March’s Zodiac signs are Pisces (February 20 to March 20) and Aries (March 21 to April 20).
Irish Potato Pie
Yield 8 to 10 servings
Irish Potato Pie is a velvety, creamy treat made with mashed potatoes, eggs, cream, sugar, and nutmeg. It tastes like a smooth custard with no taste of potato. This recipe, with slight adjustments, was brought over ‘on the boat’ by the cook’s great-greataunt in the 1800s. When asked why she had brought a potato pie (rather than a fruit pie) recipe with her, she’d answer that she had hoped that America would have an abundant supply of potatoes, as in Ireland, there was ‘nary a sound potato to be had there. May God bring them back.’ Of course, God did, and we celebrate that with the fine legacy of Aunt Bridget’s potato custard pie. Submitted by Mary Cummings, New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Ingredients
1 unbaked 10-inch deep-dish pie shell
3 eggs
2 cups half-and-half or light cream
2 cups mashed potatoes (whipped smooth with no lumps)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Irish whiskey, brandy, or sherry (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly grated nutmeg, for topping
Toasted slivered almonds, for topping
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover the fluted edge of the pie shell with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
2. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat eggs slightly. Mix in half-and-half, potatoes, sugar, liquor (if using), vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.
3. Place on the center oven rack and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 to 18 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle almonds around the outer edge of the pie and dust with additional nutmeg.
5. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.
Photo Credit Sam Jones/Quinn Brein Written By:The Old Farmer’s Almanac EditorsThe Almanac Editors and Staff Source: https://www.almanac.com/recipe/irish-potato-pie
POOL AREA RULES AND REGULATIONS
WINTER HOURS: OCTOBER THRU MARCH, 9AM TO 4PM (MON – THURS); 9AM TO 9PM (FRI – SUN)
SUMMER HOURS: APRIL Thru SEPTEMBER 9AM TO 9PM
WARNING: NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY
Resident use only. Any Visiting Guest(s) must be accompanied by a resident at all times. NO EXCEPTIONS. Guests are the Residents Responsibility.
1. 10:00am – 1:00pm suggested for Exercise Only (Swimming Laps; Water Aerobics; Therapeutic Exercises; Etc.).
2. Please be courteous to neighboring residents by keeping voices and conversations at a low volume while at the Pool Area.
3. No Running, Diving or Rough Housing in Pool, Jacuzzi or within the Pool Area.
4. People who are incontinent or not toilet trained must wear special protective swim garments (Swim Diapers) when using the Pool or Jacuzzi.
5. MAXIMUM # OF GUESTS PER HOMESITE IS TWO (2).
6. Persons under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
7. No toys are allowed in the pool or jacuzzi at any time. Arm floats and small tubes are allowed.
8. No glass containers allowed. Plastic or cans only. No food or beverages are allowed in the Pool or Jacuzzi at any time.
9. Noncompliance with any Pool Area Rule may result in being dismissed from the Pool Area
L A S
ADVERTENCIA: NO HAY SALVAVIDAS
1. Uso de Residentes solamente. Invitados tienen que ser acompañados por un residente durante toda la vista. NO HAY EXCEPCIONES. Invitados son la responsabilidad de los residentes.
2. 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. es sugerido para ejercicio.
3. Por favor sea cortes a los vecinos alrededor del área de la piscina, hablando en voces bajas y no hacer tanto ruido.
4. No correr, no buceo, y no juegos bruscos en la piscina o el jacuzzi.
5. Personas que son incontinente o no están entrenados para usar el baño deben de usar traje de natación apropiado (Panales) para usar la piscina o jacuzzi.
6. Dos personas por vivienda familiar única.
7. Niños menores de 14 años deben de ser acompañados por un adulto.
8. No juguetes dentro de la piscina o jacuzzi. Flotadores de brazo y tubos pequeños están bien.
9. No recipientes de vidrio. Solamente plástico o latas. No comida o bebidas dentro la piscina o el jacuzzi.
10. Desobediencia de cualquier regla va resultar en la despedida del uso del área de la piscina
Gen Zers aren’t talking — and it could cost them
The problem runs deeper than social awkwardness.
