Gleanings of the Week Ending March 30, 2024

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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.

Floating Solar Array Is Designed to Take the Rough Stuff - Rich opportunities for solar co-location with offshore wind. By combining floating solar with offshore wind farms and thereby leveraging the same energy infrastructure and export cables, the resulting energy production capacity per used area could be drastically improved. Prototype has been developed…should be in the water by June 2024.

Lessons In Rewilding the Scottish Highlands – Working with nature…increasing biodiversity…reducing monoculture.

Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves – I’ve heard about a few of these…the pictures were interesting.

Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back - Brewing a baby leads to changes in the distribution of certain chemical markers on a pregnant person’s DNA — changes similar to those that are a hallmark of getting older. But new research shows that, several months after a person gives birth, the chemical patterns revert to an earlier state.

Did You Know Sandhill Cranes Dye Their Feathers? – The birds rub iron rich mud onto their feathers…staining them. And some trivia about sandhill cranes at the Platte River (Nebraska) in the early spring:

  • The birds find a lot of waste corn in farm fields, as well as small invertebrates in marshes near the river. A crane can add 20 percent to its weight during two or three weeks in the area.

  • At night, the cranes move to the Platte River for safe roosting in the shallow water.

  • Sandhill cranes are the most numerous of the world’s crane species.

  • In the Central Flyway, more than 500,000 cranes – more than 80 percent of their population.

The heat index -- how hot it really feels -- is rising faster than temperature - Researchers looked at Texas's summer 2023 heat wave and found that the 3 degree F rise in global temperatures has increased the state's heat index as much as 11 degrees F on the hottest days! Arizona's most populous county, covering most of Phoenix, reported that heat-associated deaths last year were 50% higher than in 2022, rising from 425 in 2022 to 645 in 2023. Two-thirds of Maricopa County's heat-related deaths in 2023 were of people 50 years or older, and 71% occurred on days when the National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning. With climate change, the relative humidity remains about constant as the temperature increases, which reduces the effectiveness of sweating to cool the body.

158 Cherry Blossom Trees Will Be Cut Down in D.C. in Effort to Withstand Sea-Level Rise – Part of the project to reconstruct a seawall around the Tidal Basin.

Landscape Architecture Strategies Reduce Impacts of Dangerous Extreme Heat – And these apply to what we do in our yard too!

  • Increase tree percentage in parks and green spaces

  • Provide shade on sites

  • Use plant materials and water instead of hardscape

  • Switch to green ground cover, including grasses and shrubs

Plastics Contain Thousands More Chemicals Than Thought, and Most Are Unregulated – Scary! The report also highlights 15 chemical priority groups of concern. These include phthalates, which are used to make plastics more durable and have been found to affect the reproductive systems of animals, as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which break down very slowly over time and have been linked to health issues including reproductive and developmental problems and increased cancer risk.

Only seven nations meet WHO air pollution standards – The US is not one of the seven: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand. Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and Burkina Faso were the top five most polluted countries in 2023 with PM2.5 levels nine to 15 times higher than the WHO's standard. Columbus, Ohio, was the most polluted major city in the United States, while Las Vegas was the cleanest and Beloit, Wisconsin polluted U.S. city overall.

Zooming – March 2024

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Lots of birds in the Zooming slide show this month – from the Whooping Crane Festival in south Texas as well as Josey Ranch (Carrollton TX), the Springfield Botanical Gardens (Springfield MO) and Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman TX). I find myself picking images that show bird behavior rather than portraits.

There are spring flowers in this collection as well…more of those coming in April!

Enjoy the March 2024 slide show!

Springfield Botanical Garden – March 2024

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Springfield Botanical Gardens is one of my favorite places; I will try to go at least once a month for the rest of this year. We went on a sunny cool day in the late morning. The sky was almost clear and the light was very bright….making for some ‘almost high key’ pictures of the blossoms on a tree growing close to where we parked.

There were other trees/bushes in bloom as well.

The maples were already making seeds (i.e. past blooming). The seeds were still colorful.

Spring bulbs were still blooming….

But I was more interested in the new growth all over the hosta garden. It will be very lush this summer.

I took some pictures of the garden mosaic…carefully avoiding getting my shadow in the picture.

Lenten roses were blooming. My daughter has some in her yard too. They do seem to grow well but I tend to not like them because their blooms face downward.

