tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49926294936439608582024-03-13T05:50:50.875-05:00Sparkling Squirrel YearSparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.comBlogger772125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-3822666714008277342024-01-29T19:22:00.000-06:002024-01-29T19:22:03.521-06:0020 Years of Themes, and still going<p>2023 Fern Year (aka Seedless and Seed)<br />2022 It's about Time<br />2021 Mycochronos The Time of the Fungi<br />2020 Year of Here (chosen BEFORE it was so needed)<br />2019 Ball Year<br />2018 Witch Year<br />2017 Pie Year<br />2016 Bird Year<br />2015 Glow Year<br />2014 Floraganza<br />2013 Acid Year<br />2012 Root Year<br />2011 Star Year<br />2010 Noodle Year<br />2009 Bean Year<br />2008 Lucky Year<br />2007 Rodent Year (Sparkling Squirrel Year)<br />2006 Spice Year (not celebrated much)<br />2005 Fruit Year (not celebrated much)<br />2004 Pink Year<br />2003 Sparkling Year<br /><br />2024 A Year of All Seasons</p>Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-7045450343413916542022-02-03T21:20:00.002-06:002022-02-03T21:20:39.590-06:00It's About Time for a New Theme<p> Time Year Begins!<br /><br />So we have a new year and a new theme. I still don't have the official name for it, but this year "<i>is about time</i>".<br /><br />There are some time things I know I am going to be doing, turning 50 prominent among them. There are plenty of time traveling books and movies (add your suggestions to the post below) and time (but not time traveling) books and movies I hope to enjoy. There are thyme recipes to cook and maybe a sundial to place in my herb garden. I hope to have a personal best 5K time. I'm going to keep my house cleaner (it's about time, really) and maybe have an "End of Time" party.<br /><br />What else?</p>Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-40705279289601341812022-02-03T21:03:00.001-06:002022-02-03T21:21:09.265-06:00Time Travel Suggestions<p> What are your favorite books and movies about traveling through time?<br /><br />I have written about a few time traveling books on this blog in the past (Connie Willis's<a href="https://sparklingsquirrel.blogspot.com/search?q=willis"><i> Doomsday Book</i> and <i>To Say Nothing of the Dog</i></a> and <i><a href="https://sparklingsquirrel.blogspot.com/2009/07/baffling-books-and-their-movies.html">The Time Machine</a></i> and mentioned <i>Time Traveler's Wife</i> on multiple occasions).<br /><br />The Mister and I are starting to list time travel movies we've seen and they range from Star Trek to Looper to Arrival to Interstellar to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. <br /><br />Let us know what you think! </p>Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-17356597137945399672022-02-03T20:16:00.004-06:002022-02-03T21:21:33.126-06:00Time for a New Year: Time Titles and Books about Time<p> What are your favorite books or movies "about time" or with time in the title, but not about time travel? Non-fiction (from timekeeping and the nature of time to seasons of life) and fiction both desired. <br /><br />Have recommendations for <i>Love in the Time of Cholera</i> or <i>A Brief History of Time </i>or <i>A Time to Kill </i>or<i> Wheel of Time</i>? How about <i>Gone in 60 Seconds, </i><i>72 Hours</i>, <i>28 Days Later</i>, <i>9 1/2 weeks, 4 Months, 2 weeks and 3 Days, </i>or <i>100 Years of Solitude</i>?</p><p>"Time" books go here, along with media with minutes, seconds, or years in the title.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-11415985812076614352022-01-08T16:25:00.000-06:002022-01-08T16:25:02.674-06:00Growing Mushrooms<p>I started MYCOCHRONOS in the winter of 2021 growing oyster mushrooms in the lab, and then grew blue oysters, pink oysters, and lion's mane mushrooms at home. They were all from kits and all are highly recommended. The lion's mane was used for "crab cakes" which were great, and also makes one wonder if the crab flavoring or the crab cake seasonings is what really makes the taste. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinDcD9CptXSLQOp2YLXsOZheAOyHOCIeyPdY_YYFfgqFB7sBBD1XmEBmS9kgkFjwmW0WIHAvTajR2CxZruWbVyXLVSCWGj_0vnGct6ImvJr1QuyaOphZRsHax-cehpziUl9pXu6pPB0POrRtXUfRMQYP2akdOt824Kyjtw-5rhyqBvN0icYgDUPoJ-=s4096" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinDcD9CptXSLQOp2YLXsOZheAOyHOCIeyPdY_YYFfgqFB7sBBD1XmEBmS9kgkFjwmW0WIHAvTajR2CxZruWbVyXLVSCWGj_0vnGct6ImvJr1QuyaOphZRsHax-cehpziUl9pXu6pPB0POrRtXUfRMQYP2akdOt824Kyjtw-5rhyqBvN0icYgDUPoJ-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 27== middlewas started 1 week priot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmjmoj0WyDqeALqRGqFM6UBYSF_88wWkSEhkl9OOsFkFub6EeM5PQfS8RPabeC69lxVD495FOmgZyA-qYE7H9zBfkCTJ6j7XIrFO4dyUtKgC6QT0dQjU_Kv6AB8C-cyLuuMb6R4eV52NsnbcfxiXPIq-QEz5mMTtLRiqu5L8AUGA-4XwgPPsbBBZ6F=s4096" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmjmoj0WyDqeALqRGqFM6UBYSF_88wWkSEhkl9OOsFkFub6EeM5PQfS8RPabeC69lxVD495FOmgZyA-qYE7H9zBfkCTJ6j7XIrFO4dyUtKgC6QT0dQjU_Kv6AB8C-cyLuuMb6R4eV52NsnbcfxiXPIq-QEz5mMTtLRiqu5L8AUGA-4XwgPPsbBBZ6F=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second flush of pink oysters</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinNiIMrayvs_YZXuAul9cXx1N_tiDLeBlcoGzU5CrOeoEK71nH3gN75XismN55hP2lzTLTJ20iX7dEF3F1irBmNX71N9nCo2ecytCMDvn5v7lacZNtgD09bAGvwg-TNyzBHsc6eZwCOAUExAmOazKwxDBqptvFvrm9-ybhYq2iYRRxqECGI7X-Y5Na=s4096" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinNiIMrayvs_YZXuAul9cXx1N_tiDLeBlcoGzU5CrOeoEK71nH3gN75XismN55hP2lzTLTJ20iX7dEF3F1irBmNX71N9nCo2ecytCMDvn5v7lacZNtgD09bAGvwg-TNyzBHsc6eZwCOAUExAmOazKwxDBqptvFvrm9-ybhYq2iYRRxqECGI7X-Y5Na=s320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqhXKPgKxoyQrXtiCfTb5ZqGz7YegnOciHODzjv_U8er-biEgjTxoVP8JocYy_yhiIdJNEezXsHMTYFRdCN58E0TwAjL8KrKVPfEqRZaZ5VLHuyCKgx5OgbwXpDmxWpnLFYXufB_nnJGa8As7uiFHDb8gnBrkCtAXk7zVD9ezYha4LFQ5wQp4HO7hu=s4096" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqhXKPgKxoyQrXtiCfTb5ZqGz7YegnOciHODzjv_U8er-biEgjTxoVP8JocYy_yhiIdJNEezXsHMTYFRdCN58E0TwAjL8KrKVPfEqRZaZ5VLHuyCKgx5OgbwXpDmxWpnLFYXufB_nnJGa8As7uiFHDb8gnBrkCtAXk7zVD9ezYha4LFQ5wQp4HO7hu=s320" width="240" /></a></div></div></div><br /><br />Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-84538540508667919202022-01-08T14:42:00.002-06:002022-01-08T14:42:17.803-06:00Truffles<p> I haven't been blogging about MYCOCHRONOS- the time of the fungus for all sorts of reasons. You can trust that I have done a good job of growing mushrooms, eating mushrooms, and observing fungal things (or not, it's actually not a matter worthy of asking for your trust). <br />The Mister, ever willing to celebrate silly with me, gave me truffle oil and truffle salt for Christmas, and ordered the truffle supplement when we took Dianthus and Aster out for an omakase meal in Boston. Then, in a surprise move, he purchased a fresh black truffle at Eataly when we found ourselves back in Boston on January 1.