Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March 2023 – Egrets +

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The pelicans were the stars of my two visits to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March, but there were plenty of other things to see. The egrets came in a close second to the pelicans. The Snowy Egrets were in breeding plumage.

A cattle egret was as well.

The redbud near the visitor center was blooming and the tree was situated where I could walk up to get some macro images. The flowers are reminded me of orchids!

The trunk of the tree had yellow-orange lichen…always worth a close look.

On my first visit there were a few Snow Geese (one was smaller…probably a Ross’s). They were gone before my second visit.

The Yellowlegs was still around.

I saw two herons: a Great Blue

And a Little Blue. The Great Blue Herons are year-round residents. The Little Blue Herons are only around during the breeding season.

At the turn around point during my second visit, I noticed some vultures in a tree. The ones near the top were Turkey Vultures and there was a lone Black Vulture further down the tree!

I needed to get to Sherman by noon but still made a quick stop to photograph a Red-Winged Blackbird. I had been hearing them loud and clear but this one seemed to be posing just for me.

My visits to Hagerman are always a little rushed…I drive portions of the wildlife tour and stop for photography – using my car as a blind. Even so…it seems like the 1.5 hours I allot myself passes very quickly!

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 8, 2023

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

Avi Kwa Ame, Sacred Land in Nevada, to Be Preserved as a National Monument – Good! Another place to see when we make a trip in the west.

Volvo Delivers Its 1st Electric Heavy-Duty Truck in Africa – The truck is being used for collecting waste in Rabat, Morocco. Morocco is also home to the world’s biggest concentrated solar power facility.

A 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a father of 3. It's a big 'dill' – Radiated tortoise native to Madagascar and critically endangered…at the Houston Zoo.

One of Europe’s last free-flowing rivers declared a National Park – Albania’s Vjosa River. Europe is also removing dams along other river just as we are in the US…but rivers that have been controlled by barriers will never be the way they were before the dam.

Clinics on wheels bring doctors and dentists to health care deserts – It’s a step forward and might work well for preventative or chronic care…but what happens in cases where the need is more urgent…like broken bones, having a baby, the aftermath of a car accident?

Technology over the long run: zoom out to see how dramatically the world can change within a lifetime – A graphic from ‘Our World in Data’ – worth the look. See the big developments they selected occuring during your lifetime….and when technologies we take for granted came along.

Take a Virtual Tour of the ‘Doomsday’ Seed Vault – Its doors are only opened a few times each year for new seed entries. The seeds come from countries from all over the world and are kept at -18 degrees Celsius. The most recent withdrawal was to re-establish a seedbank that had been destroyed in Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War.

Urban Trees Could Cut Summer Heat Deaths by a Third – Increasing tree cover to 30% could reduce premature deaths from urban heat islands by 40%. Sounds like a good idea of heath…and makes the cities more appealing too. Other actions can help too: green roofs/walls, light colored roofs/walls/landscape pavers, and replacing impervious surfaces with plants and soils.

Fresh produce contaminated with toxic BPA-like chemicals found in food labels – A Canadian study found that the chemicals migrate from labels in packaging materials into the food!

Common sweetener suppresses mouse immune system — in high doses – An artificial sweetener (sucralose) that might become a drug to reduce or replace immunosuppressive drugs that often have a lot of unpleasant side effects (if humans react to it the same as mice).

eBotanical Prints – March 2023

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Twenty more books were added to the botanical print collection this month and most are about orchids: 19 volumes of the Australian Orchid Review from 2012 to 2015. I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography and drawings. I’ll continue browsing more volumes in April! The very first volume on the list is the only one not from Internet Archive; it is a recently published book - Pollinator-Friendly Parks - that I am using as a reference as I reduce the ‘turf’ in my yard. It is available free from the Xerces Society.

The whole list of 2,592 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the March 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the March 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Pollinator-Friendly Parks * Frischie, Stephanie; Code, Aimee; Shepherd, Matt; Black, Scott; Hoyle, Sarah; Selvaggio, Sharon; Laws, Angela; Dunham, Rachel; Vaughan, Mace * sample image * 2021

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2015 - 2016 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2016

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2014 - 2015 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2015

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2013 - 2014 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2014

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Josey Ranch – March 2023

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I went to Josey Ranch (Carrollton, TX) in the early morning. The male grackles were posturing. The females seemed to be mostly ignoring them.

