Road Trip to Dallas in March 2025

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I left home before 6 AM and, because of the shift to daylight savings time, it was very dark for the first hour of the trip. It had been very windy the day before and cold overnight…with snow flurries. Fortunately, it was too windy and not cold enough for any accumulation. I made my usual first stop at a Loves just west of Joplin, before entering Oklahoma. I have made the trek so many times that I am very familiar with the places I like to stop. The next stop is at the Loves when I get off the turnpike at Big Cabin to go south on US 69/75. I buy a protein drink for breakfast. Stop three is at a QT in Muskogee where I buy gas this time. I stop at the Loves in Atoka for a cookie and then the Anna TX Whataburger for lunch…and then I am at the assisted living residence to visit with by dad.

I find him awake and in his rocking chair in his room. We do a round of physical therapy, and he seems resigned to doing the exercises. I notice when he stands up from the rocker that he seems stronger than he did in February after he’d had a short illness. The PT seems to be helping. We walked a bit outdoors…not around the block completely but about half the distance and he didn’t seem exhausted afterwards like he did back in January. I noticed that the redbuds are beginning to bloom, and the evergreen shrubs are getting new leaves. Afterward we disassemble a completed puzzle and put it in its box….started a new one – almost completing the frame before he complained that he can’t see well enough to continue. It had been about 2 hours since I arrived…about the max that he can enjoy at this point.

When I get to the hotel – there is no one at the front desk so I use that as a prompt to walk around outside for about 10 minutes; the afternoon temperature was in the upper 60s and the sun was shining. It was a pleasant afternoon. I took a few pictures of river rocks in one bed… some fiber curves of a yucca, and some mistletoe in a tree. There were drifts of leaves in areas of the parking lot where cars don’t park frequently….and a cedar branch that got painted red when the ‘no parking’ curbs were re-painted.

I focused on my own physical therapy for part of the evening! The food for my dinner that I brought from home worked well – I was glad I didn’t have to go anywhere else once I got to the hotel. I was still feeling the impact of the walk with my dad – must have been enough of some kind of pollen that caused my sinuses to drain (runny nose and sneezes) that continued until the early morning hours.

The next morning, I was up at my usual time and having the hotel breakfast shortly after 6:30 AM when they opened. I headed to the assisted living residence by about 7:20. It was the morning rush in the Dallas suburbs. The route is a main thoroughfare with lights but there was more honking of horns than I remembered from previous trips. My focus shifted to my dad for the hour and half I was with him.

Someone had opened the blinds on his window, and he was noticing the sun shining on the neighboring house’s chimney and then roof. I remembered to water the outdoor raised beds that my sister has planted; it was too cool outdoors to take my dad with me. After I returned, he was ready to work on the puzzle. We finished the frame and made some progress on the interior. He complained that he couldn’t see well enough about the time the staff started serving breakfast and I left. I took pictures of the rocks around the circular driveway of the assisted living residence…mostly sandstone, I think.

I had noticed on the drive down, that my stress level while driving seemed high so I decided to try keeping my thoughts more concentrated on the present rather than planning for events and activities coming up in the next few weeks. I noticed more things along the way:

  • License plates – Maine and Wisconsin were two further afield ones. Most were Texas, Oklahoma, and then, once I was close to home, Missouri. The Cherokee and Choctaw license plates were the most numerous tribal plates.

  • The cars that seemed to be trying to go faster than anyone else – darting from lane to lane on the highway – had Texas plates until I got into Missouri. Then it was Missouri drivers going way over the speed limit (more than 10 mph faster). They tended to get on the bumper of the car not going fast enough in front of them too.

  • There are some trees I recognize going down the road. Sycamores are easy to spot in winter and they haven’t leafed out yet…so they are still distinctive. The Bradford/Callery pears and redbuds are blooming right now so they are easy to ID. The Callery pears (escaped Branford pears) are more frequently seen near towns…where Bradford Pears were planted, birds ate the seeds and then carried them nearby. Sometimes they are half the trees in abandoned fields…along with eastern redcedars. The redcedars are native but they are more numerous now than they were historically because they thrive in damaged soil without periodic fires to control their numbers. The native redbuds are blooming…full bloom in Texas and buds transitioning to bloom in Missouri.

