Hi. Still didn't get around to posting this morning, but got some stuff checked off the to-do list.
I've been promising to post the latest news of piping plovers in Chicago. These are beach birds. The little chicks have been described as "cotton balls on toothpicks." They're really cute. And vulnerable.
I had to do a little research first, because this is the seventh year there have been piping plovers at Montrose Beach, after an absence of 70 years. And I sort of forgot what happened each year and the begats. It's a little tricky finding all the pieces and putting them together, but here is what I reconstructed.
The famed Monty and Rose first showed up in Chicago in 2019. It was a big deal because the species is so endangered. Monty and Rose (named for Montrose Beach, duh) fledged 2 chicks that year. In 2020 they came back and had the usual clutch of 4; 3 survived. (I think somewhere in there, they had a clutch of 4 eggs that all got eaten, but they promptly had another clutch of 4, and the people who help watch over the eggs made some improvements in protective infrastructure.) Nish, one of the survivors from 2020, ended up in Ohio and has bred. There are several piping plover sites around the Great Lakes.
In 2021 Monty and Rose had 2 surviving chicks, one of which was named Imani.
In 2022, Rose did not return; Monty did, but died suddenly of a respiratory infection. Imani returned to Montrose, but there was no mate for him.
In 2023, Imani showed up at Montrose Beach again, but did not find a mate. That same year, though, three captive-raised chicks were released at Montrose. One of them was named Searocket.
In 2024, Searocket and Imani both returned to Montrose Beach and bred. They hatched 4 chicks, but 3 died of unknown natural causes. The 4th survived and was named Nagamo. He hasn't been seen in the area since last fall, so we don't know what became of him. Maybe he went to some other beach somewhere.
In 2025, Searocket and Imani returned and bred again. Reports have been a little vague this year. Perhaps the groups watching over the birds did not want to attract too much attention to them. I recall they laid egg #1 and either it did not hatch or something happened to it. But then at some point 3 more eggs were laid, because in due course it was announced that 3 chicks had hatched on June 20, and there would be a naming contest. I had meant to post at that point, but the naming contest concluded before I had the chance.
This year, unlike prevous years in which they were given indigenous types of names, the birds' names refer to major points of interest in Chicago: Bean (for the sculpture formally known as Cloud Gate), El (for the elevated train lines), and Ferris (for the city's introduction of the Ferris wheel at the 1893 World's Fair).
We don't know what the future holds for these individual birds, except that there are more of them than there were a few years ago. Around the end of summer they'll take off, perhaps visiting other sites around the Great Lakes before heading to Florida for the winter. Then they may return to the same beach they spent the previous summer at, or else they'll show up at a different one. There are supposed to be 70 breeding pairs now. I think Chicagoans will continue to celebrate these birds, even while keeping our respectful distance.
The landmover kid underestimated the amount of dirt he would need to fill in the “garden.” He quoted me 2 dump trucks worth when it’s really more like 6! I told him no worries, let’s get it done right the first time. Anyone want to guess how much it costs for a dump truck full of dirt in northern WI?
DING DING DING....$500 which is about double what I thought. However, I'm not sure if that includes his labor of moving the additional soil around. The bid he gave me was too good to be true. It's OK as the slope will be much more gradual which makes it better for mowing, chuck it with Dotty the lab and other yard games.
Estimating soil cubic yardage can be educational. 10 cubic yards of soil, spread out in a garden, isn't much. After it sits and subsides/compresses, one wonders where it all went.
$500 for 10 yards of good dirt is an ok price nowadays. 5 years ago it was still hovering around $250-300, but now.... Sounds like a lot. It isn't.
I'd be surprised if the price including distributing and placing the dirt. If it does, it's a good deal.
When I worked landscape we used to say a pickup truck was 2+ cubic yards. A "dump truck" could be many sizes, but yeah you wonder where it goes. On one job, we had a huge load (who knows but several "dumps") of sand we had to move by wheelbarrow onto a football field. It took my brother and I a week or so to move and spread by hand. I don't remember why we were not allowed a tractor, but sand is so heavy relative to mulch or dirt. Made for strong backs. Teenage work. I actually enjoyed manual labor. I came to admire the work ethic and good humor of the illegal Mexicans we worked alongside. Still do.
