Gleanings of the Week Ending April 13, 2024

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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.

Touching Image of Intergenerational Love Wins Black and White Minimalist Photography Prize – Minimalist…but powerful.

How an English castle became a stork magnet – 30 White Storks from a rescue project in Poland introduced in the rewilded habitat at Knepp Castle in southern England in 2016. At one point, storks even built nests on Knepp Castle itself although they usually build their nests in the crown of huge oak trees. The young storks started migrating in 2019. The colony has grown to about 80 storks…and is the first breeding colony in Britain in 600 years.

Evidence for Domesticated Chickens Dated to 400 B.C. - A study of eggshell fragments unearthed at 12 archaeological sites located along the Silk Road corridor in Central Asia.

Noisy Summer Ahead for U.S. as Dueling Broods of Cicadas Emerge - It is the first time these two broods are going to be emerging in the same year since Thomas Jefferson was in the White House. Mating season will last until July.

California’s Live Oaks in Focus - Some centuries old, the oaks are magnificent giants that can grow up to 100 feet tall and are what remains of a forest that once blanketed the region.

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects - Analyzing the diversity of organic compounds dissolved in freshwater provides a reliable measure of ecosystem health. Microparticles from car tires, pesticides from farmers' fields, and toxins from harmful algal blooms are just some of the organic chemicals that can be detected using the new approach.

Cars & Road Trips Made a Huge Difference in Women’s History – One of the first cars ever built got taken by a woman, without permission, on the world’s first road trip! Bertha Benz wanted her husband’s invention to be seen out in the country so people would buy it, but her husband Karl Benz was being timid about it. So, she took the car out on a road trip with her kids.

Common household chemicals pose new threat to brain health - The new study discovered that some common home chemicals specifically affect the brain's oligodendrocytes, a specialized cell type that generates the protective insulation around nerve cells. Loss of oligodendrocytes underlies multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. They identified chemicals that selectively damaged oligodendrocytes belong to two classes: organophosphate flame retardants and quaternary ammonium compounds.

The Soundtrack of Spring on the Platte River – Sandhill cranes staging last month along the Central Platte River in Nebraska. So many birds….lots of sound.

These Are the Most Polluted National Parks – Many national parks are suffering from air pollution and facing threats stemming from human-caused climate change. 98 percent of parks suffer from visible haze pollution, while 96 percent are grappling with ozone pollution that could be harmful to human health. Four of the nation’s parks with the unhealthiest air are in California: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve and Yosemite National Park. Another California site, Death Valley National Park, also made the top ten list. 57 percent of national parks are facing at least one threat stemming from climate change that could permanently alter its ecosystems, with many parks grappling with multiple issues at the same time. Invasive species were the most prevalent issue.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 6, 2024

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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 do terracotta warriors tell us about life in ancient China? – Discovered 50 years ago…they are a snapshot of the soldiers of Qin – the feudal state that unified China, for the first time in 221BC under the country's first emperor Qin Shi Huang – from the soles of their shoes to their candy-colored clothes to the bronze weapons buried with them to their distinct facial features. 2,000 terracotta warriors have been excavated but more are uncovered every year.

This Map Shows Where Planting Trees Would Make Climate Change Worse - Trees draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to keep warming in check. But their dark, green leaves also absorb heat from sunlight. Snow and sand, by virtue of their light color, reflect more sunlight back into space. As such, trees planted in snowy areas or in the desert will absorb more sunlight than their surroundings, which may negate the climate benefits of soaking up carbon dioxide.

These 3,000-Year-Old Treasures Were Forged from Meteoritic Iron - In the 1960s, researchers discovered a trove of Bronze Age treasure in Villena, Spain. New research has revealed that some of them made between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E. were forged from iron from a meteor that struck Earth a million years ago. Who manufactured them and where this material was obtained are still questions that remain to be answered.

Vernal Pools Make Your Garden Sing - It’s not just frogs that are making homes in these little pools of water. Less vocal species like salamanders, dragonflies, fairy shrimp, and even dozens of native plants are there too. Even more species than that can be found simply visiting the pool for a drink or snack, including great blue herons, wood ducks, and box turtles.

