August 27, 2021

My Poblano pepper has been giving me loads of tiny peppers and my two Jalapeno peppers have slowed down now that it is so hot.  I end up watering every morning and hoping they can make it through the day.  I have tried watering at night, but it does not cool off until nearly sundown and I do not like them to sit in the damp overnight (root rot).  Yesterday I decided to harvest everything that looked ripe even if it was small.  I ended up with a pile of peppers, split about half and half between the jalapenos and poblanos.  The easy part was picking, now I had to decide what to do with them.

When I looked online, I found the genus Capsicum is native to southern North America and northern South America.  The species (Capsicum annuum) encompasses a wide variety of shapes and sizes of peppers (mild and hot), such as bell peppers, jalapenos, and poblanos.  the spiciness of a pepper is caused by the amount of capsaicin present in the pepper.  The more capsaicin, the hotter the pepper.  The poblano generally has less capsaicin and is milder than the Jalapeno.  Fresh poblanos have a mild, slightly sweet flavor, although if they are left to ripen until they’re red, they taste much hotter.  Dried poblano peppers that are fully ripe and deep red are known as ancho chiles.  A mature jalapeno pepper will also turn red, and when dried is known as a chipotle pepper.  Many of my jalapenos and poblanos had turned red, meaning they are both hotter.

Last year I received a bag of jalapeno peppers from my gardener friend.  When I cut them up to freeze along with mine, I had four one-quart zip locks that lasted through the winter.  I found out something else as well.  Never spend an hour cutting jalapenos without wearing gloves.  My hands burned for the rest of the day.  This time I did not have as many peppers to cut, but I did have the poblanos to process.  I retrieved a pair of nitrile gloves from the garage to be safe.  Thirty minutes after I finished cutting the peppers, my hands again began to burn.  It was not as much as last year, and it went away sooner, but it was still very noticeable.  At least I had been smart enough to put my contact in prior to cutting.  There is nothing quite as exciting as jalapeno eye (or poblano!).

Thoughts:  After chopping the jalapenos I divided them into two freezer bags to store for later.  Next, I tasted one of the poblano peppers to test the level of heat.  It was palatable, so I decided to make my poblano casserole.  This is a variation on stuffed peppers but uses cut up pieces of peppers covered with a sausage, rice, and cheese mixture.  When I researched the types of peppers, I was surprised to find they were all varieties of the same species.  Each variety of pepper look completely different and vary in the amount of spiciness.  Even peppers from the same plant can vary depending on the amount of water they receive and how long they are left to mature.  When dried they are given a different name, even though it is the same pepper.  It struck me that peppers are a lot like humans.  Depending on our variety, how we are raised, how we mature, and our living conditions, dramatically alter how we look and behave.  Yet we are all the same species.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 26, 2021

Last night we held our Fantasy Draft for the upcoming Fantasy NFL season.  I mentioned last year that my son manages our draft, and it always seems to be a chore for him to get the ten teams (people) necessary to form our league.  This year was no different as we were still one team short going into the morning of the draft.  I offered to add Melissa to the league, and then manage her team myself.  He declined as this would increase my odds of winning from 10 to 1 to 5 to 1.  Then I suggested we keep the team for the person who dropped and let it auto draft and play the season without changes.  While this could have worked, he was able to find a player at the last minute and the draft went forward.

When I checked online, I found three types of Fantasy football leagues.  Traditional leagues tend to run for the entire season and normally culminate in playoffs.  Keeper or dynasty leagues are initially drafted in the same fashion, but each team can retain a certain number of players from one year to the next.  A dynasty league is a variation where each team retains all players who have not retired, and subsequent drafts only involve rookie players who are joining the NFL for the first time.  Daily fantasy leagues are accelerated versions of the format over shorter periods (a week or even day).  These contests are run by fantasy companies and involve large groups of people playing as part of a betting pool.  This has led some jurisdictions to regulate these games as a form of gambling.  Go figure.

One of the problems with our league is that it is made up of a diverse group of family and friends whose only real contact is Alex.  The league began as family members closely related to Alex.  After the first year several members grew tired of tracking and updating their team and decided to stop playing.  This is our sixth year, and the degradation has continued.  Last year we almost missed (appropriate for 2020) but did finally start two games into the season with all teams selected by the computer auto draft.  That meant the league shifted from family to family and friends and has now grown to family and friends of other family.  I have found the further from the source (Alex), the less investment there is in the game.