<br />Salmon sashimi with truffles was amazing, and covered with a lot of truffles.<br />We used our truffle on pasta one night, on mashed potatoes and beef the next, and on poached eggs and potatoes this morning. While I really like the heady aroma of truffles, I think I will seek out chefs to do it well, or add a little splash of oil here and there, but will not be buying fresh truffles again soon. Among other things, I think we just didn't use enough at once, but when something is so dear (in the British sense), it feels right to ration it, even if possession in the first place is the height of indulgence.<br /><br />Thanks to the Mister for trying truffles with me.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglvPQMxfju654WHdlUIbjDPk4YFCDHbRbtqkC9RC1AKKiOcoK8v7Y17o68VXsXGs86EolxITBfaXPaljgXZtkkdgmNI9EymwYD-aRE9daE_FbQXrXcXmsAbO7ol5EscGmLOLb1R60bmH70zoTalmn93ZcqO5jt4hGxSZT10fidw_XktNOFyQmr0rRd=s4096" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglvPQMxfju654WHdlUIbjDPk4YFCDHbRbtqkC9RC1AKKiOcoK8v7Y17o68VXsXGs86EolxITBfaXPaljgXZtkkdgmNI9EymwYD-aRE9daE_FbQXrXcXmsAbO7ol5EscGmLOLb1R60bmH70zoTalmn93ZcqO5jt4hGxSZT10fidw_XktNOFyQmr0rRd=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heavily truffled delicious start to an omakase meal.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJXq6-pKhM61sLPyMqAyjisc5rpQ6D-MBMcwiRSNPGOmky-VgJ46bNwqFVL47DPJ-HZcQA8is-5xIrahNsgGh0EE_URCeRq2WIG3cTLcRlHspeeebx6iNN_uvny1ypdS36M5ZrY0BC9N4BKZFaz2iGJFpp7N-JjSoKvtBnjDjhxxWl045KtHRMosrq=s4096" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJXq6-pKhM61sLPyMqAyjisc5rpQ6D-MBMcwiRSNPGOmky-VgJ46bNwqFVL47DPJ-HZcQA8is-5xIrahNsgGh0EE_URCeRq2WIG3cTLcRlHspeeebx6iNN_uvny1ypdS36M5ZrY0BC9N4BKZFaz2iGJFpp7N-JjSoKvtBnjDjhxxWl045KtHRMosrq=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our truffle of 34 grams</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-64007506435027772021-05-03T18:54:00.006-05:002021-05-03T20:55:02.703-05:00Kites and Flowers<p> I was walking to work this morning (Monday, May 3) and thinking how odd it was that I haven't seen a kite yet.<br />I walked home at 10:30 and there were 12 on the power lines in one alley. <br />Two friends around town mentioned seeing single kites over the weekend, and they certainly aren't ALL here yet, but I would argue that they truly arrived approximately 9 am this morning.<br />(In 2020 I saw 2 on April 30 and then a larger bunch on May 1.)<br /><br />In my other annual phenology update: here's my May Day bouquet (actually picked on May 2). The peony is the only peony currently in flower (from against a south-facing brick wall), the irises are at about peak, and none of the roses, honeysuckle, or mock oranges is blooming yet. The wheat is from the growing wheat patch (last year I baked a loaf of bread from it). My next career might be growing grains for the florist industry. The Mister suggests that might not be much of a career, but one can hope.<br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurIwyGlYEfIMypVrncwGhgfwEg4X3WxlnERigF-KCKaSGV7P9BgKChyOhWcoz-987aqpwlSwi_88vEzKJAFHJijnyPgKYXKNp148HLtgk78VQLhwPDgvlQ9s7BfqtV-FdzOhPxt3Uw7M/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1368" data-original-width="1026" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurIwyGlYEfIMypVrncwGhgfwEg4X3WxlnERigF-KCKaSGV7P9BgKChyOhWcoz-987aqpwlSwi_88vEzKJAFHJijnyPgKYXKNp148HLtgk78VQLhwPDgvlQ9s7BfqtV-FdzOhPxt3Uw7M/w270-h359/image.png" width="270" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-14632406887498502952020-06-12T14:17:00.004-05:002020-06-12T14:51:06.395-05:00I Count Plants: What I Study Part 2<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWHV7FM8uwRqZtwYT-grMwZ68SGhBnfcNOllCPceQ1yH7-dAhA7D68vH3ZVow7p9ASpTqolWy4T6YOU5dJl-dubK83R3qn6I2qMsc9kkAzNF2EQzyAoeMU4m-mz4bWP11PQph8BkNSTA/s1600/IMG_20200608_140020414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWHV7FM8uwRqZtwYT-grMwZ68SGhBnfcNOllCPceQ1yH7-dAhA7D68vH3ZVow7p9ASpTqolWy4T6YOU5dJl-dubK83R3qn6I2qMsc9kkAzNF2EQzyAoeMU4m-mz4bWP11PQph8BkNSTA/s320/IMG_20200608_140020414.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting out Kansas transects June 2020</td></tr>
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"What do you really mean when you say you count plants?"<br />
<br />
Um, I mean I go outside and count how many plants are there.<br />
<br />
This somehow frequently makes me giggle. When I was interviewing for my current job, I asked why Plant Physiology was part of the job description when one of my colleagues is an algal physiologist seemingly well-suited to teaching the course. The algal physiologist explained that he is not really a physiologist, he is more of an eco-physiologist and went on to explain what he does (physiological responses of algal grown in different light conditions to different types of radiation). It was an interview and I wanted the job, so I didn't blurt out, "You know that I count plants, right?"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpst9uRCFTcxaWnxNYg-U8XzsmN2qz1mWAwE1dR__7HvLarqW5Wuzy4wMprlC0lfQYKHPxU0eCYbpblfyN-deRF9N2rdMJKENzLYcBWydOjMarQ36keVrxKxJMx2y5lYxnWGMxERgeJg/s1600/IMG_20200609_110902949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpst9uRCFTcxaWnxNYg-U8XzsmN2qz1mWAwE1dR__7HvLarqW5Wuzy4wMprlC0lfQYKHPxU0eCYbpblfyN-deRF9N2rdMJKENzLYcBWydOjMarQ36keVrxKxJMx2y5lYxnWGMxERgeJg/s320/IMG_20200609_110902949.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">A 3m x 3m plot Kansas 2020</td></tr>
