brain scan can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease – Faster and earlier diagnosis…a component that could improve outcomes over the long term.

Photographer Captures Colorful “Moonbows” – In Yosemite National Park.

Walking toward healthier knees – “Those who reported walking for exercise had 40% decreased odds of new frequent knee pain compared to non-walkers” --- that’s a good stat to keep in mind as we get older and want to avoid increased knee problems.

Living with the prospect of assisted dying – A post about a man diagnosed with ALS…difficulty with the bureaucracy of assisted dying laws even with a clear-cut terminal diagnosis.

Alaska Ablaze – 5,000 lightning strikes…dozens of wildfires.

How to turn your garden into a carbon sink – Turning more yards into gardens…with more diverse plantings….a few more trees. Sometimes going a little wild is a good thing!

Pollen and Heat: a looming challenge for global agriculture – heat is a pollen killer for canola, corn, peanuts, and rice. It is becoming more important than ever for crops to bloom before the temperature rises…and it is getting more challenging as multi-day stretches of excess heat are becoming more common early in the growing season.

The life of a solitary bee – There are as many as 4,000 bee species in the US….and most of them are solitary. 98% of the native bee species in the US are solitary.

Tomb of Yuaa and Thuiu

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James Edward Quibbell’s book Tomb of Yuaa and Thuiu was published in 1908 and is available on Internet Archive. Yuaa and Thuiu (Yuya and Thuya on Wikipedia) were ancient Egyptian courtiers…parents of Queen Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III. The tomb was discovered in 1905 and was the best-preserved tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings before that of Tutankhamun, their great-grandson. Both probably died in their early to mid-50s. Their mummies were largely intact, and the pictures of the faces show the sophistication of the mummification process in preserving the facial features.

Quibbell’s book includes many photographs of the contents of the tomb. He documented the find with many photographs very quickly after the initial discovery just as Carter would later do for the Tut tomb. Certainly, these finds and the documentation of them initially and over the years since, has increased the interest in ancient Egypt.

The initial publications may not be a starting point for learning about these finds now that there are books with color photographs of the artifacts, but they do provide insight from the historical perspective of the men that made the discoveries…and how much they learned from the excavation and first look at the artifacts. They are well worth browsing!

Nixa, MO is Home

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How soon does a new house become a home? There are indications that it has happened very quickly with our move to Nixa, MO.

I’ve found places we need:

A place to buy groceries and other household needs (a Walmart within a couple of miles of our house)

The post office (within 3 miles)

A recycling center for all the cardboard and paper left from unpacking that is unusable by others (less than 2 miles)

Gas stations (in about a mile)

The yard

While we haven’t gotten everything unpacked, we have all the items we need day to day. The gardening tools need to be unpacked since there are some weeds and tree seedlings in the flower beds that should be pulled sooner rather than later. I’ve spotted a poison ivy plant growing under one of the cedars; I’ll need my gauntlet gloves to handle that one!

We had to wait for the ladder to arrive with the truck to hang our large wind chimes (sounds like church bells). It was not something on the critical path of being able to live in the house but I wanted them up and making their beautiful sounds….another indicator that the house has become home.

I have discovered the joy of time outdoors on the patio in the early morning…creating a Zentangle tile or two…listening to the birds and the neighborhood waking up. Another discovery – fold the chair cushions down when not in use so that the part you sit on will stay free of bird poop!

The rose bushes in the back of our house are still blooming and maybe they will continue a bit longer since I’ve started watering them. I cut a flower to bring into my office recently…a sign that I am feeling at home.

The neighborhood

I’ve intentionally gotten out and about the neighborhood even while I was unpacking…enjoyed the pool more than I thought I would (particularly after 5 PM when it isn’t crowded) and the walk around the ponds. Looking forward to walking the entire neighborhood over the next month or so.

The inside of the house

We’re still arranging lamps, but the rest of the furniture is in place. There are rooms that are already exactly the way we want them.

Our internet service is not consistent throughout the house and there are some minor repairs that need to be made. It’s frustrating when problems can’t be immediately fixed. We’re persistent and confident the issues all be resolved.

