January 06, 2024

Trending news on Microsoft Bing this week reported how diamonds fall from the sky during volcanic eruptions.  These “fountains of diamonds” could be sent shooting up to the surface of the Earth as part of a major geological event.  The breakup of supercontinents brings the diamonds up from deep in the earth’s core according to research by Thomas Gernon, professor of Earth and climate science at the University of Southampton, UK.  The pulling apart of the tectonic plates leads to rock from the upper mantle and lower crust to mix and flow against each other, causing instability and leading to eruptions.  The plate activity also leads to rock, water, and carbon dioxide combining with minerals (diamonds) which all mix together to create explosive rushes towards the Earth’s surface.  Gernon hopes the work could help in the search for unexplored diamond deposits.  These fountains of diamonds can erupt from the Earth’s center in explosive eruptions called kimberlites.

When I looked online, I found kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite that is commonly known to be the main host matrix for diamonds.  The rock is named after the town of Kimberley, South Africa.  The discovery of an 83.5 carat (16.70 g) diamond called the Star of South Africa in 1869 spawned a diamond rush and the digging of the open pit mine called the Big Hole.  Kimberlite occurs in the Earth’s crust in vertical structures known as kimberlite pipes, in igneous dikes, and as horizontal sills.  Kimberlite pipes are the most important source of mined diamonds today.  The consensus about kimberlites is they are formed deep within the mantle at depths between 93 to 280 miles (150 to 450 km), potentially from anomalously enriched exotic mantle compositions.  They erupt rapidly and violently and are often accompanied with considerable carbon dioxide and other volatile components.  It is this depth of melting and generation that makes kimberlites prone to hosting diamond crystals.

Despite their relative rarity, kimberlites have attracted attention because they serve as a carrier of diamonds and garnet peridotite mantle rock fragments (country rock) that become enveloped in a larger rock during the latter’s development and solidification (xenoliths) to the Earth’s surface.  Diamonds form at around 93 miles (150 kilometers) down in the Earth’s crust and are brought up to the surface very quickly in these eruptions.  Kimberlite eruptions can travel up to 82.6 miles (133 km) per hour and create enormous explosions on the surface, according to research published in Nature.  Gernon and his team looked at these kimberlites and their research found that eruptions regularly take place around 22 million to 30 million years after the plates begin to pull apart.  One of the cases pointed to in their research came around 25 million years after the supercontinent Gondwana began breaking up in what is now Africa and South America.  According to Gernon, “The diamonds have been sat at the base of the continents for hundreds of millions or even billions of years.  There must be some stimulus that just drives them suddenly because these eruptions . . . are powerful”.

THOUGHTS:  Gernon likened the kimberlite eruptions to shaking up a soda bottle.  For some kids (not me, of course) it was a funny joke to shake up a bottle of soda and leave it for an unsuspecting person.  Carbonated drinks are made by forcing carbon gas (CO²) into a beverage under pressure.  Opening the bottle results in fizzing as the pressure that has kept the carbon dissolved is released.  The pressure found deep beneath the earth results in the formation of diamonds and the kimberlite eruptions.  I would rather find diamonds than be sprayed by soda.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 05, 2024

Melissa and I have been talking about installing a chain link fence along our back property line to provide more room for the dogs to play.  Melissa prefers a chain link fence over cedar slats as they are open and allow her to watch traffic around the neighborhood while she works.  We hired a contractor, and they came out this week to start the project.  The first step was to trim the brush back from along the back fence.  As the brush was being cleared, I noticed a broken bird bath that had been disposed of in the tree line.  While the pedestal was clearly broken, I thought I might be able to salvage the basin.  When I tried to move the basin, I was surprised at how heavy it was.  Using all my effort I was able to dislodge the basin from the soil and lift it to its side.  As I lifted the basin, a reddish-orange centipede scattered across the exposed ground to escape exposure to the sun.

When I went online, I found a centipede is an order of predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda.  The name comes from the Neo-Latin “centi” (hundred), and Latin “pes or pedis” (foot).  They are from the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group which includes millipedes and other multi-legged animals.  Centipedes are elongated segmented (metameric) creatures with one pair of legs per body segment.  All centipedes are venomous and can inflict painful stings, injecting their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules (toxicognaths), which are modified legs rather than fangs.  No centipede has exactly 100 pairs of legs.  Instead, the pairs range from 15 to 191 pairs, and there is always an odd number (mine had 17 pairs).  Centipedes are generalist carnivores and hunt any prey that can be overpowered and eaten.  They have a wide geographical range and can be found in terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts.  Whatever habitat, they require a microhabitat that is moist as they lack the waxy cuticle of other insects and arachnids and will rapidly lose water.  Centipedes avoid direct sunlight by staying under cover or by being active at night.