  • There are the always some roadkill that I notice. The most frequent this trip was skunks, but I saw a few racoons as well.

  • There are train tracks along US 69 in Oklahoma. Most were moving. When they were moving in the same direction I was traveling, I could tell that I was going faster than the train!

  • The wind was picking up dust in some places. It wasn’t always visible, but I could hear it when it hit my car. There was more trash along the sides of the road…caught in fences and trees or it would have just continued moving. My eyes felt itchy for much of the drive.

  • As I go closer to home, I noticed several cars that were packed with belongings – the rear window filled with what looked like clothes. I wondered if it was college student going back to school after spring break – with a lot of clean clothes!

When I got home, I checked the ‘stress’ metric that is recorded by my Garmin Lily…and it was lower than it had been on the previous day while I was driving! So – focusing on the ‘present’ is helpful!

Cedar Gap Conservation Area

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My daughter and I took an early spring hike at Cedar Gap Conservation Area near Seymour MO this week. It is about 45 minutes from where we live along good highway…to a 2-lane road that heads into the country side for less than a mile before it turns to a gravel road, and crosses some railroad tracks just before the small parking lot. The Cedar Gap Plateau is the second highest point in the State of Missouri! Three watersheds begin from the plateau: Gasconade River, Finley River, and Bryant Creek.

WThe trail is downhill to a stream – the headwaters of Bryant Creek. The trail is gravel that is sometimes large enough and loose enough that going downhill is considerably harder than going uphill!

We noticed some redbuds with buds developing but not open year. I stopped to photograph a small nest left from last season and some very green moss.   

It was not long. Before we heard trickling water! The water stairsteps down over rock ledges into pools…some clogged with leaves and others clear to the rock at the bottom of the stream. It has not been a wet winter or early spring so there was not a lot of water.

We saw a few wildflowers coming up through the leaves left from last fall.

I attempted to photograph some water striders. Their shadows show up more than the insects.

I walked a little further up to take a picture of overhang and realized that water was dribbling off the top…maybe evaporating before it reached the stream.

We hiked back up the trail the way we had come. The hike is a loop, but I wasn’t sure that we were half way around….and didn’t want a longer hike. I made stops on the way up (a steep trail) but felt surer footed than when we walked down. My last picture was of trees on top of the highest area…still like winter…but we know they will leaf out soon.

My daughter and I enjoyed a Mexican food lunch in Seymour before we drove home.

My daughter and I enjoyed a Mexican food lunch in Seymour before we drove home. The grand finale of the trip: as we drove toward my daughter’s house in Springfield, we saw two bald eagles soaring overhead. Fortunately, we were stopped at a red light so we both were able to safely see them!

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 22, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

In This Storied Egyptian City, Rising Seas are Causing Buildings to Crumble – Alexandria, Egypt. Since 2001, 290 building have collapsed as the rising water table weakens soil and erodes foundations. There are other historic coastal cities with the same problem.

Astronomers Discover 128 New Moons Orbiting Saturn, Cementing the Planet’s Title of ‘Moon King’ – The total number of moons of Saturn is now 274….almost twice as many as all the rest of the moons in our solar system combined.

Microplastics could be fueling antibiotic resistance - Microplastics -- tiny shards of plastic debris -- are all over the planet. They have made their way up food chains, accumulated in oceans, clustered in clouds and on mountains, and been found inside our bodies at alarming rates. Scientists have been racing to uncover the unforeseen impacts of so much plastic in and around us. One recent discovery: bacteria exposed to microplastics became resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. They say this is especially concerning for people in high-density, impoverished areas like refugee settlements, where discarded plastic piles up and bacterial infections spread easily.

