Gleanings of the Week Ending August 21, 2021

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

Nine things you should know about sea horses – The males give birth! Like many creatures right now – they are in trouble from climate change (and overfishing in some parts of the world). Not long ago – I learned that there is a species of seahorse native to the Chesapeake Bay. They live in sea grasses and estuaries…habitats that are in trouble.

Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? – One of the important steps that needs to ramp up as batteries (and solar cells) reach end of life – is recycling. We need to think about closed loops for the resources required to manufacture future renewables!

New analysis of landmark scurvy study leads to update on vitamin C needs – An example of the research behind how those ‘daily requirements’ of vitamins and minerals were developed. I wonder if more of the values need to go through a validation…how many would change just as the vitamin C requirement did.

Top 10 Grassland Species Across the Globe – The ones we have in the US are Long-billed Curlew, Black-footed Ferret, Pronghorn, Swift Fox, and American Bison.

The multi-billion dollar giants that are melting away – Glaciers. When they are gone…many parts of the world will be drier places. This article is primarily about central Asia…but the situation in South America is similar.

Loss of biodiversity in streams threatens vital biological process – Fungi and bacteria can’t do the decomposition job alone…the aquatic insects (often larvae) and crustaceans are needed too. And the populations and diversity of those organisms in our streams is declining.

Top 25 birds of the week: plumage! – Bird photographs…always colorful and interesting.

Gender revolutions in who holds the purse strings – The study was done in Britain…I wonder if similar (or different) changes are happening elsewhere in the world.

‘Polluter pays’ policy could speed up emission reductions and removal of atmospheric CO2 – A change that could speed up the transition we need to make…if we can somehow overcome the lobbying for the status quo trajectory.

Photography In The National Parks: Fun Fact Photography – This is a kind of photography you can do in lots of places. A little curiosity and a camera…some web searches…a neat cycle of learning/art that can turn again and again.

Henriette Willebeek LeMair

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This week I am highlighting 4 Internet Archive books published between 1912 and 1917 that include Henriette Willebeek LeMair’s illustrations of children. They are an idealized version of childhood during that time in Holland. I was interested in the activities depicted!

Grannie’s Little Rhyme Book (1914) is a collection of old nursery rhymes that she illustrated.

The Children’s Corner (1915) was written by R.H. Elkin. Ordinary things like a child getting a haircut and dolls in timeout show up in the text and illustrations!

Old Dutch Nursery Rhymes (1917) has tunes compiled by J. Joentgen…with the English added by R.H. Elkins. The illustrations I chose for my samples are for tunes “The Ducks” and “The stork has brough a baby brother”!

Little Songs of Long Ago (1912) has tunes compiled by Alfred Moffat. The tunes illustrated by the samples below are “Dame get up and bake your pies” and “See-saw, Marjorie Daw.”

Life has changed in many ways for children in the past 100+ years….but the spirit of children that comes through in the illustration is still easy to find today. What will it be like for children 100 years from now? It is something I am thinking about a lot recently….and how I can turn my concern about the changes happening in the Earth’s climate into action.

Black Squirrel

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We have a black squirrel visiting our deck occasionally. The zoomed images show that the undercoat fur in not black and the claws are more visible because of the contrast with the coat color. Other than the darker coat, it seems the same as the other squirrels; it doesn’t get seed directly from the feeder either. I’m pretty sure it is in our neighborhood all the time…that our deck/feeder/bird bath are on the edge of its normal territory so we don’t see it every day.

The acorns are not having a big year – so the squirrels may be keener to get the seeds this year. The last few years have been slim for acorns from our oak. I’m not sure if it’s just the normal fluctuation between mast (big acorn) years, if our oak is infected with something that reduces its acorn production, or if the weather in the spring caused a problem. I am pretty sure it was some cold weather in the spring of 2020 but not sure about this year.

Our oak (and the others in our neighborhood) are more important to the long-term health of the squirrels (and other wildlife in our neighborhood – including birds and insects) than our feeder. In an ecosystem being challenged more and more by climate change – we are becoming more aware of how our actions are important to sustaining what is here.

Grackles

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A group Common Grackles are visiting our feeder. It’s a mix of adults and juveniles…evidence of a successful breeding season for the birds.