The first year we moved back to Arkansas I decided to trim several of the tree branches that were scraping the car as I pulled into our drive.  After pruning the small limbs, I asked Melissa what I should do with them, and she told me they had always put these trimmings in the tree row along the back fence line.  I continued this practice for the next three years as the trimmings piled up.  Last year my neighbor cut down several wind damaged trees and severely pruned back three others.  I noticed he cut the limbs into 4-foot (1.2 m) lengths and then piled them up along the curb, but out of the gutter.  When I asked him about this, he informed me the city trash picked the limbs up on the first Monday of the month.  Melissa, her dad, and now I had been needlessly hauling the debris to the back of the yard.  I am now hauling my limb trimmings and yards debris out to the curb, and the contractor removed what had accumulated over the last 25 years.  We had created the perfect hideout for a centipede.

THOUGHTS:   I found out while I was writing my blog that Melissa had known about the city trash pickup all along.  Even knowing, she was trying to create a compost pile.  Limbs, leaves, old bulbs, and grass clippings had all been dumped in the tree line.  Had I known this, I would have been using the tree lines in a different manner.  There was never enough debris (or purposeful care) to create any compost, but there was enough to create a moist hideout for the centipede.  By avoiding sunlight and injecting their victims through their fang like legs, centipedes remind me of the tales of Dracula.  Our care for the earth cannot be haphazard.  A centipede may be able to survive on a decimated earth, humans not so much.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 04, 2024

Just after Christmas my local newspaper carried a USA Today article on the arrival of the first humans in North America.  Archaeologists have traditionally argued that people walked through an ice-free corridor that briefly opened between ice sheets an estimated 13,000 years ago (BP).  Human arrival was a hotly debated topic when I studied archeology at the University of Utah 40 years ago, but a growing number of archeological and genetic finds suggests people made their way onto the continent much earlier.  These early Americans likely traveled along the Pacific coastline from Beringia, the land bridge between Asia and North America that emerged during the last glacial maximum when ice sheets bound up large amounts of water causing sea levels to fall.  Research presented by Summer Praetorius at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (AGU23) in San Franciso on December 15th said paleoclimate reconstructions of the Pacific Northwest hint that sea ice may have been one way for people to move south. 

The idea that early Americans may have traveled along the Pacific Coast is not new.  People were likely south of the massive ice sheets that covered much of the continent by at least 16,000 years ago, and then there are the human footprints in New Mexico dated to around 23,000 BP.  Since the ice-free corridor would not be open for another thousands of years for these arrivals, scientists proposed people may have moved along a “kelp highway”.  This theory holds early Americans slowly traveled down into North America in boats while following the bountiful goods found in coastal waters. This theory is supported by archeological evidence of coastal settlements in western Canada dating from as early as 14,000 BP.  However, in 2020 researchers noted that freshwater from melting glaciers may have created a strong current that would have made it difficult for people to travel along the coast.  Praetorius and her colleagues looked at tiny, fossilized plankton in ocean sediment from the coast to determine ocean conditions.  The abundance and chemistry of these organisms help reconstruct ocean temperatures, salinity, and sea ice cover. 

Praetorious and her team also used climate models and found that ocean currents were more than twice the strength they are today during the height of the last glacial maximum (20,000 BP) due to glacial winds and lower sea levels.  Paddling a boat against these currents would have been very difficult.  The records also showed that much of the area was home to winter sea ice until around 15,000 BP.  As a cold-adapted people, “rather than having to paddle against this horrible glacial current, maybe they were using the sea ice as a platform”.  The climate data suggests conditions along the coastal route may have been conducive to migration between 24,500 BP to 22,000 BP and 16,400 BP to 14,800 BP, possibly aided by the winter sea ice.  Most of the archeological sites associated with this migration are underwater, but the theory provides a new framework for understanding how humans may have arrived in North America.  This theory is not exclusive to other means of human migration.  Praetorious said, “We will always be surprised by ancient human ingenuity.”

