tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29337528448724786522024-03-13T19:17:13.174-07:00Altamira GardenBarb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-46887483754131217982019-06-07T15:42:00.001-07:002019-06-07T15:42:29.431-07:00Petty Things That Annoy and EnrageI spend probably 5 hours a week dealing with trivial things that I might be better off ignoring. For example, the 3 muhly grass plugs I ordered from Springhill Nursery.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The order was placed and paid for on April 22nd. I received a confirmation of payment with an estimated shipping date of April 29th. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On May 15th I received 3 very dead plants. The tops looked dead, the roots looked dead, and the plants *smelled* dead. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I emailed a photo of the plants and referenced their long transit time as the likely reason for their demise. I was told by reply email that the plants were suffering from transit shock and would no doubt "revive with proper care." I am a wildly optimistic person by nature, but even I had scant hope for a miraculous resurrection.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It is my sad task to report, these 3 weeks later, that the plants have failed to magically spring back to life.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I finally resorted to Assertiveness Level 1 and called Springhill to ask for a return shipping label so I could send the deceased plants back to them. This would allow me to inform my credit card company that I had returned the merchandise, and I'd be able to charge back the cost of the plants to the nursery.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At this point, the customer service rep assured me that a full refund had been issued. When I questioned the truth of this, on the grounds that no refund had appeared on me credit card, he checked again and came back with assurances that NOW the refund had been processed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The amount at stake here is $27.42 I KNOW I should have just written it off instead of spending a total of over an hour working on a refund. I'm ever a sucker for the Principle of the Thing.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2b2lon3aPhw/XProMyqXoQI/AAAAAAAAIus/b7XMxiiawQIjr7LgxeoBQuyFnDE-lAjRgCLcBGAs/s1600/dead%2Bmuhly%2Bgrass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2b2lon3aPhw/XProMyqXoQI/AAAAAAAAIus/b7XMxiiawQIjr7LgxeoBQuyFnDE-lAjRgCLcBGAs/s320/dead%2Bmuhly%2Bgrass.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
</div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-58543412382451613892018-02-10T19:06:00.001-08:002018-02-10T19:06:24.424-08:00AdvanTech subflooring<br />
http://www.huberwood.com/advantech/home-advantech<br />
<br />
We used this for the subfloor in the house we built on a 1970's mobile home chassis. We had a long period of rain after the subfloor was installed but before the house was dried in. This material performed well, remained almost perfectly flat and well-aligned. Only had to be sanded in a couple of places. It holds screws firmly in place to prevent squeaky floors.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sg2MZnua2Po/Wn-zDMZyhkI/AAAAAAAACfw/wblgf43VoukgEhFYDL7d8W-K010psWL8QCLcBGAs/s1600/advantech-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="622" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sg2MZnua2Po/Wn-zDMZyhkI/AAAAAAAACfw/wblgf43VoukgEhFYDL7d8W-K010psWL8QCLcBGAs/s320/advantech-water.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-90770163556923717062015-10-08T21:25:00.004-07:002015-10-08T21:29:01.261-07:00Rodent Filter RevisitedThe rodent filter was built on a barren patch of earth that had been a driveway. I wondered if anything would grow there. To plant trees and shrubs I had to use a mattock to dig through the thick layer of caliche. But it's turned out to be quite fertile. The area around the rodent filter is now wonderfully shady and fragrant.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-khb0lKLUnr8/VhdBjCg-5KI/AAAAAAAABow/3ZZkSU1fj3o/s1600/crinum%2Blilies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-khb0lKLUnr8/VhdBjCg-5KI/AAAAAAAABow/3ZZkSU1fj3o/s320/crinum%2Blilies.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRcXTpf-LQ0/VhdBWEv9UPI/AAAAAAAABos/tU8V076UBeM/s1600/inside%2Brodent%2Bfilter%2B2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRcXTpf-LQ0/VhdBWEv9UPI/AAAAAAAABos/tU8V076UBeM/s320/inside%2Brodent%2Bfilter%2B2015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-40878547071502947562013-12-31T23:09:00.001-08:002013-12-31T23:09:39.256-08:00The Rodent Filter<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">My current house is a delapidated mobile home I bought for $800, gutted, and am completely re-doing the inside using lumber from the old house and other scrounged and beautiful materials. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I'm only at the land three days a week and was having terrible problems with rats and mice getting between the walls, chewing up wiring and generally making a mess and even getting into the house and chewing up rugs and so forth. Very destructive little creatures. I didn't want to poison them, and I hate traps that sometimes maim but don't kill. So I built a pole barn around the mobile home. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The pole barn</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxt_Hfr6Rc0/UsO-b-PFPEI/AAAAAAAABCA/_u1ntlOpf8o/s1600/rodent+filter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxt_Hfr6Rc0/UsO-b-PFPEI/AAAAAAAABCA/_u1ntlOpf8o/s320/rodent+filter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
provides shade so the mobile home stays relatively cool in summer; it provides a roof to catch rainwater; I can put greenhouse plastic on the north side in winter to keep out the cold wind. But the best thing is that I put wire on the outside of the pole barn and keep cats inside it, half of whom are polydactyl which (I believe, having watched them in action) makes them better at catching rodents. Many dung beetles moved in to take care of the cat poop, and I've seen no sign of rodents in or near my home, or for that matter unpleasant bugs. Fortunately, I am also very fond of cats and very much like to sit in front of a fire with a purring cat on my lap. I'm going to try to attach a photo of the rodent filter.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-53616718151444098092013-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:002013-06-02T09:02:02.070-07:00Increased CO2 leads to greening of Earth<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50563/abstract;jsessionid=5C607925ACA508C253F9B6F2C40B6422.d04t04">http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50563/abstract;jsessionid=5C607925ACA508C253F9B6F2C40B6422.d04t04</a><br />
<br />
<h3 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, 'Lucida Grande', Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 1.8em; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Abstract</h3>
<div class="para" id="grl50563-para-0001" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Arial, 'Lucida Grande', Geneva, Verdana, Helvetica, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="paraNumber" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">[1]</span> Satellite observations reveal a greening of the globe over recent decades. The role in this greening of the ‘CO<sub style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 0.7em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">2</sub> fertilization’ effect – the enhancement of photosynthesis due to rising CO<sub style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 0.7em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">2</sub> levels – is yet to be established. The direct CO<sub style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 0.7em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">2</sub> effect on vegetation should be most clearly expressed in warm, arid environments where water is the dominant limit to vegetation growth. Using gas exchange theory, we predict that the 14% increase in atmospheric CO<sub style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 0.7em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">2</sub> (1982–2010) led to a 5 to 10% increase in green foliage cover in warm, arid environments. Satellite observations, analysed to remove the effect of variations in rainfall, show that cover across these environments has increased by 11%. Our results confirm that the anticipated CO<sub style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 0.7em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: nowrap;">2</sub> fertilization effect is occurring alongside ongoing anthropogenic perturbations to the carbon cycle and that the fertilisation effect is now a significant land surface process.</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-40376725540926946482013-05-27T13:45:00.001-07:002020-06-26T11:53:09.255-07:00Pathogen that caused Irish Potato Famine in 1840's IdentifiedI am listening to an audio book about the 1840's famine in Ireland (<i>The Graves Are Walking</i> by John Kelly), so this article caught my attention:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112852633/cause-irish-potato-famine-revealed-052113/">http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112852633/cause-irish-potato-famine-revealed-052113/</a><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host from dried herbarium samples. This opens up a new area of research to understand how pathogens evolve and how human activity impacts the spread of plant disease.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em> changed the course of history. Even today, the Irish population has still not recovered to pre-famine levels. “We have finally discovered the identity of the exact strain that caused all this havoc”, says Hernán Burbano from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
