Here’s your grab-bag for the week! Penguins, corals, and tidy pantries. (And more posts are coming next week, promise!)
Get your tidy on
This week has necessitated a bit of a head start on spring cleaning at our place.
First of all, a bold little mouse started making himself at home in our pantry cupboard. At a minimum we found this rude, and overall we’d prefer not to have a tiny freeloading lodger in our cornflakes. Or anywhere, really.
So, a pantry clean out was in order, and while we were at it, a tidy up, rearrangement, some tossing of old dried herbs and things, and a few new containers to store unwieldy packets. The cupboard looks great. Our lodger seems to have moved out, and I can now find the curry powder without having to first move the coriander, cumin, and cayenne (hey at least all the Cs were together).
But it reminded me of how much I enjoyed not just the lessons of Marie Kondo, but how she inspires us to be so much more connected with the ‘stuff’ we really love. When I look in the pantry, it feels good, it doesn’t just look good. Our things - even our spices - have energy. Sometimes the clutter and the stuff we don’t love is just an energy suck until we decide to deal with it (or until a mouse nudges us to).
Sometimes, I really believe that we are so consumed with paying attention to and managing all our stuff that it literally leaves less time to breathe in the rest of the world - the place that we really live.
Satellites discover penguins
A new colony of penguins has been discovered in Antarctica using satellite imagery. It turns out that penguin poop can be seen from space! Very handy when the penguins are in the middle of some seriously cold and inaccessible spots. Over half the penguin colonies in Antarctica have been discovered this way, apparently.
I love that it’s easier for us to launch instruments into space than it is to stroll across one of our own continents. And, of course the world could always use more penguins.
Dept. of Interior announces dates ‘Fee Free Days’ on public lands
I would love if it we could figure out a way for all our public lands to be free to everyone all the time, but of course overcrowding and maintenance are already a problem, and would only get worse.
Until we can figure out a more accessible solution, DOI announced a handful of days this year when a variety of public lands (Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife lands, National Parks and others) will be open free of charge. If taking the whole family to your local spot is just too pricey on a regular day, then definitely jot down the list of free days!
Red Sea Coral Refuge?
There are all sorts of research projects underway to help corals survive worldwide. Between higher ocean temperatures, rapid sea level rise, and increasing acidity, corals are not expected to survive in many places for many more decades. As a critical ocean habitat and nursery for all sorts of other species, this is very bad news.
But it turns out that the northern Red Sea might be a little refuge for a while at least. A bilateral agreement between the US and Egypt is exploring protecting and enhancing this coral refuge. This might also give us time to consider more solutions for the rest of the world’s corals.
Grab your binoculars to see once-in-50,000-year comet
This green comet is literally visible with a decent pair of binoculars (unless you live where we do, where the clouds haven’t lifted in what seems like 15 years…fine, two weeks).
The last time the comet passed us by, humans weren’t even a thing.
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Ok, that’s it for this week! More soon. Have a great weekend y’all.
“And of course, the world could always use more penguins.”
This! 😊
We have had clear skies ALL week, I go to look for this comet & nothing but clouds ☹️ Glad you were able to get rid of your unwanted guest! Happy weekend, friend!