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.

Fall Chores (before Leaf Raking)

There are not enough leaves on the ground yet to make raking worthwhile. My husband chopped up the few around when he mowed the grass - probably for the last time this year. This morning I did the other chores that had accumulated:  

• Trimmed the bush that always seems to need a trim - one last time before winter. Keeping it short enough to trim without a step-ladder is the goal. I can just barely reach the middle of the top with the pruners while standing on my toes.
• One of the bushes in the front of the house had some branches from the base that were leaning too far to the side and were almost covering an azalea. I cut them off as close to the base as I could. The whole area looks better now and I won’t have to worry about snow weighing them down enough to crush the azalea this winter.
• The last chore was trimming the pyracantha. This bush rarely gets trimmed; the thorns are quite effective in discouraging close contact. I was motivated by the idea that the orange berries would show more if the bush was trimmed so the heavy gloves were found and the long handled pruners were retrieved. It didn’t take long and one scraggly branch that needed to be cut had a lot of berries. It looks great on the mantle above the fireplace: my reward for getting the fall chores done! 

Are you done with your fall chores too?

Volunteering in the Community

As I’ve posted about earlier this month September is the time of year to get back to school and be energized at home; it is also a good time to take a look at opportunities to ‘do good’ close to home. This year I took a little more systematic approach than I have previously; I thought more about the value to the community and the elements of the activity that would be satisfying to me as well. I looked at the organizations requesting volunteers through my county government’s coordination center and picked several to investigate more closely by looking at their website and talking to the organization. Eventually, I picked two and filled out the volunteer application forms. The themes for my volunteer work for the next year or so are going to be: 

• Nature/conservation
• Nature and elementary age children
• Senior citizens independence 

I’m full of positive vibes about the volunteer opportunities - the needs are real, I’m confident that I can contribute, and that I’ll enjoy the whole experience. It's a matriarch thing to do.

Volunteering is another ‘start’ in September!

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - September 2013

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10.

Classes. The quality of the courses I’m taking on Coursera is excellent. I celebrate the first week of courses --- when it becomes obvious how good it is going to be --- and then when something unexpected is offered. The ‘Meet the Researcher’ segment of the Animal Behavior course is one such serendipity.

My weight. I finally - after more than 20 years - I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight!

Good food. This month I discovered how yummy baked yogurt custard can be - and also enjoyed the best splurge around: a very chocolaty brownie.

Clothes. The t-shirt dresses were so comfortable for the warm days of the month and I discovered that many clothes I pulled out for the cooler days fit better than they did last year (or are too big!).

Books. September was a month I savored some books from authors I’d enjoyed before (May Sarton and Kinky Friedman) and discovered the Amanda Cross mysteries.

Longwood Gardens. Every time we make the trek to these gardens is a treat. You’ve seen evidence of how much I enjoyed the outing in September in the blog posts.

HC Conservancy. It’s always worth celebrating finding another place close enough to home that it can be visited on a regular basis.

Fabulous fall weather. September has been full of perfect days to be outdoors.

Change. I intentionally turned off the computer for hours at a time throughout the month to force some change in my days….and enjoyed the difference!

Visual richness. We aren’t in the colorful part of fall yet but there were two images of September than stand out: a corn field ready for harvest near our neighborhood and a zinnia in a small vase beside my computer monitor. 

Around our (Maryland) Yard - September 2013

The temperature trend is down (not cold exactly but definitely cooler than August) and the flowers are fading. There is one dahlia still blooming.

The chives that were just beginning to bloom in August are already creating seed pods this month.

The highpoint for color are the clusters of pyracantha berries. This has been a good year for the bush. I’ll cut a small bunch to bring into my office soon.

Feeling Energized at Home - 2013

Last year I wrote about September being my high energy month of the year - and it is still true in 2013. This year the energy level seems to be even greater and directed over a broader swath of activities.

Basil ready to dryLike last year, there is a lot to do outdoor as we near the end of the growing season. The red-purple leafed plum tree has lost enough leaves to begin raking; my plan it to spread them over the garden patch cleared of lemon balm, honeysuckle, and other wild plants in August. I’ll scatter seed pods from cone flowers and zinnias there so that flowers will grow there next summer under the sycamore.  I am also harvest basil and mint from the containers on the deck; the basil is already in a tray in the kitchen drying. The mint may take more than one tray so I’m waiting to cut and process it until the basil is dry and stored away for winter soups.