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<br />
Most years I go to Kansas where I re-find plot corners in a prairie hay meadow (now using a metal detector called "The Gold Digger") based on triangulation from fixed fence posts (hand held GPS is still not nearly as accurate as walking 45m from that post and 55m from this one). A dear friend and I search 3m x 3m plots looking for every prairie turnip (<i>Pediomelum esculentum</i>) within the plot. When we find one, we record its location based on the tape measure that is temporarily making a plot frame and record its height, spread, and reproductive status. We eventually compare to the individual information from the previous year, so not only do we have a sense of what is happening to the population overall, we also know fates of individuals. Eventually, these year-to-year individual transitions are combined into a matrix to make projections about the population as a whole. I counted these particular plots in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020. I have also counted a population in Nebraska 2002, 2003, and 2004 and a population in Montanta 2001-2004.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibGerhx2ReNM1dtXN5O67FBDOpRG24Rw0CiicYGEWYfWn9OBfGB7dDBz2EmW0OJeYVu_lZurcprFxv-XsmfCwqXwzRDyxSgWWFeyW2Po4y-om3_hzFHyTcas_c3UFzRcbtiSWTlP5u30/s1600/IMG_20191011_160105022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibGerhx2ReNM1dtXN5O67FBDOpRG24Rw0CiicYGEWYfWn9OBfGB7dDBz2EmW0OJeYVu_lZurcprFxv-XsmfCwqXwzRDyxSgWWFeyW2Po4y-om3_hzFHyTcas_c3UFzRcbtiSWTlP5u30/s320/IMG_20191011_160105022.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flags are bases of Cyclanthera Sept. 2019</td></tr>
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<br />
In Oklahoma, I am tracking a population of annual vines, so there is no year-to-year survival. Since 2010, students and I have documented the location, size and reproductive status of every plant in a woodland 5 miles from campus. While most years the population has had 100-400 individuals, we have counted as few as 11 (2011) and as many as 2,748 (2019). We do this in September and October, when the plants are flowering and fruiting. Concerned that I was missing a critical step in the life cycle, in 2016 we started a spring plot count and in 2019 and 2020 I am re-visiting the plots all summer so that I can document within-season survivorship. In 2018 there were more seedlings in the plots in May than there were in May 2019, even though there were only 44 plants in the fall 2018 population compared to 3,000 in fall 2019. Locations are recorded as vectors (compass degrees plus distance) from marked reference trees.<br />
<br />
Most years I also document the populations of invasive plants, tree-of-heaven, johnsongrass, and giant reed in and around my small town. These involves actually counting trees and estimating their size and measuring patches of grasses and estimating their growth.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghac42a3_abTUeEBDQA3OuFuEsgZPWCcfme86YzTnggraZ-blV3JWXF9gtMMK1-hoUEiwsMp8sjKqWhBBBYZOHhIxDRujC2eCnhCmRMYhS50cuQnDoH1hNj6SflE6duR9knEwRT7dId_U/s1600/IMG_20191015_155826042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghac42a3_abTUeEBDQA3OuFuEsgZPWCcfme86YzTnggraZ-blV3JWXF9gtMMK1-hoUEiwsMp8sjKqWhBBBYZOHhIxDRujC2eCnhCmRMYhS50cuQnDoH1hNj6SflE6duR9knEwRT7dId_U/s320/IMG_20191015_155826042.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early freeze in 2019, along with 3,000 plants<br />
led to counting locations of flags hastily placed<br />
before the plants actually disintegrated.</td></tr>
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Sometime later-- the answer to the more interesting questions-- why these particular plants? and what do we learn from these counts?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3shpPVFRLtDO7Yd5rXKC3uceIzKeMCxsYcgigHYUPBaap8EHQrBgoyVbYmfrfQqLuJ4OQ3r1CCQqvll9ih8NbvgZr5cRBf5n_BLXuLiz4DzYvPs-sapTs1de8-3z30tIFYmaIhv-6LI/s1600/IMG_20200605_114921776_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3shpPVFRLtDO7Yd5rXKC3uceIzKeMCxsYcgigHYUPBaap8EHQrBgoyVbYmfrfQqLuJ4OQ3r1CCQqvll9ih8NbvgZr5cRBf5n_BLXuLiz4DzYvPs-sapTs1de8-3z30tIFYmaIhv-6LI/s320/IMG_20200605_114921776_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring 2020</td></tr>
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Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-76709209526768927672020-06-12T13:27:00.001-05:002020-06-12T13:27:07.130-05:00Ecological Big Questions: What I Study Part 1I've been asked by some friends to explain what I do, science-wise. I'm stunned and having a hard time of it.<br /><br />This is a novel query-- most folks have no interest and those that are interested usually already work in the field. So I am writing it out here so that I can figure out the best way to say it, and direct people here should there every be similar queries again. <br /><br />My actual job is almost entirely teaching. Research and scholarly activities are expected, but there is little time for them during the school year and institutionally little reward for doing more (and also few negative consequences for doing less, a real perk as a parent and a teacher who would, in fact, perish in a "publish or perish" system). I also have a bunch of "scholarship adjacent" roles-- herbarium curator, greenhouse manager, invasive species monitor, and teaching materials editor-- for which I have never figured out fully how to receive "credit" (nor, in fact, figured out who is doing the crediting).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Dp7kr6iqA5QByeqoTu4lAcElq-ydbKvJK1UUnAQSz_a0Elwa7SXFiBarhLqQzVJgN5yLelXPlv9mA0JOTZ-L4aPeF-pRVqAYwkx6TT5D6Sbdzfb2uxlNQcNSF69aLXpMUqMvkkQrmq4/s1600/Cyc+July+2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Dp7kr6iqA5QByeqoTu4lAcElq-ydbKvJK1UUnAQSz_a0Elwa7SXFiBarhLqQzVJgN5yLelXPlv9mA0JOTZ-L4aPeF-pRVqAYwkx6TT5D6Sbdzfb2uxlNQcNSF69aLXpMUqMvkkQrmq4/s320/Cyc+July+2019.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer 2019</td></tr>