There were two Great Egrets in breeding plumage staying together as they looked for breakfast.

There seemed to be more cormorants than usual. They are probably moving northward since their breeding grounds are in the norther part of the US and into Canada.

There were a few scaups and ruddy ducks left. They too are moving northward. I don’t expect to see them in April.

I walked to the garden area between the water and the two buildings. The trees are beginning to leaf out and roses are blooming. The area was impacted by the harsher (hotter and drier) summer and it will be interesting to observe how many of the plants will regain their vigor in the upcoming months.

March is a transition month. It will be interesting to see if more of the summer birds show up when I visit in April. I always check the pond (or is it a lake?); it’s an short, easy outing and their always seems to be something new to observe.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in March 2023 – Pelicans

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The American White Pelicans migrate through Hagerman and the birds were there during my two visits in late March. The first day was sunny and breezy. Breeding adults have a plate that protrudes from the upper bill; all the birds I photographed were adults…heading to breeding grounds further north.

The birds were mostly in the water although a group were standing on a snag in the water…along with a Double-crested Cormorant (note the size difference).

I did a short video of a group feeding together. They manage to synchronize their movement…herding fish toward the shallows! It’s a pelican ballet.

The second visit was cloudy and colder…and there were not as many pelicans. The wind made the feathers stand up on the top of ther heads.

Spring Bulbs

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Before I went off to Carrollton, TX the last week of March, the bulbs I planted last fall were beginning to bloom in our Nixa, MO yard. We had some very cold nights and the flowers seemed to take a very long time to open. There were only two crocus; one looked battered and the other looked like it had been eaten! Some leaves of another bulb were eaten as well (maybe it was a hyacinth). The hyacinths were a bit deformed too.

A little over a week later when I returned home – everything was blooming profusely outside the window of my office. The daffodils are probably the bulbs that are doing the best and will come back year after year. The squirrels have left them alone too. My plan it to hold off mowing the area for a few weeks – giving the bulbs time replenish and grow….be good to bloom next year.

The days are getting longer. The sunrise is at its best around 6:30 AM when I am in my office to enjoy it so I am OK with daylight savings time again!

Hot Pepper Suet

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Most of the winter the squirrels quickly ate the suet we put out…with the birds getting a minor share. Now – the birds are getting virtually all the hot pepper suet! The spiciness does not bother them. My favorites are the blue jays which would sometimes visit our patio area but were never there for long. Now they come to the suet several times before moving on.

And the squirrels don’t like the hot pepper spiciness at all. I have seen a squirrel at the suet feeder, but they leave within seconds! Maybe this is the only kind of suet we’ll buy in the future!

Zentangle® – March 2023

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31 days in March and 31 Zentangle tiles. The habit of making a tile (or several) every day is entrenched at this point. Seeing patterns in my environment or in the books I am reading…using them as prompts…often surprising myself (in a good way) at what emerges on the tiles.   It feels good while I am creating each tile and then looking back at the month’s production. This month there were a few tiles that carried over from the ‘5 circles’ pattern from February…but ‘7 circles’ or ‘9 circles.’

I continued to prefer the rectangular tiles….and enjoyed a variety of patterns and colors (some new pens). I tended to use the paradox pattern in quite a few places. I spent the two hours it took to get my car serviced making Zentangle tiles…got so involved that I didn’t read the book I had on my phone at all!

There was only one square tile the whole month and I liked one side of it enough to select it as the 31st tile!

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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.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 1, 2023

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

Climate change threatens spring wildflowers by speeding up the time when trees leaf out above them – Evidently the trees and wildflowers in eastern North America are the ones getting the most out of sync.

The mystery of Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) – AIWS (or Todd’s syndrome) affects the way people perceive the world around them and can distort the way they experience their own bodies and the space it occupies. There are 40 types of visual distortions that characteristic of the syndrome. It was formally described as a distinct syndrome in 1955. Up to 30% of adolescents reported mild or transient experiences. Cough medicines and illicit hallucinogenic substances are also known to trigger it.  Sometimes medical conditions like strokes or brain tumors can cause the syndrome as can infections.

Chinook salmon fishing season canceled off coasts of Oregon, California – Dwindling numbers of Chinook salmon in the states’ largest rivers following years of drought.

In Florida, an invasive snail is helping save an endangered bird – We heard about this during a birding trip to central Florida pre-pandemic. It probably is one of the few examples when an invasive species has produced a positive outcome.