Thoughts:  When I went to my draft site there are all kinds of aids to help draft, including a mock draft and strategies to draft the right people.  While some aids were free, others required a subscription.  According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, Fantasy football generates revenue of around $7 billion per year in the US and Canada.  Traditional games are often played in small groups of familiar individuals who may or may not play for money.  After I wrote about our draft problems last year, I received a comment from my cousin that she was in three leagues and all three were related to work or social groups.  During the pandemic people were forced to find new ways to stay connected.  Some of these virtual connections are being maintained while others are not.  Like my fantasy draft, it depends on your wiliness to invest time and resources in the group.  We need to invest in groups that open our horizons rather than close our doors.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 25, 2021

After our brush with the ants yesterday I received a text from my mom that told of an intruder who had gotten into her house.  She was in her chair and getting ready to go to bed when she looked down and saw a toad on the floor.  My brother happened to be spending the night, so she cried out, “Dana, come here!”  My brother thought something was wrong and rushed in to see what he could do to help.  When mom told him about the toad, he caught it and put it back outside.  Mom mentioned she had seen the toad hopping around on the back patio several days earlier.  Apparently, it had snuck it when the door was open.  Maybe the toad just wanted to watch TV.

The reason we have quarterly pest control is to keep any unwanted intruder from entering our house.  This includes the flies, ants, and spiders that naturally live in our neighborhood.  I recall as a as a boy in Kansas seeing a large tarantula on my grandmother’s bed.  She hit it with a broom and took it outside.  When I looked online, I found the Texas brown tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi) is the primary species in Kansas.  Their coloration ranges from light brown to black, and their bodies are covered with dense hairs that the spiders fling at the eyes of predators when threatened.  They are shy, docile creatures, but a tarantula can seem to be aggressive when it feels threatened, as it rears up on its back legs and exposing its fangs ready to attack.  Utah State University Cooperative Extension suggests that if a tarantula does enter your home, “Put an open container on top of the spider and slide a piece of paper under the opening.”  After trapping the intruder, you can safely release it outside.  I wonder why my grandmother did not think of that.

Both stories remind me of another intruder I encountered at Boy Scout Camp.  We had set up our four-person tents and were lounging around talking when one of the boys noticed a huge tarantula (memory says three inches, but . . . ) crawling across the ceiling of the tent.  While the other boys were freaked out, I decided I would catch it and let it go in the woods.  I got my metal cup and scraped the spider into it.  After carrying it outside, I flung the spider toward the brush.  Apparently, the spider had been holding onto the cup, because rather than going toward the brush it shot up in the air, landing on my right ear.  Now I was the one freaking out.  Spiders have never bothered me, but after that incident spider webs do.  You never know where the spider might be.

Thoughts:  Tarantulas live in twelve US states, including New Mexico, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.  Because female tarantulas rarely leave their burrows and males venture out only in search of females, it is rare to encounter one of these spiders in the home.  That is why most experts recommend you capture and remove the tarantula rather than killing them.  Many people treat spiders much like Indiana Jones, “Why does it have to be spiders!”  While we may see insects and spiders as an intruder, we are the intruder on their space.  They are just adapting to the new environment that we created.  We need to find ways to live in harmony with both wild creatures and people.  Too often we just see them as pests.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 24, 2021

After work yesterday Melissa went out on our front porch to water the succulents suffering in the intense heat.  Even though they are not in direct sunlight, the 100+F temperatures are taking their toll.  I must keep reminding myself that succulents are not cacti.  When she spritzed one of the plants with water there was a huge explosion of movement.  At first Melissa was not sure what it was but only a swarming mass of small bugs that immediately began to climb from the table toward the eaves of our house.  After the initial shock she realized they were carpenter ants, and almost every ant was carrying what I thought to be an egg case to safety.  The exterminator is returned this morning.

When I looked online, I found that Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are large (0.3 to 1.0 inch or 0.76 to 2.54 cm) ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.  They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles, preferably in dead, damp wood.  Unlike termites, they do not consume wood, but instead discard the chewed material that resembles sawdust.  While their ability to excavate wood helps in forest decomposition as carpenter ants hollow out sections of trees, they also infest wooden buildings and structures causing major structural damage.  The genus includes over 1,000 species.  

