Springfield Botanical Gardens – March 2025

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There were signs of spring at the Springfield Botanical Gardens last week when I made a short visit.

The daffodils were beginning to wane.

The grape hyacinths filled some niches in beds otherwise still bracing for winter.

The maple trees had new samaras – still colorful. There must be several different kinds of maples based on the different structure and color of the samara clumps.

The most dramatic were probably the deciduous magnolias. I always like photographing them. The most of trees that I found were very young.

I found some tulips as I headed back to my car. It was a little disappointing to not see more of them. They did not appear to be as densely planted as in previous years – or maybe a lot of them just didn’t produce for some reason.

The redbuds were blooming….making a haze of color in the gardens! This is a great time of year to visit botanical gardens frequently to see the transition from winter to spring to summer.

Ten Little Celebrations – March 2025

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Lots of early spring celebrations in March!

Trout Lilies. One of the high points of our hike at Cedar Gap Conservation area was seeing trout lilies blooming down by the stream…as celebration of the new season.

Bald Eagles. The serendipity of seeing two bald eagles soaring over Springfield was another celebration of our Cedar Gap field trip. They seemed to be heading north so might have been migrating through as eagles do in the spring.

Tenure. My son-in-law was granted tenure at Missouri State University. It’s a major milestone to celebrate.

Pinecones. The wind caused pinecones to fall from our shortleaf pine and I picked up a bag of them for my sister. We both celebrated in anticipation of the fun projects she’ll do with her grandson.

Redcedar. I transplanted a small eastern redcedar that came up in my flowerbed to the place in my yard that I want it grow….and celebrated that it stayed upright even with the high winds that came along in March. It will make a great addition to the bird habitat near our patio!

Physical therapy. I celebrated that the physical therapy my dad is doing seem to be helping him recover his mobility after an illness in February.

Covid booster. My husband and I both got a booster in March…celebrated how easy it is to do at our pharmacy. We both have managed to never have Covid.

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. Celebrating snow geese and swans…and all the other birds at the refuge.

Orchids. The Missouri Botanical Gardens (St. Louis) Orchid Show is quite a celebration of flowers. It will probably become an early spring tradition for us from now on!

Volunteer opportunities. I am celebrating that there are so many great volunteer opportunities…lots of variety which I will continue to explore this year.

Learning about Missouri Geology – March 2025

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We took two road trips over the past month --- opportunities to observe Missouri geology along the roadsides! My copy of Roadside Geology to Missouri has been a good reference.

The first was from our home near Springfield MO to St. Louis. Interstate 44 dominates the route and there are plenty of roadcuts first on the Springfield Plateau then the slightly lower Salem Plateau…finally down the northeastern flank of the Ozark Dome close to St. Louis. Our day trip was on a sunny day, so it was easy to take pictures.

One of the most interesting road cuts is at the north side of the rest stop near mile marker 235. The Roadside Geology book says – “Tilted blocks of Pennsylvanian sandstone and shale….are part of a down-dropped block of rocks along a fault zone or a filled-sink structure, or perhaps both.” I took pictures from the south side of the road as we were going toward St. Louis

And then one as we passed by on the return.

We noticed caves and state parks along the way and are planning a ‘field trip’ in April to see some of those.

The second was from our home near Springfield MO to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City MO. The route took us from the Springfield Plateau to the Salem Plateau…then the Osage Plains as we turned toward Kansas City and crossed the Missouri River…finally to the Glaciated Plains of Northern Missouri. The day was sunny, making photographs of road cuts as my husband drove possible. I even got two pictures of the roadcut near out home as we set out!

The road cuts were less pronounced as we got further along…and more crumbly. On a botanical note – the sycamores are easy to spot this time of year.

I was so busy photographing overpasses and the bridge at Kansas City that I didn’t realize the bridge was over the Missouri River!

The Loess Bluffs (in this case roadcuts) look very different than the roadcuts further south. The loess here is from the edges of glaciers of the last ice age. Plants sometime can take root…but often sluff off and the loess is revealed again.

And then we reversed toward home.

