TRAINING IN SHAMBLES

I’m leaving for Hawaii in two weeks.  I feel grossly unprepared for hiking, snorkeling, and kayaking.  Or is that I’m feeling gross — as in BIG!  

I hoped to lose three pounds and be full of extra muscles when I get on the plane January 7th.  HA!   Normally I weigh about 143 pounds and thought I could lose those pounds for sure.  Yesterday at 6:30 AM, the scale showed 146 pounds.  An hour later, after breakfast, it read:

That can't be right!

My family’s addiction genes are working on me this month.  I want sugar.  I want it, want it, want it!  Cookies people give me, cookies I make myself, cookies I buy.  Dark chocolate with raspberry anything.  Oh, and eggnog!  

Toward the Cliffs

December 12 I went on a five mile hike with three young photographers.  On Raven Cliffs Falls Trail.  Now that was a training experience!

Heron Along Rice Creek

But my only other hike this month was more of a saunter -- about one or two miles along Rice Creek in Victoria Bryant State Park.  

Impromptu Pond In My Yard

Normally I’d be hiking more but it’s been raining so much we’ve got flood warnings.  

And what happened to all the exercises I normally do at the YWCO?  Well, I’ve been exercising my fingers the last two weeks.  I was asked to play the piano Christmas Eve and the Sunday afterwards because all the good pianists were to be out of town.  Practicing for hours at the piano has done nothing for the rest of my body. 

And I’m not too sure about the condition of my mind either.  I cry at the drop of a hat.  See a YouTube of a dog adopted from a shelter: cry.  Overcome with the kindness my friends show each other: cry.  See parents show loving glances at their child, cry. 

Monday I heard and saw our choir sing a most wonderful song about feeling the light inside you, sharing the light, dancing with the light.  I cried in happiness yet again.   Here's a little video about the beautiful Winter Solstice Service:  

And I have no idea which day it is.  Because of all the concerts and dinners and special holiday events, it feels like Saturday every day.  I’m totally undone calendar-wise and forgot to go to one party this week.   Maybe my brain is mildewed from all the rain. 

Native Poinsettia

It’s in the 70’s every day this week.  This morning it was the same temp here as in Honolulu!  Even our Georgia native poinsettia is blooming.   I should have no trouble figuring out what clothing to pack. 

 This month has been so full of beautiful experiences.  Not exactly adventures, but inspiring in other ways.  Singing with the Bethel Choir.  Being so grateful for the talented musicians and singers.  Crying to hear Stephanie and Bernice (my fellow altos) sing lead parts so passionately.   Seeing the children and youth come to see the birthday cake for the Baby Jesus brought out by Pastor Daniel inspired smiles with the tiniest of tears.

Giving the folks at Our Daily Bread a laugh when they saw my propeller hat was gratifying.  Several of the men suggested I needed a motor on it.  The kids were in awe.   We served 200 lunch plates of Will's delicious and healthy food.

Soon I'll get serious again about preparing for my first big adventure of 2016.  But not just yet.

LEARNING THROUGH TRAVEL

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
       -- Mark Twain in Innocents Abroad

Books I've Read

I travel nowadays to prove that I can.   And it’s the only way I learn geography.  

DVD's I've Seen

It’s nerve-racking: getting the correct plane tickets, deciding what to pack, negotiating airport security, watching the clock, not losing essential documents.  But it’s great once you’re there.  Wherever “there” is.

To prepare for trips, I do research, read books and news, watch movies, and download podcasts.

I had thought Hawaii was some sort of nirvana — a heavenly place full of nothing but beauty.   But now I have a more balanced view…

“Hawaii saw a 23% increase in its unsheltered homeless population between 2014 and 2015, and a 46% increase in the number of unsheltered families, said the  homelessness coordinator.  There were 7,260 homeless people in Hawaii at the latest count, meaning Hawaii has the highest rate of homelessness per capita of any state in the nation.”  

What might be the cause?  How about this information ranking states on home prices:

Rank     State         2015 Average Home Prices and Value
1           Hawaii      $547,600
35         Georgia     $141,900

Hawaii has been facing a teacher shortage for more than two decades.  Their Hawaii State Teachers Association President links teacher turnover to both challenging teaching conditions and teacher pay that, when the cost of living is factored in, ranks among the lowest in the country.