Carpenter ants are considered both predators and scavengers.  The ants are foragers that typically eat parts of other dead insects or substances derived from other insects.  Common foods include insect parts, “honeydew” produced by aphids, or extrafloral nectar from plants.  They are known for eating other sugary liquids such as honey, syrup, or juices.  They also farm aphids.  In farming, the ants protect the aphids while they excrete a sugary fluid called honeydew, which the ants get by stroking the aphids with their antennae.  Carpenter ants can increase the survivability of aphids when they tend them.  While they tend many aphid species, they can express a preference for specific ones.  Seems another example of the teacher’s “pet.”

Thoughts:  Melissa found critical information when she researched why her large succulents were dying.  She had asked other growers and they had all suggested the problem was likely overwatering.  After the exterminator left Melissa was checking her plants and squeezed one of the dying plants.  Once again, the ants swarmed from inside the lobe.  What she found (and confirmed online) was that she had an aphid infestation on her plants.  As the plants decayed, they released a sweet sap that attracted the ants.  The “egg cases” being whisked away by the carpenter ants were likely tiny aphids the ants were protecting.  Now that the pieces have come together, Melissa can resolve the issue of dying succulents.  The same can be said for the rapid development of the vaccine.  Researchers had to determine the root cause of the virus to determine how to fight it.  Once the genetic stain was identified it could rapidly be addressed and a viable vaccine created.  Problem, analysis, solution.  That is why they call it science.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 23, 2021

When I left work last week, I was greeted by a swarm of Dragonflies.  While I have often seen Dragonflies around the lakes I fish, my work is at least a half mile (800 meters) from the nearest water, and that is a stream rather than the placid water of a lake.  There had to be at least 30 dragon flies circling in a massive mating dance.  While it was intriguing to watch them swarm, I wondered why they were there, and where they would ultimately lay their eggs.  These are questions the types of questions inquiring minds need to know.

When I looked online, I found that dragonflies are an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera (from Greek “unequal” and “wing”, because the hindwing is broader than the forewing).   Adult dragonflies have large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, and an elongated body.  Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colors making them conspicuous in flight.  Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval (nymph) stage and as adults.  In some species, the nymph stage lasts up to five years, and the adult stage may be ten weeks.  Most species have an adult lifespan in the order of five weeks or less, and some only survive for a few days.  They are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and often live near water.  There is also a reservoir located two miles north of my office.  That answers the first question, as the swarm could have moved in from anywhere and over long distances. 

Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, although lighter built.  About 3,000 extant species of true dragonflies are known. Dragonflies have complex reproduction, involving indirect insemination and delayed fertilization.  During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to the front of the male’s abdomen, forming a “heart” or “wheel” posture.  The female later deposits eggs one at a time as she dips up and down into water.  That answers the second question, as the dragonflies could use either of the two water resources to lay eggs.

Thoughts:  Habitat degradation has reduced dragonflies across the world.  One example is that over 60% of Japan’s wetlands were lost in the 20th century.  The dragonflies now depend largely on rice fields, ponds, and creeks.  Dragonflies feed on pest insects in rice and serve as a natural pest control.  Another problem is the Dragonflies are attracted to shiny surfaces that produce polarization which they mistake for water.  They have been known to aggregate close to polished gravestones, solar panels, automobiles (my Jeep?), and similar structures where they attempt to lay eggs.  We are increasingly shown that the conspicuous consumption of resources by humans not only degrade the land and water but cause the extinction of marginal species.  Ecosystems are designed to work in cooperation.  Humans must not ignore this fact.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 21, 2021

Since it was a relatively cool morning, I decided to tackle one of the items on my to-do list, mowing the lawn.  Like most simple chores, mowing the lawn requires more than just mowing the lawn.  I generally feel obligated to do at least some preliminary weeding.  I have found if I weed a bed or two before mowing, I can convince myself I have gotten something done without feeling obligated to take on the entire yard.  The same is true for weed eating.  I always start with the intention of going all the way around the house, then hitting the sidewalks, drains, and curbs.  Even on a cooler (heat index 96F) day like today I seem to get distracted about halfway through the job.  If I come back to the weed eater and it does not start, I assume it is telling me it has had enough for the day and dutifully put it in the garage.  Somehow, I always manage to get the front, street, and north side of the house finished.  Since this is the only lawn others can see, it is a nice place to call it good.