The first time I saw them they stayed around or our deck for long enough for me to start photographing upstairs in my office and then go downstairs for a different perspective. Many of the young birds were standing on the deck railing with their beaks open but the parents were not bringing them anything…maybe some tough-love to force the young birds to forage for themselves. The food on our deck is insufficient since the birds are heavy enough that the seed holes in the feeder are partially closed (and the perches are not spaced well for a bird their size). There is some seed spilled by squirrels or the wind on the floor of the deck but not enough for this number of birds to get more than a nibble. They fluttered around for a few minutes but then flew off.

They were back again a few days later. They intimidated the other birds that were trying to come to the feeder – size and attitude are in the grackles favor. The juveniles seemed to have developed more independence in the few days since I photographed them previously.

Note the grackle hanging on looking disgruntled and how the feeder seed hole is mostly covered…not as completely as with a squirrel…but enough that the grackle was frustrated.

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Macro Photography Practice (1 and 2)

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My husband got me started on a more advanced form (for me) of macro photography by sending me some YouTube links (this one from Micael Widell was the first) and identifying the gear that would work with my Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. After talking to me about the possibilities with my camera and sending some sample images he had captured with a similar set up on his more substantial camera to encourage me (posted a few weeks ago here), he ordered the filter adapter for my camera…

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And the macro lens.

I used the same diffuser that fits over the front of the camera as he used with his camera (we got another one since we will be going into the field together once I get enough practice).

The new gear purchases were about $100. Here’s the way my camera looks ready for my practice – from the front and back. The idea is to be able to hand hold the camera (i.e. no tripod) – often with one hand – when in the field.

The technique works best with manual focus and flash…two features of my camera that I haven’t used very much. The idea is to set the manual focus to a particular distance and then leave it alone in the field and simply move the camera to get the focus desired.

It was easier for me to start with plants in my yard in my first sessions. I found that I could get reasonable results with autofocus (still having to move the camera to get the focus on the part of the image I wanted) for plants…but it takes more time than manual focus….which would be problematic for insects that are more likely to move.

Here are the collection of my best images from my first two practice sessions.

Black eyed susans

Mint flowers

Lichen and moss

Ninebark leaves

Bush cut branch and water droplets on leaves

Wild strawberry

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And finally – an insect during my second practice session.

The image below is cropped from the image on the left above.

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Overall I am pleased with my first attempts…but still need more practice!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 14, 2021

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

How your phone battery creates striking alien landscapes – Lithium….needed for batteries that are needed for so many things (not just phone batteries).

Why do house finches love your hanging plants? – These birds are frequent visitors to our feeder. Based on the crowd we are seeing now – they’ve had a very successful breeding season…lots of young birds.

Ultraprocessed foods now comprise 2/3 of calories in children and teen diets – This article prompted me to look at what ultraprocessed foods I am eating…and making some changes. I am keeping the 1st breakfast that includes 90 calories of dark chocolate…but all the other ultraprocessed foods are going to become occasional or rare in my diet.

Tracking the Restoration of the River of Grass – An interview with Eric Eikenberg, President of the Everglades Foundation. There is a lot of work coming to fruition this decade in restoration of the Everglades…some positive news from Florida. It was an encouraging article but after reading the whole thing, it still seems to me that climate change will be a continuing disaster for Florida.

Red Tide Rages Along Florida’s Gulf Coast – On a more pessimistic note about the environment in Florida right now…

Top 25 birds of the week: August 2021 – Birds….so many different kinds to see.

Crawling with crickets: the insect swarm in the western US – Mormon Crickets (really katydids) have population crescendos in 3 of every 10 years in the west. The occurrences are patchy but damaging for some crops.

Music in the American Wild – I watched the Missouri Music at 200 webinar this week and am now looking at more of the concert videos from the ensemble. I’ll post the “Missouri Music at 200” webinar video address (when it is available on YouTube). Of course – live performances would be even better. I enjoyed the Hawaii 2020 project videos already…lots of good views of the island (particularly birds and volcanos!).

The ancient Persian way to keep cool – We’ve had quite a few heat advisory days recently…will probably have an increasing number every summer. The world will need to implement the most efficient strategies available to keep people cool.

Camera Trapping As Mainstream Nature Activity – Little cameras in the wild…they are probably less obtrusive than a human being in the place all the time…but not totally benign in every place.

