Quote of the Day: “To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” – Henry David Thoreau
Photo by: Alex Sheldon
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Miracle Messages worked its magic again this year when the nonprofit helped reunite a father and son who had been separated for over ten years.
The exciting reconnection happened after Eddie Thompson Ⅲ, who has struggled with housing insecurity for a decade, reached out for help.
He spent years longing to reunite with his son, Shay, but then he heard about the volunteers and team at Miracle Messages. They specialize in reuniting families dealing with the added burden of homelessness.
Eddie wrote a note that he desperately wanted to be delivered to his Shay: “I love you to death and have been trying to get in contact with you for years.” – Eddie.
In an effort to bring the two together, volunteer Lindsay Pfeiffer took on Eddie’s case—and after some days of persistence, she was able to locate Shay and inform him that his father had been actively looking for him.
Shay was awestruck.
For the entirety of his adult life, he had been searching for his father. The pair had been separated since Shay’s high school graduation. With each passing year, the young man felt the reality of any reunion with his dad slipping away.
Serendipitously—through what felt like magic—Shay found out that in all the years he spent looking for Eddie, Eddie had been searching for him.
MORE MIRACLE MONDAY: Dealing With Cancer and Homelessness, Former Teacher Now Has an Apartment and Lifelong Friend
The two were reconnected and given a second chance at their relationship—and Shay was beyond grateful to end the years spent apart.
After learning about his father’s whereabouts, he felt like he was on Oprah, because the experience felt “too miraculous to be real”.
MORE MIRACLE MONDAY: Homeless For 28 Years, Linda is Offered Miracle Reunion With Her Family and Moves Back Home
Through Lindsay’s coordination, the two finally met in person. Eddie not only found his son, but discovered he has a beautiful granddaughter, as well.
Now, they’re catching up on all the time they missed. The pair continue to maintain their relationship and are a testament to the indispensable role Miracle Messages plays in bringing families back together.
Visit their website to donate or become a volunteer for Miracle Friends.
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After Gulf conditions off the Florida panhandle changed rapidly, one resident attempted to rescue three people trapped in a capsized houseboat.
Another boat saw what was happening and came to help—and even rescue—the rescuer, demonstrating the diffusion of heroism among the folks of the Florida Gulf community.
It started last Friday when Travis Brady and his friends left the Panama City marina on the opening day of red snapper season with storm clouds coming fast behind them. Loathe to miss the chance for a big catch, they nevertheless decided to call it a day early when the water became smattered with 5-6 foot waves.
On the way back to the marina, they saw a houseboat—a floating general store that served watermen near a sandbar, had broken free from its moorings. As Brady and his friends approached they saw another boat had already arrived, and its owner was attempting to rescue three people trapped in the houseboat.
That rescuer, later identified as Boyd Jordan, jumped in the water, smashed the window, and helped all three people out after the houseboat capsized.
“He is the true hero of this story,” Brady told WJHG. “Without hesitation, he was just in the water helping those people.”
That’s when Brady and his friends arrived dodging debris and waves to throw a life jacket to Jordan with a line attached to it; the houseboat’s occupants were already wearing life jackets.
Hauling Jordan aboard their already overcrowded fishing boat, they then guided the stranded individuals to the sandbar where they were able to walk ashore. Brady then took Jordan his own boat before it crashed into the seawall.
MORE WATER RESCUES: Florida 3-Year-Old Rescued from Sunken Vehicle After Police Perform CPR: ‘Best cry I’ve ever heard’
Not one injury was sustained, and there were no damages to either boat—all in all it was a miraculous escape.
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“All glory be to God, man. He put us in the right place at the right time. I’ve never been super religious, but [Friday] was just an eye-opening moment for me, I just feel like divine intervention puts you in the right place at the right time.”
WATCH the story below from local news…
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Scientists have taken pollutant phosphorus from wastewater and infused it into a soil superfood called biochar to really “close the loop” on several widespread agricultural practices.
The biochar itself is made from incinerated organic material inside an oxygen-deprived environment, turning it into charcoal that acts like an underground rainwater sponge that also delivers the necessary phosphorus and other nutrients for plant growth.
Animal life needs energy in the form of the four macronutrients: carbohydrates, fatty acids, amino acids, and ketone bodies.
Plant life operates a bit differently. One of the green kingdom’s macronutrients is phosphorus, and its presence in the soil greatly contributes to healthy crops. Phosphorus runoff into streams is a major problem for sea life because once this basic element reaches the ocean, it causes giant blooms of algae that block light from reaching the seabed.
On its way there, this same problem can occur with riverine plants, and so is also considered pollution in fresh water.
Daniel Strawn, Professor of Environmental Soil Chemistry at the University of Idaho, and his colleagues have demonstrated a method and technology that can use phosphorus collecting in wastewater treatment plants to enrich biochar.
“We’re hitting on many factors,” says Strawn. “We are recycling phosphorus, producing cleaner water, increasing soil health, and are creating a carbon sink that reduces atmospheric greenhouse gases, so it really is a multifaceted technology.”
After getting noticed worldwide as a soil amendment, biochar’s global market presence has greatly expanded, and Strawn hypothesizes that anywhere there’s agriculture, there’s phosphorus runoff that could be used to supercharge the biochar, and put that element back into the next season’s crops where it belongs.
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Part of the experiment was done at Canadian Light Source, a national research facility that possesses a synchrotron microscope. With this technology, Strawn and his team were able to compare various materials to see which one could hold the most phosphorus after being turned into biochar.
