Gleanings of the Week Ending November 2, 2013

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.

Pumpkin and Ginger Scones - New York Times Recipes for Health - Yum! The prospect of the melding flavor of pumpkin, ginger, and maple syrup seems to suit my mood for this season. Since I cooked a whole pumpkin this past week, I have plenty of pumpkin to make these scones.

London’s Health - There is a new website that organizes historical ‘Medical Officer of Health’ reports for London from 1848 and 1972. There are several ways to search. I looked for ‘smallpox’ references as my first search.  

Inside the American Kitchen - An infographic about kitchens. Did you know that the three most popular features for kitchen projects are: islands, roll-outs/pull-outs, and drawers?

Cornell Lab FeederWatch - If you get the urge to enjoy birds at a feeder but don’t have one of your own - enjoy the one at Sapsucker Woods near Ithaca NY. There are almost always birds around (and if they aren’t at the feeder there are bird noises that indicate they are nearby).

Massive 80-Room Tree House Stands Almost 100-Feet-Tall - I enjoyed visiting this Tennessee tree house in summer of 2012….and took some very similar pictures (the one below is mine). It is so large that it is hard to capture the entire structure!

Thawing Permafrost: The Speed of Coastal Erosion in Eastern Siberia Has Nearly Doubled - Coastal erosion in areas there permafrost and sea ice were the norm for large parts of the year until recently is increasing rapidly. The materials used for the article include more graphics about how it occurs.

Take a trip over the surface of Mars - A 4 minute video presentation of images from Europe’s Mars Express that has been orbiting Mars since 2004.

The World's Strangest and Most Magnificent Gardens - I love gardens so couldn’t resist including this on the ‘gleanings’ list for the week.

Message From a 50-Year-Old Flamingo - A conservation success story - for now….but there is a lot that could still go wrong for the flamingos left in this world.

Restoration: Another Layer of History - Some examples of industrial/military areas that are repurposed into more public spaces.

Zooming - October 2013

The ‘zooming’ post for the month has become one of my favorite posts to create. I enjoy selecting the images and getting them clipped perfectly…the arranging them in the post. My picks from my October photographs are below.

September 2013 Zoom

August 2013 Zoom (garden)

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 26, 2013

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

Genome Digest - A summary from The Scientist of recent research findings. I like these summaries both for their specific content and the ‘overview’ comparison they sometimes stimulate. Did you know that chimpanzees/bonobos have 2.9 billion base pairs; a cyanobacteria has 4.7 million base pairs; cucumber has 245 million base pairs?

Did You Forget to Have Fun? - How long has it been since you actually did whatever your answer is to “If you had all the time in the world, and weren’t always working, what would you do for fun?”

Driverless Cars Are Further Away Than You Think - Read the comments as well as the story. Time will tell as always. This is a technology that I am really looking forward to so I hope this naysayer is wrong.

The Gorgeous Fjordlands of West Norway - Beautiful wild places

How Are Open Access Publishing and Massive Open Online Courses Disrupting the Academic Community? - So far - is appears that MOOCs have been more disruptive than OA.

Mountain Lion Facts - Did you know that baby mountain lions have spots and blue eyes?

Ancient tattoos may have been used as medicine - Tattoos on Otzi the Iceman

Winners of the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013 - More feasts for the eyes…UK landscapes.

Why Abraham Lincoln Loved Infographics - A map that showed the density of slavery was well used by Lincoln (it ‘bore the marks of much service’). This article also highlights William Playfair’s role in the development of data visualization; he was the inventor of pie charts and bar graphs in his “Commercial and Political Atlas which he published in 1786.

Improving Weather Forecasts - Forecast accuracy…and how the forecast is presented and interpreted. There’s always room for improvement.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 19, 2013

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.

1,200 Whimsical Stone Statues at Buddhist Temple in Kyoto - Small, mostly smiling statues capped with green moss. They were donated in 1981 to the temple but have a timeless quality. My favorite image is the sixth. The most prominent figure looks happy and calm; the one next to him looks worried about something.

Lost (and found) in Lahore: a photoessay - From the TED blog…images of Lahore, Pakistan from Khurram Siddiqi. If you tried to capture where you live in a photoessay, what would you include?

The Human Bionic Project - A collection of current state-of-the-art links about the interaction between human bodies and machines. The interface shows a human image with pink circles to indicate places where there is more information. There is a slider to move from outside the body to muscles, skeleton, organs, etc. This was one of the reference materials for a Neuroethics course I am enjoying on Coursera….part of the discussion about the changing definition of disability, illness, and disease.

