Gleanings of the Week Ending March 14, 2026

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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.

2/25/2026 The Scientist Forever Chemicals May Accelerate Aging in Middle-Aged Men - The team detected the PFAS perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA) in 95 percent of the participants. PFNA and PFOSA, both invented in the middle of the 20th century, are still used widely today in consumer products designed to be stain-, grease-, and water-repellent. To reduce risk, individuals can try to limit their consumption of packaged foods and avoid microwaving fast-food containers. Looking ahead, we are actively modeling how PFAS interacts with other common pollutants, as we need to understand the cumulative health risks of these chemical mixtures

3/1/2026 BBC Can ‘friction-maxxing’ fix your focus? - While modern technology can streamline day-to-day life, making everything from dating to food delivery more efficient, it may come at a cost: early data suggests that our attention span may be shortening, critical thinking capabilities weakening, emotional intelligence fading, and spatial memory getting worse as we offload human tasks to our devices. Analogue hobbies such as crafting, gardening or reading – which involve friction as opposed to scrolling or streaming – can act as "active meditation", calming the mind and reducing stress. One 2024 study of more than 7,000 adults living in England found that those who engaged in crafting or the creative arts were more likely to report significantly higher life satisfaction, a greater sense that life is worthwhile and increased happiness. 

2/24/2025 The New York Times Plastic, Plastic Everywhere - Peak oil may be on the horizon. But peak plastic is nowhere in sight. In a new book, “Plastic Inc.,” the journalist Beth Gardiner digs into an industry that mostly flies below the radar but has huge impacts on human health, environmental pollution and global warming.

3/5/2026 Yale 360 Species Slowdown: Is Nature’s Ability to Self-Repair Stalling? - When scientists recently analyzed hundreds of studies of ecosystems, they were surprised to see a marked slowing in the rate of species turnover. If new species don’t replace old ones, they say, ecosystems may have less flexibility to respond to habitat loss and climate change.

2/28/2026 KCTV A ban on mini liquor bottle sales in five Kansas City neighborhoods officially introduced - Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Melissa Robinson officially introduced an ordinance Thursday that would ban the sale of certain single-serve alcohol products in five Kansas City neighborhoods - — areas the city said have documented public safety concerns and recurring quality-of-life complaints from residents.

3/5/2026 The Conversation Choosing to buy organic food depends more on trust than taste - Organic labels work only when the system behind them is trusted. This has important implications at a time when food prices are rising and trust in public institutions is under pressure in many countries.

2/2/2026 Washington Post Baggies, retainers and more: 5 microplastics questions, answered - If you only have the bandwidth for a few battles, heating food in plastic is the bigger front. Most experts agree that ultra-processed foods are likely the biggest source overall in our diets. Food that comes packaged in plastic is obvious, but there are exposures during industrial processing that we don’t see. That’s one more reason to lean toward whole foods when you can.

3/4/2026 National Parks Traveler Study Finds Bird Populations Are In Decline As Panel Considers Weakening Key Act - Bird populations are in decline, with billions fewer birds are flying through North America compared to a decade ago, according to a study published in February 2026. The researchers found that about half of the 261 species analyzed showed significant declines from 1987 to 2021, and a quarter showed accelerating declines. The study points out that the declines are primarily because of high-intensity agriculture and warming temperatures. The findings come as a congressional panel is holding a hearing to consider weakening the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Extinction starts with declines like these, and birds are often the indicators that our environment is too toxic to support other life.

3/4/2026 Science Daily Millions with joint pain and osteoarthritis are missing the most powerful treatment - Despite affecting nearly 600 million people worldwide — and potentially a billion by 2050 — the most powerful treatment isn’t surgery or medication. It’s exercise.

2/26/2026 Canary Media Balcony solar is taking state legislatures by storm - Plug-in solar is already booming in Europe. As many as 4 million households in Germany have installed the systems, which people can order through Ikea. 28 states and D.C. are considering plug-in solar bills.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 28, 2026

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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.

2/16/2026 Journal of Advanced Research Association between exposure to microplastics and lipid disorders: A case-control study – Study with 239 patients aged ≥18 years who underwent fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected. Microplastics in BALF were identified and quantified using laser direct infrared spectroscopy. Fourteen main types of microplastics were detected in BALF with PE being dominant. Exposure to microplastics was associated with elevated levels of total cholesterol.

2/16/2026 National Parks Traveler A Day in the Park: Canyon de Chelly National Monument – This article reminded me of a visit to the park in 1983! We hiked the White House Trail, and I remember wading across a stream with the 4 of us holding hands just in case there was a pocket of quicksand. We managed to get through with neither of the two cameras getting dipped in the water.

2/13/2026 Science Daily Scientists make microplastics glow to see what they do inside your body - A new study proposes an innovative fluorescence-based strategy that could allow researchers to track microplastics in real time as they move, transform, and degrade inside biological systems.

2/15/2026 Our World in Data Four minutes of air conditioning - In at least 45 countries, the average residential electricity use per person for an entire day is less than the electricity that is required to power an air conditioner for one hour. In India, the daily electricity budget is sufficient for only 44 minutes of AC. In Nigeria, just 13 minutes; and in South Sudan, just 4. Most people in some of the world’s hottest countries do not use AC. The most recent data from the International Energy Agency suggests that just 5% of households in India, 6% in South Africa, and 16% in Brazil had air conditioning. In the very poorest countries, almost no one has it. In colder countries, we wouldn’t accept people freezing in their homes. The opposite is also true: we shouldn’t accept people working and living in oppressive heat without ways to cool themselves down.

2/15/2026 Planetization South Carolina Mapping Tool Tracks Marsh Migration From Sea Level Rise - A new mapping tool funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation maps South Carolina’s shifting salt marshes, which are pushing inland as seawater levels rise. The mapping tool translates theoretical projections into actionable data. For a more detailed explanation and videos see the article on Governing.

1/23/2026 The Scientist Antibiotic Resistance Is Rising: 4 Trends Could Change That Course - Antibiotic resistance is sometimes framed as an inevitable catastrophe. But I believe the reality is more hopeful: Society is entering an era of smarter diagnostics, innovative therapies, ecosystem-level strategies and policy reforms aimed at rebuilding the antibiotic pipeline in addition to addressing stewardship. For the public, this means better tools and stronger systems of protection. For researchers and policymakers, it means collaborating in new ways. The question now isn’t whether there are solutions to antibiotic resistance – it’s whether society will act fast enough to use them.

