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For years I spent time drawing fish and turtles at the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, Michigan. Some were used to produce illustrations others to learn the finer points of drawing live fish – which can be a challenge. One year while spending a long weekend in Chicago we spent a day at the SheddContinue reading “The Belle Isle Aquarium 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”

My interest in México started as a child reading comic books. The Conquest of México by Bernal Diaz del Castillo was available for 10 cents as a Classics Illustrated from the nearby Kresge. I was intrigued by the Aztecs and their unusual society, as well as the Conquistadors who defeated them. Then I saw theContinue reading “Viva México!”

Pulling out my copy of Microbiology by Bauman (2004) there is a brief discussion of diseases caused by Coronaviruses. At the time it was mostly a discussion of the common cold, but also included a brief description of the SARS-CoV-1 pandemic of 2003-4. It was amazing how quickly that pandemic made it into text books.Continue reading “Coronaviruses, what are they good for? Absolutely nothing”

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”

On clear nights the sky can let you sent into the recent past of distant parts of the Universe. I love zooming in on the Moon and seeing the distant craters at the dark horizon looming like high mountains, which they might be. When I look at the night sky at the appropriate times andContinue reading “The night sky and more”

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”