July 28, 2020

Walk at Mt Pleasant – Part 2

July 28, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

2020 07 IMG_0875 (36).jpg — I took the wide path across the meadow toward the rock wall. I wanted to photograph the tree within a tree – a maple that has roots halfway up the trunk. I came to the shady side first. What a difference the sun makes! I think the early morning sun on the other side made for the best picture I’ve ever taken of the tree.

I also took pictures up and down the stone wall from that point…uphill (the way I was heading) and downhill (where I had come from….the path I’d used to cross the meadow being the break in the vegetation on the upper right side of the second picture.

The rock wall is always an opportunity to talk about local geology…and lichens and mosses…and what might live in a rock wall. Of all the places at Mt. Pleasant, the rock wall was where I missed the field trips with children the most.

I got back to the gravel drive and walked toward the Honors Garden. I stopped to photograph the flowerpot people in summer garb and remembered hand made ‘hook’ on the black smith shop.

The witch hazel that was blooming back in December (yellow petals like streamers) now has green immature seed pods. I’d never though to look closely at the small tree in front of the main building this time of year…so it was the first time to photograph the seed pods at this stage.

I got to the Honors Garden. The small pond near the entrance almost always has frogs. This time of year, they are green frogs. They were visible in and near the water. I walked around and then started hearing them – a rubber band chorus of 2 or 3 frogs. I went back for more photos.

There were lots of flowers, of course. I was somewhat disappointed that there were not a lot of butterflies. Maybe it was not quite warm enough for them to be active. The Joe Pye Weed was not quite blooming yet. The light was still great for photography. I liked a backlit fern; the stems contrast dramatically with the fronds.

2020 07 IMG_0875 (51).jpg — And then I spent time trying to photograph an orb weaver spider web! It was a good finale to my morning walk.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Air quality alert. I’m glad I enjoyed some extra time outdoors yesterday because today there is an air quality alert and I will stay indoors. It turns out that the alert is not about ground level Ozone….it’s particulates (PM2.5) based on the Maryland Department of the Environment site. Our alerts come from Maryland now rather than the EPA because of Maryland’s higher standard of air quality – the desire to warn groups that are susceptible to air quality health issues. It seems like during the pandemic, everyone would need this type of information.

July 27, 2020

Walk at Mt Pleasant – Part 1

July 27, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

I got up at my regular time and was out of the house a few minutes before 6; the sun was up but it was still very much the ‘magic hour’ for photography when I got to Howard County Conservancy’s Mt Pleasant Farm. There were only two other cars and I didn’t see any other people around before I headed out on my walk. I hadn’t been there to walk around since back in January….completely missed the spring which I usually get to observe many times as I volunteer for school field trips that come there…but not this spring. I noted a sign about social distancing and no large groups. The picnic tables looked so pristine and lonely. There would be plenty of space of a group of 10ish to eat lunch far enough apart; it would look odd to me since I am used to the school groups that often ate there after a field trip and were almost always more than 100 people.

2020 07 IMG_0875 (2).jpg — On a positive note – the orchard has fruit this year. In 2019 a late frost caused all the blossoms/newly forming fruit to fail. I thought it might have happened this year too but there are fruits on both the pear and apple trees. The pear might not have edible fruit (I think they are usually bigger by this time)

But the apples have a lot of green fruit that will be begin turning red soon.

The door to Montjoy bar seemed to not fit as well as they did at one time…they sag a little. I wondered how long ago they were painted.

The trumpet vine was growing profusely over the arbor near the children’s garden. Insects were enjoying the flowers. I made the mistake of walking under it and a bee flew around my head for some distance beyond. Not sure why I was attractive to the bee.

There were lots of meadow plants in bloom – horse nettle, thistles, Queen Anne’s lace, bindweed, a pleated mushroom. Something to photograph at every turn.

I’m not usually keen on landscape pictures but there was mist coming off the ground and it added dimension to the contours of the land. The sun had been up for about 45 minutes. I could already tell that the mist was burning off as I walked…could feel the high humidity.

The bird houses have been refreshed and painted. The background paint is a light blue and then natural things are painted over the blue. It’s a nice change in the meadow even though I also appreciated the old natural wood houses with occasional patches of lichen and moss. There is a sign on the pole cautioning to stay away because they are tree swallow homes. I wonder if they put the signs on after they knew it was a tree swallow using the house rather than a bluebird.

The meadows looked very lush and growing wild. The place looks more overgrown than most summers…and I think it is more than not mowing as much. There are not as many people around. There are even ripe blackberries in the meadow than haven’t been picked. During previous summers, the campers ate blackberries as soon as they were ripe!

The stream seemed to be running more in the channel closest to the beach area rather than the one we used to think was the deeper one. It was running slowly…the last rainstorm already mostly drained off. It felt a cooler down at the stream in the deep shade.