PT on my Own – month 2

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I am in my second month of continuing my physical therapy exercises without the rigor of twice weekly appointments. I’ve become somewhat inconsistent – and am determined to get back to a better routine. My biggest challenge seems to be the aspects of my everyday life that have me sitting for too long: road trips, in front of my computer, meetings and classes. Toward the end of the day, I realize I haven’t done enough of the exercises to improve…and maybe not even enough to maintain. And then I have a round of aches at night…poor sleep…a bad cycle begins.

I have been more consistent in getting at least 8,000 steps per day and that is helpful but does not work on all the muscles that need to be stretched and improved.

I’ve started a seated twist exercise that seem to be helping relieve lower back pain very quickly. It is easy to do when I am out and about.

I bought some slats for under the mattress of the twin bed I use for back exercises…to make it firmer. Now I need to open the box and get them in place!

It helps that the weather is warmer, and I hope in the next month to be outdoors more frequently doing yard work which will test how well the physical therapy exercises are keeping my lower back pain at bay.

Previous Physical Therapy posts

The Craftsman (magazine)

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I browsed 24 months of The Craftsman magazine from the early 1900s back in December. They are available from The University of Wisconsin-Madison digital library. They are a way to understand the way people were living at the time – a time when my grandparents were born. Some of the styles look “heavy” by today’s standards…but they were built to last from daily use. Some would still fit into a home today. Click on any of the sample images below to see a larger version…and use the links to browse the whole magazine.

 The craftsman Vol. I, No. 1 October 1901

The craftsman Vol. I, No. 2 November 1901

The craftsman Vol. I, No. 3 December 1901

The craftsman Vol. I, No. 4 January 1902

The craftsman Vol. I, No. 5 February 1902

The craftsman Vol. I, No. 6 March 1902

Our Yard – March 2025

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The crocus and maple are in bloom! The first blooms of spring 2025.

The daffodils and irises are up – but there are no bud stalks yet.

The rhododendron is full of buds that seemingly made it unscathed through the very low temperatures we had in February.

The shortleaf pine is beginning to drop some cones. I’ll pick them up to avoid mowing over them…and take them to my sister to use for craft projects with her grandson.

Our big wind chime tells us that it is windy outside most of the time – typical for March. It is large enough to sound like distant church bells.

The hens and chicks seem to have grown over the winter. I need to clean up the debris around them…maybe take out more rocks so they can expand more easily.

The only yard work I’ve done so far is cutting some ‘trash trees’ that were growing up into the holly, beginning to trim the yew hedge to make mulch for areas I don’t want grass to grow, and transplanted an eastern redcedar that came up too near our patio to a place where there is enough room for it to grow and provide privacy to the patio as I take remove non-native Japanese barberry bushes.

There is still plenty to do in the yard but I am doing it in sessions of less than an hour…building up for when I start mowing!

Project FeederWatch – March 2025

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We are seeing more robins! They aren’t at our feeders but are not far away in our yard and trees. It is a welcome sign of spring. There are red-winged blackbirds at the feeders sometimes…and we always hear them. I hope there is enough vegetation around our stormwater pond to encourage their nesting. Our winter visitors are still around as well. Grackles are showing up more frequently. Of course, the squirrel appears to lap up any spilled seeds.

The doves seem to have increased in numbers but it may just be that they are pairing up, so we are seeing then in twos.

We left our suet feeder empty for a couple of weeks and are seeing a lot fewer starlings. Our other feeders (squirrel proof) almost close with the weight of the starlings so they don’t get much seed from them.

My husband and I have enjoyed our weekly sessions watching the feeder…will be sad when the program ends at the end of April…will sign up again to do it in the fall.

Previous FeederWatch posts

1 Month with my Nikon Coolpix P950

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I haven’t used the camera as much as I thought I would – weather caused the cancellation of one trip, and another was dominated by macro photography where I prefer my phone. My learning curve is just taking off! I am still not as proficient with the Nikon Coolpix P950 as I was with my old Canon Powershot SX70 HS….but I am determined to get there and beyond.  