Clearing ‘stuff’ from the house is splitting into two efforts.

• Two T-shirt DressThe first is to change items into forms that are more useful. The two t-shirt dresses are an example I wrote about earlier this month. I’ve also made a Kaftan from a piece of fabric - using an old handkerchief for part of the neckline (I’ll post about it when I finish). I’ve also discovered that an old Mr. Coffee carafe (the machine itself has long since been replaced) with its handle removed fits in crockpot for baking and custards. We’ve also repurposed my husband’s the old chair mat that was cracked to protect the carpet under and around the cat litter.
• The second is to start reducing the number of ‘keepsake’ boxes. For over 15 years while my daughter was growing up we always had a box that was catching anything we did not immediately decide to recycle or trash. There are several boxes for every year! I’m going to use a ping pong table to make annual piles and I’m sure there will be quite a lot that is not worth keeping.

Considerable energy is going into planning for travel and guests for the next 6 months. I always like to do my research about places I travel and understand what guests will be most interesting in seeing when they are in town. I enjoy the planning almost as much as the activities planned!

I’ve already posted about classes in progress. There are now 4 Coursera classes in progress. They are all excellent - thought provoking in very different ways.

September is definitely a high energy month for me. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about everything in my days.

Becoming 60 - Part I

I read May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude recently - her journal from the years leading up to her 60th birthday. Published in 1973, it was full of angst caused by the recognition of the delta between what she wanted in life and reality. She wanted to be a poet but had become more successful as a writer of journals and memoirs - and not as well-known as a writer in either genre as she had envisioned.  Her personal life had not turned out well either; she found herself living alone and realizing that her relationships with people were best in short bursts rather than full-time living in close proximity….but also feeling profoundly lonely when there was no one to share something very good (or very bad) just as it happened to her. The version of the book I read was a paperback from the 70s and the glue cracked, releasing the pages as I read. It felt symbolic of the different way I feel as I approach 60.

Letting go of old angst left from career or personal relationships is very easy for me. It flutters away like the pages falling out of the book - not forgotten but simply a part of my history. There is less of it in my life than Sarton’s although it may be that my outlook on life has always been more positive than hers. The future has always looked full of fabulous opportunities and most of the time the present does too. It helps that I have a lot of family living --- and 40+ years of marriage and a child. Sharing joy somehow increases the highs; and maybe the lows never get quite as low in the environment I’ve helped created for myself and for them.

Sarton’s descriptions of the outdoors around her house in Nelson, NH were the parts of the book where I feel the most affinity with her: the beauty seen through a window, the cycles, the fight against animals eating the garden (she had wood chucks, I have deer), and enjoying cutting flowers to bring indoors.

Sarton would live more than 20 years after writing this book but there is a foreboding in this book that implies that she views the best of her life as ‘over.’ In contrast, I see 30 or 40 years of life ahead and the tenor of my life now most resembles that time in my 20s when I was making a lot of decisions about what I wanted to be. The interlocking components of life are shifting and, in some ways, the decisions are more my own than back when I needed to choose a career that I could enjoy and support my family. What a boon the advent of Coursera and the Internet Archive has been as I indulge interests that I’ve not had time in the past 40 years to pursue as often as I wanted.

I chose a September sunrise picture to illustrate this post because I perceive the future as bright as the morning’s east horizon.

Longwood Gardens Cannas - September 2013

Cannas have associations to people and places for me: 

• To my grandparent’s garden in Oklahoma in the ‘60s and ‘70s. They were the tall, luxuriant plants between the flower garden on the side facing the street and the vegetables on the other.
• To my parent’s garden now where some of the descendants of bulbs from my grandparent’s garden probably still grow - plus some other colors that have been purchased since.
• To my sister’s garden where they are now healthy again after a year of struggle with something that caused their large leaves to stick in the furled position. 

