burning question {july 16, 202

The other day I took a walk through the neighborhood woods and came upon a tree with mushrooms growing from its base and all the way up its trunk. It sure was an eye-catcher and looked really cool. I've never seen a tree covered in mushrooms but do know that fungi grow on decomposing wood. The burning question of the day became, "Why does a tree have mushrooms on it?"

Mushrooms growing on a tree indicate that a tree is suffering and is infected by a rot inducing fungus. Once a fungus spreads throughout the interior of the tree, enzymes cause further breakdown and decomposition. By this point, the fungus is already established inside the internal structure of the tree.

Mushrooms are harmful to trees. They are the fruiting body of different types of fungi and they grow by decomposing a tree for nutrients. Mushrooms decay the tree from the inside until it dies, compromising the roots and internal structure.

Some varieties of mushrooms that grow on trees aren't poisonous but you shouldn't eat unknown mushrooms. They are difficult to identify and won't taste good.

If you find mushrooms growing on trees on your property, leave them there. Removing them might spread the spores to neighboring trees.

And now a little mushroom humor...

🍄 I didn’t always like mushrooms, but they’ve finally started to grow on me.

🍄 A mushroom in need says, “Help! I’m in truffle!”

🍄 Eating mushrooms in the morning is the breakfast of champignons.

🍄 He may have been a fun-gi, but he sure did have questionable morels.

🍄 Unfortunately, many mushroom puns are in spore taste.

the july supermoon {july 15, 2022}

Buck Moon. Thunder moon. The biggest Supermoon of 2022 illuminated the sky a couple nights ago.

A Supermoon occurs when the full moon’s orbit brings it closer to earth than usual. Weather permitting, the moon can appear bigger and brighter than usual.

The July moon’s nickname comes from a variety of sources, including Native American, Colonial American, and European origins. The Indian tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon.

The full moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer are in full-growth mode at this time. July’s full moon is also called the Thunder Moon because of early summer’s frequent thunderstorms. Another name for this full moon is the Hay Moon for when farmers race to put the hay in their barns to keep it dry from the thunderstorms.

Thunder Moon was appropriate for last night. A unexpected thunderstorm rolled through central Ohio and covered the moonrise, hiding the moon's closest time to the earth. Later on, the storm and cloud cover passed and the moon was a floodlight brightening the sky and the ground below.

I wasn't able to get a good photo of the moon; mine looked like a blobby bright dot. I did find a photo a friend of a friend posted of the moon reflecting over Lake James in Indiana.

A moon-flooded prairie; a straying 

Of leal-hearted lovers; a baying 

Of far away watching dogs; a dreaming 

Of brown-fisted farmers; a gleaming 

Of fireflies eddying nigh, —

And that is July!

James N. Matthews (1852-1910)

postage increase {july 14, 2022}

 Inflation strikes again.

This past Sunday, July 13, the U.S. Postal Service raised its rates. Among the price increases is a two cent raise for First-Class Mail Forever Stamps.

The Postal Service made the announcement in April, citing inflation and increased operating costs as the reason for the price hike. In the past, I've been aware of postage increases and stock up on the Forever stamps. Missed it this time around.

USPS said it raised first-class mail prices approximately 6.5%, which is lower than the current inflation rates. This comes after the Postal service raised the rate of Forever stamps from 55¢ to 58¢ less than a year ago. (FYI, to make the cents symbol on a Mac, press the "4" key while holding down the "Option" key).

Postage prices will continue to increase. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said prices will rise "at an uncomfortable rate," until the agency is on track to be self-sustaining.

"As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, including a $40 billion investment in core Postal Service infrastructure over the nexxt ten years. With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping." (https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/0406-usps-new-prices-for-2022.htm)

In the past year I've been writing letters, sending cards, finding enjoyment in sending "snail mail." I still love to write my Christmas letter to include in the Christmas (sometimes New Year's) cards. It's sad to think about re-evaluating a long-standing tradition. I'll give it few seconds and decide to keep with tradition. 

