Ground Cherries

Ground cherries from U of MN farmers market - N. Carlson

Inside ground cherries from U of MN farmers market - N. Carlson

I purchased the ground cherries because I used to eat them when I was younger. As I was eating the cherries, I noticed two with dark spots on them. Tease tape samples were taken from the surface of the cherries and the inside of the outer cover. Both insects and Cladosporium spp. fungal growth were noted.

Insects on the Cherries 40x

Growth of Cladosporium spp. and insect part - 400x

Minnesota Wildflowers

U of Minnesota - Near Civil and Mineral Engineering Building - N. Carlson

The University of Minnesota and regional park boards continue efforts to bring back native prairie grasses and flowers. The efforts appear to be successful based on the colorful flowers in the landscape and the wide variety of insect pollinators.

The spaces with the native grass also do not require weekly mowing, extensive watering and herbicides to keep the area free of weeds.

Male monarch butterfly in wildflowers by TCF Bank Stadium - N. Carlson

Efforts to bring back the population of monarch butterflies need more than milkweeds for the caterpillars.  The butterflies need nectar for energy and these flowering plants also need to be planted in the area.

Beetle and bee on wildflower at Silverwood Park in St. Anthony - click to enlarge - N. Carlson

Honeybee on flower at the St. Paul Campus of the U of Minnesota - N. Carlson

Flowers also provide an excellent habitat for bees. At one planting outside McNamara Alumni Center five different types of bees were busy extracting nectar from the flowers.  I used some of these images in this book published in December of 2018. 

The paperback version of Fireworks, Flowers, Forests, and the Minnesota State Fair: Image Reflections from Minnesota is available from Amazon.  There is also a kindle version of Fireworks, Flowers, Forests, and the Minnesota State Fair: Image Reflections from Minnesota that is best viewed from a portrait orientation.

The video below uses some of the wildflower images from this the book.

Minnesota Wildflowers - Wildflowers Music by Tom Petty - 3 minutes14 seconds

Hearing Conservation for a Cheap Trick Concert

Cheap Trick at the North Dakota State Fair - July 26, 2018 - N. Carlson

Sound levels at rock concerts exceed the OSHA occupational exposure limit for noise exposure (90 dBA averaged over 8 hours).  As the effect of hearing loss is irreversible, it is prudent to bring along hearing protection to these concerts. At the Cheap Trick Concert the drum was heavily miked. The beats on the base drum felt like chest compressions for CPR.

Rick Nielsen and his special guitar. - N. Carlson

How loud is too loud? Average exposure above 85 dBA over eight hours requires hearing protection. Sound level meter apps on phones are fairly good but they are not calibrated. As a rule of thumb, if you are in an environment where it is difficult for you to hear your finger snap at arms length, it is prudent to wear hearing protection.  Many hearing protectors now come in metal cases that can be attached to a key chain. Some are also designed for better tone quality to hear music at concerts.

These Ear Peace ear plugs worked well with three colored inserts that provide varying levels of hearing protection. The metal key chain case  allows for the storage of the three ear pieces in one compartment and the inserts in another. 

The Flame - live-  Cheap Trick 1988