Josey Ranch – February 2025

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The weather was cold and mostly cloudy…but I headed to Josey Ranch for a nature fix – and to gain more experience with my new camera (Nikon Coolpix P950). The last time I visited was back in September, but I expected to see a lot of birds that are in Texas during for the winter. The pond between the library and the senior living complex was almost empty. I photographed a feather and a dandelion almost ready to bloom before I headed over to the other pond.

There were a lot of birds: American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Canada Geese, Greater Scaup, American Coot, and Ring-billed Gull (many immature).

There were pigeons and crows on the tall lights over the ball fields.

Surprisingly there were cormorants on the poles as well!

I headed back toward the larger pond and my car…noticing some mistletoe in a tree along the way.

There were a pair of Great Egrets that interacted and then flew away from each other. The breeding plumage is beginning to be obvious.

A group of mallards and domestic duck hybrids were on a small pond. One hybrid was mostly black but had a green head!

Back at the larger pond I saw sleeping Ruddy Ducks.

I got a better view of a cormorant on the pond. It seems to have some characteristics of a Double-Crested (bare skin in front of the eye) and the white line of the Neotropic. I read that there are instances of hybrids in the areas where the two species interact….and north Texas might be one of those places!

The cold and wind had me regretting wearing leggings rather than jeans….it was time to head back to the car.

More Snow

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We had more snow last week…not as much as our previous snow day. The temperature hovered around freezing so it was slushy from start to finish. I took some pictures around the peak accumulation. There was no breeze so the pines and cedars and seed pods and patio furniture held the wet snow.

My favorite was my young eastern red cedar; I hope it survives transplanting in the spring.

The birds were very active at our feeders – as they were during the last snow. Unfortunately, a flock of about 15 starlings swarmed in and took turns at the feeders chasing the smaller birds away.

The street in front of our house is barely covered with snow and it appears to be melting. Hopefully it will simply melt and it won’t be a problem to get out and about tomorrow.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 15, 2025

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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.

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Footprints of People Fleeing Vesuvius Eruption – From 2,000 years before the eruption of the same mountain destroyed Pompeii.

Oldest Known Evidence of Lead Pollution Found in Ancient Greece - Scientists identified traces of lead contamination that date back more than 5,000 years by analyzing sediment cores from Greece’s mainland and the Aegean Sea. The lead emissions followed the development of smelting technologies, which produced metals like silver. A sharp increase occurred about 2,150 years ago, which coincides with the Roman conquest of the Greek peninsula in around 146 B.C.E. and drove demand for silver higher for currency and lead for construction/tableware.

Half a degree further rise in global warming will triple area of Earth too hot for humans - The amount of landmass on our planet that would be too hot for even healthy young humans (18-60-year-olds) to keep a safe core body temperature will approximately triple (to six percent) -- an area almost the size of the US -- if global warming reaches 2°C above the preindustrial average. Last year was the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average, and at current rates of warming, 2°C could be reached by mid to late century.

How Tearing Down Small Dams Is Helping Restore Northeast Rivers - Restoring natural flows, improving habitat for aquatic life, and reopening thousands of river miles to migratory fish, from shad to American eels. I was aware of several dams being removed on the Patapsco River in Maryland before we moved to Missouri.

Yellowstone National Park: Where Geology Is on Display Nearly Everywhere – Maybe we should plan a trip Yellowstone; it’s been 20 years since we were there before. It would be a great capstone to the geology course I am taking this semester.

Restoring Appalachian Forests After a Legacy of Mining – It isn’t about returning land to some “pristine” past. It’s about creating a resilient future, a forest where native plants and wildlife can thrive. When mining companies left, following state and federal guidelines, they often replanted their sites with plants that would mainly reduce erosion. That sounds good in theory, but many of those plants were invasives like autumn olive and sericea lespedeza. Trees that thrived on such sites tended to be adaptable species. These former mine lands offered little habitat to wildlife and little value to carbon storage. The first step is to control the invasives, through mechanical clearing. And then bulldozers rip up the soil. Next came the planting, accomplished by crews hand planting trees on the site, a diverse mix of trees, grasses and wildflowers. Some native plants, their dormant seeds “freed” from compacted soil, return on their own. Wildlife begins using restored areas almost as soon as they’re established. It benefits popular game species like white-tailed deer, turkey and elk.