The variety of cannas at  Longwood Gardens - both in the Conservatory and outdoors - were good reminders. I’d not seen pink ones before. They were in the later part of their bloom cycle. The orange and yellow cannas were in their prime. I noticed when I looked at my photographs after I got home that I didn’t take any pictures of the red ones!

Making a Two T-Shirt Dress

About a week ago I had one of those ideas that come just before sleep that kept me awake for at least an hour - working out the details and making plans. The idea was to reuse some T-shirts my husband had culled from his closet (the neck was stretched out, the underarm fabric was rotting, or the cat had made a hole trying to untangle a claw) to extend the length of some of my T-shirts into dresses. I have quite a few T-shirts and tend to not put them on frequently enough to ever wear them out…and I enjoy wearing the one knit dress I have during the hot days. I came up with several ideas about how to put the dresses together to get enough length for a dress.

In the morning I started my first Two T-shirt Dress. I started with a turquoise T-shirt that I’d used for painting - managing to get some splatters on the bottom hem. The pattern on the front of the shirt ended for a high waist - a good place to cut. A Black t-shirt with a little writing on the upper front was in the pile from my husband; I cut the bottom off just under the arms. His shirt was a little bigger around that mine was so I made side seams in the black tube to make it the same circumference as the turquoise one. The dress needed more length so I was going to have to use the turquoise piece I had cut off at the bottom of the dress. I cut the hem off the black T-shirt so that the seam would be less bulky and cut the teal peak on the bottom so that there would be a slit to make walking easier. Both bottom pieces were use inside out from the original shirt so I had to turn up a hem in the lower teal shirt portion. I used a stretch stitch for the seams and then finished the edges together with a zigzag stitch.

The second dress was even easier. I decided to just add onto the end of my light blue T-shirt because the pattern was so large. The bottom was cut from a navy blue T-shirt and simply gathered onto the bottom of the light blue T-shirt (I cut the hem from the light blue shirt to reduce the seam bulk. The original hem of the navy blue T-shirt became the hem for the dress - so this was a one seam dress!

The third dress was the hardest because I had to piece the ‘skirt’ part to get enough length. I decided that I didn’t want to length in the lighter color and I didn’t want it again at the bottom of the dress either. Also - I did not realize until after the dress was made that it would need to have some elastic at the waist because it looked way too big otherwise. I made the casing for the elastic by stitching the edge of the seams attaching the lighter shirt to the skirt.  I'll probably tie a scarf around the waist of this one.

All three of these dreses are going to be worn frequently until it gets cooler.

When my 40 year old sewing machine actually worked after I oiled it, I thought I would use it for some fabric/thread doodling - maybe make a small quilt - but I am way more satisfied with my Two T-shirt Dress project!

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.

High Nutritional Value Salad Dressings

One of the challenges of a weight loss strategy that includes a low calorie/high nutrition component is salad dressing. The commercial salad dressings tend to have relatively little nutritional value for the amount of calories they add to the salad. I’ve discovered two alternatives that are so good I’ll probably stop buying commercial salad dressings and look for more alternatives that are similar to the two I am enjoying now. Here are the two:

Hummus. I bought a tub of commercially prepared roasted garlic hummus and tried it first as a dip for veggies. Then I used it to make egg salad (very simple…just combined eggs, celery and the seasoned hummus - no other seasoning required). Now I’ve started using a heaping tablespoon into just about any salad in lieu of dressing.

Guacamole. You can make your own or look for Wholly Guacamole in your grocery store. They make ‘mini’ packages that are a perfect size to use for a salad.

What other alternatives am I going to check out? The only requirements are that it 1) stick to the salad ingredients and 2) add a good flavor. Here is my ‘things to try’ list: 

• Tahini or peanut butter mixed with salsa and extra basil and/or orange zest
• Chia seeds and salsa
• Tahini or peanut butter pureed with some orange sections, fresh mint, orange zest
• Differently seasoned hummus (commercially prepared)
• Homemade hummus with seasonings different that available in the commercially prepared 

As you can tell - I am not a fan of vinegar…or I would certainly be including it in some of the items on my list!

Any other ideas?

Happy Labor Day!

