Quote of the Day: “The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.” – Matsuo Basho
Photo by: Nate Foong
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The number of farmers markets in the US is increasing—as are the numbers of customers and the number of states choosing to celebrate them with an official ‘Farmers Market Week’.
The cheeriest place to buy your groceries not only survived the pandemic, they are thriving—despite lockdown policies in many states labeling them as “non-essential”, forcing a shut-down, while indoor supermarkets were kept open.
Thirty years ago, there were fewer than 2,000 open farmers markets in the U.S. Today, there are more than 8,600 markets currently registered in the USDA Farmers Market Directory, per the Farmers Market Coalition.
This nonprofit advocacy organization fought on behalf of farmers during the pandemic, presenting a spirited defense using scientific and common sense arguments to keep them going when state or local governments wanted to shut them down.
In lockdown-heavy cities like Chicago, the Green City Market on Saturdays has grown from 5,000-10,000 shoppers pre-pandemic to 8,000-15,000 today.
Part of the reason, Green City Market’s organizer Taylor Choy tells the AP, is that supply chain issues which during COVID-19 increased the prices at supermarkets didn’t affect farmers markets that instead rely on local producers.
“The benefit to shopping at a farmers market is that it’s directly from the farm and so they’re not going to see the same type of supply chain issues (grocery stores have),” Choy told AP. “In fact, I’ve seen the cost of eggs at a grocery store increase, but then the price of our eggs at our market stayed the same.”
MORE GOOD FARMING NEWS: New AI-Powered Farming Robot Trundles About Inspecting 50 Acres of Crops per Day for Pests and Disease
In Colorado, the Larimer County farmers market saw a 25% increase in the number of vendors in the summer of 2020.
“Even in a global pandemic farmers market operators have worked tirelessly to innovate and come up with solutions to continue to serve their communities,” said Farmers Market Coalition’s Executive Director, Ben Feldman, that year.
FIND YOUR FARM HERE: The Nation’s Largest Farmers Market: FarmMatch Allows You to Shop Online at Local Farms in Your Area
“While farmers markets are among the safest places to buy food, the increased costs and time required to stay operational are major challenges for all markets nationwide. It is more important than ever to support our local farmers markets during this crisis.”
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China is a big country with big buildings, big cities, big rivers, and a big population. But the nation’s penchant for big isn’t just an artificial one, nature plays along too.
If you look up “the tallest tree in Asia” on the internet, it may mention Menara, a yellow meranti tree Shorea faguetiana with a height of 330.7 feet (100.8 meters) found in Malaysia. The record, however, has now been broken.
Researchers at Peking University working in Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve have recorded a Himalayan cypress Cupressus torulosa that has grown to 335 feet (102.3 meters). See the whole tree below, but it will take a few seconds to scroll all the way down.
This isn’t just the tallest tree in Asia, but the second tallest in the world behind America’s Hyperion—a coastal redwood that reaches 381 feet into the sky.
The researchers used a LiDAR drone survey to scrub away the leaves and measure the tree trunks of whole acres of forest quickly. This is how they were able to locate the giant cypress.
The cluster was first found by Li Cheng from the Xizijiang Conservation Center. Then a research group led by Guo Qinghua from Peking University carried a drone and backpack LiDAR to the deep forest, according to the university.
The scientists note that there were over 20 trees nearby that were over 295 feet tall (90 meters) and even more that were at or around 278 feet (85 meters).
MORE NATURAL WONDERS: Genetic Lineage of Thousand-Year-Old Oak Trees Seed an Experimental ‘Super Forest’
They also noted how important giant trees are to forest ecosystems, because within their long-lived genetics is contained knowledge that can be passed onto offspring about how to survive pests, droughts, and storms. They also provide numerous microclimates for fungi, birds, insects, and burrowing mammals.
The Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet isn’t called the “Grand Canyon” because China is famous for ignoring the intellectual property rights of American companies. It’s the deepest canyon found on land on Earth—measuring down 19,714 feet deep in some places.
The scientists are planning to establish a close and meticulous monitoring program to ensure the protection and long-term health of these wonderful trees.
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Attempting to get a grip on the homeless epidemic, homeless shelters are making conscious choices to employ trauma-informed designs to make those who are sheltering feel calm, more autonomous, and safe.
For example, at Path Home Family Village in Portland, Oregon, natural bamboo wood roofs sit above a naturally lit area pained in seafoam green, turquoise, and grey. Windows open out onto a garden with flowers and vegetables, and there are privacy walls between beds with soft personal reading lamps.
