# Amos Stoll
> Farm to Table: Amish Boy Becomes Neurosurgeon
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## Pages
### Memoir Synopsis
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/memoirsynopsis/
Last updated: 2026-07-27T12:18:24.000Z
![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/FarmtoTableCover-1.jpg)

When my education ended with grade school in my large Amish family, my two brothers and I immersed ourselves in self-help books and paperbacks on science and even met in a secret cave with our best friends, where we gave lectures to each other to educate ourselves. We thrived in the outdoors, sleeping in a treehouse, and mounted overnight camping trips with our friends to Ozark peaks with only rudimentary gear and clothes.

We wrote a letter to our local newspaper protesting plans to dam the Buffalo River, that subsequently was designated a National Scenic River. We turned from trapping predators to calling for their protection and were met with stiff resistance from the community. We had become early converts to the environmental movement.

The Amish believe in nonresistance or pacifism and in lieu of military service I worked as a civilian at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City as an orderly and surgical technician. I read the anonymously published *Intern* by Doctor X that captures the life of an intern--insecure, sleep-deprived, learning to save lives from costly mistakes, that inspired me to apply to medical school.

On our farm I learned how to innovate and adapt with only the essentials that proved useful in the modern operating room as a neurosurgeon and on medical missions to Haiti. I write about the exhilaration I felt from saving a life from performing brain surgery or preventing paralysis by operating on the spine and the anguish I experienced from my surgical complications. I describe how I survived south Florida's litigious environment where medical malpractice lawsuits were a part of a neurosurgeon's life.

Influenced by my Amish upbringing, a lack of assertiveness plagued my early life. It wasn't until I became a prominent neurosurgeon at my hospital that I was able to confront the HR director to have my office manager restored with full benefits who had been fired under a false accusation of physical violence.

The pervasive lack of critical thinking in our society causing needless suffering and death despite unprecedented advances in science and medicine. Our health and happiness depend on rational decisions related to healthcare, diet and the well-being of all life on our planet. I write in the narrative to hold the interest of my readers, and at the same time provide valuable information they otherwise might not learn.
### Biography
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/bio/
Last updated: 2026-07-27T12:54:09.000Z
![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/A00--1--2-1.jpg)

Amos Stoll was born into an Old Order Amish family in Michigan, and at age 6 his family moved to a farm in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. Life with his 7 brothers and 3 sisters was never dull--working on their farm, plowing the fields with a team of horses, cutting hay, and each fall harvesting cane to produce sorghum molasses. From an early age, he took an interest in birds, and of his many outdoor hobbies, birdwatching became preeminent, and reached its pinnacle when taking birding trips with his brother Alvin to the tropics. Stoll later took up camping, canoeing and hiking, and he and his brother, Garner, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in sections, with a climactic finale on Mt. Katahdin in 2017.

According to Amish tradition, Stoll’s formal education ended with grade school. He continued his education by studying on his own, and met college entry requirements by passing the GED. Stoll excelled in college in spite of working full time as a surgical technician at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City where he was inspired to apply to medical school.

At the end of his year as Chief Resident in Neurosurgery at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, Dr Stoll was able to save a woman’s life by performing a difficult craniotomy to remove a benign brain tumor while his Chairman felt comfortable to observe him from the sidelines.

Stoll practiced neurosurgery for over 40 years at Broward Health Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that included operating on trauma patients, those with spine and brain disorders, performing crucial operations that prevented paralysis, inability to speak, and literally saving lives. He served for four years as Chief of the Medial Staff at his hospital.
## Posts
### Blog No 42  The Appalachian Trail in the Fall
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-42-the-appalachian-trail-in-the-fall/
Last updated: 2026-10-03T11:39:04.000Z
On this 2nd day of October, I'm reliving happy memories of hiking the Appalachian Trail in the fall. My inaugural hike, which I wrote about in a previous blog, was a section in Georgia with my son, Alec in August 2004, that had been inspired by reading Bill Byson’s *A Walk in the Wood*s (1998). Over the next 5 years or so, I made short section hikes with my family and friends, usually 3 or 4 nights on the trail. I then began hiking almost exclusively with my brother, Garner. We settled into a routine with short hikes centered on a weekend, usually twice a year. 

One fall we needed to complete a short section of the trail in southwestern Virginia that we had skipped; it was near the famous Partnership Shelter. This shelter was usually full, as it had a shower, and you could order pizzas that were delivered to you. Our group consisted of Megan, Alec, Garner and me. We began our hike late in the day, hiking through fallen leaves in a mixture of deciduous and pine forest, arriving at our campsite well after dark, a bit surprised we had not gotten lost. From there it was a relaxing and easy hike through woods and meadows. On the last morning we began hiking before daybreak, and in the early morning light we threaded our way through a herd of inquisitive cows on a sloping field that led to the road where we had parked our car. 

*All photos by author*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/10/Hot-Springs-Oct.jpg)

Vista from the trail

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/10/Megan.jpg)

Megan during a break 

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Alec picking apples from a feral apple tree

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Garner, Megan and Alec hiking in Virginia

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Early fall in Virginia

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Getting off the trail at the crack of dawn
### Blog No 41  Two Giants of the Tropical Forest
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-41-two-giants-of-the-tropical-forest/
Last updated: 2026-09-25T12:01:32.000Z
I was intrigued by the giant baobab trees in Senegal earlier this year when Michele and I toured a game preserve an hour or so outside of Dakar. Our guide told us how oral historians of indigenous people were venerated and buried inside the massive trunks of baobab trees. After our tour, I discovered a tropical fruit juice made from the fruit of these trees at our hotel that I enjoyed.

A few weeks ago, when I stayed with my brother, Alvin, at the Sacha Lodge in the rainforest of Ecuador (see my Facebook post) it occurred to me that the giant kapok trees that towered over Amazon jungle resembled the baobab tree we had seen in Africa, and indeed, the two are closely related. Both trees are deciduous, loosing their leaves during periods of droughts and stress and survive by utilizing water stored in their trunks. The kapok tree is the taller tree and can grow up to 200 feet in height whereas the baobab tree has the larger trunk and a single bulbous trunk is said to hold 32,000 gallons of water. Both trees have colorful flowers that open at night and are pollinated by bats.

