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Hunting for the scourge of cyclists... puncturevine!

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 I've written previously about puncturevine (aka goathead), Tribulus terrestris . Those "caltrop" shaped seeds are the bane of bare feet, dog paws, and bicycle tires.  Pulling a single puncturevine plant off a sidewalk in Denver. Puncturevine leaves and flowers. The University of California IPM program describes the plant as follows: Mature plant Plants grow prostrate over open ground, but when shaded or competing with other plants they can grow nearly erect. Stems occasionally grow over 3 feet (1 m) long, have many branches, are green to reddish brown, and spread radially from the crown. Stems and leaves are covered with hairs. Leaves are mostly 2/17 to 1/5 of an inch (3–5 cm) long, finely divided into three to seven pairs of leaflets, and opposite to one another along the stem. Flowers Flowering takes place from March through October. Flowers are bright yellow, about 1/5 to 3/5 of an inch (5–15 mm) in diameter, and are produced singly where the stem and leaf stalk
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The Explorer of the Seas in ‎⁨Argostoli⁩, ⁨Ionian Islands⁩, ⁨Greece⁩. Another successful trip planned by Caroline! We sailed from Miami to Barcelona, then Croatia, and finally Greece. A transatlantic, by definition, consists of many days at sea, so you have to be prepared to entertain yourself on a cruise ship. For many, this involves drinking, eating, gambling, more eating, more drinking, and sleeping by the pool. That's not what Caroline and I do. Every morning, we started the day at the gym: treadmill, stationary bike, weights, stretch class, or the abs class. Sometimes I'd run on the outdoor track, but the wind on deck 12 often was brutal. Once, when the instructor was sick, Caroline even led the stretch class! After a quick breakfast in the Windjammer, I'd either visit the stateroom for a shower, or I'd head over to the Sports Court on Deck 13 for an hour of... Wind Pickleball!   Notice the wind speed... 25 mph. That is guaranteed to make a pickleball lob act erra
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Cruise ship art - observations from the Wonder of the Seas

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  Caroline and I were passengers on a transatlantic cruise (Florida to Barcelona) on the Royal Caribbean ship, the Wonder of the Seas .  There's a lot of art onboard, as you might expect from a floating hotel and amusement park. Each stateroom has some artwork, of course, but there is also art in the common areas: hallways, stairwells, and places where people congregate. This blog is devoted to displaying some of the art that I saw practically every day, and usually multiple times per day, as I walked up and down the hallways and the stairs. I don't claim that this sampling is any kind of random selection. However, I was struck by this recurring theme... unsmiling, young, mostly white women. Why this selection?  Who picks out this art?  Men and older women were rarely featured.  Of course, art doesn't just get hung on walls.  I found it in the presentation of food, patterns on the carpet, and even in the playground. I don't know what the women's restrooms looked lik
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