Hagerman Wildflowers – May 2023

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The wildflowers were abundant at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in May…and the cloudy weather didn’t impact photography of them as it did for the birds. I enjoyed taking some assemblages of flowers in the roadside meadows.

Most of my images were zoomed in shots of single species – queen Anne’s lace, amaranth, coneflower, butterfly weed, milkweed….and more.

Some of the plants had insects on them too…an added attraction.

I experimented with some high key images too…the advantage of a cloudy sky.

The redbud near the visitor center is one of my favorite trees to photograph – an easy access specimen for macro photography.

I’m looking forward to seeing the changes when I visit the refuge in June. Some of the flowers will last through the summer….others will be done with their blooms for the year. Being able to visit a refuge like Hagerman every month is one of the best things about 2023 (so far)!

Hagerman Birds – May 2023

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I made the best of cloudy days both times I was at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in May. Photographing birds was frustrating because of the light and I thought while I was there that I wouldn’t like any of the images…but they turned out better than I expected in several cases. The egrets were still around: Great Egrets

And Snowy Egrets (seemingly a lot more of them about).

I enjoyed the light around a snowy egret on the second morning…it was changing very quickly with the sun coming in and out of clouds as it was getting higher in the sky (it was still within an hour of sunrise).

I learned on my first visit to scan the high points of the meadow for birds...seeing a dickcissel was my most immediate success.

There were a lot of red-winded blackbirds. I saw one perched on an amaranth close to the road and he stayed put for a portrait, a defiant look, a little bow (but he was still watching me), and then a screech to let everyone know it was his turf!

The second morning I saw that there was a group of egrets on one of the ponds and they were leaving just as I was arriving! Did they roost there…or just get their breakfast?

There were great blue herons as well.

There was a preening red-shoulder hawk on a snag.

May was not a great month for bird photography on the days I went to Hagerman…but not a total loss either. This image is my favorite of the morning.

Denison (Texas) Travel Center Wildflowers – May 2023

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The welcome center entering Texas from Oklahoma on US75 was an opportunity for some macro photography of Texas wildflowers. The beds are easily accessible from paved walkways! My Bluetooth shutter remote was on the lanyard with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e); that made it a lot easier to hold the phone steady to get close views of the flowers.

There were other people going in and out of the visitor center. I was the only one among the flowers. I spent about 10 minutes photographing…a bit more just enjoying the place…appreciating the care the gardeners take with the plantings.

It will be interesting to see how much has changed when I am there in June….and maybe I should take a few landscape shots too.

Springfield Botanical Gardens – May 2023

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After my sister and I left the Japanese Stroll Garden, we drove the short distance to the Springfield Botanical Gardens botanical center parking lot.

I enjoyed the rain garden and beds near the building…particularly the different kinds of Hens and Chicks plants they had. Maybe I will eventually have some of these in the rock bed near my front porch.

We walked down to the hosta garden and back. I noticed the signs warning about ticks/Lyme disease for the first time (my daughter insists they have been around the garden previously); I guess Lyme disease is a problem in Missouri as it was in Maryland even though I don’t notice the over population of deer (and deer ticks) being as high as in Maryland.

Next time I go to the gardens, I will look more at the butterfly garden and daylilies!

Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden – May 2023

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The Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden was the first part of the Springfield Botanical Gardens we walked during my sister’s visit. The cherry trees, that were blooming last time I visited, have their green foliage now and the summer flowers are beginning to bloom. Yellow flag irises are blooming along the edges of most of the ponds. I always photograph the lanterns!

 This time I noticed the pine in the meditation garden…with larger rounded stones. My sister and I made small cairns on the posts of the garden (mine is pictured below).

There was a bird to observe too: a yellow crowned night heron…looking for breakfast at the edge of a small island in one of the ponds. We stayed far enough away from the bird – it ignored us! I experimented with a blurred foreground (grass) in one of the pictures.

Overall – an enjoyable stroll…and then we headed over to the main garden intent on seeing some of the areas my sister had not seen the last time she came to Springfield (when we moved to the area last June). That’s the topic of tomorrow’s post….

