High Tea

At the St. James Tearoom...

 

The Schlepp Boys

 

Sunny Sunday

Happy Hour at a local winery with Deb.  
 

Oli!

 Had a visit from Erin, Archie, and Oli.

Koulourakia

Holiday baking begins the day after Thanksgiving.  It used to be a day of Swedish meatball construction in anticipation of Gert's birthday.  Now I think it'll be a Greek pastry day... Koulourakia, Finikia, and perhaps Christopstomo.  We'll see how ambitious I get.  

I Am Thankful

It's been a tough year, but not as tough as the four years previous.  Politically, we've stood down on the NW Abq Political Action Group.  I do post to the FB page now and then.  However, the gerrymandering mainly from the right makes me wonder about how 10 years of being a majority minority will go.  That makes the urgency for passing voter rights and BBB all the more important.  Now if Sinema and Manchen will get their asses in gear and vote for their party's survival, I'll be happy.  

Climatologically, we're a long way from Okay.  The Glasgow conference did little to boost morale on an international level.  Similarly, some national moves left me unimpressed, even though I realize that we can't drive off the petroleum cliff all at once.  Same goes for MLG's actions in NM that are pro-fossil fuel.  Also, the Avangrid-PNM merger weighs heavily.  I've written my PRC commissioner twice.  We'll just have to see what comes of their decision (despite the Hearing Manager's scathing report).  

Virologically, we're also a long way from Okay.  Caro and I are boosted and several week's past.  That gives us some level of comfort that our protection is as high as it can be.  None-the-less, Covid numbers remain very high in the state.  We continue to exercise caution, but the days of outdoor dining for public health are about to be ended due to the winter weather.  

Socially, we've resumed Boys' Night of gaming to good success.  D&D continues with occasional gaps, but we still keep whacking our way up the Sword Coast against the Cultists of Tiamat.  While D&D is run on Roll20 and Discord, Zoom et al. is still being used for remote family, bonsai club, HOA, and Sandia meetings.  We've seen Nirankar and Ty several times this past season for lunch.  She is expecting in April, but it's doubtful that Kathleen's casita will be finished in time.  Supply chain issues with, of all things, the windows, have added a lengthy delay to construction.  The Vermont side of the family is doing well despite being a bit widespread:  Anja is in California, David is in KC, and Peter in Boston.  

Botanically speaking, things have gone well.  Plant presses have been humming, both at home and at the Botanic Garden.  I've met my volunteer hours many times over and enjoyed catching up with the people there.  Plant labeling goes on apace.  The engraver is running, although the template in Jon Stewart's files is a little wonky.  IrisBG is getting installed and should be operational in early December.  I look forward to that.  

Horticulturally, the home garden's bed and pots have been put into fine fettle for winter thanks to the prolonged warm autumn. Indoors, we've got the sunroom under control with a new Bougainvillea and a fragrant Meyer's lemon.  The bonsai are settling in to the cooler weather and the turtles have finally gone underground.  

With regard to kitty health, Henry Cat continues to maintain his weight.  I've gotten very good at dispensing his meds.  Thank goodness for chicken-flavored oral prescriptions.  We still miss Paddy terribly.  I try to keep a green bean near his ashes in case his spirit feels playful.  Le Sommelier Stella visits almost every morning and night.  The series of photos of her around wine glasses has a legion of followers.  

On the home front, the house is doing well with a minimum of maintenance.  I certainly can't think of anyone besides Caro that I'd want to spend under lockdown.  Our life of comfort and ease is due to her hard work, intelligence, and design sensibilities.  Perhaps Kathy and Blake will succeed in getting their new place built over on Campbell, but the hurdles are many.  Similarly, Athena hopes to escape NC, but the barriers are significant.  

Me?  I'll continue to bake crumpets, baguettes, and pizzelles, skills that I mastered during the pandemic.  As for Thanksgiving, we're having takeout turkey dinners from Flying Star.  

Mystery Grasses at the HDRG

Unknown, maybe Switchgrass

Schizachyrium scoparium

 

3rd Saturday Workshop

Here's a couple screen grabs from Saturday's online workshop... 

 

Plant ID

 What I initially thought was a Verbena turns out to be Valeriana officinalis.  Herbarium work continues... 