Strength in Numbers: 5 Amazing Animal Swarms - Red crabs, free-tailed bats, desert locusts, monarch butterflies, and starling murmurations

The Uncanny Places on Earth That Look Like Alien Worlds - Sometimes they look alien from afar….and sometimes from within.

The Human Plutonium Injection Experiments - A report published in Los Alamos Science in 1995 about the efforts to understand plutonium’s effects on health during the Manhattan Project….what was known…and what was not…what was done to determine exposure limits. The project’s mission was foremost but the leadership did not ignore the health issue in the frenzy to get an atomic bomb built and tested. The article is another reference from the Neuroethics class.

Map of San Francisco, Stripped of all the Urbanism - The terrain without bridges, cable cars, and housing.

Where Are Migratory Monarchs This Fall? - There have been fewer monarchs in our area of Maryland. There are fewer milkweeds too.

Butternut Squash Smoothie - I have been enjoying apple cider in my smoothies…so I am going to try without orange juice or other sweetener. Somehow the taste of butternut squash and apple cider appeals to me!

More Than 500 Million People Might Face Increasing Water Scarcity - I am probably sensitized to the issue because I am familiar with Tucson’s challenges today. It would not take much change in rainfall, continued concentration of toxins in the water, and/or increased population to result in shortages of good quality water.

Monticello, Utah

We opted to stay in a vacation rental in Monticello, UT rather than Moab on our recent vacation. Monticello is higher (and cooler) than Moab and is further south. My husband had prioritized ‘Monument Valley’ as a destination for one of our days and the location of Monticello made it an easier day trip.

The small town turned out to be scenic too. The second morning, a dusting of snow became visible as the sun came up. It flocked the grass and provided a white backdrop to the fall foliage in the ‘rough’ of the golf course.

After the snow melted (it only lasted a few hours) - the green grass was visible again and the bright sunlight caused all the colors to glow.

Deer came to visit - seemingly used to people being near.

My eyes were drawn again and again to a tree that had lost its leaves already. The green of the golf course surrounded it - and I wondered if it was dead or just some tree that always lost its leaves early.

There were many birds around too - but only this one sat still long enough to be photographed.

Abajo Mountains and Newspaper Rock, Utah

Our trip to southeastern Utah coincided with the government shutdown - before the state managed to re-open the National Parks in the area with state funds. Consequently - my blog posts about the vacation will include sights from outside those parks. The drive west from Monticello UT through the Abajo mountains was quite scenic in the early days of October. There were swaths of aspen among the pine and scrubby oaks on the eastern side of the mountains….and colorful layers of rock in canyons seen from the western side. We turned around at the blockade at the Canyonlands National Park. Newspaper Rock - with images pecked into rock - was along our route back.

Sit back and enjoy the slide show of the mountain views - the large and small, the timeless and transient, the crystal clarity and hazy distances.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 12, 2013

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.

Massive Growth of Electric Cars in US, + Who Drives Electric Cars - Infographic

21 Glorious Photos of Double Rainbows around the World - Any rainbow is special….but double ones are rare enough to be extra special

First Ever Global Index to Measure Wellbeing of Older People - Uses measures of income security, health status, employment and education, and enabling environment. For more details, the Global AgeWatch Index is here.

These Breathtaking Cliffside Walkways Will Give You Vertigo - I don’ want to go to any of these places…this pictures are enough!

Nut-and-Seed Energy Balls - I’m going to make the goodies this weekend.

12 Fantastic Photos of Fall Trees Exploding with Color - I like to think of fall colors as the last hurrah before winter. It is a visual feast.

Save Energy & Save Money Using The Sun Intelligently in These 10 Ways - How many of these are you already using?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #48 - I always enjoy a series of bird pictures. I like the blue and gold macaw in this set.

Ancient Printing Rituals Form Intricate Sand Patterns - This looks more fun than sandcastles!

Top Travel Trends - From Richard Watson

Longwood Gardens Sunflowers - September 2013

Sunflowers in the sun! They are one of my favorites for late summer and into fall. The sunflowers pictured in this post were at Longwood Gardens in September.  The large headed one was in a demonstration garden and the smaller ones were at the edge of the meadow (closed for renovation and expansion). 