How the Development of the Camera Changed Our World - From glass plates to paper prints to digital photograph imaging, the photo revolution's intention remains the same—to immortalize our world.

Alphonse Mucha Helped Define Art Nouveau. A New Show Explores His Lasting Influence – Mucha was undeniably revered in his day, when his posters and advertisements were widely disseminated. His posters lined the streets, and his illustrations graced the covers of major magazines. And to feed the public demand for his work, Mucha even produced smaller posters printed in publications, allowing people to bring his ornately detailed lithographs home without having to rely on the luck of finding one in the wild. The special exhibit will be at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri, April 11–August 30, 2026….maybe I will plan a road trip for next spring!

'You look up and see light coming through': The divers venturing under the ice in the name of science - In a remote corner of Lapland, northern Finland…a lake with 28 in. layer of ice with a hole cut in it. Divers are tethered to the surface using a safety rope, with a handler on the surface communicating with the diver via rope signals. The training here on the frozen lake is practice for work that will be done out on the sea ice of the Arctic and Antarctic, where there are added dangers – large seals sometimes gather at the dive holes, preventing divers from leaving the water. In 2017, Alf Norkko, a professor of marine research at the University of Helsinki, and his team discovered big changes on the seafloor under Antarctic sea ice since their previous diving expedition in the same area in 2009.  "There was a remarkable increase in the abundance of life," he says. Norkko says that he and his fellow scientists are so dedicated to this work because they are aware of the urgency of climate change. At present, there is a race afoot to understand it, and to respond to it.

Grave of Roman Twins Excavated in Croatia – Twins that died between birth and 2 months…placed face to face. Suffered malnutrition before birth. Infant mortality was as high as 30% in Roman societies.

Particulate matter levels in air exceed WHO limits in majority of world's big cities - Fewer than one in five global cities met World Health Organization air pollution standards (for PM2.5) in 2024 with Central and South Asia accounting for the nine most polluted metropolitan areas on Earth. Los Angeles and Ontario, California are the most polluted in the US.  Mayaguez, Puerto Rico had the cleanest air of any metro area around the world. Man-made activities such as fossil fuel burning for transportation, generating electricity and domestic heating, industrial processes, fireworks and smoking were the largest sources of pollutant PM2.5, but that natural sources including wildfires, dust, pollen and dirt also contributed to particulate loads in the air.

China’s First Domestic Cats Took the Silk Road 1,400 Years Ago, New Study Finds - The Tang Dynasty (618–907 C.E.), from which the oldest cat in the study hails, saw peak activity along the legendary trade network, which boosted the exchange of goods and ideas between China, India, and Persia. It’s not improbable that merchants from the West could have carried cats on their journey to East Asia.

Can Toxic Mining Waste Help Remove CO2 from the Atmosphere? - On the coast of Newfoundland, waste from a shuttered asbestos mine has been a troubling source of contamination for decades. Now, a company plans to process the waste to draw CO2 from the air — one of several projects worldwide that aim to turn this liability into an asset. A 2022 report by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory estimated that existing asbestos tailings in Canada and the United States could remove up to 750 million tons of CO2 in total — while also removing an environmental health hazard.

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!

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (3)

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The trumpeter swans were in groups around the masses of snow geese at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. They were easy to spot because of their size and their distinctive shape. Even when they are snoozing, they look different that snow geese.

They do make trumpet-like sounds too. There was a quartet that were interacting and making their sounds…sustaining their activity long enough for me to get a video!

There were a few instances where I couldn’t resist some botanical photographs. A large silver maple already blooming

And a dried stalk from last season with a backdrop of a metal fence.

There were several ducks at a distance that I photographed – good enough for id but not great pictures: Redhead

Common Goldeneye

Bufflehead

We saw mallards, pintails, ring-necked duck, and northern shoveler…but too far away to photograph. I saw a pied-billed grebe, but didn’t get a good picture.

