June 06, 2020

Gleanings

June 06, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Gleanings for this week

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.

Volunteers Spot New Sites in Aerial Images of England - Archaeology Magazine – Volunteers and lidar scans…a productive combination!

Seven highlights from 70 years of the National Science Foundation - The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy - AGU Blogosphere – Deepwater Horizon oil spill, public radio and television, ozone hole, strong curricula for introductory science, deep-sea exploration, student opportunities, and COVID-10 response. It seems like the list it too skewed to recent years.

We don’t need nearly as much protein as we consume - BBC Future – Another recommendation of getting nutrients from food rather that highly processed food or supplements….and moderation too. Skewing the diet toward protein at the expense of other nutrients is not healthy!

The Coolest Kingfishers from Six Continents – I’ve seen the first three! All three in south Texas and the Belted Kingfish elsewhere too. Kingfishers are an easily recognized shape….heavy bill, bigger head relative to body…etc.

How Americans are coping with COVID-19 stress -- ScienceDaily – This report was prior to the additional stressor of George Floyd’s death….the racism of police evident in the videos of the event and the response to protests that seems too militarized. It seems like 2020 will be a pivot point in our nation’s history and how we all respond to the stressors of the year is important in the outcome. I hope that we can show the best of ourselves…our utmost caring for all people and our planet that is our home.

Ice Arch Persists Despite Warm Arctic – It won’t last long…the ice arch which prevents sea ice from drifting south generally breaks up in June or July. Last year it broke up in mid-April.

'New' Footage of Benjamin, the Last Tasmanian Tiger Ever Seen Alive | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – A 21-second video from 1935.

Top 25 birds of the week: Seabirds - Wild Bird Revolution – I’ve seen most the North American birds in these photographs….except for the puffins.

Babies know when you imitate them -- and like it -- ScienceDaily – Most parents probably realize this to some extent…but the research teases out more specifics about how babies respond to knowing they are being imitated.

The remarkable power of the prickly pear - BBC Future – Grown as a crop for food in arid areas and then using the waste left after the food is extracted to generate biofuel. Wish we had more processes like this.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Aftermath of thunderstorm. I did another early morning in the outdoors – noting the aftermath of the thunderstorm the night before. Both birdbaths had been filled by the rain. The one in front is surrounded by day lily leaves…I’m not sure how often it is used by birds, but I like the way it looks from our front door.

2020 06 IMG_0077 (7).jpg — The sycamore tree trunk still looked very wet. I had forgotten the Virginia creeper climbing up. There were a few sycamore leaves that were blown into the yard…but the wind must not have been too bad.

The wetness of the leaves kept some of the maple leaves flipped over. It’s always surprising that the underside is so light in color.

Finally, I noticed a dead bee just before I settled into my chair. It must have gotten into the screened part of the deck and not been able to escape.

The rest of my outdoor time I spent making a couple of Zentangle tiles….and listening to the birds.

Mint as a fresh veggie. Mint grows so easily and comes back year after year. My front flower bed has a lot of it…enough to use it for more than a garnish. I cut a handful of stems and strip the leaves – it is the leafy green in a smoothie with chocolate protein powder. Yummy!

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a two tangle tile today with ROSCOE and SAND SWIRL.

Here is a tile I made yesterday based on the prompt: Three patterns to combine in a tile today: FAUX WEAVE, FEATHER FALL, and MEER.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

June 05, 2020

The New Normal - Shopping

June 05, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

The New Normal – Shopping

From the later part of March to the end of May, we didn’t go into a store at all. We had groceries delivered to our house, picked up orders a curbside at Target and Pet Smart, and items from Amazon and other vendors delivered to our porch. The single most expensive item was a new desktop computer for my husband – shipped from Dell. Grocery type items were the most numerous…mostly coming from the grocery store delivery but soft drinks and cat food were sometimes obtained from Target or Pet Smart when we couldn’t get it from the grocery. We had enough problems getting tomato soup and my husband’s favorite brand of canned tamales that we ordered them from Amazon. And we got masks from Amazon.

We are shifting now to in-person grocery shopping…which is one of the major changes that marks ‘phase 2’ of our coronavirus strategy. I can a good first experience this week – going first thing in the morning, wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer frequently…and then handwashing after I had put the perishables away, disinfecting surfaces touched inside the house as I brought groceries in. Prior to the pandemic I always shopped once a week, but I am shifting now to every 2 weeks to reduce risk.

I’ll pick up my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share every week once it starts (hopefully next week) so fresh veggies will come in every week. The less frequent shopping might become a habit that will continue after the pandemic is over. It takes more time to shop in one week…but nets a reduced shopping time since there is only one trip to the store every two weeks.

Pre-pandemic there were a lot of products that we were already buying online; that shift is more pronounced now. Something that is a variation in that trend is new: ordering online from a local store and then picking it up at curb side just outside the store. We are thinking about buying an electric lawn mower…and that is probably how we would buy it.

What about things that we like to examine before we buy? Aside from food there is not much. I suppose there are some types of clothes I would want to try on….but I don’t need any new clothes at the moment. If I think back, I’ve been ordering clothes all my life….starting with the Sears or Wards catalogs! Shoes are an item I like to try on before I buy…but I don’t envision needing any new shoes in the near future. Now that the weather is warm – I am going barefoot around the house and wearing sandals or flip flops when I am out…an old pair of hiking boots when I mow the grass.

We aren’t in the market for a car. In the past we have always taken a test drive of the car we bought. I’m not so sure we will do that for the next round although I’m not sure the pandemic has that shift (it was already the trend). My current car is a plug-in hybrid and the next one will probably be all-electric. My husband’s next car might be a plug-in hybrid…or maybe an all-electric (it depends on the infrastructure available for road trips).

Related to shopping --- it’s not just how we shop…it is what we are shopping for. Three thoughts:

I am buying more things locally and buying some items I want to have in the future that I didn’t buy frequently in the past. Cut flowers is something I am buying more frequently; once I discovered how much I enjoyed having the irises in my office, I decided to buy a bouquet every time I go to the grocery store (when I don’t have something blooming in my garden to bring indoors). I want the vendors to stay in business. As far as buying locally – I’ve gotten produce from my nearby CSA for the past few years and will continue to do so. I’ll also be more likely to buy items from local stores that I can pickup curbside rather than having larger items sent through the mail…to reduce transportation costs.

