As we head into winter – I am thinking about butterflies…how I didn’t see as many (or any species) this past summer. Maybe it is the drought in our area, and they will be more numerous next year. I hope so.
Edwards’ volume is the first of three he produced in the 1870s. The illustrations were done by Mary Peart and hand colored by Lydia Brown and often include more than simply the adult butterfly in the later volumes. They are well worth browsing.
I have two book/puzzle sorting days at my community library before I go off to Dallas again…I am hoping to find some more 300-piece puzzles to take for my Dad. I think he is probably running a bit low and maybe my sister is bringing some older ones back that he hasn’t done recently. We don’t have as many 300-piece as we do 500…and those 500-piece ones are getting too hard for him.
The past month has been more stressful in terms of elder care than I anticipated. There is a disagreement between us daughters about whether he is having pain when he eats and he needs his food ground up. Observations of him eating are not consistent. We have asked the dentist he saw last to make an assessment….since to make the change in mealtime routine for the assisted living staff will require a doctor’s order. On the plus side – I don’t think my dad is aware of the turmoil. Most of the interaction among my sisters and I is via text; I’ve stopped looking at the messages about an hour before bedtime to try to reduce the impact on my sleep. It’s also caused me to start thinking more about what I want my relationship with my sisters to be separate from our shared interest in our father’s well-being.
This is the 13th anniversary of this blog space. It all started when I made the firm decision to retire and started a daily blog…a few months before my career formally ended. It was a way for me to guarantee a little bit of structure in what loomed as a time of my life without many external requirements on my time.
Work had dominated so much of my time – way more than my college education during the first decade of my career…more than my daughter’s 1st 20 years in decades 1.5-3.5 of my career. My husband has been a constant through it all - both of us putting considerable time into our careers. Mine ended without a glide path (intentional on my part)….his was a glide that finally ended a few years after my retirement. We both were aware of developing new ways to fill our days with a mix of activities that we chose – sometimes very different from things we did while our careers were active.
Writing a daily blog has had a positive impact on furthering my artistic side…and sometimes spurring me to action.
Previous anniversary posts: 12th anniversary, 11th anniversary, 10th anniversary, 9th anniversary
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.
Old Growth – Mitch Epstein photographs of very old trees.
The true story of a famed librarian and the secret she guarded closely – Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of New York's historic Morgan Library and Museum.
Inside Turkey’s Mysterious Ancient City That Once Sheltered Thousands—Underground - The Derinkuyu underground city is a sort of gargantuan anthill, except made by and for humans—up to 20,000 of them at a time, in fact. The city descends 280 feet into the earth, divided into eight levels. Upper levels were primarily used for living and sleeping, while lower levels were used for storage, even housing a dungeon. The far-stretched system of interconnected rooms was carved out of the Cappadocia region’s tuff rock. People didn’t live in these underground quarters year-round, however, as they were mainly used for shelter during times of conflict or extreme weather.
Climate change will affect food production, but here are the things we can do to adapt - Farmers can pick crop varieties best suited to different climate condition...production can shift to places with more optimal temperatures…planting and harvest times can shift as the seasons shift…focusing on the right irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides synchronized to climate change. We have the chance to build a more productive and resilient food system, but it’s not guaranteed that we will. It depends on whether the seeds, irrigation, and adaptation practices will be available. That will require real and sustained investment from governments, donors, and private companies.
Toothbrushes and showerheads covered in viruses ‘unlike anything we’ve seen before’ - We live in a richly microbial world. Interactions with bacteria and other microbes in our homes are an integral part of our human biology.
The monarch butterfly may not be endangered, but its migration is - Migrating monarchs don't fly at night, so they spend their evenings in bunches on trees or shrubs, known as roosts. The study relied on 17 years of data from more than 2,600 citizen scientist observations of monarch roosts along the butterfly's migration route. The researchers found that roost sizes have declined by as much as 80%, with these losses increasing from north to south along the migration route. The evidence shows that when monarchs are reared in a captive environment, either indoors or outdoors, they're not as good at migrating.
World’s Rivers Are Driest They - In 2023, the hottest year on record, the Mississippi River and Amazon River basins were at all-time lows, while the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mekong rivers, which all have their headwaters in the Himalayas, were also unusually dry. Across nearly half the globe, rivers were drier than normal.
The worrying puzzle behind the rise in early-onset cancer - Over the past 10 years, rates of colorectal cancer among 25- to 49-year-olds have increased in 24 different countries, including the UK, US, France, Australia, Canada, Norway and Argentina. Perhaps the most obvious explanation points to the role of obesity and metabolic syndrome, conditions which have been associated with driving cancer risk through increasing inflammation throughout the body and causing the dysregulation of key hormonal pathways. Or maybe changes in sleep patterns is part of the explanation. Combined with shifts in lifestyle, many cancer scientists believe that a key driving force for these illnesses is the consequences of various toxic changes within the gut (from microplastics). Antibiotics might be involved too. The bottom line…it’s a looming public health crisis.