There were birds in the gardens too. Lots of robins. We heard a brown thrasher and then saw it high in the tree….too high for a good picture. I did get a picture of a blue bird though!

My husband was very tolerant of my walking around to take pictures even though he didn’t see anything he was interested in photographing. He seemed very intent on macro photography….and didn’t see any opportunities. I find that the zoom on my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) is good enough to take some ‘almost macro’ pictures without being close to the flowers (or birds) at all!

Springfield Yard – March 2024

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My daughter’s yard in Springfield MO is full of springtime. I visited to help get pollinator/butterfly garden seeds planted. After we got that done – I enjoyed the beauty of the yard which has been a work in progress since the house was built in the 1950s…and my daughter’s since 2021.

The oakleaf hydrangea is leaving out; the plant gets more sun this time of year before the big trees get their leaves. I noticed it as we were picking up sticks around the base of her river birch and oak tree.

The vinca, growing in a bed thick with leaves from last fall, is blooming.

Her wood hydrangea still has flowers dried from last fall…not leafing out yet in its shady location.

A Japanese quince was blooming. I hadn’t noticed this in her yard before, but I must have just missed being there at the right time.s. Would birds get ‘drunk’ from the (probably fermented) fruit?

The crabapple tree was full of buds – and some crabapples left from last season. Most of the fruits had been eaten and I wondered why there are still some on the trees. Would birds get ‘drunk’ from the (probably fermented) fruit?

There is a young cherry tree near the corner of her front yard. The blooms were everywhere.

A red bud is in the other corner also full of blooms. My daughter commented that it really is misnamed since it isn’t red.

We also observed that most of the plants damaged from a too zealous application of herbicide by a yard crew last year seem to be recovering with the new season.

What a great time to get outdoors and into a garden….

Springfield Botanical Gardens – April 2023

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The uptick in vegetation is in full swing at the Springfield Botanical Gardens this month. We went on a morning cool/breezy enough to require a jacket with a hood and gloves. The early blooming trees and bushes (cherry, magnolia, quince), spring bulbs, and some violets made it worth the walk. The magnolias appeared to have been hard hit by the cold weather of the past weeks – with wads of ruined flowers; but some buds were evidently not impacted, and the few flowers were a taste of how grand the tree would have been without the cold weather.

As usual, I couldn’t resist some macro shots. In years past, I have often contented with very active bees, but the breezy cold must have kept them away. I didn’t see a single insect on the trees. The picture of the ‘open’ redbuds (last picture) was one of my favorites.

But – my favorite of the morning was the tulips. Not all the tulips were blooming quite yet…but these very bright flowers stood out in their brown mulch bed. I liked their color and spikey shape!

I am looking forward to seeing how the gardens change by May!

Springfield Yard – April 2022

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The stars of my daughter’s yard in mid-April are the redbud and cherry trees. She has two of each. The cherry trees are about the same size, but the redbuds are very different – a large tree in the back yard and a younger tree in the front yard.

As I was looking at the younger redbud in the front, I noticed that the huge oak in her neighbor’s yard had been cut down. I had noticed it had a crack in it and thought it needed to be seen by an arborist since it was so large that it would have taken out a house (or two) or blocked the street if it came down in an uncontrolled way. Still - it’s sad that the tree had to come down. It had probably been planted when the houses were built in the 1950s. My daughter has an oak of the same vintage in her yard. She’s already planning to have an arborist to look at that tree…and the rest of her trees.

She has an aging dogwood that is blooming right now but there are quite a few dead branches, and part of the trunk has no bark. Can it be saved? It’s small enough that it could die in place in the next few years and then be cut down.

Shades of Spring Green

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The dominate color of spring is green….in a lot of different shades. There are the greens that have suffered through the winter – usually darker like the holly and other evergreen bushes below. And then there is the new growth:

Pale greens like the new leaves of day lilies (nibbled by deer), tree leaves just unfurling (cherry and tulip poplar)

Blue tinged greens of the spring bulbs (daffodils and iris)

Yellowish greens of new nine bark leaves, and

Bright green of new moss growth and grass and violets and weeds.

I couldn’t resist the including the bright yellow of the dandelion blooms with all the green!

Cherry Blossoms

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Our cherry tree was blooming when I returned from Texas and retained enough blossoms through the rain and wind of my first days back to be worth photographing on the next sunny day. The temperatures were cool (almost cold) which probably slowed down the blooming.

