October 14, 2024

Missouri Master Naturalist Training – Week 6

October 14, 2024/ Gwen Morrison

Week 6 of Missouri Master Naturalist (MMN) training was busy because I also did my first MMN volunteering too! I’m counting that ‘first’ as part of the training. The evening class was focused on:

plants and their pollinators. This was a great update --- particularly about native pollinators. I’d learned some things from my etymologist son-in-law (i.e. I had seen the video of buzz pollination and had observed nectar robbing behavior when touring a garden) but it was observational rather than an organized lecture. This lecture filled in the holes of what I had learned previously!
the educational trunk contents and the kinds of programs we do with them. There are bins (“trunks”) for bison, pelts, skulls, insects, birds, turtles, amphibians…and they are trying to develop a new one about urban pollinator landscaping. I got more ideas for the tree educational trunk I am creating…understanding more about how it will be used. I am not sure how often I will use some of the trunks, but it is good to know that they exist.

My volunteering at the MMN table at a fair of home schoolers was the highlight of my week. The 4-hour fair was held at a local nature center and organizations had tables of activities for the 300 families that had registered for the event. The MMN table was focused on Monarch Butterflies. We had life cycle puzzles for the students to work, 2 chrysalis in a mesh tent (one healthy, another parasitized), seeds for 3 kinds of milkweed, a coloring page, and a vocabulary word/definition matching page, lots of brochures, and a slideshow (I had put together the slideshow from some recent photographs I’d taken to play on my iPad…the charge lasted for 3.5 hours). By the end we had no seeds left and very few brochures. It was a well-attended event!

May 04, 2020

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

May 04, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now for the neighborhood dogwoods…

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

March 01, 2020

Zentangle® - February 2020

March 01, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

29 days in February 2020….so that’s the number of Zentangles I select from the pile I created during the month. The black background tiles are from the iPad (in the Procreate app); I opted to not carry pens and paper tiles when I traveled during the first part of the month so all the tiles from February 1st through 9th were on the iPad. I did a series using letters as strings. A few of them made it into the picks for the month.

Toward the end of the month, I was experimenting with mono-patterned tiles without a frame or string.

And then there were the rest….

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.

February 02, 2020

Zentangle® - January 2020

February 02, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

31 Zentangle tiles for January…and only 2 were made on the iPad using the Procreate app. I was in the mood to make tiles on paper with pens, I guess. It wasn’t a conscious decision. I used different colors of tiles and tried some experiments before my Zentangle session with the Howard County Conservancy volunteers…hence the gingo and beautyberry patterns showing up more frequently. I didn’t use a singe round tile in January --- leaning toward something different after all the round ones I made in December for the Christmas tree. Next month it will probably be more balanced between paper and digital tiles since I will be doing some traveling and the iPad is often already in my hands (since it also provides my reading material).

January 12, 2020

My 2019 in Review – Technology

January 12, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Every year there is something new from a technology perspective that I incorporate into the way I do things. 2019 was no exception.

The warranty on my old laptop expired and I bought a new one (Dell XPS 13 Laptop, Dell Thunderbolt ™ Dock TB 16-180W and Dell Ultrasharp 27 Monitor with Premier Color – UP2716D) – the current version of the same laptop I bought previously. The big enhancement from my perspective is the solid-state drive (the new one has a 1-terabyte drive compared to the 500-megabyte drive on the old one). I also got a new Bluetooth mouse and keyboard (Logitech MX Anywhere 2S and MX Keys). I’ve already learned to turn the key backlight off to extend the battery life on the keyboard. I also graduated from one monitor to two. I like to see a lot of the windows I have open all at once! The Dock centralizes all the cables mostly away from the laptop itself which makes it easier to unplug from my office when I am traveling. It took several months to get everything installed and operating the way a want. At the beginning of 2020, I am enjoying being done with the transition…not planning any more near term.

The birdfeeder camera (Reolink Argus 2) is a relatively new addition to the technology at our house. I posted about it last Friday. I think our set up has stabilized and we might be mostly through the technology learning curve. Now we’re ready to use the camera to learn how birds interact at our feeder. Maybe we’ll put a camera on our heated bird bath too.

I subscribed to a year of the Headspace app in February 2019. It’s been a learning experience….using the app to prompt a 15 minute Headspace session for 260 days so far. I’m done a lot of the courses. I just finished the Mindful Eating course and it has been a big help in slowly changing some of my long standing eating habits….letting them go.