New research reveals how large-scale adoption of electric vehicles can improve air quality and human health - Computer simulations show that aggressive electrification of the U.S. vehicle fleet, coupled with an ambitious rollout of renewable electricity generation, could result in health benefits worth between US$84 billion and 188 billion by 2050. Even scenarios with less aggressive grid decarbonization mostly predicted health benefits running into the tens of billions of dollars.
New study explores how universities can improve student well-being - Six guiding principles for improving student well-being:
Embedding well-being into curricula for broader, more accessible adoption.
Having each initiative only focus on one or two aspects of well-being, making it easier to create instruction that can also be more immersive.
Tailoring initiatives to the student body and university culture.
Securing buy-in from faculty.
Ensuring new offerings are accessible and don't create additional financial burden for students.
Employing an iterative assessment framework at the beginning to make it easier to change or scale up a program.
William Forsell Kirby was an English Entomologist that authored a 5-volume Handbook to the Order Lepidoptera in 1896 and 1897. I am featuring the 1st volume as this week’s ‘book of the week’ because I was so pleased to find it. I had somehow browsed the other 4 volumes back in 2016! Enjoy the 4 sample images….and follow the link to see many more.
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.
Astonishing Photo of Millions of Monarch Butterflies Wins 2024 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest – Starting out the gleanings list this week with beautiful images from nature.
Iceberg A-68: The story of how a mega-berg transformed the ocean - Scientists following A-68's birth and demise were able to track just what such giant icebergs do to the surrounding ocean. For its short, transient life as an iceberg, A-68 became a frozen lifeboat for a wide range of species. Over its three-and-a-half-year journey since it broke away from the Antarctic ice shelf, A-68 lost 802 billion tons of ice as it thinned from an average thickness of 770ft (235m) to 551ft (168m). Over a three-month period at the end of 2020 and start of 2021, it dumped an estimated 152 billion tons of fresh water into the ocean – that is equivalent to almost 61 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. At the peak of its breakup, around 1.5 billion tons of fresh water was gushing into the ocean every day. The crushing weight of the freshwater from A-68a as it melted may have helped force carbon-based material down more quickly, to depths where it was less likely to be eaten.
Salmon Make a Long-Awaited Return to the Klamath River for the First Time in 112 Years, After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. – Four dams blocked the salmon’s migration between the Klamath basin and the Pacific Ocean…but now the dams have been removed, and the fish are returning. The first salmon in the river since 1912 were spotted less than two months after the last dam was removed.
Avian architects: weaver birds in Africa have unique building styles – The African white-browed sparrow weavers build nests that look like pompoms in acacia trees. Some families build roosts that are very long, with long entrance and exit tubes; others will build roosts that are much shorter, with hardly any tubes. Essentially, it looks like different white-browed sparrow weaver families have different architectural styles. Researchers excluded all environmental and genetic explanations for the differences in the structures built by different families. Maybe, like humans, some species of birds have their own architectural traditions passed on across generations through social interactions.
Huge! A Roman Engineering Marvel Reaching Across a Spanish City - In Segovia, the Romans built an aqueduct that stands as arguably their greatest architectural legacy from six centuries in Spain. After drawing water from the Frio River, the aqueduct runs underground for some 10 miles before appearing in Segovia as a grand, elegant beast that strides for nearly 2,400-feet across the town. Comprised of more than 20,000 blocks of granite and erected without a lick of mortar, at its highest point the aqueduct reaches more than 90-feet high with narrow, double arches. It remained in use until the late 1970s.
Life-saving spongelike 'bandage' rapidly stops hemorrhaging and mitigates risk of infection - A liquid gel comprised of siloxanes (silicon and oxygen) that is delivered via a special two-chamber syringe which rapidly expands into a spongy foam upon exposure to each other within the wound in under one minute. The sponge applies pressure to restrict the hemorrhage at the delivery site while also serving as an antibacterial agent because of the silver oxide in it.
Learning in the Environment: The Importance of Expanding Outdoor Education Across the United States - Although environmental discussions are expanding in schools, students often lack the opportunity to interact with the natural world through outdoor education, including place-based learning located in nature. The widespread decline of green spaces, especially in densely populated areas, restricts youth engagement with the environment. Interacting with the outdoors helps students to understand not only the environment itself but the role they can play in protecting it.
Chickpeas: Sustainable and climate-friendly foods of the future - Chickpeas are a drought-resistant legume plant with a high protein content that can complement grain cultivation systems even in urban areas. I have discovered that roasted chickpeas is my favorite ‘crunch’ topping for soups and salads!
