Bed bug?

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During the last year of my career (more than 10 years ago), one of my colleagues missed some meetings and I found out from him later about his trauma with bed bugs. Based on the timing of his symptoms developing, he’d picked them up in a hotel near Dulles Airport on one of his frequent business trips to the area…not realized that he had them until his home was contaminated too and he had terrible bed bug bites particularly on his face. He was overwhelmed by what happened; it had a significant impact on his life for about 6 months.

Even so, I didn’t change anything about the way I traveled. Something happened on my last trip to Dallas that is changing my strategy.

I was sitting on the small hotel-room couch in the evening and noticed a small bug crawling across my t-shirt. I crushed it and wiped it onto a paper towel; it left a bloody streak. My first assumption was flea or tick. Then I thought it might be an adult bed bug although at the time I thought it was too big to be a bed bug. I still went to check the seams of the mattress…and discovered that there was a mattress cover than looked very tightly woven. The bedding was the usual white and I didn’t see anything on the bed that looked suspicious. I looked at the crushed bug, but it was too mutilated for identification.

On the way home, I began to realize that I had to assume that it could have been an adult bedbug (and where there are adults…there are likely eggs and nymphs); my husband did some research while I drove home. When I got home:

  • Almost everything stayed in the car.

  • I took a shower/shampoo immediately and the clothes I took off were put into a plastic bag and put back in my car.

  • I stayed mostly in the downstairs apartment area for 2 days/nights (laundering linens in hot water and dryer after the 1st night).

  • After the 1st night, I put the pillows I’d used into my car and parked it in the driveway; the day was hot and sunny. The thermometer in the car indicated that the interior was above 130 degrees for 6 hours.

I still don’t know if I was exposed to bedbugs or not. I haven’t developed any symptoms of bites and it’s been 8 days. Sometimes it takes time for the symptoms to appear.

The experience has me making some changes to how I travel:

  • Pack a small collection vial. If I see a small bug – I will put it in the vial rather than crushing it so I can ID it.

  • Carry my luggage into the hotel rather than rolling it. Put it on a hard surface rather than carpeted for the duration.

  • Put dirty clothes in a sealed plastic bag.

  • Shower thoroughly when I first get home and put dirty clothes in a sealed plastic bag

  • In the summer – leave fabric items (sealed plastic bags, hats, purse, shoes, etc.) in the car and park it outside after the trip; make sure the temperature is above 120 degrees for several hours.

  • In the winter – put fabric items in the freezer (downstairs apartment) for several days

  • Buy and install mattress covers that prevent bed bugs from accessing the mattress.

Some websites I found helpful:

https://www.thespruce.com/handle-bed-bug-infestation-laundry-2146304

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/bedbugs-infestation

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 20, 2024

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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.

Why US schools need to shake up the way they teach physics - As the economy becomes more tech-centered, understanding physics is critical. Yet the number of Americans with a solid grasp of physics is dwindling. Learning physics can better prepare you for a role as an aerospace engineer, software developer or environmental scientist, to name just a few. Shifting the way physics is taught so that students see how physics influences their daily lives with examples from sports, extreme weather or baking and cooking rather than rote memorization of formulas with examples from history would increase the number of students mastering physics and prepare them for the future…which is what education should do.

The Smithsonian Acquires the Earliest Known Photograph of an American First Lady – A daguerreotype of Dolley Madison from 1846 when she was 81.

The Hunt: What Happened to the Great Sphinx’s Nose? – The nose was gone well before Napoleon’s time.

NASA Returns to the Beach: Assateague on the Move – The changes in the barrier islands between 1985 and 2019 shown in images from NASA satellites.

The State of Electric School Bus Adoption in the US – Every U.S. state, except Wyoming, has electric school bus commitments. I hope the adoption has the momentum to continue for the health of child and the environment! As of December 2023, 3,700 electric school buses had already been delivered and 4,800 were awarded/ordered.

Huge firework displays will mark 4 July in the US, but the nation's air quality will suffer - Fireworks generate large amounts of smoke, which can have a visibly negative impact on air quality, but they also release other pollutants that are harder to see. In some areas, the concentration of fine particulate pollution known as PM2.5 can be between 1.5 and 10 times higher than normal on the night of 4 July and the following day. These fine soot particles have been linked to a range of health problems including asthma, heart disease and low birth weight. Another negative for fireworks: One analysis of wildfires on federal land in the US over a 37-year period from 1980 found that 11,294 of nearly 600,000 fires over that period could be attributed to fireworks. Two thirds of these occurred in the two-week period around 4 July. There are concerns that perchlorate (used as a propellent in fireworks) contamination can find its way into drinking water, where high levels of perchlorate can interfere with human thyroid function. --- I hope to see more drone shows available in the coming years.