This is all part of the trauma-informed design; one that uses science and close relations with the homeless to establish a set of best practices for shelter construction.
Path Home used to be three homeless shelters in one—founded in an abandoned warehouse and church basements.
$250,000 of pro-bono work was donated to Family Village from the influential non-profit Design Resources for Homelessness, founded by Jill Pable, a professor at Florida State University.
Pable has consulted for other trauma-informed shelters before—in Georgia for example, and her work shows that aspects like acoustics, color, and furniture arrangement, or rooms specifically constructed for family visits can reinforce the mental states that trauma often clashes with—community, privacy, and a sense of welcome.
Other aspects, such as installing glass doors, ensuring there are enough windows to allow residents to see outside, and open spaces to ensure they don’t feel they can be snuck up on, are important for a sense of security as well.
MORE HOMELESS SHELTER INNOVATION: Tiny Home Village for Salt Lake City‘s Homeless Gets Green Light for 430 Units
“You can come home [to the shelter], you can do what you want, you don’t feel like anyone is looking at you. There’s a sense of relief, privacy, and wholeness,” Pable told The Guardian.
Last year, the shelter hosted 524 families. The average length of stay is 85 days. Recently, a previous resident asked Brandi Tuck, the executive director, if he and his partner could get married there.
That’s as good an indication as any that the principles Path Home was founded upon are working.
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Ohio resident Molly Jones was worried about the possibility of leaving her 15-year-old daughter behind in the event of her death from autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD).
She posted an impassioned plea on Facebook asking someone to consider donating a kidney, and a Facebook friend she had never met in person quickly responded: “how do I figure out of I’m a match?”
The woman—Kristi Hadfield, had been her friend for 6 years ever since she saved her father’s life.
In rural Richie County, West Virginia, Molly’s father John Cunningham, a former marine, checked himself into an ambulance authority where Hadfield was stationed as a paramedic. John said something wasn’t right, and Hadfield figured he needed to be examined at a hospital about 45 minutes away.
But on the way there, John went into cardiac arrest. Hadfield restarted his heart with chest compression and the help of the ambulance driver. Later, Hadfield sent Cunningham a friend request on Facebook to see how he was doing—which is when Molly Jones found her, and friend requested Hadfield as well.
“We live in a very small town,” Jones told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I wanted to know who saved my dad.”
Jones wasn’t the only person in her family to have ADPKD; her mother had it, so too did her grandmother, and her great-grandfather. Her daughter Vivi has it too.
Until January 2022, Jones had lived a healthy life with the disease, until a period when she began to suffer bad headaches and was diagnosed with stage 4, or terminal, renal failure.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: A Nurse and Her Boyfriend Saved a Man’s Life on Flight Home from Bahamas Vacation
“This family has just, gosh, they got a piece of my heart,” said Hadfield, 56. “I get emotionally impacted by the patients that I’ve had and this family was just incredible. My kids are grown and I have grandkids now, but I wanted her to be able to see her daughter grow. I wanted her to be able to hold her grandkids.”
The woman discovered they were both blood type A+, and as soon as Jones was on the transplant list, Hadfield began trying to donate her kidney, something she said she never imagined doing even though she had the box ticked on her driver’s license.
MORE KIDNEY DONATION NEWS: Woman Saved After Her Dog Found a Kidney Donor at the Beach: One-in-22 Million Odds
On December 27th, after weeks of difficult kidney dialysis keeping Jones alive, the transplant was a complete success. Hadfield had saved John Cunningham, and before the decade was out, saved his daughter too.
Workers at the hospital said that in all their combined years of practicing medicine, they’ve never heard or seen of such a thing. Hadfield told Anya Sostek of Post-Gazette that her grandson is 15-years-old, and already told her that if Vivi ever needs a kidney, all she has to do is call.
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Quote of the Day: “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” – Benjamin Franklin (Today is America’s birthday!)
Independence Day (the Fourth of July) is a U.S. holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
Photo by: Frank McKenna, CC license via Unsplash
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Waking up from a coma, a man was devastated when he learned his dog had gotten lost, but his luck turned around after the help from a local dog rescue organizer.
Bubba Nulisch was hospitalized with a bacterial infection and put into an induced coma on April 18th.
After waking from his coma three weeks later he was desperate to see his four-year-old dog Bullet.
However, while still in the hospital, Bubba received a call to tell him his beloved pooch had gone missing from his home in Grand Prairie, Texas.