Photo Contest Celebrates Excellence in Architectural Photography – I haven’t done much architectural photography…but maybe it is something to consider…when I am not able to do nature photography (which is my favorite).
Grasslands live in the climate change fast lane - The rapid shifts in grassland communities involve not only the gain of some hotter, drier species but also the loss of some cooler, wetter species. These shifts might have negative consequences such as dominance by non-native species and loss of biodiversity.
Twenty more books were added to my botanical print book collection in October - available for browsing on Internet Archive. These 20 books covered a range of botanical topics: berries, fruits, nuts, plants for sale as well as plants of particular places (Mexico, Korea, New Zealand). They were published between 1830 and 1942.
The whole list of 2,983 botanical eBooks I’ve browsed over the years 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.
Enjoy the October 2024 eBotanical Prints!
Rio Mayo plants: a study of the flora and vegetation of the valley of the Rio Mayo, Senora * Genty, Howard Scott * sample image * 1942
Hymenophyllaceae - eine botanische Abhandlung * Presl, Karel Borziwogo * sample image * 1843
Symbolae botanicae, sive, Descriptiones et icones plantarum novarum aut minus cognitarum * Presl, Karel Borziwogo * sample image * 1830
Icones Plantarum V31 * Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1922
Icones Plantarum V32 * Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1933
Icones Plantarum V33 * Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Hooker, William Jackson * sample image * 1935
New Zealand Berries * Harris, Emily Cumming * sample image * 1894
New Zealand Flowers * Harris, Emily Cumming * sample image * 1890
New Zealand Ferns * Harris, Emily Cumming * sample image * 1890
Illustrated catalogue of fruit and ornamental trees, shrubs, vines, roses, etc. * May Brothers * sample image * 1887
Rose buds and holly berries * Bennett, Harriet M. et al (illustrators) * sample image * 1888
Bush-fruits; a horticultural monograph of raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, currants, gooseberries, and other shrub-like fruits * Card, Fred * sample image * 1898
Betten, Robert: Beerenobst 1908 * Betten, Robert * sample image * 1908
The Book of the Grape * Ward, William Henry * sample image * 1901
The Small Fruit Culturist * Fuller, Andrew Samuel * sample image * 1887
The Nut Culturist * Fuller, Andrew Samuel * sample image * 1896
Practical Forestry * Fuller, Andrew Samuel * sample image * 1884
Flora Sylvatica Koreana Pt 1 Aceraceae; Pt 2Betulaceae * Nakai, Takenoshin * sample image * 1915
Flora Sylvatica Koreana Pt 7 Rosaceae; Pt 8 Ericaceae * Nakai, Takenoshin * sample image * 1918
Flora Sylvatica Koreana Pt 8 Rhamnaceae; Pt 9 Oleaceae * Nakai, Takenoshin * sample image * 1920
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.
A new era of treating neurological diseases at the blood-brain-immune interface – Investigating the connection of neurological diseases and a toxic immune reaction caused by blood that leaks into the brain….in particular, how fibrid (a blood protein) is responsible for setting of this detrimental cascade.
Antifungal resistance is not getting nearly as much attention as antibiotic resistance – yet the risks to global health are just as serious – Just as with antibiotics for farm animals, tons of fungicides are used annually to protect crops, of which some work the same way as antifungals used in humans. And just as bacterial resistance develops…fungi develop resistance too. Combating drug-resistant fungal infections is a complex problem. An important factor is that diagnoses of infections are often delayed – if they are even diagnosed at all. Simple tests for fungal infections are rarely available.
Nikon Small World Contest Celebrates 50 Years of Photographic Excellence Under the Microscope – Great images….the natural world that we can see only with assistance…an art form too.
So Last Season: The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion and Textile Waste Exports - The last ten years have seen a dramatic increase in the production of single-wear garments—which has contributed to an excess of textile waste and consequent health impacts for the individuals who work in the textile manufacturing industry. Every aspect of the creation of fast fashion garments is unsustainable, from the creation of plastic-derived textiles to the construction of pieces by underpaid and overworked exploited laborers. Up to half of American textile waste is shipped to nations overseas. Adopting more sustainable wardrobe practices not only helps us move away from fast fashion, but also significantly lowers our individual carbon footprints and waste production.
Plastic pollution harms - Nano- and microplastic particles (NMP) are increasingly polluting urban and rural landscapes, where bees and other beneficial insects encounter them… it can damage their organs and cause changes in their behavior, preventing them from properly performing ecosystem services such as pollination and pest control.
British Ecological Society Photo Contest Celebrates the Breadth and Beauty of the World’s Biodiversity – I liked the variety of selections in this photo contest.
Introducing Six Steps to Calm: Our science-backed, stress-busting email course – From BBC…I subscribed…plan to take the course!