There are somethings I am more likely to not buy at all. I’ve become more intentional about my buying during the ‘retreat’ at home. I am more likely to think harder about whether something I am purchasing is a need…or a want. If it’s a want…I want to understand clearly why I want it. Once I do that, it is often an easy decision to not make the purchase.

Buy ‘green’ whenever possible. An example is replacing an aging lawn mower with an electric version. It’s good for my lungs…and for the planet! I am keen to avoid plastic – particularly single use plastic; I’m thrilled that going back to doing my own grocery shopping means that I can avoid plastic grocery and produce bags.

In a few days, I’ll share my thoughts about the new normal…interactions with people.

Unique activities for yesterday:

20200603_193233(0).jpg — **Enjoying flowers in my office.** I bought a bouquet of cut flowers at the grocery store yesterday – the least expensive they had at $4. It’s a little splurge but worth the positive vibe it adds to my office; it puts the room over the top just a bit more than it already is as my favorite room in the whole house.

Writing most of the blog post sitting outdoors in the morning before it got hot. I typed on my laptop for about an hour before 8 AM. I heard some neighbors out enjoying the morning too…on the other side of some pines along the property line. The temperature forecast was over 90 degrees for the afternoon. It was good to get an hour-long nature fix while the temperature was still in the low 70s. Being about a story off the ground and having the greens of cedars, maples, tulip poplars and pines filling my field of view everywhere my laptop screen was not….it was a great start to the day.

A Zentangle Prompt

Three patterns to combine in a tile today: FAUX WEAVE, FEATHER FALL, and MEER. We already made MEER Feathers back on May 24th…this time try a more traditional use of the MEER pattern.

Here is a tile I made yesterday for the tangler’s choice day.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

June 04, 2020

The New Normal - Kitchen

June 04, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

The New Normal – Kitchen

One of the big changes early on for us was internalizing the food needed for 2 weeks – keeping that much on hand at all time. It was harder to do because we couldn’t find everything we normally purchased…and didn’t have alternatives. During phase 1 we learned to manage….and developed some additional places in our house to store non-perishable foods.

We have prepared most of meals at home for quite some time but as the pandemic we got closer to 100%. We used a few more kitchen gadgets more frequently and prepared foods that was usually reserved for special times of the year – muffins and custards and spice cake and apple crisp. I reverted to things I’d done earlier in my life when we were economizing on food: cooking a pots of dried beans, buying meat in larger amounts/freezing it in amounts I would cook, using up leftovers completely, eating wild greens as they were available (mint, dandelion leaves) and tweaking the balance toward non-perishable forms when I could (i.e. keeping canned chicken, dried beans and protein powder in the pantry instead of relying on forms of protein that require refrigeration).

Now – at the beginning of phase 2, I am taking the next steps in the kitchen.

As I start doing my own grocery shopping again, I am not as concerned that there will be shortages in items because I have developed alternatives for almost everything and the Community Supported Agriculture farm will be start shares next week (probably). I will shop at the grocery store every other week and it’s OK if we don’t have 2 more weeks of supplies in the house just before I shop again.

It might we worthwhile to move some non-food items from the pantry to the laundry room and bring food items stored elsewhere back to the kitchen area. I should have already done it, but I was bombarded with too many changes at once and was not in good problem-solving mode. We’ll be in the mode we are starting this June for at least another 3 months…probably longer. We need to make it easy for ourselves to sustain.

We are still planning to prepare most of our meals at home. My husband has been getting a take out pizza occasionally and we might do more kinds of takeout. I can’t image feeling comfortable eating in a restaurant anytime soon.

Tomorrow I’ll share my thoughts about the new normal…for shopping.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Groceries shopping. I went to my local grocery store for the first time in over two months. It was a good experience. They had re-configured the store to have one entrance and one exit….there was sign saying masks were required at the entrance and a policeman just inside. I went a little before 7 AM and there were not many people; everyone was wearing a mask. The chain has a new SCAN app that allows people to use their phone to scan items as they shop and load things into their own bags. It was my first time to use it and I found it intuitive…had no challenge using it. In the produce department, items can be weighed and then the bar code on the screen is scanned. Checkout was via the self-service checkout…scanning the bar code on the screen to get the order up then putting my credit card in the chip reader. It probably took a minute or less. I shopped for two weeks which is a risk reduction strategy….I’ll probably continue in that mode but I’m reassured by my experience this morning. The transition from grocery delivery back to buying my own groceries was an easy!

Photo clips. I created a little project for myself – pick some from May and clip a portion of them to magnify. The resolution of the camera is quite an enabler.

2020 06 iris clip.jpg — One of the first things I looked at was the ruffles and curves of iris buds ready to burst open.

The Nine Bark bush in bloom and with new leaves was also interesting magnified.

And then there were the eyes of birds: cardinal, goldfinch, indigo bunting, nuthatch, and red-bellied woodpecker!

A Zentangle Prompt

It’s tangler’s choice today. Instead of trying a new pattern – pick ones from the last week to make again – in a new combination or as a monotangle. Take your pick from: TRIPOLI, MAELSTROM, SeZ, HEXONU, HURRY, MSST, Angel fish, Indi-rella, FESCU, POKELEAF, and ZINGER. Or maybe decide to take a break and just admire a mosaic of your tiles made over the past 6 days. Here is a mosaic of my tiles for the past week.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

June 03, 2020

The New Normal - Habits

June 03, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

The New Normal – Habits

There are habits established during the phase 1 of my response to the COVID-19 pandemic that will continue into phase 2:

Hand washing with soap. I increased my use of soap when handwashing…maybe a little before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. It’s something I grew up knowing to do when people around me might be contagious – wash hands and don’t share food or drink after anyone. I hadn’t paid it much heed in recent decades but the emphasis in early CDC communications was a reminder than I heeded.

Not touching my face when I am away from home. It was something that required some practice; I’ve gotten much better at it. For some reason – it wasn’t something that I learned along with hand washing growing up, but it is a logical extension of that kind of thinking…and was also emphasized in the early CDC communications.

Wearing a mask when there is a chance of encountering other people. This is a newer habit. Initially there was concern that encouraging people to wear masks would take away medical grade masks from the hospitals. Now we know that there are a lot of ways to make masks that are effective enough that the spread of the virus would have been reduced if the recommendation had been made…and heeded… early. Wearing a mask is more challenging that I thought it would be but I have persevered and now feel like I can wear in appropriately although I am motivated to get home quickly so I can take it off!