Vertical Farms Grow in Office Buildings - Vertical farming can make use of vacant office space and grow food where agricultural land might be scarce. One drawback: energy use. Vertical farms need a lot of electricity to run lighting and ventilation systems, smart sensors and automated harvesting technologies….so maybe clad the office buildings in solar panels and put batteries in the basement?

Not so snowy Alaska - A spell of unseasonably warm weather in winter 2024–2025 has meant less snow for parts of the normally frozen state of Alaska.  Images from the Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites.

Colossal squid: The eerie ambassador from the abyss – The biggest invertebrate on Earth. One of the creatures was captured alive (briefly) off New Zealand 100 years ago. The first clues of their existence in the deep ocean was from occasional remains found in the bellies of whales that hunt them. It has swiveling hooks on its arms and a beak made out of protein similar to human hair and fingernails. The eyes are the largest eyes found in any animal yet discovered.

The Breathtaking Hermitage Museum, Filled with Treasures Like the Kolyvan Vase and the Peacock Clock, First Opened to the Public on This Day in 1852 – There are 6 main buildings and it has about 50 cats that keep it free of mice! It is the second largest museum in the world (the Louvre is the largest).

Our Missouri Yard – February 2025

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It was a warm day in February when I took a walk around my backyard. I wasn’t in the mood to do any work…but I did mentally begin to make a list. The yew branches I scattered over some bare soil in my wildflower garden when I trimmed the bushes last fall are still green! I thought they would be rotten by now. The other green is Japanese Honeysuckle which I need to get to pull and dig so it won’t take over the area. There is a small eastern red cedar that has come up at the edge of the bed and I will dig it up to plant elsewhere in the yard to increase the privacy of our back patio and deck. Perhaps my aromatic sumac is large enough to make seeds this year.

There are iris coming up in the mulch from last year’s irises and violets. They look fresh and green. In years past they have weathered the late frosts of winter and gone on to bloom. Hopefully that will happen this year too.

There was a feather among the leaves near the small spicebush I planted last fall. There was only one feather so maybe it wasn’t the remnants of a predator’s meal. I have high hopes that the spicebush with thrive and grow a lot over the next summer. That side yard has pawpaw and persimmon and buckeye seeds planted…will be quite the patch of understory trees if they all come up. Right now the daffodils are beginning to come up…a first sign of spring.

In the other side yard, the Ozark witch-hazel is bare. Hopefully it will grow a lot this next summer…but it still might not bloom for a few more years; the normal bloom time is January/February. The irises I planted from my parents’ garden are up along the fence. I’m not sure if they will bloom this year or not.

My plan to gradually reduce the amount that will need to be mowed in the summer seems to be working!

Springfield Botanical Garden – February 2025

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It was not a great day to go to the Springfield Botanical Gardens – cloudy and chilly….but I wanted to try out my new Nikon Coolpix P950 camera. My husband did the driving to the garden and he brought along his camera too even though he didn’t use it.

It was not a day for landscapes but there was enough light to get some zoomed pictures of winter plants – dried flowers from last summers’ hydrangeas, some evergreens with enough color variation and texture to be interesting, berries that the birds are reluctant to eat, and dried grasses.

I saw one witch hazel and it was booming. This is its normal time to bloom so not exactly a sign of coming spring.

There were some bulbs peeping from the mulch….which seems more aligned with the notion that spring is coming.

There were some succulents and prickly pear cactus that seemed in better shape than I expected after the very low temperatures a few weeks ago.

It was a good first field trip with the camera…a learning experience without much pain. I somehow managed to not charge the battery completely so it was depleted very quickly…and I initially couldn’t see through the viewfinder with my glasses on….but my husband helped fix that problem with a slight adjustment on a knob that had no equivalent in my previous camera.

I am ready to try some bird photography later this week!

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 8, 2025

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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.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper to Be Sold for $1.4 Million After Legal Saga – Hopefully the power gets turned back on right away and the conservation of the building starts.

Under Colonial-Era Barracks Floorboards in Australia – Peanut shells, peach pits, citrus peel, hazelnuts….hiding the remains of treats from the authorities.

Experts Are Unraveling the Mysteries of This Breathtaking 2,000-Year-Old Mosaic Depicting Alexander the Great in Battle – The mosaic comes from the ruins of Pompeii and was discovered in 1831. It is housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Conservation work started in 2020. The mosaics tesserae rocks could have come from Italy, Greece, the Iberian Peninsula and Tunisia.