Return of Trees to Eastern U.S. Kept Region Cool as Planet Warmed - Over the 20th century, the U.S. warmed by 1.2 degrees F (0.7 degrees C), but across much the East, temperatures dropped by 0.5 degrees F (0.3 degrees C). A new study posits that the restoration of lost forest countered warming, keeping the region cool. Still, the return of trees can only partially account for the drop in temperature. Other possible explanations include the growth of irrigation, a source of water vapor, and the uptick in particulate pollution, which reflects sunlight, thereby cooling the air.

Sweetened drinks linked to atrial fibrillation risk - 20% higher risk of irregular heart rhythm, known as atrial fibrillation, among people who said they drank two liters or more per week (about 67 ounces) of artificially sweetened drinks. The risk was 10% higher among people who said they drank similar amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Measles outbreaks and what parents need to know - Measles can lead to complications such as ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis (brain swelling). One to three of every 1,000 children infected with measles dies. More than 97 percent of the people who have had their two shots of the vaccine never get measles.

A new world of 2D material is opening up - 2D materials have shown great potential for an enormous number of applications. You can imagine capturing carbon dioxide or purifying water, for example. Now it's about scaling up the synthesis and doing it in a sustainable way.

In Cleveland, mushrooms digest entire houses: How fungi can be used to clean up pollution - Fungi can eat the noxious waste from abandoned homes. Heavy metals and other toxins are extracted and captured in the mushrooms that grow, while the substrate leftovers, including the mycelium, are compacted and heated to create clean bricks for new construction. The resulting "mycoblocks" have a consistency akin to hardwood and, depending on the specifics of the manufacturing process, have been shown to be significantly stronger than concrete.

Arctic nightlife: Seabird colony bursts with sound at night - Acoustic recordings of a colony of little auks reveal their nocturnal activities and offer valuable monitoring means for avian biology in the Arctic.

When does a road trip become a commute?

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The road trips to Carrollton/Dallas TX have been going on for years – increasing in frequency in recent years as my parents got older. Until recently their duration as been for at least a week; from Maryland it was a 2-day road trip in each direction which was reduced to 7 hours once we moved to Missouri. Sometimes I stayed longer – for hospitalizations/recuperation primarily. There were no trips at the beginning of COVID, but they started up again as soon as we were vaccinated. They are almost always on my own and my parents’ house became almost like a second home since I was spending at least 25% of my time there.

Since my mother’s death and the sale of their house, things are changing. I drive down one day and come back on the next – visiting with my dad for a few hours and staying in a hotel overnight. I’ve done it 3 times and am beginning to realize that the road trip feels more like a long commute.

The route is becoming very familiar. I set the navigation system but really don’t need it. The places I stop (usually Loves or Pilot….sometimes Choctaw Travel Centers) are familiar. There was a Stuckeys that I stopped at occasionally, but it was always a bit grungy and I noticed on the last trek that I had closed. My route is not on Interstate for the most part and I am very aware of the speed limits going though towns.

Music helps keep me alert…and variety helps. Apple Music on my phone playing via Bluetooth on the car speakers is the way to go!

There are several assignments I give myself to stay focused on the road and surroundings. Some of my favorites are:

  • Observing birds (particularly hawks in treetops, great blue herons or great egrets flying, soaring vultures, murmurations of smaller birds….hoping to see a bald eagle). It’s depressing to notice hawk or owl roadkill, but it happens.

  • Noticing the trees – particularly in the spring and fall. Recently I have been paying particular attention to red buds which are scattered among the roadside trees….not thrilled about the escaped Bradford Pears (Callery Pears) that are also there.

  • License plates, particularly in Oklahoma, are more varied than in most states because the Oklahoma tribes have their own plates! Most of my observing of plates is during the times I’ve slowed down for a town and there is more traffic.

  • There is plenty of time to plan what I need to do when I get to Dallas…or when I get home. On the way down, I think about topics that might interest my dad and whatever estate actions I need to take. On the way home, I think about blog posts and, this time of year, what I need to do in the yard.

Phone calls generally factor into the time I am in the car – hands free of course. I call my husband to let him know when I will get home, and my daughter usually calls me for a longer chat when she knows I am driving. It helps pass the time.