I was most interested in getting macro pictures of the flowers and buds with the clip-on lens my husband got for me in December. There are a few leaves that are beginning to unfurl but the blossoms dominate.

The trees in our yard are progressing in the usual order. The red maple blooming first; that happened before I went to Texas; the seeds are forming now. Then the plum; there are still some battered blooms but there are more leaves than flowers at this point. Both the plum and cherry look better this year because they were professionally trimmed last fall.

The tulip poplar has green buds but will be a few weeks before the flowers open. The leaves are already more visible on the tulip poplars than any of our other trees.

Watching the trees emerge from winter is a rite of spring…always worth observing/photographing.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 2, 2022

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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.

Where Have All the (Big) Cypress Trees Gone ... And Are They Coming Back? – The cypress stands survived logging but they may never again be as dominant as they were before. The largest trees now are about 3.5 feet diameter; the largest stumps from logging are about 5 feet diameter.

8 bird migrations, from past to present – The annual movement of birds is a part of spring….part of the yearly progression.

Cherry Blossom Time In Washington, D.C. – I was glad to get home in time to see the cherry tree in our yard bloom; it’s a little behind the trees in DC (we are a little north and not on the water).

Nature Conservancy to build solar farms at abandoned coal mines in Virginia – And thus an energy producing community, continues…leaning into the future!

The sound of Merlin: like Shazam, but for birds – An app that IDs birds by their songs…a learning experience to take on a walk.

Higher risk of temperature-related death if global warming exceeds 2°C – We’ll have to be more aware of heatwaves. Perhaps we would modify our behavior during those times…and medical interventions might help. There is a heat threshold above which our bodies are not adapted very well…that will cause increasing problems.

Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush ‘Lord of the Rings’ Landscape – Another perspective of Tolkien…through his art rather than writing.

No breathing easy for city dwellers: particulates – Southeast Asia has seen the largest annual average increases in concentration and mortality rates between 2000 and 2019 from this type of air pollution.

How climate change is leading to bigger hailstones – The records for the largest hailstones have been broken in the last 3 years in Texas, Colorado and Alabama….reaching sizes of up to 6.2 inches in diameter. Large hail causes a lot of damage…if the incidence of large hail increases the damage/costs will trend higher too; the post includes a picture of a car damaged by large hail…daunting to anyone that doesn’t have their car parked in a garage.

Missouri Man Indicted For Fire That Destroyed Ozark National Scenic Riverways Visitor Station – I am paying more attention to news about natural areas in Missouri…now that I am preparing to move to the state. It’s sad when this type of destruction occurs – hard to fathom why someone would burn a visitor station.

Springfield Yard Macro – 1

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Last week, I walked around my daughter’s yard with my macro lens. I focused on the trees as first; none if them are leafing out yet…my theme shifted from buds to bark. There was a good collection of lichen and moss on the older maple by her garden room. I like the different textures of the lichen and how green the moss looks even when the temperatures are still relatively cold.

Perhaps the most spectacular ‘bark’ was on the river birch. There are layers of bark that can look like sandstone….or overviews of the desert southwest (complete with some green in one image). But these are all macro images of a river birch tree trunk.

A cherry lenticel. In our area of Maryland some cherry trees were already beginning to bloom…but not this one in Springfield.

A healed wound where a branch was cut – or broke – a long time ago in the life of a large oak probably planted in the 1950s when the house was built. The neighborhood is full of 70-year-old oaks. Some are not in good shape. This one had a large branch removed well before my daughter bought the house. The branches the tree normally sheds are relatively small…normal for a healthy oak.

Tomorrow---the rest of the macro pictures from my walk around the yard….

Brookside Gardens Macro – March 2022 (1)

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Brookside Gardens  was beginning to emerge from winter when I went last week. I already posted the non-macro pictures from my visit. Today and tomorrow, I’ll share the macro images I collected with my phone, clip-on lens, and Bluetooth clicker.

The crocuses were up and worth bending over for a macro view.

The yew hedge was mostly green but there were a few dead branches that made for some contrast.

The bark on the large crepe myrtles in the Rose Garden was full of splits…and held moss too.

There was a cherry tree beginning to bloom in the Fragrance Garden. The flowers were pink and white…the buds very pink.

The snow drops and miniature iris were on a bank which made them easier to photograph – I didn’t have to bend down as much because the soil was sloped!

Compare the inside of the flowers: Lenten rose and (red) camellias.