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 3, 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.

100 Top Photographers Sell Prints to Benefit Ocean Conservation – Enjoy the photography….and participate in the fundraiser for the oceans.

Methane must fall to slow global heating – but only 13% of emissions are actually regulated – I was surprised that so little is regulated…and even when regulation exists it is sometimes not fully implemented.

Capping Oil & Gas Wells in Texas Could Create Tens of Thousands of Jobs - CleanTechnica – A way to reduce methane!

280,000 Photos Used to Create Highly-Detailed Image of the Moon – So many images…stitched together…colorized. The blog post includes a short description of how it was done.

Talking puppy or finger puppet? 5 tips for buying baby toys that support healthy development – Not surprisingly…in most cases, traditional toys provide better interactions and experiences then technological toys for 0-2 year olds.

Beatrix Potter’s famous tales are rooted in stories told by enslaved Africans – but she was very quiet about their origins – Thought provoking. There is considerable evidence that Beatrix Potter knew about the Brer Rabbit stories (books from her father’s library) and that she used the stories to create Peter Rabbit!

Chronic stress can inflame the gut — now scientists know why – Chemical cues produced in the brain….immune cells in the gut. For people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), stress might make treatments less effective…and can prompt flareups in patients what previously were responding well to medication.

Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists -- ScienceDaily – There is a need to understand how microbes respond to the disruption of drought in both agricultural and natural areas. Right now, soil holds more carbon that plants and the atmosphere combined….so it is important that we understand enough to effectively intervene if the soil starts releasing more of its stored carbon.

Getting to the Root of Skin Healing | The Scientist Magazine® - Research that indicates that hair follicle transplantation might accelerate wound closure, reducing scar formation, and remodeling existing scar tissue.

Antarctic ocean circulation has slowed dramatically – New research shows that collapse of the South Atlantic circulation will happen sooner than the North Atlantic!

eBotanical Prints – May 2023

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Twenty more books were added to the botanical print collection this month. The first one is a monograph about oxalis, the next three are journals from the California Botanical Society from 1916-1936, then 16 volumes of the Australian Orchid Review from 2006 - 2009. For the orchid volumes, I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography – particularly of orchids growing in natural settings and slipper orchids. There are Australian Orchid Review volumes I’ll browse in June as well.

The whole list of 2,633 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the May 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 May 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Monographie der amerikanischen Oxalis-Arten  * Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhhard * sample image * 1825

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 1: no. 1-3 (1916-1922) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1922

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 2 (1930-1934) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1934

Madroño : a West American journal of botany V. 3 (1935-1936) * Jepson, Willis Linn (editor); California Botanical Society * sample image * 1936

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (June/July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 - 2009 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2008 (April/May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (August/September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 (June/July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2007 - 2008 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2008

Australian Orchid Review 2006 - 2007 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2007

Australian Orchid Review 2006 (February/March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2006

Australian Orchid Review 2006 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2006

Zentangle® – May 2023

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31 days in May – 31 tiles in the mosaic for the month. I had 53 tiles to choose from…and there were some tough choices to select only 31.

In recent months I have created rectangular tiles; in May there were also square ones although I prefer the rectangular shape. No matter the shape of the tile – the short segments of my day creating a Zentangle tile (or two or three) are islands of calm focus not impacted by whatever else is happening!

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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.

Ten Little Celebrations – May 2023

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I picked my 10 little celebrations for May…then grouped them in to 3 categories: playing tourist (5), emotional experience (3) and getting outdoors (2). There was a lot to celebrate in May!

ArtsFest in Springfield. An interesting event and great weather too. We went with my daughter and son-in-law. I had heard about it in previous years from my daughter but it was my first time to experience it. It was a way to celebrate great spring weather and the artists of the area.

Springfield Botanical Gardens/Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Another way to celebrate springtime…savor the flowers…the new growth everywhere.

Fantastic Caverns. The easiest way to tour a cave…riding on a tram. I celebrated that this one had visible fossils in the ceiling that were visible too.