Picking up the phone isn’t as easy as it sounds at least if you ask Gen Z(aka Zoomers - 14 to 29). Today’s young adults struggle to make an appointment, ask a question or dispute a bill. If they manage to leave a message and get a call back, they might refuse to answer.
Gen Z’s interaction anxiety has expanded beyond “telephobia.” Despite craving closeness, they’re now reluctant to engage in face-to-face conversations. Opting for texting might seem like a convenient alternative, but this avoidance is costing the generation in more ways than they realize. What will it take to get Gen Z talking?
The social consequences of talking aversion are obvious: Businesses are starting to worry that young employees won’t be able to engage effectively with co-workers and customers. Young adults are lonelier. Dating is declining, and friend groups are shrinking
But the problem isn’t just a matter of social awkwardness. Talking is important brain exercise, a desirable difficulty that enhances our cognition in the moment of talking, and over our lifetimes. Young adults frequently listen to other people’s speech via podcasts, YouTube, TikTok and the like, but these activities don’t provide the same cognitive stimulation. The mental effort required to speak is much greater than what’s needed to understand someone else, and the cognitive benefits of talking exceed those of listening.
Those benefits are extensive: Talking about goals boosts mental focus and follow-through. Athletes are routinely coached to talk to themselves to improve perseverance, focus and mood. Talking about a topic speeds up learning and makes it more durable. And it continues to tune our brains all the way to old age, when high rates of socializing guard against dementia.
Young adults who avoid conversation are missing out on all of that. We don’t yet know the long-term consequences of losing talk-based cognitive, emotional and social enhancement, but the link between silence and dementia is worrisome.
What caused this talking avoidance? The pandemic is one likely culprit, as it removed opportunities for young people to practice socializing while they transitioned to adulthood. Remote work further reduces talking practice and degrades social skills. Helicopter parenting also clears away many challenges of childhood, leading to lower coping and social skills. For over-snowplowed adults still living at home, the parent concierge remains ready to take on phone calls and other talking challenges. It’s a vicious cycle: Reluctant talkers gravitate to non-talking activities like looking at their phones and moving through life with earbuds, which discourages anyone from striking up a conversation.
This might sound like just older generations grousing about messed-up kids these days. But similar concerns about less frequent talking are directed at the elderly, who watch lots of TV but talk little. Researchers have even launched interventions to get older adults talking more, with significant benefits for cognition and mood.
Reluctant Gen Z talkers don’t need home-visit interventions, but they would benefit from other experiences that allow them to talk more. This doesn’t require tossing them into the talking deep end. Instead, we can provide guidance and practice that increase skill and reduce anxiety.
Speech, acting and improv classes can help. One program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison coaches students in discussion, treating talking as a teachable skill. “Adulting 101” classes in schools
and community centers also teach life skills, which sometimes include addressing anxiety about talking on the phone. College career centers offer training for job interviews, but they could expand guidance for other job-related talking, such as networking. Face-to-face conversation is especially challenging, with additional demands like eye contact and turn taking. Programs that boost conversation skills are rare but should be more widely available. It’s possible that gamifying conversation practice could help motivate reluctant talkers.
Beyond skill-building, there needs to be more space for talking. Young adults expect that conversations will be more awkward than they turn out to be; practice can help them recalibrate. Mentorship programs in business and community centers supply one opportunity. Events like trivia nights and board game parties provide conversation topics and a structure for interaction. Many schools are banning smartphones to improve learning, which creates room for students to talk to each other between classes and during lunch. Young adults who have given up their smartphones or set them aside for many hours report more sleep, better friendships and more face-to-face talking. Like talking, the work of changing culture to promote social interaction is a desirable difficulty. It will be worth the effort.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/11/gen-z-talking-phones-cognitivehealth/2026/Maryellen MacDonald Maryellen MacDonald is professor emerit of psychology and language sciences at the University of WisconsinMadison and author of “More Than Words: How Talking Sharpens the Mind and Shapes Our World.”