They detailed in a paper published on the experiment that biochar made from ruminant manure absorbed the most phosphorus, followed by activated carbon. The other material that absorbed reasonably well was pine tree clippings.
While manure itself makes for an exceptional soil amendment, there are times when it doesn’t fall on a field that needs fertilizing. In these cases, manure is typically disposed of in landfills. That material could instead be turned into biochar for this phosphorus extraction method.
MORE GOOD AG NEWS: Nutrient-Rich Human Waste is Poised to Sustain Agriculture and Improve Economies, Say Researchers
Strawn has patented this method and hopes as soon as possible to diffuse knowledge of it to the world in hopes of tackling several major problems and turning them into a big solution.
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After moving to Texas from the East Coast, a family “adopted” a neighborhood senior who jumped in to welcome them.
Sharaine Caraballo and her husband Wilson met 82-year-old Paul Callahan in March last year when Wilson began working on their recently purchased home and he offered him a ladder to work with.
From then on, it didn’t take very long for the family of eight and their new neighbor to become close and for Paul to take on the role of de-facto grandpa.
A retired Texas Instruments manager, Paul’s wife sadly passed away six months before the family moved into the neighborhood and Sharaine thinks her family provided an important refuge for Paul.
“One of my biggest fears was meeting our new neighbors. I was wondering who they were going to be and what they were going to be like,” said Sharaine, who is originally from Pawtucket, New England. “When Paul welcomed us into the neighborhood I knew I had made the right choice.”
The Caraballos and Paul now see each other every other day, inviting him to all family cookouts. They spend every holiday together, and this Father’s Day Paul received a new outfit from the family as a present.
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Sharaine and Wilson were really apprehensive when they moved into the new neighborhood but Paul’s warm welcome really helped put them at ease, offering the new homeowners advice and help with all kinds of issues they were facing with their new home.
“He was coming over with tools. He’d bring screwdrivers and teach Wilson how to fix up the garage and Wilson followed all his advice,” explained Sharaine. “He’s always coming over with little trinkets for the kids. They play with him a lot and call him Uncle Paul. He’s got stories for days.”
OTHER FAMILY STORIES: Heartwarming Moment Ex-Foster Kid Asks to Be Adopted by Family He Sold a Car To
Sharaine’s kids love Paul as much as she does and the elderly man makes great efforts to make them feel at home too. As much as Paul has helped the family, Sharaine thinks her family played an important role in the months that followed the passing of Paul’s wife.
“I asked what drew him to us and he said he was a very social person and that he grew up around lots of kids,” she said. “‘That’s how I grew up, my house was always where everybody hung out.’ He’s also the last of his siblings, who have all passed away.”
WATCH the story below from SWNS…
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Quote of the Day: “Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.” – Dave Willis
Photo by: Priscilla Du Preez
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Kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting paper, has been adapted by researchers at Virginia Tech to make sticky tape much stronger, yet easier to remove than current super-adhesives.
From quickly fixing household items to ensuring a reliable seal on a package to be mailed, it’s helpful to have tape with a strong bond—but removing it may only be possible by scraping—and hoping surface pieces don’t tear away.
Professor Michael Bartlett’s university team succeeded in massively increasing the adhesive bond but also make the substance easily removable.
“This seemingly paradoxical combination of properties could dramatically change applications in robotic grasping, wearables for health monitoring, and manufacturing for assembly and recycling,” explained Prof. Bartlett.
Easily removable masking tape was first developed in the 1920s to meet a need for car painters who wanted better options for painting two colors on vehicles. Since then, factories have rolled out invisible tape for wrapping presents, electrical tape for covering wires, and duct tape for more uses than it was ever intended to fill.
“Normally, when tapes are peeled off, they separate in a straight line along the length of the strip until the tape is completely removed. Strong adhesives are made more difficult to peel, while reusable adhesives promote the strength-limiting separation.”
Bartlett’s tried to control the “separation path”, inspired by kirigami which uses folding and cutting to transform a flat sheet of paper, the method kids use when creating paper snowflakes.
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They made a series of U-shaped cuts across an adhesive, and found that applying these cuts made the bond of the tape stronger by a factor of 60.
“An engineered cut can force the adhesive separation path to go backwards at specific locations, which we call reverse crack propagation, making the adhesive very strong. But by peeling in the opposite direction, it always goes forward, making it easy to remove.”
“This is quite unusual behavior, but it is very useful to make strong yet releasable adhesives.”
The team also reported—with published research in Nature Materials—that the type of tape didn’t matter. Kirigami increased the bonds of every type of tape tested, from packaging tapes to medical tapes. In all cases, strong adhesive bonds become even stronger and normally weaker adhesives increased in strength, too.
“What really matters is the shape and size of the cut,” said former graduate researcher Dohgyu Hwang. “We do not have to rely on the specific adhesive material, but as long as the cuts are made at a characteristic size, which is defined by the physics of the adhesive, we found that this enhanced adhesion in every system we tried.”
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“We also use a rapid digital fabrication approach, so we can quickly create highly customizable adhesives with tunable strength,” said Bartlett. “This is very exciting for the development of future adhesives.”
Check out the video from Virginia Tech…
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An international team of scientists has recorded a sound that came from the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, stemming from an event around 200 years ago.
The sound was emitted during an intense period of activity as the dark hole known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced ‘Sagittarius A star’) stirred from a state of dormancy, gobbling up gas and dust.