Weaker Ocean Circulation Could Worsen Warming – A new modeling study finds that slowing currents could disrupt the upwelling of nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface, starving the phytoplankton that absorb carbon. The result is that, not only would the ocean absorb less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it would also unleash more carbon dioxide from its depths, leading to further warming.

See Ten Awe-Inspiring Images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest – Beautiful images. My favorite is the solar prominence image.

Proteins and fats can drive insulin production for some, paving way for tailored nutrition - Production of the insulin is much more dynamic and individualized than previously thought. A subset of the population appears to be hyper-responsive to fatty foods. As a next step, the researchers hope to expand their work into clinical studies that would test insulin responsiveness to carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in a real-world setting, and to begin developing personalized nutrition approaches based on the findings.

Clever pupils don't need to attend academically selective schools to thrive – A study from Australia that followed students for 11 years. At ages 19 and 25 there was little difference between the educational and employment outcomes of children who attended selective schools versus non-selective schools. For example, the study found that while 81% of selective school students went on to secure a job or university place at 19 compared to 77.6% of pupils from non-selective schools, this difference disappeared when the students were matched on key characteristics, including socioeconomic background, gender, and geographical location.

Johan Nieuhof’s drawings of Brazil, China, and India in the mid 1600s

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Johannes Nieuhof  travelled for the Dutch West India Company and the Dutch East Company…and documented his travels with drawings and annotations. According to the Wikipedia entry, he traveled from 1640 (when he was 22) to his death in 1672 (went missing in Madagascar) only returning home for short visits in 1658 and 1671. He entrusted his notes and papers to his brother Hendrik who produced the books attributed to Johannes. These ‘books of the week’ by Nieuhof are two available from Internet Archive.

Voyages and travels into Brazil and the East-Indies, 1640-1649

At the time these books were published, Nieuhof’s drawings of China were the first to show the country true to nature. He drew realistic images of structures, people, and plants/animals he saw as he travelled.  

Our Missouri Yard – July 2024

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The wildest part of my yard is the wildflower garden I planted last summer.

In front of the wildflowers are some pumpkin vines, lambs ear, and fragrant sumac. Behind the wildflowers there is a rose bush that has died back to the roots during both winters we’ve lived in the house but has come back each year to form a low bush…blooming small red roses.

That area is always a good place to do some macro photography with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I’ve noticed that the native plants tend to harbor more insects although most of them are quite small. We’re missing the big butterflies in our yard too.

When I mow the grass, I stop to photograph anything I find of interest…like the shell of a robin’s egg (was it taken by predator or did the young hatched and the parent clear the nest?) and a plant that grows reliably by our mailbox.

There are frequently mushrooms that come up on the area where a tree was cut down (and the stump ground up) before we moved to the house. This month there were at least 2 different kinds.

One of our pine trees is not old enough to produce cones…but the other one is prolific and I wince when I run over a cone with the lawn mower (they probably cause the blade to get dull faster). The cones look good with green needles – or grass – around them!

I still have a few areas of the yard that I have not mowed this year. In one area – violets have escaped from the flower bed and spilled out into the unmowed area. I mowed some of no-mow May area and the clippings are slowing/stopping grass from growing there and the violets are moving there too! I am getting other ideas on how to extend the flowerbeds in a way that results in less need to use the weed-eater…and overall less lawn….that remains compliant with the Home Owners Association of our neighborhood.

Sustaining Elder Care – July 2024

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A full month had passed since my visit to my father in June and I noticed that his situation seemed calmer this month although the staff at the assisted living home were stressed with acclimating 2 new residents and the further decline of another. It took them longer to answer the front doorbell on both of my visits, but on both days my dad’s room was clean, he was dressed in clean clothes, and he had just finished a meal.

Since I arrive in the afternoon, it was too hot for a walk outdoors. One of the staff members stopped by to tell me she had taken him in the morning just after breakfast. We finished a puzzle in the great room (he was very pleased since the easy parts had been done the day before and the remaining pieces were mostly the same color). Afterward we went into the back yard, and he sat in the shade while I watered the plants that my sister managed to transfer from his former home; they need to be watered daily in the hot Dallas summer; my mother’s miniature rose bush is blooming profusely. I put out his clothes for the next day. It seems 2 to 2.5 hours is the ideal duration for visits with him. When I left, he was going to take a nap.

The next morning, I got bitten by something (ants?) as I waited for a staff member to let me into the house (fortunately the welts disappeared quickly once I used my After Bite stick). The staff were evidently overwhelmed with helping another resident (or two); they left the door a little ajar so I could immediately take Dad for a walk. The temperature was still pleasant, and I was surprised at the pace Dad set; it is clear that he is walking regularly and had built up his stamina. We made it around the block in good time – but enough that whatever was keeping the staff busy had resolved by the time we got back. I encouraged my dad to drink some water and we started a new puzzle. It turned out to be harder than we anticipated, and we only got about 2/3 of the border done before we decided to take a break to water plants in the backyard. And he was worn out from those activities…ready for a nap before lunch!