Deer Visitors in My Backyard

So much for Hawaii as a lush tropical playground.  I began to wonder what other assumptions might be wrong, while wondering what Hawaiians would think was different/exciting about Georgia if they came here on holiday.  Would they get all excited seeing deer in my backyard, for instance?  I presumed there were no deer in Hawaii but found this news:

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) - The Maui Axis Deer Working Group is trying to quantify the invasive animal's population, while exploring whether developing a venison meat industry is a feasible solution for controlling its growth.  A September aerial survey counted about 8,000 deer in East Maui, the most heavily affected area.

Local Cows in My Neighborhood

What about cows?  HawaiiHistory.org reports a history of ferrel cattle:

“The simple-seeming gift of a few cattle given to Kamehameha I by Captain George Vancouver in 1793 made a major impact on Hawaii's economy and ecosystem.  By 1846, 25,000 wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000 semi-domesticated cattle lived alongside humans. A wild bull or cow could weigh 1,200 to 1,500 pounds and had a six-foot horn spread. Vast herds destroyed natives’ crops, ate the thatching on houses, and hurt, attacked,  and sometimes killed people."  Yikes!

One of 100 Squirrels I See in the Yard

And they seem to have squirrels, just a different color:  Hawaii Wildlife Control says in a list of creatures which are troublesome:  “Now on to squirrel removal and control in Hawaii, the red squirrel, (the spawn of satin [sic]) as I identify them.”

Native Swamp Hibiscus in My Yard

 I look forward to seeing their native plants.  They’ve got native hibiscus, which we do also, but they might be different species. Like we do here, they encourage people to plant native plants:  “Growing native Hawaiian plants is important. About 90% of our native plants are found nowhere else in the world and are some of the most endangered.”

Fall Sumac in Bishop GA

 My sumacs exhibit red Fall color.  Their sumacs are red only with new growth cause they do not have Fall.  “Because Hawaii lies at the edge of the tropical zone, it technically has only two seasons, both of them warm. There’s a dry season that corresponds to summer (Apr–Oct) and a rainy season in winter (Nov–Mar).”

 Well, if Hawaii has a rainy season, do they have mosquito problems like we do in Georgia?  We’ve got West Nile virus communicated by mosquito bite.  What do they have?  Since September 11, 2015, the Hawaii Health Department reported 90 cases of Dengue Fever on the Big Island transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which they blame on infected travelers.  They predict months eradicating it.  Reminder to me:  pack mosquito repellent!

Snow in Bishop GA

Now surely they can’t have snow in Hawaii!  But wait, they do.  Their tallest mountain, a dormant volcano named Mauna Kea, is 13,796 feet above sea level.  (Our tallest, Brasstown Bald, is only 4,784 feet.)  So Mauna Kea’s height makes snow possible seasonally. 

Luna Moth on My Pecan Tree

New Georgia Encyclopedia says there are several hundred butterfly species and more than 1,000 moth species in Georgia. An estimated 1,150 species of Lepidoptera, the order comprising butterflies and moths, have been recorded in the U.S. state of Hawaii.   I better get some butterfly and moth photos in Hawaii!


In Georgia, there have been 13 shark attacks since 1876.  Hawaii had 13 since October of 2015.  (Of course, they have way more ocean.)  Shark attacks are increasing in Hawaii, especially off Maui, according to the Huffington Post.  A report concludes that a burgeoning recreation industry is butting up against shark-friendly environmental conditions to create this increase.   When our Road Scholar group snorkels at night with manta rays in Honomalino Bay I’m taking my underwater camera just in case a tiger shark comes by.

HOT OFF THE PRESS:  

 The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to possible risks of travel due to increased terrorist threats. Current information suggests that ISIL, al-Qa'ida, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests. This Travel Alert expires on February 24, 2016.

 

 Let me proclaim now that if my plane gets shot down, I have had a long and wonderful life.  But if it is to happen, I would prefer it on the way back from Hawaii.

 

If you want to read these blogs while I'm in Hawaii, please go to the top and insert your email address.  Then click "Submit" and follow the directions.   If you can't figure it out, let me know and I'll do it for you.