The guys that sold that around here used to price it by the ton, which was a made-up number, I’m pretty sure, based on their experience working in the mines and/or on their own tree-and-farm acreage.
A small dump truck of dirt when dumped out in a pile looks like a Very Big Deal.
I got to spread such things as summer work using a shovel and wheelbarrow back in the ‘80s and ‘90s—young-man-type work. The dumped out pile looks like a whole lot more than it turns out to be when you’ve spread it all out to even out low spots in a lawn. A real disappointment.
Next up: Why a standing, live tree takes up so much less space than it does when you cut it down and saw it apart. Who knew there was such a monstrous pile of leaves and branches in there?!
Hmm. Now I’m left wondering which wedding anniversary is the Dirt Anniversary for which you can give the couple some bags of soil. The seventh maybe? The thirteenth? Hmm…
I’ll take a wild guess at maybe $150 per load—assuming the guy is taking from his own acreage or property. Here it would depend on the quality and load size by cubic yards, but a lot of “fill dirt” sellers aren’t that precise in measuring quantities by volume.
Fill dirt can consist of clay with a lot of rocks and roots. Even with topsoil, you really want to see what the seller claims before buying, if at all possible.
I think you guys generally have better looking soil than we do. We have good soil down along the wider flood plains along creeks and rivers. Higher up the mountain slopes and ridges it’s pretty pitiful: lots of clay and sandstone, but some scattered sinks full of organic matter mixed in.
The title is perfect, because I did not know "plankton" could be plant or animal. I incorrectly thought plankton was always some specific animal. Now I know it's any free floating plant or animal. Thank you.
I’d have hoped someone would have covered just how much of a nothingburger Trump’s blather about being fed up with Putin turned out to be. I mean, seriously: a 50-day delay before action? Does anyone actually think Trump is anything more than mouth with nothing behind it? He’s got to be one of the world’s worst poker players.
What does he suppose happens during the next 49 days? I know I’ll expect Putin to continue and expand his campaign to rain nightly death on the Ukrainian civilian population. Does he think Xi, Kim, or any of the other assorted rogues are going to be impressed with the way he barks belligerent bluster backed up by bupkis?
Epic Fail broke his glasses again. I'll get them from him, and I can take them to the optometrist for repair on Thursday, my day off. He can use his back-up pair, which we purchased knowing that he would break his first pair frequently.
Not a candidate for contacts? I’m glad my son has good vision. Judging from the amount of clothing he lost during his high school years, I can’t fathom how much money we would’ve spent on glasses.
As an expert in optics and glass/plastic... I STRONGLY argue for 100% long eye health:
a. against contacts
b. against most glass lenses
c. against Acrylic
d. for polycarbonate lenses
Because the suns UV is
a. untouched by contacts and concentrated some
b. glass lets thru 50%
c acrylic lets thru 80%
d polycarbonate lets thru 0.001%
UV degrades:
a. the lenses in the eye. it hardens (crosslinks) and thus loses its ability to accommodate (ie change focus from near to far instanly)
b. the retina. So macular degeneration and retinal damage accumulated.
I've worn glasses since age 5, 66 years. Mostly glass until PC came more 30 years ago. Then only PC. I had a stint for about 12 years of soft contacts. Eye irritation. solar sun burn. with PC glasses I never need any sunglasses cover in Tucson. no sun burning my eyes.
I also have no need for reading glasses
Just some n=1 experience from an optics and polymer physics dude who worked with PhD optics and polymer folks. and designed and built pre lasing laser medical devices
That’s interesting, Doug. I’d first heard that not too long before you mentioned the point with polycarbonate here recently. The YouTube optet… uh… optr… um… obstet… uh… eye doctor, Lisa Wiedeman, explained it along with other eye issues she’s seen in the context of her practice and her 15 years personally on the meat-only diet.
