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| RASCAL FLATTS PLAYLIST |
 ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDO (TOKYO) NUMBER TWENTY-SIX |
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| Armor-Hanging Pine, Hakkeizaka |
| The pine-lined Tokaido highway passes in the distance along the bay below us, as we stand looking out to the east from a high bluff.
We have moved well to the south, beyond Shinagawa at the Edo city limit, which is seen as a small settlement jutting out into edo Bay on the middle left. Beyond Shinagawa we can make out the form of the city itself, surmounted by the Nikko Mountains and then to its right the low silhouette of the Chiba Peninsula. The center of attraction is the grand but oddly shaped pine tree, the "Armor-Hanging Pine" of the title. Legend has it that the warrior Minamoto Yoshiie stopped by here to rest on his way north to subjugate the Abe clan, and hung his armor on the tree. This would have made the tree about 800 years old at the time Hiroshige depicted it, but apparently its size was such as to justify the claim of great age (if not eight centuries). |
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What are 'Alaska Strawberries'?
??? PASS YOUR MOUSE OVER THE QUESTION MARKS FOR THE ANSWER! |
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| FROM THE GARDEN Ann Telling Photo |
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| UPPER AND LOWER BATTERIES AT THE CHAIN BRIDGE, WASHINGTON, D.C. |
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| These two batteries were erected at the north end of the Chain Bridge at Washington. They were planted so as to sweep the bridge in case the rebels should attempt to cross it for the attack of Washington.
Every ford across the Potomac, from Washington to Harper's Ferry, was similarly guarded--the batteries of heavy cannon were well supported by infantry to protect the whole line of the river. (From Harper's Weekly magazine, August 24, 1861) |
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| COLONEL HIRAM BERDAN AND HIS SHARPSHOOTERS |
| Berdan's Sharpshooters were one of the most deadly and feared of all Civil War units. Berdan's men, who had to pass rigorous marksmanship tests, were dressed in distinctive green uniforms and equipped with the most advanced long-range rifles equipped with telescopic sights.
All the men who served in the Sharpshooters had to pass a test by placing 10 shots within a 10-inch circle at 200 yards. This print shows Colonel Berdan kneeling with his rifle, taking a careful bead on the target--an image of none-other-than Jefferson Davis. |
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| CAMP WARREN, BURLINGTON, IOWA |
| If You're Over 40, You Need Frequent Exercise to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes |
| People over 40 years of age who use aerobic exercise to prevent or control diabetes need not only regular but frequent exercise if they are to realize its potential benefits, according to a Mayo Clinic study. The study found that middle-aged and older people don't sustain the increased insulin sensitivity that aerobic exercise produces. Younger people, on the other hand, were found to maintain higher insulin sensitivity even four days after their last workout. |  |
 | In all age groups, exercise increased peak oxygen uptake, muscle and protein and reduced abdominal fat and plasma triglycerides, according to the study. |
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WILDFIRE SMOKE |
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| X marks Townsend--where I live. |
| ROUEN - The Mallard duck is the ancestor of almost all domestic breeds of ducks and clearly that of the Rouen. Though marked with the same color pattern as Mallards, with drakes having green heads, white collars, claret breast and a blue patch on the wing, Rouens are even brighter in color and larger in size than Mallards. |  |
| The Rouen is one of the largest breeds of domestic duck and thus classified as "heavy." The plumage closely resembles that of the wild "Mallard" and perhaps confirms that the "Mallard" was the progenitor of domestic duck breeds. The Rouen originated in Rouen in France, and was also known as the "Rhone" duck. When it first appeared in Britain, the breed was developed for table properties - even today, it is capable of reaching 12 pounds in weight. It is now bred mainly for beauty of plumage and markings. |
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| Male Mallard Duck |
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| Mallard hen with ducklings |
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| CHIPMUNK Ann Telling Photo |
| Chipmunk in rock garden (with Cosmos) |
| The Dalmatian is a medium-sized, smooth-coated breed of working and sporting heritage, suitable as a family pet or performance animal. He is an intelligent dog, devoted to his owner(s), moderately territorial though not blatantly aggressive, and pleasant to live with. His most unique feature, his spots, are either black or chocolate brown, which is properly termed "liver." He is clean by nature and has little, If any, "doggy odor." His short coat does shed almost year-round; regular brushing with a curry comb outdoors helps to minimize shedding. |
 | Dalmatians are a hardy breed and their day-to-day upkeep does not involve a lot of fussing. They do best in a household situation and indeed will do poorly if left outside on a chain or are otherwise ignored. They are a people-oriented breed, and they bask in the love and attention of their owners. If your idea of owning a dog consists of leaving the dog outside all the time and patting it once a day when you feed it, do not buy a Dalmatian! Also, with their short coat, they tend to be sensitive to extremes of heat and cold. Common sense should dictate when your Dalmatian has "had enough" and should come in. |