The team, led by Frédéric Marin, a CNRS researcher at the Astronomical Strasbourg Observatory in France, has revealed the past awakening of this gigantic object, which is four million times more massive than the Sun.
At the beginning of the 19th century, over a period of one year, the black hole gobbled up cosmic objects that got a little too close to it, before once again entering a state of quiescence.
No effect was felt on Earth, as the distance between Sgr A* and our planet is too great (about two billion times the distance from the Earth to the Sun).
However, the X-ray echo detected and published this week in the journal Nature, reveals that the original intensity was at least a million times greater than the frequencies currently being emitted by Sgr A*.
“To get an idea of the increase in intensity of the X-ray emission when the black hole emerged from its quiescent state, it is as if a single glow-worm hidden in a forest suddenly became as bright as the Sun,” the team said in a news release.
“These findings explain why galactic molecular clouds near Sgr A* are shining more brightly than usual: it is because they are reflecting the X-rays emitted by Sgr A* 200 years ago.”
To carry out their research, the scientists used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) satellite3, which was for the very first time able to detect the directional polarization of this X-ray light with great precision and also determine its source, something that had previously proved impossible.
Rather like a compass, the polarized X-ray light points directly to its source, Sgr A*, even though the latter is now virtually extinct. The scientists are continuing their work on Sgr A* to try to determine the physical mechanisms required for a black hole to switch from a quiescent state to an active one.
RELATED: Astronomers Detect Radio Pattern ‘Like a Heartbeat’ From a Galaxy Far Away
Listen to the sonification of the detected echo from 200 years ago below…
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A poll of moms, dads, guardians, and caregivers of children under 13, found that 84 percent consider raising children to be the greatest thing to happen to them—and the best thing may be their cuddles.
Other favorite aspects include seeing their personalities develop and laughing often over the youngsters’ quirky questions and funny remarks.
Watching kids’ movies, seeing them do something you’ve taught them, and reading bedtime stories together, were also among the top wonders of having kids in the house.
The survey of 1,300 adults by Calpol—which is marking its five-year partnership with a British children’s helpline by launching its ‘Don’t Bottle it Up!’ campaign—found being a parent has impacted the mental wellbeing of 66 percent.
While 19 percent believe raising kids can help you appreciate the little things in life more, only 61 percent of those polled said they had enough support and resources around how to parent the kids in the first six months.
“It’s just as important to look after your own mental health as well as your child’s wellbeing,” said Kam Thandi, head of the NSPCC Helpline. “A strong support network really goes a long way.”
The poll showed that 14 percent love listening to the conversations kids have with each other. And 12 percent similarly enjoy feeling like a ‘hero’ after doing something minor like replacing a toy’s batteries.
Nearly a quarter also think having new experiences for the first time with a child is one of the greatest joys.
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Of those respondents with more than one child surveyed via OnePoll, 72 percent believe they were a ‘better’ parent the second time around.
Parents consider patience to be the most important attribute for guardians to have (41 percent), followed by a loving nature (30 percent), and being ready for the unexpected (20 percent).
CHECK OUT: Poll Reveals The Secret to Happiness is Practicing Gratitude
Calpol, along with the NSPCC Helpline, is hosting a free online panel discussion on parental worries on July 10, from 12-1 pm.
THE 22 BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING A PARENT TO KIDS UNDER 13:
1. The cuddles
2. Watching their personalities develop
3. They make you laugh
4. Hearing some of the funny things they say
5. Having new experiences with them for the first time
6. They make you appreciate little things in life more
7. Reliving the magic of Christmas through a child’s experience again
8. Seeing them do something you’ve taught them
9. The many quirky and wonderful questions they ask
10. Birthday celebrations
11. Seeing the world through their eyes
12. Learning new things alongside them
13. Watching kids’ films together
14. Reading bedtime stories together
15. Listening to conversations they have with other children
16. Feeling like their hero when you do something like replacing the batteries in a toy
17. The cute compliments they give
18. You appreciate your own parents more
19. Taking them to the zoo
20. Getting to make friends with other moms/ dads/ caregivers
21. Hearing them talk to themselves in bed at night
22. Buying them toys you secretly want to play with yourself
Monarchs are the only insects to attempt such a massive trek as the one from Canada to Mexico—and the success of this butterfly’s 3,000-mile journey may come down to how many white spots are on their wings.
A new study by University of Georgia researchers suggests that the butterflies with more white spots are better at reaching their long-distance wintering destination.
Although it’s not yet clear how the spots aid the species’ migration, it is believed the spots change airflow patterns around the wings.
For thousands of years, the orange-winged wonder has been traversing North America to spend the winter in oyamel fir trees in the mountain forests in south and central Mexico.
How an animal with a brain the size of a poppy seed navigates to this one special place has baffled ecologists for decades.
“We undertook this project to learn how such a small animal can make such a successful long-distance flight,” said lead author Andy Davis, an assistant researcher in the University’s Odum School of Ecology. “We actually went into this thinking that monarchs with more dark wings would be more successful at migrating because dark surfaces can improve flight efficiency. But we found the opposite.”
“It’s the white spots that seem to be the difference maker,” Davis said.
The researchers analyzed nearly 400 wild monarch wings collected at different stages of their journey, measuring their color proportions. They found the successful migrant monarchs had about 3% less black and 3% more white on their wings.
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An additional analysis of museum specimens that included monarchs and six other butterfly species showed that the monarchs had significantly larger white spots than their non-migratory cousins.
The only other species that came close to having the same proportion of white spots on its wing was its semi-migratory relative, the southern monarch.