On the suggestion of some of the hospital nurses, he immediately took to Facebook and asked for help in lost pet groups in the hope someone had spotted Bullet in the area.
He had adopted Bullet after being forced to retire from his truck driving job for medical reasons in October 2015 and says the dog pulled him out of a “deep depression.”
As it happened, someone had seen him—43-year-old Kim Joppie who runs a dog rescue in Dallas. Bullet had made it to Joppie’s rescue center on June 4th, and after she learned who he belonged to, she stepped up to make sure he was back at Bubba’s side as fast as possible.
Neutered and microchipped, Joppie drove the dog out to Bubba and was delighted with what happened after she arrived.
“When they were reunited, I can’t describe the pure emotion that came from him,” said Kim. “They were so bonded. It was so beautiful, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bubba adopted Bullet after some friends’ dog had a litter of puppies.
MORE FUR-BABY REUNIONS: Watch Soldier’s Emotional Reunion With Dog She Rescued From Iraq Seven Months Ago
“The people I was staying with at the time had a dog who had babies. One of them wouldn’t leave my side ever,” said Bubba. “I don’t know why but he started hanging out with me, so I adopted him.”
“He was my reason to keep on going. He really helped me through emotionally and brought me so much happiness and joy,” he said. “Him being gone was the hardest part of waking up.”
MORE PET PARENT NEWS: This Crew of Street Veterinarians Treat the Pets of L.A.’s Homeless Residents of Skid Row
Bubba said that he and Bullet are now back at home safely and are continuing to enjoy watching their favorite TV shows together.
“Kim is an angel. I’m so thankful to her for bringing him back to me. I’ll never forget what she’s done.”
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Spongy, uniquely green, and allegedly good with directions, Earth’s ubiquitous mosses are more important to ecosystems than they appear.
Found in at least 12,000 species living everywhere from snow-capped mountains to red-hot deserts, moss is the oldest living relative of all plants, but despite its age it seem to hold the key to many of our modern challenges.
In a study published in Nature this May, mossy soils were found to contain 6 times more carbon than soils—even healthy and rich ones, where mosses were not present.
“We were gobsmacked to find that mosses were doing all these amazing things,” David Eldridge, an ecologist at the University of New South Wales told Science Report.
Eldridge was part of a large survey that sampled mosses from 100 different sites worldwide in order to get an understanding of the impact of these little green balls and mats.
For starters, they estimated that mosses cover an area of the Earth about as big as China or Canada. Their little sprigs hold hundreds of tiny leaves, some just one cell thick, but they’re relatively simple organisms.
Mosses survive by absorbing water from the air. In dry climates, the edges crumble in and the moss appears to shrivel up and die.
“We’ve taken mosses out of a packet after 100 years, squirted them with water and watched them come to life,” said Eldrige. “Their cells don’t disintegrate like ordinary plants do.”
OTHER SUPERPLANTS: World’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project is a Virginia Success, Planting 600 Acres That Grow to Become 9,000
What’s more, the team found that mosses are better than plants at storing nutrients like carbon, and they estimated that 6.43 billion metric tons of carbon are stored in mossy soils.
They also seem to keep a lid on plant pathogens. In soil samples where mosses were present, the pathogenic load was much less than in soils where mosses were absent.
MORE GARDENING NEWS: Gardening Could Help Reduce Cancer Risk, Boost Mental Health and Bring Communities Together
Their powers of resilience are indeed remarkable. In 1980, Mount Saint Helens erupted in the state of Washington. The eruption caused many plants in the area to die off. Mosses were some of the first plants to pop back up, preceded only by cyanobacteria like algae.
Moss can be tricky to grow and work with, but if one can harness its power, moss makes a great lawn, its thick mat of roots keeps the soil intact and moist underneath, improving the health of the earth and making for supreme weed control.
It’s a great example of how the web of life works and why respect for all living things is merited—because even small, simple, and primitive life has its role in helping an ecosystem stay healthy.
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The Iberian Peninsula has unique opportunities for green energy, and its two nations are taking advantage of it by powering nearly their whole society on renewables.
Portugal beat a 9-year record when in March 2023, it generated 103% of its monthly energy consumption with renewable sources.
This was according to the country’s transmission system operator, REN. The country believes its electricity needs will be satisfied by 2040 only through the energies of nature. The most important aspect of any energy transition is honesty, and even though Portugal generated more renewable electricity than it consumed, that electricity wasn’t always being used to power that consumption. Fossil fuels were still being used in various places at various times.