The ferns damaged by frosts were interesting at both magnifications I tried.

Last but not least for today – a ginkgo leaf that had folded up as it dried over the winter….a little abstract art of nature.

Tomorrow…the rest of the macro pictures from my walk at Brookside.

Brookside Gardens – March 2022

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I walked around Brookside Gardens on a stereotypical March day – breezy and in the mid60s. Last time I had been there (back in January), we had parked near the visitor center; I opted to park by the conservatories this time. The first thing I looked for was skunk cabbage under the bald cypress in the area between the gardens and nature center. I saw green leaves…only one group of spathes and they were in the water!

There were groups of spring flowers beginning to bloom: miniature iris, snow drops, crocus, and marsh marigolds. The daffodils were still in bud stage.

The new sculpture I noticed in January was even more appealing this time: the day was sunny and the reflective inner coating made in glow for within. In January it was a very cloudy day, so the effect was not visible.

I was surprised that there were two large trees that looked like hollies but their berries had not been eaten by birds. Are they a hybrid that is just for show….not providing food for birds after a few freeze/thaw cycles?

The non-native witch hazels (and hybrids) are at the height of their blooming now. There are yellow and orange and red…clouds of color in the ‘forest.’ Witch hazel has become one of my favorite trees. I’ll probably plant one or two at my next house!

There were dried wood hydrangea flowers that got into the stream! Some were being carried along by the water. I was surprised that they were still so intact.

Camellias bloom this time of year. There was a sign reminding people to stay on the paths rather than stepping into the mulch around the plants!

As I made my way back to toward my car, I walked to the Brookside 1969-2009 commemorative garden near the entrance gate to the conservatory parking lot. I noticed a new (to me) spiral path to a bench and

Plants growing under the bald cypress.

Stay tuned for 2 posts featuring macro pictures I took with the clip-on lens + my cell phone coming next week. Here are a few broader views taken with the bridge camera that I enjoyed looking at and photographing with the macro lens later: cherry blossoms, vine on wall, golden deodar cedar pollen cones, and Lenten roses.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 24, 2021

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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.

Rising temperatures spark boom in Arctic lightning : Research Highlights – Lightning striking more than 10x as often as it did 10 years ago….the impact of climate change on the weather in the high north (particularly in Arctic Siberia).

This Bird Mimics an Entire Flock to Woo Females | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – The male superb lyrebird of Australia…imitates a mobbing flock (alarm calls warning of a predator in the area) to keep the female from leaving!

Top 25 birds of the week: April 2021! – Bird photographs….I enjoy them but also want to get outdoors and see birds!

Eating processed meat could increase dementia risk, researchers say -- ScienceDaily – A study with a large cohort (500,000 people) in the UK.

Photographer Travels Asia Capturing Beautiful Repeating Patterns – I liked the photographs for the repeating patterns but also how they capture the people and places. The photos capture the cultural landscape.

Stalking The Carnivorous Plants Of Big Thicket National Preserve – I can remember first reading about carnivorous plants in elementary school. I still find them fascinating.

How birds defend against brood parasites – I’ve already seen a pair of cowbirds at my feeder this spring; fortunately, they must have been migrating because I haven’t seen them again.

The Butterfly of Spring: Meet the Mourning Cloak – I haven’t seen one this spring…although I have in other years. All the ones I’ve seen in early spring are more battered that the one in the first picture!

Vitamin A for Nerve Cells – Another reason to eat those orange fruits and veggies. My favorites are carrots and butternut squash!

Washington’s Famed Tidal Basin and Cherry Trees Face Rising Waters – Planning initiated for how the area and its cherry trees could survive the rising waters in the coming decades. Some trees have already been lost.

Cherry Blossoms

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While our plum tree is the first tree in our yard to bloom, the cherry is not far behind. There is a time when they are both blooming. The cherry blossoms are lighter pink and larger…in the foreground in the picture below with the cherry in the background.

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Early in the month I did some experimental pictures of the cherry blossoms – high key, dark background, and blurry green. I like the high key version to see the details of the flowers and the subtle color…pink buds, tinge of pink in the flowers, the star in the center, the green leaves.

We had a hard frost after the tree started to bloom and then some very breezy days. I noticed that the petals were whirling away from the flowers earlier than I thought they would. It was sunny enough to photograph the flowers even with the breeze moving them around (particularly if I zoom rather than trying to get close)!

