Carol Matheny

Tuesdays Bluesky.

Isn’t this what it means to be in a party? When a party holds a primary, the party supports the voters nominee. Ignore your voters at your own peril.

Hoary Mountain Mint with Zebra Swallowtail and Tiger Swallowtail.

❤️ Swallowtails on Hoary Mountain Mint (year two perennial winter sown).

“The U.S. is rapidly losing state-of-the-art hurricane forecasting, just in time for hurricane season’s busiest months.”

Laughing in front of cages designed to hold migrants and refugees, many of whom came to this country fleeing extreme violence and poverty, and hoping to raise their children in a more compassionate country. And many of whom followed all the legal procedures to enter the country.

A table with a statue of Mary and baby Jesus, a white hobnail glass bud vase with red, white & blue bachelor buttons and mountain mint, an old horse recently found in the yard, a little US flag 🇺🇸 in a glass toothpick holder, and a box of Resist Trial Bags (Hand-mixed from: Black pepper, salt, paprika, cayenne red pepper, white pepper, chipotle pepper) that Penzeys sent me to give away to people. Penzeys gave me this RESIST because my “backyard is where America’s fate is to be determined.” I have a mission to share the RESIST “with people in need of a tasty seasoning to brighten their day.”

A glass jar that contains Holland Whole Blue Poppy Seed from Penzeys sitting on a kitchen countertop. When I fell in love with the “Lemon-Poppy Seed Waffles” recipe that came with a Cuisinart Waffle Maker, I had to find a place that I could get a bulk supply of poppy seeds at a reasonable price.

Two Lemon-Poppy Seed waffles on plates with a 2c liquid measuring cup filled with warmed maple syrup on a glass top stove.

Observing Flag Day #nokingsday in my living room.

Bearicuda “bear proof” trashcan cover with mud and new scratches the morning after a bear encounter.

We had a bear visit last night at about 10:30 pm. (Video timestamp is incorrect). He played with our Bearicuda Bin but couldn’t access the trash.

YouTube video by Global Weirding with Katharine Hayhoe What happens in the Arctic doesn't really matter, right?

Melting Arctic ice isn’t just bad for polar bears; it’s bad for us, too.

A warmer Arctic and changing circulation patterns affect coastlines, crops, and climate patterns around the world.

I joined the Catholic Church the year that Dorothy died. I was married the next year and we moved to Staten Island to work with the mission that abuts the cemetery where Dorothy was buried. I am so grateful for this broadcast. ❤️

Last words from Judgment at Nuremberg: a convicted German jurist tells his American judge: “Those millions.. you must believe I never thought it would come to this.” The reply: “It came to this the first time you condemned a man to death you knew to be innocent.”

O Lord of justice, we also ask that you send constant graces of repentance and conversion to those corrupt officials who through greed or fear fail to protect those under their care.
We ask this through your most holy name.

www.usccb.org/resources/Hu...

Inspire them with a renewed hope in the love that people of good will have towards them, that with our spiritual and material support they may triumph over their exploitation and their trauma.

Come to the aid of the victims of human trafficking who were betrayed by those in responsibility and by those who were supposed to love and protect them. Let them cry out like the psalmist “Even if my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in.” (Psalm 27:10).

Justice Dept. says it’s not required to bring back wrongly deported man Kilmar Abrego García, 29, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, was mistakenly sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The First Station: For corrupt officials and those who, by betrayal, condemn victims to slavery

O Lord Jesus Christ,
You were betrayed and condemned by those who muffled the voice of their conscience and relinquished their responsibility to you and to humanity…
wapo.st/3ElHYFB

Even if you care nothing for your neighbor, the destruction of the pubic health infrastructure will reach us all. “…no wall is high enough to keep viruses and other disease threats out.” Uganda is just over 22 hours from IAD.

The loss of USAID doesn’t only affect folks overseas. It affects US farmers and agricultural research. Our own food security depends on the development of sustainable agriculture into the future with changing climate conditions.

The birth of these organizations go back to World War 2. They are able to efficiently provide support to folks who are caring for the poor and suffering in the distant corners of the world.

Annual Reports and Financial Statements CRS Annual Reports As a leading international humanitarian agency, Catholic Relief Services works toward transformation at scale. Since 1943, we go where we are called—to the most remote places, to ac...

CRS is one of the most efficient organizations in the world. In fiscal year 2023, 94% of our revenue was spent on programs that directly support the people we serve.
www.crs.org/about/financ...

www.crs.org

I led Catholic Relief Services. I’ve seen USAID projects change lives. In partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, CRS saves lives, empowers people and creates goodwill for the United States. All for less than one percent of our national budget.

U.S.A.I.D. has provided funding and non-financial support to C.R.S. for decades, accounting for about 50 to 60 percent of its budget, or between $500 million and $700 million per year.
www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...

World Relief Homepage - Creating Change That Lasts We Need You to Stand In the Gap Critical funding for refugees and vulnerable families we serve in the U.S. and worldwide has stopped abruptly. Millions of

World Relief partners with the U.S. government overseas to provide food, medical care, clean water, shelter and life-saving services in countries already facing extreme humanitarian crises.
Without this assistance, for millions, this is a matter of life and death.
worldrelief.org

Disaster Relief Landing Page Natural disasters can strike anytime, anywhere. We stand ready to respond at a moments's notice when disaster strikes, whether at home or abroad.

Samaritan’ Purse received USAID funds totaling more than $90 million over the past four years. The nonprofit used the money for relief efforts such as the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry...

Putting USAID in the wood chipper has consequences.

Samaritan’s Purse, Catholic Relief Services, and World Relief are Christian mission efforts that received funding from USAID.

I built 2 C-R boxes for my classroom, to supplement the Hepa filter provided by the county, when we returned from our winter break during the Omicron outbreak. When I retired they came home with me to keep my family healthy. ❤️ clean air!

This is a very insightful post. Food for thought about the moment we find ourselves in and how we might best navigate this time toward a positive course direction toward the arc of justice and democracy.

Could the Bird Flu Become Airborne? (Gift Article) Scientists were slow to recognize that Covid spreads through the air. Some are now trying to get ahead of the bird flu.

Yes, bird flu could become airborne, human-to-human. As my collaborator Seema Lakdawala points out, we're doing the experiment now.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/s...

YouTube video by Pete Seeger - Topic Step by Step

Step by step

youtu.be/Fcw-Dgjid20?...

Sun setting behind the snow covered trees.

Sun ☀️ peaking from behind the trees at sunset.

Snow covered blue mist flowers.

3 inches at 4:55 pm.

Soup is cooking. Acorn squash is baking.

Enjoying the sight of snow sticking to everything. This round is much denser than the last storm. Good for ⛄️.

Hill of deciduous trees covered with red light from the setting sun.

3 antlerless deer preparing for a winter storm. They seem distracted by my presence.

3 antlerless deer in the backyard of melting snow with deciduous trees and sunset in the background.

We are under a winter storm watch.

Winter Storm Watch: Conditions favorable for a winter storm event, which is a threat to life
or property.

The deer are preparing.

Snow covered Greenstone steps onto a deck.

Happy Old Rock 🪨 Day!

Physiographically speaking, we live in the Piedmont Upland. The rocks that form the steps onto the deck are our bedrock lithology: greenstone (schist). They were formed between 570 and 550 million years ago. They are part of the Catoctin Formation stratigraphic unit.