2/11/2026 Smithsonian Magazine Ice Fishermen Catch Record-Breaking 244-Pound Atlantic Halibut After Hours-Long Struggle - The fish measured more than six and a half feet long and easily broke the previous record—194 pounds—for the largest halibut caught on the Saguenay, which had been set last winter. The record-breaking Saguenay fish was the 27th halibut hooked this winter as part of the research project. After organs are removed for study, the fishermen will get to keep and split roughly 170 pounds of meat.

2/16/2026 Science Daily Microplastics have reached Antarctica’s only native insect - Scientists have discovered that Belgica antarctica — a tiny, rice-sized midge and the southernmost insect on Earth — is already ingesting microplastics in the wild. While lab tests showed the hardy larvae can survive short-term exposure without obvious harm, those exposed to higher plastic levels had reduced fat reserves, hinting at hidden energy costs.

2/16/2023 Cool Green Science 8 of the World’s Little-Known Wildlife Migrations – Lots of different kinds of animals of this list!

2/16/2026 Yale Environment 360 Despite Rollbacks, U.S. Fossil Fuels Face Tough Road Ahead - The weakening of environmental regulations belies the downward trajectory for fossil fuels under President Trump. Today, the U.S. coal fleet is the smallest it has been in decades, having shrunk roughly in half since 2010. There are no new coal plants under construction. Oil is expected to stagnate as global production outpaces demand. Oil executives say the shale boom may be coming to an end. Natural gas remains a bright spot for U.S. fossil fuels as a recent boom in gas exports continues to drive demand for U.S. gas

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 26, 2025

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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.

Greenland Sled Dog DNA Reveals a Story of Human Migration and Ancestry of the Unique Breed - The ancestors of the Inuit arrived in Greenland earlier than previously thought—potentially even before the arrival of the Vikings.

A Bird’s Eye View: Drones Search for Grassland Birds in Colorado - Drones have been used to survey animals from afar for years; this project borrows from those learnings for the novel —and challenging—task of detecting small-bodied, ground-nesting birds (Bobolinks) amid thick, tall grass, without disturbing the species of interest.

Hungary's oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation - Tens of thousands of centuries-old books are being pulled from the shelves of a medieval abbey in Hungary to save them from a beetle infestation that could wipe out centuries of history. I wondered how many of the books have been scanned.

'Wobbly-tooth puberty': How children's brains change at six-years-old – A stage in which a child is constructing their identity, and they're trying to figure out who they are in relation to other people. The transformation includes a greater capacity to reflect on their feelings and modify them when needed, along with an "advanced theory of mind" that allows them to think more sophisticatedly about others' behaviors and respond appropriately. They also begin master the basics of rational enquiry and logical deduction, so that they can take more responsibility for their actions

How a hidden brain circuit fuels fibromyalgia, migraines, and PTSD - Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a hidden brain circuit that gives pain its emotional punch—essentially transforming ordinary discomfort into lasting misery. This breakthrough sheds light on why some people suffer more intensely than others from conditions like fibromyalgia, migraines, and PTSD. By identifying the exact group of neurons that link physical pain to emotional suffering, the researchers may have found a new target for treating chronic pain—without relying on addictive medications.

Greenland’s Bejeweled Ice Sheet - In spring 2025, jewel-toned points of blue began to appear on the white surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. As summer arrived, they grew larger and more numerous, taking on unique shapes and occasionally forming connections. The colorful seasonal phenomenon is due to meltwater from snow and ice, which pools atop the ice sheet in places each melt season. An image from the Operational Land Imager-2 on NASA’s Landsat9.

Easter Island Was Far Less Isolated Than Previously Believed, Study Reveals - Earlier genetic studies in the 2010s laid the ground for the most recent investigation, showing that Easter Island was reached at least two times by the 14th century. Further influence arrived from pre-European South Americans, an interaction evidenced by the presence of sweet potatoes and the Birdman concept. This post is about the idea that after language, plants, animals, and material culture arrived on Easter Island from the west, monumental ritual architecture began traveling in the opposite direction.

In a First, Solar Was Europe’s Biggest Source of Power Last Month - Solar was the largest source of electricity in the EU in June, supplying a record 22 percent of the bloc’s power. Solar amounted to more than 40 percent of generation in the Netherlands and 35 percent in Greece. Analysts say that the June surge in solar power helped Europe weather a brutal heat wave, which saw temperatures soar upwards of 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Last month was the warmest June on record in Europe, and scientists say that climate change played a key role in the heat wave, pushing temperatures to dangerous extremes.

Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy – A thought provoking post. The author described 3 ways that the increase in inequality undermines democracy: 1. Fraying social bonds and livelihoods, 2. Increasing corruption in politics, 3. Undermining belief in the common good.

Honeybees remove 80% of pollen—leaving native bees with nothing - Our modern agricultural industry is so reliant on honeybees that humans have introduced them worldwide, and in many cases, they have escaped human management and risen to prominence in natural ecosystems as non-native, feral populations. And, like any other non-native organism, feral honeybees may perturb native ecosystems when they become sufficiently abundant.

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (1)

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My husband and I drove up to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge last weekend – hoping to see a lot of snow geese. Their migration has begun and the ponds near the visitor center were full of thousands of birds when we arrived. A group would startle, and a lot of birds would rise off the water, swirl around over the pond and come back down not far away. There were three bald eagles that we saw around the wildlife loop road – but they seemed to be just watching rather than hunting for a meal.

As we headed to the hotel later in the afternoon, I researched snow geese migration and found that they often fly at night. We did notice that there were groups of geese that seemed to be flying away from the ponds as we were leaving. When we arrived a little before sunrise the next morning, there were much fewer snow geese than when we had left! It was very different than our experience at Bosque del Apache in December where the snow geese are there for the winter – not migrating through. As the sun came up and the smaller number of geese on the ponds begin to move about…with trumpeter swans around the edges of the group…we noticed that there were snow geese flying in! Perhaps they had been flying all night. Ribbons of birds in the sky kept coming the rest of the morning.

I took a picture from the visitor center with a lot of snow geese over the ponds.

From the lookout deck – I took pictures of birds in the water, the bridge over an irrigation dish to provide access to the wildlife loop, the bluffs (vegetation covered…loess underneath from the glaciation of the area) back toward the visitor’s center, birds in the air…and one final picture with snow geese and tumpeter swans.

I’ll be posting about other birds, muskrats, and some plants in two more posts in the next few days.

Note: We did see a few dead birds in the water. They looked like snow geese. The visitor center was not open so I wasn’t able to ask about the disease most prevalent right now (I suspect bird flu or avian cholera).

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 22, 2025

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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.