My dad is visited by me or my sisters almost every day. We all put out clothes for him to wear the next day and (right now) water plants. If the weather permits, we take him for a walk. We work on a puzzle with him. There has been at least one instance where he has requested that a puzzle be framed for his wall – and participated in the process to get it ready for the frame. He seems to be settling into a comfortable pattern.

The newest challenge has been him getting cold and putting on a jacket when he is in his room. Evidently the thermostat for his part of the house is in the kitchen and when there is a lot of cooking happening there it gets hot enough to cause the air conditioner to come on. His room gets about 5 degrees cooler than the kitchen! The staff is aware of the issue and is monitor. We are also reminding him that it is warmer in the community room where the puzzle table and large recliners are located…but he seems to prefer the jacket and his room at least some of the time!

Previous Elder Care posts

Springfield Botanical Garden Gardens

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Last week my husband and I visited the Springfield (Missouri) Botanical Gardens when the temperature was warm…not yet hot. Our first stop was the pollinator garden – hoping to photograph some butterflies. There were many plants blooming around the butterfly house (we were there a bit before it opened) but we only saw some skippers around a clump of cone flowers; I had been hoping to see some Monarchs or tiger swallowtails or zebra swallowtails, etc. so I was a little disappointed. But I enjoyed trying to capture the shape of skipper’s eye.

I reverted to taking pictures of plants…the new growth of a young tree, some native honeysuckle, the different greens of a redbud, some hibiscus. I’m not sure what the pink flower is; it was planted near the Botanical Center.

The daylilies were still beautiful but past their peak. There were two gardeners taking off spent blooms while we were there.

I took two perspectives of the Monarch sculpture/playground. I hadn’t noticed before that the mouth of the caterpillar is chomping on the leaf! The area is well maintained…no peeling paint.

We were only in the gardens for about an hour, but the day was getting hotter. We were both glad we had water bottles in the car!

Then and Now – Cars and Driving

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The first car I remember well was in the 1960s – a small red Ford my father bought for my mother. It did not have air conditioning…or seat belts (it was before they became standard equipment in the later 1960s). The windows were opened/closed manually with a handle. There were no car seats for children either although my mother generally put my sisters and I in the back seat. I was the oldest so sometimes road in the front seat. It did have power steering and brakes…probably because my mother was not very good driving with a manual transmission. The car was the second for our household and was parked at the curb since my father’s car was parked in the one-car garage.

My father’s car did have air conditioning and was larger. He started buying new cars (Oldsmobile or Buick were his preferred make) almost every year in by 1963; my mother got to drive his older car and they traded in her car. Those cars had windows that opened and closed with a button. I remember the first car my father owned that had seatbelts because he had a serious accident in it; a truck sideswiped the car on the driver’s side and he always claimed that he would not have survived if he’d been wearing a seatbelt since he was pushed to the passenger side during the accident. It took several years before he started wearing seat belts consistently and even more years before he took his keys/locked his car when he parked it. I also remember my father’s first car that has radial tires in the late 1960s; the road noise was noticeably different.

Most of our road trips were to visit family members. My mother drove my sisters and I to visit her parents (aunt, uncles, cousins) at least once every summer. The trek was between Wichita Falls TX and Beggs OK and was a lot of 2 lane roads…often very curvy. We took food and drink with us…stopped at gasoline stations for the bathrooms (which were usually in bad shape). My mother was not a great driver…but she knew her limitations and never had an accident. She shared that when she first learned to drive, she tended to look at the front of the car when she was driving; my dad noticed shortly after they married and coached her to look further out – to become a more defensive driver.

I learned to drive in the two cars my parents were driving at the time (a large Oldsmobile and Buick) later in the 1960s. My driver’s ed class emphasized wearing seat belts and I convinced my whole family we needed to ‘buckle up’ consistently.  Both of my parents encouraged me to drive whenever I was in the car with them as soon as I got my learner’s permit; I got my driver’s license on my 16th birthday and became the designated driver for my younger sisters and my parents when I was available. I didn’t have my own car until after the 1960s.