17 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

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17 months into the pandemic and whatever optimism that I felt earlier about the vaccines helping the country return to normal this fall has evaporated. Last spring, I was very optimistic that by this time, I would be planning fall foliage/birding trips…that maybe we would be able to do the Staunton River Star Party – camp out on the field with other amateur astronomers. Now I am not looking seriously at any non-family related travel. I am hoping to be able to make another road trip to Texas for my mother’s 90th birthday in the early fall.

I’ve already posted about the road trip I took to Texas during this last month. It was the second one this year and very different than I expected when it came to COVID-19. The first trip was back in April-May just after I was fully vaccinated. At that time – I felt relatively secure and hopeful that the pandemic would be waning over the summer; the hotel had COVID-19 precautions in place and many people were wearing masks. I became more anxious as the second road trip progressed. The delta variant was surging in some areas when I drove from Maryland to Missouri to Texas, but other areas seemed relatively untouched. I limited my activities in Springfield, Missouri (one of the early places that the delta variant filled the hospitals); there were two indoor events I attended for a wedding in Dallas where it still seemed safe. By the time I started home, the delta variant was surging in more areas, no one was wearing a mask along my route except me (even in the hotel), and I was anxious enough about the possibility that I had been exposed to buy and use the at-home antigen test even though I never developed any symptoms. Based on statistics – if I was exposed and had a breakthrough infection, it would not be life threatening but I didn’t want to risk any ‘long COVID’ issues or expose others. It was reassuring to test negative with two tests. I was grateful that my daughter had convinced me to upgrade from cloth masks to KF94s last spring before I made my first trip. They are the mask I have been wearing since April.

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The dominant emotion I feel now about COVID-19 is sadness – for the lives damaged and lost since the vaccine has become widely available…for not being with my family as much as I would like or traveling to places I enjoy…for the self-destruct aspect of the US culture that continues to surprise me (it is hard for me to accept its pervasiveness)…for the failure of leadership, particularly at the state level.

Mask mandates for indoor settings are something that can be helpful in the short term…but vaccine mandates might be even more important. With the full FDA approval of the vaccines, maybe vaccine mandates will become more widespread. They are already beginning to happen in health care, military and school settings. It will be a long slog with legal challenges, unfortunately.

I am conscious of activities I won’t be restarting anytime soon – as long as the delta variant continues to cause spikes in cases:

Flying. COVID-19 is just one of the reasons. The increased number of incidents with unruly passengers is another. I was disheartened that some airlines recently declined to mandate vaccines for their employees.

Eating in restaurants. I’ll enjoy take out but with the delta variant there is no way the filtration systems can make it safe to eat in the same indoor space with other unmasked (while eating) patrons.

Any spaces where there are a lot of people. Theaters are not a place I would want to be; same for stores during times when a lot of people are shopping. Even parks are problematic if there are large numbers of people.

I am going to the training for the fall programs where I have volunteered in years past. Most of the programs are outdoors…I’ll do some of them this fall…skip the ones that have an indoor setting.

Last spring – I expected that the August post might be my last about my COVID-10 pandemic experiences. But it isn’t over yet. So frustrating….and sad.

Racoon at the Bird Feeder

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My husband put our bird feeder and camera (Reolink Argus) back up while I was returning home. I checked it a few days after I was back and discovered that the image was askew; a squirrel had perched on the camera and jumped onto the feeder on the very first evening…moving the camera and its solar panel!

But – the different angle captured a racoon visit the evening before I checked! The different angle was not good for bird viewing but one of our better views of a racoon (use the arrows to move through the images). All the action took place in about 15 seconds!

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The racoon was probably a female with kits (note the belly). The young would be moving around on their own by now but still getting nourishment from the female.  This one did not look as big as some I have seen so maybe it is her first season with young

Great to be Home Again

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I’m about over the flurry of activity that follows a road trip – emptying the car, replenishing groceries, and doing laundry. Shedding the few pounds of weight and heighted anxiety accumulated while traveling is still a work in progress.

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Going to our local farmers market was something I missed while I was away; it felt good to go to the market and come back with fresh produce to fill my refrigerator crispers: onions, collard greens, spaghetti squash and tomatoes.

I’m also thinking about the trip in retrospect at this point.

