Monthly Archives: February 2018

A Few Science-Related Book

A Few Science-Related Book

A Few Science-Related Book

I took some pictures in the basement today. Not surprisingly, where there are lots of things to photograph, few of them are really all that interesting. Recently I’ve gotten a few new (used, thanks, Iris) bookcases and I’ve been able to get books that have been doubled up on shelves or that have been stacked on their sides into those shelves. They are not, for the most part, in any order. There are seven shelves of science fiction, which are alphabetized by author. Most of my Kipling collection (18 books) is on one shelf (there are a few large books that are on another shelf). I’ve started the process of bringing the technical reference books together. Here we have, from left to right:

  • My dad’s copy of Elenents of the Differential and Integral Calculus (Revised Edition) by Granville, Smith, and Longley
  • My grandfather’s copy of Handbook of Mathematical Tables and Formulas, by Burington
  • Two editions (the 9th and 31st) of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
  • Another Handbook of Chemistry (Eighth Edition), by Lange
  • The Merck Manual, (Fourteenth Edition)
  • Ribonucleases: Structures and Functions, Edited by D’ Alessio and Riordan. Dad wrote chapter two of this book, titled “Barnase and Barstar”
  • Methods in Enzymology, Volume 341, Ribonucleases, Part A, edited by Nicholson. Dad wrote chapter 38 in this book, on Barnase—Barstar Interaction
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Tree Tops

Tree Tops

Tree Tops

It’s been wintry again, which is alright by me, especially seeing as how it’s winter. Our winters are relatively mild compared to some but colder than others, which is sort of what living in a temperate climate is all about, I guess. I pretty much stayed in my office today, with a brief walk across campus and back for a meeting. Other than that I was focused on the task at hand. I took a short break in the early afternoon to take a few pictures but didn’t leave my office to do it. This is the top of a fairly large elm tree on the side of our parking lot. There are two of them that have managed to hold out against Dutch Elm Disease and this is the smaller of the two. They’re likely to go at some point but I’ll enjoy them until that day comes.

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Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

I was up before sunrise this morning and wasn’t really looking outside until after Cathy got up. When she came down and went into the kitchen, she called me (quietly) and said there was a fox on our back patio. She had put some old sunflower seeds out on the ground, thinking they would be eaten by squirrels and birds, but the fox was happily eating them. After a while it moved away to the back of the yard and then curled up in the grass for a while. Unfortunately it did that in a spot mostly hidden by a tree. I didn’t want to go outside, as that would surely have scared it off. Eventually it got up and walked around a little before taking off for parts unknown. I suppose if we had a small dog I’d be more worried about seeing the fox, but as it is, it made us glad.

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Echeveria Flowers

Echeveria Flowers

Echeveria Flowers

It snowed lightly this morning but by the time we were home from church it had all turned to rain. It was a fairly heavy rain and a fairly gloomy, cool day. Cathy and I decided we’d like to see a little green so we went to Behnke in Beltsville to spend a little time in their greenhouse looking at house plants. There were a few things we were interested in but didn’t actually buy anything this time. These little yellow flowers are on what I think is an Echeveria, although I didn’t actually check and often they are labeled simply “succulent”. It was a nice outing and a nice way to spend a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon.

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Rockville Cemetery

Rockville Cemetery

Rockville Cemetery

I stopped briefly at Rockville Cemetery on the way home. It isn’t on my normal route home but it isn’t all that far out of my way, either. I had to run to the bank after work, so that put it more or less convenient. The sun was setting through the trees to the west and I got a few pictures of the grave stones lit by the nearly horizontal rays. Then I turned at the upper part of the cemetery and took this one looking into the sun. Actually, it’s an HDR photo, make from three images and then mostly desaturated to produce the nearly monochrome image.

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Little Bird Statues

Little Bird Statues

Little Bird Statues

Cathy has a roll-top desk that we got from some friends who where ready to get rid of it. Along the top of the roll-top, which is never closed, there is a little ledge where the top doesn’t go all the way into the carcass. She has a few little things sitting on that ledge including a line of dice of various sizes and side-counts. In the middle is this line of little bird statues. I don’t rightly know where she got them (I suppose I could have asked) but there they are. They are quite colorful—as you can see—and they stand about an inch tall. This green on is one of my favorites, along with the dark blue peacock colored bird in the center of the photo.