The group of flowers I spent the longest time watching had gone to seed and birds were enjoying their bounty.

Kitchen Windows

This week it occurred to me that there is been a window over the sink in the kitchen in every house I’ve owned. I’ve always enjoyed the view to the outside from all four - 

• a newly planted peach tree,
• a yard shaded by large oaks where moss was more common than grass,
• a maple tree that shaded the window in the late afternoon while I prepared dinner, and
• now a deck with pots of zinnias, mint, basil, and cardinal flowers.   

Having a window over the sink is not something that I consciously required when I chose these houses, but now that I realize how much I've enjoyed them over the years, I am quite sure my next house will have one too.

Recently, I’ve been standing at the sink while I eat an orange for my morning snack…enjoying the view. Birds seem to show up frequently and sometimes I am fast enough to get the camera and take pictures. The chickadee and hummingbird are my favorites.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 5, 2013

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.

Travel into the Wilderness of Olympic National Park and Listen to the Sounds of Nature - A short video from Olympic National Park. It’s about the sounds but had good sights from the park as well.

Birch for Breakfast? Meet Maple Syrup's Long-Lost Cousins - Learn about other trees that have sweet sap.

125th Anniversary Issue of National Geographic Magazine - The October issue of National Geographic is about ‘the power of photography.’ My Modern Met posted a sampling of the images.

The science behind power naps, and why they're so damn good for you - Isn’t it wonder that something so enjoyable is also good for you?

10 Cities Most at Risk from Natural Disasters - The list includes: Tehran, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Kolkata, Nagoya, Jakarta, Osaka and Kobe, The Pearl River Delta (includes Hong Kong), Manila, Tokyo and Yokohama. Look through the slide show to see the rationale for why they are in the top 10. The report that the post was derived from is here.

Rising Rates of Severe and Fatal Sepsis during Labor and Delivery - This is a finding in developed countries! There are some conditions that increase the risk (microbial resistance, obesity, smoking, substance abuse and poor general health) but many cases occur in women with no recognized risk factors. What a terrible trend.

Striking natural landscapes that look like works of fantasy art - From around the world.

A mysterious fire transformed North America's greatest city in 1170 - I walked around Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site a few years ago....glad to see what recent research has found.

Digital Inequality and Inclusion in Japan - A post from an undergraduate student from Japan at MIT.

3D printing techniques will be used to construct buildings, here and in outer space - There has been a lot of hype about 3D printing. Could ‘Contour Crafting’ really be used to build a house in less than 20 hours? Reading the article left a lot of unanswered question. It is an interesting idea though.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 28, 2013

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.

Arctic on course for ice-free summer 'within decades', scientists say - Where will the polar bears go in an ice free summer?

The Arsenic in Our Drinking Water - Scary findings. Evidently arsenic causes problems at lower concentrations that previously thought.

John Green on health care expenses in America - A fast paced video about how American health care expenses and outcomes compare to the rest of the world. Does anyone want the status quo? The answer has to be ‘no’ but we definitely have a challenge agreeing on how to change the system.

Antibacterial Products Fuel Resistant Bacteria in Streams and Rivers - Yet another reason to read the labels on liquid soaps, toothpaste and other cosmetics…and avoid triclosan. I’ve noticed recently that there are more companies that are removing it from their products so the research and consumer choices are having an impact.

National Park Quiz: How Good Are You When Quizzed On Fall In The National Parks? - I am not a quiz taker any more - but I enjoyed scanning through this one about national parks.

For Scientists, Early to Press Means Success - A study that included 1400 biologists from around the world. Do the results apply to other scientific fields? It seems logical that they would….and should be used to guide the early career of scientists (beginning while they are still in school).

Introducing The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Boston - A guide to the green spaces of Boston. A similar one was published last year for Washington DC. If you are going to be walking around either city these guides are another source of information about the city landscapes.

10 More Fascinating Photos That Look Like Paintings - A collection from 10 photographers.

Ancient merchants are responsible for modern horse genetics - Isn’t this something that was always suspected…and we just have the DNA analysis technology to prove it now?

Geography in the News: Cobras - From National Geographic

Zooming - September 2013

I did a ‘Zooming the in Garden’ post last month and enjoyed it so much that I am initiating a monthly ‘Zooming’ post. Here are my favorites from September 2013. They are all either insects or plants!