  • What do I remember most about each state?

    • Texas – I spent the most time away in the state – enjoying seeing family in person. It was hot and very sunny. The speed limits are high and the drivers are usually going at least 10 miles above – sometimes a bit scary. The employees at the Walmart closest to my parents started wearing masks on the last few days (a new mandate from corporate) and a lot of the customers were wearing masks as well. Lots of mosquito bites. Hazy skies (maybe from the fires or maybe just the way Dallas is in summer). Josey Ranch Lake and the Pocket Prairie nearby were pleasant in the early morning…always some plants or wildlife to see there.

    • Missouri – No one was wearing masks even though the state was in the national news for their Delta variant outbreak. People seemed friendly but I got the impression that they didn’t like that I was wearing a mask when I went indoors at rest stops. The rest stops along I44 are not as frequent as in other states and traffic is heavy with lots of trucks (and they sometimes seemed to be playing games passing each other and slowing down car traffic). I had a near accident on I44 when a pickup with a camper on the back must have forgotten how long the combination was - pulling over too soon after he passed me (almost forcing me off the road to avoid being swiped by the camper). A few mosquito bites from sitting out on my daughter’s patio at dusk. I enjoyed the Springfield Botanical Garden.

    • Kentucky – The one overnight in a hotel on my road trips to Texas/Missouri. The highway is scenic, and the rest stops well placed. I recalled the road trip I did with my daughter in 2005 when she was learning to drive; there was a segment in Kentucky that I remembered being scenic; when I got home I looked back in my notes and it was the interstate between Louisville and Cincinnati rather than the route I take now. Signs that feature horses and bourbon seem to be everywhere.

    • Oklahoma – Just passing through. It’s a little harder drive since most is not interstate – no formal rest stops. The toll roads are a hassle. It’s not as pretty as I remember growing up – not as many big trees. Maybe it’s the way the highways have been developed; in the 1960s we were driving a lot of the way on two lane roads.

    • Illinois and Indiana – Just passing through. Rural. There are rest stops frequently enough and they are well tended. The traffic is a lot less than in Texas and Missouri. Plants along the roads are not mowed --- lots of blooms and seeds. I wondered if they are intended to provide food for migrating birds and butterflies.

    • West Virginia – My favorite segment of the trip. Even though I’m seeing it at highways speeds – the forests and mountains are gorgeous. The state does a good job with rest stops along the highway as well. I want to find out more about new national park in the state – New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

  • I also noticed plants along the way as I drove and at the rest stops. Many of rest stop areas are transitioning to native plants; some even have pollinator gardens. The plantings are something to savor for the few minutes at the place…as the traffic on the interstate continues to roar past.

    • Wild/wood hydrangeas

    • Chicory

    • Sunflowers

    • Oaks

    • Red buds

    • Sweet gum

    • Maples

    • Cone flowers

    • Butterfly bush

I am very glad to be home!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 7, 2021

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

A roadrunner taking a dust bath wins the 2021 Audubon photography awards – This gleaning list is big on bird photos! This is the first one.

Top 25 birds of the week: Conservation – This is the second. These posts encourage me to get outdoors in areas near my home to photograph birds!

How giraffes deal with sky-high blood pressure – Multiple differences between giraffes and humans when it comes to blood pressure!

Permafrost Thaw in Siberia Creates a Ticking ‘Methane Bomb’ of Greenhouse Gases – The article is about what happened in summer 2020…made me wonder about what is happening this summer in Siberia. This along with the fires that seem to be worse each season are signs that climate change is happening faster than anticipated…that the models might be optimistic rather than realistic.

Plastic, the Trojan Horse – A study that found plastic accumulation in foods may be underestimated. Not good.

Smoke Across North America – Lots of fires this summer. My husband told me that the local astronomy club has cancelled several nights they’d planned for observing because no stars were visible through the haze here in Maryland.

How the sun affects our skin – An infographic about vitamin D, sunburn and skin cancer.

This catfish doesn’t just move on land, it reffles – Plecos – from the aquarium trade – are now invasive in warmer waters in the US. They do have an interesting way of moving on land (videos of their reffle)…..this means if found/caught they shouldn’t be left on the bank to die (since they will easily move back to the nearest water). The article didn’t say what to do with them (presumable kill them).