I have fun going to the post office to see what stamps are available. I get a kick out of having a variety of stamps to fit different occasions. Last October my son-in-law's father died. His family is Mexican so I used a Dia de Los Muertos stamp to send his sympathy card. After my son and daughter-in-law's gender reveal party for their baby, I sent a congratulations card with a blue LOVE stamp on it. Sending cards and letters with a fun stamp hopefully brings a smile to the recipient. With postage increasing, the writing on the wall says texts, Tweets, likes, WhatsApp, Skype, and other forms of instant communication will take the lead over snail mail. Like the tortoise, I will keep plugging along to write my letters and send them with 60¢ postage stamp.

wordy wedneday...wackadoodle {july 13, 2022}

In the last couple of weeks I've heard the word "wackadoodle" come up in conversations, appear in a couple articles, and used as a crossword clue. Could this be a commentary on the craziness that seems to be permeating life nowadays...

Wackadoodle or whackadoodle describes someone or something as eccentric, wrongheaded, bizarre, or foolish, generally in an amusing way and with a mildly dismissive tone.

Wackadoodle ultimately come from "wacky." In the mid-1800s England, a "wacky" was a fool, simpleton, or left-handed person (apologies to all left handers). It might be from "whack," (a blow or a strike), implying the person has been hit over the head a few too many times. 

By the 1930s in American English, wacky was describing someone as eccentric. By the 1950s, "wackadoo" emerged, with -adoo likely a playful addition for color and effect. Bill Haley & His Comets sang wack-a-doo as fun-sounding vocals in their 1956 "Razzle Dazzle."

In the 1990s wackadoo welcomed another nonsense syllable, becoming wackadoodle. An early example came in 1995 from Pennsylvania state legislator David Heckler, quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer as saying it was only "a few wackadoodles" who wanted to repeal a firearms law.

In 2014, the Oxford English Dictionary included wackadoodle in its new words list.

summer in a bowl {july 12, 2022}

One of my most favorite restaurants was Olive, an urban dive, located in Dayton, in the former Wympee diner which still has its original signage. 

Olive's motto was local over import, labor over convenience, and service over everything else. It opened in July of 2011, started its own 6-acre farm in 2012,  and worked with other local farmers and purveyors to provide fresh, made from scratch seasonal menus. Unfortunately due to a lease impasse and the owner's business and life partner passing away, Olive closed its doors in 2015. 

The restaurant's atmosphere and food was unforgettable. I loved Olive's seasonal salads in a bowl, especially its Summer in a Bowl salad. Fresh summer veggies tossed together topped with an herbal salad dressing. Carrying on the spirit of Olive, I love going to the farmer's market, choosing the veggies that catch my eye, carrying them back to the car in a market basket that belonged to my mom, and making my own version of Summer in a Bowl. 

Good for the heart in more than one way.

summertime flowers {july 11, 2022}

An explosion of color to brighten start the week!

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul." ~ Luther Burbank

"Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen

“I must have flowers, always, and always.” — Claude Monet

 

number fun {july 10, 2022}

"Pay attention," Susan Sontag once advised a young audience. She was speaking of the creative process, and also of living. "It's all about paying attention. It's all about taking in as much of what's out there as you can, not letting the excuses and dreariness of some of the obligations you'll soon be incurring narrow your lives. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager." 

To stay eager, to connect to find interest in the everyday, to notice what others overlook is the difference between looking and seeing, between hearing and listening, between accepting what the world presents and what matters to you. Paying attention, making a habit of noticing, helps cultivate an original perspective, a distinct point of view.

On my walks, I notice so many "things." T is so patient as I stop to take pictures. One of my attention grabbers has been numbers in triplicate. I finally got my numbers photos into a file and realized I needed to find the 2, 6, and 9 triples. I found them this past Thursday. I'm still going to keep looking for the triplets and most likely start looking for quads. 

This address happens to be 111 E. 1st Street!

"When you actively notice new things, that puts you in the present...As you're noticing new things, it's engaging, and it turns out...it's literally, not just figuratively, enlivening."  ~ Ellen J. Langer