I am still using the same phone and iPad that I had before 2019…I make tweaks but no big changes. And they still get used almost daily. I did link my phone and laptop more closely in 2019 via the Your Phone app. That allows me to see my phone’s notifications, messages and photos on my laptop. I often type messages on the PC rather than the phone (if I happen to be in my office).

July 01, 2019

Zentangle® - June 2019

July 01, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

I had a lot of tiles to choose from in June….it was the usual challenge to limit myself to 30 – June having only 30 days.

2019 06 phicops img111 (1).jpg — I did a series of tiles with the phicops pattern for the whole tile – using it like a string for other patterns. All of these were physical tiles.

2019 06 img098.jpg — And then there were all the others – the black tiles are digital (iPad)…which shows that about half my picks for June were digital…half physical.

I’ll be doing a several road trips in July. It will be an adventure in Zentangle-on-the-go. I anticipate that I’ll create tiles at the beginning or end of the day….unless there is a substantial storm and I stop to wait it out.

March 01, 2019

Zentangle® - February 2019

March 01, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

Only 28 days in February; I had a lot of tiles to choose from to pick the 28 in the mosaic below. I’ve continued to be more experimental during the month –

With and without a frame.
Starting with a string or not. There are times I like to start with something in the center or off to the side and then just let the tile evolve from that start.
Picking a pattern from the tanglepatterns.com or finding inspiration in other sources (this month it was basketry books and early 1900s architecture/home decoration…art deco). Many times, a portion of the tile is just auras or other ‘filler’ of blank space.
The ‘screen’ filler has become one of my favorites although I also have experimented with the ‘screen’ as a grid.
Black tiles with white ‘ink’ for lines and shading is my favorite on the iPad but I switch to a color or overlay a color periodically just to be different.

I’ll be creating some physical tiles in March to prepare for my upcoming CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) training that will happen in late March; going back to traditional paper and pens will be quite a change for me.

January 02, 2019

Zentangle® - December 2018

January 02, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

“Thirty days has September, April, June and November…all the rest have 31 save February…” – so there are 31 tiles for December.

f 20181205_021645476_iOS.jpg — My favorite is one that looks a little like Christmas confetti (with snowy auras). And digital confetti pieces are not damaging long-lived plastic debris in the environment. All for the good.

f 20181216_171831670_iOS.jpg — I also tried again making a Zentangle in a busy airport terminal as I waited on my flight home from Texas – with more success than in November. I was much more relaxed on the flight as well.

I probably skewed toward Christmas related colors more frequently in December

But not completely. There was a string of cloudy rainy days that just called for some yellow patterns on the black tiles….and there were two that really did brighten an otherwise dreary day.

November 01, 2018

Zentangle® - October 2018

November 01, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I found myself creating theme sequences with colors in October. I selected 31 tiles (one for each day) and all the themes are represented although I had quite a few more tiles that 31 to choose from. The iPad makes it much easier to create tiles with a lot of variability without worrying about using up favorite pen colors or not having the color of tile I want with me.

The first theme was rich red ink on black background. My favorite of the set is one what has more background showing than usual. It reminds me of a brocade pattern.

Black on white…how can it get simpler. My favorite was made with a string created with 3 overlaid cursive G’s.

The next theme was white tiles with black designs that were finished with color – or colors. My favorite is probably the red and black one.

I switched to black tiles again…white design and aqua/turquoise finishing color. The theme was short lived.

I decided to use the color first and then finish in white. My favorite is one that include orange and then white.

I went back to single color on black tiles for the grand finale of the month. The theme will continue into the early part of November.

June 14, 2018

Packing for Texas

June 14, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I’m in Texas! I bought my ticket less than 48 hours before flying…so this was not a planned trip and I realized as I packed several differences from my usual trek to Texas. First, I don’t know how long I will need to stay so I decided almost immediately to check a bag rather than doing it all in a roll-aboard and a tote bag.

Second, I checked of the weather and realized that it is going to be a lot hotter than I’m used to (I’m remembering why I don’t like to go to Texas during the summer!); on the plus side, lighter weight clothes take less room in the suitcase. Third, since I will be staying for an indefinite time period, taking my regular sized toiletries rather than travel size makes sense (another reason to check the suitcase too).