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As a researcher, I align with one of the most basic ecological questions, "Why are organisms where they are?" Ecology has a geographic component (it's the interactions of organisms and their environment, after all), but as I type I realize that the temporal component is as important: "Why are organisms where and WHEN they are, and how do those change?"<br /><br />I'm also fascinated by the core question of conservation biology, "How can humans simultaneously use and converse natural resources?"<br />
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These questions, of course, are addressed by all ecologists and conservation biologists, and I am not going to answer them anytime soon, but they are behind what I do. At this point I choose to look at terrestrial plant populations, but I have done community level work in the past, and am very interested in ecosystem-level and individual-level processes.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-17216778061146897282020-02-05T22:34:00.000-06:002020-02-05T22:34:04.217-06:00Super Bowl, Overlapping Years, and the Difference A Few Terms Can MakeWelcome Year of Here.<br />
<br />I've known for some time that my theme for this year has been something to do with plants, peoples, and places native to North America (more about that and where it came from throughout the upcoming year). Once Kansas City made it to the Super Bowl, I knew I would write about the overlap* by talking balls and Chiefs at the same time.<br /><br />Then, this past weekend, I spent some time discussing phrasing with friends and we didn't come up with any name, whether "YoNAN!" (Year of North American Natives) or "Indigenous!" that didn't feel as if had the potential for being cringe-worthy mascot-y. We settled on dealing with a sense of place, particularly <i>this</i> place, and Year of Here came out of that conversation.<br />
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Year of Here is much better in many ways, and I can see some many ways to take it (and will, of course, be asking for your suggestions) but the name weakened my first post. I was intending to confront my continued support of the Kansas City Chiefs and the racism inherent even in "positive" mascots. Of course, many people much more qualified than I have already written that much more eloquently than I could (here's one: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-liv-will-shine-so-will-ncna1128171">Much better than I could write piece on the racism of Chiefs.</a> ). <br /><br />But if I am involved with Year of Here, my post can be more about geography of fandom and how much I prefer football to war. It's like intending to talk about racism and instead choosing to talk about diversity. It's related. It's important. It may be easier and more palatable. But it is not the same thing.<br /><br />So yeah, "I set out to do this one thing, but I couldn't articulate it, so I'm doing a variation that I can articulate better, but it is in fact not the same, and I can explain by analogy why they are different, but I can't actual add anything meaningful about either right now" is not a great way to start a new theme. It is a reasonable reflection of where I am at.<br /><br />Should you want to discuss, I'm open to listen**<br />
<br />And congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs. I remember all 8 Super Bowls "my" team has played in, 5 hard losses and 3 wins, and I'm really glad that The Mister, has now had that experience, even if experiencing it from small town Oklahoma with young kids is quite a bit different from being in the place of the team (hey, wait, I could write about that in the Year of Here!). <br /><br />
*Other overlaps-- birds and pies = magpies and chicken pie<br />
pies to witches= Witch's Pie book, magical baking book and winter apple and groundhog pies<br />witches to balls = Imbolc pies, moon, sun and various orbs<br /><br />**Unless you are going to tell me that it is a bad thing that the local scout crossover ceremony will not involve white teenagers dressing in Indian regalia because national Boy Scouts of America has banned the practice. Or that the tomahawk chop is "just a chant" and doesn't matter.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-83876655681956226572020-02-05T21:26:00.001-06:002020-02-05T22:38:29.907-06:00Ball PartyThe Groundhog Ball Party was to celebrate "all the other balls*" and somehow I became a person who decorates, and decorates with a selfie station. We had arancini, meatballs, snowballs, cheese balls, gougeres, chocolate cake balls, tangerines, Jell-O balls, chocolate balls and cranberry ice balls. The winner of pin-the-shadow on the groundhog won the Magic 8 Ball.<br />
*Other than sports ball, dancing balls and testicles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPK9bnNQ2HmWUhDbQ4OT7JoNW4Svkv3Gw0bUjB1KzoWp_z6f1RulTqKFQvDwOoZjgQFlWTFw0qufZBu_qg0JR5icc1I46cK8S1pLPnGyEzJidf2K5H6Ax7_K6_UE6w2A8rYit5_NpKkQ/s1600/IMG_20200125_221403154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPK9bnNQ2HmWUhDbQ4OT7JoNW4Svkv3Gw0bUjB1KzoWp_z6f1RulTqKFQvDwOoZjgQFlWTFw0qufZBu_qg0JR5icc1I46cK8S1pLPnGyEzJidf2K5H6Ax7_K6_UE6w2A8rYit5_NpKkQ/s320/IMG_20200125_221403154.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually followed directions to make gazing balls<br />