I did not realize contacts offer so little protection.
I’ve had polycarbonate lenses for the whole time I’ve worn corrective eyewear, about 25 years or so now. I’ve had the lenses that auto-darken, but found them too annoying when I have to do home repair work where you’re in the dark, in the light, in the dark over and over again—none of those lenses change fast enough.
I have non-tinted ones most of the time, with anti-glare prescription safety sunglasses for times when I can’t block the sun with a hat or visor…
I was wondering about your opinion on another topic - desalinization plants for California in particular, which would among other things free up more water for AZ?
In particular, the deep sea desal seems interesting. I'm pretty sure your not a fan of NR (so please don't judge me :-). But it seems fair that much of CA energy and water problems are made much more difficult by the regulatory and environmental roadblocks. In general, the kind of technologies that are coming make me more optimistic that some perceived crisis will find solutions. BTW, I'm not opposed to renewables at all, but rather frustrated with the poorly executed industrial policy that results in - well less than successful overall outcomes. Apology in advance, no doubt this is all a complex topic that could take too much time to answer. If you punt for another day I'd get it!
What a strange coincidence. I was looking at Instagram a moment ago (for grandchild posts), and was presented with a post from a fishing guide alliance in TX warning about the new desalinization plant and the risk to Baffin Bay, near Corpus Christi. I've fished there many times. I've no educated opinion, but would easily be persuaded by my fishing friends.
Polarizing- 45 % gets thru. Polarization is the orthogonal right angle waves of the E electric field and M magnetic field. Polarizing sunglasses…think a picket fence. Stops one wave. the other ~ 50% goes thru. but they cut glare! I wear a clip on over my PC glasses for improved contrast
Grey/brown/color shaded - they tint up to say 80% so 20% of bad UV goes thru. Like tinted car windows. Still, UB damage is a logarithmic function. so .2 is a way from 0.01 or 0.001.
A third type uses multilayer coatings. kinda discovered by an English chap named Isaac. Stack coatings are vacuum deposited layers. These are more common today. Basically, a layer of thin metal angstroms thick, reflects one wavelength and transmits another. Maui Jim says 100%..
Maui Jim sunglasses did this back in the 80s. These might cut UV to the safer reduction. Ms Pinki amd I got ours from Jim on Maui around 1985
I heard a podcast recently where a physician stated EVERYONE who had Lasik surgery has complications. I have zero regrets that I had that surgery. I had it done in '07 and still have 20/20 vision and while I use cheaters, I can still see very fine print. Cheaters just make it easier and more comfortable. I have somewhat dry eyes at night but gel drops help with that.
I had Lasik way back then too and it's worked really well for me for a long time too. A few years back I got a prescription for glasses that I used only for driving, but they disoriented me more than without so I have continued to manage with a bit of fuzziness, mostly when tired. I was just thinking the other day about visiting a doctor to see if Lasik was an option for an update.
Thank you, CynthiaW. This morning we head towards Congaree Swamp anticipating heat, humidity, and bugs. But also flora, fauna, ecosystems and scenery we don't have in PA. The gal isn't quite as enthusiastic as the "kids" and I are, but she's a great sport and is anticipating touring some plantations later. I will nod and tip my hat up in your general direction.
Ouch! I try to avoid being in the sun from around 11 to about 3, if possible.
I’ve seen several apparel companies advertising lightweight, UV-blocking clothing, but I’ve never tried any of it.
Of all the odd side effects of going on the carnivore diet, being less prone to sunburns was the least expected and hardest to come up with an explanation for. I am (was) blond-haired and am (still) blue-eyed, along with the attendant ability to burn with sun exposure…
Hi. Still didn't get around to posting this morning, but got some stuff checked off the to-do list.
I've been promising to post the latest news of piping plovers in Chicago. These are beach birds. The little chicks have been described as "cotton balls on toothpicks." They're really cute. And vulnerable.
