Mid-term Phenology

NC, TX and AR held primaries today.  The starting pistol for the mid-term elections has fired.  In TX key Democratic counties experienced voting chaos as the GOP changed the rules at the last minute and probably disenfranchised hundreds, possibly thousands.  Still, turnout was high and the strongest Dem candidate is advancing to the general election.  

On the GOP side, a hugely flawed Paxton still managed to make it to a runoff against the incumbent.  What's wrong with people over there?  For a state that claims to be Christian conservative, they sure ignore the 10 Commandments.  

Oh well...

In the Botanic Garden this week, snow drops have given way to daffodils, Nanking cherries are breaking bud, creeping Phlox is blooming, and the Siberian Magnolia is in glorious display. 

Sandhill Cranes are heading north.  Pollen count through the roof.  War continues in Iran and throughout the Middle East.  FB friends who are in the region report having to shelter frequently.  One evacuated Abu Dhabi and drove to Muscat.  No idea how he'll get back to England, although reports are that the UK gov't is sending passenger planes for its citizens.  As for U.S. travelers in the area, they seem to be out of luck.  

Quote du jour is from First Dog On the Moon:  "If only there was a way to free people from oppression that didn't require killing them."

The Extinction of Taxonomists

I read a fascinating article in The Guardian today about how taxonomists are dying off and not being replaced.  The result is the extinction of entire realms of expertise about biodiversity, ecology, and our endangered ecosystems.  

In unrelated matters, there was a total lunar eclipse early this morning (~4:30).  As the son of an astronomer, I was up to view it.  

A Day to Remember

Not unexpectedly, my nephew's wife had their second child today.  Welcome to the world, Eloise Mae Horak.  Mother and child are doing well after a surprisingly fast labor... once things actually got past all the false labor episodes.  Meanwhile, big sister Victoria Molly is taking all this well.  

Highland Coos for the photo tax

Meanwhile, to make the day even more memorable, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran today and, of course, Iran responded.  There's word that the Straits of Hormuz are closed.  Already the Democrats in Congress are demanding a War Powers vote.  Hide and watch.

Winter? What winter?

We're fast on track to be the warmest winter on record.  

Our snowpack is toast.  Expect a dry Rio for weeks later this summer.  Wildfire warnings are almost daily out on the eastern plains.  I'd better get my bug-out bag ready.  

Hoping to get a list of Lebanese plants for labels tomorrow (Wed.).  If we can get them printed by April, the new Lebanon and Beyond will be able to be properly labeled.  At least last fall I was able to get metal tags on many of the potted plants before they were moved into the Orangerie for the winter.  

In other news, I dusted off the bike and faced the spring breezes for a short ride up the ditch banks today.  The pollen really hammered me afterwards.  

And finally, I managed to avoid the State of the Union propaganda and lies tonight.  Instead, we watched The Curse of Oak Island, a Toozday evening favorite fantasy.  

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Isn't it supposed to be March that roars in like a lion?  Today's forecast is for high winds, 40+ mph.  Already (10:00 a.m.) it's blowing outside.  With our on-going drought, low relative humidity, and unseasonably warm temperatures, much of NM is under a wildfire alert.  Out on the eastern plains, things are even worse.  

Sometime soon I'll have to get our small luggage out of storage so we can prep our bug-out bags.  When fires start in the spring with high winds behind them, there can be little time to evacuate and important items can be forgotten.  At least we don't have cats to worry about and I hope the turtles are far enough underground to be safe.  

Sunday's Gumbo Project

This afternoon I've got a City Nature Challenge Zoom conference call.  We'll see what nefarious plans the organizers have lain.  

Valentine's Day Musings

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! 

After a series of (abnormally) warm and sunny days, we caught 0.19" of rain late yesterday and awaken to a cool (47°F), cloudy, and blustery morning.  Online weather shows 3-4 mph breezes with gusts to 10, but it seems that it's much windier than the anemometers on rooftops are showing.  

All in all, a good day to stay indoors.  The plan:  laundry and cooking crepes.  At some point I'll dash over to the UPS to drop off an Amazon return and then swing by the dry cleaners to pick up some items.  Almost certainly there will be some Ingress along the way.  

Despite last night's showers, there's still plenty of pollen in the air, at least so my itchy eyes tell me.  The last numbers I saw for juniper were 1100 on Wednesday, 1800 on Thursday, and 800 Friday morning.  I'm taking the full complement of allergy meds these days.  

In other news, the Grey Lady published an article today that revealed how DHS is subpoenaing social media providers (Google, Meta, etc.) for information on hundreds if not thousands of user accounts.  These accounts are those that allegedly are critical of DHS, provide ICE tracking and alert services, or are otherwise considered a threat to DHS.  They are administrative subpoenas, not backed up by judicial orders.  

Already there has been successful push-back, but the threat to our 1st Amendment rights is real.  One wonders what web-scraping tools this administration is using to assess their targets?  

In yet more distressing news, this time environmental, TCF revoked the Clean Air Act Endangerment Finding.  Apparently, the lawsuits are already flying.  First thoughts on this run towards awful-horrible, but upon reflection, companies like auto manufacturers are not going to stop building cars that are fuel-efficient or not put catalytic converters on them, because the next administration will immediately reverse this ill-advised policy.  

I for one am hoping my 10-year old Prius lasts 3 more until the automotive landscape tilts back to EVs and a robust network of charging stations.  Then I can buy a decent all-electric plug-in for what will likely be my last car.  

Nature's Notebook Visits the Botanic Garden

Yesterday Theresa Crimmins, Director of USA-NPN, visited the BioPark.  In the morning she spoke to a group of about 60 guests from the Think Trees urgan forestry conference about what phenology can tell us.  In particular, she emphasized how 12+ years of data from BioPark Nature's Notebook "tribe" has become a valuable resource.  

Not only were all six of us there from the team, Matt Peterson, the Northside Assistant Director, was in attendance, too.  This was a particularly good occasion for us to show the value of citizen science at the Botanic Garden.  

Afterwards, we took Theresa, her son Zack, and a gaggle of others out to the CWG.  We walked our observation loop and stopped to discuss most plants.  Matt got an earful about the damage done by vehicles and tree thieves.  But the day was warm (too warm for February) and sun kind.  All in all, it was a very pleasant time outdoors.

That's not to say that yesterday's astronomical pollen count didn't catch up with me after my Claritin wore off.  Today the forecast is for evening rain.  Let's hope it knocks back the pollen count and maybe even give us a good bit of snow in the mountains.  Our snowpack is awful this winter and wildfire season will not be fun.