REN also acknowledged that the forces of nature are unpredictable, and even though March generated 103% of total energy consumption, the same month last year generated 6% because of the drought.
Spain meanwhile is on track to becoming the first of Europe’s Big 5 economies to generate more than 50% of its electricity from renewable sources, according to a forecast by Rystad Energy—with almost all of it coming from solar, wind, and hydroelectric.
Spain also generates significant amounts of power from 10 nuclear power stations using nuclear fission—which is sometimes considered a fossil fuel even though it doesn’t emit CO2 like coal-fired energy options.
MORE RENEWABLES NEWS: Renewables Met 100% of the Increase in Global Electricity Need This Year in 2022
Meanwhile, further inland, the utilization of renewable energy in Germany totaled 52.3% in the first six months of 2023. This is 3.1% higher than last year.
In 2023, the number of rooftop solar systems installed was more than double that of 2022, while unlike Portugal and Spain, Germany has a flourishing bioenergy sector where they pull substantial electricity needs from organic waste.
MORE GOOD EARTH: This Park Air Tower Filters 273 Hot Air Balloons Worth of Polluted City Air per Day in India.
Already in July, the weather in Europe has been balmy compared to this period last year when the continent was roasting under drought, fire, and heatwave, allowing for excellent periods of renewable energy collection.
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Last Monday, the Blackfeet Nation released 30 wild bison back onto their land, a project 9 years in the making that the tribe believes will also be a momentous occasion for scientists to study the animal in its natural state.
The bison, or Iinnii arrived from Alberta, Canada, in 2016 and were placed in a special grazing enclosure to test for disease. From there, the herd grew until they were loaded up into trailers and moved to the release site near Glacier National Park in Montana, around the perimeter of Chief Mountain, an area steeped in Blackfeet significance.
A temporary area was made for them while they shed the stress of the road journey, and then a worker opened up the gate and all 30 rushed out into the wild, a moment which Blackfeet Councilman Lauren Monroe Jr. called “absolutely epic.”
There at Chief Mountain, the bison will roam free, something which almost no bison herd in the country can do. There are massive fenced-in reserves and parks for bison—so large that the bison might never see the fences for years at a time, but the fact that they’re there changes the bison’s natural behavior.
“Bison are almost always behind a fence, even when in a large area,” said Rosalyn LaPier, a historian from the Blackfeet and the Metis. “One thing scientists don’t know is where bison want to go,” she told The Missoulian.
“They’ve always been fenced in so we have no idea, as scholars and scientists, where they want to go when they roam. Even in Yellowstone, the bison are killed or relocated when they leave the border of the park. So this will be really interesting to see what happens.”
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For Monroe Jr. however, it was his ancestors, rather than scientists, who he was really excited for, imagining what they would think, say, and feel if they knew that land, bison, language, and culture would come back one day.
While these are the first truly wild bison to roam freely on this particular landscape, the Blackfeet’s domestic herd of bison is 700 head, from which the tribe harvests 20 individuals to ensure the food security of the lowest earners in the community.
MORE TRIBAL STORIES: Native American Tribe in Maine Gets Back Sacred Island Taken 160 Years Ago
They recently offered the first bison trophy hunt, whereby interested parties could donate $75,000 to the tribe’s coffers in exchange for hunting a large bull, and the tribe is excited to see how the wild bison might offer further tourist opportunities.
WATCH the “absolutely epic moment” below…
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Quote of the Day: “One of the most enjoyable aspects of solitude is doing what you want when you want to do it.” – Peter McWilliams
Photo by: Tony Detroit
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Modern men are nearly as likely as women to openly display a sensitive side, according to a new survey.
The poll of 2,000 adults found that 71% of the men reported being in touch with their feelings—compared to 82% of women.
Of the respondents who called themselves sensitive, 41% outwardly show it often—or always.
One-third of those polled believes being in tune with how they feel is the sign of a good leader.
52% considered being seen as sensitive as a positive trait. But, interestingly, only 37% of men consider it ‘a compliment’ to being called sensitive, and 23% of women feel the same way.
Commissioned by Aveeno (which launched a series of videos by photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten called ‘My Sensitive Side’), the survey found 55% believe others are ‘more likable’ when they openly show their sensitive side.
More than a third reported that their emotional intelligence turned out to be an asset in a work situation in the past, according to the OnePoll results.
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Sensitivity may be in our nature—and may also be an evolutionary benefit.