Most of the milkweed was past blooming with tiny seed pods forming although I did find two flowers– one in the meadow and one in the garden area near the flowerpot people. Both had interesting insects:

Milkweed beetles meeting each other – moving around quite a lot….another insect further down that didn’t move during my picture taking.

There was a bee on the flower in the other garden. I watched it as it went to several small flowers – trying to avoid bee butt pictures!

The rest of my hike report in tomorrow’s post…

July 24, 2020

Scenic Drive 2

July 24, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

I headed out shortly after 9 AM --- late enough that the morning rush hour was over (even though traffic is still lighter than pre-pandemic). I had set my navigation system for Western Regional Park in Howard County, Maryland since the route would take me on some scenic roads I hadn’t traveled before and the park itself was new to me. The first bit of driving was at highway speeds (on MD-29 and 32) but then MD-32 narrowed to a 2-lane road and I turned off to curvy and narrower 2 lane roads toward the park. I had not anticipated as many bicyclists, but the morning was a pleasant temperature and there wasn’t much traffic. I slowed down to make sure I could go way around them and not meet another car coming from the opposite direction.

There were few people at the park when I got there – lone individuals and a mother with a child in a stroller and 2 children beside her – one looking very tired. I parked and got out to take some pictures of the meadow. As I walked toward the meadow, I heard then spotted a catbird in a tree overhead; it was too fast for me to get its picture.

2020 07 IMG_0818 (2).jpg — There was a hillside dominated by milkweed. I wondered if the county had planted it as part of the overall effort in the schools and parks to help Monarch Butterflies. The plants are full of newly forming seed pods. A few weeks ago, the area would have been very fragrant with the flowers. Maybe I’ll return to the park in a few weeks to look for caterpillars.

There were a few other flowers mixed in with the milkweed. I didn’t notice the insect until I got home and looked at my pictures on my computer screen!

And then there was the Queen Anne’s Lace in every stage of seed production along the meadow’s edge.

There was a mockingbird getting a blackberry seconds before I took my picture…aargh!

2020 07 IMG_0818 (13).jpg — I looked down a slope to a swampy area…a froth of purple flowers with an occasional bit of yellow!

I completed a loop back to home by putting the Howard County Conservatory’s Mt Pleasant location as a waypoint in my navigation system…to stay on scenic roads as much as possible.

My drive and short walk took about 1.5 hours and was very enjoyable. I enjoy getting out and finding natural places (that are new to me) near where I live – staying mostly in the car but getting out in places where there aren’t many other people around. I already have my 3rd scenic drive mapped out!

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

**Kohlrabi fries.** I had kohlrabi in the crisper and opted to cook it like oven fries. The seasoning I put on it (no-salt) browned well. This was the first time that I cooked kohlrabi this way; the fries tasted good with catsup, but they were almost too sweet. It occurred to me that maybe I should cook them as dessert fries with cinnamon, ginger and a little sugar.

CSA grounds. I took some pictures of the cutting garden and the flower beds near the barns on the way back to my car from the barn and the cutting gardens. Everything was looking very lush with just enough in bloom to add color.

My bags with the weekly share were heavy this week because they included a melon and cucumbers and squash and onions and beets.

July 16, 2020

30 Years Ago – July 1990

July 16, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

30 years ago, in July 1990, we made our first trip to Watkins Glen State Park in New York. Our daughter was the perfect size to enjoy the Gorge Trail in a back carrier. My husband and I traded off climbing up the stairs. She enjoyed putting her hands in the water falling from overhead ledges and was excited with the larger amount of water when the trail went behind a waterfall.

Staying in a hotel was exciting for her too. She was not walking yet but pulling up frequently. Being in a strange bed for the night made it hard for her to fall asleep…but she still woke up at her regular early time (6 AM).

I was working three days a week and beginning to realize how hectic things were going to be working full time in the fall. I felt pulled in a lot of directions and exhausted on some days. It helped to have the house cleaners come every week rather than every other week and have my husband help clean up after dinner….but I was still somewhat anxious about the transition.

My daughter was easier and harder to feed all at the same time. She liked peanut butter and rice cake ‘sandwiches’ and finger foods….but also was being very clear about the things she didn’t like. We were trying to encourage more solid foods, but she was a baby that liked her formula/milk.

She was getting more coordinated at more than eating. She liked to drop things over the side of her play pen…and then indicate that she wanted them back.

Overlaid on everything was the evidence that my rearranging in May and June to make the house safe for the baby was paying off…even though I was still making tweaks…discovering some areas I hadn’t thought about before. She found the cat door to the basement stairs very quickly; I opted to block the opening since it appeared that she would be able to wiggle through it.

The muffin/cake pans, the skillets and plasticware were perfect height for her inspection. I hadn’t thought about the scattering of items on the kitchen floor….and having to always clean them right before use. I decided to put some baby latches on some of the cabinets but the drawer under the stove was always available for her to open.