“I like pulling on a baggy bee suit, forgetting myself and getting as close to the bees' lives as they will let me, remembering in the process that there is more to life than the merely human.”― Sue Hubbell,
A Book Of Bees: And How to Keep Them – A Melodious Beekeeping Memoir and Nature Journal from the Missouri Ozarks
SONOMA VALLEY GSMOL
Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League 7 Flags, Moon Valley, Pueblo Serena, Sonoma Oaks, Rancho Vista
Congratulations to Jodi Johnson of Petaluma, Our New VP
Jodi has been appointed to serve on the GSMOL Executive Board for Zone A-1. She is the ideal candidate to step in after the passing of Dick Heine. Let’s give her our full support as she takes on leadership of GSMOL’s largest zone.
Sonoma County Homeowners at the California Legislature
Homeowners from Sonoma County regularly travel to Sacramento to testify or register “me too” support on several GSMOL-sponsored or GSMOL-supported bills. In some cases, our presence was critical in stopping legislation that would have harmed mobilehome owners. Overall, Sonoma County residents helped make it a successful legislative year for GSMOL.
Sonoma is relatively close to the State Capitol, so participating in this process is both accessible and rewarding and it’s an effective way to protect our lifestyle and our investment. Please consider joining the team that goes to Sacramento. Carpools available. If you are interested and would like more information, contact: sonomavalleygsmol@gmail.com
2026 Legislation Update: GSMOL Sponsors and Supports
SB 722 Wahab. Transit-oriented housing development: excluded parcels/sites. This bill would additionally prohibit the development from being located on an existing parcel of land or site governed under the Mobilehome Residency Law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, the Mobilehome Parks Act, or the Special Occupancy Parks Act. To take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
AB 635 Ahrens. Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program: Attorney General. This bill would require the department to refer up to a total of 25 alleged violations of the Mobilehome Residency Law to the office of the Attorney General in any given fiscal year that the department in good faith efforts selects as the most severe, deleterious, and materially and economically impactful alleged violations. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to arbitrate, mediate, negotiate, or pursue any and all available judicial remedies in connection with any alleged violations of the law referred by the department.
You Need GSMOL | GSMOL Needs You
It’s easy to join or renew your GSMOL membership online Explore the GSMOL website, it’s loaded with resources and information www,gsmol.org
Echoes of the Earth ·
SHE ISN'T A "BIG FLY." SHE IS A CIVILIZATION OF 400.
It is February. The Queen Bumblebee has emerged from 5 months of underground Diapause. She looks invincible big, loud, and armored. The Reality: She is trembling on the edge of death. For the next 4 weeks, she is the sole architect, builder, heater, and hunter for a colony that doesn't exist yet.
The 6 Secrets of the Solitary Empire:
1. The Disconnected Engine (Thermogenesis)
The Science: Insects are usually cold-blooded, but the Queen is effectively "Endothermic" (warmblooded) during flight. To take off, her thoracic muscles must be 30°C. If it is 8°C outside, she uncouples her wings from the muscles and vibrates them in neutral.
The Observation: If you see her on the ground buzzing but not moving, she is not stuck. She is pre-heating the engine. Do not touch her.
2. The Ground Scanner (The Zigzag)
The Science: She flies low, weaving back and forth over the lawn ("Prospecting Flight"). She isn't looking for flowers; she is looking for real estate. Unlike honeybees, she cannot build a hive from scratch. She is an Obligate Cavity Nester.
The Target: She hunts for the scent of old mouse urine. An abandoned rodent burrow is her only option for a waterproof, insulated palace.
3. The Fuel Crisis (Hypoglycemia)
The Science: Thermogenesis is metabolically expensive. A Queen is often only 40 minutes away from starvation.
The Crash: If she doesn't find a Mahonia or Crocus within that window, she runs out of Glycogen. She lands on the pavement, cold and motionless. She isn't old; she is empty.
4. The "Honey Pot" (The Insurance Policy)
The Science: Once she secures a mouse hole, she performs a feat of engineering. She exudes wax from her abdomen to build a thimble-sized pot. She fills this "Nectar Pot" with regurgitated fuel.
The Reason: This is her pantry. It allows her to survive rainy nights without leaving the eggs.
5. The Brood Patch (Avian Behavior)
The Science: This is her most "bird-like" secret. She lays her first ball of pollen and eggs. To hatch them, she must keep them warm. She possesses a "Brood Patch" a bare, vascularized spot on her abdomen. She presses this hot skin directly against the eggs, shivering all night to transfer her body heat to the developing larvae.
