November 12, 2023

Yesterday I decided it was time to test my Do-It-Yourself (DIY) skills.  I had contacted a plumbing firm to do an an inspection of my water heater and while they were not able to drain my water heater (what I wanted) they gave me the “courtesy” of looking at my sinks and faucets.  The assessment was I needed to replace the water heater, the water lines for the sinks, and the kitchen faucet was leaking.  This could all be repaired for 5 to 10,000 US$.  I decided to skip the expense, but then the kitchen faucet went completely out.  I went to my local hardware store and purchased a similar faucet and the eight water lines (flex steel) I needed.  The threads for the kitchen water line had frozen shut and I was unable to replace them.  I called my usual plumber and was told he could come today.  I had intended to have him work on all the projects, but since I had time, I set to work replacing the water lines in the bathroom sink.  This was a start-and-stop process that sent me back to the store for tools and supplies.  I was finally able to replace the lines (I do not fit well beneath the vanity) and was proud of my accomplishment.  That made me think I could do anything, so I went back to work on the kitchen faucet.  I quickly broke off the shutoff valve.  I decided to wait for the man to fix my plumbing.

When I looked online, I found plumbing for clean water and sanitation has been around since the stone age (Neolithic).  Where water resources, infrastructure, or sanitation systems were insufficient, diseases spread, and people fell sick or died prematurely.  That meant large human settlements could only develop around fresh water like rivers or springs.  People have historically devised systems to get water into their communities and dispose of wastewater.  Early on, raw sewage was transported by a natural body of water (river or ocean) where it was diluted and dissipated.  With the Neolithic, humans dug the first permanent water wells, and the water was carried to homes in handheld pots.  Wells dug around 8500 BCE have been found on Cyprus, and by 6500 BCE in the Jezreel Valley (now Israel).  Skara Brae, a Neolithic village in Orkney, Scotland, was found to have water-flushing toilets from 3180 BCE to 2500 BCE.  This consisted of two stone channels lined with tree bark (for fresh and wastewater) in the city’s houses.  A cell-like enclave from 3000 BCE was also found in several houses in Skara Brae that are suggested to have served early indoor latrine.

Constructing irrigation systems to bring fresh water into urban areas is one of the concepts that define a civilization.  However, you also needed to get rid of the wastewater.  The reuse of wastewater has been used since the earliest human settlements as an ancient sanitation process and served as a corollary to just diverting human waste outside urban settlements.  Domestic wastewater was used for irrigation by prehistoric civilizations like the Mesopotamian, Indus Valley, and the Minoan since the Bronze Age (3200 to 1100 BCE).  Wastewater was used for disposal, irrigation, and crop fertilization by Hellenic (Athens) civilizations and then by the Romans (Rome) in areas around larger cities.  Plumbing is also known to have been used in East Asia since the Qin (750 BCE) and Han (200 BCE to 200 CE) Dynasties of China.

Thoughts:  The Roman Empire had indoor plumbing consisting of a system of aqueducts and pipes that terminated in homes and at public wells and fountains.  Rome (and others) used lead pipes which are commonly thought to be the cause of lead poisoning in the Roman Empire (and Nero’s madness), but the combination of running water which did not stay in the pipe for long and the precipitation scale that accumulated mitigated the risk from lead pipes.  This is another urban myth that ranks up there with my DIY skills.  There are times to defer to the experts.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 12, 2023

© J. Martin and E. Olson, Northland College; from Olson et al. 2021, Scientific Reports.

One of my favorite pastimes on summer nights as a child was catching fireflies (family: Lampyridae).  My brother and I would catch the blinking insects as they flew around our yard and place them in glass jars.  By the time we were called into the house we would always have a glowing lantern of fireflies that would blink on and off, lighting up the jar and giving us great delight.  When I looked at one of the side posts from my NY Times feed today, I found these insects are not the only fluorescent animals in the world.  There is a growing body of research that lists large numbers of bioluminescent mammals.  The latest addition is a jumping rodent called the South African springhare (Pedetes capensis).  Scientists found when the animal’s brown fur is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays it displays swirling disco patterns of pink and orange.  This striking fluorescence was detected in both live animals and museum collections.   The scientists reporting on the find called the springhare’s fluorescent colors “funky and vivid,” forming patterns that were highly diverse “relative to biofluorescence found in other mammals.”

