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.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 31, 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.

Another 'Grand Canyon' Discovered Beneath Greenland's Ice - Right now it is covered by lots of ice….but the data from the increasingly sophisticated instruments monitoring the ice sheet has revealed lots of detail about the topography of what is under the ice. How many of us will live to see this canyon without ice?

Peter Huttenlocher has left the building - An article summarizing the contribution of the child neurologist: synaptic pruning. A simple graph shows it all.

Sonia Pressman Fuentes on Rights of US Women - A summary of the legislation relative to protection of women’s rights over the past 50 or so years. I knew at least vaguely about all of them because I lived through those years - but it was good to see it all in one place and to think about the problems working women still face. The comments are worth looking at too.

Giant solar plane could stay airborne for 5 years, replace some satellites - It would fly above the clouds and weather but still within the atmosphere….And reduce the expense for such things a crop or fire monitoring, providing internet access to remote regions and disaster rapid response.

Changing River Chemistry Affects Eastern US Water Supplies - Rivers are becoming more alkaline….because acid rain causes more rapid leaching of limestone, other carbonate rocks and even sidewalks….and so life in the river is changing. Natural systems have ways to reach a new balance eventual but the path to balance is often very complex.

apple-picking time: our top-pick apple treats - From King Arthur flour. Lots of goodies - at least half look way too high-calorie for my current weight loss diet! But maybe I’ll make one to celebrate when I finally reach my goal (less than 2 pounds to go!)

Thyroid Cancer Biopsy Guidelines Should Be Simplified, Researchers Say - My favorite quote from the article: “…start doing diagnostic tests and procedures more selectively and prudently, as there rare harms to doing unnecessary tests and procedures.” But do we trust doctors to make the best recommendations to us when it is in their financial best interest to do a many diagnostic tests and procedures as possible?

Fantastic Shots of Japan's Summertime Fireworks Festivals - Lots of events in July and August….and these images capture some of the excitement

Brown-bag lunch strategies - Eating well away from home. The strategies in this article are skewed toward the gourmet variety of brown bag lunch - but good to review when get bored with whatever you have been packing. The key is planning (as with most things).

Visualizing the Psychology of Attraction - Infographic

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!

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.

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?

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.

Chicory - the Blue along the Roadside

One of the botanical surprises when I move from Texas to Maryland many years ago were the small blue flowers that grew in the weeds at the roadsides: chicory. Sometimes chicory grows between segments of curb; a crack in the pavement is enough to give them purchase. They bloom profusely in our area after rains or heavy dew throughout the summer. Even in the places where the weeds are mowed, the chicory survives. The plants simply grow low - spread out rather than up - and continue to grow new buds and bloom for all the warmer months of the year.

I walked to a weedy area to take these pictures and got an added bonus for the walk: seeing one of the few monarchs of the season. It celebrated while taking a picture of it. The monarch butterflies are not as common in our area as they were years ago. The milkweed plants that they like to lay their eggs on are not seen as frequently either.

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.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 24, 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.

Restricting Food and Fluids during Labor Is Unwarranted, Study Suggests - I can remember being very thirsty with only rationed ice chips when I had my daughter years ago. And I was ravenous by the time she was born (and only offered a rather stale boxed lunch since it was out of the normal food service hours in the hospital). Hopefully this study will be a starting point to change the food and liquid restriction rules.

These alien-looking ice sculptures formed all on their own - A collection of images from some very cold places. What a cooling post for August!

Astronomers Take Sharpest Photos Ever of the Night Sky - Using adaptive optics that have been developed over the past 20 years at University of Arizona.

Creative Fashion Illustrations Made with Leaves - Sparse lines - and then leaves. They work together to create appealing images. My favorite is the first one.

Fascinating Friday: 80 Maps That Explain Everything - Pointers to collections of maps from Buzzfeed and The Washington Post. It turns out that maps are good ways to display lots of data in an intuitive way.

State of Flux Images of Change - Pictures of the changes in the earth over day, months or years from NASA.

Iron Is at Core of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests - Yet another reason why we shouldn’t get higher doses of iron. The foods I normally consume easily get me to 100% of the iron requirements - so fortified cereals and iron-contain multi-vitamins are of my grocery list completely.

Fall in the National Parks: Some Great Activities to Put On Your Calendar - Includes the following national parks: Voyagers, San Francisco Maritime, Acadia, Capitol Reef and Grant-Kohrs Ranch.

Amaranth: Another Ancient Wonder Food, But Who Will Eat It? - Chia - quinoa - amaranth - nutritious options abound.

The Common Cook's How-Many Guide to Kitchen Conversions - Very handy for the kitchen!

by ShannonLattin.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

3 Free eBooks - August 2013

It’s time again for the monthly post about eBooks that are freely available on the Internet. The three below are my favorites for August 2013.

Regel, Eduard. Gartenflora. Erlangen: F. Enke. 1859. Available from the Internet Archive here. The text is in German….the botanical prints are the draw to this vintage book. Annual volumes were published until the early 1900s and I am making my way through the volumes.

Mathew, Frank James and Cooper, Alfred Heaton. Ireland. London: A. & C. Black. 1916. Available from the Internet Archive here. A book with many color illustrations of what Ireland was like just before World War I.

