Tag Archives: nature

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Winter flowers

On the Solstice, friends took me to the Glenstone Museum. They combine art, architecture and nature. They have planted over 7000 native trees and have planted over 10,000 native grasses. We can photographs inside but not outside. There are winding paths and sculptures and buildings, both big and small. ‘

In one of the museums, there is a walled outdoor installation called Collapse. It is rusting beams in a 16 foot deep hole surrounded by a 16 foot wall. Moss is starting to grow a little as it weathers. Only three people can go out at a time, with a guide. I asked if anyone had sung into the space, since the metal would bounce the sound around. The guide said he did not think so. I sang part of Faure’s Pie Jesu in to it. The guide said that the installation makes him think of the twin towers and he thanked me.

https://www.glenstone.org/art/exhibition/michael-heizer/

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

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Autoimmune OCD and my daughter shops my closet

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01700-4

The article is a proposal for diagnostic criteria for autoimmune obsessive compulsive disorder, a relatively rare version of OCD. Important because the treatment has to include searching for infection that triggers the antibody response, which in turn attacks the brain. Antibiotics to treat a “psychiatric” disorder. Mind and body connection, right?

The ironic thing about this new proposed diagnosis is that I do not have obivious OCD in any way, shape or form. It is masked by packrat. Also, my OCD is focused. When I was working, it was focused on patients. My clinic charts were thorough, 100% of the time. I was brutally thorough and wouldn’t skip anything. The result was that I got a reputation for being an amazing diagnostician. Usually it was because I wanted ALL the puzzle pieces and the ones that don’t fit are the ones that interested me. They have to all fit. Either the patient is lying or the diagnosis is not as simple as it appears. Occam’s Razor be damned, people can have more than one illness.

In fact, an article 20 years ago looked at average patient panels and said that the average primary care patient has 4-5 chronic illnesses. Hypertension, diabetes, emphysema, tobacco overuse disorder, alcohol overuse disorder, well, yeah. And then the complex ones had 9 or more complex illnesses. You can’t see the person for one thing, because if the diabetic has a toe infection, you’d better look at their kidney function because the antibiotic dose can kill their kidneys if you don’t adjust it. So do not tell me to see the patient for one thing. Malpractice on the hoof. Completely crazy and evil that administrators tell doctors to do that.

No one looking at my house would ever think I have any OCD. I am not a hoarder (ok, books) but the packrat force is strong in me. My daughter did not inherit that gene. She is a minimalist. However, she has come to appreciate the packrat a little.

This summer she said that her purse is wearing out. As a minimalist she has one purse. I ask, “Would you like to see if I have one that you like?” It so happens that as I was trying to recover from pneumonia, a local garage sale had 20+ year old designer purses for $3 each, because the house was going on the market. Got to get rid of the stuff.

“Yes, please.” says my daughter.

I start with the weird ones that I know she will not want. I get eye rolls. But I am progressing towards the purses that are close to the one she has. At last I produce a small leather purse, the right size, in good shape, and she sits up. “Let me see that one.” Like Eeyore with his popped balloon, putting it in a jar and taking it out, she tries putting her phone and wallet in the purse and taking it out. “Yes, I like this!” She calls it “Shopping mom’s closet.” I think it is delightfully comic. The benefits of a packrat mother.

Back to the Nature article and OCD. The diagnostic criteria are gaining steam. Having watched a conference this summer about Pandas and Pans, mine is mild. Some young people have a version where killer T cells invade the brain and kill neurons. I had a moment of panic when the conference was discussing a case, but then I thought, if I had the neuron killing kind I would be dead or demented by now.

Instead, I’m just a little neurologically unusual.

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Email quack spam: try CBD oil for free!

Lovely email QUACK spam. TRY CBD OIL FOR FREE!

“The Miracle Molecule! Everything You Need To Know About the Health Benefits of CBD Oil“. The link implies that the article was in Reuters. I ain’t pressing no spam link. Internet search on Reuters Everything You Need to Know About the Health Benefits of CBD Oil does not bring up a Reuters article.

“All natural formula. All CBD products use proven, organic all natural ingredients that are toxin-free.”

Ok, now WAIT a minute. Proven? By what the hell method? We dropped some and got high so it’s good? And don’t get me started on toxin-free. Sure, and they’ll sell you a bridge too.

Let’s discuss all natural.