The coloring is related to the amount of light and heat they receive during their journey. More white spots means less exposure to the sun’s radiation.
“The amount of solar energy monarchs are receiving along their journey is extreme, especially since they fly with their wings spread open most of the time,” Davis said. “After making this migration for thousands of years, they figured out a way to capitalize on that solar energy to improve their aerial efficiency.”
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But as temperatures continue to rise, altering the solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface, monarchs will likely have to adapt to survive, said Mostafa Hassanalian, co-author of the study and an associate professor at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
But it’s certainly not all bad news for the flying insects.
Davis’ previous work showed that summer populations of monarchs have remained relatively stable over the past 25 years. That finding suggests that the species’ population growth during the summer compensates for butterfly losses due to migration, winter weather and changing environmental factors.
RELATED WIN: Monarchs Rebound Again–Beating Last Year’s Total, Proving Success is Not a Fluke
“The breeding population of monarchs seems fairly stable, so the biggest hurdles that the monarch population faces are in reaching their winter destination,” Davis said. “This study allows us to further understand how monarchs are successful in reaching their destination.”
The study, sub-titled “How the monarch got its spots,” was published in PLOS ONE.
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Quote of the Day: “I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June.” – L.M. Montgomery
Photo by: takahiro taguchi
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Supermarket carts in Liverpool, England, were fitted with sensors that could identify people at risk of a stroke—and dozens of willing participants were diagnosed.
Atrial fibrillation, or Afib, is a common heart rhythm disorder that causes blood clots to form in the heart and can cause breathlessness and extreme tiredness while doing simple of chores.
More than 40 million people around the world have atrial fibrillation, which increases the risk of stroke five-fold, but it’s a disorder that can be spotted with a simple pulse check.
2,155 adults volunteered to participate in the study, organized by a team from Liverpool John Moores University. Professor Ian Jones sought to test the possibility of giving health checks to people out in public without disrupting their daily routines.
“Over the course of two months, we identified 39 patients who were unaware that they had atrial fibrillation. That’s 39 people at greater risk of stroke who received a cardiologist appointment.”
Jones got help from the University’s engineering department which modified the carts, adding electrocardiogram (ECG) devices embedded into the handles. The light would show as red if an irregular heartbeat was detected; otherwise it stayed green.
The team rolled out the carts (seen in the video below) to shoppers who volunteered to participate at four city supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s and Lloyds Pharmacy stores. They browsed the supermarket aisles after being asked to hold the bar for at least 60 seconds before releasing.
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An in-store pharmacist then did a manual pulse check and a second sensor-reading, this time using a standalone bar not attached to a cart, with the participant standing still.
“Nearly two-thirds of the shoppers we approached were happy to use a trolley,” said Jones, the lead author of the study’s report presented yesterday at a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Edinburgh. “The vast majority of those who declined were in a rush, rather than wary of being monitored.”
“This shows that the concept is acceptable to most people and worth testing in a larger study.”
Over the course of the SHOPS-AF study, a cardiologist reviewed data from any volunteer with a red light or irregular pulse. Participants were informed of the results, and those with unclear ECGs got an invitation to repeat the measurement. Those who were confirmed to have Afib were given a cardiologist appointment within two weeks, courtesy of the UK health system, NHS.
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220 participants either had a red light on the sensor and/or an irregular manual pulse check, but only between one-quarter and one-half of those were officially diagnosed as having atrial fibrillation—and Jones has ideas about adjustments that need to made for the system to be more accurate.
“For example, having a designated position on the bar to hold onto, as hand movement interfered with the readings.
“In addition, the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines require just a 30 second ECG to diagnose atrial fibrillation, so we aim to find a sensor that will halve the time shoppers need to continuously hold the bar.”
Blood thinning medications substantially lower the future risk of stroke, but too many people only discover they have the condition when it is too late. Screening programs like this could identify vulnerable individuals so they can be treated.
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“Checking for atrial fibrillation while people do their regular shopping holds promise for preventing strokes and saving lives,” says Jones.
A crucial aspect would be providing immediate access to a health professional who can explain the findings.
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A couple who hand-reared a one-day-old duckling before releasing her back to the wild were left stunned when she returned to their home six months—and brought a few family members.
Phil Garner took the tiny mallard under his wing after finding her abandoned on a fishing lake, before bringing her back to his wife Julia, snuggled in his coat pocket.
The 67-year-old said the waterfowl, which they named Freda, became partially potty-trained using towels after she came to live in their three-bed house in Leeds, England. The couple even took turns sleeping near the “demanding” bird’s bed.
Julia said her husband of 16 years was undergoing agonizing treatment for bladder cancer when he first found Freda. She now considers the duck Phil’s “guardian angel” as he was able to focus his energy on caring for her during that difficult period.
“I wasn’t keen on my home becoming a duck sanctuary at first, but I think she was sent for a purpose… Freda helped him through it.”
They had tried for hours to find the ducking’s parents before being told by a fishery manager that she would perish if left in the wild.
“It was freezing cold that day and there was no sign of the mum, so we brought her home and then thought, ‘What do you do with a day-old duckling?’
They let Freda roam around their living room, kitchen, and garden—and allowed her to swim in a pond they’d created for goldfish. It wasn’t long before she formed a bond with her rescuers.
“She’d either sleep in a box, by your feet, or under the coffee table,” said Phil. “But one of us had to sleep downstairs otherwise she started screeching and crying.