THOUGHTS:  The surprise in ancient human ingenuity by Praetorious can only be matched by that of humans in general.  Humans as a collective consider, invent, and test innovative ideas to solve challenges and answer questions.  It is how we both create and transform society.  Human ingenuity also considers the consequences of our collective actions and how our decisions today will impact future generations.  This worked to get around/through the glacial ice.  This could also work to get around/through the issues of climate change.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 03, 2024

Yesterday’s local newspaper carried a USA Today article on how the state of Rhode Island is dealing with unwanted visitors.  An invasive moth from Europe is causing widespread damage to hardwood trees and blueberry (section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium) crops.  According to Alana Russell with the Department of Environments Management (DEM), infestations in Rhode Island were knocked down in coastal communities by introduction of a parasitic fly (Cyzenis albicans) that feeds solely on the moths and is not seen as a threat to other insects or vegetation.  Between 2011 and 2017 scientists from the University of Rhode Island and the DEM released 2000 flies into eight Rhode Island communities.  Testing for the presence of the winter moth is done by placing traps in trees with the pheromone of the female moth in order to attract and trap the males.

When I looked online, I found the winter moth (Operophtera brumata) is a moth of the family Geometridae.  The moth is an abundant species in Europe and the Near East and is a famous study organism for evaluating insect population dynamics.  It is one of the few lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) of temperate regions in which adults are active in late autumn and early winter.  The adults use internally generated heat (endothermy) for movement in cold temperatures.  The forewing color of the winged males varies from greyish yellow to beige-brown or a slightly reddish-tint.  The patterns are often band-shaped dark brownish, with a yellowish fringe.  The hindwings are pale grey or yellow grey.  The antennae are short and finely hairy.  The female winter moth has greatly reduced wings and are flightless.  Body length for adults of both sexes is around 0.4 inches (1 cm).  The larvae are 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) in length after hatching and grow to 0.75 inches (19 mm) over a six-week period.  After the first frost in late fall the females emerge from their pupae and move up the trees where they emit pheromones in the evening to attract males.  After fertilization, they move higher to lay an average of 100 eggs each.  The larger the female moth is the more eggs laid.  In North America, the winter moth can be confused with a related native species, the Bruce spanworm (Operophtera bruceata), and the two species have hybridized.

The winter moth is native to Northern and Central Europe and genetic populations in Europe are a result of recolonization following the last glacial period (12,000 BP).  The winter moth is considered an invasive species in North America with the first confirmed infestations in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the 1930’s.  It was later accidentally introduced to Oregon (1950’s) and Vancouver Island, British Columbia around 1970.  Defoliation by the moth was first noted in the US in eastern seaboard states in the late 1990’s.  The moth is now well established in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire.  Expansion inland and north in New England appears to be curtailed by cold winter temperatures and the species is found along the coast but not far inland.  Milder winters from global climate change may be allowing local expansion of the moth’s territory.  A study conducted in Massachusetts documented that winter moth defoliation reduced the annual trunk diameter growth rate of oak trees by an average of 47% while not significantly impacting growth rates of the less defoliated maple trees.  Efforts at biological control are underway.

THOUGHTS:  The winter moth is believed to have arrived in North America from Europe along with infected nursery stock.  An article published in Molecular Ecology in 2021 suggested there were four successive invasions that account for the spread along the northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the continent.  That would imply negligence in shipping procedures throughout the 20th century.  What is the adage, “fool me once . . .”  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 02, 2024

The Southern food tradition of inviting prosperity in the new year by serving black-eyed peas dates to the Civil War.  Stacey Lynn, of the website Southern Plate, explained that during the war Union troops confiscated crops and livestock and little was left except peas and greens.  “These dishes became cherished and appreciated as what saved many a family from starvation during those times and the tradition of celebrating these dishes on the new year was born.”  While I am not a fan of black-eyed peas, I do enjoy an occasional pot of pinto beans.  I had frozen the ham hock (with plenty of meat on the bone) from our Thanksgiving ham and thought New Year’s Day would be the perfect time to enjoy this dish.  While the beans may not “ensure” the prosperity of the peas, they could not hurt.  Melissa’s dad had made a pot of beans for most holiday meals the traditional way of soaking and slowly cooking the beans on the stove for 2 1/2 hours.  Melissa said she preferred the faster method of cooking the beans for 20 minutes in a pressure cooker.