I padded the brick hearth with an old area run and some cushions. The cat liked the arrangement as much as the baby did.

I was preparing for my sister’s family to visit in August; her daughter is a week older than mine and they were both coming up on the 1 year mark.

My parents were in the process of buying a new house…a local move in the Dallas area. And they are still living in that house today!

Overall – a month that our family rolled with the changes of developing child and my going back to work…building our resilience to cope with the anticipated challenge of me going to full time work in the fall.

July 04, 2020

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 4, 2020

July 04, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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.

Utah’s arches continue to whisper their secrets - GeoSpace - AGU Blogosphere – A study to measure arches to hone 3-D models from the Geohazards Research Group at Universe of Utah. The 30 second video of the model showing how Moonshine Arch moves is worth viewing.

Will the world be quieter after the pandemic? - BBC Future – I know I appreciate having a quieter environment; it’s an aspect of the pandemic that has been positive. The quiet is one of the things I like about my Prius Prime when it is in EV mode. Maybe some of the new norm will involve choices to maintain, as much as we can, the quiet.

Exposure to air pollution impairs cellular energy metabolism -- ScienceDaily – A study from Finland – exploring how particulates impact the olfactory mucosa (a neural tissue located at the upper part of the nasal cavity…the first line of defense against inhaled agents). As I read the article, I wondered if this is the tissue impacted my COVID-19 in people that lose their sense of smell when infected….and also, does wearing a mask filter enough particles to give the tissue a break from other air pollutants.

Renovations Reveal Rare Maya Murals Hidden in Guatemalan Home | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – From a colonial home in a mountain village.

Bird feeding helps females more than males -- ScienceDaily – The female cardinals are at my bird feeder much more frequently that the males in both winter and summer. This study doesn’t really point to a reason for that. I’ve always thought that other than the males dominance getting food first….the females might need more food at certain times….when they are laying eggs, for example.

London Foxes Show Early Signs of Self-Domestication | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – “Domestication syndrome” – shorter snout and smaller brain.

Painted Vault Revealed at Villa Near Pompeii - Archaeology Magazine – There are new discoveries because they are excavating a part that has not been studied before.

Marine Biologist Braves Cold Water to Photograph Little Known Sea Creatures – Creatures of the ocean….many so delicate they can’t be studied in a lab. Alexander Semenov is a marine biologist and photographer working like a 19th century naturalist, but with 21st century technologies.

Plot Brewing To Blanket US In Solar Panels + Pollinator-Friendly Plants – A beginning…. building hope via steps in the right direction. This article coincided with the MACCEC conference earlier this week. I ended the week more optimistic that the ball is in motion for many ‘drawdown’ actions.

Fish Eggs Can Survive a Journey Through Both Ends of a Duck – The study in this article was done with common carp and Prussian carp…. but what about other invasive species. If most types of fish eggs can survive the duck’s gut - it is bad news for efforts to stop the spread of invasive fish species.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Thinking about the first women in my family that could have voted. Women have had the right to vote in the US since 1920 – we’re celebrating 100 years this year. My sister and I have been talking about our great-grandmothers (and maybe the great-great grandmothers too). It’s interesting to think about what it was like in 1920 in our family; they were all citizens by then…although one side of the family were immigrants or children of immigrants.

We wondered if their relationship to immigration and obtaining citizenship would have made it more likely that they would have voted. One of them was divorced with her children teenagers or older; she was educated in Europe before she immigrated. Did her oldest son go with her to vote? The other great-grandmother might have voted as well; she had 3 daughters in 1920 with the youngest being 8 years old (there would be one more after 1920) and they lived on a farm…but went into town often enough. My grandparents from that side of the family always voted, so there’s a reasonable chance that their mothers did to.

One of the things I learned during the recent conversations, is that the grandparents on the other side of the family hosted the local polling place in their garage in the 1940s! That’s an indication that voting was important to them and that could have been passed down from their parents. One of those great-grandmothers ran a boarding house (around 1920) so she was aware of things going on in town and would have had easier access to the polling place. She insisted that her daughter finish high school a few years later which might indicate that she was attune to the changing role of women more broadly.

I like to think that maybe all 4 of my great-grandmothers voted in 1920…their first opportunity to do so.

June 21, 2020

Pinning the Day

June 21, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Does it matter what day it is? During this time while we are still not leaving home very often – there are fewer things that prompt us to keep track of which day it is. Some are self-imposed:

We do the laundry on Saturday. It is a habit not a requirement at all.
I do the grocery shopping on Thursday. Since I retired, that has been the day most of the time. It’s changed slightly now to every other week rather than weekly.
I call my parents on Tuesdays. My calls used to be ad hoc and sporadic…but I opted to set an item on my calendar to remind me as the pandemic stretched on.