Your diet can change your immune system — here’s how - There is still much more work to do to unpick the effects of specific diets on the immune systems of those with different health conditions. However, a growing group of immunologists are optimistic that the mechanistic insights they are uncovering are the first steps towards personalized diets for a range of medical conditions.
US air pollution monitoring network has gaps in coverage - Most of the harmful effects from outdoor air pollution in the U.S. are linked to inhalation of fine particulate matter (PM). These suspended particles, like soot or liquid aerosol droplets, are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, garnering the designation PM2.5. In February 2024, to better protect Americans from health burdens caused by inhaling particles, the EPA adopted a more stringent standard for PM2.5. The EPA tracks compliance with air pollution standards through a network of about 1,000 costly and highly accurate monitoring stations placed in cities and towns nationwide. People of color and people with low socioeconomic status living in the U.S have fewer monitoring stations than other areas to measure air pollutants, meaning they may not be fully protected by the tighter air pollution standards.
Researchers Parse the Future of Plankton in an Ever-Warmer World - Climate change is hitting our oceans hard, making them warmer and more acidic, while radically altering currents. The outlook for plankton is mixed. As the planet warms, the diversity of the menagerie in many spots is increasing. But certain species are losing out, including big juicy plankton thought to be important for food webs and carbon sequestration. And, in the long term, plankton numbers may plummet as climate change starves them of nutrients. Meanwhile research continues: which plankton species are where but also exactly when, since shifts in bloom timing can also have big knock-on effects for fisheries. And the viruses that attack plankton seem to be on the rise as waters warm — another factor with as-yet unknown consequences.
The 6 early volumes of Arthur Cleveland Bent’s 23 volume work, Life Histories of North American Birds are available on Internet Archive. The work was published from 1919-1968…the later volumes completed posthumously after his death in 1954. The volumes available are from before 1930.
Bent evidently traveled extensively and interacted with 100s of people to compile the histories…quite an undertaking – more so since it was done before the computers! He started the work when he was 44 years old and spent the 44 remaining years of his life working on it. The work includes numerous photographs; I provide two from each book below but there are many more – well worth browsing these volumes - and the text is interesting as well.
A more detailed biography of Bent’s life can be found here.
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.
Antarctic 'greening' at dramatic rate - Vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades… fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region.
Is cleaning with baking soda better for the environment? – Maybe not…and it might not be very good at some types of cleaning either.
Meet Milagra, a Rare Condor Rescued as an Egg and Newly Released Back into the Wild – A success at Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.
Landslides, Thousands Of Downed Trees, Undercut Roads Along Blue Ridge Parkway – Lots of repairs for the National Park Service after Hurricane Helene. Some damage is severe enough (i.e. more than just clearing mudslides and debris) that it will take time to repair. The fall foliage will come and go.
In Search of Microbes That Weave Colors into Moroccan Carpets - A scientist’s quest for microbes that produce purple pigments led to the vibrant world of natural dyes for women in the Atlas Mountain region of Morocco creating sought after traditional woven carpets…it’s a great intersection of biology and traditional artistry! The findings are compiled into a 48-page open-source guidebook, also translated into English, which described their project, introduced microbial dyeing, and catalogued recipes for plant dyes.
Dementia diagnostic markers change with time of day - Biomarker levels (p-tau217) were at their lowest in the morning when participants woke and highest in the evening.
Great Lakes Water Quality Project Seeks to Restore Coastal Vegetation - Returning certain croplands to perennial vegetation to reduce runoff and limit erosion.
'A warmer, sicker world': Mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases are on an unstoppable march across the US - West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), malaria and dengue…The mosquitoes that carry these diseases are thriving in a warming world.
Extinct Volcanoes Could Be Source of Key Metals Needed for Clean Tech - Rare-earths lurking under extinct volcanoes may be easier to extract. The iron-rich magma that formed some extinct volcanoes would be up to 100 times more efficient at concentrating rare-earths than the magma found in active volcanoes today. By one estimate, demand for rare-earths is set to grow fivefold by the end of this decade so finding them closer to home could contribute to more rapid conversion to clean technologies.
See Newly Discovered Nazca Drawings That Depict Llamas, Human Sacrifices and More - With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have found hundreds of ancient artworks carved into the pebbled ground of Peru’s Nazca Desert in 6 months compared to 430 found between 1927 up to before the use of AI.
A History of Oriental Carpets was produced by Fredrik Robert Martin based on his collection experiences in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its three volumes are well-illustrated and easy to browse although I found myself wanting to zoom in on a lot of the images!
A history of oriental carpets before 1800 pt 1 (1906)
Last weekend was probably the best of the Missouri Master Naturalist training field trips. The location was a privately own mixed forest, old fields, a cemetery and a creek: a place with history and almost 30 years of restoration work. It was a scenic drive of about 20 miles from my house…quickly going to 2 lane road…then a road without a center stripe….and then a single lane gravel round with some low vegetation in the center which I heard brushing on the bottom of my car.
