Eucalyptus are iconic Australian trees with distinctive bark, leaves, and striking foliage. There are over 700 species that are highly valued for their oil. Several large eucalyptus trees lined the eastern side of our rental, and I never tired of gazing at their magnificent trunks and branches. The more mature ones looked like works of art, with round beige, gray, brown, and black dotted patterns. I learned they are fast-growing

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at our coastal rental was a little black and white picture frame with the words: Paris New York London Tokyo and the name of the small town nearby. I laughed. The place we chose to stay at was not Tokyo or Paris but a quaint, out-of-the-way spot with a population of about 3,000. Pristine beaches, spectacular blue lakes, inlets, rivers, and mountain

For many years, I’ve aspired to run a half-marathon and a full marathon. However, there was always something that got in the way: a significant family event, an injury, not enough training, the timing was wrong, an illness, and then there were the times when other activities took priority. Traveling to a foreign country or a cultural immersion program are two examples. A race cancelation due to a large wildfire

A snowbird is defined as someone migrating from the colder parts of the northern hemisphere to warmer, southern locations. In North America, many snowbirds travel to Palm Springs, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Costa Rica, or Hawaii. This year I have also participated in this snowbird exodus. But I’ve traveled much further and spent most of my winter in Oz, a nickname for Australia. When my son first went to Australia in

If you’ve read my memoir, Wandering …a long way past the past, you may recall that my relationship with my now-deceased mother was not particularly a loving one ‘nor a healthy one. In my book, I did not mention much in the way of positive reminiscences, as there weren’t many. However, there was a special day in my childhood. I was eight years old. It was snowing outside. The snowflakes

My blogs end with the caption “Enjoy the passage of time.” For most of us, enjoying the passage of time is usually easier when things are pleasant. Appreciating a sunrise after a good night’s sleep. Feeling safe and secure. Delighting in going out for dinner with friends. Grateful for the kindness someone showed us. A heightened thankfulness for nature on a beautiful summer day. It is harder to enjoy the

Last year I participated in a neuroscience workshop regarding how yoga affects the brain. I learned that the natural aging of the brain accelerates between the ages of 70-80 and increases significantly after 80. Fluid cognition, such as remembering names or visual attention, declines more quickly than crystallized cognition like long-term memories or cultural norms. Music, yoga, and engaging in new activities can help improve fluid cognition and recent research

I learned a lot in 2023. I learned how to play pickleball and American Mah Jongg, though I am quite a beginner in both. I learned how to prepare delicious gluten-free meals with the help of oat flour, a cup of patience, and heaping tablespoons of trial-and-error experiments. I learned that I must work out twice as hard as I used to if I want to stay fit or at

These days most of the hikes I go on are in second-growth forests, some more mature than others but often not in America’s original forests. However, recently I went on a hike in a Pacific Northwest old-growth forest with trees 8-10’ in diameter and 200-300’ high. Dendrologists (people who study trees) believe these trees are between 350 to 750 years old, maybe even older. Let’s see… That would be the

Each morning the sun rises in the eastern sky. Sometimes with a blast of brilliant color: scarlet red, marigold orange, deep purple, and strokes of bright yellow. Other times, with just a hint of violet or buttery beige. This morning I was treated to a blast of color I had not seen in months. Still in my jammies, I opened the front door and gazed up at the eastern sky

When I go out for dinner, I usually read the whole menu to discover what I might want to eat. My family members and friends usually have no problem deciding what they want. My husband finds his selection right away. Not me. I use the process of elimination. No, I don’t want that or that until I narrow my choices to about three, or two on a good day. This

Polaris, or the North Star, is in the same location in the northern hemisphere every night from dusk to dawn, neither rising nor setting, and is also the brightest star in the sky. It symbolizes direction, guidance, stability, and purpose. In Norse folklore, the North Star was at the end of a spike around which the sky rotated. In Mongolian mythology, it was a peg that held the world together.

In the BBC Planet Earth documentary series, there is an episode about a group of fish called “schooling fish” swimming together to confuse predators. The stalker, like a shark, can’t pick out an individual fish, and therefore, the chances of the whole group getting away are greatly increased. Herring are among the more spectacular schooling fish aggregating in great numbers with chains of schools reaching 100 miles long. Emperor Penguins

Downsizing usually means reducing in size, the process of replacing something larger with something smaller, or in the financial world when companies cut the workforce to diminish operating costs. I’ve used this word a lot in the last several months. For instance, to explain to my friends why I moved, “Oh, we’re just downsizing.” We donated antiques, boxes of children’s games and toys, books, clothes, furniture, outdoor equipment, tools, kitchenware,

Long ago Greek philosophers agreed that human emotions, like love and fear, were linked to the heart. Plato (429 – 347 B.C.E.) argued that the chest was at the center of love and Aristotle expanded it further to expound that the human heart was the seat of spiritual and mental functions. We now know that the limbic system, a group of interconnected structures deep in the brain, is responsible for