A Five-Pound Hunk of the World’s Oldest Known Synthesized Pigment Was Found in Nero’s Palace – Egyptian Blue. The pigment is a synthetic pigment produced by firing a mixture of silica, limestone and minerals containing copper and sodium carbonate at high temperatures. The Roman architect Vitruvius recorded the recipe in his treatise De Architectura in the first century B.C.E., reflecting how the color spread through the Mediterranean world. Archaeologists discover traces of Egyptian blue that are all but imperceptible to the human eye. For instance, with the help of microscopes and luminescent imaging, researchers at the British Museum discovered that Egyptian blue once adorned the Parthenon marbles.

See the First Stunning Images Taken by the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander on Its ‘Scenic Route’ to the Moon – It still has a few months before reaching the moon….lots of Blue Marble views.

Changing cholesterol over time tied to risk of dementia – Interesting result. I wondered if cholesterol fluctuation is more concerning that merely being high….that there in an underlying reason for the fluctuations that indicates a problem that is not being directly addressed by the medications that generally are trying to lower cholesterol.

Astronomers have spied an asteroid that may be heading for Earth. Here’s what we know so far – On December 22, 2032,  the asteroid 2024 Y04 might collide with Earth. It was first detected on December 27, 2024 and will continue to be observed until it will be lost to our telescopes until we will see it again in 2028 and refine what we know….be able know for sure whether there will be a collision and where on earth the collision will be. In just the past few years, we have discovered 11 asteroids before they hit our planet. In each case, we have predicted where they would hit, and watched the results. We have also, in recent years, demonstrated a growing capacity to deflect potentially threatening asteroids.

An Arctic 'beyond recognition' by 2100 - Under 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming, the Arctic region is likely to experience the following effects:

  • Virtually every day of the year will have air temperatures exceeding pre-industrial temperature extremes.

  • The Arctic Ocean will be free of sea ice for several months each summer.

  • The area of the Greenland Ice Sheet that experiences more than a month of surface temperatures above 0 degrees Celsius will quadruple compared with pre-industrial conditions, causing global sea levels to rise faster.

  • Surface-level permafrost will decrease by 50 percent of pre-industrial levels.

Study Highlights Challenges to The Electrification Of Homes In The US - Solar powered homes demonstrated impressive resilience during summer heat waves. However, they proved remarkably vulnerable during winter storms. In fact, fully electrified homes were nearly three times more vulnerable to winter outages, compared to those drawing power from mixed energy sources. The integration of distributed energy resources such as solar and battery storage has emerged as a critical factor in household resilience.

Sky skimmers: The race to fly satellites at the lowest orbits yet – A handful of pioneering companies have begun work on designs for satellites that may be able to orbit the planet at unusually low altitudes while simultaneously harvesting air and using it to make propellant – literally on the fly. This new generation of orbiters could enable ultra-high-definition surveillance of activities on the ground, or superfast satellite-based communications. The race is on. (I wondered if the US activities mentioned in the post are going to survive budget cuts.)

Low-level traffic air pollution linked to liver damage and fatty liver disease - When we inhale air pollution, the very tiny particles known as PM2.5 enter the bloodstream through the lungs. The liver, which filters toxins from the blood, then accumulates these substances, which can include heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, nickel and zinc. The study authors suggest avoiding peak hour traffic, taking less congested routes when walking or cycling or consider wearing a mask, and keeping car windows closed with air recirculation mode on while driving in heavy traffic.

Hitting Its Stride or Hitting a Wall? South Texas at a Watershed Moment - Between extreme heat, flooding, drought, and the vagaries of politics and international trade, there is a growing fear that the Valley’s boom times could come to a grinding halt — or worse, that the region will experience the same type of climate-related exodus that has pushed many of today’s current immigrants to its doorstep. An even bigger question is whether the region has become a harbinger of mounting international tensions over shrinking resources that are expected to play out with more frequency in coming years.

Searching the entire sky for the secrets to our universe - As soon as the end of February, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will launch a new telescope into orbit around the Earth. SPHEREx will join the ranks of other space telescopes, filling in a crucial gap by detecting infrared light with wavelengths too long to see with the naked eye. It's an important addition because no single instrument can fully perceive the universe and its contents. Infrared can also be used to detect the unique fingerprints of particular molecules in the universe, including the basic components of life — water and organic materials frozen in the ices of interstellar dust clouds where stars are born.

Meadow at Lake Springfield Boathouse

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I opted to drive myself the Lake Springfield boathouse last week so I could photograph the meadow/prairie and the other plantings near the boathouse before the rest of the Identifying Woody Plants class arrived. The beautyberry was spectacular! I am so glad I planted some in my yard recently and hope it makes it through the winter to be a great plant next year.

The common milkweed had already been cut down but there were several pods spilling their seeds where the plants once stood.

The asters seemed to be hosting the most insects in the meadow/prairie area. I was thrilled to see Monarch butterflies; they were large ones…the ones that go all the way to Mexico for the winter. The thistles were releasing their seeds and the golden rods were the second most popular nectar plant for insects.

It was a great day to see the meadow in fall glory!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 28, 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.

The ancient practice of 'good fire' is reviving Nebraska's birds, bears and berries - In its original shape, the once wide, but relatively shallow Platte River provided an open space for the (sandhill) cranes to roost, while also keeping an eye on predators. These four-to-five-foot tall birds with wingspans of six-to-seven feet found abundant plants and insects to eat on the Nebraskan prairies. Lightning strikes brought occasional wildfires, which cleared out dead material and refreshed native plant life. Fire suppression is not always a good thing…

Giant Slab of Bog Butter Recovered in Ireland – Nearly 50 pounds! It is being analyzed by the National Museum of Ireland. It would be interesting to know how long it had been in the bog.

How Agroforestry Could Help Revitalize America’s Corn Belt – 8,200 hazelnut saplings growing with flocks of chickens in narrow grass paddocks between the rows of fledgling trees…. By combining food-bearing trees and shrubs with poultry production it is an example of agroforestry — an ancient practice that intertwines annual and perennial agriculture. Other forms include alley cropping, in which annual crops including grains, legumes, and vegetables grow between rows of food-bearing trees, and silvopasture, which features cattle munching grass between the rows. An acre of land under agroforestry can sequester five metric tons of CO2 annually, versus one ton for an acre of corn or soybeans. As the region’s vast corn and soybean operations continue hemorrhaging soil and fouling water and climate change proceeds apace, they may find themselves looking for new directions sooner than later.