Springfield Art Museum. I celebrated the pottery/ceramics which is the focus of one of the exhibits now. Somehow art that has the potential to be something functional always appeals to me.  

World of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium. Celebrating the improvements in presentation of taxidermied specimens (meticulous attention to the depiction of the ecosystem around the animal)….and best aquarium in this part of the country!

Mother’s Day. A hearty breakfast then a hike alongside a meadow with my daughter…celebrating the relationship (and motherhood).


A sister’s successful surgery. Health of ourselves and people we have close relationships is always somewhat emotion. It’s great to be able to celebrate a procedure that was successful.

In-range blood work results. I celebrated some recent blood work that indicated that everything being checked was in the normal range. As we get older, we tend to be more aware that there could be some challenges ahead…and it is reassuring when the results indicate everything is still fine.

Coopers hawk over the Pocket Prairie. It’s always startling to see a raptor in a suburban area. I heard the racket of other birds before I saw the hawk swoop over the pocket prairie at Josey Ranch and into the neighborhood across the street. I celebrated that these small hawks evidently have thrived in that environment.

Rhododendron Flowering. I missed the rhododendron blooming last year…was thrilled when the flowers opened. It was a big part of the celebration of spring in our back yard!

Zooming – May 2023

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So many photography opportunities in May…flowers are blooming, birds are out and about, we traveled to Pensacola FL and played tourist close to home when my sister visited. The first pictures are from Pensacola…then from Texas (Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and Carrollton)…then close to home (Lake Springfield, Fantastic Caverns, and World of Wildlife). It was a busy month!

I use the zoom feature on my Canon Powershot SX70 HS for almost every picture. My goal is to compose the image in a way that I don’t need to modify it later. The strategy saves time and focuses my creative energy while I am in the field when I can almost always try another shot – get exactly what I want.

Springfield Art Museum

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I’ve been to the Springfield Art Museum several times. There are new exhibits often enough to make it a great activity anytime but particularly on a hot afternoon or a rainy day. I always enjoy seeing the Chihuly piece (glass) in the foyer and Anne Lindberg’s tilted sky (Egyptian cotton thread stretched over a hallway) again.

The first gallery we walked through had appealing vessels – my two favorites are the ones with wavy decorations that reminded me of prairie grasses/flowers.

I experimented with different perspectives of the fountain in the courtyard. My favorite is probably the most magnified…the way the water flattens and swirls once it makes the leap from above.

In another gallery, ceramic swirls caught my attention. Some were 3-D spirals…others more complex interlocked curves.

As we walked outside, we noticed the plantings done to control erosion now that the renovation along Fassnight Creek has been completed.

A butterfly and ladybug were enjoying them too!

Every visit to the museum includes something new – new exhibits or just noticing something that I didn’t during the previous visit.

Neighborhood Ponds – May 2023

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There is always something to notice/photograph during a quick walk around the neighborhood ponds. This month was the first time I saw a turtle outside the ponds. It was on the side of the walkway away from the pond but pointed back toward the pond. Had it already laid eggs?

Further along, I spotted a large snapping turtle swimming just under the water…didn’t manage to photograph it until it stuck its snot out of the water near the shore. I wondered if this turtle decimated the ducklings (i.e. I only saw them once so there was a predator in the pond that got them within a few days). A large snapping turtle could be that predator.

My favorite sighting of the morning was a bullfrog. It was soaking up the sun in some very shallow water. Somehow it still managed to look grumpy and a little intimidating!

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 27, 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.

See the Breathtaking Ocean Life Found at Deep-Sea Vents – A short video is included…worth watching.

Exploring the underground connection between trees – Trees, fungi, and other organisms…all interdependent but not guided by a common purpose.

Vibrant Fungi Photos Capture the Beauty of Nature and Nostalgic Memories of Foraging for Mushrooms – Images to savor.

Traces of a Neolithic Road Discovered in the Adriatic Sea – Stacked stone slabs that connected a settlement to a man-made island…now under water.

Shifting sand spits – Gauging climate change in a high-altitude watershed.