There were plenty of opportunities for through-the-window bird photograph even with the multiple rounds of winter weather over the past month.

We did make a quick walk around some areas of the Springfield Botanical Garden on a cold afternoon. I’ve made a goal to try to be there at least once a month for the rest of this year. I liked the colors of the witch hazel and succulents and cedar…the textures of winter in all the images.  

Costco Adventures

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My daughter decided to buy a Costco membership…and I decided to buy one too. I’ve had the membership for a month…am still in the learning curve. The warehouse is far enough away that I won’t be going more than about once a month; I’ll still do a weekly shopping at a grocery store very close to where I live.

My first trip to the warehouse was an adventure since their website does not say where in the warehouse things are located…or even accurately portrays what is in the warehouse versus has to be ordered. I did find a bedspread that I liked and a brand of protein drinks that was new to me but less expensive that the brand I had been buying (and nutritionally almost the same). They have bags of frozen chicken breasts that work great for us – but I might not even need one bag per month! I bought a big package of water bottles which I won’t do again – too heavy.

I was in the area and bought gas at Costco….saving a bit on each gallon. I’ll continue to do that, but it won’t be for every tank since I buy more gas when I am on a road trip…and generally do my driving around town under battery power (in my plug-in hybrid Prius Prime).

It snowed before my next trip to Costco and I decided to see if they sold a snow blower (probably for next winter). They had an electric one for a good price and, after my husband confirmed my initial assessment of the machine, I ordered it; it was delivered less than a week later.  It’s a relief to know that shoveling snow is not in my future!

For my third trip to Costco, I arrived as the warehouse opened and had a list. I was disappointed they did not have Ritz crackers (my husband eats a lot of them so I was hoping to get a large box) or a crunchy peanut butter that didn’t have sugar (also for my husband) or popcorn kernels (they had prepackaged popcorn….not the ‘whole food’ version). But – I did buy two sets of sheets, a 35 pack of Coke zero sugar (won’t do that again…too heavy), the CereVe lotion that I like, our favorite spaghetti sauce, frozen broccoli, a 2 loaf pack of Dave’s bread, 1.5 gallons of lactose-free milk (won’t do that again since my grocery store has it for a little bit more but in a recyclable container), mushrooms, protein drinks, and butter.

I am still in the mode of wandering around the store to find what I need….and occasionally splurging. The splurge of my most recent shopping was Honey Citron Ginger Tea. It is fabulous in hot water!

The lessons learned so far mostly are about not buying things that are too heavy. Big packs of toilet paper and paper towels are OK…but not soft drinks or water! I think I am getting what I expected from the membership so far, but will continue to assess as the year progresses.

Project FeederWatch – February 2025

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Our fourth month of weekly Project FeederWatch counting continued with our regulars: white-crowned sparrows, white throated sparrows, house finches, gold finches, cardinals, dark eyed juncos and mourning doves….and unfortunately starlings. The chickadees, Carolina wren, titmouse, and downy woodpecker are occasional visitors.

We had two surprises recently –

  • A fox sparrow showed up on a very cold, snowy day and ate for almost our whole observing time…and stayed in the area for the duration of the very cold weather.

  • A red shouldered hawk made an appearance in our yard. I think it lives in our neighborhood, but I hadn’t seen it come as close to our feeders before. All the birds around our feeders disappeared well before we saw the hawk swooping in from the direction of the pond. I’m not sure which one raised the alarm but they scattered very quickly.

When snow is on the ground, it seems like  the birds are more frenzied at the feeders and any seed that has spilled onto the ground below. They need calories to keep themselves warm! The Caroline wren never seems to be around when it is very cold and I wonder where it stays….hope it survived.

Previous FeederWatch posts

Very Cold Weather

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Last week we had snow and some very cold days with temperatures in the single digits (on both sides of 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately we had been paying attention to the forecast and could simple stay indoors for 3 days!

I took some pictures through the window on the second morning. There was still snow caught in the holly trees around our bird feeders…and there was enough breeze to move our wind chimes. Later in the day most of the snow had been knocked out of the trees.