When I looked online, I found the Middle English word “launde” originally referred to a glade or opening in the woods, but later designated artificial stretches of land that resembled such glades.  The earliest lawns were the grasslands around medieval castles in France and Britain which were kept clear of trees, so guards had an unobstructed view of approaching (hostile) visitors.  The term also referred to the village “commons” where villagers could graze their sheep and cattle.  Closely mowing grass lawns first emerged in 17th century England at the homes of wealthy landowners.  While sheep often still did the mowing, landowners increasingly depended on human labor to tend the grass closest to their homes.  Before lawnmowers, only the rich could afford to hire the hands needed to scythe and weed the grass.  A lawn was a mark of wealth and status.  Now my zero-turn riding mower provides the same status.

As I was working on weed eating the back of the house it began to sprinkle.  I had waited until late morning to allow the grass to dry from last night’s light rain.  With the high humidity I was already damp, so I figured it would not hurt to ride the mower in the drizzle.  I put up the weed eater and moved to the mower.  It only takes 20 minutes of mowing to finish the job with my riding lawn mower.  I had set the deck on a high setting since I figured I would need to weed the beds early next week and would again be mowing.  As the drizzle continued the grass began to get wet and clumped on my lawn rather than mulching.  While I hate the “mowed hay” look, I figured it would not be long before I did it again.  While the rain did make me damp, I was not sure it was any worse than the humidity.   

Thoughts:  I have mentioned that I like the calm provided while mowing on a riding mower.  I usually put in my music headphones and don the noise dampening headphones I received with my chain saw.  It creates a pleasant oasis in the chaos of the day while I ride around mowing.  Melissa mentioned that since our neighbor retired, he has replaced his steering-wheel mower with a new zero-turn unit to do the mowing for the three yards he has in our cul-de-sac.  Once you buy a zero-turn you will never go back to mowing the old way.  During the pandemic we have found that even as things reopen, we are not able to go back to the old way of doing things.  It is predicted that will not change until at least 2022.  Others ask why we want to go back to the old way.  Wearing masks resulted in fewer cases of colds and flu.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 20, 2021

I have mentioned before how I struggle to come up with something to fix for dinner.  While we are not on a low carb diet, we do try and be carb conscious.  A low-carb diet limits carbohydrates and stresses foods high in protein and fat, reducing or eliminating grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit.   Melissa has been good about cutting down on the bread but is still tempted by potatoes.  My downfall is rice and pasta.  The problem I have with dinner is potatoes, rice and pasta are the easiest quick meals to make.  I generally default to one of the three as the basic ingredient for our evening meal.  Even though I add the protein and vegetables to make it more nutritious it is hardly low carb.  Occasionally I tire of this routine and look for low-carb alternatives for a meal.

When I looked online, I found while a low-carb diet is generally used for weight loss, some low-carb diets have health benefits beyond weight loss, including reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.  Carbohydrates are grouped as simple natural (lactose in milk/cheese and fructose in fruit), simple refined (table sugar), complex natural (whole grains or beans) and complex refined (white flour).  In general, complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly and they have less effect on blood sugar than refined carbohydrates do.  They also provide fiber.  Common sources of naturally occurring carbohydrates include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, nuts, seeds, and legumes (beans, lentils, peas).  Another way to say this is, everything I like to eat.

After looking for quick meals I came across an interesting alternative to nachos.   This was a low carb version that was based on green bell peppers.  The peppers were cut into quarters and then piled with the same toppings usually found on nachos.  That included taco meat, onions, beans, cheese, and olives.  The “nachos” were then baked in the oven at 425F for 10 minutes.  When we tried the dish, it was different to say the least.  It tasted nowhere like nachos, and I later thought the peppers should have been blanched to soften before they were placed in the oven.  Melissa’s reaction was priceless.  To make the dish more palatable, she ate these low carb nachos with tortilla chips.