Mt. Washington Cog Railway Goes Electric! - Engineering students from the University of New Hampshire are working alongside the Mt. Washington rail staff to develop an all-electric locomotive, with help from robotic welding systems. It will be the world’s first entirely battery-powered mountain-climbing electric vehicle.

As Oceans Warm, Predators Are Falling Out of Sync with Their Prey - Warning signs are beginning to be observed in marine ecosystems planetwide, from herring and zooplankton in the North Sea, to sardines and bottlenosed dolphins in the Southern Ocean, to — along with striped bass — baleen whales and menhaden in the northwest Atlantic.

Meet the Channel-billed Cuckoo, the World’s Largest Brood Parasite - They’re the size of a raptor, with broad wings, a long, trailing tail, and a honking great bill reminiscent of hornbills or toucanets. Their plumage is a light grey, with thick black and white banding on the tail feathers. And their eyes: large, beady, blood-red, surrounded by a strawberry-colored ring of bare skin.   

Noise as a Public Health Hazard - Cities in Europe and the United States are starting to map noise levels to understand where dangerous sound levels exist and how to better protect people living and working nearby.

Atop the Oregon Cascades, team finds a huge, buried aquifer - Scientists have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated -- at least 81 cubic kilometers. The finding has implications for the way scientists and policymakers think about water in the region -- an increasingly urgent issue across the Western United States as climate change reduces snowpack, intensifies drought and strains limited resources.

Carbon Dioxide Levels Rose by a Record Amount Last Year - Last year saw the biggest one-year jump on record for the past 60 years, with carbon dioxide levels rising by 3.58 parts per million. Increasingly severe heat and drought mean that trees and grasses are drawing down less carbon dioxide than in the past, while desiccated soils are also releasing more carbon back into the atmosphere. Conditions were particularly poor last year owing to a very warm El Niño which fueled hotter, drier weather across much of the tropics. The forecast is for a smaller jump in carbon dioxide levels in the coming year because the Pacific is now in the La Niña phase.

Floods linked to rise in US deaths from several major causes - Over the last 20 years, large floods were associated with up to 24.9 percent higher death rates from major mortality causes in the U.S. compared to normal conditions. A new study demonstrates the sweeping and hidden effects of floods --including floods unrelated to hurricanes, such as those due to heavy rain, snowmelt, or ice jams.

eBotanical Prints – January 2025

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Twenty more books were added to my botanical print eBook collection in January - available for browsing on Internet Archive. The are mostly in English but there is some Japanese, German, French, and Spanish. They cover a range of botanical topics: medical plants, British flowering, herbs, plants of Brazil/Paraguay, and fungi.  Overall - the 20 books were published over 150 years (1794-1944).

My list of eBotanical Prints books now totals 3,043 eBooks I’ve browsed over the years. The whole list can be accessed here. Click on any sample image below to get an enlarged version…and the title hyperlink in the list below the image mosaic to view the entire volume where there are a lot more botanical illustrations to browse.

Enjoy the January 2025 eBotanical Prints!

Anleitung zu Anbau, Ernte und Verwendung der Arzneipflanzen * Fries, Martin * sample image * 1876

Nanpōken yūyō shokubutsu zusetsu * Watanabe Kiyohiko * sample image * 1944

Plantes usuelles des Brasiliens * Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de * sample image * 1824

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V1 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1834

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V2 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1835

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V3 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1837

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V4 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1839

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V5 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1840

British phaenogamous botany, or, Figures and descriptions of the genera of British flowering plants V6 * Baxter, William * sample image * 1843

Plantarum in Horto Medico Bonnensi nutritarum icones selectae * Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried * sample image * 1824

Das system der pilze und schwämme * Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried * sample image * 1817

Histoire de plantes les plus remarquables du Brésil et du Paraguay * Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de * sample image * 1824

The British flora medica, or, ahistory of the medicinal plants of Great Britain c1v1 * Barton, Benjamin Herbert; Castle, Thomas * sample image * 1845

A supplement to Medical botany, or, part the second : containing plates with descriptions of most of the principal medicinal plants not included in the Materia Medica of the collegiate pharmacopoeias of London and Edinburgh * Woodville, William * sample image * 1794