6. The "Spoon of Resurrection" (The Fix)
The Science: If you find a grounded Queen (cold/still), she doesn't need a vet. She needs simple carbohydrates.
The Protocol: Mix 50% White Sugar + 50% Warm Water. Offer it on a spoon or leaf near her head. The Result: Watch closely. You will see her proboscis (tongue) unfurl. In 5 minutes, she will vibrate (warm up) and fly. You didn't just save a bee; you saved a lineage.
The Verdict: Respect the zigzag. Leave the "messy" corners of the garden (where the mice live). And keep the sugar handy. The Empire rests on her wings. soodrneptSlth9sh: 96fr00aged2l1aya 14at0t0MmA0lc1 44umtYlet5 ·#BumblebeeConservation #BombusTerrestris #QueenBee #GardenWildlife #Phenology #Pollinators #SpringWatch #Entomology #ScienceFacts #SaveTheBees
Psychological terrorism? Mobile home residents ask for help
By Roger Coryell PUBLISHED:
February 8, 2026 at 11:34 AM PST | UPDATED: February 9, 2026 at 10:20 AM PST
Mark Abel, a mobile home park resident from unincorporated District 1, speaks during public comment at the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 3, 2026, urging the county to strengthen mobile home park closure and conversion rules. (County of Sonoma)
A morning with the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, as mobile home residents plead for protection
Chair Hermosillo welcomes everyone warmly. Mayor Ron Wellander steps forward to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. There’s a brief Spanish-language announcement, headphones offered for translation.
When public comment begins, the room changes.
One by one, residents step to the microphone with stories of fear and intimidation. Of homes under siege.
The first voice that truly shifts the temperature is Mark Abel, a mobile homeowner from District 1. The county’s closure and conversion rules for mobile home parks, he says, are inadequate, full of loopholes, and dangerously out of sync with state law. He warns of predatory and deep-pocketed bad actors exploiting residents across the county Windsor, Cotati, Santa Rosa, Petaluma.
“What’s transpired in Petaluma is a slow-motion train wreck,” he tells them. One company has allegedly threatened to spend billions on lawsuits just to exhaust residents into submission.
“It’s ugly,” he says simply.
The supervisors listen closely.
Jodi Johnson approaches next. She introduces herself as a resident of Youngstown Mobile Home Park in Petaluma and vice president of a statewide mobile home advocacy zone.
Her voice carries the weight of someone who has been living inside the storm. She calls Sonoma County “Ground Zero.” She describes a new breed of corporate park owners investment groups using closure threats as weapons.
In 2023, she says, seniors received notices taped to their doors claiming the park was closing. It was unlawful and the damage was immediate.
One senior suffered cardiac arrest. Two others attempted suicide. All because they believed homelessness was imminent.
“This is senior and vulnerable abuse,” she tells the board flatly.
Then comes Christopher Brown, a 30-year resident of Little Woods Mobile Home Park. He speaks slowly, deliberately. He says Harmony Communities has targeted the park, threatening to raise Space rents 350%. They’ve removed parking and threatened closure.
“They take actions to put us in fear,” he says. “It’s like psychological terrorism.”
He asks the supervisors to imagine their own parents living under that pressure.
Teresa Perez, a mother of three from Evergreen Mobile Home Park in Windsor, steps up next. Her park is also owned by Harmony. She describes the constant anxiety: rent hikes paired with closure threats if residents oppose them. “It has affected me mentally and emotionally,” she says. “The stability that comes with home ownership can change in an instant.”
Most mobile homes cannot realistically be moved. Relocation can cost $15,000 or more with few open spaces anywhere else.
Blanca Chávez speaks in Spanish, echoing the same story:Evergreen residents live with fear, instability, and deterioration of conditions. She warns the county: “What is happening in Petaluma, Windsor, Cotati, Santa Rosa… prevention is the response.”
When public comment closes, Supervisor Coursey speaks first. He calls mobile home residents part of the county’s vulnerable population.
He doesn’t promise immediate action but says plainly: “We need more information… we need to know what’s in front of us.”
County Executive Officer Rivera notes that mobile home policy is already embedded in the county’s Housing Element work plan but likely not scheduled for 2026.
That answer doesn’t fully satisfy Coursey. “I’m not sure I can wait until 2027,” he says.