When I looked online, I found pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam and water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed pressure cooker.  High pressure limits boiling and creates higher cooking temperatures which cook food quicker than at normal pressure.  The concept for the pressure cooker was invented by the French physicist Denis Papin in 1681 and called the steam digester.  His airtight cooker used steam pressure to raise the water’s boiling point to cook food faster.  The manufacture of pressure cookers did not occur until 1864 when Georg Gutbrod of Stuttgart, Germany, began manufacturing pressure cookers made of tinned cast iron.  The pressure cooker works by expelling air and trapping steam produced from the boiling liquid.  This raises the internal pressure up to one atmosphere above ambient and gives cooking temperatures between 212F to 250F (100C to 121C).  Together with high thermal heat transfer from steam it permits cooking in between a half and a quarter the time of conventional boiling and saves considerable energy. 

When I canned my pasta sauce last fall, I opted for the water-bath method.  After I purchased the necessary equipment Melissa told me she thought we had a pressure cooker that I had given her in Kansas.  I later found the pressure cooker still in its original box.  We must have used it (once) as the instruction manual was missing.  This was one of the newer electric cookers with digital readouts and safety features to prevent the device from holding too much pressure.  According to the New York Times Magazine, 37% of households in the US owned at least one pressure cooker in 1950, but that rate dropped to only 20% by 2011.  Part of the decline is attributed to a fear of explosion (extremely rare with modern pressure cookers) along with competition from other fast cooking devices such as the microwave oven.  Newer pressure cookers have more safety features, digital temperature control, do not vent steam during cooking, and are quieter and more efficient.  These conveniences helped make pressure cooking more popular.

THOUGHTS:  Melissa and I both have memories of the pressure cookers used by our moms.  These cast iron behemoths were primarily used for canning.  I recall the cooker sitting on the stove with the “jiggler” valve hopping as the steam escaped.  While I am not sure what happened to our family cooker, Melissa said her mom finally threw hers away.  It was dangerous and blew up on several occasions.  These first generation pressure cookers were replaced by cookers with a spring loaded valve and safety features to keep you from opening the pot until the pressure is released.  The third generation electric pressure cookers added more safety features and now have digital controls.  It was easy to use our pressure cooker.  The hardest part was being unfamiliar with how it worked.  I would have never known without trying.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

January 01, 2024

It a new year and time to recap my annual birder list.  While I saw quite a few raptors on the power lines going to and from town, many were color variations of the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).  As I was mostly unable to get a photo and therefore lack true identification, I have not included what appeared to be a falcon in my count.  I was able to take one trip to the wildlife area this year and while it was not as dismal as one of last year’s trips, nothing has yet to compare to Melissa and my first trip with 1000’s of birds.  The end of year presence on my feeders is also down.  The Northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) have not returned, and the multitude of small passerine species are mostly absent.  I was able to clean out the nesting house for the Eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) before they took over this year.  It was much needed housekeeping as I had neglected to do so the year before and the deteriorating nests were nasty.  The bluebirds held court for two extended periods, interspersed with a long stint by a pair of house sparrows (Passer domesticus).  Bluebirds were the favorite bird for Melissa’s mom, and the reason for the bird house.

When I looked online, I found bluebirds (genus, Sialia) are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous, or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae).  Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.  The genus Sialia was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1827 with the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) as the type species.  The other two North American species of bluebird are the Mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) and the Western bluebird (Sialia Mexicana).  A molecular phylogenetic study using mitochondrial sequences published in 2005 found that Sialia, Myadestes (solitaires) and Neocossyphus (African ant-thrushes) formed a basal clade in the family Turdidae.  Within Sialia the mountain bluebird was sister to the eastern bluebird.  Bluebirds lay an average of 4 to 6 eggs per clutch and will usually brood two or three times in a year.  Bluebirds nest from March all the way through August.  Bluebirds have blue, or blue and rose beige, plumage.  The females are less brightly colored than males, but color patterns are similar and there is no size difference.

All that said has been leading up to the “great reveal” concerning my birder totals for 2023.  I recorded 26 species in my first year (2020).  I got off to a great start in 2021 with 29 species by the end of January and a total of 52 species for the year.  During 2022 the sightings were slower, with 44 different species, not counting the six European sightings (50 total?).  During 2023 I recorded my lowest number of sightings since my first year, with only 30 species.  Part of the problem comes with the presence of the dogs in the backyard which keep the birds away.  Another is much of the feeding that happens comes early in the morning while I am still putzing in the house.  I filled my feeders this morning and plan on being more diligent (again) this year but have yet to record any birds. 

