I heard about this one on Science Friday. Not my favorite animal but certainly not my LEAST favorite! Did you play Hide and Seek as a kid? We certainly did!
Category: Amazing Creations
After Bluebonnets Onward Ho! to Tennessee
Have you driven across Texas? There was not time on our Spring 2019 adventure to explore the southern cities of Texas or Gulf Coast. Basically when we finished with the Bluebonnets we were ready to travel to our annual or semi-annual adventure of hunting wildflowers in the Smoky Mountains.
We saw these yellow flowers in the distance in Texas. Did I tell you this already? Well, it bears telling again for a chuckle. We asked a guy who looked like he might be a local farmer what that crop was we were seeing this distance in this photo. He said, “Oh that is DYC.” We asked what is DYC. He explained, “Damn yellow cross-pollinators.”
We found Texas basically a boring drive, though we did spot much more of the DYC on our journey. We hurried across the state traveling about as many miles as we could manage in a day, heading for Tennessee.
Saddened recently to hear about the shootings in Midland and Odessa where we had traveled. Five people were killed and 21 others injured, including three law enforcement officers. The violence in this country is sad and startling. I will never get accustomed to it.
We delighted to reach Smoky Mountain National Park. We had rented a cabin for several days to collect our wits after so many weeks on the road. Decided on the first day to attempt our longest hike, uncertain if we could make it to the Lady Slipper area after Bob’s illness and my continued deterioration from arthritis. We made it! We only saw one clump of Yellow Lady Slippers. Photo by Robert Dutina
Did you notice the tendrils down the sides of the Lady’s Slipper?
We also went to the area for pink Sippers. Unfortunately we were too early to see them open.
Since I could not enjoy full blooms on Lady Slippers, I did delight to say Hi there! to this little guy all covered in dew.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
John G. Whittier
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
Basically our visits to the Smoky mountains have this effect upon me!
Dog Games
I do not remember playing Jenga, though I might have once or twice. Saw this video and thought you might want a review of the rules.
Obviously the human had to do this part! “A classic Jenga game consists of 54 precision-crafted, specially finished hard wood blocks. To set up the game, use the included loading tray to create the initial tower. Stack all the blocks in levels of three placed next to each other along their long sides and at a right angle to the previous level. Once the tower is built, the person who stacked the tower plays first.”
Then the dog goes into action!
Moving in the game Jenga consists of taking one block on a turn from any level of the tower (except the one below an incomplete top level), placing it on the topmost level in order to complete it.
Players may use only one hand at a time; either hand may be used, but only one hand may touch the tower at any time. Players may tap a block to find a loose one. Any blocks moved but not played should be replaced, unless doing so would make the tower fall. The turn ends when the next player touches the tower, or after ten seconds, whichever occurs first. The game ends when the tower falls — completely or if any block falls from the tower (other than the block a player moves on a turn).
My Blogger Friend Mike
Mike Powell publishes a wonderful journey of his photographic life at the address below. Check him out with the link below for one example.
American Lady
Recently I heard this music on our classical station and I immediately thought of his blog. He gets amazing photos of dragonflies, birds and other nature subjects that remind me to stop and look around me. Without knowing the title it reminded me of some of the chases Mike has likely had through the swampish park where he captures many of his photos. Turn up your volume as the first few moments begin very softly. Only 4 minutes but fun!
If you go to his WordPress blog you can scroll through his entries and I think you will see what I mean! I can no longer see a dragonfly and not think of Michael Q. Powell! Whether he is chasing another species of dragonfly, an Osprey, Great Blue Heron or an Eagle he depicts a world that few of us appreciate being as suburban bound as we usually are.
Start looking around you and enjoy!
Dallas
Accustomed to seeing Angus cattle, as we drove towards Dallas, we now saw Brahman steer in some fields and even longhorns! We began the day going to the Pioneer Plaza to see the Cattle Drive statues. (Reminded me of the Land Run of 1889 sculptures by Paul Moore in Oklahoma.) This is the second most visited tourist site in Dallas. Each sculpture was created by Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas in 1992. They were cast at Eagle Bronze Foundry in Lander, Wyoming. There are 40 steer and 3 cowboys. There is a plan to add more cattle. The day we were there we actually saw 4 cowboys!
They say the steer were cast larger than life, but when we saw a live one it looked this large to me!
Somehow I only captured two of the cowboys. Go figure! Actually I discovered that we missed one that was off to one side, beyond a stone wall. First photo is from online and shows what we missed. The remainder are my photos.
Now this is what we would call a “Stupidvisor.” Oh, I meant watching person. https://www.americancowboy.com/people/cattle-drive-positions-53630 does not give a name to this man’s position. I wanted to call him the boss, watching the others work.
Was he resting, overseeing or just watching? Cattle drive positions do not include him. His equipment right down to his pistol were impressive.
And then we met cowboy #4! A young man who told us he used to herd cattle on horseback with his father in Mexico. Here is his photo as his girlfriend snapped his picture!
And below, just beyond the park, what is said to be THE official horse of Texas!
You get the idea? Mobil, then Exxon Mobil Oil in Texas and beyond.
NEWS FLASH!!
August 17, 2018 I wrote about treasures in Not Quite Plain Sight. I compared the Florida sea cow, the Manatee, and the microscopic Tardigrades, also known as water bears. To me they look alike and I find that amazing.
Well, the news flash came up on Wired.com. Spivack was a scientist on the project. One reason he included tardigrades in this project: “Tardigrades are known to enter dormant states in which all metabolic processes stop and the water in their cells is replaced by a protein that effectively turns the cells into glass. Scientists have revived tardigrades that have spent up to 10 years in this dehydrated state, although in some cases they may be able to survive much longer without water.”
Here is the website in case you want the full scoop https://www.wired.com/story/a-crashed-israeli-lunar-lander-spilled-tardigrades-on-the-moon/amp
The Israeli Lunar lander that crashed was called the Beresheet. And when I listened to the Israeli broadcast on line the word sounds like Beara Sheet! I found that humorous: water bear and bear a sheet! “But when the Israelis confirmed Beresheet had been destroyed, Spivack was faced with a distressing question: Did he just smear the toughest animal in the known universe across the surface of the moon?”
The short answer is yes. The big question is will they survive? Certainly these were dehydrated tardigrades, however, “Scientists are just beginning to understand how tardigrades manage to survive in so many unforgiving environments. It’s conceivable that as we learn more about tardigrades, we’ll discover ways to rehydrate them after much longer periods of dormancy.”
And then perhaps the news gets better? “As for whether any of the …. tardigrades are still intact, that’s anyone’s guess, but Spivack says there’s no reason to worry about water bears taking over the moon. Any lunar tardigrades found by future humans will have to be brought back to Earth or somewhere with an atmosphere in order to rehydrate them. Whether this will be enough to bring them back to life, however, remains to be seen.”
Evidently what they did is not illegal because it has been determined that the moon has “few of the necessary conditions for life and isn’t at risk of contamination.” But personally, I still find it weird.
After Albuquerque
As we traveled towards Las Cruces on I-25 we exited onto US 380 a very strange area indeed. We stopped at an old rock shop. They did not have much that we wanted. This area is mostly desert. Along the road there were picnic shelters with a tiny roof for shade. I had to wonder who would go there for a picnic? Perhaps others who were traveling through like us? We went through an area called the Valley of Fires. Here you can see outcroppings of lava flows from an ancient volcano.
The site at https://www.newmexico.org/listing/valley-of-fires-recreation-area-(blm)/1148/ states “Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted covering 125 square miles of the Tularosa Basin with molten rock up to 160 feet thick.” Very strange to be driving through the desert and seeing thick lava along the roadside! Dan had shown us the same phenomena in another part of the state. I do not think I would ever “get used to” seeing that.
Along this road we went through Alamogordo, which to this day I have difficulty pronouncing! (I can do each vowel/syllable, but not sight pronunciation.) We HAD to stop at McGinns’s PistachioLand: Home of the World’s Largest Pistachio. Being a nut lover I had to get a bag or two! They also boast the largest pistachio in the world. Here is a 35 second video of that item!
Then on the White Sands area as we worked our way towards the National Monument.
Wikipedia states that White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) “is a United States Army military testing area of almost 3,200 sq mi (8,300 km2) in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR and the 600,000-acre McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss to the south (southeast Tularosa Basin and on Otero Mesa) are contiguous areas for military testing.” I had to imagine with North Korea acting up these guys are plenty busy!
The White Sands National Monument was on our places to see as we had passed through it briefly in 1971. The National Monument gift shop today sells sleds and wax for snowboards as climbing and sliding down the dunes is permitted and obviously encouraged. One of the information rangers told us that the day before they had closed the monument due to such high winds. We had experienced those in Albuquerque and we were so glad we had not left a day earlier! Even this day there was limited visibility. Part way into the park we were both tasting the sand (which is made from gypsum) and I remembered that we had masks in the car console. We both donned the face masks and felt somewhat better. We decided not to get out and hike or slide down the dunes.
To me this is another place of amazement, that the Lord not only created it, but lets us see it! The National Park website states: “WSNM protects the world’s largest geologically unique gypsum dunefield and the flora and fauna living within it.” They occasionally close the monument road due to missile site testing, high temperatures and/or high winds. And we got to see this wonder again. Miles of soft white sand. Dune after dune. We saw people straining to walk in the wind. The vegetation growing out of the gypsum amazed me and their shadows were lovely on the white background. Bob said as the sand on the road got deeper it was like driving on a snow packed road.
Obviously there were some large drifts. Just look at the picnic area sign!
For the most part we had blue skies and as you can see Bob got some lovely shots!
All in one day! Another load of varying experiences 🙂
Complaining About The Heat?
With only one or two days of typical heat and humidity, it seems we are all complaining about the weather in Ohio. I came across this poem I wrote April 9, 2018. Perhaps it might refresh your spirit?
Each twig is crusted with snow this April morning
The junco never looked so lovely
Jumping from branch to branch he blends
With grays and whites of early spring
That looks more like winter
The white hyacinths in full head of flower
Are also topped with a snow cap
It is a wonder their stems can hold such a load
The more sensible daffodils
Just bow and then rise with the thaw
Birds changing branches cause snow loads to
Plop to the ground
The birds are often unseen
Discerned only by lumps of falling snow
As temperature rises there are more plops than visits
The people generally complain
About the hold winter seems to have upon us
But I find the snow preferable to
Long rainy days of cold and wind
Nothing else paints a landscape quite so lovely
Soon I will be transported
By airplane and car to the height of summer
Days in the 80s and 90s
Sun, sand, shells and warm breezes
This morning I say good bye to winter
With a nod to her majestic painting
Spring Roadtrip 2019
From Flagstaff we were on our way to Albuquerque, more specifically Corrales, home of our best friends, Dan and Betty. Going to their house is like coming home to us. Have never found another couple that we can visit with and travel with so effortlessly! All four of us get along great! We had already traveled 4,000 miles when we arrived there. We were more than ready for a rest and restore session!
Red dust from hiking the red rocks of Arizona 
Yes!! 
Cooksey’s “Trails End” home
Their home faces Sandia Crest, 10,678 feet, in the Sandia mountains, popularly known as Watermelon Mountain because of the red glow at sunset.
And of course love from Betty and Jessie!
Walking Jessie is a delight. Dan has her so well trained! The courtyard is often populated with Gambel’s Quail.
Gambels’ Quail on the post 
Walking Jessie and the old folks! 
Another lovely walk!
One day Bob and Dan drove up to Sandia Crest and and went shopping at the Henderson General Store and a rock shop in Cerrillos. The next day there was a terrible wind storm that practically obliterated the view of the mountain.
Departing for the remainder of the trip on Day 20 was sweet, but also difficult. It is never easy to leave the Cooksey’s!
Wood Thrush
One of my favorite birds is the Wood Thrush. Not much to look at and easily confused at a glance with other brown birds, but boy oh boy can this one sing!! Here is a tiny clip. There are times I think it sounds like corillion bells.
Recently after the torrential spring rains, we saw one rolling on the sidewalk a bit aways from our front porch. My husband asked, “What in the world is that bird doing?” I looked and said, “Likely he is rolling in dust to clean his feathers. With all the rain it is probably hard to find dust in the woods!” Thrush must have sensed us watching him because he soon took off for the woods. In fact, we rarely see this fellow. Secretive, but a lovely minstrel!
Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; wherever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country and the gates of Heaven are not shut against him.
American Naturalist Henry David Thoreau writing about the Wood Thrush
Often in the brutal heat of this summer weather on my way to the garbage can or getting out of the car I will hear this bird and then I SO agree with Thoreau. It has been way too hot and too many allergy triggers out there to have the windows open. Maybe it will cool off soon so I can hear it from inside, too!