Illustrations of medical botany consisting of coloured figures of the plants affording the important articles of the materia medica V1 * Carson, Joseph; Colen, J.H, * sample image * 1847

Illustrations of medical botany consisting of coloured figures of the plants affording the important articles of the materia medica V2 * Carson, Joseph; Colen, J.H, * sample image * 1847

Album de la flora médico-farmacéutica é industrial, indígena y exótica T1 * Argenta, Vincente Martin de * sample image * 1862

Album de la flora médico-farmacéutica é industrial, indígena y exótica T2 * Argenta, Vincente Martin de * sample image * 1863

Album de la flora médico-farmacéutica é industrial, indígena y exótica T3 * Argenta, Vincente Martin de * sample image * 1863

The complete herbal * Culpeper, Nicholas * sample image * 1842

Field Trip to Prairies around Lockwood MO

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My husband got the announcement about field trips from the local Audubon chapter and suggested the day trip to the Lockwood area to (hopefully) see Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls. The group met in a parking lot before setting out as a caravan of cars; walkie-talkies were handed out to enable communication along the way.

We were surprised that most of the field trip was spent in the car – driving around on country roads with small farms (lots of cattle) with occasional prairies managed by the Missouri Prairie Foundation or the Missouri Department of Conservation. We did see lots of Northern Harriers and Red-tailed Hawks and Kestrels and Shrikes and a flock of red-winged blackbirds (maybe with some other kinds of blackbirds mixed in) large enough to fly up into a murmuration. No short-eared owls though. We did see a Prairie Falcon!

I didn’t take any pictures as we drove around although in retrospect maybe I should have leaned out the window with my camera.

We stopped for lunch at Cooky’s Café in Golden City, MO for lunch – the leaders of the trip having called ahead to let them know the number of people and the approximate time we’d arrive. It worked out well. The food was good and there was a great selection of pies for dessert.

We stopped late in the afternoon at Niawathe Prairie Conservation Area and walked to the top of a low hill to look for owls. They had been spotted there recently. I took some pictures of the winter prairie from the top.

There were occasional holes (armadillo probably) big enough to be dangerous to anyone walking the prairie in the dark so we went back to the cars to try one more place as the sky became colorful.

We drove past another prairie where short-eared owls had been seen recently. No luck.

I contented myself with two sunset pictures as we headed back to Lockwood…and then home.

The area has a fair number of wind turbines. We noted them early in the field trip and as we drove around….and then we got to see the red lights that flash in unison at night!

This was our first field trip with the local Audubon chapter and we’ll be doing more. I need to think about how to do more photography. There were several people that were using a better bridge camera than my current Canon Powershot SX70 HS…and my husband opted to order one for me. Good birds and good tip on a new camera…a well spent Saturday.

Dallas in Late January

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The drive down to Dallas was harder than usual – rainy and foggy from Missouri and through Oklahoma. The sun was coming out just as I got to Texas and I stopped at the Texas Welcome Center on US 65. The pavement was wet so it had rained recently. The beautyberries in the native plant garden there are evidently not attractive to the birds; even the berries that were not burnt from last summer’s sun were still mostly on the bush.

I noticed a small nest on one of the trees

And a wall near the entrance that was clad in granite…probably coming from somewhere in Texas.

The day warmed up enough by the time I got to Dallas for me to take my dad outside for a walk. It is becoming more difficult for him --- partially because he cannot walk outdoors as frequently in the winter and probably also because his muscles are getting weaker with age. We still made it around the block.

We worked on the puzzle a bit but that is harder now for him too; he can’t see some of the clues on the pieces anymore and is very frustrated.

The next morning I visited him again – working on the puzzle a bit before the assisted living home served breakfast. I left as he was enjoying the food since I had some business I needed to handle before I left Dallas to drive home.

The weather was windy on the way home and I must have been more tired…it was a tough drive and I was exhausted by the time I got home…getting cramps in my hands. Driving seemed more stressful than usual.

But I will do it again soon. I’ll be seeing my dad again on Valentine’s!