In the afternoon, I opened the door to our deck for a few seconds to get a picture of the chairs with snow drifts. The wind was still redistributing the snow; when the sun was out, it looked like there was glitter in the air.

I bundled up and went out to assess our driveway…no melting even though the sun had been out for most of the morning. The temperatures were too low.

I shoveled about a third of our driveway before a neighbor came home and walked over to ask if I wanted him to use his snow blower on the rest of it. Yes!!! He said he had gone to Kansas City to buy it a last month and I am now thinking we might need to do something like that too!

Ten Little Celebrations – February 2025

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February was busier than usual this year – a combination of a class, a new role for me in the Missouri Master Naturalist chapter, and some significant volunteer hours. It all made for plenty of little celebrations.

Owl Pellets. Having 28 children busily dissecting owl pellets – finding and identifying tiny bones. I celebrated that we picked something they all seemed to enjoy doing all the way to the end of our time (and a little beyond).

A new protein drink. Another whey-based protein drink that already has lactase added…worth celebrating for the convenience (and also because it is not as thick or expensive as the one I had been buying).

Niece going to have another baby. My sisters and I celebrated that there will be another baby in the family next fall. My sister that is the grandmother shared the news with us almost as soon as she found out.

Snowy Feeder Watch day. I celebrated the extra birds that came to our feeders when snow was on the ground.

Seeing lots of Northern Harriers. I celebrated seeing Northern Harriers on our field trip to Lockwood MO. We’d seen them before in New Mexico but not as many…and it’s thrilling to see them closer to where we live.

Lunch with my daughter. My daughter and I have been meeting for lunch a Student Union dining room after my geology class. It feels celebratory every time we meet (and we generally have dessert too).

Finding witch hazel. I celebrated when I found a witch hazel in bloom at the Springfield Botanical Garden…even though I was hoping to see more of them.

Grandniece and grandnephew. I celebrated seeing my sister’s grandchildren when I went to Dallas to visit my father. One is just learning to crawl, and the other is reasonably adept at recognizing/saying colors.

Snow day. A day of staying indoors due to weather – always a time to celebrate. The day seems like a serendipity block of time that I had not anticipated.

Soup. Soup is my favorite meal on cold days. I celebrated finding a quick and tasty one made from ingredients in my freezer: turkey meatballs, corn, broccoli, and edamame….a little seasoning and sometimes left over spaghetti sauce…delicious.  

Zooming – February 2025

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There seems to be more going on this winter than usual. Most of the pictures I selected to represent February were taken within a 100-mile radius of home in Nixa MO…except for a few at the Josey Ranch ponds in Carrollton TX. There were some warm days…and some snow. Some of the bulbs are coming up --- growing slowing in the still frigid temperatures that keep coming. Enjoy the February slideshow!

Sustaining Elder Care – February 2025

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I took three days for my monthly trip to Dallas rather than the usual two. A weather forecast for snow prompted the decision…since it would be impossible to leave early in the morning. There were two appointments I wanted to keep – one to signing tax forms for my dad and the other to complete the set up at his bank so I could sign for him if needed. It turned out that the drive down was not bad. The highways were clear; the first rest stop still has some snow/ice remnants but even that had melted way by the time I was mid-way through Oklahoma.

I got to Dallas early enough to see my dad on my that first day…and two more times before I left to come home. During my recent visits, I’ve noticed my father’s further decline each month – both physical and mental. He rarely can complete a sentence now and tends to look at his feet when he stands up and walks (hunched over) with the walker. The cold weather keeps him from taking walks outside most of the time and the impact on his physical fitness is noticeable. It felt right to see him for the extra day.

He had another round of Covid since my last visit; he appears to have come through OK although he had a few rough days when he was quarantined to his room, and he became concerned that the house was too quiet (thinking he was alone in the assisted living residence). One of my sisters arrived (masked and gloved) at the perfect time to reassure him. And now the house is back to normal with residents out in the shared big room more frequently…and a television on there.