More focused purpose. I am realizing that the trips have one overwhelming purpose – to see and visit with my dad. It’s a few hours rather than 24/7 for a week like it was before. There is not much time for anything else although brief times out in nature might still happen…although not on every trip.

And that is how my road trips to Texas have become more like a commute.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 30, 2024

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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.

Floating Solar Array Is Designed to Take the Rough Stuff - Rich opportunities for solar co-location with offshore wind. By combining floating solar with offshore wind farms and thereby leveraging the same energy infrastructure and export cables, the resulting energy production capacity per used area could be drastically improved. Prototype has been developed…should be in the water by June 2024.

Lessons In Rewilding the Scottish Highlands – Working with nature…increasing biodiversity…reducing monoculture.

Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves – I’ve heard about a few of these…the pictures were interesting.

Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back - Brewing a baby leads to changes in the distribution of certain chemical markers on a pregnant person’s DNA — changes similar to those that are a hallmark of getting older. But new research shows that, several months after a person gives birth, the chemical patterns revert to an earlier state.

Did You Know Sandhill Cranes Dye Their Feathers? – The birds rub iron rich mud onto their feathers…staining them. And some trivia about sandhill cranes at the Platte River (Nebraska) in the early spring:

  • The birds find a lot of waste corn in farm fields, as well as small invertebrates in marshes near the river. A crane can add 20 percent to its weight during two or three weeks in the area.

  • At night, the cranes move to the Platte River for safe roosting in the shallow water.

  • Sandhill cranes are the most numerous of the world’s crane species.

  • In the Central Flyway, more than 500,000 cranes – more than 80 percent of their population.

The heat index -- how hot it really feels -- is rising faster than temperature - Researchers looked at Texas's summer 2023 heat wave and found that the 3 degree F rise in global temperatures has increased the state's heat index as much as 11 degrees F on the hottest days! Arizona's most populous county, covering most of Phoenix, reported that heat-associated deaths last year were 50% higher than in 2022, rising from 425 in 2022 to 645 in 2023. Two-thirds of Maricopa County's heat-related deaths in 2023 were of people 50 years or older, and 71% occurred on days when the National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning. With climate change, the relative humidity remains about constant as the temperature increases, which reduces the effectiveness of sweating to cool the body.

158 Cherry Blossom Trees Will Be Cut Down in D.C. in Effort to Withstand Sea-Level Rise – Part of the project to reconstruct a seawall around the Tidal Basin.

Landscape Architecture Strategies Reduce Impacts of Dangerous Extreme Heat – And these apply to what we do in our yard too!

  • Increase tree percentage in parks and green spaces

  • Provide shade on sites

  • Use plant materials and water instead of hardscape

  • Switch to green ground cover, including grasses and shrubs

Plastics Contain Thousands More Chemicals Than Thought, and Most Are Unregulated – Scary! The report also highlights 15 chemical priority groups of concern. These include phthalates, which are used to make plastics more durable and have been found to affect the reproductive systems of animals, as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which break down very slowly over time and have been linked to health issues including reproductive and developmental problems and increased cancer risk.

Only seven nations meet WHO air pollution standards – The US is not one of the seven: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand. Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso were the top five most polluted countries in 2023 with PM2.5 levels nine to 15 times higher than the WHO's standard. Columbus, Ohio, was the most polluted major city in the United States, while Las Vegas was the cleanest and Beloit, Wisconsin polluted U.S. city overall.

Zooming – March 2024

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Lots of birds in the Zooming slide show this month – from the Whooping Crane Festival in south Texas as well as Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX), the Springfield Botanical Gardens (Springfield MO) and Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman TX). I find myself picking images that show bird behavior rather than portraits.

There are spring flowers in this collection as well…more of those coming in April!

Enjoy the March 2024 slide show!

Springfield Botanical Garden – March 2024

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Springfield Botanical Gardens is one of my favorite places; I will try to go at least once a month for the rest of this year. We went on a sunny cool day in the late morning. The sky was almost clear and the light was very bright….making for some ‘almost high key’ pictures of the blossoms on a tree growing close to where we parked.

There were other trees/bushes in bloom as well.

The maples were already making seeds (i.e. past blooming). The seeds were still colorful.

Spring bulbs were still blooming….

But I was more interested in the new growth all over the hosta garden. It will be very lush this summer.