Dramatically less toilet paper. There were shortages initially, so I looked for ways to reduce our toilet paper consumption. I discovered that the alternative of a spray of water and patting dry with washable squares of fabric (cut up old t-shirts) feels cleaner! This change of habit will probably be something I’ll continue even after the vaccine is available and the pandemic is over. It’s a good way to reduce tree consumption.

Self-checking mental and physical health more frequently. I am more conscious of making sure I am taking care of myself…wanting to still enjoy life in the changed situation. I haven’t found it difficult to find things every day that I enjoy….beautiful things to look at…good food. There are times that I intentionally indulge myself (particularly with food…dark chocolate and specialty teas are such a treat) but I haven’t overdone it. I’ve stayed on my diet well enough to take off 5 pounds since the end of February!

Increasing time spent viewing nature. I am consciously spending more time out in nature or looking at it through my window. The trend happens every year in the spring because of the better weather and the increased natural activity as everything emerges from winter cold. This year I haven’t had the outdoor volunteer gigs in the mix of what I am doing. I’m spending active time outdoors…and doing activities I usually do indoors in the outdoors instead (usually on our covered/screen deck) like reading and doing things on my laptop and creating Zentangle tiles.

Big meal at lunch time. Without external events impacting how we spend our time; my husband and I have shifted our big meal of the day to lunch time and agree that it is probably healthier for us. We’ll continue during phase 2 and maybe even past the pandemic although it will be challenging when we travel or have a lot going on way from home.

Not tracking developing stories…check the news one or twice a day then do something else. I found myself being overwhelmed by news at times during phase 1….and finally developing enough will power to stop checking on pandemic stats or breaking news stories throughout the day. And I feel just as well informed but have plenty of time to do things I enjoy. It a lot easier to keep a positive mental attitude without spending too much time on the news of the day.

Checking in with family more frequently (virtually). Calls….texts…email….so many ways to stay connected from afar. None of our family is local so there is no other choice with road trips and airplane flights not possible.

Tomorrow I’ll share my thoughts about the new normal…in the kitchen.

Unique activities for yesterday:

We have cherries! Somehow - I’ve never looked closely at the cherry tree in our front yard before they were eaten. Is it the birds? Or maybe racoons? This time I noticed the cherries just when the sun was shining on the three in the late afternoon making the fruits glow. They are tiny…mostly seed. I love the tree for its spring blooms but am also thrilled that it provides food for wildlife.

A Zentangle Prompt

Today make a tile with FESCU, POKELEAF, and ZINGER. It’s going to look botanical!

Here is a tile I made yesterday – responding to the prompt: Use Angel fish and Indi-rella. These patterns are both easier to make than they would seem at first glance.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 31, 2020

Through the Window, JMW Turner, and Being Outdoors

May 31, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Pictures through the Window

I always try to gather up the best pictures taken through my office window toward the end of the month. We had more birds at the feeder at the beginning of the month; it was cool and there weren’t as many insects for the omnivorous birds. There are 11 birds in all….and a tree… in the collection for May 2020.

2020 05 IMG_9442 (3).jpg — The **Red-bellied Woodpeckers** are frequent visitors. The male even did some foraging on the ground under our neighbor’s pines.

The female has started getting a seed from the feeder then wedging it in a nearby crack in the deck railing to peck and crack open. There are times I think she knows I am watching.

The Cowbirds are still around. The males come in groups, but the female is the one I see at the feeder most often.

The Downy Woodpecker comes frequently as well although it comes in silent – unlike the red-bellies.

The finches (House and Gold) are around – but less frequently than they were in April. I’m not sure why other than they are busy with their nests and finding other food sources.

And then there were the Indigo Buntings. They were somewhere else by mid-month.

The Cardinal pair is around all through the year.

2020 05 IMG_9442 (26).jpg — The only picture of a **Titmouse** I took this month was a very round bird. Maybe it was just the angle.

The Carolina Wrens are the big singers around our deck.

The Mourning Doves sometimes use the deck railing for a mating platform. I didn’t know what the bird I photographed was doing with its tail, but I suspected it was mating related. It was the only dove around…it eventually stood up and flew off.

2020 05 IMG_9442 (33).jpg — Recently we’ve had an uptick in **House Sparrows** coming to the feeder. They seem to come in small groups of 2-4 birds. Maybe they are gearing up for a second brood of the season.

Finally, is the tulip poplar. The later-than-usual frosts we had this year didn’t seem to reduce the number of flowers. We’ll have plenty of gutter-clogging seeds flying next winter, and spring!

Unique activities for yesterday:

Gorging on JMW Turner (1775-1851) art. 344 paintings are packed in a slideshow available from Internet Archive here. Wow…what a range of works he produced. I selected 4 different works as examples. The slide show is well worth a look.

Being Outdoors. I’ve established a new goal – be outdoors for at least an hour every day. This time of year, that should not be hard since the weather is relatively pleasant. This is more about increasing consistency and logging what I do than dramatically increasing my outdoor time…although I tend let weather deter my getting out. I know I feel better physically and emotionally on days I am outdoors for at least an hour. As it gets hotter, I’ll shift to the morning – before the heat of the day becomes oppressive. It doesn’t have to be working in the yard, taking a walk, or hiking in the forest behind out house. It can be reading a book, doing something on my laptop or just enjoying some quality time with our cat on the enclosed/screened deck! In my first foray after establishing the goal, I selected pictures for this blog post, made two Zentangle tiles for the Zentangle prompt, cleaned the table on the deck, occasionally made eye contact with the cat, and cleaned out/filled the birdbaths…and it added up to more than an hour - easy.

A Zentangle Prompt

Try the SeZ pattern. The pattern starts by using seeds (maybe real ones like sesame or rice or bulgur wheat) or making random dots.

Here is a page I made based on yesterday’s prompt: Experiment with the MAELSTROM pattern. I used the May 2020 page from the Audubon calendar. It provided lots of spaces to experiment with the pattern. I tend to like the random usage of the pattern…and the curved part of the pattern although I did start thinking about radio waves coming down to a radio telescope for the other part of the pattern. Using the calendar page was a good experience and I’m thinking of using the page for June to show the prompt for each day…maybe showing the page as I fill in each week as we move through the month.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 30, 2020

Gleanings, MAELSTROM prompt, and a Phoebe

May 30, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Gleanings from the Past Week

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.

The world’s most nutritious foods - BBC Future – The one on the list that surprised me was ‘pork fat.’