We won’t be going down to see the cherry trees in Washington DC as we have in previous years; the pandemic has made it too difficult. The trees around the Tidal Basin generally bloom earlier than our tree. I’ve been reading articles about the flooding around the Tidal Basin trending up in recent years…killing some of the trees, flooding/damaging walkways. It’s sad to think about changes like that.

I am choosing to enjoy the cherry tree in my front yard….its blooms are always part of my celebration of spring.  

A Second Road Trip Practice

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My first mini road trip for the initial hour of the route from my house in Maryland to Texas was back in March; I opted to change my route after the amount of highway construction I encountered on that day. The practice for second-choice route (up US 29 and then west on I-70) was a few days ago and easier/more enjoyable/the route I will take for the ‘the big road trip.’

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I set out just after sunrise as I had the first time. I took a picture of the fading blooms of the plum and cherry trees in our front yard…and the sunrise as seen from our driveway (oak tree on the right edge of the image) before I left.

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My destination was a rest stop about an hour from my house that I have stopped at many times before – the South Mountain Westbound Welcome Center. There were a few more clouds in the sky…the temperature was still a little cool. I took pictures of the playground I hadn’t noticed before (is it new?) and the fading daffodils.

After the rest stop and getting a soft drink from the vending machine - I got back in the car and went to the next exit to turn around and head back toward the east. I was back home again just a little over 2 hours since I left.

The lack of construction on route made for a much more pleasant drive that my first practice. I refined my set up in the passenger seat of the car based on that previous experience: a canvas gardening tote with short sides…lots of pockets for hand sanitizer, lip gloss, masks that I will need for when I am out of the car or going through a drive through for food, sunglasses. I’ll add snacks like peppermints and protein bars for the longer trip. The ice chest will be in the front floor of the passenger seat.

When I got home my husband had done a curbside grocery pickup that included cake; he enjoyed the carrot cake and I had the red velvet! It was a great splurge for a late morning snack.

Tree Trunk Macros – Part 1

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A sunny day in the thirties…I decided to take a quick walk around the yard with my new camera for some landscape pictures and my phone with a 2x magnifying lens with a built in LED light (and clicker) for macro shots. The best images of the morning (before I got too cold) were the macro shots of tree trunks. My gear is simple. I wear both the clicker and the phone with the magnifier around my neck. I can easily hold the phone close to the tree trunk with one hand (often bracing my hand on the tree) and use the clicker to take pictures with the other.

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The sycamore bark is full of texture…fissures old and new. Some parts of the trunk are very smooth, but I am more interested in the cracks and crevices.

I noticed some Virginia Creeper stems on the painted surface of the exterior wall of our basement. They retain some reddish color even in winter. The way they attach to the brick looks like a suction cup!

The cherry tree has lichen and moss growing on it…and a different texture than the sycamore even though there are some occasional curls of bark.

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A larger branch had fallen from the tree and I took a picture of the end of the branch.

I’ll post the macro images of other tree trunks in our yard next week. I’ve also added ‘pick up sticks/branches’ to my list of chores!

Found on the Ground

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I walked around my yard and looked for interesting things on the ground. I was a little surprised at how many things I found! My rule was to not move anything…just take the photo as it appeared on the ground. Toward the front and north side of the yard, I found oak leaves from last fall that had blown into the garage, a wasp nest that had blown down from someplace, an arc of grass clippings, some plants overflowing into the concrete trough below the gutter’s downspout, an anthill, a sycamore leaf and some mushrooms in our neighbor’s yard (I used the zoom for the last one).

In the back and the south side of the house there were tiny yellow flowers (weeds), sycamore leaves (rust and decaying green), a cabbage white butterfly enjoying the tiny yellow flowers, a tulip poplar leaf, the invasive plants under the trees at the edge of the forest, a mushroom, some clover, a cherry leaf and water droplets on a weed.

It was a short walk on a morning that was heating up; already warm enough to have the cabbage whites active. I was glad there were still water droplets too. Overall – I’m always pleased that there seems to always be something interesting in our yard.

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Looked at a reference from last week’s Zoom meetings… savored The MoMA exhibition Safe: Design Takes on Risk from 2004 (19 short audios and then pictures).