TWO MEMORY ISSUES

A.  TAXONOMY AND NOMENCLATURE

When I was a pre-med biology major at Temple, I took Histology, Protozoology, Anatomy, and a bunch of courses where exams consisted of identifying what we saw (Genus, Family, Species), or labeling body parts and parts of parts.  I studied like hell. I got all A’s cause I was an Ace at memorizing and pleasing teachers. 

Can’t do it now.  I can blame four concussions and being 74+.  The psychologist who interpreted the four hour memory test I took said my Executive Function was terrific but my short-term memory was dreadful...  that trying to learn a new language would be very frustrating for me.  

Photo of a Sign in Norway

 I had been thinking of “language” as English, Spanish or Norwegian.   But last year I sat in a class on Georgia Geology hearing about Ultra-Mafic, Amphibolite, Gneiss, and Igneous rock.  This is a new language!   Much of science involves learning the lingo.  So that’s why I feel like such a dunce! 

I go on weekly Nature Rambles and woodland hikes where we focus on trees, flowers, moss, grass, mushrooms, insects and spiders.  I hang out with knowledgeable folks who like to tell the difference between kinds of red oaks, who can name hundreds of wildflowers and insects.  

Here’s Bill who turned a mushroom upside down after he excavated the base.  He’s  photographing the gills to identify the exact name of that mushroom.

Since I can’t remember crap, I concentrate on looking and finding, just to enjoy this beautiful world.  But now and then I actually remember something. 

Amanita

Here’s a mushroom named Amanita.  Wikipedia’s first sentence is:  “The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide.”  I’ve actually learned this name because we see it fairly often and there are specific ways to identify it that, magically, I’ve remembered!  Why this one and not the other 57 different kinds we’ll see?  Who knows!

Turkey Tails

I remember this one, too, cause it looks like its name:  turkey tail.  



 



Here are a few mushrooms I’ve named myself cause their "real" name eludes me.  Do you think the mushrooms care?

Three Little Maids From School

Freckles

Parasol

Pink Ruffles

Red Guy

Sunny Side Up

B.  Memory Trick #1

Sing a Song

When I’m in the loo and see the toilet paper roll is nearly gone, I can forget all about it walking the 15 feet to where it’s stored.  To keep it in my mind, I sing this song from South Pacific: 

Toilet paper is the thing I need, bomp bomp bomp bomp
Toilet paper is the thing I need, bomp bomp bomp bomp
Toilet paper is the thing I need, And I will get it soon.

 

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LAVA AND VOLCANOES

My Lava

A few months ago I came home from a three-hour trip doing errands.  Gruesome surprise on the stove:  I accidentally made LAVA while I was gone!  At least it looked like lava.  Apparently I was careless when I left, not quite turning off the hummingbird syrup I was heating on the stove.  The pot was so hot it scorched the porch banister when I put it out to cool.  After it cooled, I touched it.   Hard as rock.  And the lid was glued to the black concoction.

After I prayed in gratitude that the house was still standing, I took the pot (lid attached at a jaunty angle) out behind the garage. 

When Marguerite and I were in Iceland, August 2012, our guide said it took 200 years for moss to begin growing on newly formed lava.   So I decided to do an experiment.  Every month or so I’d photograph my lava to see when something began to grow on it.

Cooled Lava Ripples

When we toured around Iceland, we saw dark pointy fields of lava with hardly a green thing to be seen.  Bleak.  Hard to walk on.  Iceland was formed around 25 million years ago, which makes it one of the youngest landmasses on the planet.   Like the islands of Hawaii, it was formed by volcanoes.  There are 35 active volcanoes on Iceland.

 I inquired on-line about moss and Icelandic lava fields, asking whether my memory of the guide’s report was correct.  “Depends on conditions and altitude. It has taken the moss in Eldhraun 232 years to become what it is today. But it has taken the moss in Svínahraun (just east of Reykjavik) 1016 years to be what it is today. In many places you can see moss begin to grow after only 4 - 10 years (Eldhraun). But in other areas there is no moss after thousands of years.”

Moss is beautiful and soft and green.  I think it allows soil to begin growing on lava because it holds water like a sponge.  Maybe someone can write more about that in the “Comments” section below.  