New Thoughts on Corn Cultivation at Cahokia - Archaeology Magazine – Evidently maize arrived between AD 900 and 1000…about 1,000 years later than previously thought. I remember visiting Cahokia in 2010 about this time….a road trip from Ithaca NY to Flagstaff AZ with my daughter for her summer of undergraduate research.

Old Wisteria Tree in Japan Is the Most Beautiful in the World – I missed the wisteria blooming at Brookside Gardens this year. This 150 year old tree in this post is huge in comparison.

How the news changes the way we think and behave - BBC Future – I find that I feel better when I don’t check the news as often…once or twice a day is often enough unless there is something happening that impacts what I am doing (like very bad weather coming). I want to stay informed but don’t need stories repeated again and again…one time is generally enough and there are very few that I need to know as they are developing.

Top 25 birds of the week: #May 2020 - Wild Bird Revolution – A little feathery color….

Waves of Fluid Bathe the Sleeping Brain, Perhaps to Clear Waste | The Scientist Magazine® - Still a lot to learn about the brain. I found myself wondering of poor sleep is the cause or effect of some disorders.

An Intimate Look at Italy’s Saffron Harvest - The New York Times – Color and flavor – and labor intensive.

Saber-tooth surprise: Fossils redraw picture of the fearsome big cat – The big cat was a forest/ambush hunter rather than one that hunted in more open environments.

Welcome Back! | The Prairie Ecologist – Noticing the firsts of spring….a bird returned…insects emerging (or sometimes returning), plants beginning to grow….lots to take in.

Medieval Arrows Inflicted Injuries That Mirror Damage Caused by Modern Bullets | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – The English longbow. The best ones were made from yew and measured 6 feet long. Drawing the weapon required 150-180 pounds of force. They shot arrows to 1,000 feet. At the Battle of Crecy in 1346, historians estimate that the English archers shot as many as 35,000 arrows per minute….were victorious even though they were outnumber by 2 to 1.

A Zentangle Prompt

Experiment with the MAELSTROM pattern. This is a grid pattern and is an opportunity to play with different orientations of a simple basic design made in each small square. I always like to reuse materials I have around the house and an old calendar is great for these patterns. My calendar has large enough blocks for each day that I divide each into 4 x 4 grids and then cover the whole page (except for the small blocks that have a number in them) – in this case with MAELSTROM variations. I’ll share the results with you tomorrow.

Here is a tile I made yesterday based on the prompt: *Make a tile with* *TRIPOLI* *as the central tangle.*

Unique activities for yesterday:

Phoebe in the morning. I hear a phoebe almost every morning but usually don’t get a photograph. Yesterday I did…while it was proclaiming its name.

Small chipping sparrow. I’ve noticed a chipping sparrow that looks smaller than the others coming to the feeder the past couple of days. I finally got a picture of it with another chipper on the other side of the feeder. Doesn’t the one on the right look smaller? Maybe it is just the way the bird is oriented/holding itself.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 29, 2020

Zooming Photographs and Tripoli Prompt

May 29, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Zooming

Last May I took over 2,500 pictures…this May there are just under 1,000. There are still a lot to choose from…and I do use the zoom on my camera a lot. All the pictures this month were taken from around my house. Enjoy the slide show!

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a tile with TRIPOLI as the central tangle. I found this pattern to be challenging the first time I did it a few years ago. So give it a try. Feel free to try some patterns inside the triangles and/or use another pattern (like TIPPLE or CRESCENT MOON) to file some of the tile.

Here are some tiles I made yesterday – savoring the patterns from the last six days. The first was a hodgepodge of almost all the patterns. Then I settled down to 2 patterns (and auras). It was the beginning of a trend because the next one was two patterns with more obvious shading around the edges…and the last was a montotangle tile (gingo)! I enjoyed Tangler’s Choice day and I hope you did too.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Last grocery delivery. I’ve decided to go back to venturing out to the grocery store in June after more than two months of almost weekly deliveries…so this was the last delivery. I’m glad the option was available to us but found it stressful to be online while my shopping was done (to OK or reject substitutions) and then sorting through the bags left on the porch to put away the refrigerator items and leaving the rest to sit a few days (usually in the back of one of our cars) before unpacking. And I didn’t like the quick accumulation of so many plastic bags. All the shoppers seemed keen to do a good job but some were very inexperienced with grocery shopping/the store.

Low weight of the year. I didn’t have any dark chocolate on hand, so I celebrated with sweet potato custard with pecans on top – the making and enjoying warm from oven.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 28, 2020

Little Celebrations, Tangler’s Choice, and a Fledgling Woodpecker

May 28, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

10 Little Celebrations in May 2020

Today I am highlight 10 small things I celebrated this month. Half of them involved birds!

2020 05 IMG_9511 (9).jpg — **Rose-breasted Grosbeaks** were a new bird at our deck this year; my husband both celebrated their appearance. They came for the first half of the month both males and females. Now they are probably raising young in a nest a little too far from our feeder…but maybe they’ll bring their fledglings!

Virtual Cape May Spring (Birding) Festival. It was two days of rewarding sessions….celebrating a place we enjoyed last spring (Cape May, New Jersey) in the best way possible in 2020!

Downy woodpecker fledgling. We had a fledgling downy…bumbling to the deck but not the feeder – yet. Celebrating new life in the forest.

2020 05 IMG_9613 (6).jpg — **Indigo Buntings** were another new visitor to our feeder this year. Like the grosbeaks – they were around for the first half of the month. Hopefully, they will return with fledglings…and built their nest far enough away to not have a cowbird nestling.

And there were other things I celebrated…many probably obvious from my previous posts.

**Irises**. I celebrated every single one that came up in our garden. The rhizomes appear to be recovering from a collapse a few years ago. I hope that cutting the stalks will make it easier for them to build up even more for next year – anticipating more flowers to celebrate.

Poem sent from my Mother…30 years ago. I found a poem my Mother sent to me as I started my daughter in day care 30 years ago. I must have celebrated it at the time….and did again when I found it again.

Providing a Zentangle session at Howard County Conservancy. Celebrating sharing something I enjoy.

2020 05IMG_9919 (2).jpg — **Chipmunk on the deck**. Celebrating the rodent that has Oreo cookie stripes on each side!

Flower Designs from the 1800s. Celebrating Marcia Bradford’s book of flower designs for watercolor…that worked very well with Ultra-Fine Point Sharpies with Zentangles filling in the background! I completed 2 in May.