I took some pictures of the garden mosaic…carefully avoiding getting my shadow in the picture.

Lenten roses were blooming. My daughter has some in her yard too. They do seem to grow well but I tend to not like them because their blooms face downward.

There were birds in the gardens too. Lots of robins. We heard a brown thrasher and then saw it high in the tree….too high for a good picture. I did get a picture of a blue bird though!

My husband was very tolerant of my walking around to take pictures even though he didn’t see anything he was interested in photographing. He seemed very intent on macro photography….and didn’t see any opportunities. I find that the zoom on my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) is good enough to take some ‘almost macro’ pictures without being close to the flowers (or birds) at all!

King Ranch

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The second day of the Whooping Crane Festival started early; we got on a bus to head to the King Ranch at 6 AM! The King Ranch Visitor Center was a little over an hour from Port Aransas (and we did not take the ferry). By the time we got there the sun was up.

We had a ‘rest stop’ at the visitor center…plenty of time to look around for birds. There were curve-billed thrashers on some prickly pear cactus.

A rufous hummingbird was not bothered by the sudden influx of people. It stayed in place long enough for everyone to get a good look.

Mockingbirds were around too….they are the state bird of Texas.

A golden-fronted woodpecker was spotted. It moved around a lot but there always seemed to be twigs between me and the bird!

Then we did most of our viewing from the bus for a bit since the ranch is so big…and the trip has a limited amount of time. I managed some OK pictures through the windows: a roadrunner and crested caracara….

Longhorn cattle.

We made a stop and saw a group of sandhill cranes in the distance.

Back on the bus…we had been seeing American kestrels all  morning and I eventually managed to get an image of one through the bus window…good enough for id but focus not sharp enough.

A group of female wild turkeys moved away as our bus got closer. Later we would see a group of male turkeys.

Another raptor through the bus window…a red-shouldered hawk.

The bus stopped at a water impoundment…and we all got an excellent view of an American Bittern.

There was a feeding station for birds at the next stop. We got good looks at red-winged blackbirds and gold-fronted woodpeckers…

And green jays!

There was a least grebe in the water a little ways down the road.

A snowy egret had caught breakfast.

Green-winged teal, pyrrhuloxia, and American Coots were also enjoying the water.

Alligator!

A Great Egret took off as the alligator headed toward it.

In the distance….Cinnamon teal with blue winged teal and a black necked stilt.

A great kiskadee made an appearance.

A black-crowned night heron is often hard to see in heavy vegetation. I always feel lucky when I finally see it and luckier still to get a photograph.

And the male turkeys were the last birds we saw as we headed back to the visitor center.

My husband and I both enjoyed this field trip…saw a lot of birds that we didn’t see during any of other field trips. It was interesting to learn a little history of the King Ranch as well. We had enough time for a quick lunch before showing up for trip out on a boat in the afternoon.

Zooming – February 2024

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It’s been a busy month with 2 trips to Texas and then a flurry of activity when I was home in Missouri. I tried to take breaks for photography…even if they were very short! There are pictures from my parents’ house in Carrollton that has been sold, Josey Ranch in Carrollton, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, and snow at home. Enjoy the February 2024 slideshow!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – February 2024

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I left my hotel in Plano TX early enough to get to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge about 15 minutes after sunrise. It was a cloudy morning, so the light stayed muted during my drive along the wildlife road. There were a lot of pintails feeding in the shallow water. They sometimes blend in with the vegetation and only become noticeable because they are moving!

In my favorite pintail picture of the morning, the bird seemed to be posing!

There were a few Northern Shovelers. I saw a lot more of them in previous winters.

A yellowlegs was in the same pond where I had seen one many times before. I’m not sure whether it is a lesser or greater. The coloring looks more like a lesser but the bill is long like a greater! I don’t have anything to help me gauge the size.

The male red-winged blackbirds were raucously defining their territory.

I spotted meadowlarks several times but only got one (not very good) picture.

A group of gadwalls was feeding in the shallows. They look like they are interacting with each other more than the group of feeding pintails were.

I didn’t see any snow geese until later in my visit…and then I saw a small flock just before I left. I didn’t see the large flocks this year at Hagerman. I wondered if the avian flu reduced their numbers or if the odd winter weather has the geese wintering elsewhere.