When I looked online, I found biofluorescence occurs when higher energy wavelengths of light (e.g. ultra-violet or blue light) are absorbed and subsequently reemitted at lower energy wavelengths in living organisms.  This results in a glow of brilliant fluorescent colors including blues, greens, and reds.  The phenomenon is widespread among animals and can be caused by several different proteins, pigments, metabolites, and chemical reactions.  The process of biofluorescence has long fascinated humans, and as far back as 79 AD humans experimented with the concept.  Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 – AD 79), called Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, a commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian.  He recorded the first use of bioluminescence as a kind of torch by rubbing a stick against jellyfish slime.  It was only recently that scientists accidentally discovered that mammals can also shine.  Jon Martin, a forestry professor, was exploring the forest at night using a UV flashlight to scan the canopy for biofluorescence from lichens, fungi, plants, and frogs.  He heard the chirp of a northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) and pointing the flashlight at it, was amazed to see pink fluorescence.

Until Martin found biofluorescence in the squirrels, the only other mammals known to have fluorescent fur were about two dozen species of opossum (order: Didelphimorphia) .  These marsupials are scattered across the Americas and are not closely related to flying squirrels.  They live in different ecosystems and have a different diet, suggesting that the glowing characteristic could be much more widespread than thought.  The small mammals do share one thing in common in they are all active at night and twilight, where other squirrels are mostly active in daylight (diurnal).  Many of the other biofluorescent mammals identified are either nocturnal (night) or crepuscular (twilight), suggesting the reason the animals glow is linked to their night life.  However, biofluorescence requires a light source for the glow to re-emit, and there is less UV light at night.  There may be more to the mammals biofluorescence.

Thoughts:  Field studies are required to examine if there are any advantages or disadvantages of this ability within these species’ natural environment and to see whether biofluorescence has a role in communication, sexual selection, camouflage, or no obvious function at all.  Australian Museum wildlife forensic scientist Greta Frankham adds, “Predators don’t seem to glow.  I think this is because if predators could be seen, they would lose all chance of catching their prey.”  As mammal predators humans do not glow either, except when we are really happy.  Although it is detectable by other humans, it is not biofluorescence.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 10, 2023

While scrolling my NY Times Morning feed I found a climate blurb about a new US plant designed to pull carbon (CO²) from the air.  Heirloom Carbon Technologies calls this the first commercial plant in the US to use direct air capture to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.  The open-air warehouse in California’s Central Valley uses 40-foot-tall (12 m) racks holding 100’s of trays filled with a white powder that turns crusty as it absorbs carbon dioxide.  The carbon dioxide pulled is then permanently sealed in concrete.  Heirloom’s revenue comes from selling carbon removal credits to companies paying to offset their own emissions.  Microsoft has already signed a deal with Heirloom to remove 315,000 tons of CO² from the atmosphere.  The plant can absorb up to 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, equal to the exhaust from 200 cars, but Heirloom hopes to expand quickly.  Another larger carbon capture plant is already operating in Iceland and scientists say the technique could be crucial for fighting climate change.

When I looked online, I found the Orca project in Iceland purposes to capture about 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year and store it deep underground.  Orca was launched on September 8, 2021, as the first and largest direct air capture and storage plant in the world.  The facilities eight collector containers have an annual capture capacity of 500 tons each.  The plant was built by Zurich-based Climeworks and the heat and electricity required to run the process is supplied by the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant.  The 4,000 tons of captured carbon is stored underground and turned into stone.  The plant uses massive fans to draw in large amounts of air to contact chemicals which can selectively remove carbon dioxide.  The carbon-rich chemicals are then heated to about 212F (100C) to release carbon dioxide as a pure gas.  The Icelandic startup Carbfix partnered with Orca to then mix the pure gas with water and pump it deep into basaltic rock where it will crystallize into a mineral in about two years.  The carbon offsets gained by the Orca project are the most expensive in the world.