I had to do a little research first, because this is the seventh year there have been piping plovers at Montrose Beach, after an absence of 70 years. And I sort of forgot what happened each year and the begats. It's a little tricky finding all the pieces and putting them together, but here is what I reconstructed.
The famed Monty and Rose first showed up in Chicago in 2019. It was a big deal because the species is so endangered. Monty and Rose (named for Montrose Beach, duh) fledged 2 chicks that year. In 2020 they came back and had the usual clutch of 4; 3 survived. (I think somewhere in there, they had a clutch of 4 eggs that all got eaten, but they promptly had another clutch of 4, and the people who help watch over the eggs made some improvements in protective infrastructure.) Nish, one of the survivors from 2020, ended up in Ohio and has bred. There are several piping plover sites around the Great Lakes.
In 2021 Monty and Rose had 2 surviving chicks, one of which was named Imani.
In 2022, Rose did not return; Monty did, but died suddenly of a respiratory infection. Imani returned to Montrose, but there was no mate for him.
In 2023, Imani showed up at Montrose Beach again, but did not find a mate. That same year, though, three captive-raised chicks were released at Montrose. One of them was named Searocket.
In 2024, Searocket and Imani both returned to Montrose Beach and bred. They hatched 4 chicks, but 3 died of unknown natural causes. The 4th survived and was named Nagamo. He hasn't been seen in the area since last fall, so we don't know what became of him. Maybe he went to some other beach somewhere.
In 2025, Searocket and Imani returned and bred again. Reports have been a little vague this year. Perhaps the groups watching over the birds did not want to attract too much attention to them. I recall they laid egg #1 and either it did not hatch or something happened to it. But then at some point 3 more eggs were laid, because in due course it was announced that 3 chicks had hatched on June 20, and there would be a naming contest. I had meant to post at that point, but the naming contest concluded before I had the chance.
This year, unlike prevous years in which they were given indigenous types of names, the birds' names refer to major points of interest in Chicago: Bean (for the sculpture formally known as Cloud Gate), El (for the elevated train lines), and Ferris (for the city's introduction of the Ferris wheel at the 1893 World's Fair).
We don't know what the future holds for these individual birds, except that there are more of them than there were a few years ago. Around the end of summer they'll take off, perhaps visiting other sites around the Great Lakes before heading to Florida for the winter. Then they may return to the same beach they spent the previous summer at, or else they'll show up at a different one. There are supposed to be 70 breeding pairs now. I think Chicagoans will continue to celebrate these birds, even while keeping our respectful distance.
Cool TSAF today. What a strange little animal.
The landmover kid underestimated the amount of dirt he would need to fill in the “garden.” He quoted me 2 dump trucks worth when it’s really more like 6! I told him no worries, let’s get it done right the first time. Anyone want to guess how much it costs for a dump truck full of dirt in northern WI?
Considerably more than bovine manure in D.C?
I know mulch in SW Ohio is about $150 a dump truck load, so I'd guess double that per dump truck.
Depends on the dirt. High grade compost...maybe $400-500. Topsoil, about $300.
DING DING DING....$500 which is about double what I thought. However, I'm not sure if that includes his labor of moving the additional soil around. The bid he gave me was too good to be true. It's OK as the slope will be much more gradual which makes it better for mowing, chuck it with Dotty the lab and other yard games.
Estimating soil cubic yardage can be educational. 10 cubic yards of soil, spread out in a garden, isn't much. After it sits and subsides/compresses, one wonders where it all went.
$500 for 10 yards of good dirt is an ok price nowadays. 5 years ago it was still hovering around $250-300, but now.... Sounds like a lot. It isn't.
I'd be surprised if the price including distributing and placing the dirt. If it does, it's a good deal.
When I worked landscape we used to say a pickup truck was 2+ cubic yards. A "dump truck" could be many sizes, but yeah you wonder where it goes. On one job, we had a huge load (who knows but several "dumps") of sand we had to move by wheelbarrow onto a football field. It took my brother and I a week or so to move and spread by hand. I don't remember why we were not allowed a tractor, but sand is so heavy relative to mulch or dirt. Made for strong backs. Teenage work. I actually enjoyed manual labor. I came to admire the work ethic and good humor of the illegal Mexicans we worked alongside. Still do.