Thoughts:  When I lived in Berkeley, I had the habit of ordering nachos as a late-night appetizer.  I enjoyed the different ways they were fixed and the variety of toppings that would be loaded onto the pile of chips that were provided.  One of my favorites were the stone fired nachos I found in a local pub that also served individual pizzas.  One night I ordered nachos from one of the national chains and instead of a pile of chips, there were 12 individual chips that had been loaded with toppings.  This was immediately dubbed “designer nachos” (by me).  I did not appreciate these any more than last night’s low carb bell pepper nachos.  Tracking the virus spread has identified obesity as one of the key factors in the virility of the contagion.  Yet another reason to eat low carb.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 19, 2021

When the temps got down to 88F last Saturday I decided to try my luck in the afternoon at a local lake I usually fish for catfish.  As I left home, I realized I had not brought the red worms that have been so effective on this water.  I have often used my fly rod for the bluegill and winter trout (stocked), so I was not worried.  The hot weather we have been having has been accompanied by scattered rains and high humidity.  The grasses and wildflowers along the shore had taken off and there were only a few places you could get near the water.  I fished for about 30 minutes before I admitted the humidity was too much for me, and apparently for the fish as I got no bites.  I shifted my attention to the wildflowers.

When I checked online, I found the Rose Mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpus) is a rare native perennial herb that grows as a wildflower in Northern, Southern and Central California, primarily in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley regions.  Common names are the Common rose mallow, swamp mallow, swamp hibiscus, dinner plate hibiscus, and shares the name hardy hibiscus with Hibiscus syriacus.  While new growth is slow to emerge from dormancy in spring, the plants shoot up rapidly once they take off.  Rose Mallow can grow as much as an inch per day and thrive in full sun and swampy areas.  The plants bloom from midsummer until the first frost, and even though the flowers only last a day or two, the Rose Mallow is a prolific rebloomer.  The Rose Mallow flourishes in zones 4-9, and although it was not native, I found the plant offered by several greenhouse sites.  The plant has spread prolifically in the US.

The lake I was fishing is a perfect setting for the Rose Mallow.  The banks were in full sun and low along the water, meaning they were marshy.  I was surprised to see 15 or more blooms and numerous pods in a 30-yard stretch along the lake.  Last spring, State Parks had planted seedlings to help with erosion along the bank.  I understand the logic for this, but they put the new trees in areas used by fisherpeople to get near the water.  The combination of the new willowy bushes and the abundant grass and wildflowers now makes it difficult to fish.  I guess if it was easy, it would not be a sport.

Thoughts:  Making difficult feats easy is a booming business.  At 29,031.69 feet (8,848.86 m) above sea level Mount Everest reigns as the highest mountain on earth.  Since the first ascent in 1953 reaching the summit of Everest has been considered one of the greatest achievements in mountaineering.  Now the route is clogged with trash and packed by climbers.  The cost to climb Mount Everest in 2017 averaged around $45,000.  The price of a standard “supported climb” (group led by guides) ranges from $28,000 to $85,000.  A custom climb (private and accommodates requests) can cost up to $115,000.  High-risk climbs (without guides) price around $20,000.  As one website stated, this is a once in a lifetime experience, isn’t it worth the extra cost to ensure your safety?  I would make the same claim for getting the vaccine, except it is free.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 18, 2021

After dropping Melissa off for an appointment, I decided to spend the wait time fishing.  When I pulled into the mallard lake I have been frequenting, I saw the water level had dropped over two feet.  The heat and evaporation had apparently taken its toll on the water.  I had not originally planned on fishing so while I had my poles (kept in my car) I did not have bait.  That was not a problem since I wanted to fly fish.  I had broken down my pole and put away the fly the last time I fished and did not initially find the trout magnet I was hoping to use.  Instead, I rigged up a wooly with a cadis fly drop and tossed into the shallow water.  The shallow lake seemed to concentrate the fish and they were hitting my flies on every cast, including landing five.  I was hoping to catch the bass that have been tempting me along the shore.

The Killer Whale or Orca (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale and largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.  It is easily recognized by its black-and-white patterned body.  Orca whales are found in all the world’s oceans and range from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas.  I have watched videos of Orca Whales using a catch technique called surfing for seals.  The Southern Elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) and Sea Lions (Otariidae family, various) use the rocky shores of Punte Norte, Argentina, to birth and rear their young.  The Orcas swim close to shore and wait for the perfect alignment of the tides, the seals, and shore, to strike.  The Orca surfs a wave onto the shore, grabs a seal pup in its teeth, then rolls its body and uses another wave to pull it back to deeper water.  In one study of this behavior, none of the observed whales were stranded permanently and 34.4% of their attempts ended with the catch of a seal.