 

A Walk around the Howard County Conservancy - September 2013

Fall is a great time to take a walk around the Howard County Conservancy in Maryland. They have a fall festival planned for October 5 but the weather was so good this weekend that my husband and I decided to walk around on our own. We enjoyed being about to hear the insects and birds - and the signs of fall in both the meadow and the forest areas.

What do you think about the owl sculpture? It looks out over the nature play for children.

There are paths mowed through the meadow. The milkweed is ripening. We saw some that were splitting own and others that were still enclosed in a velvety husk complete with a milkweed beetle colony.

ThistlesThistles waved amid a sea of goldenrod.

There were young trees planted in the meadow; they still had protective tubes around their trunks. The dogwoods are easy to spot since they turn deep red while all the other trees are still green.

The wild carrot is making seeds. They look like a tangled ball…and they are a non-native plant that is quite prolific in North America.wild Carrot

It was a pleasant walk of just over a mile according to my husband’s pedometer...and we’d worked up an appetite for lunch. This is a place to come again as fall progresses.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 21, 2013

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.

19th Century London Street Photography by John Thomson - Photographs of people in the streets of London during the later 1800s. I noticed the children in particular. John Thomson published his pictures in books and one of them is available on the Internet Archive: Street Life in London published in 1877.

The Geography of American Agriculture - Follow the link to the county-by-county crop maps from USDA to find out about where different food grows in the US.

Detailed Digital Flowers Radiate with a Magical Glow - I like flowers….event digital ones!

Obese Stomachs tell us diets are doomed to fail - Research has revealed that the mechanism that tells our brains how full we are is damaged in obese people…and it does not return to normal when they lose weight. Aargh! I’m not sure that means that diets are doomed to fail but it does mean that a person that has been obese may have to consciously limit the amount they eat for the rest of their lives rather than relying on their stomach-brain mechanism to tell them when they are full.

Mt. Zion dig reveals possible second temple period priestly mansion - Layers of structures and sorting out what it might mean - from a bathroom to a large number of murex shells to a cistern with pots and a stove in the bottom under rubbish.

Once-Majestic Cities That Sank Beneath the Ocean - There are quite a few - and some great pictures of the underwater remains: Alexandria, Egypt; Heracleion (or Thonis), Egypt; Canopus, Egypt; Yonaguni Jima Island, Japan; Saeftinghe, Netherlands; Port Royal, Jamaica; Baiae (Campania), Italy; Pavlopetri, Greece; Atlit, Israel; Lion City (Shi Cheng), China; Samabaj, Guetamala;

U.S. Drops in Share of Publications - Another indicator of globalization of science. The US is still producing 28% of the world’s share of manuscripts…but the percentage has been sliding in recent years (the absolute number of papers is holding steady).

They’re Taking Over! - The ‘they’ in this case are jellyfish. The New York Review of Books reviews Lisa-ann Gershwin’s book Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean.

Giant Prehistoric Elephant Slaughtered by Early Humans - From 1000s of years before Neanderthals…from layers 420,000 years old…found along the route of a rail link from the Channel Tunnel to London and excavated in 2004.

Beautiful Glowing Portraits of a Bobtail Squid - Photograph by Todd Bretl.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 14, 2013

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.

World’s Largest LED Streetlight Retrofit Completed in Los Angeles - I wonder if the fixtures are also designed to direct light downward rather than in all directions. It would be wonderful to see the stars in the sky again!

Macrophotographs of insects - Don’t let the first picture deter you look at this article! There are some beautiful ones further down in the series….the dogbane beetle with iridescent red, yellow and green on its wings and blues and greens everywhere else…the leafhopper sharpshooter with its red body and white and black wings.

Edible Coatings for Ready-To-Eat Fresh Fruits and Vegetables - An overview of the coatings used to help fruits and vegetables retain freshness. They are edible…but some don’t sound very appealing. As for finding a coating that would work for sliced bananas - one of the appeals of bananas is that they are easy to peel and a good serving size. Their natural packaging is one of the reasons they are so popular!

Researchers’ Tweets Move Science Forward - A study of 116 marine scientists actively using Twitter. Does this translate to other disciplines?

University of Arizona Cooking on Campus (recipes) - There are some good ideas on this list. I tried the Mini Deep Dish Pizzas (made them in a muffin top pan rather than a regular muffin tin) and they were delicious. My daughter made the Quinoa Ratatouille and reported that it was a winner too.