For research to be published in <a href="http://www.elifesciences.org/the-journal/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #13539a; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">eLife</em></a>, a team of molecular biologists from Europe and the US reconstructed the spread of the potato blight pathogen from dried plants. Although these were 170 to 120 years old, they were found to have many intact pieces of DNA.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“Herbaria represent a rich and untapped source from which we can learn a tremendous amount about the historical distribution of plants and their pests – and also about the history of the people who grew these plants,” according to Kentaro Yoshida from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The researchers examined the historical spread of the fungus-like oomycete <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em>, known as the Irish potato famine pathogen. A strain called US-1 was long thought to have been the cause of the fatal outbreak. The current study concludes that a strain new to science was responsible. While more closely related to the US-1 strain than to other modern strains, it is unique. “Both strains seem to have separated from each other only years before the first major outbreak in Europe,” says Burbano.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The researchers compared the historic samples with modern strains from Europe, Africa and the Americas as well as two closely related <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora</em> species. The scientists were able to estimate with confidence when the various <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora</em> strains diverged from each other during evolutionary time. The HERB-1 strain of<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em> likely emerged in the early 1800s and continued its global conquest throughout the 19th century. Only in the twentieth century, after new potato varieties were introduced, was HERB-1 replaced by another<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em> strain, US-1.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The scientists found several connections with historic events. The first contact between Europeans and Americans in Mexico in the sixteenth century coincides with a remarkable increase in the genetic diversity of<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora</em>. The social upheaval during that time may have led to a spread of the pathogen from its center of origin in Toluca Valley, Mexico. This in turn would have accelerated its evolution.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The international team came to these conclusions after deciphering the entire genomes of 11 historical samples of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em> from potato leaves collected over more than 50 years. These came from Ireland, the UK, Europe and North America and had been preserved in the herbaria of the Botanical State Collection Munich and the Kew Gardens in London.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“Both herbaria placed a great deal of confidence in our abilities and were very generous in providing the dried plants,” said Marco Thines from the Senckenberg Museum and Goethe University in Frankfurt, one of the co-authors of this study. “The degree of DNA preservation in the herbarium samples really surprised us,” adds Johannes Krause from the University of Tübingen, another co-author. Because of the remarkable DNA quality and quantity in the herbarium samples, the research team could evaluate the entire genome of <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phytophthora infestans</em> and its host, the potato, within just a few weeks.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Crop breeding methods may impact on the evolution of pathogens. This study directly documents the effect of plant breeding on the genetic makeup of a pathogen.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
“Perhaps this strain became extinct when the first resistant potato varieties were bred at the beginning of the twentieth century,” speculates Yoshida. “What is for certain is that these findings will greatly help us to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens. This type of work paves the way for the discovery of many more treasures of knowledge hidden in herbaria.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-89888801844077381432013-01-19T22:02:00.002-08:002013-01-19T22:02:17.459-08:00Solar Roof Panels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3owNQZMIENM/UPuIOEitrpI/AAAAAAAAA1c/yx3zjLt4XAE/s1600/Solar-shingles-design-e1308224368594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3owNQZMIENM/UPuIOEitrpI/AAAAAAAAA1c/yx3zjLt4XAE/s400/Solar-shingles-design-e1308224368594.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
http://www.architectlines.com/solar-power-panels-solar-shingles/Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-50667951867193106602013-01-07T13:54:00.001-08:002013-01-07T17:24:58.233-08:00Protecting the Home From WildfireWe've had a respite from worries about brush and forest fires over the last few weeks, with cooler temperatures and rain. My Australian husband and I have been keeping up with the bush fire situation in Australia, which reminds me that I need to fire-proof my country place to the best of my ability, before weather conditions get hot and dry again, as they undoubtedly will.<br />
<br />
The closest I've come to a forest fire was in 1996 when an electric wire fell and started a fire at Altamira. Fortunately, I saw it happen, and The McMahan Volunteer Fire Dept got there within a few minutes (which reminds me, I need to send in a donation to them), but not before it got large enough to be very scary. The most frightening thing, to me, was seeing the fire jump from tree top to tree top. Pine trees were the very worst. There would be a tree standing in relatively isolation, say, 15 feet away from its nearest neighbor, looking just like it always had. Then, suddenly, explosively, it would burst into flame -- the whole canopy all at once.<br />
<br />
I have planted 3 pine trees at the Berry Farm and a few junipers, mainly because the grasshoppers were killing everything else I tried to plant. Both of these species burn readily -- I've observed that the pine is especially bad. Dead juniper wood and leaves burn easily, but green branches not so much, at least in my experience. There are no trees at all within 45 feet of my house, but there are 2 large old junipers in the yard of the old homestead (I need to tear the old homestead down, because it is beyond redemption), and I planted a few more near the pole barn, as a wind break.<br />
<br />
I'm wondering ... if I keep all the lower branches pruned from the large old trees and keep the young junipers cut low, would it be OK to keep them? Or should I remove them? Or should I let them grow tall and keep the lower branches trimmed back? It's the leaves and small branches that burn, not the trunks. It's not all that easy to get a cedar log to burn. I used to throw a cedar log on my fire every evening, for the fragrance. I'd always need to get the fire going with some other kind of wood first. Some other windbreak possibilities are: native plum thicket, yaupon holly (which I've heard burns readily but which, in my experience, is not nearly as likely to burn as pine), Japanese ligustrum (a very well adapted exotic which, I have to say, the grasshoppers love to eat), Chinese photinia (a well-adapted exotic), Russian olive or eleagnus (a well adapted exotic that produces berries in cooler climates, but it tends not to fruit in central Texas), and hardy olive trees, which tend to form thickets and do very well in my garden in San Antonio but which are frost sensitive below 25 degrees F.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Sunset-Valley-Texas.html">Sunset Valley, Texas</a> has published a nice article on plants that don't tend to catch fire easily. I'm just east of the Hill Country, but many of the same plants grow on my land. Sunset Valley recommends:<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Unfavorable tree don’t have
to be removed, just keep branches pruned to 10 feet about the ground<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">
</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> <u>Firewise Plant Recommendations for your
Region<o:p></o:p></u></span></b></div>
<h1>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">EDWARDS</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">PLATEAU</st1:placename></st1:place> or HILL COUNTRY<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>TREES:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><b>Texas</b></st1:state><b> Persimmon Desert
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Willow</st1:place></st1:city> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Crape Myrtle Bigtooth Maple
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Mexican Sycamore Black
Walnut
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<st1:state w:st="on"><b>Texas</b></st1:state><b> Ash Mexican <st1:place w:st="on">Plum</st1:place><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state> Mountain Laurel
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> Smoke Tree<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Red
Maple
Silver Maple<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Boxelder Pecan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Bitternut <st1:city w:st="on">Hickory</st1:city> Shagbark
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hickory</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Pignut <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hickory</st1:place></st1:city> Mockernut
Hickory<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Sugarberry Hackberry<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Netleaf Hackberry <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
<u>SHRUBS:<o:p></o:p></u></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Red Yucca China
Rose<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Tea Rose Pomegranate<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Winter Honeysuckle Coral
Berry<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Strawberry Bush Eastern
Coral Bean<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Indigo Bush Common
Buttonbush<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>FLOWERS:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
Purple Leatherflower
(Cover for small birds) Coral
Honeysuckle (Hummingbirds)<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Snapdragon Vine (Fruits eaten by