The exceptionally strong fibers obtained from the bark of the baobab tree are used to make rope, baskets and fishing nets―even clothing and hats. This is in contrast to the silky-white fibers obtained from the kapok fruit that have no tensile strength but are waterproof, used for life jackets, sleeping bags and pillows. Luxurious pillows are now being marketed as “Nature’s luxurious sleep solution.”

Over the years I remember reading about how the nests of the fierce Harpy Eagle (raptors have always been my favorite group of birds) were found in giant silk-cotton trees in the rainforests of Central and South America. While at Sacha Lodge, we spent hours birding with our guide on a platform high in a kapok tree 140 feet above the rainforest floor. On the massive horizontal branches were epiphytes, mosses, bromeliads, orchids and ferns, and many species of birds came to feed throughout the morning. I noticed bundles of white fibers associated with the seed pods of this tree and it dawned on me this was the famed silk-cotton tree of the Harpy Eagle. It is my hope that these two giants of the forest will continue to enrich the lives of us for eons to come.

*All photos by author*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/Kapok-on-river.jpg)

Kapok tree on the shore of Napo River (tributary of Amazon River)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/Silk-cotton-fiber.jpg)

White fibers of the kapok fruit

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/AAA-Cinnamon-throated-Woodcreeper.jpg)

Cinnamon-throated Woodcreeper on horizontal branch of kapok high above jungle floor

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Giraffe standing under baobab tree in the Bandia Wildlife Preserve

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Skull and bones visible in trunk of baobab tree, sacred to indigenous tribes
### Blog No 40   New World Monkeys
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-40-new-world-monkeys/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T18:00:42.000Z
My brother, Alvin, and I spent four nights recently at Sacha Lodge deep in the Ecuadorian jungle with no road access, arriving by a short flight from Quito to Coca, followed by a two-hour ride on a speed-boat down the Napo River, an immense tributary of the Amazon River. We docked at a staging area belonging to the lodge, and walked for 30 minutes through the rain forest. We then boarded a canoe and were taken along a canal that entered into a pristine lake on which the resort is constructed. During four days of intense birdwatching (see my Facebook post), our guides pointed out six species of monkey that live in the rain forest.

On the first full day of birding, we climbed a massive steel tower constructed in a gigantic kapok tree, over 140 feet above the jungle floor. We spent almost three hours at this splendid observatory, cataloguing tropical birds. Our guide pointed out reddish blobs in the upper branches of a tall tree in the distance that turned out to be red howler monkeys nestled together, asleep until about 10 o’clock. Our birding forays took us by canoe through canals and streams in the jungle, and on one day we hiked along narrow paths deep in rain forest. Although our primary mission was to see birds, encountering these delightful creatures that traveled in troops, and sailed from one tree branch to another, high above us, added a great deal to our experience. The primates acknowledged us by their calls; one showed an angry, disapproving face, but usually they just appeared inquisitive.

We were fascinated by a troop of white-fronted capuchins, larger and stronger, able to tear open palm nuts and bamboo shoots, while serving as sentinels, keeping an eye out for predators. They were accompanied by a much larger troop of squirrel monkeys, smaller and nimble, that swept through the forest, foraging for insects and fruit. During our forest walk, our guide pointed out a Spix's night monkey, holed up in a cavity in a tree. These nocturnal monkeys with huge, round eyes, are also called owl monkeys. The two species of monkey we observed but I was unable to photograph, are the black-mantled tamarin and Spix's night monkey.

New World monkeys (*Platyrrhini*) of which there are over 150 species are found in Central and South America, live in trees, and have flat faces with the nostrils on each side. Most have prehensile tails, but lack an opposable thumb, and tend to be smaller. Old World monkeys (*Catarrhini)* comprised of over 130 species are more diverse, live in rain forests, savannas, and mountain, and differ by their narrow noses, and possess an opposable thumbs, allowing them to manipulate objects.

By studying ancient fossil teeth and DNA, scientists have found evidence that the two groups became separated about 40 million years ago during the Eocene period. It is believed that New World Monkeys crossed the Atlantic on rafts of logs and trees when the distance between the two continents was shorter. Since then the two groups evolved in their separate ways, but they still have much in common with each other and with us humans.

*All photos by author*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/White-fronted-Capuchin.JPG)

White-fronted capuchin

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![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/White-tailed-Titi-Monkey-1.JPG)

White-tailed titi monkey (also called red titi money)

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Common squirrel monkey

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/09/Red-Howler-1.JPG)

Red howler monkey eating fruit
### My memoir is published!
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/my-memoir-is-published/
Last updated: 2026-09-18T10:54:50.000Z
[Order Farm to Table here!](https://politics-prose.com/book/9781624295942?ref=amosstoll.com) 

In the first half of my book I write about growing up in an Amish family on a farm in northern Arkansas. My parents lived in a traditional Old Order Amish community in Daviess County, Indiana, but they did not approve of some customs of the Old Order Amish. Along with a few other like-minded families (including our double-first cousins), they moved to southern Michigan, and established a new settlement. Still not satisfied, my parents made a more difficult move, this time to northern Arkansas where they formed a small community, consisting of three self-exiled, reform-minded families―two Old Order Amish, and one Old Order Mennonite. This settlement in time became larger, but never resembled the large Amish and Mennonite communities in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

In this tiny settlement of plain people (a term for conservative Amish and Mennonites), my brothers and I worked the fields with a team of horses, cut sprouts from our recently cleared land, and harvested cane each fall to make sorghum molasses. In the spring, to augment our income, we took a hiatus from our farm to pick strawberries for a few weeks. We were paid seven cents per quart. The owners of the strawberry farm picked us up with our belongings and we traveled some 30 miles through the Ozark countryside to stay in migrant barracks while picking strawberries. This was a treasured time of the year as we were in constant contact with our Amish friends, and the crowning event was swimming in the nearby Buffalo River on Sundays. We picked strawberries with a few Black families, struck up conversations and sang gospel songs with them. They arrived in back of a truck, coming up from Little Rock, as they were not allowed to live in our area. We also picked strawberries with local Ozark families, but seemed to have less in common with them.