Even 4,000 tons of carbon represents a fraction of global carbon emissions, which has been forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to reach up to 33 billion tons this year.  The Orca company originally sought to capture 1% of annual global emissions, or more than 300 million tons, by 2025 but has since lowered the target to 500,000 tons by that same date.  Climeworks has plans for a facility that will be 10 times larger and could collect millions of tons of carbon dioxide in the next three years.  The high demand for carbon offsets has surprised some as the plant charges up to €1,000 (US$1,067) for a ton of CO2 removed.  Climeworks will need to lower carbon capture prices to attract and encourage large polluting companies to purchase carbon offsets rather than play the penalty.  Some critics argue global efforts should focus more on reducing carbon emissions than on technology to capture and store carbon.  Throwing this much resource and energy could become a distraction for the immediate carbon reduction goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Thoughts:  The capture of carbon from the air is an innovative technology that could go a long way toward reducing carbon dioxide that causes global warming.  It also appears to be one of the ways polluting corporations have found to honor their pledge to reduce their carbon footprint to zero by 2030 (or 2050?).  Rather than investing in technology that will eliminate production of carbon dioxide, they are able to maintain their current practice and pay someone else to eliminate existing carbon.  Big corporations are about the bottom line.  The carbon removal credits were intended to reward big polluters for redesigning the production process.   If it is cheaper to continue to pollute and pay someone else to reduce the overall level of pollution many may take this tact.  Global warming should not be treated as an either/or, but as a both/and.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 09, 2023

One of the stories highlighted in my browser suggestions concerned a fishing spider that can often be found on docks or near ponds and streams around the world.  The genus of spiders gets their name because they literally wait by the edge of a water source and ambush small fish that come to the surface.  Rather than using a web to trap their prey, they hunt by waiting at the edge of a pool and when they detect the ripples from prey, they run across the surface of the water to subdue it using their foremost legs, which are tipped with small claws.  Like other spiders they inject venom with their hollow jaws to kill and digest the prey.  They mainly eat insects, but some larger species can catch fish up to the size of a small goldfish (Carassius auratus).  Fishing spiders are also capable of submerging beneath the surface of the water by using the hairs on their bodies to trap air bubbles.  The browser caption called the gigantic Dolmedes one of “nature’s best scuba divers.”

When I looked online, I found the Dolomedes, also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders, or wharf spiders, is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae.  Their scientific name (Dolomedes) comes from Greek and means “wily or deceitful”.  Almost all Dolomedes species are semiaquatic, except for the tree-dwelling, white-banded fishing spider (Dolomedes albineus) of the southeastern US.  Many species have a striking pale stripe down each side of the body.  There are over a hundred species of Dolomedes throughout the world, including the forest-stream species of New Zealand (Dolomedes aquaticus) and the great raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius) which lives in the marshlands (fens) of Europe.  Many species of this genus are large, with females up to 1 inch (26 cm) long and a leg span of just over 3 inches (80 mm).  Member species are easily confused with wolf spiders (family: Lycosidae) except for their context with water.  Even out of context they could be easily identified as this genus has two rows of eyes with two larger eyes at the top, a placement unique to this genus inside the Pisauridae family.  If you keep your distance, you can still tell them apart by their aquatic adaptations.