Now – the car I drive is smaller – a plug-in hybrid (2017 Prius Prime). The air conditioning and heating has a thermostat rather than the 1960s switch controls. Perhaps the equivalent of the big Buicks and Oldsmobiles of the 1960s are the SUVs that are very popular now. The cruise control is adaptive. Many of the controls are digital rather than switches. The navigation system is a big improvement over a collection of paper maps or a road atlas kept in the car at all times. There are handy places to put drinks that were absent in the 1960s cars. My car has a hatch opening in the back rather than the enclosed trunk of the big 1960s cars; SUVs also have an opening in the back that connects to the interior of the car. The seatbelts (one unit lap and cross body) are more comfortable than the clunky lap belts and then clucky two-piece lap/shoulder belts of the 1960s. The bucket seats in front have more adjustments than the bench seats of the 1960s and the material covers are more durable. Cars frequently last for 100,000 miles or more now; that was very unusual in the 1960s.

Cars have improved a lot since the 1960s – in both function and durability - and driving is easier because of those improvements and the highway system that has matured (although it often needs maintenance). My frequent road trips would certainly be more challenging/less enjoyable in a 1960s car and on 1960s style roads!

Previous Then and Now posts

Philbrook Museum of Art

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On our way home from Oklahoma City we stopped in Tulsa to see the Philbrook Museum of Art. We started in the gardens before the day got too hot to enjoy them. There were plenty of plants and water features…sculptures and activity areas (like creating poems with word stones).

The garden on one end of the house was probably my favorite because there were swings in the metal arches. My daughter and I sat in one and coordinated our pushing off (no brakes)! There was a zinnia that had been broken and dumped nearby (picture taken when we stopped the swing…just before leaving it).

Inside I enjoyed the Native American themed rooms – particularly the mosaics and pottery. The pottery was a mix of historical and modern pots. I have been sensitized by my visit to the First Americans Museum to think more critically about how some of the historical collections were created.

There were views of the gardens from the museum…a different perspective than walking through the gardens.

I thought about the building as a residence and decided it was too big to be comfortable as a home! The house was built in the 1920s for Waite Phillips and his wife; it was donated to the city of Tulsa in1938 and opened as the museum in 1939. I noted the fireplaces and some of the columns/ceilings that were obviously original to the house. They work well as a museum.

One of my favorite items was titled ‘Texas Seed Pod’ made of porcelain by Janet A. Frankovic in 1990.

We learned that the museum/gardens are decorated for Christmas…and my daughter and I already making tentative plans to visit again in December!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 13, 2024

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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.

Pair of Resting Cuckoo Bees Wins the Royal Entomological Society’s Insect Photo Competition – Wonderful images of insects. My favorite is the Wavy-lined Emerald Moth (“A forest gem”).

The Role of Commons in Our Future Resilience - The climate and biodiversity crises will make collective land and water resources the source of future cooperation and conflict. If our commons aren’t governed well, we can have a “future of global violence.” Balancing the needs of local communities and conservation and restoration will require strong relationships between governments and the people who depend on commons for their livelihoods and culture.

Study shows how liver damage from stress and aging might be reversible – The study showed that aging exacerbates non-alcoholic liver disease by creating ferroptic stress, and by reducing this impact, we can reverse the damage.

Extreme Heat’s Far-Reaching Impacts - In addition to the expected impacts — dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke — heat can also endanger pregnant women, impact sleep patterns, and increase irritability, depression, and suicide rates. Heat is also associated with higher rates of violence and aggression, including intimate partner violence and gun violence.

The chemistry of Polaroid photography – The technology behind taking a picture and printing it instantly.

Cooling Solutions for Cities That Lower Surface & Air Temperatures – Some productive and appealing ways to cool urban heat centers.

Funny Early Entries of the 2024 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards – Images that will make you smile!

Climate change and sea level rise pose an acute challenge for cities with combined sewer systems - Some 40 million people currently live in areas served by combined sewer systems (in places like Philadelphia, New York, and Boston) that are at increasing risk of being inundated by untreated sewage during floods.

Ancient Egyptian Scribes Were Worked to the Bone - Scribes sat in cross-legged or kneeling positions for long periods of time, hunched over paper and ink. Such activity was bound to overload the jaw, neck and shoulder regions. 30 skeletons of scribes from a northern Egyptian cemetery were examined. Much of the damage was found on the skeleton’s right sides, with the right knee being an especially common point of osteoarthritis, possibly because scribes repeatedly squatted on their right legs, the researchers theorize. And ancient Egyptian iconography commonly depicts scribes writing with their right hands. The posture impacted scribes’ backs.

Pronghorn Place: Preserve Protects Wildlife Migration Route – About the Flat Ranch Preserve on the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park…what has been learned about the Pronghorns migrating through. It reminded me of the pronghorns I saw at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (New Mexico) in 2018.

Robert F. Scott in Antarctica

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Robert Falcon Scott led two expeditions to Antarctica; the expedition records for both are available on Internet Archive.

Scott wrote the expedition record for the first after he returned to Britain in 1904.