or perhaps they are palantiri.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKB9A371TEQmrsR5rPpdg7xcXRkhf3NJx8Vr80iECHA3pynMWKNdArGN8NsvCWCJcDN-NsqHCmIQYthnxBtniaytgdE38zSAcjh_IbIoNUMKfTouYLv9KXs47eQQO25BiXSqDbrakQeFw/s1600/IMG_20200125_183619678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKB9A371TEQmrsR5rPpdg7xcXRkhf3NJx8Vr80iECHA3pynMWKNdArGN8NsvCWCJcDN-NsqHCmIQYthnxBtniaytgdE38zSAcjh_IbIoNUMKfTouYLv9KXs47eQQO25BiXSqDbrakQeFw/s320/IMG_20200125_183619678.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The topiary ball is on a glass ball with a glass<br />ball vase with flowers inside it.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU29na7drp4ZKg2S7qVOK_lwUoseLodCTgWLc0mlo19dHf2XqXCWgZTrkre9KLG-MgcoFbTvxc1bJ7sQDOM1bxEggH3RwhSs3isFMQhloqfk23CJ4fhh0_oRGV09bsgghKg2jbFl1Ed4/s1600/IMG_20200125_205044704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU29na7drp4ZKg2S7qVOK_lwUoseLodCTgWLc0mlo19dHf2XqXCWgZTrkre9KLG-MgcoFbTvxc1bJ7sQDOM1bxEggH3RwhSs3isFMQhloqfk23CJ4fhh0_oRGV09bsgghKg2jbFl1Ed4/s320/IMG_20200125_205044704.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQOjM6O1mTnvWwKQo16RS4wUG-XSZ4aHxIo4W3jjMPIAUJXPljFCuyPYlMM1uNMId_T-o-3zCxL-DwMdSe6RdaSSoFZ1zjDI4Zk7ZtesICJ0DDLIQDQgwRy4Dcy1gVJgjEGd8OLf008s/s1600/IMG_20200125_221301857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQOjM6O1mTnvWwKQo16RS4wUG-XSZ4aHxIo4W3jjMPIAUJXPljFCuyPYlMM1uNMId_T-o-3zCxL-DwMdSe6RdaSSoFZ1zjDI4Zk7ZtesICJ0DDLIQDQgwRy4Dcy1gVJgjEGd8OLf008s/s320/IMG_20200125_221301857.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXmhOVfaABJV0phx1mimRTIZihlEoFQcBxXAnau_bW4X3ZsiB8PizkJ6qydLLdaTWk8c9qTXoV_vnjya6DSFrcTXv27fxPhIg4JaE0QK5-2L4XeplBKRBdGpxw87u1kb1_K-rm-XjBDg/s1600/IMG_20200125_183610885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXmhOVfaABJV0phx1mimRTIZihlEoFQcBxXAnau_bW4X3ZsiB8PizkJ6qydLLdaTWk8c9qTXoV_vnjya6DSFrcTXv27fxPhIg4JaE0QK5-2L4XeplBKRBdGpxw87u1kb1_K-rm-XjBDg/s320/IMG_20200125_183610885.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Witching still happening</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FQ2qKUm-7vza3QeLrs6xfWUuQeZ1S2E3vRoqLF0TgBHdbdW6Dr_wL2tn9kS-U_I7DT1UERPqzk5nxvBDwvDQQadYe1-Uva89YYfm_AfzxXZLfUmC5DpLe5mHPKxb5HZCtvWoYaO3s0g/s1600/IMG_20200125_192549025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FQ2qKUm-7vza3QeLrs6xfWUuQeZ1S2E3vRoqLF0TgBHdbdW6Dr_wL2tn9kS-U_I7DT1UERPqzk5nxvBDwvDQQadYe1-Uva89YYfm_AfzxXZLfUmC5DpLe5mHPKxb5HZCtvWoYaO3s0g/s320/IMG_20200125_192549025.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Disco" Ball and Magic 8 Ball</td></tr>
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Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-25069959084039017562019-11-18T22:42:00.002-06:002019-11-18T22:42:34.070-06:00Full Weekend of Sportsball-- Organizing 50 Teenage Boys and Other Impressive ThingsWe attended almost a half of a high school football playoff game Friday night and a college soccer conference championship on Saturday. We also watched a KU basketball game, a KU soccer tournament game and the end of Monday night NFL game is happening right now.<br />
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Most of my Friday night observations were comparing football games here, now, to football games in suburban Denver in 1987 (shockingly, it was more fun then) but I did have a few actual ball sports thoughts. Coaching, for instance, is entirely different in soccer, basketball and volleyball than it is in football. Football is a game of strange logistics, and at high school that is really remarkable. Getting fifty teenagers to pay attention to anything is really impressive. Getting fifty people to go where you want them to go is tough. Getting fifty guys to get on and off a field and lined in particular places is really quite something. <br />
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It's also a good reminder that they could probably follow the instructions on their lab reports.<br />
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(And, for the record, the local high school football team won, so will continue with the play-offs. The KU basketball team won. The local university won the soccer conference tournament and will start NCAA Division II tournament next weekend. KU soccer won and advances in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The Broncos did not win, but I did not watch that collapse, and the Chiefs just did win.)Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-60413033946695511362019-11-14T21:48:00.001-06:002019-11-14T21:48:58.946-06:00Looking for a ball (at which I won't lose my slipper)I have not yet gone ballroom dancing or attended a ball as part of ball year.<br />
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I'm looking for suggestions as to where I could do either.<br />
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I anticipate The Mister joining me, so presence or absence of Prince Charming is irrelevant.<br />
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The best ball I can envision will 1) include actual dancing in ball gowns 2) not take itself too seriously (sneakers balls or adult proms welcome) 3) be affordable enough that my friends and I could go and 4) in support of a cause that I personally support.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-77671235911881553512019-11-13T22:18:00.000-06:002019-11-13T22:18:00.775-06:00Dropping the Ball but then Getting On the Ball for Ball GamesAs part of ball year I planned to attend all sorts of ball games at all sorts of levels.<br />
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In the spring I attended minor league baseball, youth soccer, and college basketball. Over the summer I attended 9 international soccer matches.<br />
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This fall. Well, this fall I attended eight youth soccer games (missing four for BioBlitz Oklahoma and three for the Lego League competition). I intended to go to semi-pro soccer, and high school sports, and lacrosse and field hockey and maybe even some rugby, and then it was crazy season with the 3,000 plants, so I dropped that ball.<br />