Winter Seed Sowing

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I assisted one of my fellow Missouri Master Naturalists with a program for her county’s libraries – planting seeds in plastic jugs for planting in gardens next spring. There were about 50 participants (plus parents) that participated across the two sessions. The set up included lots of plastic jugs (saved from distilled water purchased for humidifiers), soil, gloves, tarps to protect the carpet of the library meeting rooms, scissors, and seeds. I took pictures of the brief calm between set up and the chaos of everyone getting dirt and planting their seeds.  

The battery powered drill was used to make holes in the bottom of the jugs and marker holes to cut the top part almost off…leaving a 1-2 inch hinge. Most of the children were young enough that we recruited parents to make holes in the jugs.

Several of the older children mixed the soil with water in big buckets for everything else to use. We had native wildflower seeds but almost half the children chose to plant vegetables. An older lady chose to plant common milkweed in her jug…and she is going to plant the seedlings near some buckeyes in her yard in the spring.

Each hour-long session was a whirlwind of activity. We managed to contain the mess with the tarps on the floor, so cleanup was not bad. I was grateful that we had some extra help from some local Master Gardeners and the parents of the children jumped in to help too.

Frozen Cranberries

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The cranberries I froze back in November and December are enhancing my winter meals. I like the flavor and color they add! Here are a few of my recent cranberry additions…

I processed frozen cranberries into bits to fold into oatmeal cookies; I liked the tang of the cranberries as a change from raisins. My husband surprised me by liking them as well since he usually says he wants plain oatmeal cookies – no raisins or nuts.

I processed frozen cranberries into bits to fold into oatmeal cookies; I liked the tang of the cranberries as a change from raisins. My husband surprised me by liking them as well since he usually says he wants plain oatmeal cookies – no raisins or nuts.

Cranberries also are great in spicy soups. The one I have enjoyed most recently was one I made with left over taco meat. I cooked arugula and cranberries before adding the left-over meat. The cranberries split as they cook…and can we squished…no need to process them beforehand.

Cranberries are always good with any chicken or turkey dish…probably because of the priming from Thanksgiving meals over the years.

…. I am savoring the supply I still have in the freezer.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 1, 2025

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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.

Warmer, Greener Arctic Becoming a Source of Heat-Trapping Gas - Roughly half of the region is growing greener, but only 12% of those greener areas are actually taking up more carbon.

More Than 100 Died When the S.S. Valencia Wrecked in the ‘Graveyard of the Pacific’ - Not long before midnight on a night with poor visibility in 1906, the Valencia struck a rocky reef off the west coast of Vancouver Island. The captain ordered the ship run aground, but it caught on rocks less than 400 feet from shore….and sank over the next 40 hours. The rough seas made it difficult of lifeboats and many capsized. 136 people died, 37 survived. Weather, waves, swift currents and a shifting sandbar made the area particularly hazardous, even for experienced captains. Lessons learned from the wreck of the Valencia are its most lasting legacy.

Menopause research is globally underfunded. It’s time to change that - The overwhelming majority of studies in the field of ageing do not consider menopause…and yet half the population will experience it. The disruptive nature of menopause and its health impacts have been known perhaps for millennia and should have been a topic for health funders for a long time. It is never too late to start.

How To: Go Snow Day Birding (with Merlin) – A good idea for a snowy day (maybe not if the temp is in the teens or single digits though).

Fighting Forest Pests With AI: A Hemlock Success Story – Fighting the hemlock woolly adelgid…increasing the odds of saving some trees. It’s too late for the ones behind where I used to live in Maryland. They succumbed to the pest years ago.

Incredible Winners of the 2024 Ocean Art Underwater Photography Contest – I like the ones that are good documentation of a species…and art at the same time.

In the Northeast, 50% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease carrying bacteria – Not good for public health

Inca Tunnel System Identified Under Cuzco – More than a mile of tunnels that reflect the streets and walkways in the Inca capital.

Archaeologists in Pompeii Discover Private Spa Where Dozens of Guests Bathed in Luxury 2,000 Years Ago – Found in a lavish home…big enough to host 30 people. Three rooms: calidarium (hot water), tepidarium (rub oil on skin and immerse in warm water), and apodyteriaum (changing room with mosaic floor). The spa was connected to a banquet room decorated with elaborate frescoes depicting characters from the Trojan war.

New study identifies how blood vessel dysfunction can worsen chronic disease - Specialized cells surrounding small blood vessels, known as perivascular cells, contribute to blood vessel dysfunction in aging, chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and fibrosis.

