I love spring!

Posted on March 25, 2016 by luckyotter

It does wonders for my mood.

spring2016_2

spring2016_1

Tree with ivy.

Posted on March 17, 2016 by luckyotter

tree_2

I liked the look of this tree covered with ivy so I took a picture of it with my phone. I was standing directly underneath of it looking up, which makes its trunk look much bigger than it really is.

My favorite part about having a Smartphone is being able to take pictures whenever I want and having them immediately. Instant gratification!

Staying grounded.

Posted on January 23, 2016 by luckyotter

Photo Credit: No I’m Not OK

Sometimes I feel ungrounded, dissociated. Sometimes I feel like a gust of wind could blow me into nonexistence. I was raised in a harsh, chaotic, abusive environment and was blown from there into a harsh, chaotic, abusive marriage. As a result, I never was able to form strong roots. But to be grounded in life, to be able to bend and not break, adapt but not lose yourself, remain strong even when the cold winter winds blow, you need those roots.

Strong roots may not be with your family of origin, who should have nurtured you so you’d grow them. That may not be possible. But it doesn’t mean you can’t develop them.

I read a post today that inspired me because of the incredible photographs of an old Ficus Macrophylla tree, a beautiful and majestic tree with roots that could probably withstand an earthquake. I mean, just look at those roots! It’s incredible the way nature can adapt to almost any condition. There are trees that live on the cliffs of coastal California that grow vertically because of the strong winds that constantly buffet them. The trees have grown to adapt to their harsh conditions. They have grown stronger because of them.

We can also grow stronger because, not in spite of, the harsh conditions we might have been raised in. We can take inspiration from the trees by grounding ourselves and knowing how strong we really are, and that will prepare us for almost anything life can throw at us.

Take a walk. Look at some trees. Become conscious of your feet on the ground, your connection with the earth. Meditate on these things and try to stay in the present. Don’t worry about the future or the past. Turn off all the noise in your head, even for only a few minutes a day, and just be, like the tree.

Do plants get cancer?

Posted on January 2, 2016 by luckyotter

A random thought popped into my head today. That happens to me a lot. I always find out interesting new things that way. I’m as curious about the world as a 6 year old. That can’t be a bad thing. I think I might post these questions whenever I get an answer because maybe someone else was wondering the same thing. Today I started to wonder if plants can get cancer. The answer is, yes, they can, but it usually won’t kill a plant. Popular Science explains why:

In animals, a tumor develops when a cell (or group of cells) loses the built-in controls that regulate its growth, often as a result of mutations. Plants can experience the same phenomenon, along with cancerous masses, but it tends to be brought on via infection. Fungi, bacteria, viruses, and insect infestation have all been tied to plant cancers. Oak trees, for example, often grow tumors that double as homes for larvae.

The good news for plants is that even though they’re susceptible to cancer, they’re less vulnerable to its effects. For one thing, a vegetable tumor won’t metastasize. That’s because plant cells are typically locked in place by a matrix of rigid cell walls, so they can’t migrate. Even when a plant cell begins dividing uncontrollably, the tumor it creates remains stuck in one place usually with minor effects on the plant’s health—like a burl in a redwood tree.

Plants also have the benefit of lacking any vital organs. “It’s bad to get a brain tumor if you’re a human,” says Elliot Meyerowitz, a plant geneticist at the California Institute of Technology. “But there’s nothing that you can name that’s bad to get a tumor in if you’re a plant. Because whatever it is, you can make another.”

Meyerowitz points to another difference between plant and animal oncology with regard to those redwood burls: “Instead of treating plant tumors by surgery and chemotherapy, we make them into cheesy coffee tables.”

$3,200 for tree cancer on legs.

This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue of Popular Science.
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/ask-anything-do-plants-get-cancer

The best of fall and spring.

Posted on November 7, 2015 by luckyotter

Here’s a collection of my favorite photos from each week I did this series.

Spring.

