Author Archives: makielb

I grew in in a house with my parents (Edward and Maria Kielb), grandparents (Michele and Frances Bellotti) and my aunt Irene Bellotti. Later she would marry Matthew Bratek. My mother would give birth to my brother, Mark and my aunt would give birth to my cousin Tony, who was more of a brother thanContinue reading “Growing up in a multigenerational house”

Today we picked 17 1/2 pounds of tomatoes that will be used to make sauce for canning. I also picked enough pole bens for dinner. After processing the tomatoes the slowly become tomato sauce. Sometimes Susan will also make diced tomatoes to can. Once canned they go onto the pantry for later use. On SundayContinue reading “The garden, breakfast out and more”

Wherever I have been in the past 40 years I loved to draw. My earliest drawings (from 40-50 years ago) are all very private and I was not confident enough to draw while others were watching. But as confidence built I started drawing when others were around. I took sketch books where-ever I went. InContinue reading “Drawing in public areas”

Back in the 1970s I managed to start my career in Ann Arbor with my first position in the Anatomy Department at theUniversity of Michigan Medical School. As a biologist, I would like to think that my background was the reason for hiring me. Well it wasn’t. As it turned out it was my backgroundContinue reading “The goal is not the end, but the journey”

As I sat down for what might be the last of the wild blueberry pancake breakfast of the year at our cabin I was thinking about recent and future meals. Last week I bought a pound of ground goat meat at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market. Eating goat brings back memories of Andalucia, Spain whereContinue reading “Food and meals-today and this week”

This weeks adventure took us to Vermilion Point, Michigan where we were looking for orchids and other interesting plants. Fortunately we lucky enough to find what we were looking for. Walking from the buildings towards Lake Superior we crossed through the dune-swales, alternating dry sandy ridges separated by low set swales. This is the areaContinue reading “Photographing orchids”

In the 1980s and 90s I spent a lot of time in Mexico leading natural history tours. One place that I spent a lot of time was the archeological ruins of Palenque. The site was quite amazing in itself, and the birds and other wildlife made it even better. Since I was here so oftenContinue reading “My time in Mexico (Part 1)”

This week somebody came down with Marburg virus in Guinea. This is the first case since an outbreak in 2005, in Angola resulting in the death of some 200 people. This deadly virus was first observed in 1967, with simultaneous outbreaks in labs in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, as well as Belgrade, Serbia. There wsContinue reading “Viruses – from animals to humans”

Going for a walk from out cabin to the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory allows me to think about both nature (especially lichens), how I feel removed from the pandemic when we are here, and how diseases have affected my ancestors i n Italy. One instance that came to mind occurred late in 1777 (August throughContinue reading “Genetic memories”

We had a rather slow day at Whitefish Point since it was threatening to rain all day, and there were little dribbles here and there. So we were content with what appeared at the lights on the side of the cabin. As I stepped outside I was drawn to the above antlion. Antlions are interestingContinue reading “Today’s adventure with insects”