Ten Little Celebrations - January 2025

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January was a relatively quiet month after December…but still plenty to celebrate.

52 years of married life. Every year I marvel that it has been such a long time…and celebrate that it has been an easy accomplishment for us.

A snow day. Now that I am ‘post career’ there are not as many commitments that force me to leave home in inclement weather. It is easy to enjoy snow on the ground from at home! I particularly celebrate watching birds at our feeders on a snowy day…drinking hot chocolate.

Cranberries in oatmeal. I still have frozen cranberries in my freezer from November and December. They are a flavor and color to celebrate in an oatmeal breakfast!

Finding a speaker for the February Missouri Master Naturalist meeting. The person my predecessor as the program chairperson had arranged for February was going to be out of town on the day…so I had an immediate emergency. I celebrated when I found a person to do a talk on Missouri geology and the person originally scheduled for February will talk in March!

Home before the snow started. I can drive in snow but realize that it can be hazardous particularly in hilly areas – so I celebrated that I made it home before it started.

Aquarium at the Boardwalk in Branson. I celebrated a field trip that could be enjoyed on a very cold day.

Leftover baked chicken. An easy stir fry: a few vegetables cut up and chunks of leftover baked chicken – a celebration of flavors in a quick meal.

Shoveling snow…without my back hurting. I am celebrating the success of my physical therapy sessions. One of the success indicators came when I shoveled snow without pain!

Female downy woodpecker. For weeks we saw only a male downy woodpecker….so it was worth celebrating when a female showed up. Maybe they’ll stay in the area and have young this spring.

My daughter in 1st class. My daughter had an awful experience traveling in bad weather – cancelled flights, delays, luggage lost for a few days, getting to the hotel only to have the planned meeting moved to Zoom. We all celebrated when the airline got her luggage to her about 24 hours before she headed home and moved her to 1st class for the longest leg of her return flight. She enjoyed a big breakfast.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 25, 2025

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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.

How Will Climate Change Affect the Spread of Invasive Species? - The silver lining of knowing humans are still one of the main drivers of invasive species spread, is that humans can also curb invasive species spread. We can plant native plants in our yards and gardens instead of ornamentals from other states and countries. We can clean our boots, shoes, fishing waders and boats when we travel from one area to another, and we can stop releasing unwanted pets into local parks, ponds or creeks.

Kangaroo species went extinct in the Pleistocene - Nearly two dozen kangaroo species vanished in the Pleistocene. If things get warm enough, dry enough, kangaroos today are going to have a tough time making it, regardless of whether they're mixed feeders.

Medieval Crowns and Scepters Discovered Hidden Inside the Walls of a Crypt Beneath a Lithuanian Cathedral – It had been hidden for 85 years—since it was stowed for safekeeping beneath the Vilnius Cathedral in southeastern Lithuania - put there at the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Your work habits may be threatening your sleep - Sedentary workers experience a 37% increase in insomnia-like symptoms. Employees working nontraditional schedules experience a 66% greater risk of needing 'catch-up sleep.' It’s more about how jobs are structured and staffed than individual ‘habits.’

Bold Parakeet Biting a Lizard’s Tail Wins SINWP Bird Photographer of the Year Contest – Lots of great photos!

Renewables Supplied Two-Thirds of Germany’s Power Last Year - In Germany the solar buildout continues to surpass government targets, with solar now amounting to 14 percent of power generation. Wind remains the biggest source of clean electricity, accounting for 33 percent of generation, though new wind farms are being developed more slowly than planned. Along with new renewable power plants, Germany is seeing a growth in battery storage as homeowners install batteries alongside rooftop solar panels.

Why just two hours of exercise a week can be life-changing - One retrospective study of over 37,000 people found those who did their week's worth of physical activity over just one or two days had the same reduction in cardiovascular disease risk as those who did activity spread throughout the week.

Lead pollution likely caused widespread IQ declines in ancient Rome, new study finds - Scientists used Arctic ice core records to reconstruct historic atmospheric lead pollution in Ancient Rome and link exposure to cognitive declines. Ancient lead pollution stemmed largely from silver mining, whereby the lead-rich mineral galena was melted down to extract silver. For every ounce of silver obtained, this process produced thousands of ounces of lead -- much of which was released to the atmosphere. In the 20th century, lead pollution predominantly came from the emissions of vehicles burning leaded gasoline.