Humans Pollute the Environment With 57 Million Tons of Plastic Each Year - Uncollected waste is the biggest source of plastic pollution, with at least 1.2 billion people living without waste collection services forced to ‘self-manage’ waste, often by dumping it on land, in rivers, or burning it in open fires. This “self-managed” plastic waste makes up more than two-thirds of the modeled plastic pollution. The study also calculated the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world: India is in first place, producing 10.2 million tons a year; Nigeria is in second; Indonesia is in third; and China—which had been ranked in first place according to other models—instead comes in fourth. The U.S. ranks 90th, with more than 52,500 tons of plastic pollution produced annually.

One of world's fastest ocean currents is remarkably stable - There is growing scientific and public interest in the global Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a three-dimensional system of ocean currents that act as a "conveyer belt" to distribute heat, salt, nutrients, and carbon dioxide across the world's oceans. This study found that Florida Current, the beginning of the Gulf Stream system and a key component of the AMOC, has remained stable for the past four decades. Understanding the state of the Florida Current is very important for developing coastal sea level forecast systems, assessing local weather and ecosystem and societal impacts.

Growth of Solar Continues to Defy Predictions - The world is set to install a third more solar capacity this year than it did in 2023, surpassing forecasts by both industry experts and independent analysts. China is driving the bulk of the growth. Through May, India installed more solar capacity than it did in the whole of last year, and in the U.S., new tax breaks are giving the industry a significant boost. Solar manufacturing has jumped fourfold since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Birds Form Surprising Relationships with Other Avian Species During Migration - The researchers found that songbirds tended to show up together rather than avoid each other. American redstarts and magnolia warblers reliably appeared together in the researchers’ nets in spring and fall. The same thing happened with ruby-crowned kinglets and white-throated sparrows. The presence of other birds with similar foraging behavior or similar food preferences may signal to newcomers where the good habitat is, helping them refuel more quickly.

Residents in San Joaquin Valley breathe chemical pesticides - A new study found 22% of adults and 10% of children who participated in an air-quality study in California's San Joaquin Valley were breathing detectable levels of pesticides. Participants in this study served as citizen scientists, going about their normal days while wearing the backpacks to collect the samples.

Creative ways communities are reducing food waste – Returning oyster shells to the water in Alabama, collecting food waste for composting in almond orchards in California, gleaning fruit at the end of the season to supply the needy in New Hampshire-Massachusetts, and using underused land to grow free food in Washington.

Only Two US Metro Areas Are Affordable for Homebuyers - Before the Covid-19 pandemic, 20 U.S. states were considered affordable home-buying markets for most households. Today, just two metro areas remain ‘affordable’ by that definition issued by the National Association of Realtors — and no entire states fit the bill. The two metro areas are Youngstown and Akron, Ohio. Home prices have increased by 47% nationwide just since 2020, according to a June report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. A major factor is that there aren’t many homes for sale.

Josey Ranch – September 2023

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My visit to Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) was shortly after sunrise. The two resident swans were still asleep on the larger pond….but there was a reflection of morning light on the water…which made the photograph worth it.

My visit to Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX) was shortly after sunrise. The two resident swans were still asleep on the larger pond….but there was a reflection of morning light on the water…which made the photograph worth it.

A Great Egret was fishing in the shallows. The water is low…so the shallows are a larger area of the pond now.

The surprise of the morning was 2 juvenile Little Blue Herons. I had seen one at Josey Ranch in August but seeing 2 caused me to wonder if they had hatched nearby. They both were looking for breakfast in the shallows. These birds will probably be migrating to south Texas (or further south) soon. Or maybe these birds were only at Josey Ranch as a rest stop during their migration.

Both the Great Egret and one of the Little Blue Herons were hunting next to each other at one point! The image shows the relative size of the two birds.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – September 2023 (2)

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I saw more than birds at Hagerman in September. There were large numbers of dragonflies in the air. I managed to see one sitting on a bit of dried grass near the road; photographed it through my open car window (like I do almost everything along the road through the refuge). There seemed to be so many dragonflies; it’s a good sign that there is a healthy population at Hagerman; they’ll lay eggs in the ponds where the larvae will overwinter – food for fish.

I did get out to photograph a large piece of driftwood that was on an island in the deepest pond. I liked the curves and the mystery of how it ended up positioned the way it was. Were their branches buried in the silt that kept it from falling over?

Back at the butterfly garden, I photographed three types of butterflies. I had seen all of them on previous visits.

The Monarchs were more numerous this time and I realized that they were probably migrating south to Mexico for the winter.  Supposedly the ones that make the long journey are larger than the ones that live their whole life during the summer months – never making a migration. Will there still be Monarch’s coming through when I return at the end of October? Maybe. The first frost in the Hagerman area is usually not before mid-November.

There was a bumblebee enjoying the flowers. I tried to photograph it from different angles.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – September 2023 (1)

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It was a very hot day when I made the road trip from Missouri to Texas in September. It was over 90 degrees when I made the exit to go to Hagerman – thinking that maybe the government would shut down before I headed home, and I wasn’t sure if the refuge would be accessible then.

There were a few migrants at the refuge that I hadn’t seen since last spring: White-faced Ibis,

Neotropic Cormorants (evidently this bird is expanding its range), and

I didn’t see any of the migratory ducks…maybe they will be there next month,

There were the usual egrets and herons. A snowy egret strutted in the shallows.

Several of the great blue herons looked like juveniles.

Some of the egrets (great and snowy) and a great blue heron were enjoying feeding in grassy areas that had been flooded.

I saw a snag with at least 8 white birds in it.

I zoomed in to take as many pictures as I could of individual birds. There were snowy egrets,

Cattle egrets, and

A juvenile little blue heron!

A great blue heron and great egret were on a snag in the water – the heron had just gotten a fish….the egret looks on.

Hagerman was ready for more birds that were probably coming soon in increasing numbers…and some will stay for the winter. Hopefully I will see more of them when I go in October.

Tomorrow’s post will focus on the non-bird sightings at Hagerman in September.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 15, 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.

Cyprus’s copper deposits created one of the most important trade hubs in the Bronze Age – Cyprus was part of the first period of international trade in the Mediterranean. It was the largest copper producer around the area. Imports found via excavation included item from close countries like Greece and Egypt; items from distant places like Sardinia, the Baltic Sea region, Afghanistan, and India have also been found. Aside from copper, pottery produced in Cyprus at that time was exported and had been found in excavations around the Mediterranean and beyond.

Green Winter: Europe Learns to Live Without Russian Energy – “In a year when planetary emissions edged upward, Europe is now on track to comfortably outpace its pledge to generate 40 percent of its total energy from renewable sources by 2030.” Impressive.

Australia’s extinct giant eagle was big enough to snack koalas from trees – Likely one of Australia’s top predators during the Pleistocene.