The trip to Loess Bluffs was a learning experience with my new bridge camera. I am noticing that the Nikon Coolpix P950 autofocus does not seem to be as good as my old Canon Powershot SX70 HS….but perhaps I am still learning how to effectively use the Nikon. It is disappointing that the new camera is not already obviously better than the old…but I am determined to continue the learning curve with it rather than reverting to my old camera. I am anticipating a few more disappointing field sessions near term.

Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (2)

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While the snow geese dominated the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in terms of numbers, there were other things to see. There were many muskrat mounds, and we saw the animals swimming closer to the wildlife loop road than the snow geese. I only saw one group out of the water on a mound that looked like it was deteriorating. I couldn’t tell whether they were trying to rebuild it or just stopping there for a snack!

We heard many red-winged blackbirds. Some males might have been beginning to claim a territory, but others were still in flocks that would rise up and fly around in a murmuration. My favorite picture shows how long the claw are. It doesn’t look like the bird is gripping the twig as much as it might on a windy day.

A red-winged blackbird nest (probably from last season) was in the reeds.

There were at least two hooded merganser pairs that we saw on our morning visit. The males seemed more likely to startle and fly off…coming back to the female after a few seconds!

I took a picture of one of the bald eagle nests on our afternoon at the refuge….and then in the morning. There appears to be an eagle head visible (not in focus) in the morning picture (click on the image below to get a larger version).

More tomorrow about the other birds we saw….and the plants! There was a lot of see at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 15, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The Largest Harbor in Ancient Greece Is Centuries Older Than We Thought - A discovery of lead pollution and 5 lumps of brown coals were carbon dated to the days of the Bronze Age.

When This Brilliant Author Died, She Left Behind a Legacy of Grief, Haunting Poetry and Surprising Resilience – I remember reading Silvia Plath books as a teenager.

Maple seeds’ unique spinning motion allows them to travel far even in the rain, a new study shows – Autorotation keeps the seeds in the air for longer, so they travel farther. The researchers studied how raindrops that hit the seeds reduce the time they are in the air. The next part of the study will look at rolling samaras (from tulip poplar and ash trees).

Rare Footage Shows Baby Polar Bears Emerging from Their Den in the Arctic - At birth, polar bears are blind, nearly hairless and weigh just over a pound—about the same as a loaf of bread. But they spend their first few months snuggled inside a snowy den, fattening up on their mother’s milk. By the time they emerge in the spring, the cubs are covered in fluffy white fur and weigh 22 to 26 pounds. Scientists have managed to capture rare footage of a polar bear mother and her cubs leaving their den in the Arctic for the first time.

Summer Heat Wave in South America - In February 2025, an area of high pressure parked over the southern Atlantic Ocean, causing temperatures to soar in parts of South America. As of February 27, Argentina noted that six provinces were under a red-level (very dangerous) alert for extreme heat.

The world's strongest ocean current should be getting faster – instead, it is at risk of failing – The Antarctic Circumpolar Current - five times stronger than the Gulf Stream and more than 100 times stronger than the Amazon River. Fresh, cool water from melting Antarctic ice is diluting the salty water of the ocean, potentially disrupting the vital ocean current.

More Than 1,500 Sandhill Cranes Killed by Bird Flu in Indiana - In recent weeks, biologists with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources have counted hundreds of dead sandhill cranes statewide. At least 500 of the birds were found dead in Jackson County, in the south-central part of the state, in early January. So far, no sick or dead cranes have been reported in Nebraska.

Inside the Clear Waters of England’s Ancient Chalk Streams - A globally rare type of waterway found almost exclusively in England—these rivers’ specific features both create rare biodiverse habitats and make them uniquely vulnerable. Burbling up from aquifers formed in chalk layers that date back to the Cretaceous Period, these rivers exist only where chalk sits close to the Earth’s surface. That’s why of the 200-odd identified chalk streams in the world, nearly all of them are found in England, where 66 million years ago a shallow seabed collected the skeletons of aquatic creatures—the makings of chalk. Ideal habitat for trout and Atlantic salmon.