Then there are the calendar items that are externally determined. These are the ones that are so reduced at this time.

The time slot for our CSA share is Wednesday afternoon…every week until the end of October.
The two-day Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Education Conference virtual sessions are 2 days later this month.
The Climate and Sustainability Webinars are every other week through the end of August.

And that is all that is on my calendar! There are the recycle (Wednesday) and trash (Friday) that prompt us to remember the day of the week; they are not on the calendar and, so far, we have remembered them. I guess that is an indicator that we are still syncing with the calendar – pinning the day – even as we have less interactions that demand that we do so.

In general, I think we are more focused on the present…enjoying whatever we are doing now and for the next few hours…savoring our time today rather than thinking about the weeks ahead. There is an appeal I haven’t experienced all that often in my life.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Watched Stonehenge’s Summer Solstice Livestream. English Heritage had a Facebook Live event from Stonehenge. The summer solstice is a big event at the stones each year, but the pandemic has forced its closure…so this was a great opportunity to see the event without traveling! There was thunder and birdsong…and the stones. I clipped a couple of images from the sunset as I watched. Hopefully they’ll make the video available for playback from their Facebook page.

June 20, 2020

Gleanings for Week Ending June 20, 2020

June 20, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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. Note: I am skewing toward the visual with the collection this week. There seemed to be a lot of them as I was looking through my feeds.

Mesmerizing Video Shows Swimming Feather Star - A short video of a beautiful organism…aptly named.

Photographer Reveals the Beauty of Beetles Through Macro Photos – An intersection of science and art…a visual treat.

Woman Sets Up Backyard Bird Feeder Cam to Capture Feathered Friends – A more sophisticated bird cam that the one I have….it’s a kickstarter at this point.

Top 25 birds of the week: June 2020 - Wild Bird Revolution – Celebrating birds (there is another ‘top 25’ this week as well)!

Breathtaking Photos of the Milky Way Shining Above Bioluminescent Water – Awesome night landscapes.

Fisherman Finds Suspected Medieval Statue in Spanish Riverbed | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Maybe with the faces removed? The story behind the statue still TBD.

Top 25 birds of the week: Birds in Flowers! - Wild Bird Revolution – Birds and flowers…probably my favorite group of the ‘top 25.’

Molecules that reduce 'bad' gut bacteria reverse narrowing of arteries in animal study: Promoting a healthy gut microbiome may be a powerful strategy for lowering cholesterol and other heart attack risk factors -- ScienceDaily – Eating differently could help…but eventually we might take ‘medication’ that helps us reduce or eliminate the unhealthy gut bacteria even if we are not as mindful about what we eat.

Study Suggests Human Relatives Were Genetically Compatible - Archaeology Magazine – Using genetic distance values to predict that hybrid offspring of Neanderthal and Denisovan would have been health and fertile…and thus explaining why modern humans have traces of their DNA.

Travelling for pleasure: a brief history of tourism – A little history lesson of travel…..more of a virtual experience right now rather than planning to travel anytime soon.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Still life. The petals are falling off the bouquet that I bought at the grocery store over 2 weeks ago. I like the curves of the petals against the pattern of the scarf I have on the tabletop.

Eggs with garlic scape. One of my favorite ways to have eggs….and only available during the early weeks of the CSA. This ‘first time for the year’ was for lunch with some left-over corn muffins I made a few days ago. Dessert…a few hours later was the last of the strawberries I got at the CSA.

Just being in the outdoors. I ate breakfast and lunch out on the deck. It felt a little cool for breakfast – made worst by the very cold breakfast smoothie - and then warmer and muggy by lunchtime. This month I have been intentionally spending more time outside and broadening what I am doing there…it is not just about lawn work or hiking or nature photography…I am reading and interacting with the cat and writing blog posts (i.e. making the covered part of the deck a ‘room’ of our house). The point of it all is to just be outdoors. The only negative would be if I was allergic to something, but it seems that most of the pollen that bothers me is not around right now. All I am experiencing is the positive.

June 17, 2020

30 years ago – June 1990

June 17, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

1990 06 img917.jpg — Thirty years ago – June was a busy month. I had rejoined the work force part time and my daughter was adjusting to day care very well. The high with her in June 1990 was her enjoyment of a small swimming pool. The first time was a little too cool for her, but she still liked being outdoors and in the water. The next time was warmer and even better.

The low with her was a trip to the hospital early one morning when she had croup. I held her in the vapor tent, and she got better…enough that they didn’t have to medicate her. There were evidently other children with the same problem that night. We were all very hungry for breakfast when we go home.

I picked 7 pounds of strawberries at a farm that is now a housing development. It only lasted a couple more years after 1990.

We had a chipmunk that came up to our deck. My mother-in-law put out seed for it. The baby and the cat were intrigued by the rodent’s antics.