Dolomedes spiders are covered all over in short, velvety hairs which are hydrophobic (repel water).  This allows them to use surface tension to stand or run on the water, like water striders (family: Gerridae).  They also submerge beneath the water by trapping air in the body hairs to form a thin silvery film over the whole surface of their body and legs.  Like other spiders, Dolomedes breathes with book lungs found beneath their abdomens.  These open into the captured air film and allow the spiders to breathe while submerged.  The trapped air makes them buoyant and if they do not hold onto a rock or a plant stem they will float to the surface where they emerge completely dry.  The fishing spider hunts for mayflies and other insects on the surface of the water, using the water like a web, detecting ripples and vibrations which indicate where their prey is located.  The spider can estimate distance and direction, as well as discern the vibrations given off by predators such as trout (maybe I should rig a spider fly).  Dolomedes are powerful predators capable of eating tadpoles and fish as large as a small goldfish.

Thoughts:  Although species of Dolomedes spiders are frighteningly large, they rarely bite people.  They also help keep the insect population in check but eating larva and emerging adults, especially of the approximately 3,500 species of mosquitos (family Culicidae).  They build webs on shore to lay eggs and house their spiderlings.  Humans often brush away the webs or squash intrusive spiders when we come upon them.  There are more than 40,000 species of spiders, almost all of them venomous, but only a few are known to produce venom that is toxic to humans.  Most serve as a beneficial species, and they are best left alone to do their work.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 08, 2023

PHOTO: ANIMAL RISING

Last year I commented on Fiona the Hippo who had just turned five (now six) and all the fanfare that has marked her life.  Fiona was born six weeks premature in 2017 and only weighed 29 pounds (13 kg).  The story captured the attention of Cincinnati and the world.  The zoo’s marketing spokesperson called Fiona “the story of hope” and her INL brand has been attached to cookies, coffee, shirts, mugs, and books.  I came across another animal named Fiona that contrasted with the love and attention showered on her hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) namesake.  After spending at least two years stuck at the bottom of a cliff in Scotland, Fiona the sheep was finally rescued and is now living at a farm about 25 miles north of the border with England.  Once known as Britain’s loneliest sheep, she is no longer alone.

When I looked online, I found the Border Cheviot (Ovis aries var.), also known as the South Country Cheviot, is a breed of domesticated sheep from the UK native to the Cheviot Hills between Scotland and England.  The beginnings of the Cheviot breed existed in the Cheviot Hills of Northern England as far back as the early 1300’s.  These sheep were described as small hardy animals with a “long white face” and other physical attributes of the present day Cheviot.  The Cheviot is a distinctive white-faced sheep, with a wool-free face and legs, pricked ears, black muzzle, and black feet.  About 1370 CE considerable numbers of these “longfaces” found their way north from the English hills into the border country in the south of Scotland where they mingled with and gradually displaced the primitive tan-faced sheep that had been reared mainly for their hardiness and mutton qualities without much regard for wool.   The breed was recognized as early as 1372 and is prized for its wool, although bred primarily for meat.  The rams can have horns, but the ewes are naturally polled.  The live weight of a mature Border Cheviot ram ranges from 154 to 187 pounds (70 to 85 kg) and a mature ewe is from 121 to 154 pounds (55 to 70kg).  Border Cheviot are very hardy and strong animals that are well suited to their local harsh climates and rugged conditions.  This no doubt helped the loneliest sheep survive for two years on her own.

The rescue of the “loneliest sheep” came when five farmers from the Scottish Highlands used an all-terrain vehicle with a winch to haul her up the cliff.  Last month, kayaker Jillian Turner saw Fiona on the shores of Cromarty Firth in the Scottish Highlands.  This was two years after the sheep was first spotted at the same location.  Over 50,000 people signed a petition asking for Fiona’s rescue on Change.org, but the Coast Guard and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) hesitated over performing a rescue operation, believing Fiona’s position was too dangerous to reach.  Despite this, the five farmers used an all-terrain vehicle with a winch attached to it to lower themselves 820 feet (250 m) down the cliffside and then to bring them back up with the sheep.  Graeme Parker who headed the group said, “When we got down there, sure enough, Fiona was . . . right in the middle of the cave in a little patch of sunlight that’s coming through a craggy hole in the ceiling of the cave.”  Fiona is no longer the loneliest sheep in the UK.