| Dalmatians thrive in almost any type of residence. The Dalmatian's first concern is that he be with "his" people, whether in an apartment, a townhouse, a single-family home or on a farm, the object being that he have proper exercise and attention. Possibly the ideal situation would be a single-family home with a large fenced yard from which he cannot escape. Dalmatians are active dogs and if left to their own devices, are capable of wandering far from home. Do not assume that he can find his way back! The dog should always be under some kind of control, either on a leash or behind a fence. The off-leash or unfenced dog is always in danger of running into the road at precisely the wrong time, or in the case of a farm residence, being caught in barbed wire or hurt by farm machinery or livestock. Again, common sense should prevail regarding your own particular circumstances. |
| Health Peculiarities
As with any breed of dog, there are a few things you should be aware of when choosing a Dalmatian as regards faults of health. One is congenital deafness. This occurs in Dalmatians at the rate of about 12%, although whole litters are often born with no deaf pups. However, ethical breeders have their litters tested for hearing impairment at a professional facility by a trained technician, when such facilities are available to them. Any puppies proven deaf are euthanized. The test, called a BAER (brainstem auditory evoked response) test, measures the hearing response of each ear on each puppy. The tester then provides a printout of each puppy's test, which is then given to you at the time of purchase. In this way, you know your puppy hears. |  |
| The other peculiarity intrinsic to the Dalmatian is the direct excretion of uric acid by the kidneys, without conversion into water-soluble urea. This is due to metabolic differences inherent in the breed and should not be confused with the renal failure and/or incontinence common to many breeds during old age. The most dramatic consequences of uric acid excretion (kidney/bladder stone formation, urethral blockage, toxemia) occur in a very small percentage of male Dalmatians and seldom in females. Females, however, can exhibit symptoms of Uric Acid Syndrome and must be treated when it occurs. It is likely that females do form stones, but pass them more easily than do the males.
Various corrective diets and medications have been developed to combat the effects of Uric Acid Syndrome. There seems to be a link between the feeding of high levels of protein and the aggravation of stone formation. It also appears that using a wheat-, soy- or corn-based food helps to alleviate stone formation, as opposed to feeding a diet high in meat- and bone meal based protein. As with congenital deafness, stone forming occurs in proportionately few animals. |
 | Some Dalmatians experience skin and coat problems which are usually worse during the summer months. In some cases, the redness, scratching, and loss of hair can be attributed to an obvious source such as fleas and ticks, or an allergy to the flea bites. Other Dalmatians may have allergies to grasses or dust, and some just seem to have a chronic dermatitis. These types of sensitivities tend to be hereditary, so when looking for a puppy it is wise to see the parents of the litter and to ask about possible skin reactions in the bloodline(s) of the puppy. |
| Aside from the above, Dalmatians do not have any appreciable problems. They are not, as a rule, finicky eaters and they do not require expensive supplements to their normal diet in order to keep them fit and looking well. |
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| CHRISTOPHER WALKEN (Caricature) |
 | One of the most fascinating yet enigmatic figures of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was William Clark's slave York. As with many members of the expedition, little information survives about York to present his life in a great amount of detail. The presence of York on the expedition also raises many philosophical questions about African-American heritage and the treatment of African Americans throughout our history.
Artwork by Michael Haynes http://mhaynesart.com |
| YORK - PART THREE |
| On July 7, York became ill. Clark wrote, "[M]y man York sick, I give him a dosh of Tarter" (to induce vomiting). Lewis later commented, "[H]e was much better in the evening."
There are numerous instances of the members being sick, including Clark, Sacagawea and also her infant. York appears to have enjoyed good health during most of the expedition's 28 months. In Clark's tabulations of "Creeks and Rivers," listed independently of the narrative journals, is the entry, "Yorks 8 Islands," and under remarks is "W.C. on land York tired." The captains followed the practice of naming geographic features after prominent persons who somehow had been connected with the expediton, including President Jefferson and his attributes, viz Philanthropy, Philosphy, and Wisdom Rivers; his cabinet; and as far as can be determined, every Corps member, including Seaman, Lewis's Newfoundland dog. In August, Lewis and a three man party scouted ahead of Clark and the others, who were following in the canoes. Lewis had found the Shoshones, from whom the Corps desperately needed to obtain horses and a guide for the high mountain country that lay ahead. Some of the Indians were skeptical of the strange white men's motives, fearful they "were in league with the Pakees," their word for enemy. Lewis kept stalling them, waiting for Clark and the others to arrive. Lewis related in his journal, "[S]ome of the party [with him] told the Indians that we had a man with us who was black and had short curling hair, this had excited their curiossity very much, and they seemed quite as anxious to see this monster as they were the merchandize which we had to barter for their horses." |
When Clark arrived, Lewis wrote, "[T]o the Indians, every article about us appeared to excite astonishment in ther minds; the appearance of the men, their arms, the canoes, our manner of working them. the black man york and the sagacity of my dog were equally objects of admiration." Through the circumstance that Sacagawea was one of their own -- she was the sister of the chief -- and the captains' fair treatment in the trading, the party obtained sufficent horses to pack their equipment, and a few for riding. When they reached the Flathead Indians, the expedition traded with them and obtained horses for all of the members. York was among those walking until his "feet became so sore that he had to ride on horseback."