We were on the wait-list for a senior living facility for my mother-in-law…hoping that she would get in before I went back to work full-time and she would be alone in the house too much of the time.

We were primed for a bit of travel in early July….a weekend away for a road trip.

Unique activities for yesterday:

More pictures from Texas. Since I had yard pictures from 2 of my 3 sisters, I asked the other sister for a picture and she sent more than one: sunflower, lantana, hibiscus….and a bunny!

Then she realized that there was more she wanted to share: lavender hibiscus, blue salvia, dusty miller, and red yucca.

Her yard probably has less grass as the years go by! She has quite a riot of color.

June 16, 2020

Grapevine Wreath

June 16, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

When I was working in the front flower bed, I found a wild grapevine growing up through one of the bushes. It’s native but not growing in a place I could let it continue. I pulled it out but instead of carrying it back to the brush pile with the blackberry vines and grass and weeds….I kept it…thinking I would make a small wreath. I’d learned how in some class I had taken over 30 years ago; simply coil the vine and then twist until it holds the coil.

20200614_IMG_0208 (1).jpg — I got busy with other things and didn’t remember my plan until the next day. It occurred to me that it would be its most flexible before it dried. When I examined it more closely, I realized that it had some small branches of the bush I had pulled it from; its tendrils were stronger than the twigs’ attachment to the bush. I untangled the twigs and then began the wreath making. I opted to make the wreath with the leaves intact – knowing they would dry up and be easily crumbled off before I would add a red bow or a sprig of holly next December. Of course – I might decide to put a red, white, and blue bow on it for the 4th of July.

Unique activities for yesterday:

20200615x085442 clip.jpg — **Pretty fly**. It seems like every time I take a quick look at the front flower bed there are different bugs to photograph. This one was on the milkweed. I only got one picture before it flew away. The black lattice of the wings and the red of the eyes are quite striking. I used my usual technique: taking the picture with my cell phone as close as I could focus then clipping the part of the image I wanted to show with more magnification.

Fallen day lily. Sometimes the color deepens as the flower ages. The day lilies I brought inside are on the second round of flowers. The flowers start out a robust yellow and then are almost orange when they are ‘spent.’ This dried one is from the first round. It detached itself as the second round started.

Cardinal nestlings. My sister sent me a picture from her house in Texas. The nest is in a boxwood by her front door! Now that we are all at home more, we have time to savor these natural events.

Magnolia blooming. I love to photograph the big white magnolia flowers, but we don’t have a tree in our yard. My sister in Texas has one…and took a picture!

tresa_104202821_10223724792246921_9098036963062871152_n.jpg

June 13, 2020

Gleanings for Week Ending 6/13/2020

June 13, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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.

Why some older adults remember better than others -- ScienceDaily – The article seems to be more about the technology that enables these studies….hints at findings that may eventually be actionable.

The World’s Forests Are Getting Younger and Shorter, Research Finds - Yale E360 – This article is a little confusing. It says that ‘climate change is altering the age and structure of the world’s forests’….but it’s more than climate change. It’s also land use decisions (like logging , conversion to agriculture, introduction of invasive species) that have changed the forests. I was disappointed in the article although the last sentence seems obvious: “We as a human society are hitting these forests so rapidly with so many different changes that they can’t keep up.” Now the big question is – what are we going to do about it?

Remains of 60 Mammoths Discovered in Mexico | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – North of Mexico City.

Photographer Captures ISS Transiting the Sun in First Solar Photo Shoot – A challenge…requiring lots of planning, practice….and then success!

Top 25 birds of the week: LBBs - Wild Bird Revolution – Little brown birds…. they are everywhere.

Ancient Roman Mosaic Floor Unearthed Beneath Italian Vineyard | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Finally returning to a site first discovered in 1922 and making this find within a week of starting excavations. The mosaic floor is well preserved a few meters below the vineyards surface and is thought to date from the 3rd century AD.

The Infant Gut Microbiome and Probiotics that Work | The Scientist Magazine® - Evidently the infant microbiome has changed in the past 100 years…even among breastfed babies. And maybe that explains some of the immunologic problems in young children. There are indications that the probiotic helps babies nutritionally and immunologically.

Two bacteria allow spittlebugs to thrive on low-nutrient meals -- ScienceDaily – One of the bacteria uses aerobic glycolysis to process glucose to synthesize 7 essential amino acids plus 2 biproducts that the other bacteria uses to create ATP to produce 3 additional essential amino acids. It’s a similar two cell type process used by cancer cells.

An Encounter with Mating Gopher Snakes – Springtime out in nature…. this article from Idaho.

The gilded mummy of Lady Isaious | Egypt at the Manchester Museum – A Graeco-Roman Period mummy from the 1st century CE.

Unique activities for yesterday:

45u 20 06.jpg — **A large Zentangle tile**. I printed a page (on card stock) from The genera of the plants of the United States illustrated by figures and analyses from nature by Asa Gray and Isaac Sprague published in 1848 available from Internet Archive.