How our lungs back up the bone marrow to make our blood - Researchers at UCSF found hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in human lung tissue that make red blood cells, as well as megakaryocytes, which produce the platelets that form blood clots.

Gold Jewelry Found at Karnak Temple - Karnak was the largest and one of the most important religious sites in ancient Egypt. An Egyptian-French team was investigating the northwest sector of the precinct when they uncovered a ceramic vessel that contained a collection of gold jewelry and statuettes dating to the 26th Dynasty (664–526 b.c.). One of the statuettes depicts the Theban triad of gods: Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu. Archaeologists also discovered several mudbrick buildings dating to the same era that were likely used as workshops or storage facilities connected to the Karnak temples.

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.  

Volunteering at a Watershed Festival

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I volunteered for a James River Basin Partnership Watershed Festival at a public school about 10 minutes from my house. There were about 250 5th graders that participated over a 4-hour period (fortunately we had a lunch break in the middle). For the first sessions we were in a classroom because it was quite cold outside, and the school grounds were muddy from recent rain/snow. In the afternoon we were in an outdoor classroom – out of the mud and enjoying the sunshine and warm enough temperatures. It was an exhilarating day!

A partner and I led a game from Project Wet called The Incredible Journey where every student becomes a drop a water and they move through the 9 stations (clouds, plants, animals, rivers, oceans, lakes, groundwater, soil, and glaciers) based on a role of a dice at each stop. With 25 students moving around the space, it sometimes appeared chaotic, but every session was a success. Some students/drops-of-water got stuck in the ocean…some alternated between clouds and other stations. A few spent significant time as plants! It was a fun activity…and hopefully a learning experience too.

As we packed up everything in the plastic bin at the end of the day – the dice taking up most of the space – I realized that it had been an exhausting day. In the flurry of activity during the sessions, it was easy to be so engaged with the students enjoying the game that it was easy to just keep going.

Climatron and Linnean House at Missouri Botanical Garden

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After the Orchid Show and Arid House, we headed to two other conservatory structures: Climatron and Linnean House at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The two high points for me in the Climatron were

A cycad with fruit (there was a sign that cautioned to not eat the fruit!) and

Two Chihuly glass pieces (these are ones that are owned by MBC….not a special exhibit).

Of course, there are always other things to see. This time I rushed a bit because my husband was looking for bench that wasn’t wet!

The walk to the Linnean House was our longest one outdoors…and it was a cold one.

My favorite image is of a palm….the way the stem connects to the pleated part of the leaf always fascinates me.

There was a Girl Scout troop in the building with an MBC staff member….a field trip; we saw some of the same people we’d seen at the Orchid Show there too. There was plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the plants that were there.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 8, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Whorls of White off Greenland – A satellite image (from the Terra satellite), captured on February 24, 2025, shows the southern part of Greenland, from its snow-topped ice sheet and glaciers to the sea ice swirling along its coasts. When this image was acquired, the sea ice extent along Greenland’s East Coast was about average. However, Arctic-wide, sea ice in late February was exceptionally low for the time of year due to a warm winter.

The baby boom in seven charts - The US baby boom is typically defined as the time period between 1946 and 1964. But – it appears that the increase in birth rate began earlier…in the late 1930s. And it happened in many countries at the same time. This common trend across many countries suggests that the baby boom was driven by shared societal shifts rather than isolated national circumstances. The baby boom was also surprising because it happened alongside rising levels of women’s education and workforce participation — changes that now often coincide with falling birth rates.

Cheap Chinese Panels Sparking a Solar Boom in the Global South - A surge in solar installations in parts of the developing world. The glut of cheap solar means poorer countries can speed their shift away from fossil fuels while shoring up their supply of energy.

Following Frogs into the Flames – The tree frogs are using the trees all the way up to 40 feet, up to the crown of the tree, as a safe place during fires, and also for several weeks after the fire, when the ground is still somewhat inhospitable.

