Monday Musings

Thanksgiving will be upon us in just a few days. It’s time for turkey and all of the fixings. We will attend a “Friendsgiving” celebration, so we only need to prepare Bobi’s Special Mashed Potatoes, my fabulous Sweet Potato Casserole, and Bobi’s Apple Pie. The shopping is completed. According to  USA Toda y, the inflation-adjusted cost of the feast has decreased: 2022-$67.84, 2023-$62.76, and this year-$58.08. We’ve watched the parade of poultry trucks down the local state route to the Tyson plant. Per the  USDA  report, farmers raised 205 million turkeys in 2024, the fewest since 1985 due to avian influenza. Nevertheless,  North Carolina is the top turkey-producing state , followed by Minnesota, Indiana, Arkansas, and Iowa. Other major turkey producers are Virginia, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia, and South Dakota. Worldwide, the US is the leading source of turkeys; other large contributors are Brazil, the European Union, and Canad...

As the holidays approach, families gather to celebrate together. In our mobile society, this may be the only time members meet in person. The reunion of loved ones is the perfect time to recount ancestral stories. Ancient oral traditions of songs or poems commemorating important cultural events have nearly disappeared. The shared tales may have been true or imagined, but they provided a basis for memories. There has been a resurgence of the study of genealogy, with supporting websites, such as  Ancestry , to facilitate and store family trees. Valuable links include censuses, military records, birth/death/marriage/divorce documents, property deeds, and newspaper clippings. Some aficionados trace their lineage back multiple generations. The definition of family has changed over time, from a clan in a cave, culture to culture, nation to nation. Its meaning has expanded to include other non-related individuals dear to one another. Perhaps this year, if you cannot travel to see your gen...

  Autumn has arrived with its signature sensory inputs. The crunch of leaves underfoot, the kaleidoscope of changing colors, and the distinct scents of fall. In an 1841 letter, English poet and novelist George Eliot called the smell of fall “a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit.” According to  Theresa M. Crimmins, PhD (director of the USA National Phenology Network) ,  autumn’s classic aroma derives mainly from decaying plant material.  As leaf fall decomposes, “sugars and carbohydrates break down, emitting volatile organic compounds and other gasses that have a musky, somewhat sweet smell.” There is a regional variation in the odor, dependent on the local plants that drop leaves. With less humidity and lower temperatures, there is a “crisp, clean feeling” attributed to fall air. “Cooler air holds fewer molecules, meaning fewer things are floating around for our noses to detect — the air is less ‘cluttered’ than during warmer, more humid seasons,” Dr. Crimmins sa...

  On Sunday, November 3, 2024 (the first Sunday in November), at 2:00 AM, clocks were turned backward one hour to 1:00 AM. This was officially the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the US, time to “Fall Back.” Humans may or may not appreciate the change in time. My dogs, however, think I am the worst person on earth for “delaying” dinner time. I am convinced they have an internal alarm clock. One pup is whining at my side while I write this blog post. DST was first observed in 1918 to conserve energy during WWI and WWII, to permit more cost-effective war-time production, and to mitigate blackouts. In fact, at times, it was called “War Time.” From 1945 to 1966, there were no uniform DST rules, which was chaotic for broadcasting and transport. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 aligned switch dates across the US. There were two periods after the 1973 Oil Embargo when the DST period was extended to try to save energy: ten months in 1974 and eight months in 1975. Over the next 11 years, t...