birds) Engelmann Daisy
(Seed-eating birds)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Turk’s Cap (Attracts
hummingbirds) Maximilian
Sunflower (Seed-eating birds)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Golden-eye (Provides nectar to
bees) Rose
Pavonia (Attracts butterflies)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Indian Blanket (Attracts
butterflies) Coreopsis
(Attracts butterflies)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Purple Coneflower (Seed-eating
birds) Sweet Violet
(Attracts butterflies)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>GRASSES:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Redtop (Good birdseed) Black
Grama (Wildlife grazing)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Hairy Grama (Wildlife grazing) Buffalo Grass
(Drought tolerant)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Weeping Lovegrass Plains
Muhly (Wildlife grazing)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> Bush Muhly (Wildlife grazing) Tobosa <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>------------------------------------------------------------------------- </b><span style="text-indent: -0.75in;"> </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_330083583"></span>
I do like the junipers for their berries and fragrant wood. When my father was lying on his death bed, I took a juniper branch to his bedside on Christmas day and lit it on fire in a ceramic container (over my mother's strenuous protests). My father was quite moved by this. He said the fragrance of the burning juniper took him back to his youth when he and his father used to go on camping trips into the Hill Country west of Austin. He said it was one the of the nicest Christmas gifts he'd ever received.<br />
<br />
Finally, in support of the widely maligned juniper, a quote from Edward Abbey:<br />
<br />
<h1 class="quoteText" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
“The fire. The odor of burning juniper is the sweetest fragrance on the face of the earth, in my honest judgment; I doubt if all the smoking censers of Dante's paradise could equal it. One breath of juniper smoke, like the perfume of sagebrush after rain, evokes in magical catalysis, like certain music, the space and light and clarity and piercing strangeness of the American West. Long may it burn.”</h1>
<div>
A reminder from a couple of years ago, when I watched helplessly as the Bastrop fire approached Altamira: <a href="http://huerto-de-altamira.blogspot.com/2011/09/wildfires-in-central-texas.html">Wildfires in Texas</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-52361576377251278612013-01-06T17:44:00.002-08:002013-01-06T17:44:37.372-08:00ARC - Animal Road Crossing<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://arc-solutions.org/what-is-arc/">ARC—Animal Road Crossing</a>—<i>is an interdisciplinary partnership working to facilitate new thinking, new methods, new materials and new solutions for wildlife crossing structures.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
<i>Our primary goal is to ensure safe passage for both humans and animals on and across our roads. We do this through supporting the study, design and construction of wildlife crossing structures throughout North America.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
<i>ARC builds bridges in other important ways: We reconnect landscapes and wildlife habitats that have been split apart by our road systems; we reacquaint people and wildlife, helping drivers to be aware of the habitats our roads interrupt and the animals that use these places; and through these strategies, we reaffirm the need for humans and animals to coexist in the landscapes we call home.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
<i>Situated at the intersection of science and design, ARC is a forum for creative collaborations and surprising synergies.</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oMelRp89Wjg/UOonxwSrD6I/AAAAAAAAA0A/lT68YJ0TRXc/s1600/mule+deer+using+underpass+culvert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oMelRp89Wjg/UOonxwSrD6I/AAAAAAAAA0A/lT68YJ0TRXc/s320/mule+deer+using+underpass+culvert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
I have not read extensively on this. I wonder if organizations such as ARC place attractive plants close to the animal crossing bridges and culverts, to encourage the animals to use them.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2f; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -5px; padding: 0px;">
There are large herds of deer near my country place. At night, I don't like to go over 45 mph on the stretch of road between my place and the Interstate 9 miles away.</div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-91939048748131666482012-12-25T10:44:00.001-08:002012-12-25T10:44:53.920-08:00Enterobacter and Obesity<a href="http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ismej2012153a.html">ISME Journal</a> Dec 13, 2012 has an article by Chinese researchers reporting evidence that a diet which makes the pH of the gut more acidic changes the bacterial composition of the gut, decreasing the population of enterobacter to non-detectable levels. Decreasing the number of bacteria also reduces the toxin produced by the bacteria. The toxin causes insulin resistance and weight gain.<br />
<br />
An obese subject who was put on a diet of whole grains, traditional Chinese medicinal foods, and <a href="http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0905c.shtml">probiotics</a> for 23 weeks lost 51 kg, which is a bit more than the amount of weight lost after weight-loss surgery. The subject did not change the amount of exercise he did.<br />
<br />
The Chinese researchers took bacteria from the obese man before the diet and fed them to rats, after which the rats began to gain weight.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Abstract:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Lipopolysaccharide endotoxin is the only known bacterial product which, when subcutaneously infused into mice in its purified form, can induce obesity and insulin resistance via an inflammation-mediated pathway. Here we show that one endotoxin-producing bacterium isolated from a morbidly obese human’s gut induced obesity and insulin resistance in germfree mice. The endotoxin-producing </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Enterobacter</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"> decreased in relative abundance from 35</span><span class="mb" style="background-color: white; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: 'arial unicode ms', 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', sans-serif !important; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;">%</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"> of the volunteer’s gut bacteria to non-detectable, during which time the volunteer lost 51.4</span><span class="mb" style="background-color: white; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: 'arial unicode ms', 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', sans-serif !important; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;"><span class="mb" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-weight: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">kg of 174.8</span><span class="mb" style="background-color: white; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: 'arial unicode ms', 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', sans-serif !important; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;"><span class="mb" style="background-color: transparent !important; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-weight: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">kg initial weight and recovered from hyperglycemia and hypertension after 23 weeks on a diet of whole grains, traditional Chinese medicinal foods and prebiotics. A decreased abundance of endotoxin biosynthetic genes in the gut of the volunteer was correlated with a decreased circulating endotoxin load and alleviated inflammation. Mono-association of germfree C57BL</span><span class="mb" style="background-color: white; background-image: none !important; display: inline !important; font-family: 'arial unicode ms', 'lucida grande', 'lucida sans unicode', sans-serif !important; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px !important; visibility: visible !important;">/</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">6J mice with strain </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Enterobacter cloacae</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"> B29 isolated from the volunteer’s gut induced fully developed obesity and insulin resistance on a high-fat diet but not on normal chow diet, whereas the germfree control mice on a high-fat diet did not exhibit the same disease phenotypes. The </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Enterobacter</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">-induced obese mice showed increased serum endotoxin load and aggravated inflammatory conditions. The obesity-inducing capacity of this human-derived endotoxin producer in gnotobiotic mice suggests that it may causatively contribute to the development of obesity in its human host.</span>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-92012098699955810272012-06-24T15:43:00.000-07:002012-06-24T15:45:15.490-07:00Commercial uses of Castor BeansI was surprised today to find <strike>8</strike> [make that 12 -- I keep finding more] very healthy-looking castor bean plants growing near the site of a pear tree I had to dig up and move to the San Antonio garden last year, after it had been defoliated twice by grasshoppers here in the country. I planted the castor bean tree next to the pear tree, hoping that maybe the castor bean would discourage the hoppers or maybe even kill some of them. Although the hoppers did nibble on the castor bean leaves, they didn't seem to be terribly fond of them. Didn't seem to discourage them at all from ripping into the pear tree. I have seen no evidence that any part of the castor bean tree is poisonous to grasshoppers, but the hoppers might have gone elsewhere to be sick and die.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7rjoEUNsfBM/T-eX0ilEHEI/AAAAAAAAAyU/c0wGWTWaDBI/s1600/castor+bean+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7rjoEUNsfBM/T-eX0ilEHEI/AAAAAAAAAyU/c0wGWTWaDBI/s320/castor+bean+tree.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