Drought, Heat Taking a Toll on National Parks in Southwest – I’ve enjoyed so many of the parks mentioned in this article – Saguaro, Grand Canyon, White Sands, Petrified Forest. It has always been dry there…but now it is getting drier and hotter.

Take a Virtual Tour of Artworks Inspired by Efforts to Preserve Plant Biodiversity – A virtual site of an exhibit not at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter, England. Watch the 5 minute video about the site….then enjoy the exhibit here.

Vicarious Macro Photography

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While I was on my road trip to Springfield, MO and Carrollton, TX – my husband started a macro photography project: handheld and in the field. I asked him to email me some of his initial results and was impressed with the collection he sent. I selected 4 to include in this post.

His project started with a webinar and some new gear (some of which will fit on my camera too with the appropriate adapter). The blue-purple flower in the pictures is chicory. I expect we’re both going to enjoy macro photography forays well into the fall!

Josey Ranch Birds in July – 2

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I walked around to the Josey Ranch Lake boardwalk on the other side of the cattails….and saw another kind of heron after a few steps onto it: a green heron was on the end of the boardwalk!

I had seen green herons at the lake before. Back in June 2018, I saw young birds feeding in the shallows near the cattails.  This year I saw at least three birds in the same area but on snags or up in trees.  Some of them were clearly juveniles based on their plumage…although further along in development than the birds in 2018. At this point the youngsters are flying like adults. The one with fuzz on the top of its head is certainly a bird that hatched this year!

As I walked back to the car, I spotted a feather in the grass. Perhaps from a Canada Goose? There were a few at the lake. They give a nice size compassion when they are on the shore with the swans (the swans are huge!).

Josey Ranch Birds in July – 1

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There always seem to be interesting birds at the Josey Ranch Lake in Carrollton TX. They are somewhat acclimated to people because of the walkers that frequent the circuit around the water; most people stay on the paved surface and the birds are close or in the water. I went to the lake several times over the past 2 weeks. At first, all I see are pigeons, grackles and swans. But even those birds are photogenic. There is a lot of variety in the pigeons. I use the zoom on my camera to take portraits. There was a rotating group moving out on some rocks at the lake’s edge to get a drink.

The swans appeared to be preening a lot and there were feathers that surrounded them. I wondered if they were molting.

And then I spotted a different bird – a yellow-crowned night heron! It flew up onto the boardwalk (the one that was flooded when I was in the area last May). I had seen this species before at the lake. It always surprises me how hard it is to spot. I’m usually close before I see it; this time was like that – as soon as I saw it, I stopped and took pictures. Eventually the bird became aware I was there but didn’t fly away. More pictures. Then it flew out across the water toward the morning sun.

The mesquite trees on the banks of the cattail end of the lake had beans. I was more interested in the foliage for photography….took a high key image as I made my way around to the other side of the cattails on the paved trail.

More on another bird I photographed at Josey Ranch in tomorrow’s blog post…..

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 31, 2021

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

Climate Change Responsible for Recent Decline of Eastern Monarch Butterflies – I know that the milkweed in my Maryland yard is not as healthy looking and I don’t see as many butterflies as I did in the 1990s…it’s a sad trend.

Top 25 birds of the week: July 2021 and Perching – A special treat – two collections of bird photographs in this gleanings post!

The parenting penalties faced by scientist mothers – There are no single or quick ‘fixes’ – moving forward requires thoughtful approaches. The status quo is not acceptable or sustainable!

True Grit: Adventures in Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Research – My husband and I saw red-cockaded woodpeckers in Florida during a birding festival field trip…so I tend to look at articles that appear in my news feed about them.

Florida Breaks Annual Manatee Death Record In First 6 Months Of 2021 – Florida seems to be a less appealing place to visit these days. Manatees were an animal my husband and I always wanted to see there and now they are starving to death because the seagrass (their food) is dead or dying in polluted waters. Other animals are probably impacted as well.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Hard To Reach, Filled With The Unexpected – I’ve only been to Chaco Canyon once….in the spring when it wasn’t overly hot. There were not many people on the windy, cool day we were there. The sounds of the place increased the sense of history in the ruins.