The guys that sold that around here used to price it by the ton, which was a made-up number, I’m pretty sure, based on their experience working in the mines and/or on their own tree-and-farm acreage.
A small dump truck of dirt when dumped out in a pile looks like a Very Big Deal.
I got to spread such things as summer work using a shovel and wheelbarrow back in the ‘80s and ‘90s—young-man-type work. The dumped out pile looks like a whole lot more than it turns out to be when you’ve spread it all out to even out low spots in a lawn. A real disappointment.
Next up: Why a standing, live tree takes up so much less space than it does when you cut it down and saw it apart. Who knew there was such a monstrous pile of leaves and branches in there?!
$5,000?
She said a truckload of dirt, not a used car... :-)
I've never bought dirt.
With ten kids you probably need the excavator to remove it, not bring it in. My mom felt that way with just five kids!
Hmm. Now I’m left wondering which wedding anniversary is the Dirt Anniversary for which you can give the couple some bags of soil. The seventh maybe? The thirteenth? Hmm…
I’ll take a wild guess at maybe $150 per load—assuming the guy is taking from his own acreage or property. Here it would depend on the quality and load size by cubic yards, but a lot of “fill dirt” sellers aren’t that precise in measuring quantities by volume.
Fill dirt can consist of clay with a lot of rocks and roots. Even with topsoil, you really want to see what the seller claims before buying, if at all possible.
This looks like nice clean dirt. We shall see if more than grass grows.
I think you guys generally have better looking soil than we do. We have good soil down along the wider flood plains along creeks and rivers. Higher up the mountain slopes and ridges it’s pretty pitiful: lots of clay and sandstone, but some scattered sinks full of organic matter mixed in.
The title is perfect, because I did not know "plankton" could be plant or animal. I incorrectly thought plankton was always some specific animal. Now I know it's any free floating plant or animal. Thank you.
It can be either. There is “phytoplankton” — algae. And there is “zooplankton” — mostly larval forms of sea animals.
Zooplankton are animals, and phytoplankton are plants.
You're welcome. Nekton are tiny animals that are self propelled, and benthos sit or cling on the bottom.
I think I saw Nekton and Benthos open for Dylan back in the day.
I remember their song, Fear the Baleen.
Misfire.
Aw, c'mon.
Good one.
Good morning. 72 degrees here and sunny, with a high in the 80s and no rain.
The mothership is reporting on fighting between Druze and Sunnis in southern Syria. The FP is covering Trump and bitcoin.
I’d have hoped someone would have covered just how much of a nothingburger Trump’s blather about being fed up with Putin turned out to be. I mean, seriously: a 50-day delay before action? Does anyone actually think Trump is anything more than mouth with nothing behind it? He’s got to be one of the world’s worst poker players.
What does he suppose happens during the next 49 days? I know I’ll expect Putin to continue and expand his campaign to rain nightly death on the Ukrainian civilian population. Does he think Xi, Kim, or any of the other assorted rogues are going to be impressed with the way he barks belligerent bluster backed up by bupkis?
Good questions. But Trump is allowing arms shipments to Ukraine to resume, which is not nothing.
When you have an absolute idiot in the White House, and will for the next 3.5 years, any sign of being "not an idiot" is welcome.
Epic Fail broke his glasses again. I'll get them from him, and I can take them to the optometrist for repair on Thursday, my day off. He can use his back-up pair, which we purchased knowing that he would break his first pair frequently.
Who's gonna be first to get AI Glasses from Meta?
Not me.
Not a candidate for contacts? I’m glad my son has good vision. Judging from the amount of clothing he lost during his high school years, I can’t fathom how much money we would’ve spent on glasses.
He doesn't want contacts. He's probably too careless, anyway.