You can see some hopper damage to the leaves in the photo I just took, but I've never seen a castor bean tree completely defoliated or even seriously damaged.<br />
<br />
I had no idea castor bean trees could survive so well in dry, sandy soil. It's been about a month since there was any significant rainfall here, and I've seen potted castor bean plants go all droopy if I wait too long between waterings. It's very strange -- everything I can find on the Web about castor bean trees says the have shallow roots, and I've observed the same thing when I pull them up (in my garden in San Antonio, they tend to be a bit overly fecund). This article [<a href="http://www.ajol.info/index.php/tzsa/article/viewFile/18505/17344">An Assessment of Alternative Perennials For Use in Agriforestry Systems of Smallholder Famers</a>] says that castor plants are drought resistant. Maybe they store water in their trunks and stems?<br />
<br />
A 1937 article in St. Petersburg FL Independent says that grasshoppers love to eat castor bean leaves and die after eating them. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZuNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M1UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3470%2C286829<br />
<br />
If only!<br />
<br />
There's an article on the same page of the newspaper about a guy who moved into a condemned lower east side apartment in NYC and rented out rooms for 5 cents per day. In addition to the space, the tenants received firewood and candles. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZuNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M1UDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4921%2C286509<br />
<br />
Here's an article about the various commercial uses of castor beans:<br />
<a href="http://nceed.com/Spilling_the_Beans.pdf">http://nceed.com/Spilling_the_Beans.pdf</a>
<br />
<br />
It says the main use of castor bean oil is in making nylon. Castor oil is also used as a component of lithium grease and other types of grease; as a component of plastic polymers; and corrosion inhibitors. Researchers in Israel are working on selectively breeding castor bean plants for the production of bio-fuel from the oil. Castor bean oil is ideal becuase:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">
<li style="list-style-image: url(http://www.kh-uia.org.il/_layouts/images/TMIT.SP2010.KerenHayesod.UI/orange-dot.png);">it is soluble in alcohol, and does not require heat to be transformed into fuel </li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(http://www.kh-uia.org.il/_layouts/images/TMIT.SP2010.KerenHayesod.UI/orange-dot.png);">Oil makes up about 50% of the weight of the castor seeds </li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(http://www.kh-uia.org.il/_layouts/images/TMIT.SP2010.KerenHayesod.UI/orange-dot.png);">The castor-oil plant is easy to grow and drought- resistant</li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(http://www.kh-uia.org.il/_layouts/images/TMIT.SP2010.KerenHayesod.UI/orange-dot.png);">The castor bean can be grown on marginal lands, which are not usable for food production</li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(http://www.kh-uia.org.il/_layouts/images/TMIT.SP2010.KerenHayesod.UI/orange-dot.png);">The castor plant can be adapted to large scale mechanized production </li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.kh-uia.org.il/En/SupportIsrael/TechnologyandHighTechLeaders/Pages/Bio-Fuel.aspx">Enhancing the Castor Bean for Bio-Fuel Production</a></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Castor oil certainly makes a LOT more sense than corn oil for making fuel. </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-76373499470440888432012-01-29T11:13:00.001-08:002012-01-29T11:13:12.842-08:00One of My Favorite Websites on Weight Loss & MaintenanceI forgot to include this one in the letter to my friend:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://weightmaven.org/">http://weightmaven.org/</a>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-9135446308539698862012-01-29T11:03:00.000-08:002012-01-29T11:03:09.765-08:00An Open Letter to a Friend Who Wants to Lose Weight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2_rkkw7UlFE/TyWW9UNCW_I/AAAAAAAAAyA/HF84kvHgoCQ/s1600/Thai_Turkey_Lettuce_Wrap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2_rkkw7UlFE/TyWW9UNCW_I/AAAAAAAAAyA/HF84kvHgoCQ/s1600/Thai_Turkey_Lettuce_Wrap.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Dear ___________.<br />
<br />
If you truly do not like being overweight, you need to do whatever it takes to get rid of the fat. The only logical way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you use, each and every day. Sugars and starches are literally addictive, and they're fattening so it helps a lot to eliminate 100% of the sugar and concentrated starches from your diet. Concentrated starches are things such as wheat, corn, and rice. The refined versions of these grains are even worse than whole grains, but even eating whole grain products can make it more difficult to lose weight.<br />
<br />
Eliminating sugar and concentrated starches means no sodas (diet sodas are OK, except many of them are sweetened with aspartame, which is toxic), no sweet tea (you can use Splenda or stevia sweeteners to sweeten tea, but the sweet tea sold at stores and fast food places contains corn syrup), no tortillas, no hamburgers, no bread, no rice, no fast-food french fries (they add sugar to the french fries to make them taste better!), and go easy on potatoes.<br />
<br />
It sounds grim at first, until you actually start eating meals without sugars and starches. Once you get used to not having these things, it becomes much easier to enjoy meals without them. For example, I love Mexican food, especially things such as enchiladas and tamales. I've been working on recipes that approximate these foods but without the masa. For example, a beef and cheese fritata is a tasty substitute for an enchilada. I'm pretty sure one could make something similar to a tamale using ground nuts instead of masa. They would not have the smooth consistency of a traditional tamale, but they would taste great.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite lunches is the lettuce roll, where you roll up sliced turkey, chopped tomato, onion, olives, etc -- whatever veggies you want -- in a large lettuce leaf. It tastes a lot like the sandwiches they make at Subway, only I actually like the lettuce rolls better.<br />
<br />
Here's the website of Barbara Berkeley, a doctor who specializes in helping people lose weight and maintain their new weight once they've lost:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://refusetoregain.com/">http://refusetoregain.com/</a><br />
<br />
Dr. Berkeley has also written an excellent book called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Refuse-Regain-Tough-Maintain-Earned/dp/1884956939/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327863694&sr=8-1">Refuse to Regain</a></i> about how to keep the weight off for good, once you get to your target weight.<br />
<br />
Here are some websites of people who were overweight and who have lost weight and, even more impressive, kept it off:<br />
<br />
http://refusetoregain.com/refusetoregain/about-lynn-haraldsonberin.html<br />
<br />
http://justmaintaining.com/about/ (scroll down to the middle of the page to see her "before" picture)<br />
<br />
http://www.freewebs.com/ivanarama/apps/photos/<br />
<br />
http://www.fittothefinish.com/blog/<br />
<br />
http://www.escapefromobesity.net/<br />
<br />
http://annieweighsblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/year-from-now.html<br />
<br />
There are lots more blogs and websites. You don't have to do this alone, there are thousands of people out there trying to lose weight.<br />
<br />
I KNOW how hard it is. Even though I've only lost 26 pounds (9 to go to reach my target weight of 130), I've gone through the same things everyone else goes through when they lose 10% or more of their body weight. I posted a comment on the weight-loss doctor's blog, and she confirmed that it's just as difficult to deal with maintaining one's new weight after a 20 pound loss as it is to maintain it after a 150 pound loss.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to lie and say it's easy. It's one of the most chanllenging things I've ever done. It's much harder than quitting smoking and, I suspect, harder than quitting addictive drugs. One reason is that we're constantly bombarded with temptations to eat unhealthy foods. You have to plan each day carefully. For example, if you know you're going to be away from home all day, pack a healthy lunch and healthy snacks instead of buying food at a convenience store or fast food place.<br />
<br />