2020 06 img910.jpg — Then I used the lotus as the ‘string’ for an 8.5x11 Zentangle tile. Like most strings….it mostly vanished. It took me about three days working for short periods of time to finish. Next time I’ll use more colors so that the botanical print ‘string’ remains more visible.

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 12, 2020

A Year Ago

June 12, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

What a difference a year makes….

2019 06 IMG_4638.jpg — Last June I made the road trip from MD/PA to MO twice (beginning and end of month) to help my daughter move to Springfield MO. On the first trip we were in one car and I was in the passenger seat when we drove into St. Louis…was able to take a picture.

2019 05 IMG_4525.jpg — The only sightseeing we did that trip was to the Springfield Art Museum when the key to the house my daughter had rented would not open the door and we had to a few hours waiting for the landlord.

The highlight of the drive leaving Springfield on that first trip was a luna moth at our first rest stop.

On the trip toward the end of the month, we took a break before the movers arrived to visit the Springfield Botanical Gardens….saw zebra swallowtails in their butterfly house and a clever Monarch butterfly life cycle playground.

This June I am not traveling at all because of the pandemic. I am also not volunteering. Last June – between the two road trips – I was volunteering with two organizations: Howard County Conservancy field trips (there was a particularly memorable session with preschoolers learning about trees) and Brookside Gardens in their Wings of Fancy exhibit.

I miss the traveling and volunteering but have so many things I enjoy doing at my house that I am not feeling the pinch as much as I thought I would by this point. I credit the forest view from my house and the pleasant company of my husband and cat too.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Browsing National Geographic magazines. I’m slowly working my way through the digitized versions on Internet Archive (issues from 2009 – 2013). They always have wonderful pictures. So far – I’ve been limiting myself to 1 or 2 per day…giving myself time to savor the stories in each one.

Cat on the deck. Our cat is an early riser but not as early as me. He can be loud if he wakes up and no one is about so I listen for meows when I am out on the deck in the early morning….and encourage him to come out with me rather than waking up my husband. The cat usually settles down for a nap even if the birds are active around the deck. He wakes up and does some grooming when I start moving around…ready to go inside. I took a picture of him as he finished. He doesn’t look like he was ready to move but he got up immediately when I headed for the door.

The cat is 19 years old and has a cauliflower ear and is missing part of his jaw….still able to go up and down the stairs in our house although he chooses to not do it as frequently as he did years ago.

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 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 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_9442 (3).jpg — **American Goldfinches**. The males are in their summer plumage. It’s always a day brightener to see them.

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 20, 2020

30 Years Ago, Tea, and Pokeroot Zentangle

May 20, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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

A Zentangle Prompt

Use the POKEROOT pattern to make the boarder around the frame. Aura the POKEROOT berries like CRESCENT MOON.

Here are some tiles I made yesterday based on the 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 different color) spaces that touch at points. Optional: experiment with this pattern using multiple colors.

This is my go-to tangle for when I want to just fill in spaces…play with color. Every string is different. Sometimes I make a very dense string and then combine some spaces as I fill in. Sometimes I fill some spaces and make a simple shape (like a spiral) in others.

Unique activities for yesterday:

Enjoying teas I got for Mother’s Day. My daughter got me 3 kinds of teas from Elijah’s Raw Herb Supply. The company participates in the Farmers Market in Springfield where she discovered them but she’s been ordering their teas via their online shop during the pandemic. I have now made a pot of each and I like all three of them…but do have an order of preference: mint-chocolate chip, yerba mate chai, and immuni-tea. All three have stevia leaf so are a little sweet – pleasant, not overwhelming, no aftertaste. I make a pot at a time with a teaspoon of the loose tea in the carafe of my coffee maker (that only is used for making tea). They are all good hot or cold. It will take me a bit to use up these teas but I already have identified another one I want to try: Organic Lemonaid – herbal.

Hearing a phoebe several times…but not seeing bird. Frustrated…

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

30 year ago – May 1990

30 years ago this month, I started back to work after taking 6 months off with my baby. It was a big change for the whole family. I was getting up at 5:30 AM and leaving the house by 6:45. My daughter was getting up at 6:30 – hungry – getting a bottle to enjoy until her Dad came to get her ready to go off to day care. I picked her up by about 4 in the afternoon. It was only 3 days a week to begin with but with the plan that I would go back to full-time in September.

My part-time work was different from the technical work I had done before…a rotation into the marketing side of the business. We did some proactive changes for the household like putting up baby gates and arranging for a cleaning crew. Little did I know that the cleaning crew would be the same for many years…until I retired more than 20 years later. The same family day care lasted until my daughter started Montessori school. The choices in May 1990 were good ones.

The baby took the changes in stride…enjoying the novelty of spending time with other children and new/different toys. She was beginning to vocalize. Cheerios were her favorite finger food.

