Ice

There's a lot going on with that little 3-letter word! This will be fun.

Let's start with frosting a cake or cookies, also known as "icing" them. (Can you tell I'm hungry?) I haven't had breakfast but picked up a coffe at the bakery. There I stoically bypassed those fresh, beautifully ICED cookies and cupcakes! sigh (That's the truth.) Gotta move along fast so I don't talk myself into heading back to the bakery. It's a lovely spring morning and a short walk - now wouldn't that be nice? NO!!

Colloquially, people often refer to putting something "on ICE" when they want to postpone it. It's easy to see where that probably comes from. Many things spoil if they aren't kept cool so I guess it's a metaphor. (If you're a a serious grammarian please correct me.)

And TV hitmen now refer to "ICING" a victim. That seems to be replacing "offing" which I preferred. Icing sounds so cold-blooded vs offing which seemed gentler and more polite. Maybe it's a matter of political correctness.

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Now let's consider the case of "DRY ICE".  For starters, it's not ice at all. It's the solid form of the gas carbon dioxide. It shares the main feature of "wet ice", the solid form of water, but that's about their only similarity: both preserve frozen foods and other products that must be kept cool or frozen. 

Dry ice can do many things that wet ice cannot, and it has a huge advantage: it leaves no residue when returning to its original state as a gas, while wet ice leaves water behind when it thaws. That's because carbon dioxide has no liquid state. It goes directly from solid (frozen) to gas. (Think of the ruinous floods that sometimes follow a spring thaw.) 

But wet ice has only a couple of minor advantages over dry ice: There's no risk of quick frostbite when handling wet ice as there is with dry ice. And the average person can easily produce and store ice cubes at home whereas dry ice must usually be purchased elsewhere from a producer or distributor. 

A few of the many uses for dry ice: 

• Blast cleaning - major industrial use! 
• Arrest and/or prevent insect activity in containers of grains and their products. 
• Create fog via machines in theaters and other venues for dramatic effect. 
• Capture mosquitoes, bedbugs and other pests. 
• Loosen asphalt floor tiles for construction purposes. 
• Various scientific lab procedures. 

Notes: 

Good news:  Space exploration has revealed that the polar caps on Mars are made entirely of dry ice!  

Serious Risk:  Great care should be taken when using dry ice to avoid frostbite on any exposed body surface as well as the risk of hypercapnia, a lung condition that can lead to death. 

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Now for my favorite part of this post - sharing with you a breathtaking video of ice caves in Alaska's Mendenhall Glacier. Taken by drone just a few weeks ago, it portrays a journey that no human will ever take. Enjoy.

Haiku

I love reading Haiku, and occasionally I write a bit of it. Like the one below:

Birth, birthday presents
Birthday past, birthday future
Birthday absent

That more or less lives up to the "rules" which are really broad guidelines. They explain the basic Haiku structure and stimulate creativity with simple suggestions. As I have come to understand it, the heart of Haiku is a brief and tightly woven word-play composed of the distillation, connection and contrast inherent in a single idea. To me a good one shines like a precious jewel and makes me think "yes". One that is not so good makes me frown and wonder.

Here's how it's done, distilled from sources I liked:

• Length: 14 syllables maximum
• Shape: 3 lines, the last line is often a "surprise" 
• Subject: a poignant experience, observation, or feeling expressed in two contrasting ways
• Seasonal reference: overt or implied
• Implication: how the senses perceive the subject
• Mode: show, don't tell or explain

For me it's a bit addictive, probably because I see it as a game and I love figuring out how to win. It's not the winning I like. It's uncovering the game behind the game, the secrets that enable one to control it or to win. (I realize what that tells you about me. But I think I have good qualities, too.) 

There you have it! It's deceptively simple. But if you are intrigued by the idea of unmasking the inscrutable just search the internet on Haiku or writing Haiku or anything similar and have some fun. 

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Returning to the top of the page I see that I didn't do very well. Some rainy day this summer, when A to Z is over and my yard is in good shape, I'll try to rewrite it. 

Gardening

There are flower gardens, vegetable gardens, kitchen gardens, and truck gardens. We all know about flower, vegetable and kitchen gardens even if we aren't gardeners. But what grows in a "truck garden"? Surely not trucks.

Truck garden is just another name for a "market garden" where vegetables are grown to be sold locally, often in local "farmers' markets". Because freshness is a requirement and the produce is often perishable it is "trucked" to market as soon as possible after picking. Hence the nineteenth century name which is seldom heard these days. But the practice is alive and well, even growing in some places. Many of us still scurry down as early as possible on market days to get the best berries or veggies, knowing they'll be picked over if not completely gone by 9 or 10 a.m.

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I know very little about gardening of any kind, but that's my current project, which is why I included it in the challenge. It gives me a chance to articulate my ideas and research as I develop my hopes for this summer.