Why East Antarctica is a 'sleeping giant' of sea level rise – The eastern part of Antarctica was thought to be resistant to global warming. In 2012, the East Antarctic ice sheet gained mass overall. But recently, it appears that some ice shelves are melting and might be at risk to collapse. The ice shelves in front of glaciers act as a safety band that keep the glaciers for speeding up and reaching the ocean. Scary comment from the article – “Most of the uncertainty about how much and how fast future sea levels will rise comes from how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is going to behave.”

Arctic climate modelling too conservative – And about the other pole…researchers at the University of Gothenburg argue that the rate of warming will be faster than projected….and climate models need to reflect the processes occurring there.

In Eastern U.S., Climate Change Has Extended Forest Growing Season by a Month - Scientists tracked American elm, black walnut, white oak, and four other species in northwest Ohio, comparing their data to records collected by an Ohio farmer (Thomas Mikesell) from 1883-1912.

In these cheatgrass-infested hills – Often the natural places closest to where we live…are degraded in some way. That doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the natural world that we find there.

Federal Agencies Directed to Develop Policies for Migratory Corridors – Birds and butterflies and fish and big game.

Ski Resorts in the Western U.S. Will Stay Open Into the Spring and Summer – Something positive about record-breaking snowfall.

As Enforcement Lags, Toxic Coal Ash Keeps Polluting U.S. Water – Coal ash in the environment and polluting ground water. Even as we migrate toward renewables…the toxic legacy of burning coal is going to last a very long time.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 4, 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.

Can clothes ever be fully recycled? – Evidently a lot of progress has been made in the past few years – translating processes from small to large scale production. But recycling is not the only thing that needs to change about the fashion industry. ‘Fast fashion’ is cannot the future!

A simple thing you can do to benefit backyard birds and bees – Wait until it is 50 degrees to do spring cleaning around your yard. Those leaves and dead stalks harbor insects….and birds need insects, particularly when they are raising their young! I have a big tuft of ornamental grass which I am waiting to cut. Last summer it was full of insects and I except some eggs/larvae are there now.

An incredible journey – Chinook making their way up the Klamath River in the spring and fall. (infographic)

Nearly 30 dangerous feedback loops could permanently shift the Earth’s climate - A change….triggering more change…a cycle. Our planet is full of complex connections that are often not well understood.

As Millions of Solar Panels Age Out, Recyclers Look to Cash In – Hopefully solar panels, and a lot of other end-of- life products, can become part of the ‘circular economy’ rather than going to landfills.

See Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Gather in Nebraska – Maybe next year we’ll plan to go to Nebraska to see the crane migration!

The beautiful flowers that bees can’t use – Nectar deficient hybrids (like double petal petunias) or non-native plants often don’t provide food for pollinators…even though people find bigger, brighter flowers appealing. The article also provides a link to a free book: Pollinator-Friendly Parks which might be useful for homeowners who want to support pollinators.

Anti-dust tech paves way for self-cleaning surfaces – Wouldn’t this be nice…my computer screens seem to attract dust!

'The Great Displacement' looks at communities forever altered by climate change – A book review that documents people surviving a hurricane in the Florida Keys or a big fire in California (and other climate change related disasters) and making decisions in the aftermath. A quote from the author, Jack Bittle: "In the United States alone, at least twenty million people may move as a result of climate change, more than twice as many as moved during the entire span of the Great Migration."

A Long Low Tide Dries Up Venice’s Smaller Canals – Wow…we usually think of Venice being more prone to flooding.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 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.

Where Have All the (Big) Cypress Trees Gone ... And Are They Coming Back? – The cypress stands survived logging but they may never again be as dominant as they were before. The largest trees now are about 3.5 feet diameter; the largest stumps from logging are about 5 feet diameter.

8 bird migrations, from past to present – The annual movement of birds is a part of spring….part of the yearly progression.

Cherry Blossom Time In Washington, D.C. – I was glad to get home in time to see the cherry tree in our yard bloom; it’s a little behind the trees in DC (we are a little north and not on the water).

Nature Conservancy to build solar farms at abandoned coal mines in Virginia – And thus an energy producing community, continues…leaning into the future!

The sound of Merlin: like Shazam, but for birds – An app that IDs birds by their songs…a learning experience to take on a walk.

Higher risk of temperature-related death if global warming exceeds 2°C – We’ll have to be more aware of heatwaves. Perhaps we would modify our behavior during those times…and medical interventions might help. There is a heat threshold above which our bodies are not adapted very well…that will cause increasing problems.

Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush ‘Lord of the Rings’ Landscape – Another perspective of Tolkien…through his art rather than writing.

No breathing easy for city dwellers: particulates – Southeast Asia has seen the largest annual average increases in concentration and mortality rates between 2000 and 2019 from this type of air pollution.

How climate change is leading to bigger hailstones – The records for the largest hailstones have been broken in the last 3 years in Texas, Colorado and Alabama….reaching sizes of up to 6.2 inches in diameter. Large hail causes a lot of damage…if the incidence of large hail increases the damage/costs will trend higher too; the post includes a picture of a car damaged by large hail…daunting to anyone that doesn’t have their car parked in a garage.

Missouri Man Indicted For Fire That Destroyed Ozark National Scenic Riverways Visitor Station – I am paying more attention to news about natural areas in Missouri…now that I am preparing to move to the state. It’s sad when this type of destruction occurs – hard to fathom why someone would burn a visitor station.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 4, 2021

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Entomologists Eradicated the First Asian Giant ‘Murder’ Hornet Nest of 2021 – Includes a picture of the 9 layers of the nest that was carved into an alder tree’s interior.

Turning thermal energy into electricity – It seems like this type of electricity production would have application beyond the military. Even solar panels produce heat and finding a way to automatically harness that into more electricity would be a good thing.  

Climate Change Producing More “Fire Weather” as Far East as Oklahoma – It’s not just the west coast that has a higher risk for fire as the planet gets hotter.

Aztec Pictograms Are the First Written Records of Earthquakes in the Americas – One of the pictograms matched to a 1507 earthquake that coincided with a solar eclipse!

Food systems: seven priorities to end hunger and protect the planet – A thoughtful commentary re ending hunger and improving diets; de-risking food systems; protecting equality and rights; boosting bioscience; protecting resources; sustaining aquatic foods; and harnessing digital technology.

Eating walnuts daily lowered 'bad' cholesterol and may reduce cardiovascular disease risk – There was a similar article about pecans a few days ago. I’m glad I like both walnuts and pecans! However – ½ cup is a lot to eat in one day. Usually ¼ cup is considered a serving.