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BUT it turns out that the college at which I teach has a conference winning soccer team, so they are hosting the conference tournament on campus, starting tomorrow. We'll attend if they make it to the finals on Saturday. AND the local high school football team's regular season is over, but they have their first play-off game at home on Friday. I suddenly feel so on the ball.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-82585846448683602712019-11-12T22:43:00.000-06:002019-11-12T22:43:17.566-06:00Ball Book-- The CrossoverKwame Alexander's <i><span style="color: #fce5cd;">The Crossover</span></i> is amazing. A librarian friend suggested it for ball year and, despite her suggestion and it being a Newberry winner, I balked when I opened it and realized that it was written not only in verse, but 13-year-old basketball player first person narrator verse.<br />But it works. I read it in a sitting or two and I cried lots.<br />Months later I started reading it with Dianthus one evening and while he was intimidated by the form, he went to bed and had finished it by the time we walked to school the next morning. He claims he didn't cry. Highly recommended for many of my readers, including my mother and mother-in-law, whether or not you are interested in junior high basketball.<br />
<br />I want to read more Kwame Alexander, but I think at this very moment I am going to go read Pride and Prejudice again as my favorite ball book for Mo'BallMoNo.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-27868503230847560182019-11-11T22:43:00.002-06:002019-11-11T22:43:29.185-06:00Mo'BallMoNo BeginsRecently I was telling someone about the seasons in my life ("spring semester" but it really is winter, groundhog day, spring semester and spring soccer, finals, field season, summer, back to school, crazy season, I survived crazy season, "Thanskgiving, finals and Advent", actual "holidays").<br />
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"Crazy season" lasts Labor Day to Fall Break and includes the time in which I teach double lectures, Aster and Dianthus's soccer seasons, and my field season. This year I was also writing a promotion document and Dianthus was doing before-school Lego League during the same time. While most of that is done, we haven't fully entered "I survived crazy season" because my students and I have only documented 1,917 of the the nearly 3,000 plants in a place where there were 44 last year.<br />
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BUT, I am back on the ball and thinking about ball things and things other than teaching and will blog again. <br />
In fact, I am so excited to blog again that I am calling it More Ball Month November (Mo'BallMoNo) and I have a lot to say. That's right, I am so caught up that I am starting a month-long November project on the 11th, and then not really starting it now.<br />
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Balls soon. In the meantime. <i>Cyclanthera dissecta</i> (now <i>C. naudiniana</i>) after an early (Oct. 12) freeze and think about waging piece to remember the Armistice.<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: plant, tree, outdoor, nature and water" src="https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s960x960/73074121_2461358960652459_6854925318046613504_o.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_oc=AQlOdhWhgSjN7fcXQCKA8uvT7sH-OEkxj7E4VPv22QZc0ghJrIl1Vk06VXtWQG3e7PI&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=c1cb4dfb419895cf9d531c82ab6fc5d6&oe=5E5DC05B" />Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-91984157861571475222019-07-07T01:16:00.000-05:002019-07-07T01:16:00.150-05:00"The Ball is Round"We've attended eight World Cup matches so far (9th today) and I feel I should have more to say about them. Yet I don't want to jinx anything, nor am I ready to type about the details.<br />
It has been a great trip. The ball keeps rolling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ec09AbMv0cI5UoyRwc3brmJDcAMF2f5e7jXHpXIHeD484EaxxkGcVDQV1ZqinRkvaLO-tseTAm0i8n75p06TFAvHuOgcqVpZWMul4xtma7dvs7MPYVOBAwyF8mxAiop61QGFpHgUtmc/s1600/IMG_20190702_215431036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ec09AbMv0cI5UoyRwc3brmJDcAMF2f5e7jXHpXIHeD484EaxxkGcVDQV1ZqinRkvaLO-tseTAm0i8n75p06TFAvHuOgcqVpZWMul4xtma7dvs7MPYVOBAwyF8mxAiop61QGFpHgUtmc/s400/IMG_20190702_215431036.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halftime at USA vs England semi-final</td></tr>
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<br />Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-7949366484010086772019-06-12T04:52:00.000-05:002019-06-12T04:52:15.400-05:00Is it American to score big? Is it sexist to care?I fell asleep when the US was only up 7-0 in the match against Thailand last night. I'll admit I was a bit disappointed by the final score; 13-0 is just so <i>unseemly</i>. I don't like gloating; I'm embarrassed by hugely obnoxious gestures of my country-mates; and big wins feel <i>loud, </i>a trait I am endeavoring to teach my family not to be.<br />
But then I awoke to lots of criticism of the US women, as if they had done something wrong by playing really well and being proud of it.<br />
Someone asked if the same criticism would have been leveled at the US Men's National Team, which I found laughable, because the US men just aren't that good. But it did make me wonder how much of this does have to do with sexist perceptions. So I'm comparing this to the Dream Team at the Olympics.<br />
I'll point out a few things here:<br />
There are only 3 subs in an international soccer match. There is no putting in a second team or resting the starters.<br />
The first US Dream Team in 1992 had a 350 point differential over 8 games. That means they were averaging more than 40 points more than their opponents per game. I seem to recall comments about how lucky their opponents were to play with the best, and how insulting it would have been for the Dream Team to quit shooting at an international competition.<br />