On a forum about Icelandic moss, a writer was incensed because s/he thought Justin Bieber had run rough shod over their moss.  You can check out this little video he released to see whether you agree:  http://icelandreview.com/news/2015/11/02/justin-bieber-releases-music-video-shot-iceland.

Recently Erupted Eyjafjallajokull

 Molten rock below the surface of the Earth that rises in volcanic vents is known as magma, but after it erupts from a volcano it is called lava. The magma comes from tens of miles underground.  Some volcanoes become mountains.  The USGS reports, “Volcanoes are mountains but they are very different from other mountains. They are not formed by folding and crumpling but by uplift and erosion. Instead, volcanoes are built by the accumulation of their own eruptive products.”

Another reason to be thinking of lava is my January 2016 trip to Hawaii.  We’ll go for an evening field trip to see an erupting volcano: “Halemaumau continues to thrill visitors with a vivid glow that illuminates the clouds and the plume as it billows into the night sky.”   Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lives there.

Naturally I wondered whether our North Georgia mountains started out as volcanoes.  Nope.  Our Georgia mountains were formed by the plate-tectonic collision of continents that built the Appalachians about 300 million years ago. When North America and Africa collided, the compression where they met shoved sheets of sedimentary rock over each other.

Marguerite and I in Iceland.  Whale-watching in August on the Sea.

I hope I’ll learn more about the differences between Hawaii and Iceland beyond the obvious difference in temperature. I’ll be sure to make notations in this blog so stay tuned.  Meantime, there’s a narrative by David Merrill on differences between Hawaii and Iceland:  http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dam/Writing/Hawaii_Iceland.html.

By the way, I saw my neurologist this week.  She said I do not have a demented brain, just one injured by four concussions.  

Still No Moss But the Lid Fell Off

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IN TRAINING

I put on my snorkel mask.  Does anyone look good in these?  The pool at the Y has no fish, turtles, or sea plants.  But it’s the easiest place for me to get into shape for January’s trip to Hawaii. 

 Our Road Scholar group will be snorkeling in Lanai.  “Thousand foot sea cliffs line the shore and ancient volcanic plugs sit both above and below the water surface as host to a wide diversity of marine life.”
 
We’ll "skiff to Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook was slain in 1779, for some of the island’s best snorkeling."  Presumably the current residents have gotten over their animosity. 

But here’s the most exciting snorkeling we’ll do:  “anchor at an offshore location for a thrilling night snorkel with Giant Pacific Manta rays. Underwater lights attract plankton, which in turn attract feeding Manta Rays.”

So it’s not just getting my muscles in shape.  I need to work on the relaxing rhythm of breathing in and out through my snorkel, remembering how to blow out water that comes in the snorkel tube.   I want to use my underwater camera without flailing around in semi-panic. 

Awkward at first, I begin to meditate on the gift of breathing, in and out.  In...  Out...   I am thankful that my eyes can see through the water, that my arms and legs can do a strong frog kick.  I snorkel 30 minutes before the Water Arthritis class.  I’ll gradually increase that time.  My goal is to become so comfortable and confident that I will be able to concentrate fully on what I’ll see in Hawaii’s waters.   

 We’ll also be kayaking along Hawaii’s shores.  A year or two ago I kayaked in Florida while looking for manatees.  My life-long strong arms helped me keep up with experienced folks as I began mastering kayak skills.  

When we went to Jekyll Island in February, after about 10 minutes of crashing into shore bushes, muscle memory kicked in.  I’ll have to learn all over again since I can’t practice between now and January.  

On the other hand, I’ll be able to hike a lot before I go.  Fall and Winter are terrific here in Georgia.  The woods are beautiful and the weather is cool.  In Hawaii we'll climb slippery slopes.  I'm thinking of getting telescoping hiking poles.  

 NO DEMENTIA:  For those of you who read my last blog, I’m glad to report my psychologist and physician both agree:  The Big Forget was an age-old reaction to extreme stress.  Compartmentalizing memory.  PTSD reaction.  So it was in my head but just the normal fruitcake response I have now and then.  Whew!

Working Two Adventures At Once: Am I Too Old To Multi-Task?