As an expert in optics and glass/plastic... I STRONGLY argue for 100% long eye health:
a. against contacts
b. against most glass lenses
c. against Acrylic
d. for polycarbonate lenses
Because the suns UV is
a. untouched by contacts and concentrated some
b. glass lets thru 50%
c acrylic lets thru 80%
d polycarbonate lets thru 0.001%
UV degrades:
a. the lenses in the eye. it hardens (crosslinks) and thus loses its ability to accommodate (ie change focus from near to far instanly)
b. the retina. So macular degeneration and retinal damage accumulated.
I've worn glasses since age 5, 66 years. Mostly glass until PC came more 30 years ago. Then only PC. I had a stint for about 12 years of soft contacts. Eye irritation. solar sun burn. with PC glasses I never need any sunglasses cover in Tucson. no sun burning my eyes.
I also have no need for reading glasses
Just some n=1 experience from an optics and polymer physics dude who worked with PhD optics and polymer folks. and designed and built pre lasing laser medical devices
That’s interesting, Doug. I’d first heard that not too long before you mentioned the point with polycarbonate here recently. The YouTube optet… uh… optr… um… obstet… uh… eye doctor, Lisa Wiedeman, explained it along with other eye issues she’s seen in the context of her practice and her 15 years personally on the meat-only diet.
https://www.youtube.com/live/WhzzRSGd9Vs?si=IdYzHDmLJ6ZJF6MK
I did not realize contacts offer so little protection.
I’ve had polycarbonate lenses for the whole time I’ve worn corrective eyewear, about 25 years or so now. I’ve had the lenses that auto-darken, but found them too annoying when I have to do home repair work where you’re in the dark, in the light, in the dark over and over again—none of those lenses change fast enough.
I have non-tinted ones most of the time, with anti-glare prescription safety sunglasses for times when I can’t block the sun with a hat or visor…
You're doing great with your Eyewear Incognito
I had a pair of those auto-darken and didn't enjoy them pretty soon as well.
Thanks, that's really interesting!
I was wondering about your opinion on another topic - desalinization plants for California in particular, which would among other things free up more water for AZ?
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/the-grand-bargain-of-desalination/
In particular, the deep sea desal seems interesting. I'm pretty sure your not a fan of NR (so please don't judge me :-). But it seems fair that much of CA energy and water problems are made much more difficult by the regulatory and environmental roadblocks. In general, the kind of technologies that are coming make me more optimistic that some perceived crisis will find solutions. BTW, I'm not opposed to renewables at all, but rather frustrated with the poorly executed industrial policy that results in - well less than successful overall outcomes. Apology in advance, no doubt this is all a complex topic that could take too much time to answer. If you punt for another day I'd get it!
No apologies ever needed. I still mostly look at things objectively or try.
So I like desalination a lot! I love water! we need it!
I think the idea is to get California more water that then frees up the Colorado River for Arizona.
I consulted on a small startup idea..alas too small. Saudi Arabia does desalination by the gigantic tons probably.
But. Large long term capex is a very bad Equity investment. Just gigantic bucks and a decade or 2 return.
This is really US Interstate, Hoover and Coullee Dam type of infrastructure.
It should be government owned and financed and design-built by… the Saudis! under contract. my 2 cents
What a strange coincidence. I was looking at Instagram a moment ago (for grandchild posts), and was presented with a post from a fishing guide alliance in TX warning about the new desalinization plant and the risk to Baffin Bay, near Corpus Christi. I've fished there many times. I've no educated opinion, but would easily be persuaded by my fishing friends.
By the Saudi's.. I didn't imagine that coming! But at first blush I can see some positives.
Thanks Doug.. how does wearing sunglasses in addition to contacts etc change the story?
So Sunglasses are of a couple types.
Polarizing- 45 % gets thru. Polarization is the orthogonal right angle waves of the E electric field and M magnetic field. Polarizing sunglasses…think a picket fence. Stops one wave. the other ~ 50% goes thru. but they cut glare! I wear a clip on over my PC glasses for improved contrast
Grey/brown/color shaded - they tint up to say 80% so 20% of bad UV goes thru. Like tinted car windows. Still, UB damage is a logarithmic function. so .2 is a way from 0.01 or 0.001.