A Half Mile Underwater on Connecticut’s Eight Mile River - Designated a Wild and Scenic River. Black rock geology and tannin in the water take most of the light making visibility to a snorkeler limited.  Caddisfly larvae, mussels, Chinese snails (invasive, aquarium escapees), musk turtle, white sucker, common and spottail shiners, sea lamprey (a native here, unlike in the Great Lakes), redbreast sunfish.

Pirates, princes and hostages: inside the mysterious life of the unnamed medieval princess of Cyprus – An example of how medieval women found ways to overcome the limitations placed on them…but not one with a ‘happy’ ending.

Snow Day!

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The local school district and university went virtual (rather than closing); it is the ‘new’ response when there is too much snow or ice to travel safely. I opted to cancel my early morning physical therapy appointment since getting out of our neighborhood with 5-6 inches of snow everywhere was not feasible; the snow was still falling too. It was an unexpected day at home to savor.

At first there were things I’d put off doing the previous day…but then I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate…and opted to make a walk outside to photograph our yard before the wind knocked more of the snow off the trees and horizontal surfaces.

The area we view for our FeederWatch sessions was transformed by the snow. The chiminea had snow inside as well as out! The table and nearby chair was piled with 4-6 inches of snow (I didn’t measure).

I walked toward our back gate and notices a small eastern redcedar that was holding a lot of snow; I plan to transplant it to a better place in our yard next spring.

I opened the gate to walk out onto our neighborhood path and realized that it was too hard to walk without getting snow in my boots (the snow was over the tops of my hiking boots in some places). As I came back to our yard – I took a picture of the fence line with piled snow and took a picture of the back of our house with the snow outlining the deck.

I sat down in one of the chairs that was far enough under the deck to not be snow covered and took a few pictures of the cedars and pines in the snow before the birds returned the feeders. The patio was too snow covered for the birds to move easily so they were coming to the feeders more readily and under plants or furniture/deck where there was not as much snow.

After I went back inside, I took pictures of the snow in our garden stakes: iris, butterfly, spider mum, and peacock.

And then I enjoyed the rest of the day indoor….delaying any shoveling of the driveway of sidewalk until another day.

2024 in Review: Travel and Classes

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2024 was a year we ramped up our travel and educational activities – almost to the pre-COVID levels. Both involve being out and about with groups of people….great opportunities to enjoy the place and engage social skills more frequently. Since we now live in the center of the country rather than the east coast, our travel has been via road trips rather than flying; we are not missing the hassle of airports and rental cars!

The travel included two birding festivals (Whooping Crane Festival and Festival of the Cranes) and a solar eclipse…and frequent trips (at least monthly) to Dallas for family visits.

There are accommodations my husband and I (4 years older than when we travelled pre-COVID) are developing for ourselves to ensure that we feel good when we travel:

  • stretch breaks every hour or so when we are driving

  • exercise regime that works in hotels to minimize aches and pains

  • eating almost the same as we do at home (big meal in the middle of the day, extra veggies for me)

  • keeping our sleep time on central time (if possible)

Both my husband and I have been doing online webinars for a long time. This last fall I re-started in-person classes with the Missouri Master Naturalist Training and a class at Missouri State University (Identifying Woody Plants). The master naturalist training was a path toward creating the level and type of volunteering I had enjoyed in Maryland; it lived up to my expectation of continuing the transition to ‘Missouri as home.’

The university class was the first time I had taken a university class since the 1980s and was something to savor because of that and the topic/professor/other students; I found that taking a university class without the pressure of needing a grade or hurrying off to my job was pleasantly different from any of my prior experience.

2024 was a year that saw us settled in our new home in Missouri and increasing both our travel and in-person classes activity. The travel will be sustained (or increased slightly in 2025). The in-person classes might be reduced since there is nothing equivalent to another master naturalist core training, but my volunteering in 2025 is likely to be significantly more than it was in 2024.

Making Hot Chocolate

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It’s a cold morning as I write this, and I have just made myself a cup of hot chocolate…a great way to start the day.

I start out with water (about 25% of my cup)…microwave it for 30 seconds…then add a rounded teaspoon of cocoa powder. I enjoy watching the powder melt! The clumps are like little melting icebergs that eventually disappear under the surface.