My brothers and I preferred to walk and rarely traveled by horse and buggy. During the part of the year when school was held in a small schoolhouse close to where our best friends lived, we walked two miles twice a day. We loved the outdoors, slept in a treehouse, hunted morel mushrooms, picked blackberries, and adapted to living with ticks and chiggers. We explored caves, identified animal tracks, and hunted arrowheads, but bird watching became our overarching hobby. My brother and I have continued this hobby, and over the years have taken weeklong trips to the tropics, exclusively engaged in birdwatching.

When our education ended with grade school, my two brothers and I immersed ourselves in self-help books, even meeting in a secret cave with our best friends to give lectures to each other and advance our education. I enrolled in the American School based in Chicago that allowed me to obtain high school credits by correspondence. This was a lengthy process and I eventually took a short cut by passing the GED exam and on this basis I was admitted to college. I kept a personal diary beginning at age 11 and continued writing in it faithfully until I entered medical school. These journals became the source for writing the first part of my memoir, and allowed me to use actual dialogue that I recorded at the time.

True to their Anabaptist heritage, Amish and Mennonites adhere to nonresistance or pacifism, which includes not serving in the military. The draft requirement was still in effect, but I fulfilled my obligation by working as an orderly and surgical technician at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Working in this medical environment inspired me to apply to medical school.

In the second half of my book, I write about medical school and after graduation I moved to Portland, Oregon for my internship. I had to wait a year to begin my residency in neurosurgery, so one of my professors arranged for me to work as a general surgery resident for one year at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. On call every other night, I spent the year sequestered in the bowels of the hospital, losing all track of the outside world. For the first (and only time) I wondered whether I had made the right career choice. On a much happier note, I met my wife, Michele, during that year, and once we were settled in Portland for my residency, I knew I had made the right choice.

On our farm I learned how to innovate and adapt with only the essentials which proved useful in the modern operating room as a neurosurgeon. These same attributes were essential when I went for a week for two successive years on medical missions to Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010, where supplies were scarce. 

I soon became embroiled in south Florida's litigious environment, where being sued was part of a neurosurgeon’s life. Some physicians lived in constant fear, changed how they practiced medicine, but I was able to adapt to it in a positive manner. I became a fan of London neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who wrote two autobiographies about his life as a neurosurgeon; not only about his successes, but also about his surgical complications, which I emulate in my memoir. Along the way I write about lessons learned, useful knowledge I acquired, not only related to medicine and neurosurgery, but in other aspects that I wish to share with you. 

My memoir has 454 pages, some 20 pencil sketches, and 18 pages of color photographs. It retails for $30.95 through Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC that you can order by using the link provided above.
### Blog No 39   Man Attempts Suicide with Nail Gun
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-39-man-attempts-suicide-with-staple-gun/
Last updated: 2026-09-04T23:58:52.000Z
In January 2010, I gave a talk to the Caducean Society of Greater Ft Lauderdale (made up of physicians who give a 3-minute presentation about something of interest in their specialty) about a patient I had treated who had shot himself in his head with an industrial nail gun, intending to commit suicide. It would have been a good “Florida Man” story except our patient lived in New Jersey. My associate, Randy Powell, performed the admitting “History and Physical “ and the document began with, CHIEF COMPLAINT: “I want to kill myself.” Doctors and nurses enjoyed to read Dr Powell’s H & P’s in which he described things in earthy, everyday language. On one or two occasions, Dr Powell was called into the Chief of the Medical Staff’s office (Randy referred to it as being called into the principal’s office) for having offended a reader’s sensitivity.

The patient, who I ended operating on, had shot himself in his right temple with a construction-style nail gun, but he did not lose consciousness or pass out. When nothing bad happened in a few days, he decided to drive to Florida where a sister lived, and he spent a few days sight-seeing in the area. His sister suspected he had come to Florida and when she checked out a few local motels she spotted his car in the parking lot and called the police.

His surgery was straight forward, designed to remove the staple, debride the entry wound and remove bone fragments to prevent infections. He didn’t turn a hair and his follow-up CT scan showed no intracranial bleeding. He was treated with antibiotics and as I far as I know he did not develop an intracranial infection. The nail was in the substance of his fontal lobes but there was no injury to a blood vessel or a vital structure that caused any noticeable neurological deficit, although his plan had not gone as he had intended. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/08/Pic1.jpg)

View from front

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CT scan, axial view

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Staple with bone fragments that had been driven into frontal lobes

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Entry wound after admission to hospital
### Blog No 38  Islands Draped in Pink
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/islands-draped-in-pink/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T17:30:51.000Z
In 1983, two years after we had moved to Ft Lauderdale from Portland, Oregon, Michele and I were enamored by seeing the *Surrounded Islands*, an unique artistic exhibition that could be found about 30 miles south of us in Biscayne Bay. Miami was still in the throes of the partisan division caused by the Mariel Boatlift that brought 125,000 Cubans to south Florida, when Cristo and Jeanne-Claude, two artists with previous experience in environmental art, managed to convince city officials to allow them to surround 11 islands in Biscayne Bay with 6.5 million square feet of woven pink polypropylene fabric. The duo spent over $3 million of their own money on the project, as their practice was not to accept sponsorships, donations, or public grants. On the first day of work on the project, a windy rain storm halted the workers, but the fair weather of the following morning allowed the work to resume. It was through the unique talent of these artists in conjunction with their exceptional persuasive ability that the ambitious project saw completion.

We took a helicopter tour over the expansive art scene which was about the only way to appreciate it fully. The blue water of Biscayne Bay, the giant pink lily pads that surrounded each island, and the background of Miami Beach somehow turned out to be visually pleasing.