Supervisor Rabbit adds that regulations alone aren’t enough the county may need broader conversations, including with park owners, to preserve mobile home parks as naturally occurring affordable housing.
The residents have made something unmistakable: Time is not on their side.
A room full of seniors, working families, immigrants, and advocates described corporate intimidation not as theory but as lived experience. Mobile home parks are one of the last reservoirs of affordability in Sonoma County.
And the people living there are saying: We are being targeted. We are being worn down. We are being threatened out of our homes. Unless the county strengthens its protections… Petaluma won’t be an isolated case. It will be the model.
The first US solar storm emergency drill did not go well
Massive geomagnetic storms can knock out power, damage satellites, and more.
An active region at the edge of the Sun blew out an X4 flare (one of the largest of the solar cycle) and a coronal mass ejection on Feb. 25, 2014. Credit: NASA / GSFC / Solar Dynamics Observatory
The federal government released the results of a multiday emergency drill intended to assess our ability to handle the next massive solar storm. Unfortunately, it sounds like there’s a lot of room for improvement. According to a report published by the Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) task force, institutions across the board need to better coordinate their interoffice responses, at the very least. Meanwhile, educating both themselves and the public on the complexities of cosmic forces that threaten societal infrastructures is a major must that remains unfulfilled.
Government emergency response agencies don’t only train for somewhat predictable events like hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters they need to be prepared for rarer or even far -fetched scenarios. Experts routinely review protocols and options for the next inevitable cataclysmic asteroid strike, for example. But while that kind of cosmic predicament only occurs roughly once every 25,000 years, massive solar storms happen more frequently. These flareups generate gigantic clouds of energized gas and dust that can bombard Earth at speeds of roughly 2 million miles per hour. Such particles subsequently distort the planet’s magnetosphere and produce atmospheric displays like the aurora borealis. But in an interconnected and digitized world, these forces can also wreak havoc on power grids, communications systems, and satellite arrays. In order to respond to these threats, government agencies need to coordinate. That is where SWORM comes in. Formed in 2014 to develop and advance national space weather preparedness, SWORM includes agencies like the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The task force hosted its first- ever Space Weather (SWx) Tabletop Exercise (TTX) on May 8 and 9, 2024 across the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Colorado’s FEMA office. The scenario focused on four modules relating to the fallout from a series of solar events, including loss
of GPS functionality, power outages, radio blackouts, orbital satellite communication disruptions, and even extreme radiation exposure for astronauts.
The hypothetical emergency occurred over eight days in early 2028. In this situation, an active solar region begins to flare as it rotates towards a position aimed at Earth. Intensifying this simulated crisis is the variable that a two-astronaut Orion spacecraft crew is en route to the Moon, while another pair of Artemis astronauts are already situated on the lunar surface.
The organizers then asked each participating agency group what protocols they had in place to handle such a priority problem. The results, while productive, laid bare just how difficult it still is for state and national agencies to coordinate on something as fundamentally complex as geomagnetic storms. This related both to the emergency responders themselves and the general public.
“Space weather is a complex subject and its potential impacts are not well understood outside of NOAA and NASA,” reads the report , adding that participants, “without space weather expertise struggled to translate the scientific information and determine what the specific impacts would be on Earth.”
“There is a strong need to educate not only government and agency staff but the general public, as well,” SWORM concluded.
However, even if agencies implement better response protocols and clearly articulate risks to the public, the fact remains that a solar storm’s lead time is incredibly short. Currently, experts are only able to accurately assess the incoming impacts of a coronal mass ejection around 30 minutes before it reaches Earth. SWORM noted “significant discussion was dedicated” to just how little a half an hour’s heads up affords agencies and suggested developing an advanced warning system even if it’s imprecise.
Another conclusion was the need to more heavily invest in more advanced space weather satellite systems, along with deploying a new generation of sensors capable of monitoring the complex factors underlying cosmic conditions. This could be accomplished thr ough collaborations with both international partners and private companies.
