Still Gravity

This phrase often defines generalists - I'm one of them - and is also used for those that "do it all" or "know it all". But where does it come from?  It comes from Robert Greene's 1592 pamphlet Greenes, Groats-worth of Witte, bought with a million of Repentance,  a text that says in the first page: "Written before his death and published at his dyeing request."  From the edition of 1629.   But of course, the line about "jack of all trades" was written very different thanks to the literary trends of the Elizabethan era. It goes like this: ...he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you, and being an absolute Johannes factotum is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country. " Johannes factotum" - literally, "John Do‐everything" - is about a person that does many things or has many duties.  The most interesting part is that this "jack of all trades" thing was a veiled attack agains

This is part of his prologue to  Narrow Road to the Deep North as translated by Professor Nobuyuki Yuasa. Days and months are the travellers of eternity. So are the years that pass by. Those who steer a boat across the sea, or drive a horse over the earth till they succumb to the weight of years, spend every minute of their lives travelling. There are a great number of the ancients, too, who died on the road. I myself have been tempted for a long time by the cloud-moving wind- filled with a strong desire to wander. We all are travelers because everybody wanders through space and time.  Seated in my home, I'm still traveling at around 67,000 miles per hour - 107,000 km/h.  Even our whole solar system is moving through space at about 514,500 miles per hour - 828,000 km/h.   We are always moving. Never still. So, tell me about my "still gravity". Let's keep it "still" just in the context of this blog. Snapshots of space and time of our personal journey. 

Her name was Mochi or Mo-chis or Moqui or Buffalo Calf or Buffalo Calf Woman. She was a Cheyenne woman that didn't pick to be a warrior until the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 in the Colorado Territory - it's said that she saw a soldier killing her mother. After this tragic event, all was about revenge and some peaceful travelers including children paid off the ultimate price - she was involved in the German family massacre and the Lone Tree massacre. Mochi ended incarcerated in Fort Sill, Indian Territory, and was later transferred to Fort Marion, Florida - this was the American name for the Castillo de San Marcos of the Spaniards in the city of St. Augustine. T his fort was where the Seminole Chief Osceola was imprisoned in 1837. There is a picture of Mochi at the fort. A list from 1875 in the National Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution includes her among the Indian prisoners at Fort Marion. S he was released in 1878. It's said that Mochi was the on

It happened in a canal of the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia.  Alligators tend to concentrate in water holes during the dry season, but these massive numbers in the rainy season are kind of strange.  Now biologists are researching the why.  Details in the article "'There’s gators everywhere.' Mass alligator gathering investigated in Georgia canal."

New discovery about the Komodo Dragons: ...scientists have discovered that their teeth are coated with a layer of iron that helps keep their serrated edges razor sharp. Check the new tale about the largest living lizard .

"Walking tree"? Is this a joke? Sounds like a theme from a fantasy novel, but check the photo of the tree of the year of New Zealand . 

I learned many things about the history of Yellowstone from this old book.  The author was an engineer by trade and a historian by vocation.  Hiram Martin Chittenden  published the book in 1895, two decades after Yellowstone National Park was founded.  Interesting things from this book.  The name of the area as translation to English of the Indian name “Yellow Rock”. Lewis & Clark used it as “Yellow Stone” in 1805. Another Indian name was “Burning Mountains”.  The Native Americans relationship with these lands. Most Indians feared and avoided the geyser regions as source of magic and evil - but the "Sheepeaters" or Tukudeka , a band of the Shoshone, lived there.  Tales of the first white fur trappers and explorers of the region.   The origin of the names of most prominent geographical features of Yellowstone - including the geysers.  Interesting quotes about the first white explorers of Yellowstone.  The mention from the journal of Lewis and Clark of John Colter in the en

Basho followed by Sora in his journey through Japan in the Edo period - Public Domain. I just read  Narrow Road to the Deep North from Matsuo Basho as translated by Professor Nobuyuki Yuasa.  This travel diary that combines prose and verse recounts Basho's trip of the spring of 1689. One of the verses of the old master of haiku caught my attention.  A thicket of summer grass  Is all that remains  Of the dreams and ambitions  Of ancient warriors. Deep wisdom. 

A former  Air Force S.E.R.E - survival, evasion, resistance, and escape - instructor shares some tips on how to carry stuff efficiently for hikers and backpackers. People all around the world carrying large burdens in baskets on their heads know what’s up. While maintaining straight posture with a level head, this is one of the most effortless ways to carry heavy items. The weight is pushing directly down, not forward, sideways, or back.  Some of the tips remind methods taught by Mors Kochanski.  Solid advice and knowledge.  Via Backpacker .