The artists did not arrive as neophytes, as in 1968-69, Cristo and Jeanne-Claude covered one million square feet of the rocky coastline in Sidney, Australia with fabric and rope. They had completed a project that had involved suspending 140,000 square feet of bright orange and yellow nylon fabric across a mountain valley in Rifle, Colorado (1970-72) and had seen the construction of a 24.5 mile-long white fabric fence over the rolling hills of Sonoma and Marin Counties that extended down to the Pacific Ocean (1977-78). Before that Cristo and Jeanne-Claude had displayed their art in Paris and Kansas City.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/08/IMAG0861.JPG)

Miami Beach in background

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All photos from helicopter by author
### Blog No 37  The White Tern in Hawaii
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-37-the-white-tern-in-hawaii/
Last updated: 2026-08-21T11:59:15.000Z
When Michele and I recently visited our friend, Wayne, who lives near Diamond Head, we took early morning walks along Diamond Head road next to the extinct volcano. Tropical Storm Fausto had just passed by northern island chain and we observed a large number of surfers riding the waves toward the beach. 

I was intrigued by seeing white terns flying gracefully from the ocean up into the clear blue skies. When we reached Kapiolani Park I saw birds landing in the branches of trees, a truly weird behavior for terns. Hawaiians know these birds as Manu-o-Kû and the tern became the official bird of Honolulu in 2007\. Ornithologists have now delineated three species of white terns that inhabit the islands of the Pacific. The species in Honolulu is call Blue-billed White Tern (*Gygis candida*). I found a website that shows where scores of individual nests are located, mostly between Diamond Head and Kapiolani Park. The site also shows good areas where one can photograph the terns but I did learn about it until I was writing this blog. The tern has a forked tail, a bluish-black beak and black eyes. These terns were historically associated with the Marine National Monument in the northwestern chain, but they have become increasingly more numerous in Honolulu.

White terns are famous for laying their egg in a forked branch or in a concave area of a monkeypod or banyan tree without building a nest. (Most terns nest on the ground in colonies and lay their eggs in open spaces on the ground near water.) A pair of white terns take turns incubating their eggs, and during the day they may fly vast distances over the ocean to find food that includes small silvery marine fish, juvenile flying fish, needlefish, other small fish and small squid. There is no evidence that their diet has changed so perhaps the reason they thrive in urban areas is their young are protected better, but no one knows. 

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Note bluish color of upper mandible

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![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/08/White-Tern4.JPG)

All photos by by author
### Blog No 36   A Memoir by Ira Wagler
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-36-a-memoir-by-ira-wagler/
Last updated: 2026-08-15T02:42:24.000Z
My first cousin, Ira Wagler, published a *New York Times* best-selling memoir titled, *Growing up Amish* (2010) that tells the story of leaving his Old Order Amish family and church at age twenty-six. Ira was torn by family ties and the attachment to his church so that in the following years he returned home repeatedly but after leaving for the fifth time, he settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he started a business and wrote a weekly blog. 

Ira writes primarily about relationships within his large family, his religious upbringing, and the customs and practices of the Amish church. In a subsequent book published ten years later, *Broken Roads,* Ira addresses the turbulent relationship he had with his father during his younger years and now takes every measure to achieve rapprochement with his elderly father. Ira has received wide acclaim for his story telling, and his books are worthwhile reading for anyone interested in learning more about Amish.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/08/Ira-Wagler-2-1-1-1.jpg)

Back cover of memoir
### Blog No 35  Copy of My Memoir
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-35-copy-of-my-memoir/
Last updated: 2026-08-20T18:48:59.000Z
While writing my memoir I was often asked when my book would be completed and become available. I now have good news--an actual copy of my book is in my hand and is called a proof. (It was formerly called a galley proof that referred to a long tray into which metal letters were placed for the printing press.) A proof is the final step before the book is published and allows for a last minute review to check for errors and make alterations. I will keep you posted as to when it is available and how it can be obtained. 

I am using a new platform for my blog that allows for you to sign up. It is free and only requires you to sign up with your email address and whenever I post a blog you will automatically receive a notice in your email. My previous platform did not have this feature.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/08/PXL_20260806_131102523.jpg)

Back cover
### Blog No 34 California Condor Saved from Extinction
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-34-california-condor-saved-fromhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:12.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/a24a59af-c74a-487d-ab8c-9f57e1860a96_203x275-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim28BFo-hhQodqlvzDFhYgZXopbIXmfTgOC2mJIAECOqes4Je7VqIxWRRln4nZHXzyCIzfPB93VTTFF8mY2QZCm043Hs5RksXpJ%5FoJ1ZuwpVTa6g4EIRdTSWBxhgwGm9Eo47t-RohKcat8-RQ7yAoEam91sp1ixaEmOY7dR81LJ6EvLZNB6ZfqPWnODMI?ref=amosstoll.com)

My first condor  
  
The Passenger Pigeon was our largest and most colorful wild pigeon but became extinct when the last pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914\. It was once the most abundant bird in North America. After the Civil War, these pigeons were observed migrating in gigantic flocks, numbering in the billions that darkened the skies for hours at a time in search for food and nesting sites. The advent of the telegraph made it possible to follow these flocks, resulting in wholesale slaughter by men with shotguns and the pigeons were sent by the newly laid railroad lines to the east for food. Its extinction was instrumental in Congress passing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918\. In 1973 President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, which has been unjustly vilified over the years. Both of these legislative acts have been instrumental in saving many species from extinction. One beneficiary was the magnificent Whooping Crane whose numbers were steadily diminishing, beginning in the 1940s. These cranes winter on the Texas coast and migrate to breed in the wetlands and marshes of northwest Canada. With protective legislation, innovative reproduction techniques, and use of ultralight aircraft to teach migration, their population, once down to about 20, is now up to over 800 cranes. 

But no American bird has seen a recovery so dramatic and controversial\* as that of the California Condor, an ancient bird dating back over 2 million years to the Pleistocene epoch when megafauna dominated the the landscape. During the 1980s the number of California Condors was reduced relentlessly, primarily by lead poisoning from the vultures consuming animals shot by hunters with lead bullets. The US Fish and Wildlife Service argued for capturing the remaining condors and breeding them in captivity as the only means to preserve the species. The opposing view was led by the Audubon Society who advocated for leaving the remaining birds in the wild, and even took legal action to block the capture of the wild condors. When the number of wild condors decreased to only 6 birds, it became clear that drastic measures were necessary. With the capture of the wild condors, the total number of condors in the entire world was 27 (including those held captivity in the San Diego and Los Angeles Zoos.) California Condors were once thought to nest only every other year in the wild. Happily, when an egg was removed from a condor in captivity and hatched in an incubator, the female condor would lay another egg, sometimes laying up to 3 to 4 eggs in a breeding season, resulting in a rapid increase in the their numbers.