Garbage to Guts: The Slow-Churn of Plastic Waste – Lots of microplastics in the world…and they are in our food chain. Ongoing exposure decreases beneficial gut bacteria and increases pathogenic species. A lot more research needs to be done since, right now, we don’t know very much about impacts of microplastics – not just to the overall environment but to our own bodies.

 With Heat from Heat Pumps, US Energy Requirements Could Plummet By 60% - Thinking about heat….and the ‘rejected energy’ (mostly heat) in our current energy consumption. The idea is to use heat pumps to dramatically reduce ‘rejected energy’ in future energy consumption.

Entire populations of Antarctic seabirds fail to breed due to extreme, climate-change-related snowstorms – Evidently the December 2021 - January 2022 breeding season for south polar skua, Antarctic petrel, and snow petrel was so disrupted that there were almost no young produced.

Why don’t humans have fur – Interesting…but we really don’t know. The genetic research associated with the question could have practical application for people that need to stimulate hair growth (like after chemotherapy or balding).

2021 Was A Very Good Year for Nesting Wading Birds In The Everglades – Hurray! Some good happening in the Everglades. There are so many stories about the impact of invasive species (like Burmese pythons) that this is welcome news.

Meet the sargassum belt, a 5,000-mile-long snake of seaweed circling Florida - In the open sea, sargassum can soak up carbon dioxide and serve as a critical habitat for fish, crabs, shrimp, turtles, and birds…all positive. But when sargassum gets close to shore it can smother coral reefs, alter the water’s pH…and then onshore it begins to rot within 24 hours releasing irritants like hydrogen sulfide which smells like rotten eggs or manure and can cause respiratory problems. And it often contains significant amounts of arsenic so not a great addition to a compost pile. The mass of sargassum has been increasing since 2011 --- probably in response to elevated nutrients (runoff from fertilizer, burning biomass, increasing wastewater from cities, etc.) we have released into the ocean. Sargassum has come ashore in Yucatan and Key West recently.

Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru

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Max Uhle’s The Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru is included in the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences from February 1914. The same volume includes plates with Edward K. Putnam’s The Davenport Collection of Nazca and other Peruvian Pottery; I selected two of the Nazca plates as sample images. Nazca is most famous for the lines in the plain northwest of the city of Nazca in southern Peru; seeing the pottery adds another perspective on the culture that created the drawings etched into the Earth’s surface.

Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru

 Max Uhle was a German archaeologist who worked in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia in the early decades of the 20th century. Over the course of a very long career, he did field work and initiated archeological museums in South America. Most of the funding for field work came from the United States. Based on a biography by John Howland Rowe published in 1954, he spent most of his professional life in South America only returning to Germany in 1942 when Peru expelled Germans. He died in 1944.

Ten Little Celebrations – March 2023

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March has been a bit different than I expected…a lot more very cold starts to the days which have made it harder for the spring bulbs I planted last fall. Still – there was plenty to celebrate.

Clean car. The dust (and maybe salt) is rinsed off the car. I celebrated the days of driving a clean car…until I drove around the gravel road that is the wildlife loop at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge! The door and hatch seals keep the dust from getting into the car but the spaces before the seals are covered and the car wash does not reach it!

Banana bread (that included the peels). I will never make banana bread without the peels again. Yes – organic bananas are a bit more expensive…but the bread is so good….well worth it.

Plans for our back yard. So many ideas…and enough time to make them happen! The evidence of the work I did last fall (planting bulbs) is giving me confidence that I can do more. Maybe I’ll even become a gardener.

Frosty forsythia. The cold mornings were problematic for some of early blooming flowers, bushes, and trees. I celebrated that I captured the beauty of frost on the forsythia flowers.

Pumpkin soup. I was surprised that I had more than 4 cans of pumpkin in my pantry….not sure how it happened. I opted to make soup with one of them. Tastey…colorful…a celebration with winter fare on a cold March day.

Staying standard time for sleep. I like for the sun to be coming up when I go down to my office and didn’t like the beginning of daylight savings time because it was suddenly dark again at that time….so this year I opted to not change my sleep schedule from standard time. I celebrate the light every morning with my first cup of tea.

Walking around the neighborhood ponds 2 days in a row. It seems like the month has had a lot of cold or wet days, so I celebrated when there were 2 warmer sunny days to make pleasant walks around our neighborhood ponds.