York is not mentioned during the 11-day period the explorers spent struggling to survive while passing through the Bitterroot Mountains along the ancient Lolo trail. They encountered fallen timber, bone-chilling cold, and slippery, hazardous travel during an early season snowstorm. Game was virtually nonexistent in the high mountain country. The explorers resorted to eating three colts they had purchased for that contingency. These, together with a supply of "portable soup" -- a common emergency ration during Colonial times -- were not very tasty, but they kept them going. Reaching the villages of the Nez Perce Indians, they were treated to a feast of salmon, roots, and berries. To their dismay, the new diet made them extremely ill. York is not mentioned again until the party reached the tidal waters of the Columbia River. Here he is found "shooting two geese and brant" near a temporary base camp they established on the north (Washington State) shore of the river. Then, joining Clark and several others, he walked 19 miles to see the "main ocean." Standing on beach, he became the first black man to have crossed the continent north of Mexico. |
| YORK - PART FOUR |
| Finding little game and exposed to the fierce winter storms blowing in from the ocean on the north shore, the party elected to cross the river, where local Indians advised that deer and elk were plentiful. An actual vote of the members was recorded; it included the vote of a woman, Sacagawea, and a black man, York.
Reaching the south (Oregon) shore, the men commenced building their 1805-1806 winter quarters, which they named Fort Clatsop for their neighbors, the Clatsop Indians. Clark wrote that York helped construct the fort, "[M]y boy york verry unwell from violent colds & strains carrying in meet and lifting logs on the huts to build them." Clark reported York sick three time in December, as were several of the other men. The journals are silent on how York spent the winter at the fort, during which Clark mentioned the explorers, when not occupied, "were snug in their rooms." York no doubt joined the hunters in providing food for the table, and as did all the others, probably spent many hours making moccasins and buckskin clothing for the return journey. When the time for departure was nearing, the captains drafted a notice that explained they were Americans sent out by the government to explore the interior of the continent. The names of all the members were listed, including "York, a black man of Captain Clark's." One was posted on the fort and copies were given to local Indians, one of which was passed to a ship's captain, who carried it around the world. York is not mentioned again until the party returned to the villages of the Nez Perce Indians along today's Clearwater River, Idaho. Here, the captains, to prevent duplicating the terrible westbound experience in the Bitteroots, had York cross the river with others, entrusting them with trade goods to barter for staple food items. |
Lewis was pleased with their eventual purchases: "[I]n the evening they returned with about 3 bushels of roots and some bread having made a succesful voyage, not much less pleasing to us than the return of a good cargo to an East India Merchant."
As a member of Clark's return detachment exploring the Yellowstone River, York is mentioned on five different occasions. In addition, Clark named a small tributary stream "York's Dry River," making it the second geographic feature named for his manservant. The last mention of York in any of the diarists' journals is Clark's August 3 entry. Upon reaching the confluence of the Yellowstone with the Missouri, Clark reported that he had floated down the river 636 miles "in 2 Small Canoes lashed together in which I had the following Person. John Shields, George Gibson, William Bratten, W. Labeech, Tous' Shabono his wife & child & my man York." Arriving at St. Louis about noon, September 23, 1806, Clark noted, "[W]e Suffered the party to fire off their pieces as a Salute to the Town. we were met by all the village and received a harty welcom from it's inhabitant &c." York publically shared in the warm welcome. By one account, "Even the negro York, who was the body servant of Clark, despite his ebony complexion, was looked upon with decided partiality, and received his share of adulation." But when York returned to daily life, he again became a slave. He asked Clark for his freedom, or to be hired out near Louisville to be closer to his wife, who had a different owner. At first, Clark refused, but in 1809, he sent York to Kentucky. Eventually, at least 10 years after the expedition, Clark granted York his freedom. York went into the freighting business in Kentucky and Tennessee, and purportedly died of cholera sometime before 1832. |
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What vegetable of the marrow family takes its name from a medieval French word meaning "cooked by the sun"?
??? PASS YOUR MOUSE OVER THE QUESTION MARKS FOR THE ANSWER! |
| DISCLAIMER: Material used in Bitts and Bytes is gathered from various sources--mainly the World Wide Web.
Authorship cannot always be credited nor the source defined. Authenticity of material is assumed to be correct, but is not guaranteed. |  |