There was still time for family outings: picking strawberries and walking around the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden (with the baby asleep in the backpack toward the end).

My mother sent me a poem from a 1958 Good Housekeeping magazine that she had clipped just before I had started off to kindergarten – “For a child leaving” by Marjorie Lederer Lee for my first Mother’s Day and as my daughter went off to day care. I couldn’t find a version of the poem online, but it was in a book published in 1973 (What have you done all day? By Marjorie Lee)… so still under copyright.

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 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.

And now for some goldfinch observations….

2020 05 IMG_9442 (4).jpg — House finches are frequent visitors to our feeder…goldfinches not as often. But they have been showing up a little more frequently and the house finches seem to accept them as non-competitors at the feeder.

The males have their summer plumage at this point, so they are easy to spot.

May 04, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distancing - 5/3/2020 - Dogwoods

May 04, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Browsing Life magazine (on Internet Archive) from around the time I was born (mid-1950s). There were articles about Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and exploration of the artic. I was surprised at the number of ads for cigarettes and alcohol. The two images I picked to show as samples were both ads: IBM Electric Typewriters (not yet the Selectric models that had the golf ball-like type element which the company made up until shortly after I joined the company in the 1980s) and a passenger train through the Southwest.

Photographing tiny leaves on our red oak with the digiscope (smartphone attached to spotting scope). The branches of the tree are too high to get close enough to do macro photography (I’m not confident enough to use a ladder that high). We put the spotting scope on the front porch, and it was able to focus on the top branches of the tree. We waited until the sun was in the west to provide good light on the leaves…make it possible to ‘freeze’ the motion caused by the breeze.

**A picture of a cat visitor in Missouri**. There is a cat that comes to visit at my daughter’s house periodically (started about the same time the pandemic did). It meows loudly at the door to be let in, visits, then goes home. I was talking to her when it appeared on Saturday evening about dusk. She sent us a picture of the cat that appears to be very much ‘at home’ in their house. It probably belongs to a neighbor although she isn’t sure which one.

Experimenting with Procreate App features. When I make Zentangle tiles on the iPad with the Apple Pencil, I use the Procreate App in its simplest form…changing colors occasionally or changing the intensity of the lines. I experimented with the ‘liquify’ feature on some old tiles. The original is on the left and the right is the one I augmented with a few swipes.

And then I did another with a partial ‘recolor’…quite a change from the original! It was fun to experiment although I think I enjoy the creation of Zentangle tiles in digital form that relies on my own drawing rather that the razzle-dazzle features.

2020 05 IMG_9435.jpg — **Receiving a new computer for my husband.** Fed Ex delivered it on a Sunday! We were not expecting it until Monday and my husband was still doing backups of his old machine when it arrived.

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

And now for the neighborhood dogwoods…

I photographed white and pink dogwoods in our neighborhood during last week’s walk. They were all in front yards and I was able to photograph them standing in the street. The white ones seemed to be a little bruised…might have been out longer than the pink ones. But both were still beautiful. I like the dogwood flowers because they are a springtime feature of our area, the way the trees move in the breeze with their delicate leafy branches in the summer and then the red of the leaves/seed clusters in the fall. I probably like the white ones that are native to North America the best.

April 28, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/27/2020 – Free e-Books

April 28, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Enjoying the 1st view of the morning. When I first went into my office yesterday, it still seemed almost dark because it was so cloudy; it was about time for sunrise. I could see 3 deer in the backyard headed into the forest (they were moving slowly looking at the stump and piled branches from the tree cut down yesterday) and hear a lot of birds in the trees. By the time I got my camera out, the deer were gone but the path between the trees that they consistently take is visible in the picture. It is too dark to tell – but I know the trees (left to right): pine, black walnut, tulip poplar, red maple.

**Taking plastic bags back to the grocery store.** The last time I was in my car was March 20th! Having everything delivered since then resulted in a lot of plastic bags and I had been putting them in the back seat of my car rather than keeping them in the house after they were empty. Yesterday was the day to return them to the bin in the grocery store parking lot. I went early and was able to park relatively close to the bin. I put on my mask then made three trips between my car and the bin. All the early shoppers going into the store (probably 3-4 people over the time I was there) were wearing masks….a good sign that people are taking precautions when they are shopping. I used my hand sanitizer before I drove home….and washed my hands at the kitchen sink once I arrived. Being in my car…making a short errand…felt quite different than my recent ‘norm.’

Bathing robin. Most birds come to our bird bath for a drink….but one robin took a thorough bath then flew off to the sycamore to preen the feathers dry.

Flying samara from the red maple. After lunch, the wind picked up and the samaras were ready to leave the tree…in little flurries with each gust. They landed on the roof of our covered deck and the gutter….as well as planting themselves in all the yards around the tree.