Here's something surprising -- even though I'm eating more fresh veggies and good-quality nuts and grass-fed beef from Central Market, my food bill has actually gone down. I'm not spending money at restaurants, I'm not buying prepared foods and I'm eating less. For a snack, I used to have, say a mini-cheeseburger from Wendy's or a $1 carton of yogurt and some crackers or maybe some prepared food from Central Market (they add sugar to their prepared foods, including things such as chicken salad). Now I eat a few nuts. Easier, cheaper, healthier. And, surprisingly, just as satisfying.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-15196358019590536062012-01-13T17:03:00.000-08:002012-01-13T17:16:06.019-08:00Modern Paleo: The Blog<h1 class="post-author" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 110%/normal Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;">I've been ill the past ten days with a cold that led to sinus infection. Although the sinus infection is probably due to bacteria, I dislike using antibiotics except as a last resort, especially since the newest ones can have pretty debilitating side effects. So in an attempt to heal myself, I've been hanging around the house, getting lots of sleep, drinking lots of water and herbal tea, steaming my head, and irrigating my sinuses. I've also had a wonderful time reading books and seeing what new things I could learn following web links. No more headache now, and I'm feeling almost back to normal.</span></h1><h1 class="post-author" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 110%/normal Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">One of the most delightful results of my web searching has been my discovery of Diana Hsieh. I've enjoyed her <a href="http://blog.dianahsieh.com/">Noodlefood</a> blog tremendously and highly recommend it, but <a href="http://www.modernpaleo.com/principles.html">Moedern Paleo</a> is more relevant to my recent line of inquiry into <a href="http://huerto-de-altamira.blogspot.com/2012/01/weight-maintenance-and-punishment-of.html">weight maintenance and health</a>. </span></h1><h1 class="post-author" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; color: #333333; font: normal normal normal 110%/normal Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Dr. Hsieh does not advocate going back to the stone age, or even to the agricultural age. Instead, she "<span style="line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;">uses the evolutionary history of </span><i style="line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">homo sapiens</i><span style="line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;">, plus the best of modern science, as a broad framework for guiding daily choices about diet, fitness, medicine, and supplementation." (<a href="http://www.modernpaleo.com/principles.html">Modern Paleo</a>) From the time I began raising chickens when I was young and noticed how much healthier they (and their eggs) are when they have access to basic needs, such as dust baths and insects, I've thought it made sense to consider what humans need to eat and how they need to act to be healthy. For the diet, I don't rule out grains entirely, as some Paleo dieters do. People need some carbs in their diet, and archeaological evidence indicates that ancient humans gathered seeds of grasses. Certainly modern gatherer-hunters do, even Intuits whose diet consists largely of meat and fish. One of my mentors when I was a young person, Wild Horse Havard (about whom I must write more someday) told me about a malady he called "rabbit fever" that people suffered from when they were away from civilization for a long time and had mostly lean meat to eat. I suspect "rabbit fever" -- that is to say, lack of fats and carbs in the diet -- is what killed Chris McCandless, the young man who died in the old Fairbanks city bus on Stampede Trail in Alaska.</span></span></h1><div><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;">Anyhow, in addition to a diet that suits the human metabolic system, there are other things people need in order to be healthy. The human requirement that's been the most important to me from as far back as I can remember, is the flexibility to base one's actions on decisions made according to one's own reasoning. (I use the word "flexibility" because "freedom" has been used in so many different ways it no longer has much useful meaning.) Therefore, I was excited to see that Dr. Hsieh's Paleo Principles includes this (at the very end):</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; text-align: justify;"><i>You are 100% responsible for your own life, health, and happiness. Refuse to submit to the standard dogmas just because everyone believes them. Read, think, inquire, and judge for yourself. Don't depend on the government and its lackeys to keep you healthy. Insist on the inalienable rights of all persons to produce, trade, and consume voluntarily -- free from the unjust burdens of government regulations, subsidies, and taxation.</i></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 23px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 23px;">Thank you, Dr. Hsieh! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px;"><br />
</span></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-28024558998472051562012-01-07T18:37:00.000-08:002012-01-07T18:37:58.432-08:00Hever Castle Buddleia Blooming in JanuaryI odered one-gallon containers of Buddleia x pikei from <a href="http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/budxpikeihever.htm">Mountain Valley Growers</a> last spring. I thought of it as a gamble, because plants bred to grow in England, even in the southern regions, do not always do well in my Texas gardens. The arching branches and lavendar colored blooms attracted me. In less than a year, the plants have grown to be about 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide. This is pretty impressive, especially considering the summer drought. A couple of days ago I was surprised to find that the shrubs are beginning to bloom. The wind was blowing too hard to get a good photo, but I'll be sure to take more when the plants are in full bloom. The fragrance is very fresh and spring-like. I'll plant paperwhites and other early-blooming bulbs in the bed in front of these shrubs, to make a perfumed corner of the garden for sunny winter days.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpQzlPyffe8/TwkAEpigrgI/AAAAAAAAAxY/fJTY4WSrWH0/s1600/hever+castle+buddleia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpQzlPyffe8/TwkAEpigrgI/AAAAAAAAAxY/fJTY4WSrWH0/s320/hever+castle+buddleia.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-86672461723455831402012-01-04T10:49:00.000-08:002012-01-04T13:40:37.161-08:00Weight Maintenance and the Punishment of King SisyphusKing Sisyphus was a character in Greek and Roman morality tales who was punished by the gods by spending eternity pushing a huge boulder up a hill, watching it roll back down, pushing it up again ...<br />
<br />
This is a pretty good description of the experience people go through in trying to maintain a constant body weight. I've spent the last few days reading weight-oriented blogs and websites, and of course I've experienced my own struggle to maintain a constant weight. At the bottom of this post, I've linked to some of the most interesting blogs and websites.<br />
<br />
Based on what I've learned so far, it looks as though there are a few people who are genetically predisposed not to store fat. These people would be in big trouble if they were in a situation where food was not always available, but they do well as long as there's plenty to eat. It is possible to be born with a genetic tendency to be thin but to be infected by a virus, such as the AD36 adenovirus, which causes the body to create fat cells. Between genetics and infection, something like 80% of people tend to gain weight when we eat regularly. Of these people, some are able, through constant vigilance and deprivation, to lose and/or maintain a constant weight.<br />
<br />
Until fairly recently, few people had a constant source of food. For people who are subject to periods of food scarcity, fat cells are literally life-savers. Those fat cells are like having a readily available cache of food that doesn't spoil or become infested with insects.<br />
<br />
It is possible for one to eat so much in one sitting that one's stomach bursts, but in all but a very few cases, this does not happen, because eating is regulated by hormones that cause a person not to be hungry any more when the blood sugar reaches a certain level. Hormones also drive a person to eat when the blood sugar level falls. These hormones seem to have a "memory" of a person's highest weight, so when person loses weight, the hormones drive the person to eat enough to regain the weight. When people lose weight, they lose both muscle and fat; many people (especially if they are 40 years or older) add more fat than muscle when they regain the weight they lost.<br />
<br />
The body's reaction to weight loss would be likely to prolong one's life in a situation where food is not always available -- which would have been the condition of most people who have ever lived. Therefore, it's not accurate to think of it as a flaw, and it's not appropriate for people to hate their bodies for "betraying" them by driving them to gain weight.<br />
<br />
Many people do appear to hate their bodies, or even themselves. They believe that their inability to lose weight or stabilize their weight at a certain point is due to weakness or a moral defect of some sort. Some people accept their weight, which is fine to a point. But there is a point at which a person's stored fat begins to interfere with the normal function of their bodies. Walking becomes difficult; running impossible. Weight-bearing joints such as knees deteriorate more rapidly due to the stress of carrying more weight than they were meant to carry. The heart has to work harder to service the larger bulk of the body (but the heart also grows larger, so this may not actually be a health problem). Meanwhile, the hormones keep on doing their job -- the drive to eat is almost at inexorable as the drive to breathe.<br />
<br />
I saw many blogs that were full of hope to begin with but ended abruptly after an initial weight loss followed by a gain. Then there were the very rare people who managed to lose significant amounts of weight (up to 1/2 of their initial weight) and keep the weight off. One of these people describes weight maintenance as a part-time job (<a href="http://justmaintaining.com/">Debra's Just Maintaining</a>). In general, there appears to be a rift between weight-acceptance people and weight-loss people. Debra's philosophy is that she could easily gain weight again (for example, if she were unable to do the relatively high level of exercise required to keep the weight down), and if that were to happen, she doesn't beleive she would deserve self-hate. I agree with her, and the research supports her -- maintaining weight after weight loss requires far more exercise than maintaining one's highest weight. As part of the body's fight to keep itself alive in a sitatuion of perceived food-scarcity, muscles function differently after weight loss. They become more efficient, can perform more on a given amount of fuel. So exercise that requires 100 calories when done by a person who has never lost weight might require only 75 calories after weight loss. This is great for a person stranded in the woods with nothing to eat but lean meat, insects, and plant matter, but not for a person who has ready access to concentrated sources of carbs and fats.<br />
<br />
