Elk Rapids Almanac

November 2022

​The Beaver month, named for a time when farmers are busy preparing for the long cold winter. The sounds of the sky are from migrating Canadian geese flying in a V, headed south. The owls are the voices of November nights, a dark and frosty sound that hints of ice and snow. _Hal Borlands’ Twelve Moons of the Year. 1979, 2020

Happy Year Two to the Skegemog Raptor Center. Director James Manley reports increased raptor admissions, an ongoing education program, and two new research programs launched, along with the ongoing challenges of increased patient loads, a new strain of avian influenza, and especially a need for volunteers and resources. _skegemograptorcenter.org

on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkegemogRaptorCenter/

November 18

A National Geographic article by journalist Sarah Gibbens reviews new research on the health benefits of nature. Researchers find that getting outside is good for our brains. Several areas of study indicate listening to birds, walking along rivers and canals, and simply being outdoors can be restorative. Although not a cure-all, doctors and clinicians increasingly prescribe a treatment plan of outdoors activities such as noting birds and trees in the neighborhood, for improved well-being, especially helpful for children. Such findings support an array of research from suggesting hospital patients with window views of nature have shorter stays, to extensive Richard Louv literature about benefits of nature for children in relieving depression, anxiety, and stress, which he terms “nature -deficit disorder”. _ Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic Magazine,
11/2022; Richard Louv, The Nature Principle, 2011. (available in our local library))​

November 20

​Can a perfume make you happier?

Apparently so. According to Fiona Harkin, of trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory, “functional fragrances” are a growing area of research. Brands are looking to plants, based on the idea that perfume can have psychological and physical effects, not just for their fragrance but also for their impact on body temperature, blood pressure, and mood. A sniff of fragrance that could trigger a precious memory, evoke a specific mood or emotion, and possibly be identified by a brain scanner, is now a commercial reality using the application of neuroscience and technical innovation. __The Future Laboratory

November 28

What is a “nurdle”? A nurdle is a small plastic pellet the size of a lentil, used to create virtually anything plastic, from plastic bottles to automobile parts. Because of their size, it’s hard to keep them contained, and they spill into rivers, waterways, and the ocean. It’s very easy for marine life to mistake them for food. Fish, turtles, seabirds, other marine life are eating these pellets and their stomachs fill with plastic, which their bodies can’t handle. The plastic debris adds up in  their stomachs and they starve to death. _nurdlehunt.org.uk

​Coming in December

November question-What is “greenwashing” and who does that? See upcoming December 2022
Almanac