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Schefflera Leaves

Schefflera Leaves

Schefflera Leaves

This is one of our more successful houseplants and it’s one I can recommend to people who don’t have particularly green fingers. It’s not very needy and it’s happy in a wide range of conditions. It does best with a very bright, south or west facing window but it can survive with less. This is one of the houseplants that we put outside during the summer, making sure it isn’t in full sun during the hottest part of the day, which can be a bit too much for it. This one is in a pot with a small, purple leaved rubber plant (Ficus elastica).

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White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

I had a dentist appointment this morning and that meant that I got to work a little later than normal. It was cool out but sunny and bright. As I Parked the car at work I saw a red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) fly past and land on a tree across the parking lot. I got my camera out and walked towards it. I got one picture from a fairly large distance but for the most part it kept to the far side of the tree it was on and eventually it flew away. I spotted this white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) and managed to get quite a bit closer. It’s a cheerful little bird, and quite pretty with its yellow patch (and of course its white throat).

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Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

After taking the picture of the sparrow (see previous post) I headed back toward my van to get the rest of my things and go into the office. As I walked along the edge of the woods, it occurred to me that the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) would be coming up soon, if they have not started already. I looked and sure enough, they are well on their way to blooming. It isn’t spring yet, but it’s coming and I know there are a lot of folks who are ready for warmer weather. I love the early spring ephemerals and this is one of the earliest.

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Julia

Julia

Julia

This young woman, Julia by name, is a dear friend and all around wonderful gal. She came over yesterday and today to help us around the house. I didn’t get to see her yesterday or most of today (work, work, work) but she was here when I got home and she let us take her to dinner. Then and for a little while afterwards we got to chat and catch up on things. And she let me take a few pictures of her, so that’s what I’m posting for today. Thanks, Jules.

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Kai

Kai

Kai

We had a family dinner night at mom’s and, as usual, Kai was the star of the show. Seeing him every few weeks (or less often) means that he’s always changed significantly since the last time. That’s getting to be less and less true, of course, but it’s still clear. He was slow to warm up to the crowd this evening but eventually he did. he enjoyed the steamed dumplings from Mama Wok’s in Rockville and also the orange wedges that his great grandma brought out. He wasn’t terribly clever about sticking to the juicy bits and wasn’t happy when he bit into the peel instead. That’s how you learn, though.

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Rainy, Foggy Morning

Rainy, Foggy Morning

Rainy, Foggy Morning

It started raining yesterday morning and it’s been raining fairly steadily since. The forecast has that continuing another 24 hours or so before it clears up. It is, however, unseasonably warm. It was cool this morning but later in the day, even with the rain, it was up around 60°F (16°C). The cool morning, however, meant some beautiful fog. I love a foggy morning (or day, night, or evening, for that matter). I especially love being in the woods when it’s foggy. This morning, as usual for a Sunday, I was at church setting up and running the sound system. Nevertheless, I took a short break while the musicians were practicing to walk around outside and take a few pictures.

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Marmite

Marmite (500g and 125g)

Marmite (500g and 125g)

“Are you born a lover or a hater?” That’s the question the folks at https://www.marmite.co.uk/ (a.k.a. Unilever) are asking. It does seem true that people either love or hate Marmite. I’m a lover but I hate the fact that it’s hard to find around here. Some Giant stores carry it, as well as World Market and Rodmans, but generally you can only get it in the titchy 125 gram jars (on the right in the attached photo), which is maddening. Online shopping has been a thing for a while now and this is an item that’s worth the wait. I just bought two, 500g jars (on the left in the photo). That’s 2.2 pounds of the wonderful, aromatic, slightly salty, ambrosia. But is someone really going to spend £89.99 (roughly $125) for a DNA test kit to find out if they are predisposed to love or hate Marmite? Not when you can buy a little jar and simply try it. And when you discover you’re a lover, then you’ll happily order it by the kilo (for less than $30 in the USA and including shipping).

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Grass

Grass

Grass

I took a few more pictures of snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) early this afternoon. They are nearly ready to open, probably in the next day or two if the weather remains to balmy. Nevertheless, I just posted a picture of snow drops and I try not to repeat too often or too quickly (except for baby pictures, those are always allowed). I’ll be back to them shortly, when they have well and truly begun to bloom. In the meantime, I went up into the upland portion of the 12 acre lot next to my office. This is filled to a large extent with ragweed and mugwort, as well as goldenrod, grass, and a few small trees. It was quite wet because of the 48 hours or so of rain that we recently got. The soles of my shoes are cracked and water seeped in, soaking my socks. But it was nice to be outdoors on such a beautiful day.