A third type uses multilayer coatings. kinda discovered by an English chap named Isaac. Stack coatings are vacuum deposited layers. These are more common today. Basically, a layer of thin metal angstroms thick, reflects one wavelength and transmits another. Maui Jim says 100%..
Maui Jim sunglasses did this back in the 80s. These might cut UV to the safer reduction. Ms Pinki amd I got ours from Jim on Maui around 1985
https://www.mauijim.com/ZA/en_GB/benefits
Wonderful, thanks!
I heard a podcast recently where a physician stated EVERYONE who had Lasik surgery has complications. I have zero regrets that I had that surgery. I had it done in '07 and still have 20/20 vision and while I use cheaters, I can still see very fine print. Cheaters just make it easier and more comfortable. I have somewhat dry eyes at night but gel drops help with that.
I was VP biz dev at a top Optical company.
100% of PhD in optics all wore glasses. they designed the optical delivery system.
Lasik has improved over the years. Especially with thr all-laser lasik that replaced the razor microkeratome blade used to make the D cut flap.
Helicopter aviators are approved with lasik.
There ar3 some reds and opps. small. unless you're in the low percentage of luck.
I'm a much bigger fan of IOL.. Intraocular Lens that replace cataract occluded lenses. Very very common and successful
I had Lasik way back then too and it's worked really well for me for a long time too. A few years back I got a prescription for glasses that I used only for driving, but they disoriented me more than without so I have continued to manage with a bit of fuzziness, mostly when tired. I was just thinking the other day about visiting a doctor to see if Lasik was an option for an update.
I do have anti-glare prescription glasses for driving at night but I cannot wear them otherwise, they are too strong.
I have two extra pair on this trip; including my audio playing sunglasses. I have worn all three, students notice...
Someone wearing three pairs of glasses would definitely stand out.
I wear one pair in back so when I turn to the board they still think I am watching them. I love gullible students!
Good planning!
Does the IUCN consider this a species of leaf concerns? 🤔
Buon giorno, Jay — 🚪
Oy.
Thank you, CynthiaW. This morning we head towards Congaree Swamp anticipating heat, humidity, and bugs. But also flora, fauna, ecosystems and scenery we don't have in PA. The gal isn't quite as enthusiastic as the "kids" and I are, but she's a great sport and is anticipating touring some plantations later. I will nod and tip my hat up in your general direction.
Epic Fail and I will have heat, humidity, and bugs today. Also Cub Scouts.
Yesterday, I got sunburned through my long sleeved shirt.
My hats are SPF 50. Scalp is highly susceptible to burns.
I actually found an SPF 100 spray. I told my oldest it might be cheaper just to use semi-gloss white paint....
Ouch! I try to avoid being in the sun from around 11 to about 3, if possible.
I’ve seen several apparel companies advertising lightweight, UV-blocking clothing, but I’ve never tried any of it.
Of all the odd side effects of going on the carnivore diet, being less prone to sunburns was the least expected and hardest to come up with an explanation for. I am (was) blond-haired and am (still) blue-eyed, along with the attendant ability to burn with sun exposure…
I try to stay out of the sun midday. “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
It works. I wear SPF 50 caps.
https://www.villagehatshop.com/products/torrey-upf-50-long-bill-adjustable-baseball-cap
My favorite when mowing in the sun:
https://www.tilley.com/products/t3-vintage-wanderer-hat
Sounds like one of those shirts that admits UV for tans. And, of course, burns.
It's a "fishing shirt" from Academy Sports. Sun resistant, but not enough. I'm wearing my other one today, but I put sunscreen on my arms first.
Ouch! We put our time in with cub scouts long ago- it was fun.
We've been involved with Cub Scouts for 25 years. None of our children is still a Cub, but the youth and I still volunteer.