(early February 2023)
One day in January, I hopped on the bus and headed downtown to look at pictures and learn a little something at another one of those National Geographic Live presentations. Last year it was all about bears and this time a marine biologist, Diva Amon, graced us with her presence. As we discovered, she has plumbed the depths of the oceans for interesting tales of marine life.
It was a fascinating look at the denizens of the shallows as well as the deepest depths of our oceans and their habitats. Amon began by explaining how the lives of the myriad of plants and animals that call coral reefs home are all intertwined and that there's an interdependency that must be realized in order to have a healthy, thriving reef habitat. That was the colorful part. The photos of fish of all brilliant hues went away and she then took us down to the ocean floor and to all of the eldritch creatures that call that cold, dark place home.
I don't recall what this thing is called but it would fit perfectly in some kind of Lovecraftian tale of horror with those tentacles and general unworldly appearance.
All of the life that lives by vents on the ocean floor was simply amazing. Those giant tube worms, hordes of albino crabs, et al. Just incredible to think that they live without light, near water that is just above freezing, and under the enormous pressure of thousands of feet of water.
At one point, Amon showed us some video footage from an undersea drone. As the submersible creeps forward, something begins to emerge from the Stygian gloom in the light ahead. What is this square thing? Turns out to be a clothes washer. Close by is a wrecked shipping container that had fallen into the ocean from one of those enormous cargo ships that helps keep Walmart supplied with cheap goods from China. Thousands of these things fall off of cargo ships every year. Sad.
Still, it was an absolutely fascinating lecture.
Beforehand, I had checked out some new art exhibits that decked the halls leading to the theater. One was called “Healing Journeys: Heritage and Resistance” and featured paintings by one Christopher Sweet that portrayed Native American ways of life.
I think this was called “Reflected Memories”:
I just like the colors on the left and the scene on the shore makes for a nice contrast to the red, yellow, and orange.
This next one was called “Earth Sky Blessings”:
I believe the whole thing was painted on cardboard and that tree has a rough texture from where it was ripped. Really neat.
Another exhibition on display that night was called “See Me - Expressions of Identity” and featured watercolor portraits by Chele Ramos whom I assume to be a Madisonian since her work featured local characters.
Here’s Theresa Marie, singer with Madison’s The People Brothers Band.
I also really liked this one of a local glass blower at work.
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I’ve been doing a fair amount of cooking lately. To begin, I made some beef paprikash that turned out well, if I do say so myself. Plenty of onion and tomato chunks plus a near perfect amount of paprika. A good hearty meal when you're in the bowels of winter.
There was a recent article in one of our local papers about the adventures of an eater who seeks out the hottest dishes in town. He went to a Southeast Asian restaurant not too far from our place and his report included mention of a dish called chicken larb which he had ordered at a non-white person level of spiciness.
The photograph accompanying the article looked extremely delicious and didn't appear to be filled with obscure ingredients so I attempted to make it at home with The Frau’s full approval and backing.
While I threw in some red pepper flakes, it was not particularly spicy. But it was quite tasty and I earned several Brownie points with my Frau.
It’s meant to be a cold chicken salad type of dish but we served it hot. I used ground chicken instead of minced. There’s shallots and scallions along with fish sauce and a generous portion of lime juice. And cilantro. Oh, and toasted rice powder.
I’d never heard of much less made this last ingredient before but it sounded easy enough. Roast some sticky rice in an ungreased pan until suitably browned and then grind it into a coarse powder. How hard can it be?
The roasting was easy. I then put the rice into our oldest but smallest food processor. It did virtually nothing, leaving just a thin layer of dust at the bottom and the rice kernels looking a bit bruised but basically intact. I feared that the motor would overheat and then start on fire trying to pound those kernels into a powder with a very dull blade that would have had a hard time cutting butter. And so I threw the rice into the much newer, though also much larger, food processor.
But even its deadly sharp blades proved no match for this stupid rice. I suppose the coffee grinder would have done the trick but I brought out a mortar and pestle and did it the old fashioned way. While I only had to grind up a bit less than a quarter cup, my arm got extremely tired and sore mashing up that rice. Next time I will find some roasted rice powder at the store.
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I took a guided winter stroll that had a group of us wandering around the Aldo Leopold Nature Center property and skirting Edna Taylor Conservation Park as well.
There were several small children for this walk and the guide had some age-appropriate reading material on hand.
Yes, a kid’s book on how to identify animal poop! And tracks, too.
It was a lovely morning. A bit below freezing and snow everywhere which was just perfect for capturing the tracks of critters.
Despite young children running about and playing, it was still rather serene out there.
I came across these berries but was not sure what they were. They weren’t those highbush cranberries I noticed on my walk around my neighborhood back in December. And I know that it wasn't holly either. Well, that was my winter berry knowledge exhausted.
Whatever they are, I was sure some birds use them for a snack. Then again, it didn’t look like many had been gnawed off. It’s a mystery.
Farther down the path we came to a copse of pine trees which had small cones.
These trees were near the pond which had all sorts of tracks on and near it. We saw some wabbit twacks that lead to the bridge. Presumably a wabbit was sheltering underneath.
Out on the pond, there were deer tracks.
This walk proved a fine way to relax after a busy work week. We didn’t see too many animals on our tour. Just a couple of squirrels that were frolicking and a woodpecker pecking. So not a lot of chances to put my new knowledge of how animals survive the winter to use.
Despite this, it was still great fun to look at all of the tracks and imagine what the animals were doing at the time they made them, whether it be grabbing a bite to eat, fleeing from pesky humans, or simply going for a stroll. Plus, it was relaxing to get out in the snow amongst the trees and tall grasses, to enjoy some quiet away from cars and noisy snowblowers.
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Bonus photo. Here we have a friend of mine dressed up as H.P. Lovecraft's Great God Cthulhu for Halloween. I believe this was taken on Chicago's north side and that many children were nearly frightened to death by this hideous apparition. Those that survived the encounter were driven mad.
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