Ontario College of Art. The Tangent. Toronto: Ontario College of Art Students’ Club. 1938. Available from the Internet Archive here. This book includes images from Canadian art students from just before World War II.

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. 

Cicada Found in the Grass

I found a recently dead cicada in the grass beside the garden. I picked it up to exam more closely. It is an annual cicada - not one of the red eyed 13 or 17 year periodical ones. It got a little dirt from my grubby glove but is otherwise is good condition - a worthy object for photography.

There is a surprising amount of color. Behind the head is a black and orange pattern. The eyes are green and there is a lot of green in the head and on the upper parts of the legs.

The joint of the wing with the body is rimmed with green.

The wings have sturdy veins but are otherwise clear. They had collected some moisture from the grass.

Now that I’ve finished photographing it - back outside it goes. It will be a little jewel in one of the flower pots on the deck.

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.

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 17, 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.

Distracted Driving Video - 35 minutes…three vignettes…the message: don’t text and drive

Fall in The National Parks: Some Other Park Fall Drives Not To Overlook - Some ideas for a fall foliage road trip

Why do we laugh? - James May with a very straight-faced explanation

Park Score Index - Compare ranking of cities based on parks

Photos from Restored Wetlands - From the Prairie Ecologist. My favorite is the paper wasp on the swamp milkweed.

Why aren’t more girls attracted to physics? - It’s all about seeing possibilities.

A History of the World: The 100 British Museum Objects - There are several images for each object and a narrative. Note the little symbols beside each thumbnail and click on the thumbnail to take a closer look; the images with a magnifying glass have annotations (I prefer to click on the thumbnail, go to full screen, then look at the annotations), listen to the short videos for the ones with the ‘play arrows.’ A bit longer audio (originally for a BBC radio program) is available as well.

How a 'Deviant' Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut - The good and bad of the state of the art in mining information from huge amounts of data.

Great Blue Heron Highlights 2013 - From Sapsucker Pond in Ithaca NY. I didn’t watch much of the season ‘live’ this year but enjoyed these highlights.

Three Ways Cooking has Changed Over the Last 300 Years - It’s more than cooking….it’s the history of what people ate. Some ingredients are not common now…others are common but prepared quite differently.

Around our (Maryland) Yard in August 2013

August has been cooler and wetter than usual for us. The plants are growing vigorously. The butterflies enjoy the cone flowers and mint. Both plants will be in bloom for the rest of the season. I did a sequence of cone flower development from petals just unfurling to the beginning of seed pod development.

The blazing stars that were attractive to butterflies earlier in the season are developing seeds now. I’ve already seen a few goldfinches enjoying the earliest harvest.

The hydrangea is fading although some of the blooms will simply dry on the bush.

The chives are getting ready to bloom. In September they will be a highlight of the garden. There are some that came up too near the edge of the garden that I am pulling up and enjoying in salads.

And last but not least the dahlias. They are attractive in just about every way…large, robust flowers….glossy green foliage…there for butterflies and bees and wasps to enjoy.

Clearing away ‘Stuff’ - August 2013

I signed up for a charity to pick up stuff from my front porch in the next few days so now I am on a timeline to get as much as possible packaged up so that it can actually leave the house. The pile already identified is quite substantial but I am collecting more. Some decisions are tough.

The pile of shoulder bags and zippered notebooks that have accumulated over the years is a case in point. Some of them are ‘goodies’ from conferences, others are purchased. Most are canvas or tough synthetic fabric; a few are leather. They’ve all be used at some time in the past and most look somewhat battered. We used them as briefcases for work - or when we travelled. They’ve carried papers and books and calculators and laptops…coloring books and etch-a-sketch…clothes for overnight…lunch. But how many do we still need? Several of them had an identification tag with an address from 15 years ago; one had our address from over 30 years ago. The addresses have all been removed at this point; so have the pens and coins and dusty tissues and disintegrated tea bags. The next step is to convince my husband that most of them can go.

There is still a tremendous amount of stuff left to sort through around the house. I am willing to part with more now than I was a year ago. It feels good to be making progress on 'stuff reduction.'

Brookside Gardens - August 2013

Our stroll through Brookside Gardens this month was the shorter circuit - similar to last month - because of the construction around the large ponds and the tea house that wouldn’t be finished until sometime this winter. There was a still a lot to see. Like last month - flying insects were enjoying the garden. I photographed a dragonfly resting perched on some straw on stone edge of a pool and a tiger swallowtail feeding on a flower.

The rose garden is better than usual for August because the weather this year has not been hot for prolonged periods. I like the ones that are several colors the best.

Of course the larger views of the garden are lush this time of year. In this image - the sycamore towers in the distance with green hedge and plants with colorful foliage and flowers growing vigorously in raised beds.

I noticed the zinnias and realized that the ones I have in pots at home are hybrids that have gone native. They have a single row of petals rather than the dense rows on these flowers. I still like mine with their delicate color - different on the top and the bottom of the petal. And the butterflies and hummingbirds like them too.

The bloom time for the lotus is past and the seed pods are all that remains. Even the seeds are already gone.

The pendulous Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia) has many flowers and they sway with each little breeze. In past years these plants were primarily in the conservatory but they are in several of the outdoor beds this year.

I noticed some new looking shelf fungus on a stump visibile through the foilage. It will be interesting watching them grow and mature in upcoming visits.

And those are the highlights from the walk around Brookside.