Some things are the same as my usual travel…taking peppermints for the travel days,

Having the electronics (iPad and laptop) where I can get them out easily when I go through security….and an almost empty quart sized Ziploc – mostly hand sanitizer,

And a zipper case to contain the charging cables – phone, iPad, Fitbit, toothbrush, laptop.

I did not pack the kitchen sink….just all the comforts of home!

May 01, 2018

Zentangle® - April 2018

May 01, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

I’ve picked 30 Zentangle tiles I made in April; the first 9 are the traditional 3.5 x 3.5 inch tiles using Sharpie Ultra Fine Point pens that I made early in the month.

Then, I started using my new Apple iPad (6th Generation) Wi-Fi and Apple Pencil. When I went on my road trip to Texas, I didn’t even pack the tiles and pens; once I started using the iPad for Zentangle, I used it exclusively. The Procreate app has worked well for me and probably will work even better if I ever read the manual. I have enjoyed experimenting with the backgrounds and pens/pencils. It takes a bit to get the same level of eye/hand coordination and acclimate to the slickness of the glass screen. I’ve cheated occasionally by using the ‘undo’ function – not a norm for Zentangle. I’ve enjoyed this first month with the iPad and anticipate many more. It great to be digital all the way...not have the extra step to scan the tiles for posting.

April 26, 2018

Ten Little Celebrations – April 2018

April 26, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

April has gone by very quickly…full of company and travel and the beginning of the spring volunteering blitz.

Six of the 10 little celebrations were experiences outdoors – typical celebrations of springtime everywhere:

Blue birds and tree swallows were making their nests I the boxes at Mt. Pleasant in Maryland.
There were ducklings at Josey Ranch Lake in Carrollton, Texas.
An eared grebe at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge near Sherman, Texas.
Macroinvertebrates in the Middle Patuxent close to home.
Spicebush in the forest behind my house and at Belmont Manor and Historic Park (both in Maryland).
Deciduous Magnolias blooming at Brookside Gardens. Maryland got a freeze at the wrong time in 2017 and most of the blooms turned brown from the cold just as they were opening. It was a treat to see them again this year.

I celebrated the end of two long driving days between Maryland and Texas. Both were blustery and more traffic than expected. It felt good to be done!

My new iPad is something I celebrate every time I create another Zentangle with it! I a pleasantly surprised with how easy I made the transition from pen and paper tiles to digital.

I thoroughly enjoyed a meal at a Brazilian steakhouse – this time managing to savor the flavors and not overeating. I even topped off the meal with dessert!

Finally – the Watershed Summit where the high schools of the county presented their report cards to the county government for their steams and school yards – based on data they collected last fall. Each of the 13 high schools had 2 presenters. They all were so poised and organized. It was a double celebration: the environmental findings trending positive in most cases and the quality of the students in attendance. Both bode well for the future.

April 12, 2018

iPad Adventure – Part 1

April 12, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

Way back in the late 1970s, my husband and I used an Apple II when we were graduate students. I’ve used other kinds of PCs and tablets since, but my husband bought a new iPad recently and encouraged me to try it and the Apple pencil to make a Zentangle. This was my first attempt – not something I will save in any collection.

It will take some practice to get proficient but the technology is enticing….I made the leap. My husband ordered a case for me and we went to Best Buy to buy the device (two purchases: the iPad (6th Generation) Wi-Fi and Pencil). I made a place set up in my office to charge it.

I am pleasantly surprised that the apps I use all the time were easy to install and use on the iPad:

Firefox (Set up with bookmarks synced with my PC. I’m already reading some Internet Archive books on the iPad)
Email and calendar synced with my other devices
Kindle for reading
Our Groceries for sharing shopping lists with my family

I ordered a sleeve for the pencil and found an old gel pen case my daughter bought years ago that holds the pencil and cables neatly coiled for when I’m ‘on the move.’

I also ordered a case for a stylus although I’m not sure how frequently I will use it; using a stylus does reduce the fingerprint density on the screen. The pencil will fit in it without the sleeve, but I like the feel of the sleeve when I’m drawing; the pencil will probably be in the sleeve all the time.

My learning curve over the next month or so will be use learn to use Procreate, the app I’ve chosen to use for Zentangles, and I’ve started looking through the User Guide for the device/operating system.