While the drill’s results aren’t the most comforting, nearly all participants reported leaving the event with a better understanding of solar storms and their consequences, as well as the need for better interagency communications about space weather. Ironically, SWORM couldn’t have asked for a better event grand finale: exactly one day after the meeting, an extreme geomagnetic storm hit Earth that temporarily affected power grids and satellite orbital patterns.
ource: https://www.popsci.com/science/first - solar - storm - emergencydrill/?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=popular - sciencenewsletter&_bhlid=1c4e872c0b15489e0ed8c8279aca20ffa1f110ee
“The Sun will rise and set regardless. What we choose to do with the light while it's here is up to us. Journey wisely.”
― Alexandra Elle
Gen Z (14 to 29) is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents- Denmark has a solution
"Since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents."
Jacalyn Wetzel
Nearly every parent hopes their child will be better off than they are: smarter, more secure, and more well-adjusted. Many parents see this as a stamp of successful parenting, but something has changed for children growing up today. While younger generations are known for their empathy, their cognitive capabilities seem to be lagging behind those of previous generations for the first time in history.
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a teacher turned cognitive neuroscientist who focuses on human learning, appeared before Congress to discuss concerns about cognitive development in children. In his address to the members of Congress, he says, "A sad fact that our generation has to face is this: our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age. Since we've been standardizing and measuring cognitive development since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents, and that's exactly what we want. We want sharper kids."
Horvath explains that the reason this happens is that each generation has gone to school longer than the previous generation. Gen Z is no exception to the longer duration of time spent in school, but they're the first ones who aren't meeting this normal increase in cognitive development. According to the cognitive neuroscientist, the decline is due to the introduction of screens in the classroom, which started around 2010.
"Across 80 countries, as Jean was just saying, if you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly. To the point where kids who use computers about five hours per day in school for learning purposes will score over two-thirds of a standard deviation less than kids who rarely or never touch tech at school," Horvath reveals.
In most cases, the decline in performance doesn't result in better strategies. The neuroscientist shares that the standardized testing has been adjusted to
accommodate lower expectations and shorter attention spans. This is an approach that educators, scientists, and researchers went to Capitol Hill to express wasn't working. But not every country is taking the approach of lowering standards to meet lowered cognitive ability. Denmark went in the opposite direction when it realized their students were slipping behind.
France24 recently interviewed educators in Denmark following their seemingly novel approach to students struggling with cognitive development. Since the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year, Denmark has not only been having students turn in their cellphones, but they've also taken tablets, laptops, and computers out of the classroom. No more digital learning for most of the school day. Danes went old school by bringing back physical textbooks, workbooks, and writing assignments. The results have been undeniable. Even the students can't seem to deny the success of the countrywide shift in educational approach.
"I think the biggest issue has been that, because we kind of got rid of the books and started using screens instead, that we've noticed that a lot of the kids have trouble concentrating, so it's pretty easy to swipe with three fingers over to a different screen and have a video game going, for example, in class," Copenhagen English teacher, Islam Dijab tells France24.
Now, instead of computers being part of every lesson, Denmark uses computers very sparingly and with strict supervision. One student says that it has been nice not having screen time at school because she loves to read and write. But it wasn't just the lack of attention span children were developing; they were also developing low self-esteem and poor mental health due to the amount of time spent on devices.
The data showing the negative impact of screens on teens' brains has prompted a nationwide change in Denmark that extends outside of the classroom. Afterschool activities are eliminating or extremely limiting electronic use. There is also a national No Phone Day that encourages everyone to put away their devices for the day, and Imran Rashid, a physician and digital health expert, is petitioning parliament to ban social media use for children under the age of 15. The no phone movement in Denmark is a nationwide effort that hopes to right the ship before another generation feels the effects.
Source: https://www.upworthy.com/gen - z - technology -schools
These stingless bees make medicinal honey. Some call it a ‘miracle liquid.’
In the Peruvian Amazon, native stingless bees are helping beekeepers and their communities by producing honey and pollinating local plants.
Stingless bees, also known as meliponine bees, surround a honey pot within their hives. Their honey is used to help wounds heal and to treat infections and brings economic relief to keepers in the Peruvian Amazon. They come in many colors: golden, solid onyx, or striped dandelion and cinnamon. Their eyes can be beady black, slate gray, or even bluishgreen. Their bodies may be as small as lentils or big as wine grapes. But the most amazing thing about stingless bees are the honeys they produce, which are increasingly being sought after for food and medicine.