As I fished for the bass at my lake, I was struck by another feeding technique used on the minnows along the shore.  These small fish had schooled in the shallows, and the bass would swoop in and catch the scattering fish.  Since they were along the shore, there were few escape routes and I assume the bass were effectively feeding.  While the Bass were not beaching like the Orcas, the water was so shallow that the dorsal fins and backs of the Bass were completely out of the water as they made their runs.  I do not recall ever seeing this behavior previously, but it must be common, at least in deeper water.  While small mouth bass are not orcas, they seem to have learned how to herd and catch the minnows.  I could not get the bass to bite on my wooly setup.

Thoughts:  The Orcas’ innovative hunting strategies are not limited to seal surfing.  Orcas around the world are estimated to catch and feed on over 140 species, such as sharks (including great whites), squids, sea otters, dolphins, bony fish, turtles, seabirds, and even baleen whales.  The strategies used to catch this diverse prey are almost ritualistic in nature and are passed down from one generation to the next.  Orca hunting may be considered an integral part of orca culture, with different populations continually recycling their group’s hunting “traditions.”   Whether it is Orcas or Great Apes, the language, tools, and cooperation that used to define what it meant to be cognizant are being questioned as we research the behaviors of “dumb” animals.  Perhaps we should rethink our dominance.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

August 17, 2021

Melissa shared a news feed she receives that highlight what happened on this day in Native American history.  August 14^th, 1559, noted the arrival of several priests, 500 soldiers and 1000 settlers in Pensacola Bay in present day Florida.  The expedition met with tragedy as a hurricane struck not long after arrival and many of the people were either killed or later starved.  The post had a side note that 6 of the original 13 ships had recently been discovered.  The real cause of the tragedy was they had not unloaded the tools and food and it was destroyed by the hurricane.  The original settlement has now been rediscovered in a single-family subdivision and is being excavated.

When I looked online, I found Tristan de Luna y Arellano was born into a noble family, came to New Spain, and in 1559 was sent on an expedition to colonize Florida.  In August he established a temporary colony at modern-day Pensacola.  On arrival Luna sent two search parties inland to search for other inhabitants before unloading the supplies and cargo.  On the night of September 19, 1559, a hurricane and storm surge swept through and destroyed most of the ships and cargo.  Most of the men traveled inland to the abandoned village, and named the town Santa Cruz de Nanipacana, where they remained through the end of June 1560.  The Viceroy in Mexico sent two relief ships in November with the promise of more aid in the spring.  When the relief did not come Luna sent 200 men upriver to the Coosa chiefdom (Coça) in Northwest Georgia, where they remained through November.  The increasing tensions between Luna and his remaining officers and men prompted the Viceroy to replaced Luna with a new governor, who arrived in April 1561.  The Luna settlement was occupied by a small detachment through August 1561 when they were picked up and returned to Veracruz.  The Pensacola area was not populated again by Europeans until 1698.  The Luna colony was the earliest multi-year European settlement in the continental US. 

The site of Luna’s colony was re-discovered by local historian Tom Garner in October 2015 and is being investigated by an expedition from the University of West Florida archaeology program under principal investigator John Worth.  The location is not published to keep unwanted visitors out of the area.  Having worked on archaeological expeditions I have found crowd control is a serious matter.  Visitors have a habit of showing up to see what is going on.  I have witnessed people not only walk to the edge of the excavation (walls do collapse) but even enter the dig itself.  Visitors not only get in the way, but the bigger issue is the questions.  Being the expert onsite means you are bombarded with all sorts of questions that you are expected to stop and answer.  I was tempted to say, “just read the book,” but I knew it would not be out for several years.

Thoughts:  When I read about the ill-fated expedition the irony of the story struck me.  As the colony searched for food, they came across an abandoned village.  This was probably one of the villages that had been wiped out by the disease spread to the Americas by colonists.  Part of the group was saved by wintering with another Native village who shared their food with them.  Descendants of these Natives would later be forced from their homes and marched across the south on what came to be called the Trail of Tears.  What is it they say about no good deed going unpunished?  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.