A New Jersey man upended his life by jumping in to drive his family over 1000 miles when their flight was cancelled.
Nathan Montanez had just dropped his wife and two kids at the airport to begin their trip to Disney World, but United Airlines cancelled their flight to Florida—and any rebooking meant they wouldn’t get to leave on their vacation for two days.
Jill Tobin-Montanez told GNN that she had been planning this trip for months. Nathan, who works in supply chain operations had to work, so wasn’t even going on the trip. 15 minutes before departure, the flight was cancelled—and there were no ticket options for days.
“I explained to my kids that sometimes life gives you lemons—and we’d try again to get to Disney another time,” she recalled.
Suddenly Jill’s husband messaged her that he was back at the airport and they should meet him outside.
“When we got in the car, all defeated, he asked if we were ready to go. We said ‘yup,’ thinking we were going home. Then he told us to get ready for a long drive.”
“He then put the song ‘On the Road Again’ on the radio and told us he was driving us to Disney!”
Nathan proceeded to drive 17 hours straight so they wouldn’t miss a day in the Magic Kingdom.
The car pulled into Orlando a little after midnight, and he turned around just a few hours later and headed back to New Jersey so he could get to work on Tuesday—only missing one day.
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“This dad is our rock!” Jill exclaimed.
“Not many people in this world would do that. And the kids absolutely appreciate what he did for them.”
“They haven’t stopped talking about him,” she wrote in an email, signing off as ‘the wife to one amazing dad!’
WATCH: Middle-Aged Dads Form Dance Team Called ‘Outta Puff Daddys’ Proving Age is Just a Number
BRAG ABOUT This Rockin’ Dad By Sharing His Kindness on Social Media…
Your doggie heart is going to melt after watching this cute moment inside a Midwestern fur-family.
Louie the Boxer sits calmly in the front seat listening to a stern dad giving him a parental ’talking-to’ on a weekend trip to the emergency room following an unfortunate incident with a porcupine.
While they were driving to find medical care for the dog in northern Michigan, his owner shot a charming video (see below), and later posted it on Rumble with a tongue-in-cheek first-person account:
“I did it this time! I swear it was a cat but it had these prickly things all over that got stuck in my face and dad couldn’t pull out! ☹️☹️
“It was Saturday and no vets were open so we had to drive 45 minutes to the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society Veterinary Clinic where I got to meet 2 really nice people.”
“I was sedated and they removed well over 100 quills from my face, nose, gums, tongue and all four paws…Ouch!
“Dad says he hopes I learned my lesson but I’m naughty so who knows… Btw, all my dog friends out there…stay away from the prickly cats! 🐾🐶❤️🩹🤪”
ALSO WATCH: The Hilarious Moment a Dog Refuses to Look at Mom While Being Scolded for Destroying a Pillow
Watch the moment below… (Note: GNN has no affiliation with any ads displayed.)
DRIVE This Boxer’s Advice to Dog Owners By Sharing on Social Media…
Rare conjoined twins who survived surgery to separate them, despite just 2% odds of success, have now graduated kindergarten.
In her 11th week of pregnancy Heather Delaney learned that she was carrying twins connected at the head—known as craniopagus twins—and the girls were born at 30 weeks gestation weighing just 6 pounds combined.
They remained in a neonatal intensive care unit until their first birthday when they underwent a pioneering procedure to separate their skulls at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania.
Although both daughters have developmental difficulties, Abby and Erin are both thriving as they approach their seventh birthday, according to proud parents Heather and Riley, who watched their girls graduate kindergarten this month.
“There are days now where I sit back and think ‘I can’t believe how incredibly lucky we are’,” said the 33-year-old stay-at-home mom. “Yes, they have disabilities and things they’re working through, but they’re so happy.”
“Watching them graduate, it was like we were dreaming,” said Heather who lives in Statesville, North Carolina. “We don’t yet know what they can accomplish so the sky is the limit for them.”
Baby photos hang in the house of when they were conjoined, and one day the parents will sit them down and ”talk about it properly”.
“We want them to be proud of who they are and where they’ve come from.”
They go to mainstream school, but attend a special class to get support for their needs. Erin has been walking since she was five, and now Abby is starting to walk too.
“When Abby can run too, I’ll be in trouble—it’s hard enough chasing one.”
“It has always been our goal in sharing our story to try and reach any other parents faced with the same type of pregnancy we were—to give them hope. We want to show there is the possibility they can be separated and then lead healthy and happy lives.”