THOUGHTS:  It is time to get back onboard and once again get prepared for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2023 (February 16, 2024 – February 19, 2024).  This annual event brings families and bird lovers together to count the birds.  Last year (2023), bird watchers from more than 100 countries reported a record 6,456 species, or more than half of the known bird species in the world.  This “snapshot” is used to check on the general health of the world’s birds and to direct conservation efforts to save threatened and endangered species.  Birds are the literal canary in the mine shaft (earth) when it comes to gauging the health of our ecosystems.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 31, 2023

Inside the Nation & World section of today’s newspaper was a USA Today article on the significance of the date of this New Year’s Eve.  This number pattern suggests the coming year will be filled with blessings.  Repeating number sequences are often used to indicate a time for deeper spiritual exploration.  These numerical sequences can range anywhere from 000 to 999, and each number is associated with a distinct meaning and energy.  A closer look at the written date (12/31/23, or 123123) indicates this is also an angel number.  Angel numbers are sequential numbers, like 111 or 222, and are thought to be messages from guardian angels or spirit guides.  Some consider the numbers to be signs from angels that you are on the right path, or that you are not alone on your journey.  This once-in-a-century date, which won’t be seen again on our calendars until December 31, 2123, and is said to mark a new beginning.  According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac website it asks us to, “transform and evolve with the times and in the right place to embrace what is coming to us”.  The use of numbers to guide the future is part of the study of numerology.

When I checked online, I found Numerology (known prior to the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine, or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events.  The term arithmancy is derived from the two Greek words arithmos (number) and manteia (divination), and together means the study of divination through numbers.  While “arithmancy” dates to the 1570’s, “numerology” is not recorded in English before around 1907.  Numerology also refers to the

the numerical value of the letters in words and names when applying them to an alphanumeric system. When numerology is applied to a person’s name (onomancy) it is used for fortune telling.  The term numerologist can be used for those who place faith in numerical patterns and draw inferences from them, even if those people do not practice traditional numerology.

Numerology and astrology are often associated with the paranormal and are like other divinatory arts.  Both practices function on the plane of the personal and the collective.  In numerology, people have personal life path numbers that are derived by reducing a person’s birth date and birth year.  The coming year of 2024 will be an “eight year”, since the digits add up to the number eight.  Eight is a powerful number within numerology and is associated with building, doing, and creating.  That suggests whatever you start on the last day of 2023 will continue to grow heading into 2024.  The date has also sparked an online trend, with TikTok users creating videos on the significance of the number and selling merchandise commemorating the date on online platforms.  Apparently, some are finding growth and wealth as they build into the new year while others just spend money.  

Thoughts:  While many do not practice or believe in numerology, today’s date has sparked the marriage industry in the US.  Pastors perform marriage ceremonies today in churches across the land.  Las Vegas’s already flourishing wedding industry has been forced to set up a temporary license office to handle the requests.  The idea comes from what you build (marriage) will continue to thrive in the years ahead.  I had to laugh when I found one ad saying if you book your wedding package in Vegas you could cancel 24 hours prior and still receive a full refund.  It seems marriage may take more than good luck to last.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 29, 2023

For the last five years we have lived in Arkansas I have been amazed by the resiliency of the clover-like plant that thrives in the mailbox flower bed.  It seems to flourish early in the spring and then it blooms and dies back in the summer.  I have considered this a weed and tend to rip out the dead foliage, only to be surprised when the plant returns in the fall.  This year we had cold weather interspersed by unusually warm days in the 60+F (15.5+C) range and the plant has again grown into a bulbous circle of leaves.  This morning I also noticed small pink flowers that were tightly closed.  I assumed they had withered from the freezing cold we had last night but they still seemed viable.  I finally realized this was neither clover nor a weed but something else.  It was pink wood sorrel.