Summer is the only season that is bracketed by holidays for most people in the U.S.: Memorial Day is the beginning and Labor Day is the end. And so - today is a closing for summer 2013. Swimming pools will be closing and schools have started.

The food we enjoy on Labor Day is often a celebration of the fruits of summer - corn on the cob, watermelon, tomatoes. And being outdoors to cook and eat is often part of the day. This year we are substituting cantaloupe for the watermelon…but the theme holds. I noticed that our neighborhood was noisy with lawn mowers and blowers on Saturday but was quiet on Sunday and Labor Day; we all got our chores done early and had two days to enjoy!

There is a psychology that is ingrained by the school calendar. It lingers long after we finish school - even after our responsibilities to get own children to school have ended. The ‘back to work’ focus of the time after Labor Day may last a lifetime. In my career I often thought September and October were my most focused and productive of the year. In 2013 I am reverting to a ‘school’ mentality and taking a lot of classes. Two are already underway and a third starts this week. Today I am savoring the calm before getting back into the flurry of academics.

Wishing everyone a happy Labor Day!

Anticipating Fall

Several of our trees seem to be anticipating the crisp days of fall before they arrive. The sycamore, oak, plum and cherry all look healthy but the grass around them is littered with a scattering of leaves. The oak tree is dropping mature acorns on the driveway. The maple and tulip poplars are still entirely green and the grass around their bases is clear of leaves.

Fortunately the leaf fall is light enough to be neatly handled by the weekly lawn mowing - which is still required by the rapidly growing grass.

The Psychology of Weight Loss

I am now within 2 pounds of the weight I was in my early-30s and I am confident of reaching the goal. It has taken me several years to get here. When I first started, the way I approached weight loss was quiet different that it is now. This blog post documents the transitions in my thinking over the past few years.

The goals I started with were:  

• Take at least 7,000 steps per day. I had a simple pedometer to count my steps. It had some oddities (sometimes didn’t count when I was walking) so I replaced it with a Fitbit. I quickly discovered that the bounces on my Swopper chair counted as a step and, very briefly, decided that maybe I should take the Fitbit off so that they would not be counted. Then I decided that it was OK if they were counted…that the relative activity between days and the spread of activity throughout the day were a good measure. I still have a form of this goal although it is 12,000 or more steps and the calories burned measure is more important at this point.
• Eat only when and while you are hungry. This will always be a challenge - particularly when I am not at home and sometimes there too. I enjoy good food tremendously and it is intertwined with family gatherings and celebrations. The psychological challenge is to not think like a Stone Age hunter gatherer that needed to gorge any time food became available because there would be lean times just ahead. The probability of not having food readily available any time I am hungry is practically 0 - but it is hard to remember that when something delicious is in front of me. I’ve learned to savor a taste - but not overindulge.
• Reduce weight to what it was when I was 45. I thought it was a realistic goal - about 20 pounds. I’d held steady at that weight for about 5 years so I knew it should be a comfortable weight for me. I started weighing myself first thing every morning and devising little rewards for when I was at a ‘new low.’

Those three goals did work for the first 20 pounds and the weight came off easily enough that I established a new goal: 

• Reduce weight to what it was with I was 35. It was another 10 pounds to come off.

And the pounds didn’t come off. I maintained my weight easily but could not seem to take off any more pounds. A year or so went by and I was prompted by a nutrition course to update my goals: 

• Burn 2000 calories per day. The Fitbit estimates the number of calories burned so I used that as my key indicator.
• Stay below the calorie level recommended to lose 1 pound per week. The cronometer.com tool calculates the calorie level allowed based on my height and weight. I logged my food into the tool to determine how many calories I was consuming. The tool also helped me internalize the portion size for a ‘serving.’
• Get at least 90% of my nutritional needs from food. The cronometer.com tool helped with this goal too. It totals up the nutrients from the food log. Initially, I was in the 80 percent range but learned very quickly how to improve my diet. I stopped taking supplements for vitamins and minerals that I readily get from the foods I eat.