We are experimenting with laundry….the laundry chute is still novel and fun. One of our old oscillating fans has found a home in the laundry room while the clothes we hang up from the washer dry. But do we hang/fold clothes from the dryer in the laundry or upstairs? Not sure which way is going to work best for us. We did end up replacing the washer/dryer left by the previous owner.

We’re eating most of our meals at home again.

The security system has been reset to our codes rather than the previous owner’s (which were unknown to us).

Within a month of closing…the house will be fully our home. It started to feel like home as soon as the moving van arrived with our ‘stuff’ 6 days after we closed on the house…then a continuing trend toward the feeling of home until we get everything situated as we want it and are comfortable with the way we are living in the house.

Ten Little Celebrations – June 2022

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What a month! It is probably the busiest, most stressful in my post career decade….with so much that has gone right in the end…lots of little celebrations.

Hearing a phoebe in the morning….seeing a crane fly – The sights and sounds of nature often become little celebrations for me…they just happen and make the day brighter.

New low weight for the year – With all the work getting ready to move and then moving, I expended a lot more energy and lost a few pounds. I celebrated a new low weight for the year in June.

A new house – Settling into a new house/location is stressful…but there is also a lot of to celebrate. Noticing all the aspects of the house that I like…celebrating that it is becoming home.

A picture taking walk around the ponds in the early morning – The water features of my new neighborhood are more extensive than where I lived previously. There were plenty of sights to celebrate in my first walks around the ponds and I anticipate enjoying them all through the year.

Internet/cable at Missouri house (just in time to make hotel reservations for the follow night going back to Maryland) – Our internet/cable access was installed the morning after we closed on our new house; I celebrated that my husband had been proactive for making that arrangement.

Made it back to Missouri even with the blowout before lunch – The drama of a blown-out tire on the trek from Maryland to Missouri was not traumatic as it could have been….and I celebrated when we made it to the new house.

The movers arrived….delivering our stuff – The house was so empty…then was full of boxes. I celebrated that it all arrived intact even though the piles were daunting.

Finding the missing piece to husband’s desk – I had packed some pieces of my husband’s desk and we didn’t find the box for about 24 hours. Celebration by all when the piece was found!

Unpacking progress (slow but steady) – We are still unpacking but every day I celebrate the progress we are making. At this point, all the critical items are unpacked and put into their long-term location.

A contract on our Maryland house – My husband and I were pleasantly surprised that we sold our house in Maryland in just 4 days and for more than the asking price. At first, we were overwhelmed…and then we celebrated.

Zooming – June 2022

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I didn’t have as many photographs as usual to choose from in June…too busy moving. There were still enough to choose twelve. The locations were wide ranging: our neighborhoods in Maryland and Missouri, the botanical garden in Springfield MO, our houses in Maryland and Missouri. It is occurring to me that my multi-day road trips between Maryland and Missouri/Texas are almost over. The trek between Missouri and Texas is an easy 6.5 hours!

Enjoy the slide show!

Unique Aspects of Days – June 2022

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June was probably the most unique month of 2022; moving from Maryland to Missouri made for a lot of firsts…made more unique by the time that had passed since our last move (more than 25 years ago). It was hard to choose just 10.

Move out day in Maryland. Packing up was hard enough…seeing it all be loaded on the truck in one day (rainy toward the end) was overwhelmingly intense – certainly not a ‘normal’ situation. And I knew I would be getting up early in the next morning to head to Missouri.

A lot of armadillo road kill. In Maryland the most common road killed animals were deer. In Missouri, there were armadillos; perhaps it was the time of year they go walkabout.

Closing on a Missouri house. I hadn’t closed on a house in over 25 years and this is the only time in my life (so far) that there was no mortgage.

First sunrise at Bentwater house. Firsts are unique simply because they are the first!

Blowout of my driver’s side front tire. It was not a totally unique experience but the last one was years ago (2017) and only the third one in my 50 years of driving!

The neighborhood pool for the first time. I wasn’t sure I would use the pool but I discovered that there are times it is not very busy…a very pleasant respite from the heat.

Mend Piece. I’ll do a post about the experience in a few days….it was a unique hands-on experience at the Springfield Art Museum.

Making popcorn in the downstairs kitchen – first time. It felt a little odd to make popcorn in a place other than the main kitchen…but the mini-kitchen near my office in the basement has a microwave. I used my Nordic Ware bowl…melted butter in an old stoneware cup. It’s great to have a hefty snack without having to go up or down stairs!