Biologists learned it was crucial that condors bred in captivity never see humans, and innovative techniques to prevent this were used including using Andean Condors as foster parents. Condors raised in captivity are not adapted to living in wild, so it was necessary that they were educated by adult condors that had lived in the wild. The young condors were places in a "pen" with the wild condors to learn the behavior of their wild mentors and then released. There are now about 400 condors living in the wild. Hunters are still resistant to using copper bullets instead of lead, and lead poisoning remains the greatest threat to condors today.

In 2012 I visited my son, Alec, who had enlisted in the Navy and was studying Farsi in Monterey, California. I drove along US 101 highway through Big Sur where condors were frequently seen and experienced the frisson of seeing my first California Condor in the wild sitting on top of a conifer tree! A bit further along the highway I was elated to see condors feasting on a dead whale down by the seashore. During covid, Michele and I stayed in the lodge (normally almost impossible to reserve) on the south rim of the Grand Canyon and although we saw no condors in the canyon we were treated with seeing many of these splendid birds on the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River as well as at a nearby condor viewing site in Arizona.

Since its enactment, various administrations have weakened the Endangered Species Act, but the most devastating measures were recently enacted by the current administration. Once a species is lost, future generations will be forever deprived of their enjoyment.

Note: next blog will be on August 7 (gone to Hawaii to visit Wayne)

*All photos by author unless otherwise noted*

*\** *Return of the Condor* (2006) by John Moir

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/05f95cc4-0ef5-4f79-862f-38aa4c1b2d2f_398x445-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcngOmd%5FP9Utw7tZM2D4jEdzoRsD6rp2J0%5F4meXDfyzcB5ImXOmIagGG9sJdRey2%5FJDxmniYEPewQK8LxIvtGt-KOxtdvv1lGkwklkBVfPUabj2NVzB%5F1BxUmqYv2S7B3l5DkwP4tU6WANNNKhhBOtV5oFy3tt4FL99ZvPOp6eOiXUnyllbGxjn1YZg2Q?ref=amosstoll.com)

Adult condor with identifying number on left wing  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/5422c7b7-b209-4dd0-86cf-dd3fa090f8f0_408x431-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIPbEerBHHDH4pyS5sAz6G56tQ9PUZNjV1%5FaVMMPCz8KS-Ng7H1ZBSLTIfVaSy7g-XMny2NUQgfNJhMfjQgBM9gZWjob6djkv3R7ODXqYMiZIFCthDzlLNYPYj0euAWY-mxyopAUyrrN9W%5F6x-oqzfnNR727ZCspnSVK8es1S6GKwQthPCsMeVY9zPmAs?ref=amosstoll.com)

Condor viewing site, Marble Canyon, Arizona  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/97ffe3bb-0dcb-4c2c-974a-999e802226d4_498x332-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXCJemz95-lopHRs61WJo0riVj2foUH0xQDax9YdHOaGS8%5FoV6TYjsuRbICb5-12r2HBGm%5Fuf6F8VivEvP82Qvq0ItZSjtjmKsMdd8N50CSFa3Z20EmsjSJoFC4Zt49GvDQw%5FfftaYNRfiSQ0YJbyCfWp-3edvllrAezBXExrO5LaySpMTqxJKUZwCeh4?ref=amosstoll.com)

Courtship ritual in the cliffs above the Colorado River

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/fe11ce5e-d372-4e59-912f-a8a402d9dc9b_374x418-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVTOJB7RyuOhXDMUqNPB2TDDqm8DNqTruBzg3oUfFvAFnEDwm8rLIoFMSM010nlz6VVjyufcIvm3ZsmC2sq7c4L8%5FzAP56kMggUm5Nd-OKyythihKA0-GbFMSyNoE7bARdngy9%5F45n3y9KOB%5F7yZJX4qU8cREutUk9UbPCg3rgHyNizZtGc3PlDHclgYw?ref=amosstoll.com)

Pair of adult condors on the Navajo Bridge  

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/e5252226-2c33-463e-aaf6-d8e156c41e44_421x362-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwEae%5FbDSUQlsw19nbEmygdbsg1kleDl197gC1DDvuVRVj8xyZWbg2wzX8wOyVPKUmqaJSntnSkSR3lgnGqFti9iT7%5FjQ1kPwNWfSBycvAEdq8DaJDFp1GyEJmtO9o-CbZVKoHq0CmRPw4tM-GuGm8LhO47Y-SstcruN7BEmdbm1oRWCEnvCAtywfw7Q0?ref=amosstoll.com)

Juvenile condor--note black head (California coast)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/1ea3a0e5-c61a-4bdc-b1af-5fcc44ff967a_417x400-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD0%5Fnu62Xe7EqA8fb81X1SLhPrPEVoLT2boBnn3O95f-QOdSwGe2HCVxpnww5zt88Uaezpgp4XTqv-wQnWwpXzrqCp%5FAGXTspQ4rJs8VWoMTMumxVdC50U1IDrGvPf2oIkoTcJMt-Y5J3caBZVmnhfpw8rrzAxxveKL%5F3KocdaNSjv4Wx7LXmwSl9c4HQ?ref=amosstoll.com)

Adult condor No 12 (Arizona)  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6a541360-338e-4150-802e-aa4d0b28a54f_296x433-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDqrtKK4GPzbSzKZqo3DK3xSGRQEPMGoTeE5b2LkFFc58Uoax0XptoH%5FLlGypsJvtX4IjxB6UYyJTtZ8Zfpx4uwEx-Yuhb5edtJsq0AXGOqetnlfY7L6%5FvbOMioCAzCPQUfkJG3po84FSW53h6HCimRr7KgE5IlouF8bbfG-mhfHpmZ6bDrHa6mgwc8KA?ref=amosstoll.com)

A photo from *Birds of America* (1936)
### Blog No 33 Military Aircraft over Washington DC
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-33-military-aircraft-overhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:15.000Z
While growing up during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s my brothers and I often saw B-52 bombers flying over the Ozark skies. The plane had a distinctive appearance but we usually identified the airplane before we saw it because of its unique sound. I have some familiarity with commercial passenger jets, but I know little about our military aircraft. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that our military has an extensive array of aircraft used for varied purposes. I used *Jane’s US Military Aircraft Recognition Guide* (2007) to identify the planes in my photos, and Gemini AI was most helpful but made the mistake of identifying two fighter jets flying close together as a single double-fuselage plane.