There were three rotations with lunch between the second and third ones. The day started out cool but was close to 80 by the time we ended so I was pleased to do the walking rotation first. It was focused on native trees and plants…and fungi.
There were lots of black walnuts on the ground….and looking up…it was easy to see which tree was producing them since there were still nuts on the trees.
As we walked along the road – there were several fungi to see on rotting logs.
There were familiar leaves and bark….and heart shaped leaves of wild ginger. The leaves on the ground were brown but there was color in the leaves still on the trees.
The millstone from the old mill (broken into two pieces) was near the entrance to the cemetery…brought there when it was found in the creek. Both areas are reminders of the history of the place as much as a place along the creek we were told about over lunch where many arrowheads had been found (a place there they were made over many hundreds of years before Europeans arrived).
Our guide for fungi had brought some other specimens found elsewhere to share with us since the drought had reduced what we would see otherwise on our walk.
The hour past very quickly and we headed back to our next rotation which was journaling…I’ll post about that tomorrow.
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.
Who Was Buried in Spain’s Megalithic Necropolis of Panoría? - More women than men were buried in Panoria, where human remains were interred in collective burials between 4,100 and 5,600 years ago.
On Navajo Lands, Ancient Ways Are Restoring the Parched Earth - Traditional rock and stick structures, similar to those used by Native peoples long before Europeans arrived on the continent, are not only delivering water to crops they are also restoring the watershed and those of neighbors, helping to sequester carbon, and reviving this high-desert ecosystem…. an opportunity to begin developing localized food economies.
Megadiverse flowering plant family on isolated islands – A high number of evolutionary events -- occurred in the aster family (daisies, sunflowers, and asters) within relatively short time periods on many islands worldwide.
Why is Mount Everest so big? New research highlights a rogue river – but deeper forces are at work - Everest is around 250m taller than the other great peaks of the Himalayas. It is also growing by about 2mm each year – roughly twice as fast as it has been growing on average over the long term. The Arun river’s course changed around 90,000 years ago, eroding away rock that was weighing Everest down – and the mountain has bounced up in response, by somewhere between 15 and 50m. However, the “fundamental cause” of the peak’s size is the tectonic processes that create mountains.
Researchers Grow an Extinct Plant From a 1,000-Year-Old Seed - Israeli researchers have grown the seed of a previously unknown species of flowering plant into a mature tree. In the late 1980s, archaeologists excavating caves in the northern Judean desert discovered a well-preserved but mysterious seed that had likely been carried there by animals. The seed could be dated to between 993 C.E. and 1202 C.E. and that it was a unique member of the commiphora family, a flowering plant known for its aromatic resins. Chemical analysis of the leaves shows an abundance of medical properties in the leaves, and its lack of fragrance matches descriptions of the tsori in the Bible.
Rare and Elusive Australian Bird, Once Thought Extinct for 100 Years, Discovered by Indigenous Rangers and Scientists – Night parrots are generally difficult to detect—a fact that has been long recorded in Indigenous culture. The elusive species creates tunnels and nests in dense spinifex bushes and emerges at night to forage for seeds.
5 things to know from this week’s big report on cannabis - A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine finds the disconnect between the states and the federal government is leading to fragmented policies, and risks to the public. 5 takeaways:
People consume cannabis more regularly than alcohol in the U.S.
Weed and vapes can be super potent and that’s not always disclosed
You can get psychoactive hemp products even in states where cannabis is illegal
Research on cannabis is stifled
Cannabis can be dangerous, but people hear more about its benefits than risks
Biodiversity Becoming a Top Priority - A survey of 300 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S. found that 96 percent of landscape architects are familiar with the impacts of the biodiversity crisis. 45 percent have made biodiversity conservation a top priority of their practice and another 41 percent consider biodiversity as part of their organization’s environmental ethos.
Medical imaging breakthrough could transform cancer and arthritis diagnosis - A new hand-held scanner developed by University College London researchers can generate highly detailed 3D photoacoustic images in just seconds, paving the way for their use in a clinical setting for the first time and offering the potential for earlier disease diagnosis (cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis). What a boon if this could become the new standard…avoiding waiting for an imaging appointment, having to sit still for a long time, and higher cost of current technology!
Incredible Winners of the 2024 Natural Landscape Photography Awards – Couldn’t resist this collection of beautiful images to finish off the gleanings for this week.
The week’s eBooks are full of illustrations of children – mostly outdoors. They are probably somewhat idealized but are a window into the view people had of what children should be doing in the late 1800s. Certainly children were outdoors more often then than most children are today.