The New Normal - Habits

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

The New Normal – Habits

There are habits established during the phase 1 of my response to the COVID-19 pandemic that will continue into phase 2:

Hand washing with soap. I increased my use of soap when handwashing…maybe a little before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. It’s something I grew up knowing to do when people around me might be contagious – wash hands and don’t share food or drink after anyone. I hadn’t paid it much heed in recent decades but the emphasis in early CDC communications was a reminder than I heeded.

Not touching my face when I am away from home. It was something that required some practice; I’ve gotten much better at it. For some reason – it wasn’t something that I learned along with hand washing growing up, but it is a logical extension of that kind of thinking…and was also emphasized in the early CDC communications.

Wearing a mask when there is a chance of encountering other people. This is a newer habit. Initially there was concern that encouraging people to wear masks would take away medical grade masks from the hospitals. Now we know that there are a lot of ways to make masks that are effective enough that the spread of the virus would have been reduced if the recommendation had been made…and heeded… early. Wearing a mask is more challenging that I thought it would be but I have persevered and now feel like I can wear in appropriately although I am motivated to get home quickly so I can take it off!

Dramatically less toilet paper. There were shortages initially, so I looked for ways to reduce our toilet paper consumption. I discovered that the alternative of a spray of water and patting dry with washable squares of fabric (cut up old t-shirts) feels cleaner! This change of habit will probably be something I’ll continue even after the vaccine is available and the pandemic is over. It’s a good way to reduce tree consumption.

Self-checking mental and physical health more frequently. I am more conscious of making sure I am taking care of myself…wanting to still enjoy life in the changed situation. I haven’t found it difficult to find things every day that I enjoy….beautiful things to look at…good food. There are times that I intentionally indulge myself (particularly with food…dark chocolate and specialty teas are such a treat) but I haven’t overdone it. I’ve stayed on my diet well enough to take off 5 pounds since the end of February!

Increasing time spent viewing nature. I am consciously spending more time out in nature or looking at it through my window. The trend happens every year in the spring because of the better weather and the increased natural activity as everything emerges from winter cold. This year I haven’t had the outdoor volunteer gigs in the mix of what I am doing. I’m spending active time outdoors…and doing activities I usually do indoors in the outdoors instead (usually on our covered/screen deck) like reading and doing things on my laptop and creating Zentangle tiles.

Big meal at lunch time. Without external events impacting how we spend our time; my husband and I have shifted our big meal of the day to lunch time and agree that it is probably healthier for us. We’ll continue during phase 2 and maybe even past the pandemic although it will be challenging when we travel or have a lot going on way from home.

Not tracking developing stories…check the news one or twice a day then do something else. I found myself being overwhelmed by news at times during phase 1….and finally developing enough will power to stop checking on pandemic stats or breaking news stories throughout the day. And I feel just as well informed but have plenty of time to do things I enjoy. It a lot easier to keep a positive mental attitude without spending too much time on the news of the day.

Checking in with family more frequently (virtually). Calls….texts…email….so many ways to stay connected from afar. None of our family is local so there is no other choice with road trips and airplane flights not possible.

Tomorrow I’ll share my thoughts about the new normal…in the kitchen.

Unique activities for yesterday:

We have cherries! Somehow - I’ve never looked closely at the cherry tree in our front yard before they were eaten. Is it the birds?  Or maybe racoons? This time I noticed the cherries just when the sun was shining on the three in the late afternoon making the fruits glow. They are tiny…mostly seed. I love the tree for its spring blooms but am also thrilled that it provides food for wildlife.

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A Zentangle Prompt

Today make a tile with FESCU, POKELEAF, and ZINGER. It’s going to look botanical!

Here is a tile I made yesterday – responding to the prompt: Use Angel fish and Indi-rella. These patterns are both easier to make than they would seem at first glance.

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

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. "Zentangle" is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/5/2020 – Our Yard

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

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Wearing Sherman TX earrings. I hadn’t worn them recently. I bought them in a boutique on the square after lunch at Fulbelli’s. Savoring the memory!

Seeing a Carolina Wren with nest material. The bird (probably a male) appeared to be looking around to see if a female was noticing his find. I didn’t see exactly where he went but it was in the general direction of our gas grill. We had a Carolina wren nest built in the grill a few years ago. I hope it isn’t happening again!

Loosening sense of the day of the week. It’s harder to remember which day of the week it is because the days are so much the same. I try to include some variety every day, but the activities are not pinned to a day of the week (except for laundry which, for some unknown reason, we still do on Saturdays). If the pandemic was not raging, I’d be volunteering 3-5 days a week with Howard County Conservancy’s outdoor field trips for school groups, guiding Robinson Nature Center visitors at the salt water Touch Tank, and (by mid-Month) morning shifts at the Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy (butterfly) exhibit. None of those organizations are open now. The calendar for April is a big blank.