As I left to continue my drive toward home, I savored the hour well-spent!

Josey Ranch – February 2024

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When I first arrived at Josey Ranch, I didn’t think I was going to see very many birds. Then I started to notice more. Ring-billed gulls on the boardwalk and shore.

Pigeons strutting – the iridescent color of their feathers changing as they moved.

I excepted the flotilla of scaups. They seem to be the bird I see most this winter.

A coot came out of the water, and I got pictures of its feet (so different…they look a little dangerous) and next to a Canada goose for a size comparison.

There were a few shovelers.

But the treat were cormorants on the water….I took several sequences because there seemed to be so many cormorants making the maneuver.

One bird swam around with wings arched for a long time. Was it to dry the feathers….or show off for a lady?

Josey Ranch Birds – January 2023

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There was not a lot of extra time during my work trip to Carrollton TX in late January…but I did manage a morning to check the birds at Josey Ranch. I was a little early; the sun was up but the large building to the east was still blocking much of the sunshine. There were quite a few birds to see.

The scaups

The Northern Shovelers (the first time I had seen them this season at Josey Ranch)

The coots

The Canada Geese

A Great Blue Heron…A Great Egret

The Double-crested Cormorants (although not in as large numbers as previous visits)

A male bufflehead (looking for breakfast so difficult to catch on the surface!)

The resident swans

It seemed that many of the birds were in motion….leaving wakes as they moved through the water. I enjoyed the few minutes I spent…getting my nature fix for the day before I started packing up items to be donated from my parents’ house.

Zooming – January 2024

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January was a very light month for photography; I was recovering from the stress of being away from home and made 2 short trips to Carrollton very focused on helping my parents adjust to their new home and preparing to sell the house they had lived in for over 30 years. Even with fewer images to select from – I savor the 9 selected as the best for the month: birds and snow and sunrises….and a surprised flower (taken near the end of December just as the first hard freeze was sending the Carrollton TX area into winter). Enjoy the January 2024 slideshow!

Snowy Day on our Patio

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The birds were very active at our feeders recently with the temperature in the single digits (Fahrenheit) and the wind blowing up to 16 miles per hour! Multiple perches were in use much of the time. The house finches were the most numerous but there were sparrows (white-crowned) and a woodpecker (hairy?) and a female Northern Cardinal too. It was quite a feeding frenzy!

I was taking pictures through an office window with a screen so the pictures have a softened focus. Sometimes birds were still enough for portraits (female finch, male woodpecker, white crowned sparrow, cardinal).

I attempted a picture of sparrow through vegetation….and liked the artsy veil that the automatic focus produced with the challenge.

Of course, there were other items catching snow around our patio – the chiminea, the holly trees, the gnarled vine to the side of the stairs to the deck, a paver near the almost covered lambs ear, fall leaves in the bottom of the wagon. I stepped outside to take these pictures….and all the birds flew away!

The birds returned within minutes of my exit from the patio back to the warmth of my office.

Birds at Josey Ranch the last day of 2023

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I got to the large pond at Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) just after sunrise on the last day of 2023. The birds were in feeding mode. The ring-necked duck diving for fish…

The swans swimming up to a high bank to nibble the grass while staying in the water….

A flock of double-crested cormorants landing just as I arrived than quickly finding good places to feed on the pond.

They were more numerous than I had ever seen at the pond before…I was probably lucky to catch some that were migrating.

A great blue heron was statue-like – standing on the grassy shore.

When I looked at my images on a large sceen, I discovered that I had managed a photo of a scaup with its mouth open!

The sunrise was not spectacular; the clouds were thickening as the sun came up. It was spectacular to see the cormorants so active in the minutes of brilliant sunshine at one end of the pond. I headed back to work on tasks I needed to complete before I left for Missouri (going home) the following day.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 13, 2024

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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 were the death tolls from pandemics in history? – The two most recent ones are COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS. Death from the 1918-1920 flu pandemic was larger than both together….and the population of the world was less then too.