Robert Ellice Mack was the editor of the books – selecting poem written by others and illustrations from several artists. There are other books from him that have been digitized; a good list is on University of Pennsylvania’s Online Books Page for him.
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.
Ten Striking Images from the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards – Great images…and the titles/descriptions add to their impact.
From wastelands to wetlands: The fight to save Sri Lanka's natural flood buffers – Transforming garbage patches into biodiverse wetlands in Colombo. About 15 years ago, these ecosystems were degraded and filled with rubbish. Residents organize weekly collection runs, piling up sorted waste at a small collection unit which the municipality sends off for recycling. School kids volunteer, kayaking through the lake to dig up invasive water hyacinth. Ancient kingdoms thrived in a well-managed wetland system where people used them for transport and to grow food. Today, Colombo is home to four wetland parks and several other recreational spaces linked by wetlands.
Eye on the Fertile Crescent: Life Along the Mideast’s Fabled Rivers - The Tigris and Euphrates, the fabled waterways that pour through the heartlands of Eurasian civilization, through the Fertile Crescent, from their chilly headwaters in the mountains of Turkey through vast watersheds in Syria, Kuwait, and Iran, to finally empty into the Persian Gulf at the sweltering marshland shores of Iraq. A series of pictures along the rivers today.
Deaths From Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Could Reach 39 million by 2050 - In 1990, 1.06 million deaths were attributable to antimicrobial resistance. For kids ages 5 and younger, deaths attributable to antibiotic resistance declined by more than 50 percent between 1990 and 2021, mostly due to vaccination, water and sanitation programs, some treatment programs, and the success of those. For patients ages 70 and older, the number of deaths increased by more than 80 percent during the same period. The team estimates that deaths among children will be cut in half by 2050, but deaths among seniors will double. New superbugs can emerge or disappear at a moment’s notice, and scientists still don’t have a good understanding of what causes these unpredictable swings. We urgently need new strategies to decrease the risk of severe infections through vaccines, new drugs, improved health care, better access to existing antibiotics and guidance on how to use them most effectively
Why Are Black Bears Thriving? - Their adaptability has made them one of the world’s most abundant bear species, and also the one faring the best in an increasingly human-dominated landscape.
These Ancient Egyptian Barracks Paint a Vivid Picture of Military Life During the Reign of Ramses II – Mudbrick rooms… evidence of soldiers’ daily provisions, accessories and toiletries, like ivory applicators for kohl eyeliner, necklaces of carnelian and faience beads shaped like pomegranate blossoms, and scarabs engraved with deities’ names. Weaponry demonstrates the place was well armed and may even have been able to produce some weapons on site.
People aren't volunteering as much these days: What gives? - In recent years, giving back to their community hasn't played as big a role in many Americans' lives. The 2008 recession had the biggest dampening effect on volunteering in areas with the most economic growth and above average income equality. When we talk about economic development for communities, we shouldn't divorce that from the civic development of communities. (I was surprised that the study did not find an impact on volunteering from the COVID-19 pandemic…maybe it is too early to see the impact?)
The Largest Prehistoric Structure South of the Sahara - Long after the Kingdom of Zimbabwe’s demise in the 15th century, Great Zimbabwe’s legacy endures. Shona people conducted rites here through the 19th century, and one of the stolen stone eagles that formerly adorned the city graces Zimbabwe’s flag. There are 10 million Shona people around the world today—and there is much to learn about their Bantu-speaking ancestors, who first settled Great Zimbabwe in the 4th century C.E. They farmed, mined iron, and kept cattle, a culinary staple that also denoted social class.
See an Ancient Egyptian Temple’s Brilliant Colors, Newly Revealed Beneath Layers of Dust and Soot - Restoring parts of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Edfu—and shedding new light on what the richly decorated house of worship looked like in its prime: paint and traces of gold leaf.
Brain vasculature changes important for predicting cognitive impairment - A study showing that several measurements of the brain, including blood flow and the brain's ability to compensate for the lack of it, are better predictors of mild cognitive impairment than risk factors like hypertension and high cholesterol. The researcher and its participants are in Oklahoma.
Twenty more books were added to my botanical print book collection in September - available for browsing on Internet Archive. These 20 books covered a range of botanical topics: woody plants, flower seasons, plant fossils, mushrooms, trees, ferns, a plant lore conference, and grasses as well as plants of particular places (English Lake Country, Santa Catalina Island, Yucatan, West Indies, and the District of Columbia).
The whole list of 2,963 botanical eBooks I’ve browsed over the years can be accessed here. Click on any sample images below to get an enlarged version…and the title hyperlink in the list below the image mosaic to view the entire volume.
Enjoy the September 2024 eBotanical Prints!