March 8th:

March 15th:

March 22nd:

March 29th:

April 5th:

April 12th:

April 20th:

April 25th:

May 3rd:

Fall:

September 7th:

September 13th:

September 20th:

September 27th:

October 7th:

October 17th:

October 24th:

November 5th:

The progression of autumn: October 24

Posted on October 24, 2015 by luckyotter

🙂

Previous posts in this series:
October 17th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/10/17/the-progression-of-autumn-october-17/
October 7th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/10/07/the-progression-of-autumn-october-7/
September 27th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/27/the-progression-of-autumn-september-27/
September 20th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/20/the-progression-of-autumn-september-20/
September 13th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/13/the-progression-of-autumn-september-13/
September 7th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/07/the-progression-of-autumn-september-7/

The progression of autumn: October 17

Posted on October 17, 2015 by luckyotter

I got some good ones today! I think the season’s at it’s peak in western NC. Sorry — there was no post last week.
Click the photos to enlarge.

By the lake.

Fallow field.

Another one by the lake.

Previous posts in this series:
October 7th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/10/07/the-progression-of-autumn-october-7/
September 27th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/27/the-progression-of-autumn-september-27/
September 20th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/20/the-progression-of-autumn-september-20/
September 13th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/13/the-progression-of-autumn-september-13/
September 7th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/07/the-progression-of-autumn-september-7/

The progression of autumn: October 7

Posted on October 7, 2015 by luckyotter

This was the first perfect fall day this year. More brilliant colors are showing now, especially yellow, and the day was warm and sunny with no humidity. My spirits were a bit higher today because of the brilliant sunshine and I even spent a little time on my front porch when I got home, just enjoying the perfect weather and the scenery.
I didn’t bother taking pictures this past weekend because it was still rainy and there wasn’t anything really spectacular to take pictures of.
Because of all the rain we had over the past two weeks, the grass also needed a mow.

Previous posts in this series:
September 27th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/27/the-progression-of-autumn-september-27/
September 20th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/20/the-progression-of-autumn-september-20/
September 13th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/13/the-progression-of-autumn-september-13/
September 7th: https://luckyottershaven.com/2015/09/07/the-progression-of-autumn-september-7/

The Progression of Autumn: September 13

Posted on September 13, 2015 by luckyotter

There haven’t been too many changes yet, but it’s definitely looking less like summer, with the first day of fall only a week from now. Today felt very fall-like, with temperatures only in the 60s.

It’s hard to see here, but these trees are showing yellow now.

It definitely looks like autumn here.

My roses are still hanging in there. 🙂

My tuxedo cat, Sheldon, enjoying the cooler temperatures. I know the garden looks like crap. I got lazy and let it go.

Previous post in this series:
Summer into Fall: The Progression of Autumn: September 7

Summer into Fall: The Progression of Autumn: September 7

Posted on September 7, 2015 by luckyotter

If you’ve been around here awhile, you may remember my “Progression of Spring” series, which I ran weekly from early March through early May. That series was a lot of fun for me, because spring is my favorite season. I love the way everything comes alive, the flowers are blooming, the days are getting warmer and longer, and the heavy winter clothing can finally be put away.

I don’t get as excited about Fall, because although it’s pretty (at least through early November or so), it depresses me. The days are growing shorter, the changes (to me) aren’t as spectacular as those in the spring (the changing colors–which are shortlived–just mean the leaves are about to die and fall to the ground to rot), and although the cooler temperatures are a relief after the hot days of summer, it also means the ice and snow aren’t far behind. You may have guessed I’m not a big fan of winter.

I do like Halloween and Thanksgiving, but the string of holidays during the Fall (including the ridiculously overblown and overcommercialized Christmas season), fail to bring that much cheer to the depressing, gloomy, cold chill of late fall with all its monotonous dark browns and gray overcast skies and long freezing nights.

All that being said, autumn is still pretty, so I decided to start a Progression of Autumn series. This is the first installment. Maybe by doing this, I’ll start to appreciate it more!

This year has been a strange one: Fall came early. I started noticing the trees changing colors as early as mid-August. Obviously this wasn’t due to cool temperatures since it’s still swelteringly hot, but probably having such a dry summer that stressed the trees.

So this is the first set of photos I took for this series, which I’ll try to continue each week until things start to look like winter again (ugh).

Early changing colors.