In the Peruvian Amazon, people are just beginning to raise a few of the area’s 175 different species of stingless bees, which promise to help beekeepers and their communities. Historically, such honey has typically been harvested from the wild, which destroys the hives.
But in the last few years, scientists including Cesar Delgado, with the Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), are teaching people to raise and keep the insects in sustainable ways.
Biochemist and National Geographic Explorer Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is partnering with Delgado and colleagues to better understand the bees, what they pollinate, and the biochemical contents of their medicinal honey.
Besides being fascinated by the insects themselves and their products, she wants to help champion stingless beekeeping because of all the benefits the bees bring to communities that raise them many of which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Stingless bees are bringing life back to the Amazon,” Espinoza says, by providing medicinal honey, income, and pollination benefits to a region in need of help.
‘Miracle liquid’
There is a long and rich history of using honeys as medicine, especially in ancient times. Some records show that people have used honey as a balm, an inebriant, a psychoactive substance, or as a poison. Multiple contemporary studies suggest that honeys from honeybees and stingless bees have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties.
Stingless bees make honey with chemicals that ward off microbial and fungal growth, an adaptation to keep the substance from spoiling in the tropics. Given the wide variety of plant biodiversity in the Amazon, and the incredible range of botanical chemicals the bees mix into
their honeys and wax, it’s also no surprise it has medicinal value. Indeed, some call such honey a “miracle liquid.”
Already, people in the tropics use several types of stingless bee honeys and wax from their hives to treat upper respiratory infections, skin conditions, gastrointestinal problems, and even to treat diabetes and cancer. Though research has begun providing a hint of support for some of these uses, much of it is still preliminary. More investigations into the honeys’ medicinal benefits is urgently needed, says David Roubik, an expert on stingless bees at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
“We use the honey for food and medicine,” says Heriberto Vela Córdova, a beekeeper in San Francisco, Peru, who is part of the Kukama-Kukamiria Indigenous community. “For food we use it with coffee, bread. For medicine we use it for bronchitis, pneumonia, burns, skin cuts, colds, arthritis.”
Forest magicians
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples throughout the New World tropics have harvested honey from dozens of stingless bee species, also known as meliponine bees. These social insect form colonies with a queen and many workers. As the name implies, these insects cannot sting, and are thus less dangerous to raise than, say, European honeybees, which are not native to the New World. Many meliponine bees can, however, inflict painful bites with their mandibles.
Because there are so many species of stingless bees, found throughout all of the world’s tropics and subtropics, the husbandry of such animals, also known as meliponiculture, can be complex. Aside from the Maya, who worked out sophisticated methods for raising stingless bees in the Yucatán Peninsula practices that survive to this day many Indigenous peoples traditionally harvested honey from wild hives.
In Brazil, meliponiculture is widespread, increasingly sophisticated, and popular, but in Peru, the practice is beginning to develop and expand, says Breno Freitas, a researcher at Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil.
Currently stingless bees are kept and raised by at least a hundred families in half of the Peruvian Amazon’s states, many of which Delgado has helped instruct. He teaches people to raise stingless bees in rectangular boxes that allow easy access to the bees' sugary secretions, which, unlike honeybees. are not kept in regular combs but rather in globular compartments called honeypots. Raising the bees allows keepers to split nests and establish a steady source of income, rather than relying on taking honey (and bees) from the forest, which harms these vital pollinators, Roubik says.
Stingless bees are often more picky than honeybees in terms of what plants they pollinate. In areas where they are native which is where they should be raised, Freitas says they are more skilled at pollinating Indigenous plants, making them important for ecosystem health. They’re also beneficial to agriculture.
Source:ByDouglas Main https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/stingless-bees-honey-helpingperuvian-amazon
HOSPITAL & RECOVERY SUPPLIES
Available for residents of Moon Valley
Phone Kathy Vick at 619-322-9246 for more information. Items available are free for 90 days (wheelchairs, standard walkers, bedside commodes (often in short supply), shower chair, crutches, canes, etc.
Mean Words Tax Reducers
AWFUL CHEAP CRUDDY DESPICABLE DIRTY
EVIL
FOUL GROSS GRUBBY HIDEOUS HURTING LAME LOATHSOME LOUSY MALEVOLENT MEAN