“Now look at them – I’m so proud of them both.
SHARE the Inspiring Update to Give Hope to Families…
Quote of the Day: “The home is the chief school of human virtues.” – William Ellery Channing
Photo by: Rajiv Perera
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The landlord of the London pub featured in the Emmy-sweeping comedy series Ted Lasso says tourists have been flocking from “almost every country” to enjoy a pint in the wake of the TV show’s meteoric rise.
Reece Kent became the manager at The Prince’s Head pub in Richmond in April 2022.
It’s the very pub that, for three years, has been featured in the Apple TV hit show, which recently aired its finale.
In the Jason Sudeikis dramedy, the pub goes by the name Crown and Anchor, but the interior is well-known to any fan of the story centering around the English football team dubbed The Richmond Greyhounds.
The 28-year-old said the pub is now a tourist hotspot for Lasso-lovers visiting the UK.
“We’ve had people from Brazil, Canada, Australia, Germany. It’s been quite a surprise how many people want to come.
There’s a whole Ted Lasso Tour that leads folks around south-west London to the Richmond landmarks where filming was done.
“Tourists always want to come in and have a chat. You can even tell when the tour is finished they all have an AFC Richmond shirt on.”
Despite playing an important role in the show, there have only been “a handful” of filming days that disrupted the day-to-day running of the pub. The crew only filmed exteriors outside because all the interiors were shot on a separate set, designed to match the pub’s interior.
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Reece said it’s had a great impact on the whole of Richmond.
“It’s not just about the pub though, but about Richmond as a whole. The pub is just at the heart of the community here.”
LOOK: Guy on Pub Crawl Dressed as Gandalf Bumps into ‘Real’ Ian McKellen For Best Birthday Surprise Ever
When Reece took on the role as general manager, he had never watched the show, so he binge-watched all three seasons and said he quickly became a fan—because “it makes you feel good inside, just like The Prince’s Head”.
“It’s exciting to be on Ted Lasso but it’s also about giving customers that welcoming feel being part of something—being a part of Richmond.”
THINK Like a Goldfish – And Don’t Forget to SHARE on Social Media…
A renowned micro-artist has recreated a trio of Vincent Van Gogh paintings inside a watch—each smaller than the gap of a second hand.
David A. Lindon depicted three of the late Dutch painter’s most famous works, but in a mind-bogglingly microscopic size, calling it the world’s first-ever wearable art gallery.
The fragility of the pieces means a mere sneeze or a cough could wreck months of intricate work in an instant.
He uses a microscope in between heartbeats to keep his hands sufficiently steady, and the process takes two months to complete each of the images representing Starry Night, Sunflowers, and Self Portrait.
Mr. Lindon was commissioned to create the Van Gogh Trilogy by Hammond Galleries, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the famed Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam this month.
Using specialized tools and techniques honed over years of practice, he crafts the artworks using strands of Kevlar, carpet fibers, pieces of ceramics, crushed micro pigments, precious metals like gold and platinum as well as gemstones, diamonds, emeralds and rubies.
Each of the Van Gogh paintings is painstakingly balanced atop the tourbillon of the watch, which constantly rotates the balance wheel to keep the device in rhythm.
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This is only the first in a series of miniature art gallery watches in the works. Upcoming Lindon creations will include Banksy, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso trilogies.
On the minutiae of his craft, Mr. Lindon credits his steady hand to a previous career in the Ministry of Defense working with complex equipment.
“It is a real challenge to control my hands and my breathing, let alone create something almost literally out of nothing. I keep my heart rate as low as possible as a single twitch from my fingers can wreck months of work.”
“I can accidentally blow it away, with a sneeze or a cough. There’s even a danger that static electricity can unexpectedly snap the art away as if by magic,” said the Bournemouth resident.
“Once a piece is lost, you can spend hours hunting around for it with a magnifying glass in your hand—and still never find it.
“Having been trained to work on small complex devices I had developed steady hands and a good deal of patience. I still think I’m mad to sit still for hours staring into a microscope day after day.
“What keeps me going through the long, tough hours is seeing my work finished and the look of wonder and astonishment on people’s faces, when they see my art in person for the first time.”
Hammond Galleries near Wolverhampton in the UK is featuring the wearable wristwatch as the centerpiece of its new exhibition Inspired By… Vincent.
Managing Director Edward Hammond is also offering the watch for purchase. Previous micro masterpieces by Lindon have sold for as much as $36,000 each.