Air pollution during pregnancy may affect growth of newborn babies – There are so many aspects of the human impact on our environment that overwhelm what our bodies can handle…we should probably assume that there will be health impacts – particularly noticeable in the very young and the very old.

Burrowing Owls Face an Uncertain Future – They need holes from small colonial mammals….areas that are not plowed.

U.S. Power Sector Sees Biggest One-Year Drop in Emissions in More Than Two Decades – Picking up the pace as more renewables come online.

‘Inflammation clock’ can reveal body’s biological age – Maybe this turns out to be a good diagnostic to prompt interventions to extend healthy lifespan (via treatments on specific types of inflammation).

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2021

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Half of July was at home in Maryland…and half was a road trip from Maryland to Missouri to Texas.

Wegmans. I celebrated being comfortable doing my own grocery shopping in the store (early morning….still masked). Maryland’s vaccination rate is high and the infection rate low (although trending upward). The pandemic has honed my appreciation of ordinary activities….things that were curtailed during the peaks of COVID-19.

Getting a haircut. Another ordinary activity that I didn’t do (or put off) during the pandemic. I wore my KF-94 mask and discovered that my stylist is South Korean (he commented…”this is a good mask, made in my country”).

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Starting the morning outdoors (on the deck). Last summer I developed an appreciation for being out on the deck in the early morning -  enjoying a light meal, reading or making a Zentangle tile. It is a little celebration at the beginning of the day.

Farmer’s Market. What a thrill to buy my favorite veggies from the Farmers Market. I love the changes in selection as the season progresses. Celebrating the ongoing harvest!

South Mountain rest stop encounter. One of the deprivations of the pandemic was causal encounters…so the trucker that I encountered at the vending machines during the first rest stop of my road trip was something to celebrate. A little conversation…a wonderful beginning for my travels.

Scenic drive through Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky. I enjoyed the 8 hour drive from my home in Maryland (between Washington DC and Baltimore) to Frankfort, Kentucky… a celebration of curvy highway through lots of forest…no traffic problems.

Springfield Botanical Garden. Celebrating hydrangeas, hostas and day lilies…on an early summer morning.

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Xeriscape Garden. A small, lush oasis within walking distance of my daughter’s house in Springfield! It’s another reason to celebrate their neighborhood.

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Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie in Carrollton, Texas. I celebrated the place looking more and more like a real prairie!

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Green herons. I saw three green herons at Josey Ranch Lake; probably one adult and 2 juveniles. They are so well camflauged – I always celebrate seeing these birds and three at one time was a special treat.

Zooming – July 2021

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The images this month are from Maryland, Missouri and Texas! The collection is skew toward plants but here are a few birds and dragonflies. There are at least two high key images as well. Enjoy the slide show for July 2021.

Carrollton Yard – July 2021

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The back yard in Carrollton, Texas is a sunnier space that when I was here in May (a big tree had to be cut down). And it is summer. There are some cannas that are some of the tallest I’ve seen.

The hydrangeas are waning…the Queen Anne’s Lace is not as abundant as earlier…there are some round yellow-orange blobs of fungus in the shredded wood left from the big tree…they are almost the same color as the cosmos that are blooming in the newly sunny patch…a few Naked Lady Lilies and other shade loving plants are under the pecan tree which is growing rapidly now that the old mulberry is not overhead.

There are metal sculptures that I always notice among the plants – always there but looking different because of the changes of the plants over the season.

In the front yard, the ferns have spores forming on the underside of the fronds and there is only one daisy left.

The red yucca has seed pods developing among its flowers.

In a patch of dirt where some plant has died back, I found an large,empty snail shell…even though haven’t seen a snail in the yard before!

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Overall – the garden in Carrollton has changed quite a lot since May. Having the big tree gone has changed things more than the usual cycle…this next year will be one of transition for the corner of the yard that was very shady and is now full of sun.

Springfield Yard and Xeriscape Garden

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Last time I was in Springfield, the priority was getting my daughter moved into a new house – exhausting work. This time I am savoring the yard. I walked around several times….marveling at how beautiful it is, noting a few things that need to be done but nothing critical. It is relatively low maintenance. I am starting to think about the various areas as mini gardens.

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The Driveway Garden has two hollies flanking the extra parking area – a male and female. The female tree is full of green berries which will be red by winter…pretty and food for birds as well.