Food is at the center of almost every special event and celebration of friendship. This is not surprising, given that most people who have ever lived went through regular periods of food scarcity. It makes it really hard for people who are trying to lose or stabilize their weight. Given the statistics, it's completely normal to gain weight. The exceptional people are the ones who don't gain. Therefore, it's not accurate to refer to low body weight as "normal."<br />
<br />
What to do when "normal" is not healthy? Some people recommend support groups, which seem to work well for short-term weight loss. But people who get the weight off and keep it off seem to be motivated more from within themselves, like artists.<br />
<br />
I myself have 4 motivations:<br />
<br />
(1) my knees are shot, and I want to avoid knee surgery -- this is my main reason for wanting to lose weight. My knees function a lot better when they have less to carry;<br />
<br />
(2) I'm getting old and do not want to accumulate great masses of belly fat, as my mother has done;<br />
<br />
(3) I started sewing and became interested in fashion, and many of the garments I'd like to make look better on slim bodies than on larger ones;<br />
<br />
(4) I feel better when I eat a diet that consists mostly of fresh veggies, fruits, fish, whole grains, seeds, and nuts; this same diet results in weight loss, especially if I go easy on the grains.<br />
<br />
I'm fine long as I'm in weight-loss mode, but one cannot stay there indefinitely. At some point, one reaches one's goal weight and must add just enough calories to maintain that weight. That's when it gets really difficult.<br />
<br />
Here are some of the blogs I found most interesting and helpful:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://justmaintaining.com/">Debra's Just Maintaining</a> - This is the best blog I've found so far. There's a lot of good research here, and the author is a very good writer. She also has a healthy attitude -- she didn't hate herself when she was larger; she thought of herself as a Botticelli Babe, and judging by her photos she is attractive at both large and small sizes.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html">Tara Parker-Pope New York Times article</a> -- the first part of the article is sort of depressing and hopeless, but keep reading to the end, and look at some of the blogs.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://refusetoregain.com/">Refuse to Regain</a> - a website about maintaning a constant weight, especially after weigh loss.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jennycraig.com/">Jenny Craig</a> - I'm put off by this company -- it's owned by a large corporation (Nestle) and charges people lots of money for frozen foods and advice. But it does seems to work for many people -- there are some good before-and-after photos and stories on the website.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/index.aspx">South Beach Diet</a> - I like this one. You can join for $5 per month, with no long-term contract. This is what I used to go from 165 to 145. I no longer use the South Beach diet recipes but instead look for interesting recipes on the Web or make up my own.<br />
<br />
The Paleolithic Diet websites and blogs are interesting, but I believe they have their proportions wrong. As this <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/revised-paleolithic-diet/">Wired article</a> points out, it's likely that most Paleolithic people ate grains and other plant-based foods at least as often as they ate meat. People such as the Inuit would have been the exceptions. Even the Inuits gather and preserve tubers, berries, grass seeds (i.e. grains), sea weed, and other vegetable material to supplement their meat and fish diets.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/contributors/paul-campos.html">Paul Campos</a> is a lawyer who makes a good case against the obsesssion with weight loss in his book The Obesity Myth. Here's a good interview in which he explains his position: <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/americas-moral-panic-over-obesity/22397/">http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/americas-moral-panic-over-obesity/22397/</a><br />
<br />
I'm editing this post to include this excellent blog: <a href="http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2006/11/introduction-and-why-i-created-this.html">http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2006/11/introduction-and-why-i-created-this.html</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><i>For years, I have traced virtually every science, food and health story in media to their original press releases, which are reported verbatim. Literally everything we hear and read today - on the internet or mainstream media - is marketing and created by those trying to sell us something: a belief, cause, product, service, or themselves. That’s why we hear “science” finds something one day, and something entirely different the next. “Pop” science, what is popularly believed and marketed as “science,” is oftentimes really the junk science.</i></span> <br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-18297279296660884092012-01-03T15:09:00.000-08:002012-01-03T15:09:40.880-08:00From the Winter GardenThe summers here in San Antoinio are vicious, but the winters are, for the most part, very pleasant. Many rose bushes produce larger, more deeply colored blooms in winter than they do in other seasons. <div><br />
</div><div>I've been sick with a cold, so I picked these roses from the garden today, to cheer myself. The pink ones are from a bush I originally planted in the Tilmon garden (near Austin) but dug up and brought to San Antonio when the Tilmon grasshoppers ate it down to a nub. It has since recovered from its near-death experience.<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nEKsyg5CTss/TwOKG6c6Y4I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/TcEPYY6SaFA/s1600/P1030556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nEKsyg5CTss/TwOKG6c6Y4I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/TcEPYY6SaFA/s320/P1030556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-84363650637695405142012-01-03T14:58:00.000-08:002012-01-03T15:12:51.418-08:00Infection as a Cause of Obesity<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="http://sewingbrain.blogspot.com/2012/01/effects-of-obesity-on-brain.html" style="color: #2198a6; font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-decoration: none;">Effects of Obesity on The Brain</a></h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: #fb5e53; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8236093089873751322" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; width: 720px;"><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/01/high-fat-diets-obesity-and-brain-damage.html" style="color: #2198a6;">http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/01/high-fat-diets-obesity-and-brain-damage.html</a></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is one of the blogs I discovered while looking around the Web for</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">information on gaining and losing weight. I have to go to bed now, </div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">so I won't <span style="background-color: white;">have another relapse of this cold, so I cannot write </span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">about this in detail.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The gist is that eating a fattening diet (that is to say, consistently </div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">consuming <span style="background-color: white;">more calories than one burns) causes inflammation of </span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">brain tissue. </span><span style="background-color: white;">One reason it's so hard to keep weight off after </span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;">one has gained and lost </span><span style="background-color: white;">may be damage to the portion of the</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white;"> brain that controls appetite.</span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There's also this on the AD36 virus, which appears to contribute to</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> obesity in those infected:</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.pbrc.edu/the-center/faculty/?EmployeeID=2449" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;">http://www.pbrc.edu/the-center/faculty/?EmployeeID=2449</a></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i>Seven viruses have been reported to cause obesity in animal models by </i></span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i>various research groups. </i></span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i>We reported the first human virus, an adenovirus (Ad-36), which causes </i></span></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i>adiposity in chickens, </i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">rodents and non-human primates and shows </i></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">association with human obesity. Our in-vivo </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">and in-vitro data show </i></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">that Ad-36 increases adiposity, lowers serum lipids, increases insulin </i></div><div style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><i>sensitivity and preadipocyte differentiation. </i></span></div></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-9422711685992400592011-11-03T18:00:00.000-07:002013-01-06T09:59:05.921-08:00Plants Growing in Our YardFOLLOW-UP NOTE: I posted these photos and plant names, because someone complained about my yard. The city ordinance code enforcer was very nice and liked all the flowers and fruit in my yard. She said that if I'd show that the plants were there by design, rather than just being random weeds, everything would be OK. It all worked out, and I was able to keep my yard the way I like it. I have nothing but good things to say about the City of San Antonio planning department and code enforcement people.<br />
<br />
