Bumblebees play an important role in our gardens by pollinating flowers. Without them, we would be without juicy tomatoes and luscious sweet corn. We would live in a world without cucumbers and squash, chilis and eggplant. Considering their all-important role, I think bumblebees deserve a loftier name, such as Emperor or Empress Bee. Why not!!…
I walk in diverse terrains: rocky paths through the desert, long switchbacks up a mountainside, unmarked trails along rivers. A favorite adventure is in Great Sand Dunes National Park, in Southern Colorado, where I walk for miles in an ankle-deep seasonal stream that flows alongside the dune. Right now, in Ohio, I take historic…
I escorted Mom to her primary care doctor on Friday. We shared with her some of the issues at the nursing/rehab center. Doc: Take them both with you. Me: Sputter, sputter. I am flabbergasted since she knows nothing about my traveling lifestyle, only that I live out-of-town. Me: I live in an RV and travel…
I cringe when I read American History and find a passage where native people are called “savages.” The term comes loaded with judgment and derision. Lowly savages! A decade ago, after reading several books that portray the atrocities Columbus and his men committed on the Caribbean Islands and elsewhere, I realized that the real savages in…
“Mr. Bojangles” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you In worn out shoes With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants The old soft shoe He jumped so high, jumped so high Then he lightly touched downI met him in a cell in New Orleans I was…
Around 2 AM this morning I finished “Alexander Hamilton”, an epic book that exceeds 700 pages and the source of the wildly popular play “Hamilton”. Normally I would lose interest halfway through a lengthy book, but the biography delves so deeply into Hamilton’s life and the early days of our nation that I could not…
Ongoing caretaker news! My stepdad Marvin is home from the rehab center. I can see the happiness in his soul. Still, coming home for Marvin is not what it was in his younger days, like coming home from vacation and experiencing the joy of sleeping again in your own bed. The surroundings are the same…
note: Tango is my dog and the following is his perspective I won’t complain about being left alone while J visits the nursing home because she already feels guilty enough. Besides, we walk several times each day, and she plans special outings every week. She is trying to care for me too, and…
Time to visit Mom and Marvin in the nursing/rehab center. I go late in the afternoon because, if I arrive earlier, they would likely be in a rehab session or napping. Once there, we chat about the day’s dramas and dilemmas. All of us share news of assorted aches and pains; theirs are more severe, mine…
Many animals went extinct in the 20th century, including the following. For a complete list click here. Passenger Pigeon Arizona jaguar Bali tiger Barbary lion Caribbean monk seal Caspian tiger Culebra Island parrot Falkland Island fox Ivory-billed woodpecker Japanese wolf Laughing owl Desert rat kangaroo Narborough Island tortoise Madagascan serpent eagle Seychelles swallowtail butterfly…