Moments of hope and resilience from the climate frontlines – Drought then intense rains leading to rolling blackouts, damage to infrastructure, agriculture failures, mosquito spread diseases. Heat stress leading to deaths of people and wildlife, wildfires. Protecting and rehabilitating damaged habitats. A new normal….not anyone ready. Heat officers to help residents cope. Coastal erosion (caused by coastal development, rising sea levels and storm surges). Taking two years rather than one to dry firewood in Lapland. Solar panels positive impact on health care in India (and anywhere where electric power is unreliable). Crop irrigation required where it previously was not. Learning from our past, simpler lifestyles.

European Imports of Russian Pipeline Gas Dropped by Half Last Year - Europe has implemented measures to conserve energy and has ramped up wind and solar power. Last year, Germany, the largest economy in Europe, drew more than half of its power from renewables for the first time.

NASA Captures Stunning Images of Jupiter’s Moon Io on Closest Flyby in 20 Years – Image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Io is the most volcanically active planetary body in our solar system with 100s of volcanos.

Christmas Trees on the Beach – The innovative ways communities are using the cut trees after Christmas!

How humans have changed the Earth’s surface in 2023 – Overhead pictures tell stories of the past year. The picture of the drained Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine was startling.

Photographer Travels Europe to Document Incredible Starling Murmurations – I see smaller murmurations every road trip….never in a situation to photograph them! They are not always starlings. I remember seeing one in Florida that was tree swallows.

Could Climate Change Cause More Lakes to Turn Bright Pink? – Single-celled, salt-loving halobacteria. There is a new pink pond at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii…but it has been happening in the Great Salt Lake’s North Arm for several decades.  The number of pink ponds could increase with warmer temperatures increasing evaporation (and increasing the salinity of waters).

Next Solar Eclipse, In April, Expected to Attract Upwards Of 4 Million Tourists - Great American Eclipse has developed a geographic model to estimate how many people will travel to see the April eclipse. This model predicts that between 1 and 4 million people will travel to the path of totality. Texas is expected to receive the majority of visitors, followed by Indiana, Ohio, New York, Arkansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Oklahoma, Maine, and New Hampshire.

U.S. Dietary Committee considers if the potato is a vegetable or a grain - Agriculture officials say the average American consumes about 50 pounds of potatoes each year.

Zooming (and Macro) – December 2023

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There was not as much time for photography this past month; I am combining macro (getting close) and zoomed (optical magnification) images in this post.

The macro images go first. The yellow cosmos were part of a small bouquet I cut and put in mini-vase for the middle of my parents’ breakfast table. They enjoyed the enlarged view that I showed them just after I photographed them. The leaves are probably the last new ones of the season on a rose bush that has been blooming next to their garage for over 30 years!

The leaves on a millet plant (came up under the bird feeder!) are interesting as they begin their end-of-season decline.

The zoomed images for December included some birds and plants at Josey Ranch, fall foliage, and zoomed images of glass orbs in yard art…the last flowers in the garden.

In the coming months – the stainless steel iris will be the highlight of the garden!

In the coming months – the stainless steel iris will be the highlight of the garden!

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 9, 2023

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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.

Restored Glass Negatives Capture Daily Life in 19th-Century New England – Photographs taken from the 1860s to 1930s….Massachusetts…different photographers.

As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise – The mosquitos that carry dengue viruses are extending their range. There were 0.5 million cases in 2000…5.2 million in 2019. In recent years, dengue has popped up in places it had never been seen, including Afghanistan, parts of Southern Europe, and, this year, Chad. An additional 2 billion people would be at risk of dengue exposure by 2080, compared to 2015. Areas unfamiliar with dengue may be hard hit even if case numbers aren’t high as people won’t have immunity from previous exposure to the virus, and public health systems may not be strong enough to cope with dengue outbreaks.

The World’s Largest Iceberg Is Drifting Three Miles Into the Ocean Each Day - The world’s largest iceberg, which had been grounded on the seafloor since the mid-1980s, is moving away from Antarctica and picking up speed. It could disrupt the foraging of seals, penguins and other seabirds. Called A23a, the iceberg measures around 1,500 square miles—more than 20 times the size of Washington, D.C.—and it’s roughly 1,300 feet thick, making it two and one-third times the height of the Washington Monument. It weighs nearly one trillion metric tons.

Landscape Photography Awards Rewards Authenticity in Photography – My favorite was “Little Leaves”….maybe because it didn’t have time to see a lot with fall foliage this year.