The Voyage of the 'Discovery', 1905

The second expedition (Terra Nova) began in 1910. He died in March 1912 in Antarctica. The expedition record was arranged by Leonard Huxley and published in 1914. Volume 1 provides the journals of Scott and Volume 2 provides the reports of the journeys and the scientific work undertaken by Dr. E.A. Wilson (who died with Scott) and the surviving members of the expedition. Both volumes are illustrated by photographs taken by Herbert G. Ponting (the first professional photographer included in an Antarctic expedition) and other members of the expedition. There are also a few color plates and sketches made by Dr. Wilson.

Scott's last expedition V1, 1914

All three books are well worth browsing. The pictures/illustrations prompt some reading as well. These are as close as it gets to firsthand descriptions of what happened.  

Museum of Osteology…then Ducks

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The Museum of Osteology is another museum my daughter and I visited on July 4th. It is a short drive from the First American’s Museum in Oklahoma City. It is a small museum with lots of skeletons; I was glad we were there when it wasn’t crowded. I found myself doing comparisons – which animals have the more neck vertebrae (hint: it isn’t the giraffe) and which animals walk on their toes. There was a whale skeleton mounted from the ceiling that brought back memories of the one in the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. There was a case of cat skulls whose health problems manifested in their bones and sclerotic rings of owls that prevent their eyes from moving within the socket. I didn’t see any bird skeletons with spurs although I don’t thing the collect included a peacock skeleton.  I also noticed that the skull of a gila monster has bumps that seemed to match the bumps of its skin!

After the Osteology Museum we headed to Norman to check in to our hotel then to Brandt Park where my daughter had seen a lot of ducks during a previous visit. There were more ducks that she remembered and almost all of them seemed to rush toward us when we got there! There were a lot of juvenile ducks and maybe they thought we were bringing food?

There was a white domesticated duck – and one that might have been a daughter of that duck.

There was one female with a juvenile that looked a lot smaller than the other young ducks and the female seemed very attentive: maybe the last of a late brood?

We headed back toward Oklahoma City to visit the memorial there when it began to sprinkle in Norman. The clouds were very thick. With my daughter driving, I was free to photograph the sun just barely showing from the edge of the cloud layer.

First Americans Museum

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My daughter and I visited the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City at midday on July 4th. It was a hot day, but I walked around the circular courtyard outside the entrance. I took pictures of the front and back of each of the columns on the outer rim of the courtyard – fire and water are the ones I picked to show below. I realized it was too hot to do much else outside. I’ll come back sometime when it is cooler to find out more about the mound.

The restaurant was not open (although we did pick up some recipe cards at the door); we had lunch at the café….at tasty turkey with cranberries and greens wrap and cheesecake. There is a building with a sun symbol on the side…lots of construction in the area…it will be changing a lot in the next few years as projects are completed.

Beginning our stroll through the exhibits…I enjoyed different media and the messages of tragedies…and survival…of the cultural heritage that emerges in modern form.

The film of creation stories for the tribes that were in the pre-Colonial area that is now Oklahoma was particularly well done. I took some quick pictures with my phone.

There are images on the walls that are memorable. The first one has a lot of detail (click on the image below to see a larger version) including a silhouette of a space shuttle! The second one is a repetitive motif that is used on items like key chains and mugs and glasses in the shop. I bought a mug because I liked the motif so much!

There is much to learn in this museum that is sobering and sad…but also uplifting. It is worth visiting more than once.

Then and Now – Strategies for Reducing Food Costs

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Many of the strategies for minimizing food costs my mother applied in the 1960s are still applicable today. The goal is to get the best nutritional value for your expenditure….and waste nothing.

  • Minimize out-to-eat meals. It always costs more to eat in a restaurant – even a fast-food place. In the 1960s there were not as many options as we have now; takeout and delivery of prepared food was not as common. My mother made our hamburgers at home; I didn’t have a ‘fast food’ version until I was a teenager. I remember getting grilled cheese sandwiches and a cherry limeade at the drug store…but not frequently. We took picnics when we made road trips to see our grandparents. I eat out more now than I did for most of my growing up years…although not as much as I did during my career. One way to reduce the bill at a restaurant it to drink water with your meal. Another is to eat half your meal…have the rest for another meal (i.e. spread the cost to 2 meals rather than 1). I try to avoid the poor nutrition options that seem dominate many fast-food chain menus.

  • Plan meals in advance. My mother wrote out her menus for a week or two at a time; I remember them on legal sized paper posted on the refrigerator. I don’t write menus now, but I do know what I have ingredients to make. I usually give my husband a choice for our big meal of the day each morning since he is harder to please than I am.  The focus is on nutrition – enough protein and other nutrients – and avoiding high sugar/fat, ultra-processed foods.