Top 25 birds of the week: Woodpeckers! – I always enjoy hearing a woodpecker in the forest…and its a special tree to see them in our yard. The piliated, downy, and red-bellied woodpeckers are native to our area.

How to fight microplastic pollution with magnets – Many people filter their drinking water…but the conversation about filtering microplastics is newer. Hopefully filters that are effective and affordable will become the norm. It will take a long time to reduce the microplastic load already in the Earth’s water. We are just not recognizing the damage they are causing.

Americans Moving to Disaster-Prone Areas, Despite Climate Change – I’ve started to think about this more recently so appreciated seeing this post. Taking climate change into account – why would anyone buy property in areas that will be increasingly flood prone or incredibly hot/dry? A house nestled in a forest may look appealing but there are an increasing number of people that have already experienced the hazards of that beauty.

1,800-Year-Old Flower Bouquets Found in Tunnel Beneath Teotihuacán Pyramid – I visited Teotihuacan in the spring of 1966 when my parents took me to Mexico City. It was one of the highlights of the trip. The new discoveries are interesting….and I am thinking about whether I would like to see it again. Maybe in spring of 2026? The article references a site with some great pictures of Teotihuacan – worth a look.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 9, 2021

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Coronavirus FAQ: How Do I Protect Myself From The U.K. Variant? - I added this one at the last minute…it’s scary…a good prompt to evaluate the precautions you are taking to not get COVID-19 with this more contagious variant circulating in the US. We are so close to having vaccinations broadly available!

When Only a Hippopotamus Will Do – Learn a bit about hippos. Did you know that there is a ‘wild’ population of hippos in Columbia’s Magdalena River, escaped from Pablo Escobar’s menagerie after his death?

Plastics pose threat to human health, report shows -- ScienceDaily – Awful….and there is relatively little being done to control this source of toxins in our environment.

Top 25 birds of the week: Terrestrial Birds! - Wild Bird Revolution – Most of the birds are relatively drab – lots of browns and off-white feathers….but interesting patterns. - the better to blend in with their environment. But there are a few surprises that are quite different from the rest.

From Ancient Rome to Contemporary Singapore: The Evolution of Conservatories – THE DIRT – I like conservatories….this article includes some history that I hadn’t thought about before…a bit more from the perspective of how conservatories fit into the cultures that created them.

Operation Ponderosa: Saving a Forest, Pandemic Edition – Several reasons this article caught my attention: it’s about 1) the Davis Mountains in Texas…a location I’ve driven through on road trips between Dallas and Tucson, 2) fieldwork and also done by a woman during this pandemic year, 3) the Ponderosa pine’s importance as ‘sky islands’ in this arid part of the country, 4) the impact of fire, and 5) how genetic testing informs forest restoration efforts.

Trees are out of equilibrium with climate -- ScienceDaily – I might have gotten a bit stuck on trees for this gleanings collection. This study found that factors other than climate often limit where trees grow...that few trees grow everywhere the climate would appear to support their growth.

Ancestral Puebloans Survived Droughts by Collecting Water from Icy Lava Tubes | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – New Mexico’s El Malpais….a place I’ve visited several times.

Migration and disease in the Iron Age - Current Archaeology – A skeleton of a man with tuberculosis that died between 400 BC and 230 BC in Britain but was born elsewhere based on analysis of his molars that developed in early childhood. Did he contract the disease early in his life or after he arrived in Britain?

Canyon De Chelly, Walnut Canyon Park Pages Added to Traveler – I’ve been to both these places so was glad they were added list of Essential Park Guides on this site. The guides are collections of articles about each park…and good references when planning a visit or to see some pictures of the park!

Bowerbirds: Meet the bird world’s kleptomaniac love architects – Elaborate structures of sticks and often colorful found objects…to attract a mate.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 14, 2020

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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.

Mapping out rest stops for migrating birds: New metric can help determine when birds fly over a site or stop to refuel or rest -- ScienceDaily – Stopover-to-passage ratio during migration research involves analysis of weather radar data collected since the 1990s…teasing out bird movement from precipitation! Results so far have included some surprises (and there are probably more to come as more of the historical data is processed and the processing becomes more and more sophisticated).

This Crocodile Dad Gives Over 100 of His Kids a Lift – A large species (gharial) with a narrow snout…in India.

Top 25 birds of the week: November 2020 – Birds from around the world….so much beauty in the natural world to see…and try to protect.

Top Solar States Per Capita 2012 vs. 2020 — CleanTechnica Report and US Energy Dept. Aims For Affordable Solar Power – Two posts about solar power. The first article shows the growth since 2012. In states where there wasn’t much growth, I wondered if the utilities in the state or the state government posed barriers to solar power. It seems like the whole country  should be in the mode of getting out of the way or encouraging renewal energy. The second article was about community solar programs from DOE with a mission to ‘bring affordable solar power to every household in the US by 2025’ – a worthy goal but is there enough money in the pipe to do it? This is not a technical problem as much as ‘are we ready to just do it.’

Lullabies in any language relax babies -- ScienceDaily and Baby Bottles Can Shed Millions of Microplastic Particles: Study | The Scientist Magazine® - I’ve been thinking recently about how much things have changed since my daughter was a baby over 30 years ago. I had a lullaby tape (in English) that I played for her in the evenings (although when she got old enough to choose – she wanted soundtracks from Disney movies as often as the lullabies). Now – we’d have digital music playing (rathe than cassette tapes) and maybe there would be lullabies in different languages too. The second article is about some worrisome research and I hope that pediatricians are keeping up and advising parents on best approaches.

When Domestic Birds Go Wild – Chickens, turkeys, ducks, swans, guinea fowl, peacocks, ornamental pheasants, doves and pigeons, emus, and parrots.

Picturing Earth: Astronaut Photography In Focus – A video – just under 70 minutes….with good imagery and discussion.

The return of Europe’s largest beasts - BBC Future – Bison, wolves, and elk…will the agricultural sector of Europe learn to cope with the big herbivores…and a predator?

As Waters Warm, Ocean Heatwaves Are Growing More Severe - Yale E360 – It’s easier for us to notice the heatwaves on land…but the ocean is taking the bulk of the increased heat on the planet and research on marine heatwaves is just beginning. The precise definition of the phenomenon was only proposed in 2016.  

See the World in Detail Thanks to the Close Up Photographer of the Year – Ending the gleanings list this week with some eye candy….enjoy the visual treat.