Expansive Alexander Calder Exhibition Opens in Seattle – Take a look at the museum’s site for the exhibit at well.

Bird Photography Contest Celebrates the Unique Diversity of Australia’s Wildlife - Nine winners were singled out for their work, rising above more than 6,000 images that were submitted. My favorite of this group is “Jambalaya on the Bayou.”

Volcano Monitoring Can Be A Risky Business: How Scientists Work Safely - Common PPE used in the field by HVO staff include respirators to filter volcanic gases, gas badges to monitor sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations, along with helmets and eye protection.  When molten lava sampling, crews will carry a face shield, fire-resistant clothing, and gloves to protect the wearer from radiating heat.

Best of 2023: Top 42 Photographs From Around the World – I have two favorites in this group of photos: the bald eagles and the dancing mantises!

African Penguins Tell Each Other Apart by Their Polka Dot Patterns – Evidently the chest plumage is unique to each bird….and the birds recognize the dots of their partners!

Photographer Chronicles the Enchanting Life of a Wild Red Fox for 8 Months – A Hungarian photographer’s project at his cottage in the forest after he noticed a fox running under the window one night.

2023 at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

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I made stops at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on my way to and from Carrollton all during the year. On the way down, I arrived around noon; on the way home, it was just after sunrise.

Seeing/photographing birds is the big draw for my visits. I spend an hour or so moving slowly down the central wildlife tour road…sometimes taking a side road. I use my car as a blind and roll the window down when I see birds. My camera is on a monopod collapsed down to its shortest length. Most of the time I brace it in the cup holder between the front seats…tilt the head to get the image I want.

In the winter there are flocks of snow geese (and Ross’s geese) along with Northern Shovelers and Pintails. White Faced Ibis and American White Pelicans are seen during migrations. Egrets (snowy, cattle, great) are numerous in the spring and summer; I enjoyed an early morning seeing/hearing them on one of the ponds where they had obviously spent the night. Great Blue Herons are around all the time although are most numerous in the summer when the young are beginning life on their own. Red-winged blackbirds are year-round residents but murmurations of the birds are seen in the fall as they move about eating the mature seeds of the prairie plants. I saw Neotropic Cormorants for the first time this year.

Of course there are other things to photograph too – prairie type flowers, drift wood, insects, sunrise. This year I noticed a cluster of Queen butterflies in July…didn’t see many Monarchs until the fall when they were probably migrating. The butterflies were photographed in the butterfly garden near the refuge’s visitor center – along with a grasshopper! I was surprised to see a dragonfly perched on a plant so close to the car that I was able to photograph it during my drive down the wildlife loop!

Hagerman has become one of my favorite places in Texas…and I will continue to stop there as often as I can.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 2, 2023

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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.

Scientists found hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics - More than 13,000 chemicals used in plastics with 25% classified as hazardous. Numerous studies show that hazardous chemicals can accumulate even in relatively close-loop plastic recycling systems. We need to rapidly phase-out plastic chemicals that can cause harm to human health and the environment.

Giant Sequoias Are in Big Trouble. How Best to Save Them? - Giant sequoias are, by volume, the largest trees in the world, indigenous only to California. Reaching heights of 300 feet, they occur in 80 groves or grove complexes along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Central California. Many of these trees live for thousands of years: The oldest sequoia is more than 3,200 years old. In North America, only bristlecone pines grow longer. The 2020 and 2021 fire seasons were a wake-up call: flames had killed between 13 and 19 percent of all giant sequoias more than 4 feet in diameter, and many trees were far larger.

Batteries of the future? How cotton and seawater might power our devices - In markets where consumers appear to really care about the sustainability of the products they buy, appropriately sourced alternative battery materials might have more of a chance – whether batteries are made with biowaste-derived carbon or any other potentially more sustainable substance. The public could play a big role in really pushing that effort forward.

Designing cities for 21st-century weather – A data-driven model to predict how urban areas across the country will grow by 2100 found that how a city is laid out or organized spatially has the potential to reduce population exposures to future weather extremes. Carefully designed urban land patterns cannot completely erase increased population exposures to weather extremes resulting from climate change, but it can generate a meaningful reduction of the increase in risks.

