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

Projects of my Own

I am savoring projects that are my own these days after years when most of my projects were assignments or done to benefit someone else. I’m not totally done with those projects-directed-by-others but these days the majority of projects are my own - conceived, done, and enjoyed just for me.

What do I mean by ‘projects’?

Projects are a series of activities that lead to a specific goal and, for the purposes of this post, they have a beginning and end.

I have four main project areas right now:

Classes. Each Coursera class is a project for me. I decide what I will do beyond the watching of videos. Usually I follow up on the reference material. Sometimes I buy the book and read it. And finally - I write notes about the class…what I think about the subject, if I agree or disagree with the instructor, how my perception of the school offering the course is changed by the course, what the course has changed about the way I think…or act.

Sewing. Each garment I make is a mini-project. Sometimes I make a series of similar items (like the Two T-shirt dresses); others are one of a kind. I spend calm time before sleep planning the project, then do a lot of measuring. I sometimes challenge myself with ‘rules’ like 

• No hand sewing
• Minimize scraps
• Avoid buying any new supplies 

Blog themes. I sometimes have multi-post themes for my blog and consider each a project. Some of them are monthly - like the 3 Free eBooks picks - and they are on the planning calendar I do for the year. Some are over a shorter time - 2 or 3 months; the Becoming 60 theme is an example of that. Those too go on the calendar with notes of the main points to be included in that post.

 I’m sure there will be other kinds of projects that will come and go….but I’m enjoying these this fall!

Mini-Deep Dish Pizzas

The University of Arizona published a collection of recipes at the start of the school year - which my daughter sent to us with the specific suggestion to check out the recipe for Mini-Deep Dish Pizzas. The pizzas have become a new favorite at our house - although we have made a few modifications; we use: 

• A muffin top pan (or cups) rather than a regular muffin tin.
• Mission Carb Balance Flour Tortillas rather than generic whole wheat tortillas (which often taste like cardboard).
• Scissors to cut the excess tortilla from around the edges (they get baked with the pizzas and then used as chips with salsa).
• Homemade spaghetti sauce or spaghetti sauce from a jar instead of tomato sauce
• Smoked turkey or chicken (as an additional topping).

Yummy!

Becoming 60 - Part II

Part I of this series on becoming 60 was posted almost a month ago. I was prompted to write about what I was thinking as I approached by 60th birthday this year after reading May Sarton’s book about the same time period in her life. In this second post on the topic - I am focusing on how I see this time as the staging for the rest of my life in a similar way that my early 20s were the staging time for my career. The new staging was initiated by leaving a 40 year career behind and beginning to make choices about the future I wanted rather than simply proceeding the same way my career decisions of 40 years ago directed. There are similarities between now and when I was in my early 20s: 

• Lots of decisions in a short period of time
• Perceiving an abundance of opportunities
• Good health 

There are some differences too: 

• Decisions made early in my life (like college major, when/who to marry, when/if to have children) tended to be narrowing while now the decisions tend to be broadening.
• Financial considerations were high on the list for most decisions in my 20s; now they are still a consideration but they are not major and often not limiting.
• Now I am more aware that the elders that have known me my whole life will not be there for my whole lifetime and that awareness influences my decisions about spending time with them. 

I’m not nearly at the end of the bevy of decisions but there are themes that are emerging.

Getting rid of excess baggage. The initial aspects have been in terms of my weight and the years of accumulated stuff filling up the house. But I see this theme continuing - moving to a house that is better suited to our needs (and not as large), thinking about the number and kind of vehicles we need, etc.

Building in variety. Change and life are so mingled; finding a comfortable amount of variety is probably one of the keys to happiness and, for me, I am happiest when I make choices about at least some of the changes coming my way. Continuing to taking Coursera courses - and looking for other similar learning opportunities - is one way to build in variety. Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet new people and ‘do good’ for the community at the same time. Taking classes and volunteering are probably going to be the pillars of change I choose over the next few years but  I also hope there are some happy surprises too. What if I become a grandmother?

Reducing waste. Over the past few years, I have become more conscious of waste related to lots of things - but food is the one I have done the most about. Being very aware of getting the most from the food I buy: 

• Eating food before it spoils and has to be thrown away. This requires that food is purchased in a way that it can be easily consumed within the time is fresh.
• Paying attention to food preparation so that there are few that are ‘failed’ (i.e. no burned toast, no muffins where a key ingredient was left out, etc.).
• Learning to freeze portions to eat much later if I won’t be eating it quickly enough otherwise. I’ve even learned to freeze sliced bananas if I buy too many to eat fresh (they make excellent additions to smoothies).
• Not buying non-foods (like soft drinks and other foods that have calories but no nutritional value otherwise). In my mind, these have become ‘waste’ because they have no value to my body but leave behind plastic (or aluminum). Yes - recycling is better than trash but it is still waste. Why should we even have items to recycle for non-foods? 

In the first post in the series I ended by saying that I perceived the future as bright. I’ll add to it this month: I am enthusiastic about becoming 60. It is a great age to be in 2013!

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.

Longwood Gardens Datura - September 2013

Datura was in full bloom at Longwood Gardens in September. The large trumpet flowers sometimes seem very delicate - and other times frilly. As buds - still compact - they appear waxy. On some varieties, the flowers hang downward and sway like bells in the breeze; other varieties have flowers that point upward showcasing all their layers. Enjoy the collages I made for the purple, pink and yellow daturas.