These are some of the plants we are growing in our yard. There are some more photos available on a blog entry I made on <a href="http://huerto-de-altamira.blogspot.com/2011/09/rain.html">September 17</a>. I have identified the plants under each photo, and there is a list of unpictured plants at the bottom of this blog entry.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SNf7TvaB9qQ/TrMpN8XyHvI/AAAAAAAAAoY/MnEBge0SuhQ/s1600/daylily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SNf7TvaB9qQ/TrMpN8XyHvI/AAAAAAAAAoY/MnEBge0SuhQ/s320/daylily.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Day Lily</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YOj1ZEfJSdk/TrMpTJjsgzI/AAAAAAAAAog/Lr0jt0xsvF8/s1600/20th+century+asian+pear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YOj1ZEfJSdk/TrMpTJjsgzI/AAAAAAAAAog/Lr0jt0xsvF8/s320/20th+century+asian+pear.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
20th Century Asian Pear</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nJOzdVYrvwA/TrMpYoY1TCI/AAAAAAAAAoo/MyR_HEpHiUY/s1600/FLOWERS+2+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nJOzdVYrvwA/TrMpYoY1TCI/AAAAAAAAAoo/MyR_HEpHiUY/s320/FLOWERS+2+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Vinca Major, Day Lilies, Esperanza, Canna Lily, and Red Knockout Rose, Caroline Hairston Rose, Hever Castle Buddleia</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nhsb4Nl35tk/TrMpcrpsXXI/AAAAAAAAAow/uJ9T6vO0upE/s1600/FLOWERS+3+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nhsb4Nl35tk/TrMpcrpsXXI/AAAAAAAAAow/uJ9T6vO0upE/s320/FLOWERS+3+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="240" /></a>\</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Castor Bean, Day Lilies, Ornamental Grass (don't know name), Cleome, Germander</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PMI9BBE3dvY/TrMpg080XMI/AAAAAAAAAo4/4d4LufZ3oQg/s1600/FLOWERS+4+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PMI9BBE3dvY/TrMpg080XMI/AAAAAAAAAo4/4d4LufZ3oQg/s320/FLOWERS+4+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Impatiens</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSOBYvsW-50/TrMplTIrGgI/AAAAAAAAApA/vec7eSzv1eQ/s1600/FLOWERS+5+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSOBYvsW-50/TrMplTIrGgI/AAAAAAAAApA/vec7eSzv1eQ/s320/FLOWERS+5+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Caladiums in background, coleus in foreground</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J27PHnLjtic/TrMpqcPknyI/AAAAAAAAApI/S5ss0-SMGKw/s1600/FLOWERS+6+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J27PHnLjtic/TrMpqcPknyI/AAAAAAAAApI/S5ss0-SMGKw/s320/FLOWERS+6+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Cleome</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GbOIE7EU5Lo/TrMpu52SIYI/AAAAAAAAApQ/UsXUHZNrqoE/s1600/FLOWERS+10+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GbOIE7EU5Lo/TrMpu52SIYI/AAAAAAAAApQ/UsXUHZNrqoE/s320/FLOWERS+10+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Queen's wreath, also called coral vine</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XHXShWWQM6s/TrMpyZDUcpI/AAAAAAAAApY/5fLbN_re0j8/s1600/FLOWERS+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XHXShWWQM6s/TrMpyZDUcpI/AAAAAAAAApY/5fLbN_re0j8/s320/FLOWERS+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
golden crownbeard, queen's wreath, yellow and orange lantana, portulaca (in blue container), vinca major, 4 o'clocks, huisache tree upper right corner</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-18mBq74q2PQ/TrMp2qKDYLI/AAAAAAAAApg/ZksHJVcHu2o/s1600/kitten+in+herb+garden+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-18mBq74q2PQ/TrMp2qKDYLI/AAAAAAAAApg/ZksHJVcHu2o/s320/kitten+in+herb+garden+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
verbena</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eM59QFl3Nxo/TrMp8EkRYlI/AAAAAAAAApo/Opy8mu873Pw/s1600/view+from+sewing+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eM59QFl3Nxo/TrMp8EkRYlI/AAAAAAAAApo/Opy8mu873Pw/s320/view+from+sewing+room.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
from spring - not flowering now: geraniums, pansies, violas, purple spider wort</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bpa2uVJD97s/TrMqF8UIy5I/AAAAAAAAApw/k4bapOEqw3c/s1600/P1030007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bpa2uVJD97s/TrMqF8UIy5I/AAAAAAAAApw/k4bapOEqw3c/s320/P1030007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Anagua Tree in flower (spring)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Plx8hpHoEEw/TrM1KWeJOaI/AAAAAAAAAqA/ER7y26RUOAE/s1600/FLOWERS+11+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Plx8hpHoEEw/TrM1KWeJOaI/AAAAAAAAAqA/ER7y26RUOAE/s320/FLOWERS+11+128+W+FRENCH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Queen's wreath, mealy blue sage, 2nd variety of salvia (name unknown), Mexican honesuckle, Pride of Barbados (not flowering now)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Some other plants that are not pictured:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anna apple</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ein Shemer apple</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
3 varieties of dwarf peach</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
semi-dwarf Spring gold peach tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
LeConte pear tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Celeste fig tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
3 Wonderful pomegranite shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
several loquat trees - they were here when we bought the place</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Persian Mulberry</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
common mulberry</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
5 Chinese photinia shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
8 white Indian hawthorne shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
8 Japanes ligustrum shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
olive tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
8 abelia shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
9 vetiver plants planted as privacy screen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
6 sophora shrub/trees (Texas mountain laurel)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
4 elm trees</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2 oak trees</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2 rain trees (will probably remove)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
4 chinaberry trees (will probably remove all but 1)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
star jasmine</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
night blooming jasmine</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Fanick's perennial phlox</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Souvenir de la Malmaison rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mutalis rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
unidentified rose bush grown from cutting from rose bush at corner of Lewis & Howard St</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
pink Knockout rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Bolero rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Fairy rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
unidentified rose bush grown from cutting from rose bush on Bois D'arc St in Lockhart TX</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Maggie rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Mademoiselle de Sombreuil rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Blush Noisette rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Cecile Brunner rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Gruss an Aachen rose bush</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
6 florida jessamine shrubs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
kitchen herbs: basil, rosemary, cilantro, thyme, parsley, sage, Greek oregano, common oregano, spearmint, winter mint, catnip, chives</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
bay tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Meyer lemon tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
jalepeno and ancho chiles</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
chile pequin</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
tomatoes</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
irises</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
nardo, also called tuberose</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
pink and purple ruellia</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
honeysuckle</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
agapanthus</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
native pecan tree</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
amaranth</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-42006815881408805532011-09-17T21:01:00.000-07:002011-09-17T21:01:41.379-07:00Rain !!!There were very isolated bands of T-storms yesterday. We got maybe an inch of rain here in central San Antonio, but a friend in north San Antonio said they only got a few sprinkles there.<br />
<br />
Today there were wider bands of showers. No violent storms around here, but enough good, steady rain to saturate the ground.<br />
<br />