I call these "hopes, not "plans" because I called them plans last year and never got beyond the hoping stage. There are two areas behind my house where I want to plant something attractive that requires little care. Choosing the right plants was the purpose of yesterday's post on Flowers.

Behind my garage there is a 20 x 20 foot area that is lumpy, with buried concrete chunks and a lot of clay and weeds. It needs to be evened out and a layer of good dirt laid down. Farther back is another plot the same size on which stood a cottage until recently.

                            

It was charming but unstable, and the cost to repair it was too high. Some buried trash remains to be removed and the whole area smoothed out. There's black dirt which will be fine for planting. 

Here's the back yard layout, not to scale but it gives a good sense of proportion. One plot for attention is between the Garage and "Ret wall" (retaining wall with a white picket fence on it). The other is below the label Retaining Wall on the layout where the cottage was.

Here is how the yard looked last summer with the cottage intact. The garage is on the left, white picket fence behind it on the retaining wall, labeled "Ret wall" in the layout above. The lower left area below the label "Retaining Wall" is where the cottage stood. (See it way in the back.) 

It's clear from the picture above that there is lots traditional gardening area which I do easily, but I can't add to it the preparation, planting and maintenance of the two new areas. They need to be "plowed" with something motorized, and the one between the garage and picket fence also needs a load of dirt laid. It's time to have that done and I think I have the man for the job. I hope to schedule him in the next few days and I'll report on that as a PS on this post.

Flowers

This is the first of two posts on the topic of planting my back yard. Tomorrow's post describes the areas to be planted and plans for preparation. Today's post explores choices for planting 800 square feet in two plots, after the ground is prepared.

The first step was to find my "hardiness zone for flowers". That turned out to be 6a (south-east Michigan), but already judgment was called for. Our winters (like the one just past) can be fairly harsh and long, so I think hardier zone 5 plants would be better.

I always loved Cosmos and think they would look great in my two empty spaces:

But when I checked the zone it turns out they need a warmer climate. Plus, they are annuals, and I already have a lot to do so prefer perennials. But I also love Foxglove, Lupine, Salvia and Snapdragons. Wouldn't a group like this be grand?

Well, that might be overdoing it, but at least I have some suitable names to research in the greenhouse. 

GROUND COVER, FLOWERING AND NOT

Next I reviewed some types of ground cover for my zone. I have always admired ornamental grasses so they were the first. Some can grow to 4 feet, but 18 inches seems about right for me. That would be Pampas Grass, another of my favorites. And Miscanthus would be good, too.

PAMPAS GRASS

MISCANTHUS

I considered vines, but they are too flat and take too long to cover. But the plants below might work. They are flowering perennials that spread to hug the ground.

AJUGA

LINGONBERRIES
Very hardy perennials which also make great jam. Worth considering!

Such a lot to choose from and truly not much time.  Stay tuned - 

Suggestions are welcome in Comments below. Thanks for visiting and helping me think through this. 

Everest, the Earth's Highest Mountain

This is the ultimate mountain, the nearest we can come to the heavens while keeping our feet firmly planted on the earth. Created 50 million years ago when India crashed into the Eurasian Plate, it is still growing. Yes, at 29,0235 feet above sea level (measured in 1953) it is still growing! 

Since 1852, when it was first identified as the world's highest mountain, there have been those who were obsessed with the idea of standing on its summit. In 1921 the forbidden kingdom of Tibet opened its borders to outsiders so climbing became possible, and in 1924 George Mallory and Andrew Irvine lost their lives in what may have been a successful climb. But not until 1953 was there a recorded success by Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.   

Everest's ancient Tibetan name is Chomolungma, or Qomolangma, meaning Goddess Mother of the World or Goddess the Third. Jamling Tenzing Norgay, son of Hillary's famous guide to the summit, describes the ways in which the mountain still gives meaning to the lives of the local people both spiritually and by providing the environmental elements which sustain them.

As you will learn later, travel is the ultimate variety for me. So would my ultimate trip be one to Earth's highest mountain? The "ultimate ultimate". Probably not. 

For me travel is about discovery and growth, delight in the unknown and unexpected, and the pleasure of seeing things through the eyes of those I meet along the way. I think a trip even to the foot of that mountain would be all about perseverance and endurance. I might not even make it that far. It's true that I would experience all the joys of travel I just listed, but it's a trip I would not anticipate with pleasure. Why? What is the difference? 

Perhaps the difference is the focus. Everest would always be the focus - before, during and after the trip. The focus would be intense, leaving room for little else and thereby narrowing my world-view. That's just a guess, but the idea seems to run contrary to the excitement I feel when I set out on an adventure. I feel relaxed, eager for whatever comes, savoring the lack of a plan. And that is the opposite of a life-threatening trip up the mountain which must be thoroughly planned and rehearsed. I'll enjoy pictures and fascinating prose! 