Catching up on Charles Cockell’s Life in the Universe Pandemic Series:

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

I usually pick 3 eBooks to feature in a monthly blog post…but I had too many good ones this month, so I am including 4 for April 2020.

Olcott, Frances Jenkins (editor); Cramer, Rie; Grimm. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company. 1927. Available on Internet Archive here. I was looking for books illustrated by Rie Cramer….and this was one that I found – enjoyed.

63f 20 04.jpg — Vermont Department of Tourism. ***Vermont Life. Volume 72, Issue 3.*** 2018. Available from Internet Archive here. The next to the last issue….and it includes a picture of a rose-breasted grosbeak (on page 5)! I enjoyed browsing through this magazine which started in 1946 over the past months…sorry it is no longer published.

76z7 20 04.jpg — Chun, Carl. ***The Cephalopoda (Atlas)***. Translated from the German. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House.1975. Available from Internet Archive here. The book was originally published in 1910 after a German deep-sea expedition in 1898/99 to the sub-Antarctic. Chun discovered and named the vampire squid.

88a 20 04.jpg — Ward, Mary. ***Microscope Teaching***. 1866. Available from Internet Archive here. A woman scientist from the mid-1800s. She did her own illustrations for the books that she wrote. I which more of her books were available online.

According to her Wikipedia entry:

Aside from being known for her scientific work (naturalist, astronomy, microscopy…a writer and artist too), she also had 8 children before being the 1st person known to be killed by a motor vehicle.
Her great-granddaughter is the Doctor Who actress Lalla Ward.

April 25, 2020

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/24/2020 - Gleanings

April 25, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Finishing Fashion as Design Coursera course. The theme for the last module was Expression. It was a good way to end the course. I have enjoyed both courses I’ve done from MoMA and will probably start a third one – What is Contemporary Art – early next week.

Hearing a piano practice. My husband opted to start up piano practice…not sure why he hadn’t thought to play it weeks ago. What’s not to like about a grand piano? It was tuned last winter just before the coronavirus pandemic, so it is in excellent condition. His playing didn’t last for long, because the cat demanded attention…and has decided that the best place to sleep is under the piano.

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

And then there are the gleanings for 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.

How Rain Evolved Its Distinct Scent—and Why Animals and Humans Love It | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – The chemical that is the scent of newly moistened soil, geosmin, has been known to scientists since the 1960s….but now we are figuring out its purpose. It is made by 120 of 122 species of bacteria in the genus Streptomyces that have been studied. The scent attracts springtails (tiny arthropods) that eat the bacteria and spread the bacteria’s spores via their excrement or the spores that attach to their body and then fall off. Many other insects, fungi and nematodes are killed by chemicals produced by the bacteria. So – the scent after rain is connected to the lifecycle of bacteria that are one of the most important sources of antibiotics known to science!

Top 25 birds of the week: Terrestrial Birds - Wild Bird Revolution – Enjoying images of birds from around the world.

Long-living tropical trees play outsized role in carbon storage -- ScienceDaily – They used ‘hindcasting’ to validate their model: seeded the model with forest composition data collected at their site in Panama during the 1980s and then ran the model forward to see that it adequately represents the changes that occurred from then until now. Once that was done…they can use the model to predict what will happen to the forest with climate change. Will the forest continue absorbing some of the excess carbon – or not?

Flamingos in Captivity Pick Favorite Friends Among the Flock | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – 2-4 birds…not limited to mated pairs. Some were together for the whole 5 years of the study! The study found no loners but some bounded between groups.

What do soap bubbles and butterflies have in common? Butterfly breeding gives insight into evolution of iridescence -- ScienceDaily – A 75% increase thickness in the chitin lamina of wing scales turned iridescent gold to shiny blue….the same way a soap bubble iridescence works! And now there is a whole new genetic approach to investigate structural color in butterflies – and may lead to new ways to produce photonic nanostructures for solar panels, paints, clothing, and cosmetics.

How to mine precious metals in your home - BBC Future – Theoretically - the “urban mine” is far richer in high value materials per ton than traditional metal ore mines….but we don’t quite have the way to collect the ‘ore’ or effectively extract the metals.

Springfield Plateau: Cowbird Eggs – Cowbirds….I’m trying not to be too judgmental. (I’ve included a picture of cowbirds at our bird feeder below. The female is a more frequent visitor than the male.)

Colorful Image Lights Up Microscopic Guts of 'Water Bear' | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Enhancing our view of a tardigrade with fluorescent stain….and done close to where I live at University of Maryland Baltimore County!

Take a Free Virtual Tour of Five Egyptian Heritage Sites | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – These are best viewed on your largest monitor!

Common protein in skin can 'turn on' allergic itch -- ScienceDaily – Turning off the production of the protein periostin in the skin can reduce the itch from atopic dermatitis (in mice). More research needed to see if it works for humans too.