Air pollution from oil and gas production responsible for $77 billion in annual US health damages, contributes to thousands of early deaths, childhood asthma cases nationwide – Another reason to dramatically reduce the burning of fossil fuels. It’s not just about climate change.

An ‘Epidemic’ of Loneliness Threatens Health of Americans – A mounting problem. Social disconnection has multiple types of cost: economic, health, poorer academic achievement/work performance.

The ocean is hotter than ever: what happens next? – Probably more extreme weather and marine heatwaves…problems for marine life from corals to whales.

Cleanup of inactive Gulf of Mexico wells estimated at $30 billion – The life cycle costs of the fossil fuel industry are much greater than we’ve ever paid (i.e. we haven’t generally paid for clean up costs as part of the cost of fossil fuel based products)…the bill will eventually have to be paid.

Photography In the National Parks: The Invitation of An Intimate Composition – Good tips for more than National Parks! It’s a special kind of landscape photography!

13 'The Spell of…. ' (eBooks)

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The Spell of… books were published in the early 1900s by L.C. Page and Company of Boston – travel books with a few colored plates and drawings…more photographs…of the places they are about. Often the endpapers have scenic drawings. I’ve selected 13 that I have browsed recently for the slice of place and time they represent.

Mason, Caroline Atwater - The Spell of Italy (1909)

Hallays, Andre - The spell of Alsace (1919)

McCrackan, William D. - The spell of Tyrol (1914)

 Anderson, Isabel - The spell of Japan (1914)

Addison, Julia de Wolf - The Spell of England (1912)

Call, Frank Oliver -  The Spell of French Canada (1926)

 Mills, Enos A. - The Spell of the Rockies  (1911)

Call, Frank Oliver - The Spell of Acadia (1930)

McCrackan, William D. - The Spell of the Italian Lakes (1918)

 Mansfield, Milburg Fracisco - The spell of Algeria and Tunisia (1924)

Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium

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The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium is next to the Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters in Springfield, MO. It’s a place we passed by frequently over the past year but had not toured; the visit from my sister was a good prompt to finally buy tickets!

My main interest was the Aquarium but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the museum portion – history of hunting, fishing, and conservation with sculpture, taxidermy animals/models in realistic habitats, paintings, artifacts (fishing lures, taxidermy versions of ‘largest’ bears, boats). The animal exhibits were a much-improved version of the Natural History museums I toured as a child and I found myself picking up details of the scenes….enjoying them more than I would a zoo where the animals so often look stressed and uncomfortable.

The aquarium has a living fish, of course, but there were also models of animals too. The sperm whale with giant squid was one of the first that I noticed. There were models of different kinds of sharks on the wall – making it easier to notice the shape and size differences.

One of the larger tanks had a ‘shipwreck’ theme. I took a few pictures as we walked through the aquarium areas. The octopus tank seemed small for the animal…hopefully there was another space that gave it more room to move about.

The jellyfish were probably my favorite exhibit. Their shape and movement are somehow calming…and I’m always surprised at how different they can look.

There was also a smaller exhibit with different kinds of coral.

Toward the end of our tour, there was an area for lesser flamingo and a great egret. It was relatively dark. I liked the picture I took of the egret…but I wondered if the birds were rescues since a dark habitat is not what I associate with these birds. Earlier on we had seen some great horned owls that were rescued birds. Their habitat allowed them to be well away from the people and they seemed calm enough…but probably very different than they were in the wild.

Overall – an interesting place but I’d rather be outdoors. Next time we have someone visiting, I want to visit Dogwood Canyon Nature Park.

Fantastic Caverns

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Local sightseeing prompted by a visitor from out-of-town visitors….we did it a lot when we lived in the Virginia-DC-Maryland area between 1983 and 2022…and we are doing the same now that we live near Springfield, MO. I’ll be posting about some of the places we shared with our guest.

Fantastic Caverns is north of Springfield. It’s a ride-thru cave so works for people that aren’t sure they want to walk a lot. It was discovered during the Civil War (by a dog and then the landowner) but kept secret until after the Civil War. It has always been privately owned (including the land above the cave). The ride-thru tours started in 1962 and have helped preserve the formations – keeping them in view while reducing the risk of people touching them.