“She would sit on my shoulder and on my table while I was doing my computer work. She was that loving.”
They fed her with a diet of grubs (bought in the pet shop), until she flew the nest last October, after spending a few weeks “screeching” at other ducks she could hear on a local lake.
“It was a bit sad when Freda first went, but at the same time, it was a bit of a relief because she was hard work.”
A few months later, however, they were amazed when she came waddling up to their doorstep in April with a new boyfriend—and their newly hatched brood of ducklings which have taken up residence in their garden once again.
WATCH: 10 Ducklings Follow Mom Through Elementary School Continuing a 20-Year Tradition
In the back of his mind, Phil was expecting her to come back after being told that they “imprint on you, for life.”
“But going from one duckling to 11 was chaos,” exclaimed Phil. “It was like, ‘What do you do with this lot?’ They’re now eight inches long and as fat as butter—fluffy, very fluffy.
“They need to swim, they need to wash themselves. So we’ve got tubs everywhere. The garden looks like a bomb site, but I’m not bothered.
“We allow them in the fish pond in the front garden, but we’ve dug a separate pond in the back and feed them on cornmeal, worms, maggots and Weetabix.
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“You’ll hear them going ‘cheep, cheep’ when they want to eat or if the mother disappears, but they’re pretty quiet.”
Phil expects the love birds—Freda and Fred—to stay with them for a few more months but is prepared to re-home them on a nearby pond if they don’t go back into the wild.
“We expect her to fly off and go back to where she was before, and the ducklings will just follow her and do their own thing.
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“If not, there’s a good local fishing pond near us that’s got a fence all the way around it, which will keep out the foxes.”
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Last year, America’s national parks received overflowing record crowds during the summer months. Places like Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Shenandoah, Sequoia, and Great Smokey Mountains were standing room only in some places.
But as glorious as these temples to nature’s splendor are, there are 63 (pending 64) national parks in the country, some of which receive barely fifty-thousand visitors a year.
In time for planning a summer holiday, it’s worth checking some of these spectacular landscapes out, beating the heat and the crowds while enjoying the peace and tranquility of nature, rather than suffering full campgrounds and park-road traffic jams.
Sometimes called the “American Alps” the North Cascades range has over 400 miles of trails, offering exceptional hiking opportunities year-round for kids and the elderly as well as the most adventurous. The park ensconces one of the world’s largest stretches of temperate rainforest in the world, a rare ecosystem that has the humidity of a jungle, but the tree cover of a temperate woodland.
Over 300 glaciers crown the young mouintain range, and it’s one of only two places in the Lower 48 states where grizzly bears can be seen.
“North Cascades remains well off the radar: Just over 30,000 people visited last year, a mere 2 percent of the traffic of its southern neighbor, Mount Rainier,” reports Nat Geo.
Set in an extremely dynamic landscape ranging from the baseline 5,000 feet asl typical of the Colorado Plateau to mountains as high as 13,000 feet, Great Basin has perhaps the most favorable ratio of dark skies to lack of visitors.
On a clear, moonless night in Great Basin National Park, thousands of stars, numerous planets, star clusters, meteors, man-made satellites, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Milky Way can be seen with the naked eye. The area boasts some of the darkest night skies left in the United States. Low humidity and minimal light pollution, combined with high elevation, create a unique window to the universe.
Park rangers organize regular astronomy talks and stargazing courses. There is also a special solar telescope that allows visitors to gaze with extreme magnification, but also safety, at the sun.
100 square miles of natural and historic gems located about 70 miles out from Key West, Florida, this collection of islands sits within the Florida Keys reef system, the third largest in the world, and plays host to Fort Jefferson, the largest masonry military installation in the Western Hemisphere during the 19th century.
But less than 1 square mile of this park is dry land, so the best way to enjoy it is to get in the water, either via the beautiful beige beaches, or various boats that take visitors to shipwrecks to be seen while snorkeling or diving.
One such vessel is the Avanti. Built in 1875, the three-masted, iron-hulled, sailing ship wrecked on Loggerhead Reef in 1901 on its way to Montevideo with a cargo of lumber.
Neither of the middle-north national parks receives many visitors, and they rank among the bottom-fourth of visited parks. But in summer they offer an excellent way to connect with the great outdoors, whether that’s catching glimpses of moose or black bears traipsing through wildflower meadows, or landing some perch in the many lakes that make up these two ecosystems.
In the case of Isle Royale, it’s actually just one lake—Superior. A collection of 400 islets all covered in rugged boreal coastline, the best way to explore this unknown park is by canoe or kayak.
Over 200,000 acres of northern hardwood boreal forest in Voyageurs is an exceptional place to relax in nature and cool off in summer’s heat, as this park is also characterized by water—several large and many small lakes, wetlands, and creeks.
Almost entirely forsaken for the world-renowned scenery in Arches, Canyonlands, and Zion in Utah, there will always be space for solitude in Capitol Reef National Park.
Named for a collection of Navajo formation sandstone domes that appeared to early surveyors like the dome of Capitol Hill in D.C., the park also boasts exceptional “canyoning” hikes that allow visitors to improvise and scramble their way through slot canyons.
There are natural arches and natural bridges, as well as a pear and apple orchard that continued to grow even after being abandoned by early settlers over a century ago. This park is also an International Dark Sky Park, and nighttime viewing is exquisite.
Out of the 15 least-visited national parks, 8 are found in Alaska. That’s every one in Alaska by the way. These include Gates of the Arctic, into which just 8,000 Americans ventured in 2022, and Katmai, that most famous place where grizzly bears line up along streams to catch salmon.