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.

Favorite Foods through the Years

Foods are often linked to particular time periods in our lives - and the associations last a lifetime. For me they are all positive associations that come flooding into my consciousness when I buy the foods and when I eat them. Here are a few examples from my life:

Pork chops. When I was in early elementary school, my favorite meat was pork chops fixed by my grandmother. She always fixed extra for me because I ate 2 or 3 as part of my meal. Now I buy thin sliced, boneless pork chops - and am still trying to recapture the way my grandmother make her pork chops taste.

Watermelon, cantaloupe and corn-on-the-cob - picked fresh from the garden. These were from the gardens of both my grandparents from my earliest memories through late elementary school. The watermelon, cantaloupe and corn-on-the-cob overwhelmed my senses completely; I don’t really remember what else we ate. Now I buy them from a local farmers market or the produce section of the grocery store. On occasions, the taste approaches that in my memory.

Fried fish. From late elementary school through my early 20s, I consistently selected deep fried white fish when I went to a cafeteria. I never got anything else. It wasn’t that I didn’t like other foods at the cafeteria (usually a Furr’s or Luby’s), but I never even considered getting anything else. I haven’t been to a cafeteria for years but I think I would get deep fried white fish now if they had it.

Texas toast. Do you remember those toasted inch thick pieces of white bread, slathered with garlic butter? They were big in the 70s at steak places. I think I enjoyed the toast almost more than the steak! I rarely eat food like that anymore….but I still remember celebrating a monthly or quarterly anniversary of my wedding at a place that served Texas toast.

Red velvet cake. I like the look of the cake more than the taste most of the time. Somehow the bakery versions never taste quite as good as the cake my Mother made from scratch….but I still try to find a good one almost once a year.

Fajitas. I liked fajitas from the first time I had them in the late 70s at a table on the patio of a restaurant in San Antonio. I still like them now although I expect a higher quality of meat (and maybe meat other beef) and I have them with salad rather than tortillas.

Dark chocolate. I started using two squares of dark chocolate as a reward for taking my vitamins in the morning a few years ago. Now I use it as a reward for being within my ideal weight range first thing in the morning (which happens most mornings). I’m pretty sure that it will never get old.

Celebrate your favorite foods through the years of your life today!

Longwood Gardens Water in Motion - September 2013

The water features at Longwood Gardens are an integral part of the gardens during the warmer months. Sometimes my favorite is the Main Fountain Garden. We have often stayed for the lights on the water on summer evenings so I find them less exciting during the day.

Other times the Eye of Water is my favorite just because of the sheer volume of water flowing over the structure and then downhill toward the Chimes Tower.

But recently - the Italian Water Garden has been my favorite. Many years ago when we first went to Longwood Gardens, the Italian Water Garden was open and people wandered around on the grass among the fountains. It was beautiful but crumbling. After a renovation, the fountains look much better but the area around the gardens is gated.

I’ve always liked the water stairs, the large central fountain, the smaller fountains along the edges shaded by trees, and the frogs contributing arcs of water to the fountain at the far end. 

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?

Longwood Gardens Ferns - September 2013

There are always a few ferns that catch my attention in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. There is a Fern Passage that is lined with them. Usually I am focused on fiddleheads - those tightly curled beginnings of fronds.

This time I noticed one but was almost immediately more interested in the sporangia on the underside of the fronds. This is where the spores are produced that will become the next generation of ferns. The patterns of the fronds and the sporangia have a precision and symmetry that is quite appealing.

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!

Longwood Gardens Pitcher Plants - September 2013

In a short hallway off the fern passage at Longwood Gardens there were planters dense with pitcher plants.

I remember being intensely interested in insectivorous plants when I was in elementary school. They were so different than anything I had ever seen in north Texas where I lived. One year I found some in a catalog and managed to convince my mother to order them for me. I got tiny plants: a Venus Fly Trap and a Pitcher Plant. The Venus Fly Trap did not last very long but the Pitcher Plant endured for about 6 months.

They never got as big as the plants at Longwood and they never flowered. It still is thrilling to see them - and know what they are - in the gardens I visit.

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!

 

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. 

Longwood Gardens Slipper Orchids - September 2013

The Orchid House in the Longwood Gardens conservatory is not large but its walls are full of blooms from floor to ceiling. This time I focused on the slipppers. My favorites are the ones that have dainty slipper toes and trailing ties that I image would tie around an ankle. It isn’t clear how the large striped structure at the back fits into the slipper image….but the whole flower is quite appealing on its thin stalk growing from a base of green leaves.

Which are your favorites? I tend to always take pictures of the green and white ones first.

Longwood Gardens Water Lilies - September 2013

The courtyard of pools that hold the water lilies at Longwood Gardens is one of my favorite places in the gardens. The lilies were full of blooms and bees. I always like to capture the flowers with the most insect activity. The magnification often gives the flowers an unworldly look. Their colors are so vibrant and that is just what our human eyes can see; the insects probably pick up on even more. There are also some lotus pictures mixed in the slide show below. The pink or white flowers with petals that look crumpled are the Victoria Regia water lily; a book from 1854 available on the Internet Archive includes lithographs by William Sharp of this water lily.

I posted several times before about the water lilies at Longwood: November 2011 and August 2012. 

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.