Cape May Fall Festival

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Friday through Sunday were three intense days of webinars from New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO): the virtual Cape May Fall Festival We enjoyed their virtual festival last spring as well (posts for day 1, day 2); the organization tweaked a few things for this fall one that made it even better; I noticed the roving reporters out in the field and a little bit longer breaks. The days still started at 7 or 8 AM and ended at 5 or 6 (with one evening session after a 2-hour break). I learned to use the breaks to get up and move!

There is a lot of bird monitoring activity (Avalon Seawatch, Cape May Hawkwatch, and Morning Flight Songbirds) in the fall and the CMBO makes it easy to see the results with the buttons for Real-time Counts via Trektellen on their website(near the bottom of the page).

The weather was perfect for a big morning flight of songbirds on Saturday – 27,000 birds in 6 hours! See the Saturday results here – and check out other days going forward. There were huge numbers of warblers. The little bit larger songbirds that we saw (through the great work of the person filming the roving reporters) were Northern Flickers and Blue Jays (3,538 and 1,496 were counted for the morning). The songbirds migrate at night and are funneled down from points north to the Cape May Peninsula where most of them drop down for food and rest before continuing on – most of them working their way back to the north and west around Delaware Bay to then continue their southward migration.

The Hawkwatch also saw a lot of birds on Saturday (results here). These birds migrate during the day. There were 194 Cooper’s Hawks that came through.

The Avalon Seawatch had a bigger day on Sunday with over 1,000 (each) black scoters and double crested cormorants.

There were places featured in the talks and roving reports that we had seen in Spring 2019 (like South Cape May Meadows, Cape May Bird Observation Deck, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area, CMBO’s Northwood Center) and then the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge which was new to us. So many places we would like to be!

There is a also a CMBO Monarch Monitoring Project that tags butterflies! Even though the large winter numbers of Monarchs in Mexico were found in 1975, it was not until 1998 when 7 of Cape May tagged butterflies were found there that the debate of where the east coast Monarchs migrated was finally settled. The results of the monitoring at Cape May are reported in a table on the website.

Virtual sessions are great for classroom type presentations too. At birding festivals, I tend to always opt for the field sessions, so this year of virtual festivals has been great for the classroom-based skill building. I particularly enjoyed learning more about raptor id (in flight), winter seabirds of New Jersey, ravens, other bird observatories (international), international birding tours, and the bird id game done by 3 NJ Audubon’s Young Birder Club members (wow….they have impressive id skills and are good at sharing their knowledge). The Cornell Lab of Ornithology provided the one evening session; I learned about Birds of the World (a new subscription based resource) and more about resources I already know about/use:

One of the sessions brought up the topic of some birds eating Monarch butterflies and seemingly not suffering any effects. My husband and I remembered that we saw that on at a previous birding festival…and I looked back through my blog posts to find out where and when and what kind of bird. It was Couch’s Kingbird on Nov. 11, 2017 and I posted about it on Nov. 27th. It was at a woodlot on South Padre Island, Texas during the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. I have two of my pictures from that event below. It’s always great to savor the memories of previous sessions an realize how much we seen/learned over the past few years of birding festivals.

Another prompt to think about personal history that was brought up in one of the sessions: What was your ‘spark’ bird (i.e. the one that got you interested in birds)? I tried to think back to birds that I remember from early in my life. Northern Cardinal is one – definitely. They were around in Wichita Falls, Texas….and stand out in any landscape because of their color. I remember some coloring pages from 1st or 2nd grade of various bird species and learning about Baltimore Orioles…but not seeing one until I was over 60 years old! Why didn’t the curriculum feature birds that we were more likely to see where we lived? I also remember being thrilled to see a Roseate Spoonbill the first time I went to Florida for a space shuttle launch in the 1980s; I’m not sure when I first learned about the bird but it was one that I knew when I first saw it in the field.

Overall – the Cape May Fall Festival was 3 days well spent. My husband also ordered the t-shirt for me since it is red ---- a good color for me. We ware looking forward to future festivals that we can enjoy in the field…but learned a lot and enjoyed this one. Kudos to the CMBO for doing this!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 25, 2020

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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.

Native Americans Crossed the Pacific Long Before Europeans | The Scientist Magazine® - Using DNA to find more definitive answers.

Forest Surprise: A Wolf Story – West of Flagstaff ---- probably a Mexican grey wolf male…trying to find a new territory and exploring a restored forest appealing.

See Archaeological Treasures Unearthed by U.K. Residents During Lockdown | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – The uptick in gardening and yard work leads to finding things in or on the ground…and then people having plenty of time to find out more about what the objects are. Something positive happening during the pandemic.

You Can Now Explore All 48,000 Panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Online | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – I was glad to see this online version of the quilt is available – complete with search and zoom. I found the square for a person that I’d worked with in the 1970s and saw him at IBM sponsored conferences in the 1980s. Our early career crowd was scattered all over the country by the time he died in 1993.

Eleven Awesome Owls from Around the World – Good pictures and a short summary characterizing each bird.

Turmeric could have antiviral properties -- ScienceDaily – It’s already one of the supplements I take…as an anti-inflammatory. This study points to it being anti-viral as well.

Stain Solutions | U of I Extension – A good reference although in recent years the laundry detergents and cold water often get stains out.

Top 25 birds of the week: Wild Birds - Wild Bird Revolution – Enjoy the beautiful birds!

Solar Will Kick Most of Texas's Remaining Coal Fleet Offline – Good news for air quality in Texas. Evidently the growth of utility-scale PV production is rapid changing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market.

Infographic: How Breastfeeding Protects Mothers | The Scientist Magazine® - Research about the mechanism behind the observation that women that breastfeed their children have reduced long term risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

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Circular voids. I am starting a series of Zentangle tiles that have circular voids in otherwise dense tangles. I got the idea from some Mordecai Ardon paintings (slideshow on Internet Archive here) like Fatal Eclipse shown at the right. My first two tiles are below.

Compost bin. Between rain showers – I put on the boots I have for river field trips and got all my containers of kitchen scraps and spent flower stalks (mostly day lilies) out to the compost bin. It took 4 trips! There have been more things recently that produced more kitchen scraps than usual: fresh corn on the cob, cantaloupe, cabbage cores, and tough onion/leek tops. I’ve learned to save cucumber skins for use in smoothies so those get eaten these days and veggies like beets and carrots just get a thorough scrubbing rather than being peeled. I put all the new scraps on one side of the bin and then turned the other side over on top of it. I should deteriorate very rapidly.

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Fresh flowers in the house. There are now small bouquets from the CSA cutting garden in my office and on the kitchen table. The one below is the one in my office. I like having flowers in my field of view! It’s a way I show kindness to myself.

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Gleanings of the Week Ending July 18, 2020

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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.