Thoughts:  Fiona was taken to a farm to live in a pen alone where she will be slowly integrated with a small herd of other animals.  Animal Rising, an animal rights group, has argued that Fiona should have been taken to a sanctuary where she could “live out the rest of her life in peace and security.”  The group added it was planning its own rescue of Fiona, but the farmers completed their rescue first.  My question is why someone did not do something two years ago, and how did Fiona get there in the first place?  Humans tend to wait to act until there is a crisis or public outcry, then criticize others who accomplish what we were reluctant to attempt.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 07, 2023

I came across an AP article in the business section of today’s local newspaper that reported Japanese consumers are eating more fish from local markets.  The fishing communities in Fukushima had feared the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the nuclear power plant damage by the tsunami, coupled with the China’s ban on Japanese seafood, would have a devastating effect on the area’s economy.  Consumers have instead supported the region by eating more fish.  Customers nationwide are placing orders, with many asking for “Joban-mono,” or fish from the waters off Fukushima and its southern neighbor Ibaraki that includes regional favorites Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and Shortnose greeneye (Chlorophthalmus agassizi).  Almost all the fresh local catch sells out.  One customer said it was less about supporting local businesses than the Joban-mono tasting good.  “I’m not worried about the treated water discharge.  I’ve been checking sampling results and I trust them.”

When I looked online, I found the disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is located on an 860 acre (3.5 km²) site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.  The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011.  The chain of events caused radiation leaks and permanent damage to several of its reactors, making them impossible to restart.  The Fukushima plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the sea on August 24th.  Officials said the release was necessary because more than 1.3 million tons of radioactive wastewater has accumulated in the 1,000 tanks at the plant since its cooling system was destroyed.  Even with the wastewater release the tanks are estimated to reach capacity in the first half of 2024.  Prior to release the water is treated to reduce radioactive materials to safe levels and is then diluted with massive amounts of seawater to make it safer than international standards.  The release is expected to continue for decades and was strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries. 

The Fukushima wastewater release resulted in the immediate ban of all imports of Japanese seafood by Beijing and caused a major hit to Japanese seafood producers, processors, and exporters.  Thae ban was especially hard for those in northern Japan who specialize in scallops and sea cucumbers, a delicacy in China.  China’s seafood ban and reports of its impact on the fishing industry may have tempered Japanese criticism of the water release and encouraged people to eat more seafood from the region.  Futoshi Kinoshita, executive of Foodison which operates the Sakana Bacca chain, said, “After China’s ban on Japanese seafood, we are seeing more customers buying not only Fukushima fish but also Japanese seafood in general to support the industry.”  Fish testing data are key to consumer confidence in the seafood’s safety, but the data alone is not enough.  Officials are hoping those concerned about Fukushima fish will develop confidence by seeing their friends or relatives eating it without worry.

Thoughts:  The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded in a July report that the Fukushima discharge, if carried out exactly as planned, would cause negligible impact on the environment and human health.  Japan’s government set up a relief fund to help find new markets and the US Embassy in Tokyo has also helped, including sourcing its military bases in Japan.  Fukushima’s fisheries community, tourism, and economy were badly hit by the tsunami and are still recovering.  Local fishing was beginning to return to normal in 2021 when the government announced the water release plan.  The local catch is still about one-fifth of its pre-disaster levels due to a decline in the fishing population and smaller catch sizes.  While nuclear power may be a promising alternative fuel, accidents at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986), and Fukushima (2011) have yet to be mitigated.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 06, 2023

© slowmotiongli/Getty

A Newsweek article appeared on my browser today concerning a group of orcas who attacked and sank a 40 foot (12.2 m) yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar.  The pod of orcas surrounded the yacht and proceeded to ram into the steering fin of the boat for 45 minutes, “causing major damage and leakage”.  The crew was aided by the Moroccan Navy and attempted to steer the vessel away from the animals and bring it into port, but the boat sank near the entrance of Tanger Med, in Morocco.  The crew were unharmed in the incident, but the tour company expressed sadness at the loss of the boat.  This is not an isolated event as orcas have been interfering with boats in this stretch of ocean for years.  The interactions have been an issue since 2020 in waters off Spain, Portugal, and Morocco and vary from orcas merely inspecting boats to attacking them.  Orcas are incredibly intelligent, socially complex animals, and display evidence of adopting learned behaviors from senior members of a pod.  Some theories for this behavior surround one specific orca who lives in the Strait known as White Gladys.