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Heart Shaped Burger

 Heart Shaped Burger

Heart Shaped Burger

It’s Valentine’s Day today and you know what that means. Well, for us, it’s not something we spend a lot of effort on, in general. I bought us some new ice packs to celebrate and to sooth our aching selves. How’s that for romance? I made three heart shaped burgers for dinner this evening, along with fries and a chopped salad (which was put on the plate after this photo was taken. Margaret put cherry tomato halves on her burger and I added them to my salad. But this picture shows the heart shaped burger better then those taken after they were more fully condimentised (as it were). They turned out rather well, I thought.

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Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

Cedar Waxwing (<em>Bombycilla cedrorum</em>)

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

It rained overnight but was mostly clear today and quite warm for mid-February. After a meeting that ran from 11:30 to just before noon, I walked a bit in the woods and upland area next to my office. First, I walked down into the woods above the drainage pond where a fair sized flock of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) were bouncing around in the underbrush. If I had a tripod and a longer lens I think I could get some pretty good photos in that area. As it is, this is good enough for identification purposes but it isn’t going to win any awards. Still, it was nice to be out with the birds in 60°F weather in the middle of winter.

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Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Souvenir from Republic, Michigan

Cathy’s great grandfather (Grant) was born in eastern Pennsylvania during the Civil War. He grew up in the coal mining regions of Pennsylvania before moving to Republic, Michigan late in the 19th century. He and his wife and children lived there and he was employed in the iron mines. Shortly before the turn of the century, Grant left Michigan for Alaska, where he worked at the Alaska Mexican Mine in Treadwell. This was his third mining phase, having mined coal in Pennsylvania, iron in Michigan, and now gold in Alaska. This small pitcher is a souvenir from Republic, Michigan and was given to Cathy by her aunt.

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Snow Squall

Snow Squall

Snow Squall

The forecast was for snow today. It’s been in the upper 40s and even the low 50s lately, so I wasn’t really expecting it to amount to much. In the morning it was overcast but no precipitation. Cooler but still just above freezing. At about 2:00 PM it started snowing and by 3:00, when this picture was taken, it was coming down fairly hard. We probably got about 2 inches in all, but it was pretty wet and not what I’d call winter wonderland type snow. Still, the falling snow was pretty against the bare trees and the copper colored Japanese maple leaves in our neighbor’s yard.

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Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

The evening sky showed a lot of promise of a spectacular sunset. Starting at a little before 5:15 PM I waited and watched. Every now and then I’d take a picture of the clouds and the beautiful blue sky, anticipating how it would look when the clouds turned a bright orange as the sun dipped behind the horizon. This photo was taken about two minutes before official sunset but sunset colors are just after. This evening, however, most of the clouds were gone shortly after this photo was taken. What clouds were left went from white to pale gray without any color in between. It took about 3 seconds for the light to go out.

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Weights

Weights

Weights

I have an old balance that I’ve used through the years for two different things. Back in the days of film, I used to measure out chemicals for the darkroom on it. I also used it for measuring ingredients for ceramic glazes in my pottery days (or daze). I haven’t used it in a while but you never know. Along with the balance, I have a set of weights in various sizes. These range from 500 grams for the largest down to 2 grams for the little one in front. There are a few weights missing from the set, including the smallest (1 gram) weight. Because the balance has a built in rail, however, I can pretty much fill the gaps, weighing anything up to about 850 grams with a pretty high degree of accuracy.

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Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Just under two weeks ago (see Thursday, February 08, 2018) I posted a picture of the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) coming up at the edge of the woods around my office building. Now they are pretty much up, even if there haven’t quite reached their peak. When I got to work this morning I figured I’d spend a few minutes with them before heading inside. This time, when I got down on the ground to take the pictures, I thought ahead and got a blanket out of the car to lie on. Last time I got a bit spot of dirt on my shirt and more on my jeans. Today I managed to stay clean. Spring is just around the corner. Not saying we won’t have more snow. That can happen well into March or even occasionally April. But spring is definitely coming.