WATCH: Van Gogh Paintings Come to Life in Spectacular Oil Animation Film
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4ocean has reached a stellar milestone: 30 million pounds of plastic waste recovered from the our oceans, rivers, and coastlines since the company began in 2017.
Operating in 12 locations across two continents, 4ocean has been dedicated to ending the ocean plastic crisis.
“4ocean is incredibly proud to have accomplished this record-setting feat” said Alex Schulze, 4ocean CEO and Co-Founder.
“We’ve built an entire business for the sole purpose of cleaning the ocean. With hundreds of local captains and crew members recovering trash from our oceans and coastlines seven days a week and the support of millions of people doing their part to prevent plastic pollution, I’m sure our work will have a lasting impact on the ocean.”
Schulze made the announcement after the 4ocean TrashTracker, a proprietary database used to document the company’s recovered materials through their entire supply chain, was independently audited and verified by GreenCircle Certified, an internationally recognized third-party entity that tests sustainability claims.
4ocean, a Public Benefit B Corp based in Boca Raton, Florida, sells bracelets made from the plastic waste collected, employs 185 crew members in the USA, Indonesia, and Guatemala, who are local to the area.
“All of our captains and crews live in the communities we serve and are hired as full-time employees. All of our bracelets are handcrafted by artisans living in either Guatemala or Bali. Every bracelet purchased funds our cleanups and creates jobs that provide the steady income people in these communities need right now.”
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While 4ocean’s cleanup operations are funded primarily through their product sales, in 2021, they launched a Corporate Partnerships Program that works with companies to offset their plastic usage and aid in waterway cleanup efforts around the globe—including John Frieda, Mount Gay Rum, Nature Gnaws, and U.S. Polo Assn.
“Waste is ultimately a design flaw, which means preventing plastic pollution starts with changing the way we design, produce, market, consume, and dispose of the products we use each and every day.”
Their most recent project was announced on World Oceans Day, June 8. A new partnership with Corona will movie collection efforts upstream into highly polluted rivers like the Rio Motagua in Guatemala. One of the most polluted rivers in Central America, the Motagua River accounts for roughly 2% of all the plastic waste entering our oceans each year.
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The 5-year project, called “A River of Change from Corona x 4ocean,” will help restore natural ecosystems and biodiversity; create full-time, living-wage jobs for people who are directly impacted by plastic pollution in the river and surrounding areas; and build infrastructures for lasting change.
“When they say a small group of dedicated people can change the world, believe them,” said Schulze. “Reaching 30 million pounds of plastic and trash removed from the oceans is just the first step. We still have a lot of work to do.”
SAIL This Opportunity to Keep Our Oceans Clean to Friends Without Bracelets…
Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)
Here is your weekly horoscope…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of July 1, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Hexes nullified! Jinxes abolished! Demons banished! Adversaries outwitted! Liabilities diminished! Bad habits replaced with good habits! These are some of the glorious developments possible for you in the coming months, Cancerian. Am I exaggerating? Maybe a little. But if so, not much. In my vision of your future, you will be the embodiment of a lucky charm and a repository of blessed mojo. You are embarking on a phase when it will make logical sense to be an optimist. Can you sweep all the dross and mess out of your sphere? No, but I bet you can do at least 80 percent.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
In the book Curious Facts in the History of Insects, Frank Cowan tells a perhaps legendary story about how mayors were selected in the medieval Swedish town of Hurdenburg. The candidates would set their chins on a table with their long beards spread out in front of them. A louse, a tiny parasitic insect, would be put in the middle of the table. Whichever beard the creature crawled to and chose as its new landing spot would reveal the man who would become the town’s new leader. I beg you not to do anything like this, Leo. The decisions you and your allies make should be grounded in good evidence and sound reason, not blind chance. And please avoid parasitical influences completely.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
I rebel against the gurus and teachers who tell us our stories are delusional indulgences that interfere with our enlightenment. I reject their insistence that our personal tales are distractions from our spiritual work. Virgo author A. S. Byatt speaks for me: “Narration is as much a part of human nature as breath and the circulation of the blood.” I love and honor the stories of my own destiny, and I encourage you to love and honor yours. Having said that, I will let you know that now is an excellent time to jettison the stories that feel demoralizing and draining—even as you celebrate the stories that embody your genuine beauty. For extra credit: Tell the soulful stories of your life to anyone who is receptive.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In the Mayan calendar, each of the 20 day names is associated with a natural phenomenon. The day called Kawak is paired with rainstorms. Ik’ is connected with wind and breath. Kab’an is earth, Manik’ is deer, and Chikchan is the snake. Now would be a great time for you to engage in an imaginative exercise inspired by the Mayans. Why? Because this is an ideal phase of your cycle to break up your routine, to reinvent the regular rhythm, to introduce innovations in how you experience the flow of the time. Just for fun, why not give each of the next 14 days a playful nickname or descriptor? This Friday could be Crescent Moon, for example. Saturday might be Wonderment, Sunday can be Dazzle Sweet, and Monday Good Darkness.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