The F-16 fighter jet has a single tail, whereas the F-22 Raptor is a modern fighter jet with V-shaped twin tails. The B-2 Stealth Bomber has a distinctive bat-like configuration. The KC-135 Stratotanker used for refueling has an unmistakable long pipe-like structure protruding at an angle from the fuselage. The C-17 Globemaster III has 4 engines with a bulky fuselage that tapers towards the tail. The plane is used for delivery of troops, heavy equipment and supplies. The B-1 Lancer bomber has variable-sweep wings which allows it to fly at different speeds and altitudes.

From the rooftop of our apartment I took photos of aircraft flying over the Mall during the Fourth of July 250th anniversary celebration. Since our distance from the Mall is almost two miles, my images are not as sharp as desirable. The noise of the aircraft flying over the skies caught the ire of American Crows (abundant in the city) and they took to the air with loud calls of protest during the show. 

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/3fd3d82f-08f3-488e-a130-f44666707ce4_541x399-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU6fmH2HfBJLjl2sAFrNQuLFZfTsN6ewREmshf1SuzIIIrtRKVRgws3Qqili%5FY3A6kK%5FAbDxDyO8rzFL7JZgRp1wF6jdTtM8pWWvR4LGL5hJ59RaDwJHFpT5W6pttyF9NggqHLLLkjXAHC0sTQXe2op7PjE9KTYWpoh9MaNWu%5FqRmj73qBGs-7aJYIjJY?ref=amosstoll.com)

 KC-135 Stratotanker (far left) and F-22 Raptors

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/14aad0e9-8d66-4e96-976f-08450927335a_444x274-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhPAY23gefnLxCC6LlXS6NWCACUe03dQDHH7kwsdzJQqAvTHyFEUorGTgkhBYa6oMkrF58M1KFNsyw4lRnJh4agP0xGsjhpwgluHxrfNmRNWul0uyOypqkyoWdHuCtZig3QpT1MyFtC5wloOMLIagNNCr5dBNf8o4Cnc47srANchdGi-cj0-Kprr6jICI?ref=amosstoll.com)

Crows take to the air in protest

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d41482e5-dbc7-440f-824a-fe5951e29b48_494x232-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjfq7xz7o9W%5FDOtxgDdkIr%5FvB2lHOv3%5FPBCwVRtxizWi%5F1insFOqHTzYnXEkeKxLFimW6xEHD6r81D-6ojGeR7Mx4OPJryR0NM2QTcHxedNGC-azobhUFwWVFJLxxduIQqv5RrsF4VQ1omDUWDwaCu0xhVep1FXrAz1igBxVLG8mmKXb2t9xdQWv%5FUFIk?ref=amosstoll.com)

F-16 Falcon

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/096a99ad-3a8d-49c4-8e79-e0cd499311be_462x208-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0DzcIjCc1DinasdQi9eRu0Ctp2H0UIAy--mxI1r91hWZsUkGrOvQg9UoR9YnTCcq%5F3OF1eSlmn-62Rg155BcEUM4qbvg4RXY2nbndpiNnYMc49HHM03yizjQ-caZoAP8JPapi5niRpiMJ3-jB1FyF%5Fjb7tv69QZynbAuDq4D6cZ-7QubJpxqpxERqFLw?ref=amosstoll.com)

C-17 Globemaster III

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/b29699cb-65b2-4490-8fb9-127ec77fa3ef_418x310-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWNr8qxBGJkBh-jDoP-I3oJL3dFPc2V5DH0DrMttxw3D07YH4t-9q-tCkCQZIl8zc%5FOvqED6fiqjXvS6zRuVU-peb4h14agz1xCynuLGJ5YJHydUVHyXksTLzAOt52oQO5K%5F%5Frw9sjmI9XjOA5yoXSvcssurMKwGiR9BuF-w0hfV2hVyi-hI68FYgyvDo?ref=amosstoll.com)

B-1 Lancer bomber

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/71eb1414-f8a5-42d5-a1d1-d54ee30c8866_426x189-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmquqLpXVHKuKciru-mKX3ROArm91BmCAQ-sZcg4j%5FalRnutFtzrEIIQsJ6y3gx9aywOyCh0iQ6JltQv7bTwkjxRMqbpiIhTvt6V0X16GMfpa3UDQsAT-phbLJ%5Fy2xlkc%5F0kyPJbZu5u9GYrSfH%5FJ2QKqfGTkZDUpW3sygkZsaqEl2YYfnLjMGlTIUZBk?ref=amosstoll.com)

Air Force One with escorts

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/7dcf4629-78f6-40ef-be71-b9028b4aac72_468x264-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgR0SQ4XmLtdi7q6oH-dLUOqDv5%5FunVGFGDF6hS0bgOS4zYAtQvpdvWmLyzX7QR7tjt7ndHz9cnboMwK2RvV9kO5B8jI-aJkBePbkvKhw9xvyjfNkdloEVDy1EVNLKk8KPm3tpSDahCuqlSemyizYuRjEfL17Vb9KjiPWMbI7TlXMtrUb1ZddXvQrHAUqE?ref=amosstoll.com)