Stunning 2,700-Year-Old Sculpture Unearthed in Iraq – 18 tons of alabaster. 2,700 years old. 12.5x12.8 feet. Largely intact except for its head which is missing.

Larger Beaks, Smaller Bodies: Could Climate Change Literally Change Birds? – A study analyzed 129 species of North American migratory birds collected over the prior 40 years and found bodies are shrinking and wings growing longer. Smaller species of birds, like tiny warblers or kinglets, shrink faster than bigger birds like robins and grackles, so their rate of change over the 40 years, is much, much faster. They’re able to maybe adapt to warming temperatures faster than these bigger birds.

A step closer to injection-free diabetes care: Innovation in insulin-producing cell – Potential this safer and more reliable way to grow insulin-producing cells from a patient's own blood could eventually allow transplants without the need for anti-rejection drugs.  

The Life and Death of American Dams - Many dams are now poorly maintained, clogged with silt, and pose an increasingly high risk of catastrophic failure. The recent recognition of the damage dams cause and the movement to remove them is part of the rewilding of America, long overdue.

An exotic tick that can kill cattle is spreading across Ohio – Asian longhorned ticks. The size of a sesame seed in some life stages and pea-sized when engorged. Surveillance showed they returned the following summer to the farm despite the application of pesticides in 2021. Asian longhorned ticks' secret colonization weapon is the ability to reproduce asexually, with each female laying up to 2,000 eggs at a time -- and all 2,000 of those female offspring able to do the same.

How Urban Design Impacts Public Health – Urban planning and design affects everything from air quality to temperature to risk of injury on roadways. Often with developers of public spaces it’s a sin of omission rather than of commission. In many cases, what is rarely apparent is what the health cost is, because that cost is born in a different sector and often at a different time.

Ten Little Celebrations – November 2023

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November has been a more emotional month that usual…there are some little celebrations on my list for the month that seem normal….but others that reflect the rapid changes occurring with one of my parents.

90+ birthday. Both of my parents are approaching their mid-90s and my family tries to celebrate each birthday (realizing that it could be the last). The one that happened in November was celebrated over 3 days to avoid exhausting them both. I got to be there for all three days since I stay in their home when I am in Carrollton.

Birds at the feeder (after we unclogged them). I unclogged bird feeders at both Carrollton and my home in Missouri…celebrated when the birds quickly discovered that the seed was available again.

A cool sunny day. I had grass and leaves to mow…celebrated the sunny afternoon that was not too cold for the activity. It was one of the most enjoyable mowing experiences of the season!

Twigs burned/millet planted. I had other yard work to accomplish as part of fall clean up in my yard and there was an excellent day to get it done. I burned the accumulated twigs (savoring the heat produced) and put the millet seed heads in strategic places so that (maybe) plants will grow next summer. My husband helped me store all the tools that had been out under the deck for quick access during the summer. We both celebrated the completion of our preparations for winter.

A good nap today. I drove from Missouri to Carrollton the day after my parent entered the hospital and immediately went to the hospital to stay with them overnight. My sister arrived the next morning to spend the next 24 hours helping the parent in the hospitals and I managed to drive to my parents’ house….and celebrated another sister being there to fix lunch so that I could nap. I went completely to sleep…got a full 90 minute sleep cycle in 100 minutes….celebrated feeling so much better afterward.

Bluebird at Josey Ranch. Seeing the bluebird at Josey Ranch was a boost to my mental outlook. I celebrated that I was savvy enough to know that nature often does that for me…and to stop at Josey Ranch on my way from the hospital to my parents’ house.

A parent coming home from the hospital. The sunrise I noticed at the hospital was a good start on the day my parent was projected to come home from the hospital. I celebrated the beauty at the beginning of the day…glad that the homecoming occurred later in the day.

The home health nurse coming for a 1st visit. I celebrated that we got a visit from the home health nurse on the Friday after Thanksgiving (i.e. we didn’t have to wait for the week after Thanksgiving)!

The time I have with my parents now….being in the present. I celebrate the time I am having with both parents now. Appreciating joys in every day shared with them.

Thanksgiving. The holiday was very different this year. I spent it with my parents and having various family bring special foods throughout the weekend rather than one huge meal. Gratitude is integrated with all my other emotions right now…and I celebrate that it is. It makes everything else easier.