When I checked online, I found pink wood sorrel (Oxalis debilis) is a perennial deciduous plant and herb in the family Oxalidaceae.  The plant is indigenous to South America, but it has become a cosmopolitan species that occurs in all continents except Antarctica.  The species is also found in both temperate and tropical areas.  Wood Sorrel grows from bulbs but has a modified subterranean plant stem that also sends out roots and shoots from its nodes (a rhizome).  This creates a dense and mounded cluster that grows up to 1 foot (30 cm) tall.  The flowers bloom once in the spring and again in the fall and may be partially concealed by the four leaved foliage that resembles large clover (genus Trifolium).  The flowers and leaves both fold at night.  The fruit is a dry capsule that contains projected seeds which have an elastic outer layer (integument).  In Europe the plant is sterile and can only be propagated by bulbs.  This is not well-loved in the UK, and the Royal Horticultural Society advises pink wood sorrel can be a weed.

Wood sorrel may go dormant in dry, hot summers (as mine frequently does) if it is not watered.  The flowers, roots and leaves of wood sorrel are all edible, and the leaves have what many describe as “a zesty lemony flavor”.  There is some concern that the plant should only be consumed in small amounts as the leaves contain oxalic acid that is classified as poisonous and can cause calcium deficiency if eaten in larger amounts.  Recent studies have shown this fear is exaggerated as the effects are local and not systemic or internal.  Sorrel is tolerant of full sun to partial shade and although it prefers moist, well-drained soil and while it will tolerate dry soil it will go dormant.  It is almost impossible to kill sorrel and it is easily propagated by division of the bulb-like rhizomes in the fall or spring.  Pink wood sorrel is commonly used as an indoor potted plant as well as a border perennial.  It is well suited to my mailbox.

Thoughts:  I am constantly intrigued by the change in attitude toward a plant or animal when I learn more about its nature.  Over the last five years I basically ignored the pink wood sorrel that grew in the planter.  It grew on its own without attention, so I mostly left it alone.  Now I know this is a decorative herb that was purposely planted by my mother-in-law, and this gives the plant new meaning.  Rather than a weed to be tolerated it is part of the ground cover that adds color to our yard during different times of the year.  A similar effect happens when we take the time to learn about the nature of people we do not know and rarely interact with.  We generally ignore them unless their actions force us to take notice.  Our first response is often to get rid of them (or keep them from coming) because they are just “weeds” in our carefully tended lawn (country).  Getting to know others as individuals rather than categories opens us to change our attitudes.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 28, 2023

Hidden in the back of the Christmas Eve edition of my local newspaper was a “feel good story” about how a group of nuns started a holiday tradition in El Paso, Texas.  The article recalls how the culture of the Texas Borderland is tightly wrapped with Mexico and the tamal tradition begins with the cold weather and accelerates during the holiday celebrations known as “Guadalupe-Reyes”, or the Catholic holy days from December 12th(Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe) to January 6th (Day of Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day).  At Food City, operated by the Santos family, they make and sell 36,000 tamales in December.   It is not a family recipe that keeps customers coming back.  The original recipe belongs to Dominican nuns from Mexico who needed money for their convent.  A group of nuns set out in the early 1980’s on a tour of US cities to raise money to build a chapel where they could pray.  The trip was supposed to take the women to Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago.  No one was willing to help in Los Angeles or at their stop in Dallas.  However, they had stopped in El Paso enroute, and something drew them back.  That is where they met José “Joe” Santos who had opened Food City in downtown El Paso.  The women ended up making tamales in his kitchen which they sold out of the store.

When I checked online, I found tamales (Spanish, tamal) are a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from dried corn kernels mixed with an alkali solution (nixtamalization) steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves.  Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 8000 to 5000 BCE and the preparation of tamales likely spread from the indigenous cultures in Guatemala and Mexico to the rest of Latin America.  Archaeologists Karl Taube, William Saturno, and David Stuart found tamales in pictorial references in the Mural of San Bartolo, in Petén, Guatemala dating from around 100 CE.  The Aztec and Maya civilizations (and Olmec and Toltec before them), used tamales as easily portable food for hunting trips, traveling large distances, and nourishing their armies.  Tamales were considered sacred and were seen as the food of the gods.  All four of these indigenous peoples considered corn a central part of their cultural identity and tamales played a large part in their rituals and festivals. 