A Zentangle Prompt

Instead of trying a new pattern today – pick ones from the last week to make again – in a new combination or as a monotangle. Take your pick from: GINGO, MEER feathers, ANTIDOTS, ELIROB, BATON, PHICOPS, RIBBON ROSE, and SHARD. Or maybe decide to take a break and just admire a mosaic of your tiles made over the past 6 days. Here are mine (including the RIBBON ROSE and SHARD tiles from yesterday.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Fledgling red-bellied woodpecker. The fledgling was on the roof of the covered deck while the mom was at the feeder! It first came about 8 AM and I watched for it all through the day. It wasn’t quite coordinated enough to utilize the bird feeder directly.

**Chicken baked in spicy spaghetti sauce.** I’m not sure why I hadn’t tried this before…it’s easy to make and delicious. I simply put boneless chicken breasts in a Pyrex baking dish, poured some spicy spaghetti sauce over them, sprinkled on some garlic and coarse ground pepper….cooked for an hour at 350 degrees (included some potatoes in the same oven). The baking dish has a lid, so the leftover chicken is in the refrigerator in that container (easy cleanup after our meal). My husband – a somewhat picky eater – liked the chicken so much he even volunteered to eat the leftovers!

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 27, 2020

eBooks, Rose and Shards Prompt, and Chipmunk

May 27, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

3 Free eBooks for May 2020

It’s time for me to look back at the eBooks I’ve been browsing this month and pick three. I cheated a little since the first one is 11 volumes. These are quite a visual feast and all published around 1920.

Mathews, Gregory Macalister et al. The Birds of Australia. London: Witherby & Co. 1910-1927. I am working my way through all the volumes on Internet Archive: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Mathews was an extreme splitter….so focus on the illustrations rather than the classifications. I am including some sample images from the volumes I’ve browsed so far.

43 20 05 (10).jpg — Herben, Beatrice Slayton; Richardson, Frederick. ***Jack O'Health and Peg O'Joy - a fairy tale***. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 1921. Available from Internet Archive here. I was interested in the illustrations by Frederick Richardson.

Littlejohns, John. British water-colour painting and painters of to-day. Toronto: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. 1920. Available from Internet Archive here. Lots of variety in this collection. Some are what I expected but the one I picked for the sample image was a standout….something different.

A Zentangle Prompt

RIBBON ROSE for the central tangle(s) and SHARD for the border/frame. Your choice whether to make the center or the frame first…. or create two tiles to try both!

Here are tiles based on the prompt: Make a tile where PHICOPS is the primary tangle. Feel free to fill out the tile with a tangle of your choice.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Summer clothes. The weather has finally gotten warm enough that I got out all my summer clothes and packed all the rest away in large suitcases that work better for out-of-season clothes than for traveling. Sometimes I leave out a few cool/cold weather clothes if we are planning a trip to the Rockies….but that is not happening this year. I also packed the t-shirts I wear for volunteering since that is not happening this summer either. The closet is less crowded. Another positive discovery – I have managed to get rid of clothes I wasn’t wearing in previous seasons; I only identified one item that is going in a giveaway pile!

Chipmunk under the bird feeder. There was a chipmunk cleaning up under the bird. I hadn’t seen one recently although we have had them periodically since we moved to the house over 20 years ago. This one was examining each bit of debris although most were hulls rather than seeds.

Last iris. The last iris bud opened. It will be the last flower in my office until the day lilies start blooming. The day lilies are a little later than usual sending up their bud stalks because of the cooler-than-average weather. On the plus side – there is dense leaf growth which bodes well for the plants having lots of energy to bloom now that the temperatures are consistently warm.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 25, 2020

Cape May Spring Festival (2nd day), Last Iris, 3 Tangle Prompt

May 25, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Cape May Spring Festival Day 2

It was another full day of presentations - 7 AM to just after 5 PM. I managed to get up and move during the breaks more than I did on the first day and was not as exhausted at the end of the day. Two presenters went out at lunch and filmed horseshoe crab and shore birds at a Delaware Bay beach near where they live – lots of action. It was probably the highlight of the two days for me just as seeing it last spring was the highlight of being in Cape May for the first time.

All the presentations were interesting, and I look forward to being able to watch several of them again once they are posted. There will be several items in upcoming days that I’ll share as I do the ‘follow up’ for two very intense days of the virtual birding festival!

Other unique activities for yesterday:

**A last iris stalk.** I brought it in the day before yesterday and when I went downstairs yesterday morning – the first flower was wilted but two buds had opened. I snapped off the spent flower and took a picture of the ones that were still fresh. It sat in the kitchen window, so both my husband and I enjoyed the flowers all day during breaks from the Spring Festival.

Deck check. I tried to check what was happening on our deck during breaks in the Spring Festival. There were a pair of cardinals early on and then a chipping sparrow sharing the feeder with a Carolina chickadee.

A squirrel came for a drink at the bird bath a little later.

During the lunch break a pair of blue jays had an interaction…the one on the right kept moving to the right then flew away first.

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a tile with these three patterns: ANTIDOTS, ELIROB, and BATON. Maybe experiment with using the ELIROB pattern as the ‘string’ for the tile.

Here are some tiles I completed based on the prompt: Meer feathers.

I used this pattern with summer campers (ages 5-12) in August 2019. Here are the mosaics of the tiles they made.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 23, 2020

Venturing Out and Weekly Gleanings

May 23, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

A Zentangle Prompt

Inspiration for a pattern can come from our environment. Sometimes creating a pattern is relatively straightforward. The prompt for today is to create your own pattern based on the picture of tiles to the right. Hint: start with a grid of squares. Use your pattern in a tile. Other patterns in the tile are tangler’s choice (i.e. whatever you want).

Here are some tiles I made based on yesterdays prompt: Make a tile using the gingo pattern.

It is one of my favorite patterns for mono-tangle tiles.

Venturing away from Home

I went to Howard Country Conservancy’s Mt Pleasant to record a Facebook Live Zentangle session. It was the first time I had driven my car in May! It was also my first volunteer gig since early March – and a good experience – but I realized how out of practice I have become with getting out and about. There was a ‘newness’ to my car even though I’ve had it for a few years. Mt Pleasant is a place I know very well but hadn’t been there since January; it felt unfamiliar.

I was glad the flip chart pad and gallery board were wrapped in plastic trash bags because it was raining heavily when I got there. It took two trips to get into the building and I was glad I had worn a windbreaker and waterproof boots.

The mask that I wore during set up did not stay in place as well as I wanted. I need more experience with securing it and being certain that I can breathe well enough through the layers of fabric. It’s a good ‘lesson learned’ before I venture out to try doing my own grocery shopping in June.