Beyond that, there’s Denali—North America’s highest mountain, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Lake Clarke, Kobuk Valley, and Wrangell St. Elias—the nation’s largest national park. There’s really no shortage of things to see, with the oceans containing seals, orcas, and whales aplenty, and the land covered in musk oxen, caribou, moose, deer, elk, black and brown bears, lynx, wolverine, Dol sheep, mountain goats, and dozens of birds.
There are also numerous historical areas honoring and educating about the ways of the indigenous peoples, of which there are many in Alaska. While summer is an excellent place to visit, make sure you read the forecast for lake flies and mosquitos that feed on the caribou herds. That is not the kind of holiday you want to drag your kids into.
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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 June 24, 2023
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
In the Northern Hemisphere, the astrological month of Cancer begins with the sun in its greatest glory. Our home star is at its highest altitude, shining with maximum brightness. So then why is the sign of the Crab ruled by the moon? Why do the longest days of the year coincide with the ascendancy of the mistress of the night? Ahhh. These are esoteric mysteries beyond the scope of this horoscope. But here’s a hint about what they signify for you personally. One of your assets can also be a liability: your innocent openness to the wonders of life. This quality is at the heart of your beauty but can also, on occasion, make you vulnerable to being overwhelmed. That’s why it’s so important that you master the art of setting boundaries, of honing your focus, of quaffing deeply from a few cups instead of sipping from many cups.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
The coming weeks will be a delicate time for your spiritual unfoldment. You are primed to recover lost powers, rediscover key truths you have forgotten, and reunite with parts of your soul you got cut off from. Will these good possibilities come to pass in their fullness? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how brave you are in seeking your healing. You must ask for what’s hard to ask for. You’ve got to find a way to feel deserving of the beauty and blessings that are available. PS: You ARE deserving. I will be cheering you on, dear Leo.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Whether or not you have been enrolled in a learning institution during the past 12 months, I suspect you have been getting a rigorous education. Among the courses you have almost completed are lessons in intimacy, cooperation, collaboration, symbiosis, and togetherness. Have you mastered all the teachings? Probably not. There were too many of them, and they were too voluminous to grasp perfectly and completely. But that’s OK. You have done well. Now you’re ready to graduate, collect your diploma, and apply what you have learned.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
History has provided contradictory reports about Isabeau of Bavaria, who served as Queen of France from 1385 to 1422. Was she a corrupt, greedy, and indecisive fool who harmed France’s fortunes? Or was she a talented diplomat with great skill in court politics and an effective leader during the many times her husband, King Charles VI, was incapacitated by illness? I bring these facts to your attention, Libra, hoping they will inspire you to refine, adjust, and firm up your own reputation. You can’t totally control how people perceive you, but you do have some power to shape their perceptions—especially these days.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
The next four weeks will be an excellent time to create and celebrate your own holidays. I recommend you dream up at least four new festivals, jubilees, anniversaries, and other excuses to party. Eight or more would be even better. They could be quirky and modest, like Do No Housework Day, Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day, or Write Bad Poetry Day. They could be more profound and impactful, like Forgive Your Parents for Everything Day, Walk on the Wild Side Day, or Stay Home from Work Because You’re Feeling So Good Day. In my astrological opinion, Scorpio, you should regard playful fun as a top priority.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a god who stole fire from his fellow gods and gave it to humans to help them build civilization. His divine colleagues were not pleased. Why? Maybe they feared that with the power of fire, people would become like gods themselves and have no further need for gods. Anyway, Sagittarius, I hope you’re in a fire-stealing mood. It’s a good time to raise your whole world up to a higher level—to track down and acquire prizes that will lead to major enhancements. And unlike what happened to Prometheus (the other gods punished him), I think you will get away with your gambits.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Let’s discuss magical doorways. Each time you sleep, you slip through magical doorways called dreams. Whether or not you recall those adventures, they offer you interesting mysteries utterly unlike the events of your daily life. Here’s another example: A magical doorway opens when an ally or loved one shares intimate knowledge of their inner realms. Becoming absorbed in books, movies, or songs is also a way to glide through a magical doorway. Another is when you discover an aspect of yourself, a corner of your being, that you didn’t know was there. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Capricorn, because I suspect the coming weeks will present an extra inviting array of magical doorways.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Psychiatrist Myron Hofer specializes in the mother-infant relationship. Among his findings: The first emotion that a newborn experiences is anxiety. Struggling to get out of the womb can be taxing, and it’s shocking to be separated from the warm, nourishing realm that has been home for months. The bad news is that most of us still carry the imprint of this original unease. The good news, Aquarius, is that the coming months will be one of the best times ever for you to heal. For optimal results, place a high priority on getting an abundance of love, support, comfort, and physical touch.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Curious blends and intriguing juxtapositions are in the works—or at least they should be. Improbable alliances might be desirable because they’re curative. Formulas with seemingly mismatched ingredients might fix a glitch, even if they never succeeded before and won’t again. I encourage you to synergize work and play. Negotiate serious business in casual settings and make yourself at home in a wild frontier.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
When I was still an up-and-coming horoscope columnist, before I got widely syndicated, I supplemented my income with many other jobs. During one stretch, I wrote fortunes for a line of designer fortune cookies that were covered with gourmet chocolate and sold at the luxury department store Bloomingdale’s. The salary I got paid was meager. Part of my compensation came in the form of hundreds of delicious but non-nutritious cookies. If you are offered a comparable deal in the coming weeks and months, Aries, my advice is to do what I didn’t do but should have done: Ask for what’s truly valuable to you instead of accepting a substitute of marginal worth.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
My mentor Ann Davies said that of all the signs of the zodiac, you Tauruses are most likely to develop finely honed intuition. At least potentially, you can tune in to the inner teacher better than the rest of us. The still, small voice rises up out of the silence and speaks to you clearly and crisply. Here’s even better news: I believe you are entering a phase when your relationship with this stellar faculty may ripen dramatically. Please take advantage of this subtly fabulous opportunity! Each day for the next 14 days, do a relaxing ritual in which you eagerly invite and welcome the guidance of your deepest inner source.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
New College in Oxford, UK has educated students since 1379. Among its old buildings is a dining hall that features beams made of thick oak trees. Unfortunately, most oak wood eventually attracts beetles that eat it and weaken it. Fortunately, the 14th-century founders of New College foresaw that problem. They planted an oak grove whose trees were specifically meant to be used to replace the oak beams at New College. Which they are to this day. I would love you to derive inspiration from this story, Gemini. What practical long-term plans might you be wise to formulate in the coming months?