Many families in El Paso spend the holidays together preparing tamales for Christmas Eve.  “People, when they think back to memories of their families, a lot of it’s centered around food,” said Melissa Santos of Food City. “Memories about food, how this tasted or the smell of this.  So, whether they’re buying the ingredients from us, or they’re buying the readymade food, you know their tradition started here.”  The process takes hours, even with many hands at work.  It requires mixing the corn masa by hand with pork lard, preparing the savory or sweet fillings, soaking the corn husks, spreading a layer of masa on an open husk, spooning in filling, then carefully folding each tamal like a gift.  The lot is placed in concentric circles in a large pot to steam-cook.  In El Paso, the flavors are almost always the same: pork with red chiles, chicken with green chiles, cheese with green chiles, and sweet tamales studded with raisins.  When the first hint of cold weather hits the Texas desert, a collective craving sets in and El Pasoans head to their favorite bakery or grocery to buy tamales by the dozen.

Thoughts:  The story began saying the El Paso Times had omitted including the Food City tamales in their story on the “best tamales in town”.  Melissa Santos took a bag of two dozen tamales to the newspaper and told them the story.  The nuns built their chapel and saved the floundering family business.  Now people come from all over El Paso to buy their tamales.   How Food City tamales stack up against others is not the point.  The shoppers who line up for their two dozen tamales all have their own reasons.  This could be a craving, a convenience, or a fond memory of the recipe handed down by nuns.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

December 27, 2023

Melissa had taken a quick break from work and used the time to water a few of her winter growing cacti.  I have mentioned the holiday cacti of the genus Schlumbergera are often referred to by the times they bloom (Christmas and Thanksgiving) while the Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) bloom later in the spring.  She noticed another of her plants of the same tribe (Rhipsalideae) was also now in bloom and she brought it into my office to show it off.  The flowering plant was small, so Melissa had used the pot to try and resuscitate several other “cuttings” (knocked off by activity) which were also beginning to take hold.  Melissa told me the flowing plant was called a Mistletoe cactus as it resembles the Mistletoe plant (Phoradendron leucarpum) native to North America and blooms around the same time.

When I checked online, I found the mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis baccifera) is an epiphytic cactus native to the rainforests and originates from Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Florida.  Epiphytic plants grow upon another plant or object for physical support and derive their moisture and nutrients from the air, rain (or water for marine species), or debris accumulating around it.  Mistletoe cactus is also found throughout the tropics of Africa and into Sri Lanka (known as “nawahandi”) and is the only species of cactus naturally occurring outside the Americas.  One hypothesis is that the cactus was introduced to the Old World by migratory birds, and this occurred long enough ago for the Old World populations to be regarded as distinct subspecies.  An alternative hypothesis is that the species crossed the Atlantic Ocean on European trading ships between South America and Africa and was then spread more widely by birds.  The species shows considerable polymorphism and can be divided into numerous subspecies.  Mesoamerican specimens usually have four homologous sets of chromosomes (tetraploid) and South American specimens have two homologous sets of chromosomes (diploid).  The genera currently assigned to the tribe Rhipsalideae were subject to considerable confusion and disagreement prior to the clarification by Wilhelm Barthlott and Nigel Taylor in 1995.

Sophia Lee is a self-described cacti aficionado and extols the virtues of the Mistletoe cactus.  Lee says the cactus is also known as the wickerwork cactus, small-seeded mistletoe, or spaghetti cactus, and each of these common names carry a unique story that hints at the distinctive characteristics of the plant.  Rhipsalis Baccifera’s common name (Mistletoe cactus) reflects more than the small white flowers that resemble mistletoe berries.  Like the mistletoe that people hang during the holidays, these cacti and their mistletoe-like white flowers “capture hearts and transcend boundaries”.  Their delicate stems reach out like interconnecting lives and reflect the creation of a tapestry of relationships.  Resilient yet tender, the Mistletoe cactus seems to whisper tales of unity and love, all in the language of botanical beauty.  Lee goes on to say each subspecies of the cacti has their own allure.  “For real cacti enthusiasts, the Rhipsalis genus is a treasure trove of wonder, a genuine nexus of botanical delight” that brings her to awe.  While Lee’s description may seem a bit flowery or even anthropomorphic (reflecting human characteristics), like Melissa, she obviously enjoys her plants.

Thoughts:  Both Lee and Melissa have mentioned they use the care and nurturing of their plants to relax and destress from the tedium of other work.  Events like the blooms on the Holiday and Mistletoe cacti then become a bright spot to further enhance the experience.  One of the downsides of retirement for many is that their “work” has defined who they are for the last 50 years.  If we are unable to redefine who we are and reevaluate our self-worth based on that new image we can quickly sink into depression or worse.  You are not defined by your job, or the labels given to you by others.  We need to find our own self-worth and live it proudly.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.