Has the World Reached Peak Chicken? - As we become more health conscious, will be eat even more chicken? We tend to ignore the industrial treatment (or mistreatment) of the birds just as we do other domesticated animals. And what about the trend toward more heavily processed chicken? I always buy cut up parts these days but remember well the draw of chicken nuggets for children. Or will we have more veggie days?

This girl ages into an old woman before your eyes without you noticing - The video is just under 5 minutes and well worth viewing. The ‘old woman’ does not look that old to me. When I think ‘old’ I think of someone in their 90s.

Interlude in Pittsburgh - Lots of pictures from a trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Cathedral of Learning. Brought back great memories of a road trip about 10 years ago when we used the Cathedral (like being at Hogwarts) as a stop before continuing down the highway.

State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees - I’m always a little uncomfortable about these analyses and a particular segment of the population. Are the taxes ‘friendly’ to one group and not to others? For example - do states that are ‘friendly’ to retirees underfund education for children?

How do chameleons and other creatures change colour? - Chamelons and octopuses...some animals have the ability to make very rapid adjustments to their color.

World Happiness Report 2013 - The most recent addition was published this last week. The US is 17th in the world - just behind Mexico. The 6 variables that explain 75% of the variation in the national averages are: real GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 7, 2013

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.

Patent Overlay Mapping: Visualizing Technological Distance - Powerpoint of graphics depicting how patents cite each other in the 2000-2006 time period. The first series is by companies (Samsung, DuPont, IBM, and Philips) and the second is by research topic: nano biosensors, dye-sensitized solar cells, and graphene). The whole paper is available here.

Is being overweight OK after all? - A look at the analysis of weight and mortality  (not quality of life). The studies were adjusted for age, gender and smoking but not for fitness or chronic disease indicators.

Massive Stick Sculptures Resemble Castles, Nests and Cocoons - I like the size and shapes of these structures. It looks like the artist is creating about one per month (upcoming installations listed on his web site here). I’d like to see one. The closest to me would be the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) in October… or maybe I should plan a return trip to Cheekwood Botanical Garden (Nashville, TN) next March.

Our Cultural Addiction to Phones, In One Disconcerting Video - How often have you seen scenes similar to this video? The impact this cultural addiction is having on relationships is still developing. I am glad that the people I am around most of the time are more focused on the people they are with than their phones.

Half of the U.S. lives in these 146 counties - is yours one of them? - The answer for me is ‘no’ but several of the counties that boarder where I live are on the list.

NASA Moonshot Will Test Laser Communications - A precursor to commercial internet satellite services using optical connections instead of today’s radio links.

Going Solar: Options For Homeowners Infograph - Solar panels are not the only option

New Effective Treatment for High Blood Pressure? Removing Tiny Organ - Interesting finding…but is there a side effect of removing the carotid body connection to the brain? Isn’t it still potentially treating the symptom rather than the cause…and whatever is causing the high blood pressure may still be shortening life?

Out of Sync - Your body has multiple clocks…what happens when they are out of sync? Why eating when you normally are sleeping is a bad idea.

2013 International Bedroom Poll - Comparing sleep times, attitudes, habits, and bedtime routines of 25-55 year old people from around the world. (PDF)

Plants on the Deck

I just finished reading May Sarton’s autobiography from when she was in her 50s - Plant Dreaming Deep. She describes her move to Nelson NH. The garden around the house appears frequently in the book: how it looks from various windows of the house, the cutting of flowers in the morning, the weeding and planting of the afternoons, the taming of brush to reveal a stone wall, the agony of a drought when there was not enough water available for the plants.

I’ve experienced similar thoughts about the garden at my house - particularly with the plants in pots on my deck. It is not a particularly large grouping (this year) and there are only a few types of plants: zinnias, cardinal flowers, mint (3 kinds), and basil (2 kinds).

Hummingbird and cardinal flowerThey are visible from the window over the kitchen sink, through the French door from the breakfast area and the screened in part of the deck. The most frequent viewing is from the kitchen window - when I wash vegetables, get a cup of tea, or stand leaning over the sink to eat a juicy orange or peach. I notice the butterflies, hummingbirds, and goldfinches most frequently from there. There is a chair in the breakfast area turned to look outward for longer observation. When I sit on the deck - I sometimes look at the pots but am more frequently listening to the bird and cicada songs.Tiger swallowtail and zinnia

The plants each have their own mini-story.