Picture taking is allowed and the lighting – while not overly bright – is enough to get interesting images. I used the ‘night scene’ setting on my camera; it worked well when the tram was stopped (since it takes multiple images and then stacks them in the camera for a final image).

There were fossils visible in the ceiling at one stop: starfish and crinoids (Cheerio looking nodules).

Outside there were trays of popcorn for the squirrels and birds between some of the tall trees (popcorn was available inside for people)…

And the peonies were beginning to bloom.

We didn’t hike the trail down to where the water exits the cave this time.

We bought a season pass since we thought we might come back to do the hike and enjoy the cave again.

Lessons learned for us:

  • We were there for the 9:45 tour. When we returned there were a lot of students there (a great field trip for the end of school…and it might be for summer camps as well). We’ll go early when we go next time. They open at 8 AM.

  • It’s a viable activity for a rainy day (if it hasn’t been raining for a long time…the cave has flooded occasionally over the years).

  • The cave is 60 degrees year round….a good activity for a hot summer afternoon!

Lake Springfield Boathouse Meadow

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The two Purple Martin houses near the Lake Springfield Boathouse are very active; there are always birds visible from the balconies. The houses are in the mowed area close to the boathouse and parking area – convenient for the birds to swoop over the meadow or out over the lake. It is very challenging to get the eyes visible with the dark coloring of the feathers!

A little further along the path and across from the meadow...there are periodic bluebird houses. One of the houses was being used by a tree swallow…another by an Eastern Bluebird that was still supplementing the nest inside.

The multiflora roses were blooming under the trees….a non-native plant that was promoted years ago, but is now generally viewed as invasive.

The meadow was mostly green….with a few plants beginning to flower The milkweed was up but not yet blooming.

I was glad I had by bridge camera with its optical zoom to photograph some insects. There were a few butterflies, but I didn’t manage to photograph any of them; they seemed to be moving about in a frenzy.

Many of the places where water makes it way down to the lake have scoured banks…the water trickling through the bottom of a ditch except right after a rain when the banks are eroded making ditch deeper/wider. There was one that was different with lots of vegetation on the banks – not eroded at all. I wondered if it was a new route for the water.

My phone and Bluetooth remote shutter control were used for some macro shots.

I was glad the boathouse had a small store since I had forgotten my water bottle. The day had started humid and a little cool, but the sun was out and the temperature rose pretty fast – an excellent morning to observe the meadow (glad we didn’t wait for the afternoon).

Macro Photography – May 2023

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The flowers I brought inside in May made great subjects for macro photography with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10E) and Bluetooth remote shutter. The irises were my favorites. The translucent petals with prominent markings remind me of chiffon fabric. I also like the fuzzy ‘beard’ that looks like a caterpillar, the gentle color (pink and purple in thise case), and the curves.

The alliums lasted longer in a vase than the irises. They were also harder to photograph; it a challenge keep enough in focus with the magnification.

The pine limb that I cut was also long lasting. I liked the greens and yellows and browns. The stem between the needles was shaggier than I anticipated.

There were a lot of breezy days in May which reduced the opportunities for outside macro photography; but I did manage two shot shoots. The first was a flower (vine) in my daughter’s garden. It came up on its own, planted by a previous owner to climb the arch of their garden gate.

The second is the young Kousa Dogwood planted in the front of our yard. The blooms are smaller than I thought they would be. I liked that the ‘petals’ are tinged with green.

Overall – it was a good month to remember that I have the equipment for macro photography with me almost all the time…and it is easy to use!

May Yard Work

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There is a noticeable uptick in yard work in May….always something to do. The temperature is warm enough – and there is sufficient rain – for the grass to need to be mowed (weed eating/edging) weekly. Most of the time my strategy is to do the front yard one day and the back the next. In the back I am realizing it was a mistake to plant alliums in the grass since they are not done yet….so there is a patch of taller grass along with them.