Those goals got me to where I am now and are still working very well. But I’ve added a new goal now that I am nearing the weight goal: 

• Achieve body proportions close to what they were when I was 35. I found a table of measurements I had made of myself at 35 - stored away in an old journal - and decided to see how close I was getting to that size again. There are some differences - enough that I’ve started exercises to hone some muscles (particularly tummy and upper arms). Otherwise - the measurements are very similar.

I’m close enough to my goal that I am already thinking about what is next. Sustaining a new weight will probably take some effort but probably won’t be as hard as getting there in the first place. Maybe my next goal - with the added calories allowed in sustain mode - will be to: 

• Get 100% of my nutritional needs from food.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - August 2013

A year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10.

Hummingbirds. The zinnas and cardinal flowers on our deck have been magnets for hummingbirds all during August. I love watching them from my kitchen window. They are the flying jewels of the garden.

Laurie Colwin. I had read most of her books years ago but finally read Home Cooking this month. I celebrated the books she wrote - wishing she had lived to produce more.

Declining weight. It is a wonderful thing when a diet has the desired effect. I celebrated a major milestone with a piece of cheesecake and each lower weight with small piece of dark chocolate. Of course - those celebratory calories have to be included in the total for the day….no backsliding allowed.

Goldfinches. The seeds on the blazing stars are ripening enough to be attractive to goldfinches. I am anticipating that we will see more of them as it gets cooler.

Gardening. It is unusual to have the flowerbeds weed free at the same time. I’m celebrating the accomplishment…..and the room it gives me to try propagating the overgrown hydrangea bushes.

Flip flops. I found 2 flip flops in my size on sale - and it was the sale tax free week too!

Open window. It was wonderfully cool on quite a few mornings this August and I opened my office window to the sounds of the outdoors. How much more connected people were with the outdoors before air conditioning!

Morning snack ritual. I enjoy sitting outside while eating my fruit at mid-morning. The deck is in heavy shade at that time of day and I light the shelf fungus wick in a plate of oil. The large, bell toned chimes add to the sounds of insects and birds with every little breeze.

Coursera History of Humankind. It is probably the most thought provoking course I’ve taken so far….and I am celebrating that it lasts for 17 weeks!

Fresh mint tea. I have harvest mint twice this summer already and there will be another harvest before frost. My favorite beverage is made with a chopped mint leaves and black tea in the filter of my tea maker (a coffee maker that has never made coffee). Most of the crop is dried but the pots made with the freshly chopped leaves are always the most fragrant and flavorful.

Morning Moon

It is easier to wake up before sunrise with the shortening of the days. One morning last week I was up early enough to see the moon through the pine trees. This picture gives the impression of a pearl held firm in a many-needled setting. The few minutes outdoors with the moon and the birds waking up to sing were a good start to the day.

Long Lives

It’s easy for me - at mid-life - to think that I want to live to 100 years or beyond.

But I’ve become aware of people reaching their 80s or 90s and beginning to question why they are still alive - wishing for death. They soldier on unenthusiastically for their remaining days. There are interludes that are happier but the underlying mood of their lives has shifted. They may be ill - ranging from chronic aches and pains to unable to care for themselves or even get out of bed. The loss of their eyesight and hearing - and maybe even taste - may make their present life totally unsatisfying and isolated compared to what they remember. Or maybe the accumulated sorrows - parents long deceased, age-peers and friends and spouses gone more recently, family dispersed or nonexistent - become too much to bear. And there is gray blanket over it all - declining cognitive abilities; no one wants their body to outlast their mind.

The goal, then, is more complex. It is not simply to live for a long time…it is

To sustain the desire to live for the whole of life.  

The key elements for achieving both parts of the goal are probably highly dependent on the individualbut these are the generic elements I think about the most: 

• Keep your life’s purpose actionable in the present and pointed to the future. Purpose is not something that is static. It needs to be vital and included in every decision you make. Sometimes purpose is not as automatic after children are grown and independent or after you are financially secure. Maybe your purpose becomes helping the next generation (or the next). Maybe your purpose becomes your garden. Maybe you take on a political purpose.  
• Maintain (or improve) the physical self. More years of wear and tear on the body begin to be noticeable at some point. It takes focus to eat well and exercise all through our lives - and it takes more of our time in later years. Isn’t it great that some parts can actually be improved through modern techniques (i.e. cataract removal and vision correction, knee replacement)?
• Continue to grow emotionally and intellectually. Why is our automatic response to fight change? Perhaps it is because change is often inflicted upon us rather than a choice we make for ourselves. Make the choice to change in ways that you value. Invigorate yourself by learning or doing something new.
• Be close to the people you love. Isn’t this something we want throughout our life? Even if we don’t achieve it during all times of our lives, it is something, at least for me, that grows in importance as the years go by.