When I looked online, I found the name Gladys has been given to more than one of the orcas living in the area, and there are 15 whales with this name.  The orca whale (Orcinus orca) who has recently become famous on the internet for causing damage and sinking yachts is the one scientist’s call white Gladys, the oldest (and only adult) of the group (pod).  There are also juvenile’s such as grey Gladys, black Gladys, and small Gladys.  For the last three years these animals have engaged in very unusual behavior with boats, which has resulted in significant damage.  Scientists point to different hypotheses to explain why these killer whales are ramming boats.  Some believe white Gladys is teaching the younger whales to hit the boats because of an alleged trauma stemming from a past collision, but that cannot be verified.  While researchers do not know how to explain the attitude of these orcas, they believe their actions are a learned behavior through their curiosity and playfulness.  That is the extent of what science knows about this peculiar group of cetaceans.  White Gladys and her pod are going viral on social media.

White Gladys and her pod have been ramming boats in the area for the past few years.  In 2020, researchers with the Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals said they were behind 61% of the attacks and there are indications that orca are learning this behavior and passing it down to one another.  David Lusseau, professor of marine sustainability at the Technical University of Denmark, previously told Newsweek that he does not believe the attacks result from aggression.  “It is my opinion that this is not aggressive behavior, and definitely not planned behavior with more complex motivations, such as revenge.  Vessels are objects in the environment of these killer whales.”  Memes posted on social media have amplified the image of white Gladys as a murderous and vengeful whale that intentionally attacks boats to cause harm, but experts say this interpretation is far from reality.  

Thoughts:  The history of white Gladys and the killer whale attacks was first documented in the Strait of Gibraltar in May 2020.  It was two months before another attack in July of that year on the coast of Portugal.  In mid-August, the attacks moved to the Galician coast in northern Spain.  The whales move as they follow the trail of tuna, their main food source.  Since then, the whales have continued encounters with boats.  In 2023, the Orca Atlántica [Atlantic Orca] organization has identified up to 43 interactions around the Strait of Gibraltar, with 12 encounters damaging boats while 31 were sightings.  These figures are higher than in previous years at this point.  In Melville’s story the adversary was not an orca but a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), but Gladys and Moby both resound with the human anxiety of the unknown associated with the sea.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 05, 2023

Now that the weather has turned colder, I have been surprised by the lack of birds frequenting my feeders.  Although I have had a pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves (Streptopelia decaocto), the only other visitors have been the gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) that are stocking up seeds for the winter.  I have read that this may be a good fall for the squirrels and others who rely on the seeds and nuts to get through the harsh times of winter.  The oak (genus: Quercus), beech (genus: Fagus) and walnut (genus: Juglans) trees across large swaths of the US are unleashing a tremendous crop of acorns, hickory nuts and other hard seeds.  During these boom times a single oak tree can shed more than a thousand acorns, despite producing few seeds in previous years.  This coordinated overproduction of seeds across species is called masting.

When I looked online, I found masting refers to the synchronized and highly variable production of seeds.  Dozens of tree species participate in masting, but how and why thousands of individual plants across thousands of square miles seem to coordinate their reproduction has stumped scientists and nature observers for centuries.  The strategy has a few clear benefits, including overwhelming predators who eat seeds.  While this might explain why masting evolved, how trees are able to coordinate this event remains a mystery.  Weather conditions likely play a role in triggering masting, but different species exhibit different masting cycles and put out seeds based on differing conditions.  The association between weather and masting has sparked folklore, including that a big acorn crop means a harsh winter, although there is no clear correlation.  Why so many trees are masting this year is also not clear.