Our woodlands, heaths, and hedges : a popular description of trees, shrubs, wild fruits * Coleman, William Stephen * sample image * 1866
The romance of nature : or The flower-seasons illustrated * Meredith, Charles(Mrs); Twamley, Louisa Anne * sample image * 1839
Flora fossilis insubrica : studi sulla Vegetazione di Lombardia durante i tempi geologici * Sordelli, Ferdinando * sample image * 1896
Florule Toulousaine * Sudre, Henri * sample image * 1907
An history of fungusses, growing about Halifax V 1-2 * Bolton, James * sample image * 1788
An history of fungusses, growing about Halifax V 3-4 * Bolton, James * sample image * 1791
The tree book : a popular guide to a knowledge of the trees of North America and to their uses and cultivation * Rogers, Julia Ellen * sample image * 1907
The Ferns of the English Lake Country : with a list of varieties * Linton, William James * sample image * 1893
Flora of Santa Catalina Island (California) * Millspaugh, Charles Frederick; Nuttall, Lawrence William * sample image * 1923
Plantæ Yucatanæ. (Regionis Antillanæ) Plants of the insular, coastal and plain regions of the peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico V1 * Millspaugh, Charles Frederick; Chase, Agnes * sample image * 1903
Plantæ Yucatanæ. (Regionis Antillanæ) Plants of the insular, coastal and plain regions of the peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico V2 * Millspaugh, Charles Frederick; Chase, Agnes * sample image * 1904
Old and new plant lore; a symposium * Chase, Agnes; Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1931
The genera of grasses of the United States : with special reference to the economic species * Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1920
A text-book of grasses with especial reference to the economic species of the United States * Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1914
A Manual of Farm Grasses * Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1921
Manual of the grasses of the West Indies * Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1936
The Grasses of Hawaii * Hitchcock, Albert Spear * sample image * 1922
Flora of the District of Columbia and vicinity. By A.S. Hitchcock and Paul C. Standley, with the assistance of the botanists of Washington * Hitchcock, Albert Spear; Standley, Paul Carpenter * sample image * 1919
Flora Americae Septentrionalis, or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America V1 * Pursh, Federick * sample image * 1814
Flora Americae Septentrionalis, or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America V2 * Pursh, Federick * sample image * 1814
I browsed 4 Gene Stratton-Porter books recently; I had read several of her books before eBooks existed but had only recently looked at the list of her books on Internet Archive…and realized I’d missed the 4 that are this week’s eBook picks. They are all well illustrated…worth browsing for the illustrations as well as reading. They still have relevance with natural places even more challenged than when she wrote. Hopefully the appreciation of nature in our lives is still strong enough to prompt increased conservation although even in her lifetime the Limberlost Swamp was gone, drained so that the land could be used for agriculture.
Homing with the birds: the history of a lifetime of personal experience with the birds in1920
Moths of the Limberlost: With Water Color and Photographic Illustrations from Life in 1912
Music of the wild, with reproductions of the performers, their instruments and festival halls in 1910
What I have done with birds in 1907
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.
Congaree National Park to Remove Feral Hogs – There were feral hogs in the park when I visited in 2008!
Witness 1.8 billion years of tectonic plates dance across Earth’s surface in a new animation – I watched the video twice…the first just enjoying the overall moves. The second time I watched for how North America moved over time.
What Are the Best Policies for Reducing Carbon Emissions? - A systematic analysis of more than 1,500 climate policies from around the world found that only 63 were successful, reducing average emissions by 19 percent on average. Policies are more effective when implemented with a variety of other policies, instead of alone. In the U.K., banning coal-fired power plants worked when it was combined with tax or price incentives. The same was true for banning combustion engine cars in Norway. The study also found that successful strategies differed between countries—in developed countries, carbon pricing was effective, while regulation was successful in developing countries.
How thyroid hormone fuels the drive to explore - Research in mice sheds light on how thyroid hormone alters wiring in the brain. Findings reveal that thyroid hormone syncs up the brain and body to drive exploratory behavior. Too little thyroid hormone slows down metabolism and can result in symptoms of depression, while too much speeds up metabolism and can lead to symptoms of mania. The receptor for thyroid hormone is expressed by cells throughout the entire brain, including in areas of the cortex responsible for high-level cognition like planning and decision-making.
Cutthroats and Cottonwoods: Protecting the South Fork of the Snake - The South Fork contains the largest cottonwood gallery in the West. In the fall, the leaves on the tall-timbered giants lining the banks bounce in the breeze like gold coins exploding from the pot at rainbow’s end. Native Yellowstone cutthroat trout are in the South Fork. Most of the cutthroats spawn in tributaries contributing to the South Fork but they are found throughout and the farther you float, the bigger they get…. a river that is as it should be. Consistently wild.