Spider Web Drama

Earlier this week, I noticed a garden orb-weaver spider web under the eve of our covered deck. I could see it from above through the window from where usually I sit to create my blog posts. It was dusk and the spider was just completing a meal - the morsel tightly wrapped up in silk. I managed to get downstairs and outside to take a picture before the spider retreated to the cutter support above the web. By the next morning the bundle was gone and the web was repaired.

Earlier this week, I noticed a garden orb-weaver spider web under the eve of our covered deck. I could see it from above through the window from where usually I sit to create my blog posts. It was dusk and the spider was just completing a meal - the morsel tightly wrapped up in silk. I managed to get downstairs and outside to take a picture before the spider retreated to the cutter support above the web. By the next morning the bundle was gone and the web was repaired.

A few days later - again at dusk - I noticed a larger insect struggling in the web. It appeared that it had already been bound in silk but was still very much alive. I saw the spider come down from to the moving bundle. By the time I got outside, the struggling insect had torn away some of the silk and had grabbed the spider. I watched the struggle wondering whether the insect or spider would survive. It didn’t take long before the answer was known: a small bundle that was the remains of the spider fell away.

The aptly named assassin bug was the survivor.

Enjoying the Grocery Store

Recently - I’ve noticed how much I enjoy the weekly grocery shopping. It’s not that I ever hated grocery shopping but there has definitely been a change over the past few years. Now I actually look forward to the shopping as a kind of outing. What has changed?

I am no longer restricted to shopping during non-work hours - so I shop at 7:30 AM on Thursdays. The store is never crowded and is well stocked.

The store is very clean, always well stocked and the employees are knowledgeable and pleasant. The aisles have not been turned into obstacle courses by food displays.

I use my own bags. They harken back to old-fashioned market day rather than slick commercial modern stores (even though I shop at a very large store). It appeals to be on a historical level and is also good for the environment. It is wonderful to not have plastic bags building up in my house.

The store has a model train that winds above the yogurt and cheese section. It’s a pleasant display with correlations to childhood and holiday celebrations. I notice it every week.

Sometimes the seasonal products are just too tempting. I bought a glass-bowl bird bath last spring and a sunflower last summer. Serendipity purchases are not frequent - but I always remember that they came from the grocery store.

I don’t linger frequently and when I do - it is to buy something I don’t know very much about but want to try. Recently the question was - what are the options for lower-fat pre-cooked sausage? I discovered a turkey sausage with half the fat content of regular sausage!

The produce section is large and colorful - and I like so many of the foods there. This is the place in the store where I spend the most time and buy the most. It is also the area most like old-fashioned markets. The store highlights the local produce.

And finally - I savor the realization that enjoying grocery shopping is a trait I share with my mother. 

Leaves in August 2013

We have four types of trees growing in our yard that are abundant in our region: sycamore, tulip poplar, oak and maple.

The leaves are looking a little battered at this point in the season. The sycamore has tiny holes in its leaves.

The tulip polar has round marks where the leaf has died. It looked like they were higher density on the branches closer to the ground. 

The oak has some places where the green chlorophyll is already beginning to die…the harbinger of fall.

The maple leaves look the best this year. A few years ago that tree was the one with the round dead spots. The tree is recovered from a heavy load of grapevine that was cut a few years ago at the ground. The vine died but it held onto the tree and is only now beginning to break into pieces and fall to the ground.

In a few months the maple leaves will be red; the tulip poplar’s leaves will be yellow. The oak will look deep red when the sun is shining through them but look brown on closer inspection. The sycamore leaves will curl and fall - tough and leathery - some of them will last until the next season relatively intact. I’m going to do a leaf post each month through the fall…so stay tuned.