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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Big corporate hotel chains have never lacked criticism and customer complaints, but in downtown Kansas City, one Marriot is honoring a promise that its representatives made almost 40 years ago.
Tim and Melinda O’Brien got married in 1983 and wanted to go “where nobody would think to look for us” for a fast honeymoon getaway.
They selected the Radisson Muehlebach hotel, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they didn’t stay there long enough for the important part.
Fast forward to 2023, and the couple is preparing to celebrate 40 years of partnership, and that’s when combing through their wedding album they came across a gift certificate certifying that “anytime you stay at the Radisson Muehlebach during your anniversary month, your room rate will be the same as your original honeymoon rate.”
Back then, that was just 38 bucks. How times change.
“I wonder if they’ll still honor this,” Tim O’Brien thought to himself.
To the credit of the hotel—now a Marriot instead of a Radisson—they did, and while the room they stayed in no longer exists, they had some very comparable ones.
“I can’t take credit for that marketing initiative,” Dustin Holcumbrink, the hotel manager told KMBC 9 news with a smile on his face.
OTHER MARRIAGE MEMORIES: Woman Who Lost Wedding Ring Shortly After Getting Married Rediscovers It Days Before 40th Anniversary
“This is what marriage is all about, memories, special things that you experience together,” said Melinda.
The couple plans to use the certificate to stay at the hotel over the weekend of their anniversary on June 25th to attend a few jazz nights, and take care of some unfinished business after that.
WATCH the story below…
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Unearthed by miners in Mozambique last July, a 55.22-carat ruby has just sold for a record-breaking $34.8 million.
Dubbed the Estrela di Fura in the country’s official language of Portuguese, it was cut and polished into a symmetrical shape of deep red down from its rough carat count of 101.
Sotheby’s, which handled the sale, described the stone as “exceedingly rare” and “the most valuable and important” ruby ever to go under the hammer.
It was discovered in one of the mines of Canadian firm Fura Gems, whose CEO Dev Shetty said a stone of that size was “unprecedented”
“From the in-depth analysis and study of the stone—through the process of cutting and polishing—we have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognizing its importance and stature,” he added.
MORE GEM STORIES: Rare Diamond Within a Diamond Is Unearthed in India and Dubbed ‘The Beating Heart’
A man named Balbir, who handles sorting for Fura, was both the first to see the jewel and hear back from laboratory work done on it.
“I have a laboratory that came back to me and said: ‘In 20 years of testing, I’ve never seen anything like this’,” Balbir told Voice of Indonesia, per Google Translate. “No one has seen anything like this before, in terms of fluorescent, color, and clarity.”
One of the most-productive ruby mining countries on Earth, rubies were only discovered in Mozambique a few decades ago, and only came to international attention after a large deposit was found in 2009.
“This is a historic moment for us, my company, and for Mozambique. I am very happy and proud of Mozambique; it deserves all the praise,” Shetty also told VOI.
The CEO is on a mission to make colored gemstones on par in consumers’ eyes with diamonds. According to Shetty, rubies are actually 20 times rarer than diamonds and traded pretty much dollar for dollar until the 1980s. That’s when the Belgian diamond brokers De Beers used considerable marketing prowess to convince the whole world diamonds were uniquely superior to sapphire, emerald, and ruby.
According to news from Mozambique, the government is implementing a multifaceted approach to ensure gem export goes through legal channels in order to contribute to the development of the country. It’s also undergoing the implementation of the “Kimberly scheme” to certify that diamonds, also discovered there, are mined without any human rights violations.
MORE GEMSTONE NEWS: Locals Digging a Well Accidentally Discover a $140 Million Star Sapphire Weighing Half a Ton
Over the last few decades, particularly with colored stones, several low and middle-income countries have been able to establish conflict-free, ethical gem mining operations, breaking the famous “Resource Curse.” Two good examples of this are the sapphire trade in Sri Lanka, a huge gem exporter that has also become a world leader in ethical mining, and the state of Veracruz in Mexico where amethyst mining is decentralized and supports thousands of families.
The Muzo Mine in Colombia produces many of the emeralds in the industry today. Muzo miners belong to a union, have access to healthcare, fixed salaries, and profits are invested into both the local community and the environment.
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The US Postal Service has taken a peculiar interest in its latest commemorative stamp collection—waterfalls.