The news come from Colorado. Many hikers and campers are leaving behind campfires still burning that may spark wildfires.  Don't be surprised when more dispersed camping areas are closed. Some folks should never leave the cities. They are a lost cause. Like Robert Heinlein said: Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig. The lack of responsibility of a few will affect the many.  Check the report on the abandoned campfires  here .

It was shot in Katmai, Alaska, by an expedition guide and published today.  Male bears kill cubs that aren't their own to increase mating opportunities and to eliminate competition for food. Lastly, the little cubs are food. Females also have been seen killing cubs.  Nature is all about survival.  (His channel also has a video of a fight between two gigantic males .)

The heat is over the roof in this torrid summer. A light rain brought some freshness.  Just a casual photo. The drops of water look gorgeous over the petals. Isn't it a white beauty? A wish after the morning rain? The late Sam Hamill answered nicely in one of his poems .  After this morning’s rain, I dream only of a woman’s gentle laughter, her fingers on my arm as we sip wine in the evening, telling tales, lighting the heart’s small fires that will get us through the rains of autumn and dark winter. 

They were old. Very old. Actually, they were older than the pyramids of Egypt. But the burials happened in sunny  Florida , close to our well-known Kennedy Space Center east from the city of Orlando.  168 bodies buried into the peat of an ancient pond. Interesting the visualization of how these bodies were kept underwater.  Check the whole tale of the findings in  this article  from the Orange County History Center. 

Always liked this quote: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover! And always read that it came from Mark Twain.  Recently, learned that maybe not . But this doesn't change the truth behind the text. 

What's your plan if a bear like this one decides to attack you in a trail?   Yosemite National Park doesn't allow to carry bear spray. And, strangely, black bears live in Yosemite National Park. Do we have an incongruence here? Spray for bears is illegal in a place where there are bears.  Happens that this national park suffers of an irrational fear for security. Their bear spray ban is supposed to discourage crimes there. What a brilliant idea, because we all know that criminals care a lot about laws and legality. They must be afraid of carrying bear spray into Yosemite just because it's unlawful. Bet on it.    In any case, law abiding citizens are easy targets for criminals and bears alike in Yosemite National Park. They only have hiking poles to defend themselves.  Even bear experts and researchers disagree with this park biologists. If someone dies because of

Comedian Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock in "Safety Last!" from 1923. I always liked this iconic image from the century old movie. What a picture to represent every one of us hanging from time. What comes next? The fall of the clock?

First time seeing this strange fungus .  The shape was weird and interesting, but the smell was horrible and attracted many flies.  Lattice stinkhorn - Clathrus crispus for science -   is native from the Americas. This fungus is saprobic, meaning that "eats" decayed organic matter.  Nothing to fear from them while you are alive but... yes, the dead eater really stinks. (More about them in this page .)

Screenshot of the BackcountrySOS app.   You can call 911 from a phone without service or sim card - carriers are required to comply in the United States -, but the problem when traveling in the backcountry is the lack of connection to cell towers to make calls.  The good news is that sometimes calls don't go through in remote places, but texts can because they require less bandwidth - we've experienced this many times. In those cases, this app may help if you are in an area where 911 monitors texts.  BackcountrySOS communication is monitored in some counties of Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. For someone, the app already worked in an emergency - check this report .  Of course, this app is an add on and not a substitute to carry satellite communication.  All the details of BackcountrySOS in this page . 

The remains of the areca palms - this is one of six groups.  Cutting the thin palms down was the easy part. Removing the stumps without a power tool was the painful job. We bought a chemical that dried and accelerated the decomposition, but still, it was hard physical work.  Areca palms - also known as butterfly palms or yellow palms - are pretty and give a tropical touch to any patio. But if you have many, they generate a sizable amount of garbage with their fallen branches. You also need to eliminate the shoots that grow at the base of the palms to control their expansion. These natives of Madagascar grow between 10 and 20 feet. They absorb house contaminants if kept indoors. Kind of a natural air purifier.   One stump in pieces. Five more to go.   

Stan Mills got an amazing video in an encounter with a bear mom with five cubs around this point .     What about this one of a pack of wolves and two bears meeting at a carcass.   This happened by  Fan Creek  at the northwestern corner of the national park.

The beautiful flowers of the Rubber rabbitbrush in northern New Mexico.  Hiking in the Rio Grande Gorge in northern New Mexico, I took this picture of a Rubber rabbitbrush -  Ericameria nauseosa - in full bloom against the backdrop of the arid walls of the canyon.  Nice flowers, but don't smell them. The odor is pungent.   This shrub is a cousin of the sunflowers. The Zuni and Navajo Indians use the flowers for a yellow dye.  Gorgeous color. Gorgeous flowers. The beauty of the American West.