Two mockingbirds. This time of year, I look for pairs of birds around where I live. This year, I celebrated two mockingbirds close to my house. I hope they nest somewhere nearby. Last year we had a blue jay nest in one of our front yard red maples and barn swallows nested under our deck. There must be nests of mourning doves and finches nesting nearby too because we have so many of them.

New low weight for the year. Celebrating another month of taking off some weight. This needs to continue for as long as it takes to reach my goal (and then some to sustain it)!

Birdsong in the morning. The birds chorus in the morning and I celebrate the start of the day with them. I try to identify the birds I am hearing…a lot of robins usually but others join too.

Zooming – March 2023

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The optical (and then digital) zoom on my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) is used on almost every picture:

  • To do composition in the field rather than cropping later

  • To get close without physically being close

  • To see better than I can with my eyes (using the camera like binoculars)

My favorite image this month is the backlit dandelion puff. Enjoy the March zoomed images!

Bradford Pear

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The Callery (Bradford) Pear trees near the entrance of our neighborhood are blooming. It was cold and windy when I went out to photograph the flowers. Supposedly the trees have value as early season food for pollinators – but I didn’t see any – probably because it was so cold.

Their trunks are heavy with lichen…which I like to photograph….magnified with my phone. On the day I was out, lichen was one of the few macro opportunities since everything else was moving too much with the wind. The textures (crevices of the bark, delicate lobes or nets of lichen, ovoid shapes on the top of the larger lichens) and colors (brown and black of the bark; orange and greenish gray lichen) are nature’s abstracts.

My house was built near the end of the 90s so the Callery Pear trees in the community space at the entrance might be nearing the end of their lifespan which is typically less than 25 years if they were planted about the same time as my house was built. The trees appear to have been radically trimmed not that many years ago and that might have prolonged their life since the trees tend to be damaged by wind (big branches or trunks breaking). Hopefully another species of tree will replace them since most conservation agencies view the trees as invasive and not as appealing as they were decades ago. I know I have a Callery Pear hybrid that came up very close to a crepe myrtle. I cut it down as soon as I discovered it…and punctured myself as I was hauling it out before I realized that it had thorns! I am still cutting all the leaves that sprout from the stump since I don’t think I can dig deep enough to get it out without also digging up the crepe myrtle.

But – they do have pretty blooms in the spring.

Thinking about Bridges

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As I look at old books (on Internet Archive), the images of bridges always catch my attention. Why is that?

Perhaps I see them as a historical connection leading to social media of today….driven by our desire to communicate faster and to more people. Constructing bridges still helps us get from one place to another (usually over water); we do not think of the communication aspect of bridges so much anymore because there are so many other ways we can communicate; however, if there is a bridge destroyed by war or shut down by structural failure/renovation, we again become aware of how critical bridges are in our lives. Historically, as more durable bridges than a log across a stream were constructed…and longer bridges that could span a bay or connect islands to a continent…they must have resulted in cultural shifts locally. Were they as profound as the ones we experience now with social media? If so, the scale was smaller. Maybe there were some that realized the faster and broader communication is not always better…..that communication can foster division as well as consensus.

Or maybe they are symbols of our need to modify the world to meet our needs. We don’t always think through the impact of a bridge…the enabler it is to further development. For example, consider a bridge to a barrier island; that implies a road on the barrier island and then maybe beach houses or high-rise hotels with associated water and sewer infrastructure…dune and beach erosion, problems for structures when the island naturally wants to erode and rebuild.

Bridges are functional forms of art. They reflect the structural prowess of architects/engineers and the aesthetics of the culture and location where they are built.

Enjoy these pictures of bridges from some books I’ve browsed recently!

Siren, Osvlad. Histoire des arts anciens de la China vol.4 L'Architecture, 1930.

Carpenter, Frank George. Japan and Korea, 1926.

Maxwell, Donald. Unknown Essex, 1925.

Hale, Louise Closser; Hale, Walter. We discover the Old Dominion, 1916.

Phillipotts, Eden. My Devon Year, 1904.

Peixotto, Ernest. The American Front, 1919.

Ryan, Lorna M. When I was a girl in Australia, 1932.

Plant of the month - Daffodils

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At the beginning of March – the daffodils were already blooming in Carrollton, Texas.