Trees have evolved with the ability to turn sunlight, water, soil, and air into seeds and nuts to propagate their genes into the next generation.  Conversely, squirrels, birds, and other animals impede this goal by eating the seeds.  While trees cannot physically fight back, they do have other ways of overcoming these predators.  By releasing seeds in boom-or-bust cycles, trees can overwhelm predators through sheer numbers, pumping out more seeds than squirrels and others could possibly eat to ensure that some will eventually sprout.  The intervening years without masting then tend to starve the trees’ enemies by producing few or no seeds.  The down years also allow the tree to build up the resources needed for another round of masting.  Masting may also help trees with mating, especially species that just depend on wind to carry pollen.  Species that flower all at once saturate the air with pollen, and months later the resulting seeds all get shed at once.

Thoughts:  Understanding how trees coordinate masting is an enigma.  One idea is the trees are all “listening” for the same environmental cues and when a given area experiences the right conditions, all the individual trees experience roughly the same conditions.  Another intriguing idea is that the trees are talking to each other.  Research has shown trees can signal each other when there are predators around, but there is not much evidence this also occurs with reproduction.  The modern scientific era taught us that humans use of tools and communication were what differentiated us from other species.  Later research has shown many animal species use tools and both animals and plants communicate.  The problem was our feeling of superiority and needing to be set apart from the greater world, and a lack of comprehension of how it worked.  Not knowing how masting works does not mean it does not happen.  The intricacies of life and the lessons we can learn from nature are lost when humans destroy the natural environment in the name of “progress”.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

November 01, 2023

Last night was Halloween, or the day American’s traditionally put out candy and expect small, costumed visitors eager to accept their gifts.  I have had varying approaches to this day of celebration.  There were years, especially when my son Alex was small, where I would go all out.  I would dress in costume, roam the streets with him, and then have a bowl full of candy ready for fellow trick-or-treaters when we got home.  I continued to provide candy later but found it made a difference where you live on how much candy you could be expected to provide.  For several years I lived in areas where there were no small children and I found myself forced to eat the leftover candy myself (a sacrifice I woefully undertook).  Eventually, I got to where I no longer participated in the house to house festival and instead participated in Trunk-or-treat events (cars gathered in a parking lot).  Now I am more likely to take the third option of turning off my lights, closing the blinds, and hoping the doorbell does not ring.  I do keep “some” candy on hand “just in case”.  My focus has shifted from All Saint’s Eve (Halloween) to All Saint’s Day and even Allhallowtide.

When I looked online, I found All Saints’ Day (also known as All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas) is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honor of all saints of the Church, whether they are known or unknown.  A solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his earthly father Joseph, or another important saint.  The word comes from postclassical Latin sollemnitas, meaning a solemnity, festival, celebration of a day.  The observance begins with the vigil on the evening before the actual date of the feast.  This vigil has morphed into what we now celebrate as Halloween.  Unlike feast days of the rank of feast (other than feasts of the Lord) or those of the rank of memorial, solemnities replace the celebration of Sundays outside of Advent (4 weeks before Christmas), Lent (7 weeks before Easter), and Easter.

From the 4th century CE, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places and on various dates around Easter and Pentecost.  In the 9th century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on November 1st and the celebration was later extended to the whole Catholic Church by Pope Gregory IV (9th century).  In Western Christianity All Saint’s Day is still celebrated on November 1st by the Roman Catholic Church and many Protestant churches like Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.  The Eastern Orthodox Church and associated Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran churches celebrate the day on the first Sunday after Pentecost.  The Syro-Malabar Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church (both in communion with Rome) as well as the Church of the East, celebrate All Saints’ Day on the first Friday after Easter Sunday.  The Coptic Orthodox tradition celebrates All Saints’ Day with the Feast of the Martyrs (Nayrouz) on September 11th.  This day is the start of the Coptic new year, and the first month (Thout) of the Coptic calendar year. 