Nutrition and healthy aging: The role of protein quality in combatting muscle loss - Aging may reduce our ability to digest, absorb and utilize the nutrients in food. It is important to consider increasing the amount and improving the quality of protein (probably higher than what is currently recommended for the general population) we consume. For example – research showed that consuming higher-quality (whey and pea) protein supplements at breakfast and lunch increased muscle-building in older adults by almost 10 per cent. However, collagen protein — a supplement heavily marketed towards older adults — did nothing to bolster muscle-building in older adults.
Flash Flood Roars Through Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier National Monument – One of my favorite places in New Mexico……hope I can visit again sometime when it isn’t flooded!
Cooler Communities for All - Four key design strategies to reduce urban temperatures:
Increase tree percentage in parks and green spaces
Provide shade
Use plant materials and water instead of hardscape
Switch to green ground cover, including grasses and shrubs
This Massive Egyptian Observatory Is Unlocking Celestial Secrets of an Ancient Culture - Archaeologists in Egypt have just uncovered a truly stellar find—a sixth century B.C.E. astronomical observatory in the ancient city of Kafr El-Sheikh. The observatory, made from mud bricks, is the largest and oldest of its kind in the region, spanning nearly 10,000 square feet. It was in ancient Egypt that the 365-day calendar was born, and the 24-hour day. They completely mapped the night sky, and had their own constellations and zodiac, some signs of which are still recognized today.
Looting of the Sudan National Museum – more is at stake than priceless ancient treasures - It was founded in 1959, ahead of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. A Unesco-led salvage campaign was launched in 1960 to protect and preserve the ancient monuments that would be flooded by the dam, which would alter the landscape of the Nubian region. The reported loss of parts of this collection represents a profound and multi-layered tragedy for future generations.
Enjoy 11 well-illustrated eBooks this week by Frank Finn from the early decades of the 1900s. Most of them are about birds and there is a skew toward Asia since the author spent almost a decade in India. The Wikipedia article was shorter than I expected so I searched further and found an obituary in Nature from 1932 which was more informative. These books are freely available on Internet Archive and worth browsing!
The world's birds a simple and popular classification of the birds of the world
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.
The Mysterious Turkish Megaliths That Predate the Pyramids - Göbekli Tepe or “Potbelly Hill” in Turkish…it may be the world’s oldest calendar.
Planes, trains and monster diggers: The vehicles pushing the limits of electric power - BBC Future Planet recently went on a hunt for some of the biggest electric vehicles in the world – by size and weight. There is no shortage of impressive examples, from giant mining machines to trains and cargo ships. Often the largest excavators are connected to an electric power source by a cable, rather than using an on-board battery. But in terms of weight, heavy goods vehicles are among the largest EVs you might find yourself sharing the road with. Volvo's FH Electric truck, if you include its double trailer and load, is among contenders for the heaviest battery-powered electric road vehicle. Though research suggests we might one day see electric passenger aircraft capable of carrying as many as 90 people. The biggest electric planes today can accommodate a maximum of around nine passengers. The most powerful electric train in the world is perhaps the Shen24 in China. It is capable of carrying more than 10,000 tons – of coal – at up to 120km/h (75 mph).
Maine! Ghost Flower, the inside view – I’ve seen Ghost flowers a few times…but never the inside of the flower.
Crested Rats & Hairy Porcupines: Meet 7 of the World’s Coolest Rodents – The only one of the 7 I’ve seen is the Capybara (at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, MO).
A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests – What a great project photographer David Herasimtschuk had undertaken!
Plankton mark seasons in the sea, just like leaves and flowers on land – The seasonal flux of phytoplankton and zooplankton. The photo of diatoms (algae) in this post was what caught my attention; I’ve always enjoyed finding them in water samples.
14 Extraordinary Highly Commended Photos From the 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest – My favorite was “Leaving the Nest” …two tawny owlets.
The Ancient Temple Carved Out of a Single Rock - Kailasa Cave, one of 34 in the Ellora Caves complex that has been cut and dug from the basalt rock of the Deccan plateau. 100 feet high and 300 feet long would make it the world’s largest—with all four sides liberated and sculpted into pavilions, halls, vestibules, towers, and courtyards by 800 hardy monks over 150 years beginning in the 7th century BCE. It was once painted white to mimic the Himalayan peak.
Thracian horseman’s grave unearthed in Bulgaria - The man was buried wearing clothing decorated with gold appliqués. A gold necklace, a gold diadem, a gold ring, and a knife decorated with gold and semiprecious stones were recovered from the burial, in addition to the remains of a horse and full battle gear, including a breastplate, sword, scabbard, and other knives and spears
Microplastics Found in Human Brains - The brains of people who suffered from dementia contained significantly more plastic than the brains of healthy people. Troublingly, the new study found more plastic in brain samples gathered in 2024 than in samples gathered in 2016.
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Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from last month:
Copyright © 2024, Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
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