Monday Creek Jots 2012-02-13

The original saw the haze, the PS work showed the layers of distant color

Dear me, what kind of week is this going to be, wordsharing-wise, when at the top of my list of things that have attracted my attention is a RECIPE: how to make fat-free potato chips in the microwave. Oh yes, it just occurred to me I have not had breakfast!

But even beyond that, it’s going to be snippets and links today–maybe this week–while I make time between Gandy-naps to get something done with more substantial projects. (The pup, BTW, is continuing to show remarkable maturity with some of our problem behaviors. Keep your fingers crossed (and out of her mouth for the time being, just to play it safe.)

There was a time back in 2003-4 when I was frequently referred to as the “Bug Man of the Blogosphere” because I confessed and often illustrated my fascination with all things invertebrate. Just this week, I discovered the Xerces Society for the study and preservation (not in alcohol or formaldehyde necessarily) of inverts. Check it out.

I posted the following yesterday to twitter: “I hate it for class Amphibia that a GOP candidate has besmirched their good name. But if he went back to Newton, there goes a good cookie. I got a reply from a fellow twit stating that the Austin Lounge Lizards had taken that theme and turned into a song, “Gingrich the Newt” – YouTube

Lastly, for now, we have some efforts underway across the county to create “edible landscapes” and one of the native fruit trees that has gotten some attention (and some orders already on hand and ready to plant when the ground thaws) is Pawpaw. Ever had one? Some say it’s an acquired taste, and they have to be picked at just the right time. But would you know one if you saw it, so you could pick it up and put it in a basket? (Did I just lose you?) Here’s how The Salt at NPR describes it.

The image, in the absence of anything from my camera other than puppy poses, is from my daughter’s new Nikon P500. She takes the pix, I work with them in Photoshop–a lazy photographer’s way of enjoying new views. Click for a larger view.

 

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fred
fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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