The materials I had prepared ahead of time worked well…minimizing the amount I had to create while I was talking.

The Facebook Live session lasted about 20 minutes and made a three-part tile using TIPPLE, CRESCENT MOON, and either MEER or POKEROOT. I missed not being able to create a mosaic of the student tiles at the end. Here are tiles I made with the patterns after the session.

I’m not sure how any of my volunteer gigs will be possible anytime soon but I’ll probably do some hiking at Mt. Pleasant…on a sunny day…another small ‘venturing away from home.’

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

Gleanings of the Week

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.

Soak in the Details of the Moon with this High-Definition Photo – A backyard astrophotographer with a lot patience.

Record conservation study of Tutankhamun's tomb solves mystery and raises new questions – Teasing out more history from a much-studied place.

Top 25 birds of the week: Bright Colours - Wild Bird Revolution – It’s a gray rainy day as I write this….I am appreciating the colors!

New Thoughts on Turkey’s Oldest Temple Complex - Archaeology Magazine – Gobekli Tepe…built by hunter gatherers over 11,000 years ago….requiring hundreds of people to construct. I first learned about it in a Coursera course a few years ago.

NASA's ICESat-2 measures Arctic Ocean's sea ice thickness, snow cover -- ScienceDaily – ICESAT-2 was launched in September 2018; I learned about it during visits to NASA Goddard during my HoLLIE class in spring 2018. It’s good to get an update on it now.

The ingredients for a longer life - BBC Future – Study of populations where many live to 100…focusing on eating habits, social connection, a few cups of tea or coffee, sweet potato and bittersweet melons, landscape…and moderation.

Saving energy and lives: How a solar chimney can boost fire safety -- ScienceDaily – If a building has a solar chimney, it will suck smoke out of a building during a fire…giving people more time to escape!

Risks of Clutter, Tips for Decluttering Your Home | Berkeley Wellness – I had intended to spend some of the ‘stay at home as much as possible’ time de-cluttering. But I moved on to other projects. Now I am returning to the idea just as I am beginning to tentatively venture out. The clutter in my house is not enough to make it unsafe…but I do have a lot of stuff that I no longer need.

Tracing the human genetic history: Every tooth tells a different story – Another data point for forensics when DNA is not available. Teeth often survive for longer than other parts of the body.

New evidence of watery plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa - GeoSpace - AGU Blogosphere – I’m missing Charles Cockell’s Life in the Universe Pandemic Series. This article is about new analysis of data collected by the Galileo mission flyby of Europa in 2000. The ESA Juice mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2022, will study the potential habitability and underground oceans of three of Jupiter’s moons: Ganymede, Calisto, and Europa.

May 22, 2020

Fledglings and Zentangle Prompt

May 22, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a mono-tangle tile using the gingo pattern.

Here are 2 tiles I made yesterday with the prompt: Make a tile using these three patterns: WAVLIN, CURLY-Q, and DL Sunray.

Fledglings!

Our bird feeder was suddenly busy after 2 windy days when the birds tended to stay in the trees. And we had some special visitors. Two birds that are just learning their way around the feeder. The first was a downy woodpecker. The adult male came first and

Then a bumbling juvenile. It was noisy from the deck railing at first the tried the feeder but not where it was able to get any seed. The male came back to show it the technique again but the young one had already flown off to the sycamore and then back to the maple.

2020 05 IMG_9777 (7).jpg — An adult white-breasted nuthatch came to the feeder and then flew below to get seed from the deck floor. It was followed by a scruffy looking bird with less distinct markings…a little clumsy getting around too. A fledgling nuthatch?

The other bird that came to the feeder that I hadn’t seen in a few days was a red-bellied woodpecker. Last summer we had at least one red-bellied woodpecker (in July) but this must have been mom getting a snack rather than training a fledgling.

I am pleased that I haven’t seen a fledgling cowbird coming to the feeder with a weary adult bird from another species.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 21, 2020

Iris, Forest Path, Too Quiet

May 21, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a tile using these three patterns: WAVLIN, CURLY-Q, and DL Sunray.

2020 05 img803.jpg — Here is a tile I made yesterday based on the prompt: *Use the* *POKEROOT* *pattern to make the frame. Aura the POKEROOT berries like* *CRESCENT MOON*.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Very Quiet Morning. Normally when I first wake up just after 5:30 AM, there is a lot of birdsong and I listen to it for a few minutes in bed – appreciating the sounds and trying to identify the birds singing. This morning it was eerily quiet. What was going on? My guess was a hawk (or other predator) in the area.

Four iris buds have opened on the stalks in my office. Bringing a little outdoor beauty indoors.

The path into the forest. The deer path into the forest doesn’t seem as obvious today. The plants are growing faster than the deer come through to keep it open. I’ve decided to enter at a more formal path next time we hike since I’m sure the prickly vines that are part of the forest undergrowth are growing rapidly too….not pleasant to hike through even in heavy jeans.

2020 05 IMG_9762 (2).jpg — If I look in the other direction from my office window – I notice that our neighbor’s dogwood is still blooming. The little bit of pink seems to develop as the flowers get older. It was a very windy day for photography…but the little bit of blur appealed to me.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 19, 2020

Zentangle, Yard Work, and Peppermint Custard

May 19, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

A Zentangle® Prompt

Make a scribbled string with your pen that results in small spaces (no need to do a border first). Fill (with same color as the string or a differnt color) spaces that touch at points. Optional: experiment with this pattern using multiple colors. I’ll share my creation based on this prompt in tomorrow’s post.

Here is a tile I made yesterday based on the prompt: *Make a string that divides the tile into 3 areas. Fill the middle area with the* *TIPPLE. Fill the other two areas with* *MEER*.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Planting some seeds in the front flowerbed. I prepped a small section of the front flowerbed last month with cardboard and a layer of compost…but then decided it was too cold to plant seeds. Now – I think the frosty days are over, so I worked in some potting soil around the mint that was encroaching into the compost and planted some seeds I had collected over the past year from various places (mostly from my volunteer gigs). The forecast is for rain later this week… and warmer temperatures. Hopefully, the seeds will sprout and do well in this location. I had quite seeds left which I sprinkled into my chaos garden and some less dense areas of the rest of the front flower beds. Right now, things are crowded with day lily leaves which – surprisingly – the deer are not bothering.