12 news stamps attempt to communicate the majesty of the nation’s most beautiful cascades, from Virginia to Washington State to Hawai’i.
Many may recognize Niagra Falls or Lower Yellowstone Falls, but not all of them are large cataracts. There are smaller, more intimate trickles by comparison, just as beautiful but in their own way, such as Harrison Wright Falls in Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennsylvania.
“The Postal Service is proud to celebrate the natural world through our stamps, and these gorgeous new stamps will bring the beauty of these waterfalls to millions of people who will see them on the cards and letters they receive in their mailboxes,” said Michael J. Elston, Secretary of the Board of Governors, U.S. Postal Service, who served as the stamps’ dedicating official.
The Postal Service also included a detailed description of the various classifications of waterfalls in case you were curious.
“One of the most familiar types is the plunge, where the stream falls vertically without making contact with the underlying cliff face; sometimes there are caverns behind the falls carved by earlier erosion.”
“As the name suggests, a fan waterfall resembles the shape of a fan as the flow spreads down the rocks. Other types include the cascade, which breaks into smaller falls as the water descends over a slope of rocks and boulders, and the cataract, where large amounts of fast-moving water plummet over a cliff to create a waterfall of great size and power.”
The stamps debuted on June 13th at the canyon visitor center in Yellowstone National Park. They include the following…
MORE AMERICAN BEAUTY: One Year Since Bipartisan Bill Funds Repairs at National Parks: See What Projects are Underway in 40 States
Deer Creek Falls (Grand Canyon National Park, AZ) plunges 180 feet into a pool at its base. On foot, it is a strenuous hike for experienced desert backpackers, but it is also accessible as a stopping place on rafting trips along the Colorado River.
Nevada Fall (Yosemite National Park, CA) is one of hundreds of waterfalls in the park. It flows next to Liberty Cap, a dramatic granite dome, and drops 594 feet along the mountainside.
Harrison Wright Falls (Ricketts Glen State Park, PA) drops 27 feet over a rock ledge, where it spreads to create a curtain-type fall flowing into a large pool at the base.
The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River (Yellowstone National Park, WY) has a 308-foot drop. Nearly twice as high as Niagara Falls, the sheer volume of water that descends the cliffs makes it one of the most powerful waterfalls in the United States.
Waimoku Falls (Haleakalā National Park, HI), with its dramatic 400-foot drop down sheer lava-rock, is one of the park’s great highlights.
Stewart Falls (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness, UT) falls in two tiers and is more than 200 feet tall. Also known as Stewarts Cascades, it is a moderate, slightly steep hike along a lovely forest trail on the east side of Mount Timpanogos.
MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: Grandson Accompanies His 93-year-old Grandma to Visit All 63 National Parks: ‘Greatest privilege of my life’
Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls State Park, NY) is one of North America’s natural wonders. Its force is enormous: 3,160 tons of water flows over the falls every second.
Dark Hollow Falls (Shenandoah National Park, VA) plunges 70 feet over a series of drops. It is a popular subject for photographers visiting the park.
Grotto Falls (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN) is the only one in the park that has a hiking trail behind the veil of falling water. The 25-foot falls is along one of the park’s most popular hikes.
Sunbeam Falls (Mount Rainier National Park, WA), while not high, features picturesque cascades of water flowing over a series of rock ledges. It is most impressive when fed by snowmelt.
LaSalle Canyon Waterfall (Starved Rock State Park, IL) features a 25-foot fall that allows access behind its curtain of water. In winter, it freezes into beautiful and alluring shapes along the rocks.
Upper Falls (Blue Ridge Parkway, NC) is a moderate hike from the parkway. The 60-foot waterfall descends the steep rock face, sending out sprays that support many types of ferns and wildflowers.
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If you have ever taken an interest in underwater archaeology, you’ll know that this is a truly astonishingly well-preserved shipwreck.
It must be 200 or 300 years old to look like that right? Try 3,000 years old—the oldest hand-sewn boat ever found in the Mediterranean.
Named the “Zambratija boat” because of its location in the Bay of Zambratija, the artifact was first investigated after reports from local fishermen. It’s a lasting testament to an “ancient naval tradition” of the regions of Istria and Dalmatia.
“Its architecture and its construction, the assembly technique of the strakes, as well as the waterproofing system of the hull, have no equivalent in the Mediterranean area,” per a statement from the Camille Jullian Center, a research organization connected to the CNRS.
Now, archaeologists with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), are getting ready to raise the boat from its watery tomb. A 23-foot section of the 39-foot-long boat is in pristine condition, and special care will ensure it survives the journey to the Archaeological Museum of Istria where it will be desalinated.
The scientists will notably reconstruct the boat in 3D, they will also try to date its construction more precisely, identify the fibers used for sewing, and study the techniques used for shaping the wood. Handling remains of this caliber is a delicate matter, each stage of the process requires the greatest precautions to preserve this exceptional vessel.
MORE SHIPWRECK NEWS: U.S. Agency Wants Offshore Oil Companies to Look for Shipwrecks Before They Drill
Dinosaur fossils aren’t actually bones; they’re mineralized imprints of bones. In much the same way, wood that remains in water this long becomes more water than wood. The water fills every molecular nook and cranny, and if it were to move the wooden remains would disintegrate.
A water-soluble wax called polyethylene glycol is sometimes used in ancient shipwrecks which impregnates the wood. Gradually the wax takes the place of the water molecules, and after the wood is dried out, the wax forms a reinforcing part of the structure.
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