A Restful Sunday

Yaz! 

 On Friday I was up at West Bluff Park claiming a particular Ingress portal.  At the overlook, there were hundreds of padlocks, much like the famous bridge in Paris.  Nice view of the Rio and its bosque, although the golden color is largely gone. 

Katia's Birthday Celebration

It's a couple days late due to her work schedule, but tonight we have a sushi extravaganza to celebrate her birthday.  Photos later.

Meanwhile, today also included a 3rd Saturday Bonsai Workshop via Zoom.  Not many participants, but enthusiastic.

Looks like the juniper project will be quite interesting.

 

Herbarium Friday

I'll be showing Sheila and Melanie my herbarium book and the microwave plant press.  This week Caro and I have pressed and dried a lot of late season material for use on birthday present wrappings. 

No photos of this morning's partial lunar eclipse.  Quite lovely through binoculars, I was lucky that Henry Cat woke me up near totality.

River o' Lights

The volunteers got a preview of the River of Lights tonight.  Due to the pandemic, during the actual RoL season, there will be pre-ticketing and timed entry.  While the result will be fewer crowds and a better experience, they didn't want the volunteers taking a chunk out of the fewer available slots.  So they gave us our own preview night before opening the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  

The RoL did not disappoint.  Small numbers of people allowed easy viewing.  The full moon was bright and the temperatures in the 40's.  Best of all, no wind.  

The Autumnal Yard

With Baldo's help we were able to pretty much finish off all the fall yard work.  We've replaced the 4 big ornamental grasses in front of the south windows.  They were terribly root-bound and now have some breathing room in larger pots.   For now, they've been replaced with Muhlenbergia capillaris and Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'.  The new grasses look very nice.

Here's a "before" photo of the old Timothy, which didn't bloom this year do to its root-bound condition. 

Strategic Plan

Late today I was at the Zoo library with a few others from the Board to hear a summary of the strategic plan so far. 

Nice day to check out the landscaping in front of the Penguin Chill. 

Moon Day

We've got a busy week with herbarium work, yard work, plant labels, BioPark Board meeting, River of Lights, and a lunar eclipse.  

Sunny Day

We continue to have above-normal temperatures for November.  Many plants are still blooming and only a few have dropped their leaves.  Wednesday's wind brought down a lot of the Chinese pistache leaves and cleared out most of the Ginkgo leaves. 

Friday the 13th on a Saturday

By tomorrow at this time, I'll presumably be recovering from Boys' Game Night.  Ric is bringing pizza, I've got beer and wine (and maybe dessert).  Kent is bringing who-knows-what, but I hope it's not Covid.  

 

COP26 Draft Decision

https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Overarching_decision_1-CP-26.pdf

We'll see how this goes.  Consensus methods often water down any resulting document, but without China and Russia, it's possible that something positive will come out of this.  

Meanwhile, here's a link to a thoughtful piece about the Green movement and the color green... https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20211108-cop26-the-ancient-origins-of-the-colour-green.  

On the Value of Herbaria

https://www.sdnhm.org/blog/blog_details/collections-hold-clues-to-pollutants-pathogens-and-pandemics/181/ 

600 Days

Yesterday was the 600th day since our governor issued her initial stay-at-home order during the pandemic.  

Back in the Herbarium

Another morning in the herbarium...

 

Nature's Notebook

Hope to have some docent trainees join us today...

 

Standard Time

Awake at 1:30 a.m., it occurs to me that 1:30 a.m. occurs twice today as DST goes away at 2:00.

I guess back in spring, 2:30 a m. never happened when we didn't forward into DST.

Saturday Bike Ride

 Ditches, bike paths, acequias, fall color... and the cranes are back.

Fry Day

Continued fall beauty in the bosque... 

 

Quote of the day

“I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house was on fire — because it is.”

— Greta Thunberg, climate activist, at the World Economic Forum, Jan. 25, 2019

Woden's Day Ruminations

Thoughts for a Wednesday...

Agroecology

Can we redesign the food system to feed the world without destroying the world?  Agroecology vs industrial agriculture.  Please see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/agroecology-is-the-solution-to-world-hunger/ 

First Dog on the Moon Goes to COP26

 Gettin' closer to COP26.  Must find my popcorn...