Brewing tea removes lead from water – Brewing black tea in cellulose tea bags works best for removing lead…longer steeping removes more.

Where California’s Land Is Sinking and Rising – Analysis of vertical land motion between 2015 and 2023. Areas of sinking land in coastal California cities and in parts of the Central Valley are caused by factors like soil compaction, erosion, and groundwater withdrawal.

Oldest Section of China’s Great Wall Uncovered - The recent excavations occurred around what is known as the Qi Wall, which was already considered to be the oldest in existence. New dating, however, suggests that the wall’s construction originates to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050–771 BC) and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–ca. 475 BC), making it 300 years older than previously thought.

What happens when a diet targets ultra-processed foods? - The findings suggest that people can reduce their ultra-processed food intake, if given the proper tools, and that they will be enthusiastic about interventions designed for this purpose. The results also suggest that reducing UPF intake will lead to meaningful health improvements -- such as weight loss and better mood -- in as short as eight weeks.

Glass fertilizer beads could be a sustained nutrient delivery system - Excessive and inefficient use of agricultural fertilizers can present an environmental threat, contaminating waterways and generating greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. Now, researchers have addressed those challenges with glass fertilizer beads. The beads control nutrient release….releasing fertilizer over a longer time period.

Historic Frank Lloyd Wright Home Gifted to Chicago University – The last remaining example of Wright’s prairie-style designs. When the Bach residence was completed in 1915, it boasted walnut furnishings throughout and a clear view of Lake Michigan from its rear porch.

eBotanical Prints – February 2025

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Twenty more books were added to my botanical print eBook collection in February - available for browsing on Internet Archive. They are mostly not in English; there are some in Italian, French, Latin, Spanish, Dutch, and German. The 20 books were published over almost 400 years (1618-2010).

My list of eBotanical Prints books now totals 3,063 eBooks I’ve browsed over the years. The whole list can be accessed here.

Click on any sample image from February’s 20 books below to get an enlarged version…and the title hyperlink in the list below the image mosaic to view the entire volume where there are a lot more botanical illustrations to browse.

Enjoy the January 2025 eBotanical Prints!

Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes : tant étrangeres que de nos climats T2  *  Geoffroy, Etienne-Francois; Garsault, Francois Alexander * sample image * 1767

Storia delle piante forastiere le più importanti nell'uso medico, od economico Tome 1 * Castiglioni, Luigi; Bordiga, Beneditto Maria Marco * sample image * 1791

Storia delle piante forastiere le più importanti nell'uso medico, od economico Tome 2 * Castiglioni, Luigi; Bordiga, Beneditto Maria Marco * sample image * 1792

Storia delle piante forastiere le più importanti nell'uso medico, od economico Tome 3 * Castiglioni, Luigi; Bordiga, Beneditto Maria Marco * sample image * 1793

Storia delle piante forastiere le più importanti nell'uso medico, od economico Tome 4 * Castiglioni, Luigi; Bordiga, Beneditto Maria Marco * sample image * 1794

Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes : tant étrangeres que de nos climats T1 * Geoffroy, Etienne-Francois; Garsault, Francois Alexander * sample image * 1767

Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes : tant étrangeres que de nos climats T3 * Geoffroy, Etienne-Francois; Garsault, Francois Alexander * sample image * 1767

Description, vertus et usages de sept cents dix-neuf plantes : tant étrangeres que de nos climats T4 * Geoffroy, Etienne-Francois; Garsault, Francois Alexander * sample image * 1767

Hortus floridus in quo rariorum & minus vulgarium florum icones ad vivam veramq[ue] formam accuratissime delineatae et secundum quatuor anni tempora divisae exhibentur incredibili labore ac diligentia  * Passe, Van de Passe * sample image * 1617

Common medicinal plants of Darjeeling and the Sikkim Himalayas * Biswas, Kalipada * sample image * 1956

Flórula de las reservas biológicas de Iquitos, Perú * Martinez, Rodolfo Vasquez (editor) * sample image * 1997