I was full of anticipation for daffodils at my home in Nixa, Missouri since I had planted bulbs last fall…it took another 3 week for my daffodils to open! There was a lot of cold weather all during those weeks. I did photographs over almost a week of a bud outside my office window (there is a screen on the window which make the photos ‘soft’ focus…but I find it appealing). I was worried that the flower was going to open overnight…but it was so cold that at one point (temperature in the teens) the stem bent and the bud was in the grass. Fortunately, the stem recovered and the bud opened.

I walk around on the house on a day that it was a little warmer (temperature in the 40s) and was pleasantly surprised by some daffodils in a bed that isn’t visible from any of our windows. The bulbs were planted by the previous owner. They were on the west side of the house and must have been warmed by the sun shining on the brick wall during the cold days. They were all past prime….fading frills.

And now I am hoping the other spring blooming bulbs are going to bloom too…following the daffodils.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 25, 2023

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

Arctic river channels changing due to climate change – The prediction was that Arctic rivers would be destabilized by atmospheric warming…that thawing permafrost would weaken riverbanks causing faster channel changes. Using 50 years of satellite data for areas of Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories (which is experiencing the sharpest atmospheric warming due to climate change), researchers have discovered that greening of the area due to warmer temperatures has caused the riverbanks to be more stable…decreasing the sideways migration of river channels by 20% in the Western Arctic!

US Energy Storage Made Record Gains Last Year – A good new story! Something I didn’t know too: “they US remains the largest demand market for energy storage in the world.”

A pool at Yellowstone is a thumping thermometer – The water vibrates…the ground shakes. The intervals between reflects the amount of energy heating the pool at the bottom and how much heat is being lost from the surface.

Awe-Inspiring Videos Show Powerful Ospreys Diving in Pursuit of Prey – Photographer Mark Smith’s Osprey pictures/videos. I saw this post and the photographer was mentioned in the composition class I was views on the same day!

Crocodiles are uniquely protected against fungal infections. This might one day help human medicine too – Crocodiles have unique defensins (components of white blood cells and mucous membranes) that are inactive at neutral pH (as in the blood) but are active in sites of infection where the pH is lower (i.e. acidic). There is a lot more research and trials between this finding and application to humans.

'All work, no independent play' cause of children's declining mental health – The reduction has happened over decades. I was surprised by the quantification: “Between 1950 and 2010, the average length of the school year in the U.S. increased by five weeks. Homework, which was once rare or nonexistent in elementary school, is now common even in kindergarten. Moreover, by 2014, the average time spent in recess (including any recess associated with the lunch period) for elementary schools was just 26.9 minutes a day, and some schools had no recess at all.”

Mesa Verde National Park has plan to save Spruce Tree House – The area has been closed since 2015 because of concerns that layers of sandstone could peel away from the arch at any time. There is a lot of work involved and the plan is current open for public comment. When we visited Mesa Verde back in 1980, it was still open to visitors. Mesa Verde is still a National Park I would like to revisit.

Toxic red tide is back in Florida – Another deterrent to making a road trip to Florida….although it appears that right now there are no red tides in the panhandle…which would be the closest destination for us…I’m thinking maybe Pensacola.

Here Are the Incredible Winners of the 2022 World Nature Photography Awards – A little eye-candy for this week. ‘Fungus Horizon’ is my favorite.

Heat pumps for every home – A good introduction to heat pumps. I want a variable speed heat pump that uses the existing ducts in my house!

Amid the High Hills

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Sir Hugh Fraser published Amid the High Hills in 1923…100 years ago. He explains in the preface that the book is a collection of articles – some of which had been published before – and illustrated by friends. All the other books that he published (and that are available on Internet Archive) were career related (he was a British barrister and judge).  The Wikipedia biography cites no sources - is brief and unsatisfying since it doesn’t mention anything about the book except the title; I found myself reading between the lines of the book’s preface to fill in….that Sir Hugh Fraser enjoyed his vacations and friendships beyond the confines of his career that he evidently continued until his death in 1927.  The illustrations that his friends provided (pictures, sketches, photographs) are worth browsing the book; they capture the natural areas as they were in the early 1900s.

Amid the High Hills

Diet Changes

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I’ve made more dietary changes than usual these first months of 2023…challenging myself to eat healthier. I am not entirely settled into my ‘new normal’ and realizing that, now that I’ve have succeeded in a few changes, my confidence for changing more is growing. The overarching theme for the changes is eliminating foods that are heavily processed (ones that include heavy metals or ingredients that seem to cause digestive problems first).