Blooming Nine Bark Bush. The bush is blooming and otherwise growing vigorously. I noticed the blooms and the variation the color of the new leaves.

A Weed. There is a small flower growing among the day lilies – a weed. It had a tiny insect in one of the flowers. I opted to the leave the plant.

**Making Peppermint custard.** I bought hard peppermint candy chips last winter with the plan to flavor snow ice cream with them…but we didn’t get any snow! So – I decided to make a custard with them: 5 eggs, heaping ½ cup of peppermint candy chips, 2 heaping tablespoons of beet root (for color…flavor overwhelmed by the peppermint), 1/2 cup almond milk and chopped pecans on top. (Cooked at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then at 350 degrees until the custard was fully set…toothpick came out clean…about 25 minutes). Yummy…not overly sweet.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 18, 2020

Zentangle Prompt, Goldfinch drama, and Thalidomide History

May 18, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

(I am starting a new section today….a Zentangle prompt. I make at least one Zentangle tile per day and will post what I did with the prompt on the following day. This is my small attempt to make some aspect of my post ‘actionable’ --- enjoy!)

A Zentangle Prompt

Make a string that divides the tile into 3 areas. Fill the middle area with TIPPLE. Fill the other two areas with MEER.

I’ll share my creation based on this prompt in tomorrow’s post.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Drama at the bird feeder. Sometimes I notice a relationship between bird species at the feeder. Around 7 AM, a goldfinch was on the gutter of our deck then flew down toward the feeder and there was at tussle with another bird. It only took seconds, but the net was the chipping sparrow contented itself with whatever seed was on the deck under the feeder while the goldfinch enjoyed breakfast.

Ordering a wedding present. There is a family bridal shower and wedding this summer in Texas. I am coming to terms with the idea that I won’t be able to attend unless the pandemic situation changes very dramatically. So – I ordered gifts for the couple today and they’ll be delivered within a week. At least that aspect can continue in a near-normal way.

67 20 05 (6).jpg — **The Thalidomide Generation – Life Magazine from July 1968**. (Available from Internet Archive here.) Some history with relevance today: new drugs can have positive results…. followed by devastating side effects.

More puzzles. I ordered 7 more puzzles for my parents today – which brings the total to 11. We’ll learn from this experience…how fast they come, the quality of the puzzles, how fast they are completed…before ordering more.

Tulip poplar full of blooms. The tulip poplars in the forest behind our house are full of flowers that contrast more with the leaves than when they first started blooming Soon the petals will fly away and the seed pods will continue maturing…with seeds to shed next winter and spring.

_Sarah 2020 05 a.jpg — **New cat in the family.** My daughter in Missouri is enjoying an addition to her household – a cat that seems happy to have found a new home!

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 17, 2020

Zentangle Gallery Board, Friendly Downy Woodpecker, Abu Simbel, Iris, and Puzzles

May 17, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Visit from a Downy Woodpecker. Just before 8 AM I was sitting beside the window in my office and suddenly a downy woodpecker flew to the screen and made noises like it was trying to tell me something. It flew back to the maple. About an hour later it happened again! This is a bird that comes frequently to our feeder. I’m wondering if she is a little frazzled with nestlings right now.

**Making a Zentangle gallery board.** I’m prepping for a program I will be delivering soon…wanted something that I could easily use to show many tiles and patterns quickly. The session is short, so I need to make every minute count!

Pictures of when Abu Simbel was moved - Life Magazine December 1966. I remember being fascinated with Ancient Egyptian history beginning in 1965…so I imagine I was interested in this article from 1966 although I don’t remember it. The pictures are dramatic even by today’s standards.

Replenishing the puzzle supply for my parents. My almost-90 year old parents are about to run out of puzzles. They enjoyed them pre-pandemic but have gone through their supply faster for the past couple of months and can’t get out to shop for puzzles right now. Most of the puzzles they had were 2nd (or 3rd or…) hand so I got a little sticker shock looking at new ones and then discovered that lots of people are buying more puzzles than usual. I ordered 4 from Walmart am at looking at more now (trying to figure out an effective way of finding out which ones they’ve already done). In January I had planned to travel a week of every month to be with my parents, but the pandemic put a stop to that after one trip…so I’m ordering puzzles to fill parts of their days.

**More iris stalks in my office.** I am composting the old iris stalks in the garden and cut two more to bring indoors. There is still one left outside. These two stalks seem to have larger flowers. They were growing in a different location and may be happier there than in the front flower bed irises. I have discovered that I enjoy having flowers from my flower beds/garden in my office.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 16, 2020

Weekly Gleanings, Racoon Visits and Rearranging Office

May 16, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

(I’m still social distancing/staying at home as much as possible….but am changing the title of the blog posts to reflect the accumulation of topics in the posts. I’m tired of only the date changing in the title since March 15th, 2020)

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Racoon in early morning of 5/12…and then on 5/15! I was downloading the birdfeeder cam videos and noticed right away that there was an odd one just before 2 AM on 5/12….it was a racoon! It was a female probably hungry because she has babies still in the den – too young to eat on their own. It didn’t appear that she got anything from our feeder.

We had another racoon visit on the 15th just after 2 AM. I couldn’t tell if it was a female or not. It could have been another racoon or the same one giving it another try. The animal used a different strategy to get the seed coming at the feeder from above rather than below….but the strategy didn’t work. It looks longingly at the feeder from the bench on the deck before it leaves.

Rearranging my office. It’s a work in progress. The room has been my office since we moved into the house in November 1994 – and it’s the best room in the house for an office because it looks out to trees. I bought the three-piece computer office tables from IKEA as we moved in and had them connected in an L until about 9 years ago when I wanted better access to the windows. I detached the longer table from the corner piece at that point. Then I detached the shorter table about a year ago so I could use the whole surface area of the corner piece…and now I’ve moved the small table by the window but pulled out a bit. When I am sitting at the small table, I have a clear view of the bird feeder. We’ll see how it works. I might not like it in the afternoon when the sun shines in and I need to close the curtains to keep the room from heating up.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

And now for the gleanings from my news feeds during this past week….

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.

Check Out the Beautiful Flowers in Bloom at the Keukenhof – I missed going to Brookside Gardens this spring. I’m glad there are beautiful photographs like these and that we have the forest behind our house.

Researchers Reexamine Ritual Sacrifices in Ancient Mesoamerica - Archaeology Magazine – Evidently there is skeletal evidence that there were 3 distinct methods used for heart extractions.