  • Have ‘backup’ meals in the pantry or freezer. My mother always had a well-stocked panty – canned goods (soups, vegetables, fruits, and meats (chicken, tuna, salmon)), nuts, potatoes, onions, peanut butter, bread. These days we eat fewer canned vegetables/fruits – skew toward frozen versions which I can buy in larger packages than fresh since they will last long enough for us to eat the whole package. My mother bought larger packages of raw meat and froze the part that she wasn’t using immediately. I still do that.

  • Scrutinize protein sources and amount. Meats are an expensive item. My mother was a fan of eggs as a protein source; eggs are easy to prepare and they are the least expensive source of protein that we all liked – and not just for breakfast; she didn’t serve them daily…but it was close. I don’t eat eggs as often now (and I have added frittatas and quiche to the way I prepare them), but they are still a relatively low cost source of protein. We generally only have meat once a day and utilize other lower cost sources to add up our daily protein requirement for example, peanut butter, milk, eggs, mushrooms, beans, nuts, bread (not the ultra-processed variety), protein drink/powder.

  • Go to the grocery store with a list…and only buy what is on the list. You want to buy what you need when you shop, avoid another trip to the store for something that was forgotten. In addition to the expense, the spur-of-the-moment purchases are often not healthy choices. It was a special occasion when my mother bought chips or popsicles or oreos or soft drinks or chocolate bars….and I shop the same way now. The strategy is to avoid all ultra-processed foods most of the time.  They may seem inexpensive…but they often have no nutritional value; from your body’s standpoint they are a hinderance rather than a benefit.

  • Leftovers. My mother always used leftovers (i.e. no food waste); they were usually small amounts so we would have a ‘cafeteria day’ and clean out the refrigerator. Sometimes she would combine or add new ingredients to achieve the nutritional value needed for a meal. We do the same now. Nothing goes bad in our refrigerator!

There is a new way I reduce my grocery bill now that didn’t exist in the 1960s: I shop for myself…don’t pay extra for someone else to do shopping or deliver it. I did during the height of COVID-19, but that was a special situation.

Previous Then and Now posts

Fireworks on July 4th

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My daughter and I were traveling on July 4th. Our original plan had been to enjoy the fireworks in a park in Norman, Oklahoma but it started raining around 6 PM and it didn’t look like the rain would clear until much later; the program was going to be delayed, at least.  

The radar indicated that it wasn’t raining in Oklahoma City so after dinner we headed into the city to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial at the site of 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. The museum was closed…we went to see the grounds: the 168 empty chairs representing the people that perished (small chairs for the children), the reflecting pool, the gates of time (the peace before the blast at 9:01 and 9:03 the first second of recovery), the Survivor Tree (an American Elm), and tiles made by children…sent to Oklahoma City after the bombing. The sun was getting closer to the horizon and it began sprinkling as we were getting ready to leave. It was a poignant place…flags had been placed by each chair in celebration of the 4th of July.

As we drove back to Norman, there was harder rain, lots of lightning. We began to wonder if the lightning would cause the city to cancel the events that were planned in the park. It was very dramatic – cloud to ground and cloud to cloud. We were glad to get back to the hotel.

We enjoyed the lightning show from our hotel window. The rain tapered off, but the lightning continued…with almost no thunder. We started to see some fireworks – not professional shows but clearly people that had planned their own fireworks event. Looking at the map – we expected to see the fireworks in the park at some point but the time it was schedule came and went. Lightning was still lighting up the sky. We decided that the show must have been canceled. About 5 minutes later we heard a barrage of fireworks sounds…we looked out the window again and it was obviously the fireworks in the park – high, loud, a steady stream of bursts for at least 15 minutes! I took pictures through hotel window. Toward the end, it was obvious that there were a lot of smoke in the air from the fireworks…they began to look like science fiction images of explosions inside a nebula.

I’m seeing more stories about how environmentally unfriendly fireworks can be…impacting air quality and then the remnants of the explosions (some toxic) drifting down over a wide area. And many pets are panicked by the sounds of fireworks. Evidently some places are moving toward drone light shows rather than fireworks. Maybe I’ll find one of those shows next year. I appreciate the effort Norman, Oklahoma put in for their event this year…even though I ended up observing it from my hotel window!

Library Adventures – June 2024

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My most frequent interactions with my local library are digital…checking out Kindle books. In June, there were 3 interactions that were not digital at all!

The first one was volunteering at one of the branches with the Friends group used book sale. It was a smaller branch and was only a one-day event. I helped with the set-up the day before and then with the first hours of the $3/bag sale. There were quite a few people that stopped by and left with 1 or more bags of books and the Friends netted $295 from the day. My favorite was an elementary school aged boy that came in with his mom and picked out two bags of books; he was very pleased with his haul and shared that he might share some of them with his older brother.