Quotes from this Sunday morning's UUFA order of service:
Exploration is what you do when you don’t know what you’re doing. — Neil deGrasse Tyson

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.  — Ansel Adams

Turns out I have a prejudice against adventures I don’t choose for myself.  I was happily spending time deciding where I want to go and what I want to do in my special year of 2016.  On June first I’ll be 3/4ths of a century old and want to have some exotic adventures.  Even reading about possibilities is exhilarating.   

I want to start off the year with a bang so I looked at Road Scholar and Hurtigruten programs for January.  This’ll sound weird but these two programs appealed to me: 

    A Hurtigruten trip to Antarctica (penguins!) and
    A boat trip around some Hawaiian Islands, including snorkeling, hiking, and kayaking.

I love cold weather and a certain amount of adversity.  But the physically challenging Road Scholar Hawaiian trip is a few thousand dollars cheaper.   So after breathing deeply I forked over $5600 for Hawaii.  This removes a big chunk from my savings account — the account which is supposed to be for emergencies or health problems in my old(er) age.  Suddenly I’ve got two new worry lines between my eyes!

 
I have a bit of physical training to do in the next two months.  I’ll increase my water exercise and add more walking and hiking which will be fun since the Fall weather is perfect for that.  And increase my knowledge about volcanoes and how they create islands.  I already did some glacier walking near Icelandic volcanoes and learned how long it takes for soil and plants to be created and grow after an eruption — very long.  But Iceland is newer than Hawaii. 

I’m procrastinating about describing the second adventure I might be on — the one I did not choose.

To offset the damaged brain I have after four concussions and hemiplegic migraines, I learn new and difficult things.  This year I am trying to learn how to set up a blog that is fun (and possibly educational) for other people to read.  It’s also excellent practice in writing, finding the right words.  My passive vocabulary (recognizing words I read) is still excellent.  Coming up with the words from scratch, however, is not easy for me.  I can enjoy Sudoku because of the logic,  but Crosswords are way too frustrating! 

I was working on a new blog describing how I came up with a Plan B Adventure in Portland when my Plan A trip to Hood River, Oregon became seriously uncomfortable. 


 
It took me nearly a week to explain that philosophically.  I didn’t want to be too specific about what went wrong with Plan A because another person was involved.  When I’d worked on it enough, I selected a few photos to add.  Then I went to Google Blogger to start adding the new blog.

 I almost went into cardiac arrest with a giant Brain Freeze.  I had already posted a blog like that September 7th.  Jeez!



This is not like forgetting a name, or failing to buy something at the store.  Writing that blog had been a  time-consuming and complicated activity and I’d forgotten the whole bloody thing! 
 
First thought:  “I have the beginning stages of dementia.”  This is not an adventure I want.  I know people have written books on their personal mental decline but that is not a goal of mine.  Crap, crap, crap!

When I calmed down, I figured that on the plus side, it means the $5600 adventure is a good choice for January.  I should have as many exciting adventures as possible while I can think and move.  Older, wise friends reassure me of that.

Then I looked at when I posted that earlier blog:  September 7, immediately after the stressful time in Hood River.  Maybe that stress effected my memory.   Or maybe it’s because I was still recovering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever from a summer tick bite.  

Okay, I’ll make an appointment with a counselor who knows me and see my neurologist.  I could be reassured or …   What? 

Fortunately I had a massage scheduled for the day after this discovery with Elizabeth, who does healing activities with color and light.  I’m not much of a woo-woo person myself, but have benefited from energetic activities my friends can do.  She looked in my eyes, held my hands, and said, “You’ve had a big shock, haven’t you?  I already picked out a color to use even before you told me what happened.”  I became a little teary but felt much better afterwards.

Then at church this morning we read and sang about not being alone when we have problems.   Tears were running down my face.  I hate that! 

I will further investigate whether the big memory loss was an anomaly.  And will get some cranial-sacral work done by Wanda, who has already done good things for my head. 

In many ways I am such a lucky person to have so many resources for healing.  My house mate, Toni, and I just hiked one hour at Heritage Park.  Walking is good for your brain.

 

 I made two videos about the Plan B days:  

Lan Su Chinese Garden   https://youtu.be/Dt_hwh-DLqg 

Two Perfect Portland Parks    https://youtu.be/_F_qkGmyDW8