Flora del Río Cenepa, Amazonas, Perú V1 * Martinez, Rodolfo Vasquez, Gonzales, Rocio Rojas, Werff, Henk vander (editors) * sample image * 2010

Cassini on Compositae II * Cassubum Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Janaske; King, Robert M.; Janaske, Paul C.; Lellinger, David B. * sample image * 1995

Flora de Nicaragua * Stevens, Warren Douglas * sample image * 2009

A description of the genus Pinus V2 * Lambert, Aylmer Bourke * sample image * 1832

A description of the genus Pinus V1 * Lambert, Aylmer Bourke * sample image * 1832

Naauwkeurige beschryving der aardgewassen V1 * Munting, Abraham * sample image * 1696

Naauwkeurige beschryving der aardgewassen V2 * Munting, Abraham * sample image * 1696

Getreue Darstellung und Beschreibung der in der Arzneykunde gebräuchlichen Gewächse (1813-1814) * Hayne, Friedrich Gottlob * sample image * 1813

Getreue Darstellung und Beschreibung der in der Arzneykunde gebräuchlichen Gewächse (1837-1838) * Hayne, Friedrich Gottlob * sample image * 1813

Shoenberg Arid House at Missouri Botanical Garden

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After enjoying the orchid show, we headed to the Shoenburg Arid House at Missouri Botanical Garden. It was a short walk, but we realized that the breeze made if feel even colder than the temperature. It felt good to get into a warm building again. The air was surprisingly moist – maybe because the plants had been recently sprinkled.

There were cactus and aloes and yuccas…almost every plant had sharp points some place! A few of the cactus were blooming. It is not a large building so the plantings are relatively dense – closer together than they would be in their natural environment.

It was my first time to visit this conservatory since it opened in 2024 after a renovation…transitioning from temperate to arid plants. I liked that it is multi-level (a long ramp or stairs) and the central court. It is a get place to showcase arid plants.

Orchid Show at Missouri Botanical Garden

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We made a road trip to St. Louis last weekend for the Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It is just over a 3-hour drive from our house…with some interesting road cuts along the way (more on that in another post). The temperature was in the 30s so our plan was to see the orchids then browsed the other conservatories rather than spending time wandering through the outdoor garden area. Our membership in the Springfield Botanical Garden gained us free entrance. The Orchid show was in the Emerson Conservatory, so we didn’t even need to go outside for it.

There were orchids everywhere. Some of my favorites: orange ones in sunlight (my mother’s favorite color was orange…a good memory prompt),

Shapes that had me wondering about what kind of pollinator the flower needed,

Small and delicate,

Ones that seem to have alien faces…and elaborate ‘fashion,’

Clusters of spirals.

I used my phone (iPhone 15 Pro Max) on a lanyard and an external clicker - was pleased with how well it did. There were other people using their phones too. One lady was making a video which was going to be dizzying to look at because she was moving the phone so quickly. I talked to a lady that was doing excellent macro compositions with her phone….no other amenities. Another person that I talked to had lived in DC for 20 years but had grown up in St. Louis and had lived closed to the Missouri Botanical Garden for a few years when she visited almost every day. She had moved away but had made the effort to return with her mother for the orchid show.

Almost all the slipper orchids were low…the better to see into the slipper. I found myself taking mostly macro images although I also took some small landscapes and some plants that were providing greenery around the orchids.  Enjoy the slide carousel of orchids!

Tomorrow’s post will be focused on the other conservatories at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Gleanings of the Week Ending March 1, 2025

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Scientists Investigate Smell of Egyptian Mummies – A systematic study of the smells of 9 Ancient Egyptian mummified bodies. Odors are from pine, cedar, juniper, frankincense and myrrh.

'Healthy' vitamin B12 levels not enough to ward off neuro decline – The conclusion: “we need to invest in more research about the underlying biology of B12 insufficiency, since it may be a preventable cause of cognitive decline.”

Rethinking Fire-Resistant Landscaping: Which Trees Should We Plant? – After the recent wildfires across Southern California - Experts recommend replacing highly flammable trees with fire-resistant alternatives such as oak, sycamore, toyon, lemonade berry, and lilac. While the idea of removing iconic palm trees may be met with resistance, fire safety advocates argue that proactive changes in landscaping are necessary to adapt to the increasing wildfire risks in California.

Floods Swamp Tennessee – Satellite image from February 17 of the flooding after the February 15-16 storm. The area of western Kentucky to the north had more severe flooding….but clouds prevented a similar image on the 17th.

Learn COVID pandemic lessons — before it’s too late - “The science will deliver if we have a new emerging infectious disease,” says Joanne Liu, a pediatric emergency-medicine specialist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a former international president of the medical-aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders). “I think it will be the people who aren’t going to deliver…..None of us thought about the case scenario in which we would have leaders and a large part of the population that do not believe in science.” Yet that scenario is here. It means that researchers in public health and infectious diseases must work closely with social scientists who have been studying how another disease — misinformation — spreads and how best to counter it.

In many countries, people breathe the cleanest air in centuries. What can the rest of the world learn from this? – Lots of graphs….focused on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions….and the relationship to coal and catalytic converters.

The Science of Snakehead Slime - One of this fish’s most reported habits is its ability to move about on land. The answer, according to new research, may lie at least in part with another of the snakehead’s infamous features: its slime.

Wide-Eyed Fly Wins the 2024 Royal Entomological Society Photography Competition – Macro photography of insects…great work my amateur photographers. My favorite was the ladybird larva feeding on a colony of aphids.

How much protein do you really need to get strong? – A concerning take away: In 2018, a nonprofit group called the Clean Label Project, based in Broomfield, Colorado, released a report about toxins in popular brands of protein powders in the US. Researchers screened 134 products for 130 types of toxins and found that many protein powders contained heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury), bisphenol-A (or BPA, which is used to manufacture plastic), pesticides, or other contaminants with links to cancer and other health conditions. Interestingly, one certified "organic" product had twice the contaminants of non-certified ones. Plant-based protein powders were the most contaminated, while egg and whey-based powders were found to be the cleanest.

Dust from Car Brakes More Harmful than Exhaust – Brake dust evidently causes greater injury to lung cells than diesel exhaust. Brake pads on the market now include copper which can aggravate asthma when inhaled. Note: the shift to electric vehicles could curb pollution from brake pads. Most electric cars use regenerative braking that limits the need for conventional brake pads.

Missouri Trees

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The topic of the session at the two libraries in a nearby county was Missouri trees. Since it was the fourth (and last) event for our 3-person team of Missouri Master Naturalists, we managed to gracefully recover when one of us (the one bringing some small redcedar branches) had a tire emergency on the way to the first library. She managed to get there a few minutes before the children arrived, but we had already implemented a backup plan by cutting a few low branches from another tree! We were ready to go when the first 15 students (and 6 parents) arrived!

There were four activities:

Examining small branches of trees (river birch, redbud, maple, redcedar, shortleaf pine and eastern white pine). There were some extras that aren’t native to our area but are native to North America and that thrive planted in yards and gardens that we showed too (Southern Magnolia and Eastern Hemlock…the tiny cones on the hemlock fascinated the whole group).

Examining things left from last fall: glycerin and plastic sleeve preserved leaves, seed and seed pods, pine cones, and a white oak seedling.

Counting tree rings (everyone with their own tree cookie) along with some pictures that showed that the rings are not always neat concentric circles.

Looking forward to spring and the state tree – the Flowering Dogwood…with a pattern art project. The picture is of some samples I made beforehand, but the students did beautiful work on their pages…and were very focused (and quiet) while they worked.

The session was a great finally for our series!

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!

Josey Ranch – February 2025

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

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

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

Surprisingly there were cormorants on the poles as well!

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

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

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

Back at the larger pond I saw sleeping Ruddy Ducks.

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

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

More Snow

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

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

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

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