The second interaction was an art class that was announced in the monthly library newsletter. It was free…held in the early evening…2 one-hour sessions over 2 weeks. It was scheduled in the branch library closest to where I live. I signed up. We made a color wheel the first session and then did shades of the same color (by adding white) on the same small canvas in the second.

I took a picture of the plate I used to mix the paint for the shades of ‘red’ in the second class.

The next day I made Zentangle patterns over the white space of the canvas (and into some of the painted areas as well).

The class was a good learning experience. 1) It was my first experience with acrylic paints…and I realized that I enjoy the pens and Zentangle too much to make time for paints! 2) Canvases are not smooth enough for pens. I used a Sharpie Ultra-Fine pen and it was hard to control the tip of the pen over the bumps of the canvas fibers.  3) A free class is a low-risk way to try something new!

The third interaction occurred when we had a form that required notarized signatures. My husband found out that the library had a notary so we took our form there and indeed the person at the desk was a notary – it was very easy!

 Positive interactions at the library….it’s more than just a place to check out books!

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 6, 2024

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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.

Extended maternal care central factor to human other animal, longevity – In species where offspring survival depends on the longer-term presence of the mother, the species tends to evolve longer lives and a slower life pace, which is characterized by how long an animal lives and how often it reproduces.

The 'gene deserts' unravelling the mysteries of disease - Less than 2% percent of the human genome is dedicated to coding for genes which produce proteins, while much of the remaining 98% has no obvious meaning or purpose. But scientists are slowly managing to accrue information about the ‘gene deserts’ apparent purpose and why they exist.

These Stunning Butterflies Flew 2,600 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean Without Stopping – Painted Lady butterflies spotted in French Guiana where they are not usually found. Sequencing the butterflies’ genome revealed that they were related to African and European painted ladies – not North American. And looking at weather data revealed that wind conditions in the weeks prior to the sighting were favorable for the butterflies moving from Africa to South America.

Simple test for flu could improve diagnosis and surveillance - Fewer than one percent of people who get the flu every year get tested, in part because most tests require trained personnel and expensive equipment. The current version of new test is a low-cost paper strip that distinguishes between influenza A and B and subtypes H1N1 and H3N2. It works at room temperature…takes about 90 minutes. They are working to reduce the time to 15 minutes.

To Save the Red Knots, Look to Blue Carbon – Red Knots migrate over 9,000 miles to the Arctic to breed. Along the way they stop for meals of mussels and clams in coastal areas. This post highlights 6 projects from around the world that are restoring those area…for the red knots and the health of the planet.

Photography In the National Parks: Two Cave Parks Above and Below – Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. Full of ideas for photographing inside caves and above them! My first thought was to see if there is a trail that goes over the top of Sequiota Cave and Spring near Springfield MO (we did a boat tour of the cave last spring).

Surprising phosphate finding in NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample – Remembering when we went to the launch of the mission in September 2016.

Swift Parrots and the Heartbreak of Rare Species – Endangered Australian parrots…with only an estimated 500 birds left in the wild. “We conservationists bear witness to so much loss: of species, ecosystems, and the places we know and love. Often, it feels like we’re watching extinction in real time, powerless to stop it. But there is value in staring these losses in the face. Value in bearing witness to a rare parrot with an uncertain future, knowing full well I might mourn its extinction in a few years time. If the worst happens, at least I will have cherished it while it was here.”

A Big Picture of the US Housing Market - High interest rates, supply constraints and growth in home insurance premiums (particularly in states like California and Florida) are all driving housing costs. There is some news that’s more positive. Nearly 450,000 new apartments were finished in 2023, the highest rate in about three decades. However, average rents remain above pre-pandemic levels in most markets.

Sheep & Solar: A “Beautiful Symbiotic Relationship” - When solar farms use sheep instead of mowers for vegetation management, they minimize burning fossil fuels, and costs associated with labor are also reduced. Investment costs for a solar farm might include water tanks, troughs, a small water pump to fill the troughs, predator-proof fencing, and dividing into sections for rotational grazing. The sheep eat the tall grass, weeds, and clover, and their chomping inhibits the vegetation from blocking the panels. Their steady consumption of forage on the land prevents grassy plants from growing high enough to block sunlight from reaching the panels, maintaining the productivity of the array. Sheep are the most appropriate ruminant species when it comes to vegetation management on solar farms because they are too small to damage the panels when rubbing against them, and they are not predisposed to chewing on wires or jumping on the panels.

eBotanical Prints – June 2024

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Twenty more books were added to my botanical print book collection in June - available for browsing on Internet Archive (and the new-to-me New York Public Library Digital Collection where I found Pomona Britannica). The whole list of 2,903 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. Click on any sample images to get an enlarged version…and the title hyperlink to view the entire volume.