Our Maryland house went on the market…under contract 4 days later. We hadn’t sold a house in a long time…and the previous experiences had not been quick. This one was lightning fast – just as the realtor had predicted. We were pleased and overwhelmed all at the same time.

New washer and dryer. I don’t remember the last time we had a new washer/dryer….so I am counting it as unique….and still enjoying the big improvement over the older models: quieter, more effiecent use of water/energy, quicker. Also – the laundry chute in our new house is a very nice feature.

Our (new) Yard – June 2022

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A quick walk around our back yard…on my way to a walk before the heat of the day.

There are still a few roses. I’ll water them and hope that the blooms will linger. There are still buds but the heat could be problematic for them.

There are pines and hollies around the deck with steppingstone paths through the beds to the lawn. The lower patio is very private and will be in the winter as well. We see the neighborhood tennis courts and pool over our fence from the 1st floor but the basement level, where my office is located, is a green walled oasis. I love it already.

There are a few plants blooming – they probaby need water too – and there is grass growing into them. I need to find my gardening gloves and clear out the undesirable intrusions into the flower beds.

My sister bought us a glass bird bath that has a solar cell in the base that glows at night. Our first addition to our yard. I can see it from my office window.

There is a swallow nest over the patio – under the deck – and we are avoiding the area in an effort to not upset the parents as they are frantically feeding their hungry young.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 2, 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 if all roads went underground? – Thought provoking…wish there were ways to make it a more practical solution since the aesthetics of a world that has more natural surfaces (rather than roads) is very appealing.

Endangered Whopping Crane Hatches at Smithsonian National Zoo Site – The egg was found on an abandoned wild nest in Wisconsin and given to a pair of whooping cranes in the zoo that had produced 2 infertile eggs. The live egg was put into their nest on 5/18 and the baby crane hatched on 5/26!

BLM, Forest Service, Five Tribes of The Bears Ears Commission Commit to Historic Co-Management Of Bears Ears National Monument – Wishing the best for this endeavor.

Fifth of global food-related emissions due to transport – The takeaway message for us in the US: eat locally! This summer I am visiting the local Farmer’s Market weekly…maybe next year I’ll join a CSA.

Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday Glacier’ melting at fastest rate in 5,500 years – Thwaites Glacier (nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier…Florida-sized) and Pine Island Glacier were studied. The ice shelf holding the Thwaites Glacier could collapse withing 3-5 years.

Finding mini frogs: these aren’t babies, they’re just little – And they hatch as frogs…no tadpole stage. They live in leaf litter…humid and moist but not near water.

New safe-sleep guidelines aim to reduce infant deaths – New guidelines have been coming out from time to time at least since my daughter was born over 30 years ago. When she was a baby, the recommendation was for babies to sleep on their tummy…very different from these current guidelines.

2021 Share the Experience Photo Contest (National Park Foundation) Winners – Special places…full of great experiences.

Los Angeles becomes the latest city to hire ‘chief heat officer’ – Miami and Phoenix as well as cities in other countries (Athens, Greece; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Monterrey, Mexico; Santiago, Chile) have similar positions.

One in 500 men carry extra sex chromosome, putting them at higher risk of several common diseases – A surprising result…most of the men were unaware they carried an extra X or Y chromosome. Those that are XXY had higher chances of reproductive problems. Both XXY and XYY individuals has higher risks of type 2 diabetes, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Morris’ A History of British Birds

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The 8 volumes of A History of British Birds by Francis Orpen Morris are available on Internet Archive. I enjoyed browsing the images this past spring. I’ve selected an image from each book to share in this post.

(vol 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Volume 6 included two birds seen frequently in North America: the coot and the Canada goose.

Volume 7 included the Great Auk which was probably extinct – or near extinct – by the time the books were published in 1862. There were some birds – such as the swallow (volume 2) and the cormorant (volume 8)– that had generic entries.

Morris was an Irish clergyman – a ‘parson-naturalist’ of the 1800s; his professional role accommodated his natural history interests. According to the Wikipedia entry about him, he was a pioneer of the movement to protect birds from the plume trade…refused to accept the theory of evolution.