Thoughts:  All Saint’ Day is part of a liturgical celebration called Allhallowtide which includes the three days from October 31st through November 2nd.   Allhallowtide is a “time to remember the dead, including martyrs, saints, and all faithful departed Christians.”  Christianity is not the only faith system that remembers martyrs, saints, and all ancestors.  Neither is remembrance of the people and events of the past confined to faith traditions.  Atheist philosopher George Santayana is quoted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  This day (and time) is about more than just costumes and candy.  It is a reflection on our past as an instruction for our future.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

October 30, 2023

As we approached the first winter after Melissa started her succulent business (Uliyesdi Succulent Design) we faced a problem.  The cacti and succulents she grew and propagated had taken over the house and moved onto the covered front entry and back screen porch.  Both areas provided indirect light along with a cool breeze to help the plants flourish as many of the plants originated in tropical climates.  While they were innately attuned to warm and even arid conditions, many were not able to withstand freezing (32F/0C), and especially temperatures below 28F (-2.2C) for extended periods of time (hard freeze).  We checked several window dealers and were told the porch required custom windows that were well above our price range.  We came up with a solution of attaching heavy mil plastic to the screens with Velcro.  This allowed an insulation buffer to keep out the cold and Melissa could open the wrap for ventilation on warmer days.  This stopgap measure has worked well for the last two winters.

When I looked online, I found stopgap (or stop-gap) applies to something used temporarily as an emergency measure.  According to dictionary.com, stopgap is an adjective used for the verb phrase “stop a gap” (i.e., to plug a hole) and emerged around 1525-1535.  Merriam-Webster has the first known use in 1684.  Google Ngrams indicates “stopgap” appeared briefly in the 1700’s then disappeared until the middle of the 1800’s.  After its reappearance, the word took off dramatically although it has begun to wane slightly in the last 60 years.  Use of the word originated where there is a gap somewhere (or in something).  As a temporary fix you just jamb something into the gap to close it.  This emergency repair is a “stopgap”.  This temporary fix could be given to a leaky boat, a hole in the wall of a house, or to fix a hole in a bucket.  The word also implies there will be a more permanent solution in the future.  The metaphor is now used in many diverse situations.

While our stopgap porch greenhouse has been effective over the last two years, we always knew it was a temporary solution.  The plastic is still pliable and has only suffered a few tears during its use.  The bigger problem has been the Velcro.  The glue that adheres to the back of the plastic degrades.  This worked well the first year, but there were places where it would come loose.  Last year we ended up replacing around 25% of the Velcro as it would no longer adhere.  When I removed the screens last spring, I noticed there was more Velcro that would need to be replaced.  I asked Melissa to order several more rolls of the double-backed system and had them ready to go.  Then Melissa told me about a friend from college who had a construction business that specialized in building sunrooms and porches.  We called him and he came over to give us an estimate.  Rather than install 15 individual custom windows, he suggested replacing the old wooden frames with the window systems sponsored by his supplier.  Now we are scheduled to have five 60 inch (1.5m) sliding windows and exterior door.  The plants will love it.

Thoughts:   We ordered the window system and were assured it would be here in 3 to 4 weeks and would be installed in 1 to 2 days.  That places the completed order well before the intense cold that usually arrives in December and January.  The problem is we are predicted to have two nights this week that fall into the hard freeze range before warming back up to our normal night temperatures in the 40’s and 50’sF (4.5’s and 10’sC).  Rather than replacing the Velcro and plastic system we are again applying a stopgap.  We need to move the plants and shelving to install the windows anyway, so Melissa decided to bring several shelves inside along with the more vulnerable plants and then group the remaining shelves and plants along the interior wall where I can cover them with last year’s plastic.  I am seeing stopgap to also mean ingenuity.  Perhaps we should all be more willing to innovate with stopgap measures.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.