So many botanical print books available…and so beautiful. I’ve stopped thinking that I am about to run out of books. It seems likely that finding 20 that I haven’t seen before to share every month won’t be ending anytime soon.  Enjoy the June 2024 eBotanical Prints!

Wildflowers * Blanchan, Neltje; Dickinson, Asa Don (adaptor) * sample image * 1926

Pomona Britannica * Brooksaw, George * sample image * 1812

Annales d'horticulture et de botanique V1 * Socit royal d'horticulture des Pays-Bas * sample image * 1858

Annales d'horticulture et de botanique V5 * Socit royal d'horticulture des Pays-Bas * sample image * 1862

Annales de la Société royale d'agriculture et de botanique de Gand V1, 1845 * Morren, Charles (editor) * sample image * 1845

Annales de la Société royale d'agriculture et de botanique de Gand V2, 1846 * Morren, Charles (editor) * sample image * 1846

Annales de la Société royale d'agriculture et de botanique de Gand V3, 1847 * Morren, Charles (editor) * sample image * 1847

Annales de la Société royale d'agriculture et de botanique de Gand V4, 1848 * Morren, Charles (editor) * sample image * 1848

Annales de la Société royale d'agriculture et de botanique de Gand V5, 1849 * Morren, Charles (editor) * sample image * 1849

Fuchsia * Morren, Charles; Fusch, Remaclus * sample image * 1850

Lobelia * Morren, Charles * sample image * 1851

Pear Growing in California * Weldon, George Percival * sample image * 1918

Icones plantarum novarum vel imperfecte cognitarum floram Rossicam V 1-2 * Ledebour, Carl Friedrich von * sample image * 1830

Icones plantarum novarum vel imperfecte cognitarum floram Rossicam V 3-4 * Ledebour, Carl Friedrich von * sample image * 1833

Icones plantarum novarum vel imperfecte cognitarum floram Rossicam V 5 * Ledebour, Carl Friedrich von * sample image * 1834

Icones Plantarum V1 * Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1837

Icones Plantarum V2 * Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1837

Icones Plantarum V3 * Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1840

Icones Plantarum V6 * Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1843

Icones Plantarum V30 * Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1913

Green Heron in the Neighborhood

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The forecast said the day was going to be very hot and humid…so I was out taking my daily walk at 7 AM. As I neared the first pond – a bird flew out of the shallows and land at the other end of the pond. I managed to use the zoom on my camera to see what it was: a green heron. It was standing up tall making it a little easier to spot. It is surprising how well their coloring blends into the environment.

They are occasional visitors to our neighborhood ponds. There is not enough habitat here for them to be residents. This time the bird was looking for breakfast. It stalked down through the grass to the edge of the pond – eventually sitting   at the edge of the water. The morning light was excellent for photography.

A grackle flew down nearby for a drink.

I was walking slowly closer to the heron…although across the pond from its location. The grackle startled it enough for it to move along the bank and then up into the grass again….before it flew away.

Balloon Glow – June 2024

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Last June, my husband and daughter attended the annual Balloon Glow in Ozark, MO’s Finley Park while I was in Dallas; they sent me pictures  and I wrote about the vicarious experience….also realized that I wanted to attend the event this year. This year it was sunny rather than thunder storming before the event. It was hot a muggy. That did not deter the crowds at all. We parked in overflow parking and got to the the field where the balloons were going to be inflated shortly before dusk. Our timing was near perfect. The teams were just starting to fill the ballons with hot air. The first one to come upright was an old-fashioned one with gold swags on the side. Others quickly followed.

We took a break to buy lemonade and snow cones. We walked around the roped off perimeter surrounding the balloons to see different vantage points. As it got darker, the periodic burn of the heaters lit up the ballons and made percussion type noises. It was a dramatic and beautiful summer event.

I was drinking the ice melt from my large lemonade but still felt dehydrated when I got home. I took a picture of the moon that was almost in the treetops ….and then focused on rehydrating before bedtime!

Zentangle® – June 2024

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I created 74 tiles in June…and chose 30 to feature in this post. I did less traveling in June; all of these were made in Dallas or my home near Springfield MO. At my home they were made at my computer table rather than in a glide with a clipboard to support the tile as I had been doing in previous months; for some reason, being at the computer table was easier on my back!

Backgrounds were still the theme when I started many tiles. There were a few that carried over the three-hash-line fill from May.

But the majority used what I think of as ‘screen’ fill. Many of the tiles were created on cardboard cut from separators in cat food boxes.

There were also a few that used circle shapes to fill the background. That might be the one I will continue into June.

And the remaining tiles – where the background was not a factor. My favorite was the blue and green inked square…full of the paradox pattern.

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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.