May 29, 2023

Springfield Art Museum

May 29, 2023/ Gwen Morrison

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

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

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

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

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

A butterfly and ladybug were enjoying them too!

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

July 03, 2021

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 3, 2021

July 03, 2021/ Gwen Morrison

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.

Top 25 birds of the week – June 2021! – The first picture startled me – a bird with a turquoise beak!

Beach Safety Tips: How To Avoid Being Bitten or Stung This Summer – I’m don’t go to the beach frequently…and then am usually more interested in shells and ghost crabs than being in the water! Still – the safety tips were interesting.

Concrete: The material that defines our age – With the collapse of the reinforced concrete building in Florida….this story seemed particularly timely.

Edible Cholera vaccine made of powdered rice proves safe in phase 1 human trials, study suggests – Reminded me of distribution ease of the polio vaccine sugar cubes back in the 1960s. In this case the special rice is powdered and sealed in aluminum packets that are then mixed with 1/3 cup liquid and drunk. Hopefully, the subsequent phases of the trials will be successful…it could save a lot of lives.

Yellowstone and Warming: An Iconic Park Faces Startling Changes – A few degrees makes a big difference….in National Parks too.

Scientists Find Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ in More Than 100 Popular Makeup Products – I hope manufacturers of makeup will check their ingredients more carefully….make their products PFAS-free.

Canada is right to classify single-use plastics as toxic – I hope the US takes similar action. Industry should get on board with this idea and be innovative rather than taking legal action. There is no ‘responsible plastic use’ for single use plastic. We consumers are too accepting that single use plastics are inevitable. It’s pretty easy for us to avoid singe use plastic bags, straws, stirring sticks, six-pack rings, plasticware….the one that is challenging for me is the hard-to-recycle food containers because of the lack of options in grocery stores and restaurant takeout.

Move Over Bald Eagle: Meet 12 of the World’s Coolest National Birds – Some are flashy…some are majestic….a little history of how they were selected aa representatives for their country.

Losing Ladybugs – Native and non-native ladybugs….you are more likely to see the non-natives now.

Florida’s Manatees Are Dying at an Alarming Rate – Starving because water pollution (nutrient runoff causing algal blooms) smothers seagrass. More than 10% of the manatee population of Florida has died so far in 2021. Very sad for other aquatic species that need the same habitat … and people too.

July 15, 2020

Yard Work

July 15, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Lawn mowing day! My husband had decided that the lower dew point and humidity would mean we could start mowing a little earlier while it was cooler. We were both surprised that the grass was still a little wet at 9:30…and the day was heating up fast. He decided to start anyway, and I started on other yard work – planning to take over mowing to give him a break – or finish up. My plan was to take the kitchen scraps that had accumulated in the garage out to the compost bin then cut the day lily leaves around the oak and some plants that were growing a bit too exuberantly over the sidewalk from our driveway to the front door. Here are the before and after pictures of the base of the oak. I’ve learned in years past that cutting the day lily leaves after they bloom encourages them to grow back fresh – looking good into the early fall. It probably means they don’t produce as many new bulbs, but I don’t need any more bulbs! The Virginia Creeper shows up more in the ‘after’ picture.

In just about every task I complete in the yard – I come up with several more. On the other side of the oak, I discovered a small English ivy climbing up onto the tree. At first I thought it might be nice to let it grow on the trunk of the tree…but as I was getting ready to write this blog post I checked to see what the Maryland Extension said about English Ivy. It’s invasive and it can damage trees by holding moisture against the trunk (fungal disease and decay) and it can be a reservoir for bacterial leaf scorch in oaks. So – I’ll be cutting the English Ivy and checking periodically to make sure it doesn’t come back.

I decided to check on the Virginia Creeper. It’s native but can take over. I’ll leave it on the oak but monitor it just as I am on the sycamore in another location around the yard.

The trimming of the plants growing over the sidewalk was done quickly but I found a lot I need to do in the front flower bed. The mint is blooming so it would be a good time to do another mint harvest.

I’ll be cutting the day lily leaves in the front flower bed too and while I am at it, I’ll cut the milkweed plants that are infested with aphids or have curling leaves.

The milkweeds have been a deterrent to the deer eating the day lily buds developing behind them, but now that the flowers are over for the season the milkweed can go – unless they have a monarch egg or caterpillar. So far, I haven’t seen any, but I’ll check closely before I cut them. On the plus side - there was a ladybug near one of the infested pants that might reduce the aphid population.

I’ll leave the milkweeds that have a flower forming

Or have a colony of milkweed beetle nymphs!

Since my husband opted to mow more this time, I had time to sweep up the tiny acorns (immature) that had fallen on the driveway and put them in the mulch around the oak.

I will divide up these next tasks into 15-20 minute chunks easily done in the morning….finish them this week as follow-on to the lawn mowing.

March 24, 2020

Ladybird Beetles

March 24, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

This time of year, the ladybird beetles (we frequently call them lady bugs…but they aren’t true bugs…they are beetles!) seem to appear in my office on warm sunny day. They don’t last long because there is not food for them in the house….and it is too cold for them outside. At one time recently I watched three of them crawling around on the window facing and walls. These are one of the few insects I tolerate in my house since they feed on pests during the growing season. There are always just a few; if the season is progressed far enough to be warm overnight, I take them outside…if not I just let them stay to live out the rest of their time in the house.