So what does draw people to make the journey or even the climb part-way up to Base Camp? Some are adventurers and this is a unique experience. Some are forever testing their own limits, and this is an incredible challenge. Some want to achieve recognition as the "first" of something - first woman, first Canadian, or whatever. For others it's a spiritual quest. And George Mallory, who died on his third attempt, said he climbed simply because it was there. 

If you are captivated by this great natural creation, you may enjoy the following: 

• The Greater Meaning of Everest by Jamling Tenzing Norgay 
• Facts compiled on the 60th anniversary of the first successful climb to the top: 60 Fascinating Everest Facts 

Incredible video of climbers at the top

  

Digging for Diamonds (and Information)

I have wanted to know more about diamonds ever since I saw the 2006 film Blood Diamonds. It's a movie well worth seeing if you are concerned about the human condition in other parts of the world. And you know I am if you have read my first post - A is for Activism and Advocacy.

As modern Americans our first thought when diamonds are mentioned is likely to be of jewelry. We may even be aware that because of their hardness they are used in industry for cutting and grinding. But that does it for me. So I was surprised to learn that we can document their use in India for religious icons as far back as 3,000 years and possibly 6,000 years!

Wikipedia has a huge amount of information about diamonds, starting with how nature creates them:

• They are made from carbon-containing minerals ... 
• ... under high pressure at a depth of 87 to 118 miles beneath the earth's surface. (Note: It is 3,818 miles from the earth's surface to its center.) 
• The process takes 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. 

If that's not a show-stopper I don't know what is!

So how did those ancient Indians find them? Without history to tell us we can assume that volcanic eruptions brought them to the surface where they would ultimately have have been found by accident. We can guess that they might, then, have dug at those sites hoping to find more.

Mining diamonds continues to this day, with about half the annual production coming from Africa. Unfortunately the conditions there are brutal, resultng in humanitarian efforts to improve them. The film Blood Diamonds is a part of that ongoing effort.

Open-pit diamond mine in Kimberley, South Africa - the largest hole excavated by hand

About 57,300 pounds of diamonds are mined world-wide annually, only half of which are gem quality. But the remainder is not enough to meet industrial demand so we have learned to make them in a high-pressure high temperature process to fill that need! For at least fifty years we have been creating industrial grade varieties in laboratories, and recently even began manufacturing gem quality.

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"Digging" for this bit of information to share with you led me inevitably to unearth much more on the topic. (I'm not finished yet.) At the same time I also acquired a new skill which every blogger should know about: how to illustrate a post both legally and free. This article explains: 7-places-find-usable-images-online

I discovered that on Twitter which is fast becoming my favorite source of news and information. Until now I have either linked to articles and pictures on other sites (that's OK) or copy/pasted them into my posts (that's not OK unless I'm using my own writing or pictures). The picture above is my first free and legal image thanks to Getty Images, Free for online use - Search Royalty Free Images  That's 35 million pictures, nicely catalogued for easy topic hunting! I hope this will be helpful for you, too.

Culinary Historians

By now everyone has heard of Julia Child, that tall lady with a passion for food who brought French cuisine to American kitchens. I think she would have great fun with today's foodies. And she surely would have loved her 100th birthday party despite the Michigan heat of an August day in 2012. That was just one of many events regularly hosted by the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor (CHAA).

A cardboard Julia Child surveys the many dishes prepared in honor of her 100th birthday by the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor. With a yellow 'Julia Child' rose.

Kim Bayer | AnnArbor.com Contributor

Until recently I had not heard of "culinary historians". Nor could I have imagined the passion such a calling could generate. That was before my introduction to CHAA. The program on my first visit was a lecture about The Egg! Did you know there are many similarities between human and chicken reproductive systems? That was just the first of many startling and fascinating facts presented that day. And our lecturer was so knowledgeable and entertaining that after the Q&A members followed him to his car with more questions!

There's even a blog written by an Atlanta nutritional anthropologist (another unusual field of study) - The Culinary Historian. Dig a little deeper and you will find whole sections in some libraries devoted to food preparation and consumption dating back as far as the Greeks and Romans. A fine example is our own University of Michigan Clements Library's archive. There a small and devoted volunteer staff works tirelessly to gather and catalog information relating to American culinary history, as well as presenting the occasional program.

And speaking of "the spice of life",  according to a recent lecture it was spices from the East that literally made life bearable for the Greeks and Romans. Theirs was a "fragrant" existence without plumbing or many other waste disposal conveniences that we take for granted. To counteract that situation they regularly dispatched fleets of ships and land-based caravans to the Orient to procure for them huge quantities of rich spices. This vast and steady traffic resulted in the creation of a whole system of enterprise and travel along routes still in use today.

FLASH  This just in, a new book compiled in part by going through Lincoln's grocery bills: