I've Had The Flu - I'll Take The Shot

World War I (1914-1918) killed about 17 million people.

The 1918 flu epidemic killed between 50 and 100 million people.

I just got my flu shot.

I'm Back - And A Wet Weekend

I know that I have not been updating my blog for a while - I've been enjoying my retirement a bit too much and have been away from home more than I have been here.  I will try to do better.

If you haven't looked out your window lately, it is raining - a lot. A warm front brought warm, damp air up from the south, and then some cold, dry air from Canada came to visit us.

As the warm, moist air floats up and over the denser cold, dry air, the warm air cools, the water condenses, and ... rain.

Hurricane Joaquin predicted path as of Wednesday 9/30

As of right now, it looks like it will be damp right through the weekend, with the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin coming to visit.

The computers aren't sure of the exact path, but most models show the hurricane moving west, crossing New Jersey or Pennsylvania and then passing up through New York.  We will miss the worst of the storm, but the weekend could be a wash.  

No snow days predicted...

I finally made it!

For years Iceland was a part of my teaching.  It has plate tectonics, volcanoes, geothermal heat, and is warmed by the Gulf Stream.  My students saw lots of photos of Iceland - but I had never been there.  I've finally made it to Iceland, taking a 3-day layover on a flight from France.  It is just as wonderful as I had thought!

The original Geysir The one that all of the others are named after	Geysir erupting
Reykjavik harbor	Gullfoss
45 degrees F and windy in June	Geothermal energy
Ponies	Steaming land
Reykjavik
Where the 2 plates meet - North America and Eurasia	The famous trail between 2 continents
Mr. Redwing with his mouth full of food for his babies	Greylag goose
Saxifrage	Wild thyme

Went To NYC, Just Because ...

Yesterday R and I went to New York City, just because. Wandered through my old haunts at the American Museum of Natural History, had lousy food at a place to get wonderful tea, saw birds and flowers while wandering through the barren wilds of Central Park.

This T. Rex at the AMNH had tooth trouble	A special exhibit on .... tardigrades!!
Selfie-sticks in action in Central Park	And people rowing on polluted waters
R looking across the waters and wondering who she's gonna call	The deserted wilds of Central Park
The gardens in the park are wonderful	Virginia spider-wort in the park
I hadn't seen the Canada violet for over 40 years.. and Central Park is full of it!	Tiffany knew his plants - at the NY Historical Society

Some Like It (Too) Hot

Exposure of US population to extreme heat could quadruple by mid-century

Date:

May 18, 2015

Source:

National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Summary:

US residents' exposure to extreme heat could increase four- to six-fold by mid-century, due to both a warming climate and a population that's growing especially fast in the hottest regions of the country, according to new research. 

More Information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150518135143.htm

"Warm-Blooded" Plant Emerges from the Snowpack

The ice has finally gone out, releasing the streams

Skunk cabbage flowers are "warm-blooded."  That is, the flowers generate their own heat by metabolizing sugars, just like mammals do.


The benefits gained by this expenditure of energy are several:  

Since warm air is less dense and floats on cold air, the odor released by the flowers rise up to attract pollinators.  Believe it or not, there are insects that think that the odor of skunk is attractive.

By generating heat, the flowers create a nice, warm, place for insects to rest on cold spring days.  So the insects come in for a visit and get coated with pollen before heading out for the next flower.

Skunk cabbage flowers!  The first flowers of spring.

And, the warm flowers can actually melt their way through the snow, popping up before any other flowers.

Excepting, of course, for this winter when the deep snow has lingered long past its welcome.

I usually expect to see skunk cabbage flowers by the end of February, even in the hills where I live.  This year I finally found some yesterday, April 1.

No Snow Day This Week ! Happy Equinox and Hello Eōstre!

Friday's (March 20) snow won't start until the afternoon so the best I can give you is an early dismissal along the coast and maybe some after-school activities cut short in Weha, so lets think about something better - the Spring Equinox, the day that both northern and southern hemispheres get the same amount of daylight.  The direct rays of the sun will be over the equator at 6:45 pm EST and heading north!
Nearly every religion has similar holidays - something at the solstices and equinoxes having to do with lights and fire and the return or leaving of the Sun.  

And since the growing seasons change with increasing or decreasing sunlight there is something in between, such as All Hallow's Eve (Hallowe'en) which marks the end of the growing season and the start of the cold, dark, leafless winter, and Easter which marks the start of spring flowers.

Many of the "Christian" holidays on the calendar have ancient roots.  Missionaries knew that you can't just erase old customs, so they re-branded them.


Eōstre is an example. Now it is attached to the lunar calendar (the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the equinox) but it is very much a spring holiday. 

Eōstre appears to have been a Germanic / Celtic goddess of the return of life in the spring (rebirth, like the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover - note that the Spanish name for Easter is Pascua) and fertility in general.  She has given her name to Easter and the "female" hormone estrogen.  Her ancestors would have included fertility goddesses going back through Astarte and Ishtar.

The Seder plate - eggs, green plants,
eggs, and the Paschal lamb.

Easter and its cognates are about the return of life in the spring.  The symbols of these holidays are the symbols of fertility, such as eggs, green plants, baby chicks and rabbits.


Another spring equinox holiday is Nevruz, an ancient Persian holiday still celebrated in Turkey.  According to the old Persian calendar, the equinox is the first day of the year and the start of spring.  Sound familiar?  I'm off to check it out this year. 

Dutchman's will soon be blooming.

Certainly this year, where winter has outstayed its welcome, it will be a good thing to see the returning green and the blooming flowers.