Then I add milk (about 50% of my cup) and then more water (another 25% of my cup). Most of the time I also add a very light sprinkle of cayenne pepper too – a nod to the way Aztecs made their chocolate drink although they didn’t use milk, and they made their drink at room temperature.

The cup goes back in the microwave for 2.5 minutes.

I’ve gotten used to not adding any sugar at all! I like the flavor with just the milk and cocoa and cayenne. On cold mornings, it is the first calories of the day…but not as many as the traditional hot chocolate or hot chocolate mix packets.

White Oak Seedling

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I planted a white oak acorn last fall and posted about it sprouting last November.  The seedling is doing well on the windowsill of my office – and still had its 4 green leaves. I’ve put some snowmen decorations on each side of it.  The seedling leans a bit toward the light, so I turn it occasionally…and keep it damp. I’m wondering if the leaves will turn and fall at some point. I can’t tell that they’ve grown very much recently; perhaps the roots are more active but it’s difficult to see with the soil.

In February, I have an outreach event about trees and the seedling will be a good prop!

And then in the late spring – when I’m confident there will not be another frost – it will get planted outside somewhere. It will grow up to be a very large tree so I am not sure I should plant it in my yard.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 11, 2025

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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.

Dogs trained to sniff out spotted lanternflies could help reduce spread – Dogs sniff out egg masses that overwinter in vineyards and forests. This is some good news in the fight against this invasive insect.

Farmers are abandoning their land. Is that good for nature? - Small-scale farmers with rocky soil, steep hills, or scarce water "give up because they cannot compete." By one estimate, the area of farm land that's been abandoned around the world since 1950 could be as much as half of Australia. Without people, cattle or sheep around, meadows filled with wildflowers and butterflies give way to shrubs and trees, which ecologists say are often less biologically diverse. There is an effort in some regions where humans are moving out to help wildlife move in (i.e. rewilding).

Seven proven ways to help the planet in 2025 – Some of the ways are easier than others. I have done 3 of the 7 for at least the last 5 years…and maybe now I should think about what more I want to do. The beginning of the year is always a good time to take stock on things like this.

This Mysterious Pyramid Dominated a Prehistoric Mexican City—and Still Guards Its Secrets – The Pyramid of the Niches in El Tajin….built by indigenous groups that predate the Aztec and Toltec. The Wikipedia article about site says it became a World Heritage site in 1992.

Aerial Photos Highlight Surreal Beauty of Kazakhstan’s Mangystau Plateau - Colorful canyons and mountains, dramatic salt flats, and surreal rocky outcrops…photographed by Daniel Kordan.

The Year in Energy in Four Charts - Solar is driving the shift to renewable power, and it continues to outpace the projections of both analysts and industry experts owing largely to China. Global EV sales reached a new high. In China, the sticker price for EVs is now generally lower than for conventional cars. Along with EVs, the growth of electric heating and cooling and the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers globally are driving up demand for power. Wealthy nations have all but stopped building new coal plants, and coal burning is expected to continue its decline in the developed world as countries move to wind and solar. We’re now moving at speed into the Age of Electricity, which will define the global energy system going forward and increasingly be based on clean sources of electricity.

Photos of the Year – December 30, 2024 – From The Prairie Ecologist

A Year of Climate Extremes, In Photos - 2024 … the hottest year ever, with warming reaching new extremes worldwide. These photos from Greenpeace show the profound impact of severe weather, which scientists are increasingly connecting to climate change.

Squirrels Are Displaying ‘Widespread Carnivorous Behavior’ for the First Time in a California Park – In California’s Briones Regional Park (not far from Oakland and Berkeley), California ground squirrels there are now known to hunt, kill, decapitate and consume voles. Squirrels of all ages and sexes took part in the vole hunt, an indication that this dietary flexibility is widespread across the species and may serve as a crucial survival mechanism in response to fluctuating environmental conditions

Vampire hedgehogs, pirate spiders and fishy fungi - the strangest new species of 2024 – New species are discovered every year….so much we don’t know about our world!

2024 in Review - Photography

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Picking two pictures per month of 2024 was challenging….but a joy. The activity reminded me of times in Texas and at home…the solar eclipse…short trips to Arkansas and longer ones to the Texas gulf coast and New Mexico. They are all taken outdoors. I am celebrating 2024 through these images!