There was one week that had a lot of rain in the forecast, so I opted to mow everything in one day before the rain. I took a little break after I used up the batteries…only a little left to go and I needed some down time anyway. When I started again, the most robust pine in our yard was in my path. When I bumped it – yellow pollen swirled through the air – and I diverted to give it wide berth. Some of the grass near it did not get mowed! The allergic reaction didn’t start until somewhat later – one of the worst of the year so far; I didn’t even realize I was allergic to pine pollen until now.

One of our other pines is problematic. It is leaning toward other landscaping and our house – the ground freshly heaved upward. The arborist says it can’t be saved so they will come soon to take it down.    

Both rose bushes appear dead. They are older but the landscaping fabric/rocks were added by the previous owner before she put the house on the marker and they might have caused them a problem. I’ll start cutting them up and burning the sticks in my chiminea fire pit soon – a better solution than cutting them up and taking them to the recycling center (yard waste) since the thorns making handling hazardous.

I cleared away rocks and landscaping fabric from an area and planted sunflowers, black eyed susans, cone flowers, gladiolus, and a wildflower mix in the big plan and some mini-pumpkin seeds in a smaller area nearby.

I sprinkled the area with spent flowers and empty edamame pods as a kind of celebration of the bed after I finished. I’ll be collecting seeds from the things that grow this year (except for the gladiolus) to plant in other areas next year. Creating places to plant has been hard  work (rock is heavy and landscaping fabric is tough).

Realizing that the weight of the rocks might be a problem for some of our other plants, I raked rocks away from the small cedars that have looked sick from the beginning. And there are more plants that might need the same help. Always something else that needs to be done in the yard!

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 20, 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.

These four challenges will shape the next farm bill – and how the US eats – Thought provoking. Will the author’s dream priorities for investment (organic agriculture as a climate solution, infrastructure to support vibrant local and regional markets and shift away from an agricultural economy dependent on exporting low-vale crops; and agricultural science and technology research aimed at reducing labor and chemical inputs and providing new solutions for sustainable livestock production) be funded….or will Congress stay entrenched in continuing agriculture as it is today.

The Energy Revolution in 5 Charts – 1. The energy transition is a technology revolution (it’s not a brown to green caterpillar…it is a caterpillar to a butterfly; we are moving from a commodity (fossil fuel) to technology-based system). 2) The renewable revolution is exponential, not linear (and we are at or past the knee in the curve). 3) The renewable revolution is led by China (with the US and Europe recently enacting policies to compete). 4) This is the decade of change (exciting times for heat pumps, electric vehicles, solar, and wind). 5) By 2030, the debate will be very different with the renewable revolution obvious to all.

National Park waterfalls being honored on US Postage Stamps – Beautiful places. Would like to see (and photograph) more of them!

The Camouflaged Looper: This Inchworm Makes Its Own Flower “Costume” – Another reason to take a closer look at flowers….the small creatures that might we living (and munching) there!

Our tropical fruits are vulnerable to climate change. Can we make them resilient in time? – The work to help our food plants tolerate and thrive with climate change. The post is specific to Australia but has applicability elsewhere. Techniques have already been successfully applied to chickpeas to make them more drought resistant, survive higher temperatures, and produce better yields!

Commercial Rooftop Solar on Warehouses Could Power All of Them – Commercial rooftop solar on America’s warehouses could provide 185 TWh of clean renewable energy every year. Hurray! Power produced near population centers where it is used….and avoiding taking farmland for solar panels (unless the plan is to grow crops under the panels).

Water arsenic including in public water is linked to higher urinary arsenic totals among the U.S. population – Not good…and water pitcher type filters do not remove it…..it takes reverse osmosis, activated alumina, or ion exchange (anion) resins to do that.

Fashion World Remembers Mary Quant, the Miniskirt Pioneer – I was old enough in the ‘60s to remember wearing Mary Quant type dresses!

How do you stay optimistic in spite of it all? 6 hopeful souls share their secrets – Thought provoking…maybe we all need to think about the ways keep ourselves positive….not let the pessimism around us overcome us.

The clean energy milestone the world is set to pass in 2023 - Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, the largest source of the world's emissions, are expected to fall for the first time!