Thailand may have been out of their league last night, but they are a team who had to win a spot to be here at the World Cup. In the Asian qualifying tournament, they won a match 6-1 and beat out teams who defeated other teams 10-1. It is too bad that women's soccer is so poorly supported elsewhere, but winning big is not a US thing, or something to be ashamed of.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-39675610356380109632019-06-09T05:00:00.000-05:002019-06-09T05:00:09.433-05:00Boats Before BallsPerhaps because we live on the edge of the high plains, boats fascinate us. So far on this adventure we have ridden a small tour boat on the Firth of Forth (under the bridges and to Inchholm), a little passenger ferry from Britain to Lismore and back, a motor boat to Threave Castle on an island in the River Dee, a car ferry across the Rhine in Germany and a wonderful current-powered passenger ferry across the Rhine in Switzerland*.<br />
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Today the "ball" part of our adventure begins (Go Jamaica!), but the boats have sure been fun.<br />
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*Two boat rides included strangers from the internet and we all survived; in fact meeting them was delightful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Car ferry in Germany</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, we also rode a boat through the<br />world's first water balanced<br /> circular boat lift.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Threave Castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isle of Lismore</td></tr>
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Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-61320567437930498362019-05-24T20:03:00.000-05:002019-05-24T20:03:57.707-05:00Testing TravelTornadoes, floods, and life stressors are all around, but two good friends and I managed to have a ball and count some plants in the last two days. (Okay, I had an image to accompany that thought, but since this is mostly a test, I'll leave these two.)<br />
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Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-20503660341951770692019-05-20T23:33:00.002-05:002019-05-20T23:33:54.890-05:00It's all fun and games until the Under10 tournamentAster and Dianthus ended their rec league soccer seasons with a big tournament a few weeks ago.<br /><br />Two otherwise really fun soccer seasons ended with parents loudly questioning Aster's volunteer coach's* decision to focus on letting kids score goals rather than defend, accusations of cheating by different coaches in group texts, and players supposedly trash talking another coach because she's female. After a 5-1 loss in a gritty wind in the finals, Dianthus 's last act was hearing his coach complaining about an unfair call.<br />
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Ugh. <br />
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Fun games are no longer fun and games when it gets like that.<br />
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*That would be the Mister.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-16757232348396828202019-05-07T10:38:00.000-05:002019-05-07T10:38:02.186-05:00The Kites are Coming!Actually, as I write (May 7, 2019 10:15 a.m.) , the Mississippi Kites are returning to Weatherford, Oklahoma. There were 8 circling high as I was walking home from the dentist-- not sure if they are staying or traveling on north.<br />
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This is the latest they have arrived in the 9 years I have been watching. I saw one while hiking in the Wichita Mountains (south of here) on Saturday, and may have seen one, alone, yesterday morning, but the flock is soaring in now.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-29119567277979654512019-05-01T22:34:00.003-05:002019-05-01T22:34:32.807-05:00May OneThe first of May is somewhat of a big deal to me.<br />
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Growing up, on the first of May I dropped paper baskets full of dandelions on our doorstep, and every so often as an adult send May baskets to friends. One year I made a May pole in my basement. I consider it the start of my favorite month of flowers and celebrations. <br /><br />The first of May marks the beginning of Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month and I often alert folks to the Childrens' Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (<a href="http://chasa.org/">chasa.org</a>) and the fact that kids have strokes, too.<br /><br />The first of May often coincides with the beginning of the end of the college school year (I'm giving a final tomorrow and one Friday, and graduation is Saturday!) and has become the time I catch up on phenology: I can usually report when the Mississippi Kites arrived (not yet!) and can compare flower seasonality because I post an image of big bouquet each year.<br /><br />Things have felt odd this week. It has been a gray and drizzly-- exceptionally spring-like and completely out of place for Western Oklahoma. Monday I gave a final to one of the best group of students I have every had, with tears and thank-yous and graduation announcements exchanged at the end. Meanwhile I'll be pleasantly surprised if all of the students make it to Friday's final in a similar-sized class. My institution's fabulous Dean of Students, the woman who assured every student, parent of student, and faculty member, that she would help with their problems, and that she had chocolate in her office if she couldn't herself be of help, died. I learned of her death yesterday through an awkward e-mail. Later in the day I learned that the provost's father and Dianthus's PE teacher's husband died and that there are lots of roles needing filled during end-of-year stuff at our schools.