We had a rough time starting a new puzzle on the second afternoon but then did very well the next morning – completing the frame and forging ahead. Dad seemed more adept at finding pieces that fit. Perhaps he is always more alert mentally in the morning. I’ll need to consider that going forward.

I drove home on the third day and it was unexpectedly harder than I thought….foggy and rainy the whole way. The temperature was high enough that I wasn’t worried about ice, but the sheets of water thrown up by the big trucks on the highway along with the wind made for a stressful drive. The 7 hours on the road was exhausting. I was relieved to be home again.

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.

PT on my Own

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It’s been three weeks since my last physical therapy session. I’ve had some ups and downs. The therapy did succeed in dramatically reducing my back pain but now there are other aches that I wasn’t noticing previously. They could be simply a byproduct of me becoming more active and using some muscles that did not get worked very much previously. There were a couple of days I felt like I was coming down with a cold or flu…but then I bounced back feeling back to normal without getting sicker.

No matter how I feel…I do at least some PT every day and try to add repetitions or harder exercise as often as I can. The overall trend is good but not always a straight path. I am challenged to remember the warm-up required for some parts of the routine. One routine that is done on stairs is particularly hard on the knees if I don’t warm-up first!

There is more vigorous activity in some of my other activities now. I fast walk between by car and the geology class I am taking; the last bit is up three flights of stairs. After class I take the stairs down and go to another building to meet my daughter for lunch…with another 3 flights of stairs up to the dining room. We take the elevator down! On those days, I don’t do the PT routine that involves stairs.

I am still challenged to remember to stand correctly when I am out and about – particularly on uneven terrain after being in the car for an hour or more; the result is that my back starts hurting. My husband and I are going to be taking some field trips soon that will give me more opportunity to practice – learn how to get my muscles warmed-up enough after being in the car to enjoy the hiking.

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!

New Camera

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I have been using Canon cameras for a long time but they aren’t updating (creating new models) of their bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) so I am transitioning to the Nikon bridge camera: Nikon Coolpix P950. My husband helped me along by ordering everything just as he did last April which I transitioned from Samsung phone and Dell computer to Apple products: iPhone and MacBook Air. This past year has been a tech pivot for me!

The box with the new camera came when I was busy with other things…but I opened it to take out the two small manuals about the camera to look at while I went off to get my car serviced. I realized that I needed to browse the full reference manual to become as proficient with the new camera as I am with the old – to avoid frustration when I am on field trips.

I unloaded the rest of the box: the camera, a camera strap, a lens hood, a battery, and a charger (to charge the battery when it is in the camera).

My husband had ordered some other things: a charger for batteries when they are outside the camera, 2 extra batteries, a better camera strap (Peak Design), and a strap for the lens cap (since I don’t always have a pocket for it). I attached both straps to the camera body.

The battery in the box with the camera was already charged and I had a new SD card---so it was easy to get to the point of turning on the camera. I set the time zone, date, and time then formatted the SD card. And took a few pictures. Two are yard art through my office window and the other is of a picture on the wall of my office.

Next step: browse the reference manual and plan a field trip!

Our Missouri Neighborhood – February 2025

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We had a day in the upper 60s in February!!! It was a great day to walk around the neighborhood. The beds planted with native wildflowers at the edge of the pond are new – a next-step in the project to put more natives in the shallow water and along the edge of the pond. The water plants were done first and surrounded my wire mesh to protect them until they are established. This second phase was cardboard covered my mulch and planted with native wildflowers…mostly coneflowers based on the labels I could see.

The turtles were enjoying the sunshine and warmth. There was a group on the small island – primarily facing the bank. All except one slid into the water as I got closer.

There was one on the opposite bank – a little higher out of the water….looking out over the pond. Perhaps it was a different kind of turtle?

I saw a pair of mallards in an area with some downed branches. The female was alert as I neared…but male stayed asleep. There have been ducklings on the pond for the last two years, but the turtles have gotten them. I wondered if the pair I saw was the same as in years past and if they will try again this year. Based on the number of turtles I saw (and their size), I think our pond is probably not be a good place for ducklings.

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.