The changes I’ve already made –

I moved from Lactaid milk to soymilk when it seemed that the Lactaid was not completely resolving my lactose intolerance. The soymilk was better, but I still sometimes felt bloated. I discovered that all the soymilks that provide calcium also have gellan gum which can slow digestion in some people. All the soymilks I found that did not include gellan gum, did not have calcium. So – I am back to the ‘no milk’ situation and taking supplements to get enough calcium (since I don’t get enough in my diet).

I was using stevia for sweetening my hot tea when the research about erythritol came out…discovered that the packets I was using had erythritol as the first ingredient! The packets in my pantry were thrown away and I didn’t replace them. Right now, I am using honey if I want my tea sweetened but usually don’t need anything.

I started looked at my supplements and discovered that all the chewables have sugar of some kind (usually sugar alcohol or artificial). I have finished my supply of those supplements and bought capsules or tablets instead. Also – I noticed that chewable calcium supplements not only had sweeteners…the also contained talc (which is not something I want to eat either).

Diet Pepsi has been my soft drink of choice for a long time. I have cut back…sometimes stopped completely…but have always started up again. This time I am more serious about avoiding it completely. Aside from the health benefits, stopping has reducing the volume of our recycling! An element of self-discovery: just stopping is easier than gradually tapering when it comes to habitual food choices.

My 1st breakfast has been dark chocolate for years. The recent story about lead and cadmium in dark chocolate was an unpleasant surprise. My brand of choice was high in cadmium and had enough lead to be problematic for eating on a daily basis. So – I ate what I had and will not buy more. A positive aspect to eliminating this habitual food was that my 1st breakfasts have a bit more variety now…and usually include chia seeds (1 tablespoon in water to make swallowing supplements easier and provide a good amount of omega-3 oil).

Bread in the grocery store often has a lot of ingredients that don’t sound like food at all. Presumably most of them are preservatives. I found an organic brand that had ingredients that I recognize…the same ones I would use at home if I took the time to make bread…and won’t buy anything else from now on!

I’m not sure what the next round of changes will be; my focus is to let these changes become established as my ‘new normal’ as I gradually hone my diet toward healthier choices.

Our Nixa, MO Yard – March 2023

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The bulbs are up in our Missouri yard but making slow progress toward blooming because we keep having cold days! There are irises from a previous owner; I added more last fall along with daffodils, crocus, and allium. There is something growing low and around the irises that is very green (I suspect it is a weed/invasive but I am leaving it alone because I like its greenness).

The hyacinths are up and one tried to bloom. Most are still waiting to raise their buds above their leaves.

I am waiting to cut the decorative grass until late May…give insects overwintering there a chance to hatch and provide food for nesting birds.

The robins are back, of course. They don’t come to our feeder (they are not seed-eaters), but they are in our yard finding food – a good indicator that the yard might not be overwhelmed with chemicals. I am keen to let it grow as naturally as possible since I want birds and pollinators to be healthy here.

I have a clearer view of the sky in this house than I did in Maryland; the trees are not as dense or large. There is a river birch and oak in our neighbor’s yard that might provide an opportunity for a picture of the moon resting on branches…but I didn’t catch it this month. My camera’s night scene setting did a relatively good job of getting the moon in focus (Canon PowerShot SX70-HS on a monopod…me standing in my yard a few feet from my home office).

Overall – I like our new location…and plan to spend a lot more time in the yard when the temperatures are a little warmer.

An Egg

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I started with an idea to use an egg for a photo project. Originally the plan was to put the egg in different containers…contrasting the colors and shapes of the egg with its container. I started with the small bowl from my blue tulip depression glass. It was too big!

I looked closer….to get the wobbly crescent of blue color on the egg from the sunshine through the glass. I also noticed the shadow on the left and how the pitted surface of the eggshell was more noticeable near the line between sunlight and shadow…just as the moon craters stand out at the edge of light and dark of a crescent moon. I also got an inkling of the window screen shadow on the egg.

Looking even closer at the egg…the pits and screen shadow.

I repositioned the egg to the windowsill and saw that the shadow of the screen is distorted by the shape of the egg!

Another change in positions and getting closer so that the pits of the shell show again. Where did those little flecks of orange come from?

Overall – a quick project…and quite different than I anticipated….more about the egg, shadow, pits…than the container for the egg!