Is CBD oil “all natural”? Um. Well, it could be organically grown, I will give them that. There have been pesticide poisonings from illegal pot and the laws for growers vary state by state. Check your state laws re whether they have specified what the growers can use on the marijuana plants. Paraquat is very strongly implicated in Parkinson’s (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20094060/) and you don’t want that, do you?

How do you define “all natural”? Innocent virgin farmer girls and boys, skipping through the pot plans and milking the oil out gently? Oh, ye innocent and foolish peoples. Here is a nice article about fires in CBD processing plants: https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/dsdfire-38-1.pdf. They burn real good, it turns out.

The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has guidelines: https://www.firefighternation.com/prevention/nfpa-approves-420-standard-on-fire-protection-of-cannabis-growing-and-processing-facilities/. You do keep up with the NFPA, don’t you?

An older article illustrating the problem: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/18/marijuana-factories-explosions-safety-issues-1155850.

And the title of this seems pretty self explanatory: https://extraxx.com/the-top-five-safety-concerns-in-a-cannabis-extraction-facility/. “Let’s begin with the obvious. When dealing with flammable gasses or liquids in extract production, there is a risk of fire or explosion during the handling process. The easiest way to understand the risk of fire or explosion is to consider the fire triangle. Essentially, a fire needs three things to start: a fuel source, oxygen, and an ignition source. The basic philosophy here is that by removing legs from the fire triangle, we can make the process safer; by removing two legs, an operator can make their extraction process significantly less incident-prone.” Later in the article: “there are two tools that should be kept on site to make known the presence of unnoticed flammable vapors: a permanent LEL, or Lower Explosive Limit, monitor should be installed in the extraction room; and a handheld two or four gas portable monitor should be on site as well.”

I don’t have much experience with LFL monitors. Now I want to buy some of the gummies and try lighting them on fire. Does the smoke make one high? Well, I think it depends what it is suspended in. I thought vaping was insane when I read that some of the nicotine vapes suspended the product in antifreeze. Um, your dog may die if they drink it. Absorption in the lungs just does not seem wise. Also, some of the vapes get so hot that heavy metals get in the lungs. You know, lead and stuff. When I researched it last, China was turning out 500 different kinds of vape machines. Uh, ick, don’t do that. Sugar burns so the gummies might. I have some “Annie’s organic fruit gummies” so I can check whether they burn. Though they shouldn’t contain CBD oil. Now you know what I am doing while disabled. Home chemistry and on line research.

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Mundane Monday #190: nature’s patterns

For Mundane Monday #190, my theme is: nature’s patterns.

Today is not mundane for many people. Thanks to all the people who keep working through the holidays: to fly people home, to help them in hospitals, police and fire people and the government workers who are working even if their paycheck is seriously delayed.

Even though we went to a mall yesterday, as we went in to one store we stopped and took pictures of the sky! The clouds were in undulating waves, all lined up. I want to be outside every day, where my heart expands and is filled with joy. May you have that feeling as well today.

Which of nature’s patterns makes you reach for a camera and what are your trying to capture? Link or message and I will list them next week.

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For Mundane Monday #189, the theme was branches.

klallendorfer makes a move with wordpress editing and galleries. She is so brave trying all the new things!

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without earbuds 8

I am two blocks from home, walking in my neighborhood (7).

She perches in the top of one of the trees. I zoom in again. Look back at that first picture. She is in one of the tall trees behind the cars, right at the top.

She looks like a very interesting Christmas tree topper.

Blessings, beautiful great blue heron! I think of you along rivers and ponds and swamps, but what a privilege to see you flying to perch in a tree! In three trees! Three blocks from my home!

I feel blessed.

She is one of the many reasons I walk without earbuds and listen and watch for the birds.

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without earbuds

Here is a mystery.

This picture is for scale. I went for a walk three days ago, without earbuds. I walk without earbuds so I can listen to the birds. And I mimic their calls.  I have a series of photographs of the latest bird who flew closer to see who the mimic was. See if you can guess the bird. She is not visible in this picture.

When I started the walk, a person ran by with earbuds. I feel so sad, seeing that they are cut off from nature even when they are outside. I grieve for the disconnect. And then I have a magical mysterious interaction with a very unexpected bird and joy returns…

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nurturance 2

This is for photrablogger’s Mundane Monday Challenge #42. In contrast to the beautiful pattern repeat in his photograph, with a person made structure, I choose this photo, from yesterday. In the Pacific Northwest, we are in the cold wet season: but the moss loves it. And the tree is alive and seems to welcome this water loving, water holding friend….