From 998 till 1030, Scorpio-born leader Mahmud Ghaznavi ruled the vast Ghaznavid empire, which stretched from current-day Iran to central Asia and northwestern India. Like so many of history’s strong men, he was obsessed with military conquest. Unlike many others, though, he treasured culture and learning. You’ve heard of poet laureates? He had 400 of them. According to some tales, he rewarded one wordsmith with a mouthful of pearls. In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to be more like the Mahmud who loved beauty and art and less like the Mahmud who enjoyed fighting. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to fill your world with grace and elegance and magnificence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
About 1,740 years ago, before she became a Catholic saint, Margaret of Antioch got swallowed whole by Satan, who was disguised as a dragon. Or so the old story goes. But Margaret was undaunted. There in the beast’s innards, Margaret calmly made the sign of the cross over and over with her right hand. Meanwhile, the wooden cross in her left hand magically swelled to an enormous size that ruptured the beast, enabling her to escape. After that, because of her triumph, expectant mothers and women in labor regarded Margaret as their patron saint. Your upcoming test won’t be anywhere near as demanding as hers, Sagittarius, but I bet you will ace it—and ultimately garner sweet rewards.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn-born Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was an astronomer and mathematician who was an instrumental innovator in the Scientific Revolution. Among his many breakthrough accomplishments were his insights about the laws of planetary motion. Books he wrote were crucial forerunners of Isaac Newton’s theories about gravitation. But here’s an unexpected twist: Kepler was also a practicing astrologer who interpreted the charts of many people, including three emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. In the spirit of Kepler’s ability to bridge seemingly opposing perspectives, Capricorn, I invite you to be a paragon of mediation and conciliation in the coming weeks. Always be looking for ways to heal splits and forge connections. Assume you have an extraordinary power to blend elements that no one else can.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Dear Restless Runaway: During the next 10 months, life will offer you these invitations: 1. Identify the land that excites you and stabilizes you. 2. Spend lots of relaxing time on that land. 3. Define the exact nature of the niche or situation where your talents and desires will be most gracefully expressed. 4. Take steps to create or gather the family you want. 5. Take steps to create or gather the community you want.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
I’d love you to be a deep-feeling, free-thinker in the coming weeks. I will cheer you on if you nurture your emotional intelligence as you liberate yourself from outmoded beliefs and opinions. Celebrate your precious sensitivity, dear Pisces, even as you use your fine mind to reevaluate your vision of what the future holds. It’s a perfect time to glory in rich sentiments and exult in creative ideas.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Visionary author Peter McWilliams wrote, “One of the most enjoyable aspects of solitude is doing what you want when you want to do it, with the absolute freedom to change what you’re doing at will. Solitude removes all the ‘negotiating’ we need to do when we’re with others.” I’ll add a caveat: Some of us have more to learn about enjoying solitude. We may experience it as a loss or deprivation. But here’s the good news, Aries: In the coming weeks, you will be extra inspired to cultivate the benefits that come from being alone.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The 18th-century French engineer Étienne Bottineau invented nauscopy, the art of detecting sailing ships at a great distance, well beyond the horizon. This was before the invention of radar. Bottineau said his skill was not rooted in sorcery or luck, but from his careful study of changes in the atmosphere, wind, and sea. Did you guess that Bottineau was a Taurus? Your tribe has a special capacity for arriving at seemingly magical understandings by harnessing your sensitivity to natural signals. Your intuition thrives as you closely observe the practical details of how the world works. This superpower will be at a peak in the coming weeks.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
According to a Welsh proverb, “Three fears weaken the heart: fear of the truth; fear of the devil; fear of poverty.” I suspect the first of those three is most likely to worm its way into your awareness during the coming weeks. So let’s see what we can do to diminish its power over you. Here’s one possibility: Believe me when I tell you that even if the truth’s arrival is initially disturbing or disruptive, it will ultimately be healing and liberating. It should be welcomed, not feared.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)
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