I took my camera into the back garden yesterday and found a few pretty things to photograph. The rose bushes are in full bloom, which would be gorgeous if they were larger. They're still quite small, though. It's been all they can do to stay alive over the summer. They haven't had the resources to add much size. I grew most of the rose bushes from cuttings started spring before last. I bought a couple from the Antique Rose Emporium.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_tBtDoLpF8/TnVslzvLEvI/AAAAAAAAAlg/65_eh6d-ML4/s1600/canna+lily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P_tBtDoLpF8/TnVslzvLEvI/AAAAAAAAAlg/65_eh6d-ML4/s320/canna+lily.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qdkypdBKfOA/TnVsou5yVGI/AAAAAAAAAlk/JH3ft6jJMJw/s1600/cleome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qdkypdBKfOA/TnVsou5yVGI/AAAAAAAAAlk/JH3ft6jJMJw/s320/cleome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oYMFajt1ao/TnVssbDD7iI/AAAAAAAAAlo/1MThavkkKmI/s1600/queen%2527s+wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9oYMFajt1ao/TnVssbDD7iI/AAAAAAAAAlo/1MThavkkKmI/s320/queen%2527s+wreath.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Oosi8oQgkA/TnVsvxUSEAI/AAAAAAAAAls/C8go1WbWEWQ/s1600/vinca+%2526+roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Oosi8oQgkA/TnVsvxUSEAI/AAAAAAAAAls/C8go1WbWEWQ/s320/vinca+%2526+roses.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-73759280892265477992011-09-09T15:51:00.000-07:002011-09-09T15:51:22.126-07:00UnburnedI came to the country today. I already knew my travel trailer and barn would be OK, because I had talked to a neighbor, but I was not sure about the sandhill woods between Delhi and McMahan. As it turned out, the fire did not reach my land. There are many dead trees and shrubs, still sitting there waiting for the next fire.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9837uNFTA_4/TmqXQDj-ORI/AAAAAAAAAk4/DQ51kDYeTNo/s1600/photo+%252816%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9837uNFTA_4/TmqXQDj-ORI/AAAAAAAAAk4/DQ51kDYeTNo/s320/photo+%252816%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The weather has turned very hot again after a few days with highs in the low 90's F. Nothing like the hot weather of a couple of weeks ago, though. The thermometer under the shade of the barn says 35.5C. Bull nettle seeds are the only things I can find to eat here today. I'm awfully glad I can go to stores to buy food.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-69865938607747902252011-09-07T22:34:00.000-07:002011-09-07T22:48:38.395-07:00Healthy DietOur adopted stray cat, Edith, has just given birth to three lovely kittens. One has spots, like the mother. I think Edith is part Bengal or Egyptian Mau.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2f06ONYLao/TmhW4kdf5KI/AAAAAAAAAkw/urcFbbZ6byg/s1600/edith+and+her+kittens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2f06ONYLao/TmhW4kdf5KI/AAAAAAAAAkw/urcFbbZ6byg/s320/edith+and+her+kittens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I'd forgotten how good I feel when I consume a berry-roots-nut-meat-fish kind of diet. I don't know why I stray from it. I guess the smell of hot grease is just too enticing. What usually happens is that I go to a restaurant and eat unhealthy stuff, assuming that one unhealthy meal isn't going to hurt me. But I can't stop at just one unhealthy meal. I go maybe two days, then I have do it again. My love for Tex-Mex food is one of my greatest weaknesses. Sounds like the tale of a drug or alcohol addict, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
I bought grass-fed beef at the store, but one never knows for sure exactly what that means. It's quite misleading to refer to feedlot-finished beef as grass-fed, but people do it. I prefer to buy 1/4 steer at a time from someone I know, but the calf I was supposed to get this year died in an accident (got stuck in mud and broke a leg) and had to be slaughtered early.<br />
<br />
I've personally known 2 people and heard of others who were sent home to die, because there was no known medical treatment for their conditions (one had an advanced case of Crohn's Disease). After switching to a diet that included no feed-lot finished beef, they got well. This is certainly not scientific evidence, but it gives one pause.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-40239460934683561432011-09-06T23:19:00.000-07:002011-09-06T23:19:10.960-07:00A Tasty Snack - Peanut Butter & BroccoliIngredients:<br />
<br />
Some broccoli florets, or sliced stems<br />
A glob of peanut butter<br />
<br />
Put the glob of peanut butter and the raw broccoli on a plate. Dip the broccoli in the peanut butter. Eat.<br />
<br />
Preparation time: 3 minutes or less<br />
<br />
I know this probably sounds like a weird food combination, but it's surprisingly good.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-93650948612171532011-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:002011-09-06T21:51:56.857-07:00The Paleolithic Diet AgainThe first time I ever needed to lose some weight coincided with my discovery of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>Gulag Archipelago.</i><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">The author writes quite a bit on the topic of food (or lack thereof) in Soviet prison camps during the 1930's, 40's and early 50's. Prisoners were expected to do work that burned many calories each day but were fed only small amounts of bread and watery soup. Under such circumstances, a potato, even a rotten one, was worth fighting for.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I tend to become deeply emotionally involved in books I'm reading, especially if the writing is vivid. After the unsettling experience of reading Solzhenitsyn's descriptions of putting in a long day of heavy physical labor and being given watery cabbage soup and a small hunk of bread, I could sit down to a meal of broccoli and lean meat and feel very, very lucky. Now and then I might walk past a restaurant and feel deprived. I vividly remember walking past Trudy's on W. 30th in Austin one wintery afternoon, smelling the enticing fragrance of warm Tex-Mex fare with longing. I had to remind myself: "That's not for the likes of me." But most of the time, I was happy with my low-cal meals, because they were so much better than the prison camp food I was reading about.</span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>The Gulag Archipelago</i> consists of three rather thick volumes. I was a grad student and also working during the period when I was reading it. There was not much time for extra-curricular reading, so it took quite a while to read all three volumes, long enough to lose 20 pounds or so.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">I've used the Gulag method of weight loss a few times since then. I have read about many situations in which people did not have enough to eat -- people in prisons, people who were shipwrecked, people who were lost in the woods or whose plane crashed into a remote area. Please understand, I do not mean to make light of anyone's suffering. I have been deeply moved by these books, especially the ones about innocent people being imprisoned and starved. I am inspired by these people. Their strength in surviving their ordeals gives me the strength to get through a few weeks of a healthy calorie-restricted diet, even though my body figuratively cries out for carbohydrates.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">So now the time has come again when I need to lose some weight. I am reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Dolguns-story-American-Gulag/dp/0394494970">Alexander Dolgun's Story: An American in the Gulag</a> and listening to an audio version of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=louis+zamperini+unbroken&sprefix=louis+zamperini">Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption</a>. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Alex Dolgun's American father went to Moscow to work as an engineer during the depression of the 1930's. Dolgun, in his early 20's, was working at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow when he was arrested. He spent the following eight years in closed prisons and prison camps and was in the general amnesty after Stalin's death. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Louis Zampirini was an Olympic runner who became a bombdier in World War II. His plane went down in the Pacific Ocean, and after spending 47 days on a raft, he was picked up by Japanese and held in various prison camps from 1943 until the war ended in 1945.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<h1 class="parseasinTitle" style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></h1><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This time around, after reading <a href="http://55theses.org/category/diet/">Michael Rose's blog</a> I am doing a modified Paleolithic diet. I intend to eat lots of berries and nuts and roots and meat. No refined carbohydrates. Only small amounts of whole grains. My goal is not only to lose 10 pounds, but, more importantly, to get rid of the round belly I've grown over the last several years. I hate the way it looks, and I've read that carrying around abdominal fat is unhealthy. So far, losing weight has not helped much with the belly. A year or so ago, I went from 170 pounds down to 142 and thinned down everywhere except for the belly. I've remained at 142 but would like to return to my young-adult weight of 132. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It will be interesting to see if the modified Paleo diet helps. The reason I refer to it as modified rather than strict is that I plan to eat a little yogurt and cheese, and possibly some milk and ice cream (I like to blend berries with yogurt and a bit of ice cream), and also olive oil and condiments such as vinegar. I'm close to 100% sure I'll lose weight on the diet. Since I've already dropped 28 pounds last year, I know it can be done. If I still have the belly when I get down to my desired weight of 132, I'll try a strict Paleo diet and see if it helps. I also exercise, of course -- working in the garden, pedaling a stationary bike, and doing Pilates mat exercises.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So here's my first meal of the diet: Salmon cooked in olive oil with chopped garlic and fresh basil and parsley (from the garden) and sliced tomatoes with oil & vinegar. Lemon juice sqeezed over all. It was delicious. The basil leaves were surprisingly wonderful. I threw them into the oil in which the fish was cooking, and they came out crispy. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5TZpaYBrXw/TmbkiVZDyAI/AAAAAAAAAko/ZLZaIy-QuWE/s1600/PALEO+DIET+DAY+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h5TZpaYBrXw/TmbkiVZDyAI/AAAAAAAAAko/ZLZaIy-QuWE/s320/PALEO+DIET+DAY+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't truthfully say I'm not a little hungry, but it's certainly not unbearable.</span></div><div style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div></div></div></div></div>Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2933752844872478652.post-85308200381609016742011-09-06T09:58:00.000-07:002011-09-06T21:09:05.731-07:00FireThe satellite maps show evidence of the work of the fire fighters. There were flame icons on the map, indicating that the fire had crossed the 3000 acre pasture and was in the woods just SE of Altamira, only a couple hundred yards away. Then a long, straight cloud image showed up, and the flame icons disappeared.Barb-Central Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14000185202490150402noreply@blogger.com0