<br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttw3YeE5I7JDmTI8IChE0XlYr1_PBgD0smo48FB5hEpTfMF_oYry7tcxzinaTmqWhyphenhyphen5QQO8EwxmWftSRuxiLTRQ0UbYa22AM_6uu4-q41S7fiEcccIV6_ACwTs727NMW2PAZezNsGNms/s1600/may+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttw3YeE5I7JDmTI8IChE0XlYr1_PBgD0smo48FB5hEpTfMF_oYry7tcxzinaTmqWhyphenhyphen5QQO8EwxmWftSRuxiLTRQ0UbYa22AM_6uu4-q41S7fiEcccIV6_ACwTs727NMW2PAZezNsGNms/s400/may+flowers.jpg" width="300" /></a>Given my renewed proclamation of my witchy nature and pagan tendencies (a quick "May Day" <a href="https://sparklingsquirrel.blogspot.com/search?q=may+day">search of this blog </a>will demonstrate that my love of May Day long precedes witch year), today I felt I <i>needed</i> a May basket, but I was thinking of death as I glumly walked through the wet grass looking for flowers. I picked the iris and bachelor buttons along the alley and peaking out of a kids' digging area overgrown with honeysuckle and vinca were giant fluffy peonies. They are along a warm south facing wall in an area that isn't seen, so I didn't feel at all bad about picking them.<br /><br />I found a real basket from a dear friend. I gave myself a self-inflicted challenge of arranging them in the basket rather than in a vase. I lit the sun and moon candle from Carrie-Ann, my moonbeam (I was her sunshine) who died in September and suddenly we were all there: friends near and far, mother and grandmothers, witches, flowers; light, gray, dark, life, and death, sun and moon. Spring Re-birth.<br />And because I'm a product of my time, I snapped a photo, blew out the candle, posted the picture on social media and rushed my sons to their evening activity. <br /><br />So May One feels a little more this year. It reads like the start of some blessing for which I haven't had time to prepare an end:<br />May one look out for the birds that are bound to come through.<br />May one recognize that pink fluffiness is transient, but that doesn't make it any less real.<br />May one light the candles of friendship.<br />May one remember that death calls us all.<br />May one recall that just as winter comes, so does spring.<br />May one always have a colleague with chocolate in her office and may one be the bearer of chocolate when needed.<br /><br />May one have a great May.Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-39586861574898557612019-04-01T21:07:00.001-05:002019-04-01T21:07:13.139-05:00Leeks, Leks, and the First of AprilIf you arrived here because of a letter sent on, or about, the first of April, you should not feel foolish because:<br /><br /><div>
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<li>Ball Year is a real thing and I want your ideas for the timing of the dancing ball (it doesn't work unless friends are involved) and what else I should do during ball year (see many of the posts below).</li>
<li>My school's women's basketball team did play for the NCAA Div. II National Championship Friday night, forcing the game to a second over-time and eventually losing.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/park-garden-marmot-paradise-montreux-vevey.html">Marmot's Paradise</a> exists with marmots from all over the world and we are going </li>
<li>There is great documentary footage of prairie chickens lekking (filmed near where my in-laws live for<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4rpgHhuWbs"> Discovery Channel's North America</a>)</li>
<li>The BBC did produce a great segment on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dfWzp7rYR4">flying penguins</a>.</li>
<li>I still find leeks in the toilet funny, 24 years (24 years? impossible!) after a friend and I first put one there.</li>
<li>June 31 less than 90 days away!</li>
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If you didn't get a letter this year, and want to be on the distribution list, send me your e-mail and I will make it happen.<br /><br />Happy April!</div>
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Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4992629493643960858.post-22766255942022343002019-03-21T10:02:00.001-05:002019-03-21T10:02:24.841-05:00Big Balls in the SkyMoonrise yesterday was stunning. Just after sunset, in the purple glowing twilight, a giant ball appeared caught in my neighbor's tree. The Mister, not normally as excited by the moon as I am, returned from choir practice to tell me to go outside and look at it.<br /><br />It felt distinctly springy standing there watching the colors of the sky change. Our yard is riddled with croci and little iris reticulata, the daffodils on the north and east sides are blooming (those against the south wall bloomed and faded long ago), the buds on the peach and lilacs are swelling, and the air smelled faintly sweet as the golden currant started to open. Another neighbor's Bradford pear is mostly open and an apricot and a cherry (I think) a block away are blooming in a backyard.<br />
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Watching the moon, which felt obviously full, rise, I wondered how it could actually be waning. For I knew that yesterday was the spring equinox (at 4:58 p.m. local time) and I knew that Easter comes the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox (a piece of information I have always enjoyed because it combines solar time [the equinox], lunar time [a full moon], and human calendars [day of the week] in what I now recognize as a pleasant combination of my scientific, pagan, and Christian sensibilities). So if yesterday was the equinox and Easter is not for another full month, then the moon must have been past full (otherwise Easter would be this Sunday).<br /><br />This morning I looked this up to confirm, and the full moon was at 8:42 p.m. local time just after I was admiring it, almost four hours after the astronomical equinox. I wondered if the disparity was something to do with the full moon being visible in Jerusalem or Rome or somewhere, or the day of the equinox rather than the moment of it. It turns out that by the Georgian calendar, Easter is set as the first Sunday after the full moon after March 21 (representing the equinox) rather than the actual equinox. Fascinating. (To me, anyway, literally).<br /><br />Big balls in the sky keep surprising me.<br /><br />Sparkling Squirrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10899640164757220074noreply@blogger.com1