KC-135 Stratotanker  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/a24190d6-6a6a-4532-8f49-46ce1c711a73_117x263-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5FzlywEUzXNgkZRgFq8GwjBYT7UlmI6exU6BjYcu-cNnsF1oxnFI3fY0tPmQQ9gIFMsMeDdIwqzY-fA63yjrg5GNVCfyJQkXgJqOlHyS%5F8RTjwe8mK5-MmnM-WeJ8Phwz4SwT06ShPbaR-kTqaJVJVNQySQ0eBCw2Qctft1JzGB7hFf%5FMx6palXJg7dg?ref=amosstoll.com)

B 2 Bomber

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/130400e3-b961-494c-9733-bbdd6d1c227f_432x256-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgX2K-WRBjT0LdlxkIDBbIgeuPNt%5FGNgD4bc-I7QvFOBpSaigk6HQfZ6Dh2geiOUXjOy6Ge2XhrFO0JyEOclUABX1q1t%5FFn9NgGJThb%5FLaYk4iL5wW4sUXSiWaJqxIBXM9aBTujUi3CpWB6LBN6qHTZ88M9iKaosRnW8ejm-n8gGhLV5H%5FLnyOIAjxWm3g?ref=amosstoll.com)

Air Force One  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/7a9c1ca5-061d-48ac-9260-f68f59c198f9_286x503-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTyKrSXWtvQuelo6M9LYPDC9MIG6oI0QTr0rLuBW1aHXr6CYD8feNJ%5FmnHUUfME4qc5j01yqjugH6RPRgj2TZn4dlTaR1QFWE-NGqC0R2LCoRZ8G-A2Mm32jlcHvC0fpekZ%5FsJjj-joL1TF2OCsuLDVdCfK9ntG-PzQwsv-VTAdXYeTiyWbB9j-2hfNS4?ref=amosstoll.com)

F-16 Falcon
### Blog No 32 A Brief History of Fireworks
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-32-brief-history-of-fireworkshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T18:31:47.000Z
July 4, 2023

The earliest firecrackers date back to China in the 2nd century BCE when bamboo stalks were placed on a fire to keep evil spirits away. The heated stalks exploded with a popping sound and led to the development of firecrackers. During the Tang Dynasty, 600-900 CE, Chinese alchemists discovered the first crude gunpowder by accidentally mixing sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate in their effort to discover the elixir of immortality. (Actually, what they discovered was quite the opposite.) They stuffed this powdered mixture into bamboo stalks and invented the first fireworks. China currently produces an estimated 85% of the fireworks used around the world. The knowledge of how to make gunpowder spread along the Silk Road westward, and in the 1830s Italian chemists added metallic salts to the mixture and invented the multi-colored fireworks we see today.

Worldwide, the most extensive display of fireworks occurs at the celebration of New Year. The Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20 and is based on the lunar calendar. (The lunar calendar is a bit too complex for the average Western mind.) The method by which nations around the world arrive at their New Year is incredibly varied, although the majority base their New Year on the Gregorian calendar as we do. Americans celebrate many events with fireworks, but the primary one is Independence Day, and this has been true since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

I have had an aversion to firecrackers since age 5 when I picked up a dud lying on our lawn and it exploded in my face. The danger associated with our widespread use of fireworks is vastly underestimated. An estimated 13,000 people were injured in the US last year. The most common injuries are burns of the hands and fingers, injuries of the head, face and ears, and even losing an eye can occur.  
  
On December 31, 2024, six people were killed in Honolulu, when fireworks were lit on a driveway and tipped over, igniting an extensive collection of fireworks stored inside the garage through the open garage door.

*All photos taken by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/19855625-f4ce-4947-9306-a60fc1246381_232x383-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAebffjVNjgjufA69FvyucFQjj11CviuF4w6f7G%5Fj2oeksch1Rx2u0AOKYWoTKEndda2pEHxY5uEFZwRYBuHaFtYOIJP-ZoR5LM4TUAwHGnn9F5RLQo%5Fs8Lu7mc54v38YQPADX5uY5YvO3dmXJYroD1wymFRUXrJ83xK6lMMvmg06WnGaPQ0aVmRrtD-A?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2022

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/bc8cd147-ec33-4355-845a-e073b4f1d634_283x377-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiK10-RA9SsdP%5FtNTkcvGAkKg4aUNEUfrTAAnSADHrpS5jtpqFHboClVWCW6nxUKzXP9yf6RHyHM84JhdMlMbtXGELBOeprXrh5kociM4WzsgOqoHQkTM%5Fs6VwW1%5FMA4t7BkZcYYWC-PYJUVyfXhuJxm4NEivYuHf4weGO%5FXpozSobvbF8lr0Md2g-LSA?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2022

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/fe78322a-1385-487c-ac7a-f50472880362_236x357-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht-V9L-2yOkwiohH3i6lCW0DZQ29EuOlsyZD0RxeiRXmpRBQXPDlOUNKUuGUYcv6shp7Rk5N4S4r4fzA7ON5horhtZnTJzP-c7tKP0GaS4KfV1cA8gnNBcAdYU5EUJ%5Fxsu8rKoevy7riqI7y4mecM-5aUB08zJ%5FC5pygwjJJnXg7rUNKFsYfC8In9BiKc?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2022

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/9f8d5148-a876-47c4-bd53-d11caa661122_268x357-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEituux7yJpcVgHn56KylAWMbXoGlu0Ns2gfqkkTMRnCA7ctiW%5F1UaCc8iZjEuhm6EiuF7oZ7YMROztL5GTkRf6bgukhwljZo3TjVNsFL63UKE1BzSpb-CLv1bHJFJviVOkcjzAeTFwGORGojcsLMT0PXbDs0U0YcDqhVd5Ka6fw7v4mLzSJW6fr%5FGuMi3I?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2022