Mowing the grass…doing some yard work. It’s the first mowing of the year…not really grass, mostly weeds. My husband did the mowing after I picked up twigs and small branches under trees to make the mowing easier. I also started a new compost pile with kitchen scraps and paper shreds.

Photographing the best of our yard. The trees are pretty this time of year. The red maple samaras are ripening. Soon the squirrels and birds will enjoy them, and they’ll helicopter off the tree. From afar the tree looks golden brown…looking more closely the colors are more appealing.

The tulip poplar is full of new spring-green leaves. Soon the buds will open. Right now, the buds are surrounded by small leaves. The trees themselves are far from the ‘wall of green’ they will become.

There are a lot of violets blooming in the thin grass under the trees.

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The cherry tree is still full of blooms, but the petals are beginning to fly.

The plum has lost its flower petals, but the rest of the flower is still visible among the new leaves that are a red-purple color.

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I heard a cardinal high the oak tree. The buds are larger than they were a week ago…but there are no blooms or leaves yet.

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Trimming hair. My hair was short enough going into the ‘stay at home as much as possible’ mode but my husband needed to have the hair on the back of his neck trimmed. Fortunately, we have clippers and it was easy for me to do; it bothers him when he wears a shirt with a collar so wanted it gone. Otherwise, he’s letting his hair grow too.

Looking at the COVID-19 cases per 10K population map from the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago. It goes down to the county level. There is also a social distancing activity map down to county. Interesting….and scary at the same time. I try not to spend too much time looking at them.

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







Filling a Day of Social Distance – 3/30/2020

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

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Hearing traffic noise in the early morning. I woke up about an hour before my time to get up and heard traffic noise. We’re close enough to I95 that sometimes in the winter when the trees don’t baffle the sound and the weather conditions are right…we hear the trucks. I hadn’t heard it as much recently and thought it was the effect of the pandemic. Today it seemed more like a pre-coronavirus Monday. I dosed until my Fitbit vibrated at the usual time.

Discovered HiJinx podcasts from my local library. I listened to the most recent one - ‘A most notorious woman’ about a Grace O’Malley – Ireland’s Pirate Queen. (Anne Chambers’ book on O’Malley available at Internet Archive here.)

Seeing deer just after 8 in the morning….going back to the forest. I wonder where they spent the night. The forest behind our house is part of the green space along the river. Did the deer spend their night elsewhere or did they leave the forest for a morning browse on tender plants in the neighborhood (like my daylilies) for ‘breakfast’ and were returning to the forest because a car or two had come down our street.  

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Later in the day – when it was warmer – I walked around the yard and noted that the daylilies were recovering from the deer browsing several weeks ago. They were not eating them this morning. Also, the daffodils are on their last legs. I took some macro shots of them.

More violets were blooming.

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Dandelions are becoming more numerous too. I’m being lazy and leaving them alone. After the heavy rains a few years ago caused some of our lawn to turn to dirt with patches of grass I have come to appreciate the deeper roots of dandelions that hold the soil.

The leaves on the tulip poplar are a little bigger but the flower buds are not open yet.

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The cherry tree was attracting bees!

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It was a wonderful sunny day and warm enough to have the windows open again. Hearing birdsong in the forest never gets old.

Remembering something I forgot to include in the post for last Friday – my husband had a telemedicine session. It was a first for us. It was a follow up after some tests and lab work from back in February….not coronavirus related. It was a lot less stressful than going into a doctor’s office during this time.

Receiving a communication from our Community Supported Agriculture farmer about what they have been doing to social distance while they work and the modified share pickup process planned when the season starts for us in June. I am reassured that they are thinking ahead…that I can still enjoy the bounty of fresh veggies this summer.

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Photographing the sunset. The sunset is not in my line of sight from my desk, but I can see it if I stand in front of the window and look to the left. I timed it right last night. The clouds reflected the orange light in an arc over the tall trees.

Previous “filling a day of social distance” posts: 3/15, 3/16, 3/17, 3/18, 3/19, 3/20, 3/21, 3/22, 3/23, 3/24, 3/25, 3/26, 3/27, 3/28, 3/29