The Back Garden has a dogwood that may be problematic (some dead branches and overall not looking healthy) but underneath the Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming and some other plants (that will also provide food for birds. I’ve been watching a small rabbit nibbling on the plants around the brick patio every morning when I nibble my dark chocolate in the garden room. The hosta plants have already finished blooming. There are some legume type plants that are blooming behind some evergreens and a stand of poke weed that will have purple berries in the fall. There is a wood hydrangea that still has dried flowers from last year along with light grene flower clusters on the ends of this year’s growth. Overall – a lot of shrubs, trees and perennials…very little grass.

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The Side Garden has evergreens on one side of the stone walk and ferns on the other. I might move one of the yard chairs to this always shady area.

The Magnolia Garden is under a huge magnolia tree. There was some damage to the leaves from the extreme cold from last winter that I noticed last time I was here but those leaves were dropped and the tree looks wonderfully lush at this point - full of shining green leaves, developing seed pods and waning flowers. There are a few ferns and hosta under the tree. My daughter cleared away the thick layer of magnolia leaves and is planning to encourage (or plant) more of those types of plants under the tree.

The Front Garden is dominated by some big trees. The river birch and oak are the largest. The oak was probably planted when the house was built in the 1950s. Many other houses in the neighborhood have a large oak in the front.

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There is also an oak leaf hydrangea between the house and the big trees that is blooming; it’s a great shade loving plant!

We took a walk in the neighborhood to a city park that includes a Xeriscape Garden maintained by volunteers. Kudos to the people that do the work there! It is a mini-botanical garden. The arum seed clusters are attention getting! The variety of plants there would make it worth visiting any time except (maybe) the winter. I was pleased to see that goldenrod was included. There was also some sculpture among the plantings.

Overall – the gardens of the yard and the nearby Xeriscape Garden are something to look forward to see during future visits.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 24, 2021

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

Night Sky Celebrations Across the National Park System – We’re not doing this kind of traveling this summer….but maybe we’ll do several of these ‘star parties’ in summer 2022.

Tooth loss associated with increased cognitive impairment – Another reason to not neglect going to the dentist! It’s not just about preserving cognitive impairment either….quality of life is a big motivation as well.

Top 25 birds of the week: Seabirds – From around the world…a few I’ve seen in North America.

Mucus and mucins may become the medicine of the future – There is still a lot to learn about how this might work….but it appears that this is an opportunity to treat disease by enhancing the mechanisms already used by the body. Maybe one of the first uses will be for eye drops to treat eye infections rather than the antibiotics used today.

Protect Pollinators – reform pesticide regulations – Hopefully the action requested by these scientist from around the world will happen…our ecosystems are having enough challenge dealing with climate change. Many pollinator species won’t survive the continued threat of status quo pesticide use.

Keeping your composure: Creative Ways to Compose Your Photographs (part 1, part 2, part 3) – Always good to browse through these kinds of tutorials…pick up some new ideas, celebrate the things you are already doing.

What to do with food waste? – It doesn’t appear than there is any one strategy that will work broadly. I’m glad I have already dramatically reduced food waste and then have a large enough yard to have a compost bin.

Waterfalls of North Carolina – A few years ago, my husband and I made a waterfall themed trip to New York. It seems that North Carolina would be another state that has a lot of opportunities for waterfall photography. Maybe next spring?

Creativity Myths – A recent ‘letter’ on The Painter’s Keys website.  I enjoy the twice-weekly blurbs that appear in my inbox (free subscription) and often follow the ‘click here to read more’ link.

Exposure to light with less blue before sleep is better for energy metabolism – I already change the color balance on my PC screens to ‘nightlight’ between sundown and sunrise. Maybe we will do more eventually based on this and subsequent research. It is probably true that no one should be watching a television screen just before going to bed!

Browsing Natural History Magazines – April to June 2021

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I browed the The American Museum of Natural History’s magazine available on Internet Archive published in 1985 to 1993 over a 3-month period. The topics of the articles are wide ranging…something for everyone interested in Natural History. I picked one image from each volume…noticing that I am more skewed toward birds that the magazines are.

I am looking forward to browsing the volumes from 1994 to 2010 that are also available via Internet Archive….when I get the time.

 I posted about  the 1966 to 1984 volumes that I browsed back in March previously.