The zinnias are from seeds my sister saved from her garden. They are degenerates of hybrids but I find the variety appealing and the insects/birds love both their nectar and seeds. I also like to cut a single flower for a bud vase on my desk.Goldfinch and zinnia seed pod

The mint has been propagated from various places around the house and into pots via cuttings. My favorite is the variety that grows in my daughter’s old turtle sandbox although I cut all varities to dry for use with black tea to make my favorite beverage: mint tea. Mid-way through the season I was introduced to the notion of creating pots of plants that included three components: thriller, spiller, and filler. Mint will be the “spiller and filler” for next year.Mint (pot and turtle sandbox) on right and zinnia on left

Zinnia and cardinal flowerThe cardinal flower was a gift from a volunteer organization I worked with earlier in the season. It is expanding into the large pot I put it in. It will be one of the “thriller” plants for next year. I may start another pot from seed as well. It certainly likes to be kept wet; discovering a long lost, half-full bag of peat moss in the garage just before I created the pot was fortunate. I already have a few mint plants that have taken root at one edge of the pot.

The basil seeds were gifts: seed balls from my daughter and a collection of seeds from my husband (that I thought might we too old to sprout). I cut a few leaves for a salad or sauce several times a week and have - so far - kept it from going to seed.

I keep the plants hydrated with water collected from cleaning fruits and vegetables - unless it is very hot and more is needed. The zinnias visibly droop when they need water; they are the indicator plant for watering.

I am full of plans for next year already. More large pots on my wish list for birthday and Christmas - and I’ll look for pot sales too. And I’m thinking of plants for next year too:

• Thrillers: zinnias, cardinal flower
• Fillers: basil, parsley, mint, cilantro
• Spillers: mint, sweet potato

The rest of the flower beds and gardens around the house are not completely unnoticed, but the pots on the deck are the ones I see most frequently. They are a very special luxury!

Discoveries during Outdoor Chores

Yesterday I was out early - to avoid the heat of the day - to clean out the weeds growing between the house and the bushes. My husband had noticed them when we were re-installing screens on the windows after replacing the screen material. As I was gathering my tools - I noticed something on my long handled pruners. At first I thought it was a large spider; on closer inspection it was a mantis. I went inside to retrieve my camera. The insect moved from the wooden to the green metal part of the handle which made it easier to see his posture. He posed for pictures and hung on with more vigor than I expected when I decided that I really did need to get to work rather than continuing to watch him.

After the contortioned work of cutting the bushes where they would not brush the shutters and pulling the weeds that were growing in the narrow space between them and the brick of the house, I made the first trip to deliver the plant debris to the forest behind the house. As I rounded the corner, I noticed how wonderful the pyracantha berries looked - with some green and some orange. The bush is full of bunches this year and I’ll probably cut some branches for a fall centerpiece when they reach their full orange glory.

There is always something that is changing or new outdoors…and chores often give us enough time to realize it. Outdoor chores provide a great opportunity to slow down and savor the natural world.

Chives Blooming in the Garden

A clump of chives survived the overwhelming growth of lemon balm in our garden for the past few years and is blooming gloriously this year now that the lemon balm is mostly gone (cutting the tops then digging out the roots of the lemon balm being one of my August projects). The chives that are too close to the edge of the garden are being pulled too - but most of the clump is well placed and will stay.

There are lots of insects that like the flowers of the chives. By far the most numerous and persistent on a recent afternoon were blue winged wasps (Scolia dubia). A tiger swallowtail butterfly did not linger long enough for a picture. The cone flowers and zinnias were evidently more attractive to it. A cabbage white stayed a little longer but it too was off to other flowers very quickly.

Last year the chives had a few flowers and I enjoyed photographing them. I am anticipating that the clump will expand for next summer because more seeds will find their way to the tilled soil. I'll have plenty of the thin green leaves to enjoy in salads!

Dove on a Park Bench

Last weekend, while walking around Brookside Gardens, I noticed a dove walking on the ground. I tried to get positioned for a good picture but it kept moving away. Then - it fluttered up to the arm of a park bench. The bird looked perfectly relaxed and ready for a picture.

After posing on the arm for a minute or so, it moved up to top rim of the bench's back…for a bit more posing. The feathers were ruffled making the bird look bigger.

Then it flew into a nearby tree and waited patiently for me to get a few pictures. After I took the picture below, the bird turned in the other direction. Was there some important bird-logic about keeping the left side facing me?