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More Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

The other day (see Sunday, February 18, 2018) I was waiting and hoping for a spectacular sunset that never materialized. This evening, as I came out of the grocery store, there were a few clouds in the west. They were only slightly colored and not particularly spectacular but I was pretty sure tonight’s sunset wasn’t going to amount to anything, either. I figured pictures taken then would be as good as I was going to get. I was right. Sorry about that. Maybe next time.

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Azurite and Malachite

Azurite and Malachite

Azurite and Malachite

The other day I posted a photo of a small souvenir from Republic, Michigan, where some of Cathy’s ancestors lived and at least one was involved in iron mining before moving to Alaska to mine gold. Well, my family has a little mining history, as well. My great grandfather came from England with his parents and at least some of his siblings. They lived in Canada for a while and he was in the military there during the United States Civil War. In the early 1970s he moved to Nevada where he mined for copper and silver. This is a piece of copper ore including both blue azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and green malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2). It’s a small piece found in the area he lived and worked and I think it’s sort of pretty. This piece is wet, which contributes to its shininess.

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Parrot Feathers

Parrot Feathers

Parrot Feathers

Cathy’s brother is in town and we’ve begun to work on their mom’s house today. It’s going to be a longish process and there will be parts of the process that are going to be quite difficult. Today we were just beginning to scratch the surface of 50 years of things, some of which brought back happy memories for them and some less so. In one drawer I came across a plastic grocery bag full of parrot feathers. The cleaning lady would collect them and make them into crafts. None of us are particularly fond of the crafts, although we appreciated the sentiment. The parrots are gone (Red and then Roscoe have past on to that great bird cage in the sky. Caesar is living with dozens of other birds and apparently now is palling around with two toucans (fourcans?). These feathers went into to the trash.

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Small Change

Small Change

Small Change

As we’ve been going through things at Cathy’s parents’ house, there has been, as there would in any house lived in for 50 years, an accumulation of things that don’t need to be kept. Some of them are just trash that got mixed in with other things. Some are things that were once important but the importance has worn off or the timeliness has passed. There are, of course, things of value, either sentimental value or intrinsic monetary value. And, of course, there are curiosities. David found two little slide mount size holders with sets of miniature US coins. Shown here with a regular quarter and penny for scale are (clockwise from center top), Kennedy half dollar, Jefferson nickel, Roosevelt dime, Eisenhower dollar, Lincoln penny, and Washington quarter.

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Nandina Berries

Nandina Berries

Nandina Berries

It started raining a few days ago and it’s been raining, off and on, since. Today was the wettest so far, with fairly heavy rain coming down all day. We were back over at &@x2018;the house’ today and I took a short break from going through things to walk around outdoors with my camera. There are some Nandinas onside the kitchen window and I took some pictures of the red berries on them. They’re pretty berries but I find Nandina to be a bit too tall for the location. They replaced azaleas that got about seven feet tall and were much thicker, so at least these can be seen through. The berries are certainly pretty in the rain.

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Pieris japonica

<em>Pieris japonica</em>

Pieris japonica

If you’re looking for signs of spring, you naturally are on the lookout for the early bulbs. As mentioned, the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) are in bloom. The winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is just starting (although it is a corm rather than a bulb). But if you look higher and in the right place, you might see Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica) in bloom. This is beside the patio at Cathy’s mom’s house and it’s lovely. I grew up with this along the side of our neighbor’s garage, next to our driveway and I have vivid memories of swarms of bees all over it. It’s still a bit early for the bees, but the flowers are starting to open.

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Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon

A little over five weeks ago I posted a picture of a waxing crescent moon, seen through trees and taken from my mother-in-law’s house. Today’s post is a waxing gibbous moon, although seen through tree branches but this time taken from out front yard. I had been out taking pictures of Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) and then noticed the moon. So, you’ll have to wait for another flower picture in favor of this one. The moon is nearing full and was quite lovely against the darkening blue of the sky and set off by the branches of a red oak tree (Quercus rubra) in our front yard.

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Eranthis hyemalis

Eranthis hyemalis

Eranthis hyemalis

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is blooming here. I only have two small plants but the seem to be growing a small amount each year. Mom has a nice, dense patch of them near the foot of the driveway and I love seeing them at this time of the year. They are in the family Ranunculaceae (the buttercup family) and are very reliable, very long lived little plnts. They are, I’m afraid, fairly slow to get established and I haven’t had huge success with them. Still, thase that did make it are here for the long haul.

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