Listening to Silence: Why We Must Protect the World’s Quiet Places - Yale E360 – I realized after 9/11 that most of the modern world sounds at my house are from transportation: planes/helicopters and cars/trucks with occasional yard equipment. While we had a stay-at-home order with this pandemic, it became noticeable as well. There are still times when those noises are subdued or gone. I notice the bird songs in the early morning…when the other sounds don’t intrude. As we skew more toward electric ground transportation….the noise level will notch downward. I enjoy the natural sounds a lot more than our man-made ones.

Declining eyesight improved by looking at deep red light -- ScienceDaily – I wonder if this is something doctors will start prescribing!

Why your organs might reach 100 even if you don't - BBC Future – A summary of some current research areas re aging. There are a lot of different approaches with the primary goal of most being to extend healthy lifespan.  Even if different organs age at different rates…they are interrelated to the body they comprise.

Maryland offshore wind farm could become stop-over for migrating sturgeon, striped bass -- ScienceDaily – I live in Maryland….so this story grabbed my attention. Will the offshore windfarm become a rest stop for fish? And they will offer a convenient infrastructure for researchers to collect data.

Where Will Climate Migrants Go? – THE DIRT – It’s something to think about now. Some coastal cities are already experiencing more flooding even without unusual storm events…and people that can move will probably do so. Will climate trends weigh in decisions about where they move? The article talks about cities and towns in the Midwest that have experienced declining population becoming ‘receiver’ locations. I wondered if people that have discovered that they can work from home during the pandemic – and can continue to do so – will be freer to move to these new locations and still have the same employer! Otherwise there is the challenge of how to sync moving to a new place with a new job.

The chemistry of cats: Allergies, catnip and urine – Compound Interest – Evidently male cats produce higher levels of allergen and have smellier urine…unless they have been neutered.

Ways to keep buildings cool with improved super white paints -- ScienceDaily – White roofs should probably become the norm….it will be hot enough without the added heat island effect caused by a lot of man-made structures with dark roofs.

How humans are altering the tides of the oceans - BBC Future – It’s happening around the world. Dredging river channels and filling in coastal wetlands cause shifts in how tides interact with the land. And then there is sea level rise too. Some places cited in the article that have experienced dramatic change: Cape Fear River in North Carolina (tidal range at Wilmington has doubled since 1880) and the same is true for St. Johns River/Jacksonville Florida. Sacramento’s tides disappeared in the late 1800s because of silt but dredging brought them back and the Thames tidal range was 2 meters during Roman times and 8 meters by the Victorian age.

Meet the Mountain Chickadee – We have mostly Carolina Chickadees where I live in Maryland…this is their relative in the western US (mountains).

Ancient Maya reservoirs contained toxic pollution: Mercury, algae made water undrinkable in heart of city -- ScienceDaily – Mercury from pigments used on Mayan building. Cyanobacteria blooms that made the water smelly and toxic. Not pleasant for a city center!

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Regenerative Landscaping lecture (via zoom). The lecture was about an hour and my big take away was about the huge environment cost of lawns…and the many dimensions of that cost. The one I hadn’t thought much about before was from the California Air Resources Board fact sheet on Small engines in California (small engines being spark-ignition engines in things like lawn mowers). Their fact sheet says: “In the early 2020s, however, total smog-forming emissions from small engines are projected to exceed those from passenger cars in the South Coast Air Basin because passenger car emissions will continue to decrease. By 2031, small engine emissions will be more than twice those from passenger cars.” For comparison – they show 1 hour of lawn mowing emits as much smog-forming pollution as driving a Toyota Camry 300 miles! This must be an issue in all areas where there is a lot of mowed turf grass – kike most suburbs. There are multiple ways to address the problem and the one discussed in the meeting was transitioning to less lawn or lawn that does not need to be mowed as frequently (or at all). Another way would be to transition to electric mowers and other yard equipment. Right now – the only gasoline powered equipment I have is the mower. I’d been thinking about an electric mower because I don’t like the noise and smell of our current machine. So - this overall air quality issue is just one more reason to do it.

Enjoyed a slideshow of Armand Guillaumin (1841 – 1927) paintings available on Internet Archive here. He was a French impressionist painter and lithographer.

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Gleanings of the Week Ending February 29, 2020

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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. 

Hummingbirds' rainbow colors come from pancake-shaped structures in their feathers -- ScienceDaily – Hopefully they’ll produce some illustrations for these findings; this article and the materials it came from are just text.

New Discoveries in Human Anatomy | The Scientist Magazine® - It’s surprising the things we are just now discovering about our anatomy. Back in the 1970s when I was getting an undergraduate degree in biology, I remember being disappointed that there was so much obviously missing….and then realizing there were also unknown unknowns (thing we didn’t even know we didn’t know)! In the intervening years more has been researched, but we still have lots to explore.

Processed foods highly correlated with obesity epidemic in the US -- ScienceDaily  - I have kept a food log for the past few years and now am paying more attention to reducing the processed and ultra-processed foods that I buy and eat. Most of us probably intuitively know that the store-bought cookies, chips, snacks, etc. are not what we should be eating. And they aren’t even more convenient than foods like carrots or apple or grapes. I’m skewing my purchases at the grocery store to the produce aisle!

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week: Doves and Pigeons - Wild Bird Revolution and Nectarivorous Birds - Wild Bird Revolution – Two groups of bird photos this week…catching up on the backlog.

Image of the Day: Flock in the Night | The Scientist Magazine® - A huge flock of birds picked up by radar going from Cuba…over the Florida straits…on to mainland Florida.

The chemistry of snow and ice – We haven’t seen much snow and ice in Maryland this winter...but it’s a good time to bring up this topic.

Children to bear the burden of negative health effects from climate change -- ScienceDaily – We need to use these types of articles to motivate us to action rather than indifference/depression.

FS1205: Tree-Dwelling Lichens (Rutgers NJAES) – A short description of lichen. Did you know there are at least 13,000 species of lichen?

The 2020 Community Power Scorecard | CleanTechnica – A map of the US and the scorecard with some details – state by state. There is progress being made in the transition to renewable energy!

New, more appealing varieties of kale in the works - UPI.com – I like kale. I buy it in a bunch to avoid plastic bags or containers…use it in smoothies or stir fries or soups (the whole leaf and stem) and as chips. I rarely use it in salads (particularly during the winter when I tend to want something hot rather cold for meals). Chopping it up in the food processor (like in smoothies or before adding it to soups) makes the toughness of the stem and leaves a non-issue. Still – I would try the new varieties. I wonder how long it will be before some of them show up in my CSA share.