By Eilene Lyon Spring is well underway in southwest Colorado. Let's see what we can find in the yard and neighborhood. Weeds always seem to get the jump on everything else, especially the mustards. Then there are the usual suspects. Only a few flowers have bloomed in the yard. But more are on the... Continue Reading →
Koch’s Disease
By Eilene Lyon -- March 24, 2020 It felled Egyptian Pharaohs and Greek warriors. It’s likely been around for 9,000 years or more. An estimate is that one in seven people who ever lived prior to 1800 succumbed to the disease, caused by a bacterium. Is this one of those plagues that have been eradicated... Continue Reading →
In The Library
By Eilene Lyon -- December 10, 2019 On this date 168 years ago, Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey (later shortened to Melvil Dewey) was born in Adams Center, New York, to Joel and Eliza (Greene) Dewey. He is credited with inventing the book-cataloging system that bears his name: the Dewey Decimal System. There’s a bit more... Continue Reading →
For the Birds
By Eilene Lyon The latest issue of Living Bird Magazine from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a clarion call to bird and nature lovers everywhere. I urge you to at least read the editorial "The choir must become a force for change." Somewhere between 45 and 50 million Americans say they are bird watchers.... Continue Reading →
Rio Grande Headwaters
By Eilene Lyon South of the South Fork of the Rio Grande that flows down from Wolf Creek Pass, the campers (many of them hunters) were thick as late-summer flies. We spent one night on Park Creek as a waypoint between the Conejos River (two nights) and the Rio Grande headwaters, west of Creede, Colorado.... Continue Reading →
A Bird In Hand
By Eilene Lyon My usual MO when it comes to wildlife is “observe, don’t touch.” After all, we make life difficult enough for critters as it is. No need to add to their stress. Sometimes, though, a compelling conservation reason negates the usual policy. Based on long-term surveys, e.g. the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, it’s... Continue Reading →
The Shrinking Tree
Or, Why Charlemagne is Not My Ancestor By Eilene Lyon My recent post, The Instant Tree, sparked a discussion with Zoe Krainik from Hollywood Genes which I thought worthy of expanding on. Zoe provided a link to this article that seems to suggest that each European today is descended from everyone living in Europe during... Continue Reading →
The Botanist
Week 20: #52 Ancestors – Nature By Eilene Lyon You’ve met my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis in several earlier posts. Clara moved to Idaho as a teen and attended Moscow High School, becoming a teacher at 16, while still in school herself. She attended the University of Idaho, and graduated with the third class in... Continue Reading →
The Huntington: Galleries
By Eilene Lyon During my day-long visit to the Huntington, I alternated between strolling through the gardens and visiting the galleries to get out of the sun for a bit. I wrote previously about the gardens. Henry and Arabella were both collectors and particularly enamored with Louis XVI French style. Their former residence is dedicated... Continue Reading →