Researchers Uncover New Evidence That Warrior Women Inspired Legend of Mulan | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Not specifically Mulan but there is physical evidence that female warriors road across the steppes of what is now Mongolia around the 4th or 5th century AD which is about the time the first historical mention of Mulan appears.

Dolphins, Surfers and Waves Sparkle in Bright Blue Bioluminescent Glow Off California Coast | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Dinoflagellates. Watch the two videos.

Top 25 birds of the week: Birds of Prey - Wild Bird Revolution – This group includes a Snail Kite – which we saw in Florida a little over a year ago. (I posted about it too!)

Nearly half of US breathing unhealthy air; record-breaking air pollution in nine cities -- ScienceDaily – I was surprised at some of the cities listed on the top 10 most polluted cities (short term particle pollution)…and the comparison of that list with the year-round list was interesting.

Cool Facts About Common Backyard Wildlife – The list includes racoons. Evidently racoons are usually very clever about accessing urban/suburban food sources. So far – the design of our bird feeder is working…frustrating the racoon.

Infographic: Building Bacteria to Fight Cancer | The Scientist Magazine® - Work being done in mice at this point…goal is to target tumors specifically and minimize side effects of treatment.

Paleontologists reveal 'the most dangerous place in the history of planet Earth' -- ScienceDaily – 100 million years ago the Sahara had flying reptiles and crocodile-like hunters!

Great Lakes Without Winter Ice – A picture taken from the International Space Station in February.

May 15, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distancing - 5/14/2020

May 15, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Birds nesting in our neighbor’s eaves. A pair of European Starlings found a way under the eaves of our neighbor’s house and they have nestlings. One came out this morning and looked more like a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird than a juvenile starling. The cowbirds have been around a lot this spring. Now I don’t seem around the feeder as much so maybe they are moving to new territory.

Grocery delivery. First thing in the morning I made the final tweaks to the list. Is it feeling ‘normal’ to have my groceries delivered? No - I don’t think it ever will. I like to do my own shopping and will get back to it as soon as I can. It took the shopper an hour to find 18 items. It was stressful to stay glued to my phone for that length of time to respond to substitutions; the web page stopped working for a short period of time too. This was the 7th delivery so if it were going to achieve the comfort of ‘new normal’ I think it would have already. It’s been a new shopper every time and maybe that makes it continuously ‘new’ each week.

Mowing the grass. It had been dry for a few days and the temperature was in the 60s…a good day to mow the yard. The south side that had been too wet the last time we mowed so the grass there was getting high. I decided to experiment with making a short video during the first part of the mowing. I used an old larger name tag holder from a conference that was big enough to hold my phone then taped it to myself rather than letting it swing from the lanyard. I started the video, put it in the holder and started mowing. I had put the tape too low on the name tag and the weight of the phone caused it to tilt down a little. The two pictures below are clipped from the video…a part where I was mowing the tallest grass and the lawn mower stalled…I turned off the video. I’ll be refining my technique…but it was a fun experiment.

Two beauties at the bird feeder. As I was starting my day, the bird feeder was active with the woodpeckers and two early birds that seem to be around more often right now: Indigo Bunting and American Goldfinch – both males. Until this spring, seeing an Indigo Buntings were a rare treat but they seem to be enjoying our birdfeeder and we see the males more than the females.

Several years ago, I saw one feeding in the meadow at Howard County Conservancy with a flock of gold finches while I was hiking with a 2nd grade school group in the fall. We all stood and watched the birds until they moved too far away. One little girl commented – “I thought they were butterflies…but they’re birds!” It was a magical moment in nature for me … and the group of children (and chaperone) I had with me.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

May 13, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distancing - 5/12/2020

May 13, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Morning light. When I first walked into my office shortly after 6, I stood at the window and noticed the light in the treetops – a part of the view I don’t see from my computer table. Through the veil of the sycamore that is just beginning to leaf out, the trees on the horizon are a wall of green most of the time but the morning light made them look very yellow, highlighting the layers of the forest

Indigo buntings. Just before 10 AM, I looked down from my office window and saw a downy woodpecker on the feeder. I stood up to take a picture of it and noticed a male indigo bunting on the railing! It jumped down to the floor of the deck and I quickly went downstairs to get a better angle to photograph the bird. And then there were two of them (both males). They seemed to be enjoying the seed on the deck but didn’t go up to the feeder. It’s a first time for us seeing this bird in our backyard.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.

And now for the early morning birds of May 7th…

I downloaded the videos from our bird feeder cam for last week and discovered that there was quite a sequence last Thursday morning.

At 6:02 there were 2 male rose-breasted grosbeaks at the feeder.

At 6:21 there was a female downy woodpecker. A few minutes later at 6:22 the woodpecker was still there, and a fox ran through the yard below.

At 6:24 a male red-winged blackbird was singing from the deck railing.

A female red-bellied woodpecker showed up at 6:47.

At 6:52 there were three birds: a male house finch, a male cardinal, and a female cardinal.

At 7:14 a Carolina wren was on the feeder and a squirrel was on the railing.

A male red-bellied woodpecker got a peanut at 7:21.

The birds were fabulous, but the big surprise was the fox. We’d seen a post on our neighborhood Facebook page of a fox with young about a block away in our neighborhood…but this was the first fox I’d seen in our backyard this year.

May 12, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distancing - 5/11/2020

May 12, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Sending in my absentee ballot for the Maryland primary. The primary was moved to June 2nd and is being done by mail for most voters.

Life Magazine in 1962. My youngest sister was born in 1962. Internet Archive has one issue for that year. It had ads for Carnation Instant Milk, Pepsi, Chef Boy-ar-dee, and Kodak film. There was a story about Paris fashion that was not as interesting as I thought it might be. The article with the most pages and caught my interest was called Sights that Never Lose Their Magic and included pictures of Paris, London, Venice, Hong Kong/Avila, Gizeh, Istanbul, Fuji, Angkor, and Taj Mahal. The last one is probably my favorite – moonlit instead of blazing sun. (click on an image to see a larger version).

**Taking out kitchen scraps to the compost pile**. I’d been collecting the snippets in the kitchen and took it out to the compost pile since the container was full – after adding a spent iris flower this morning. I should take it out more frequently since there was mold growing in the bottom. I took some pictures of tiny flowers growing in our yard and some shade loving plants under our deck on the walk back to the front of the house.

Checking the iris stalks that weathered the 2 nights of cold temperatures. They survived. Their location is somewhat protected, and the buds seem to be maturing normally.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts here.