Posted in Food and..., Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Affinity Photo, home, learning@lunch, unexpected visitors on April 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »
This morning, we discovered an army of teeny tiny ants making a foray under the mudroom door, and thus commenced a battle for the ages!
/ahem
They are winning.*
I took a break from the fun that is that to learn another way to make a painted sketch in Affinity Photo. It’s a good technique but my mouse-based brushwork could use a bit of practice:)
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* No worries, I am consoling myself with brownies.
Posted in Favorites, Holidays, Likes, Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #EarthDay, Ann Druyan, because what are the options?, carl sagan, climate change, hope, innovation, optimism, we are legion on April 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today is Earth Day. Happy 4.543 billionth birthday, Earth! Here’s hoping for many more.
Much of my day job is based in current news and events, which means I spend a good part of most days knee-deep in the internet. Yeah, it can be exactly as fun as it sounds. That said, I’m not looking for the bad stuff, or not only the bad stuff.
I’m looking for the uplifting, the hopeful, the rays of light. For a path to something better. So for every article I read telling me that in recent years, there are more Starbucks locations in California than overwintering monarch butterflies, there are pieces on what’s good, like these:
Let These Stunning Photos of a Year of Virtual Youth Climate Activism Inspire You
Halifax-based developer of CO2-injected concrete wins multimillion-dollar prize
It’s hard to miss the evidence of change, but the good news is that we’re not just discussing it, we’re beginning to take concrete action.
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You already know that doing big things is hard. Like ”saving the planet.” Human beings are small, and I suspect that at the root, most of us are plagued by the niggling feeling that we are just bit players on an unimaginably vast stage. That at some fundamental level our actions don’t matter much at all in the bigger picture. Not really.
But we’re wrong. And the world is made up of smaller pictures.
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It’s the question every hero is asked: The future is uncertain. The path is unknown. What are you going to do about it?
What you can, wherever you can. As a minor example, I spent time today researching ways to turn our absolutely useless lawn space into a pollinator garden.
Of course, a lot of what needs to happen on climate change isn’t just about individual action. Deciding not to eat meat on Tuesdays matters, but standards and infrastructure for energy, transportation, agriculture and construction, to name a few sectors, will need to modernize too.
It means working together on new ideas, new innovations, and new legislation. More and better targets, the kind that make a positive difference in people’s lives.*
Because humans are a social species. There is never just one, and when it comes to saving our home that’s a challenge but also a benefit. Sea shanties swept the globe in a matter of weeks. Why not this?
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It sounds big, and it is, but we do big things all the time, often by accident.** It’s just time to do this particular big thing on purpose. Here’s the mantra I try to stick with: Pick a goal. Break it down. Start today.
We are never just one. None of us are. We are legion. And we got ourselves into this mess. We can get ourselves out.
Starting today.
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* Like clean air and water. And I really enjoy the fact that one day, for example, I’ll be able to put my seat belt on, drive an electric car down well-maintained roads, sit in a non-smoking section at a restaurant, and eat food that won’t kill me. And that my nephews don’t spend their summers swimming in a creek laced with PCBs (like we did). Crazy, I know!
** I mean, who sets out to upend civilization? They just want to see what happens if they burn that dirty rock or invent the light bulb or the assembly line or freaking Facebook. There is no button a curious monkey will not poke. Wouldn’t it be nice if we can make it work for us for a change?
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“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives… The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand… To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
— Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, busy, cat on April 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, quotes, Walt Whitman on April 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“Those who love each other shall become invincible.”
— Walt Whitman
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Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, history, hope, music on April 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
My father started a friends and family email chain about An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, a window on a history that is both important and difficult. For a bit of balance, here are indigenous students doing something that is both important and uplifting.
Here’s to survival, and to hope.
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Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, feel better!, kitties, puppies, ridiculously cute, Tuesdays on April 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I think I’ve mentioned my thoughts on Tuesdays (not my favorite!), and I could use some cuteness. Maybe you could too?
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Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, encouragement, nonfiction on April 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I ran across this article today and wanted to pass it along.
In the front yard of a home right along the main drag in Mifflinburg, someone has put a sign – not unlike a political candidate’s election sign – in their front yard. No logo or sponsor name. Just simple black letters on a white background.
— Patty Kleban
Because some days, you just need to hear it. Especially Mondays.
You got this.
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Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, chemistry, flowers, scent, Spring on April 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
There is a secret world coming to life in my back yard, goldfinches, dandelions, chickadees, red maple, cardinals, crows, robins, roses, insects, earthworms, that unidentified bush the bees love, and yesterday, the first butterfly.
At once common and precious, my spring smells of freshly-turned soil and violets.
Violets get their scent from ionone. It’s an extremely sweet scent that many people describe as also being dry. “Powdery” is the word that’s usually used. Another word is “ethereal,” or “ephemeral.” After stimulating scent receptors, ionone binds to them and temporarily shuts them off completely. This substance cannot be smelled for more than a few moments at a time. After that, people go anosmic to it. Then, after a few breaths, the scent pops up again.
— How Violets Steal Your Sense of Smell
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Posted in Food and..., Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, drink, family, nom!, recipes on April 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today is one of the first really warm days this year, and we just came back in from a longish walk. I’m hot and thinking a big glass of my grandmother’s sun tea would be just the thing. I don’t actually have that tea because I did not think that far ahead, but if anyone else is in a similar mood, here’s the recipe (not that you really need it):
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Grandma’s Sun Tea
(Dorothea Johnson)
6-8 tea bags
Water
Sunshine
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Posted in Food and..., Holidays, Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #bunnybutt, baking, cake, Easter, someday this will make sense on April 4, 2021| 1 Comment »
Happy Easter!
What with no travel or outside family, this isn’t a great year for giant eight-layer cakes, so today I’m revisiting my one and only Easter dessert, the Bunny Cake.
It was fun to make. Will I do it again someday? Maybe, maybe not, but techniques like the meringue mushrooms, grass, and fondant were interesting to do.
Also, chocolate and bunnies are delicious:)
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