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d375b630-c281-4801-8837-bee804275acf_517x224-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIFLbCUiek7MHDHz0GVTJFkETqdZ4TralCQUTeuEctDDV9UV0jYbBKHNDMul4ZhheN8unwSdR6oLZjpDONd-zNCpSht78H1Kx1rtwXAy280CDEy8Tc%5FeEgFlIGKEVL5iBECrRXRiUVKHoxDv059dTXcEzUdvHKGVNFlfsxHyNwNwvs57BxALDoeviXxCU?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2026 (from the rooftop of our apt)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/8925fba4-a4f4-4b07-9322-dae8f80b62e8_515x226-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPPHT5jghCvHdEbw1%5FDmvd64UcKpRaVcnlaDvYb%5FiD5eQmGhVwU1ygie9hfG10FPADf-T6HIsc-rSummVvNPDmtNJ%5F--BF8HBlBe6SlQbzrAuaBZrXM0OW7FPlU%5F13ZSzBe95skLtVZ4eiToIEtJogVlwqch2dCoKulsoVUlO3T-qCnlBPLNcP2wVw0b4?ref=amosstoll.com)

July 4, 2026 (from the rooftop of our apt)
### Blog No 31 Bible Translations
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-31-bible-translationshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:18.000Z
Michele and I recently visited the Congressional Library in Washington DC, the largest such library in the world, housing 2.9 million documents. It prominently displays the Gutenberg Bible (one of 21 copies still in existence) produced by Johann Guntenberg in Mainz, Germany in 1455, based on the text of St Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible, translated in the third century, and had been the primary Bible for over a millennium. Gutenberg used a printing press, similar to a wine press, using removable type. His invention not only transformed the production of Bibles, but revolutionized modern communication.

William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536) translated the first printed edition of the English Bible, drawing from Hebrew and Greek texts and received wide acclaim. This is especially true of Tyndale’s New Testament translation, published in 1526 during the time of the Protestant Reformation. There are only three known copies in existence. Tyndale was convicted of heresy, strangulated and burned at the stake. There is no consensus why Tyndale was martyred, but it cannot be entirely attributed to his translations, as his religious views were at odds with the Catholic Church, and he was critical of King Henry VIII’s attempt to annul his marriage.

The King James Bible (1611) became the definitive English Bible and has been described as the “noblest monument to English prose.” Biblical scholars relied on Masoretic Texts for the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and Greek editions for New Testament translations. For the latter, the King James scholars relied heavily on William Tyndales’s translation. The King James Bible wielded an overarching influence in religion and literature for over three centuries but over time there were more than 300 English words that changed substantially from their original meaning and was a justification for the Revised Standard Version published in the 1960’s, and made an appearance in our household.

Receded from our memory is King Phillip’s War (1675-1676), considered the bloodiest American war per capita, that unfolded in the lower New England states between the English settlers and the native American tribes of the Wampanoag, Narragansett and others. Metacomet, a Wampanoag chief known as King Phillip, led the native American forces in the conflict. John Sassamon, born into the Punkapoag tribe, orphaned at young age and raised in an English household, was converted to Christianity, and schooled at Harvard College. Sassamon served as an interpreter for the colonists to the Native Americans. Sassamon came under the tutelage of a Puritan missionary, John Eliot, who taught him English. Eliot is best known for his translation of the entire Bible into the Massachusett language, the first American Bible, published in 1663\. John Sassamon was assassinated by native Americans for his role as an informant for the colonists, the tragedy serving as another catalyst for the King Phillip’s War. 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/785e7d6d-cfa7-41f5-b74d-e602a749b735_425x315-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihNQlKVhvs0gmQrt2ik0Yg8kBk9nuUHBRmRP2qQBofZwjFUSccAY1nt4dpPntvb7jTH1hWYn5lhplMWQTtYBnE5iW1EybJd%5FVWidPpDiS54YO44X1jkS-TnmZ6rHu1YQVAEPZGeX-YZfm%5FUETpveF3ZXAfi2tmkVHCouZQX4NHCSYFy4TWjEZbCdr7wL4?ref=amosstoll.com)

Gutenberg Bible

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/30b1a23c-a3e2-4814-8920-a6fed4ef4a89_431x350-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPRGFkJXEpzBKjhYWdaRZs3%5FkD0qpbtGe9pje9xQZhVXlvHVYIQ5dpyvVPn8KA2INccVdaCOCoY9rCRODrEAjzfOPfd1NN4uEYA5MeUSgv9KjiX99gdNqbA2-Pq%5Fn4uk7ObMRT%5FO2PY8KkbARSLMwuWlBNocp3LoWdSHefj9PW4FBgB3pgs85jWEiM%5FqE?ref=amosstoll.com)

An early printing of King James Bible

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/ddb3d624-4404-4a2a-b01e-99813080a7fd_433x302-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ963qFzpq9SU6Cvgtwd6ELvlhv9%5FBI3vbgdby%5FtfpOn4rR52tZnl2B3WlVsI0zwNzsQFUm7f%5FuKjSSNy6SM%5F-it-gIF-AFsBvXN183PkUb5tXDo7L-JKxfijo3mFdAfnZtqKladcm1BkqcDib6-NGoDB6TZAYVnTXnuXNyjQkUYrIja4IBN7-f3xPX94?ref=amosstoll.com)

A German bible printed before Martin Luther's translation

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/987835bb-6d07-487d-aeda-80241e0a4c87_334x444-jpeg.jpg)

The Eliot Indian Bible
### Blog No 30 Niagara Falls
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-30-niagara-fallshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:19.000Z
Approaching the American Falls

As the last scheduled event for the Center for Inquiry conference that I attended recently in Buffalo, NY, a group of us participants piled into two buses and made the forty-minute ride to the Niagara Falls. Enroute, our guide quizzed us with obscure facts about waterfalls, and when you got the right answer, a piece of candy was tossed your way. Rains for that Sunday afternoon had been predicted well in advance, and the forecast proved correct.

As we lined up outside of the ticket booth for the Maid of the Mist, and before we could put on our blue rain poncho, the rains came. We were thoroughly drenched by time we boarded the all-electric boat that holds up to 600 passengers. Our vessel set out along the American side for Horseshoe Falls, and I noticed thousands of white gulls sitting on the left bank that I assumed were nesting. The area is famous for up to a 100,000 gulls of nearly 20 species that congregate here, especially in fall and winter. 

The heavens opened up with diluvial rain, and throughout our 30-minute ride we were saturated, not only by waves and the mist, but especially the rain. Our boat edged up to within a few hundred feet of the Horseshoe Falls before it turned around and headed back, now taking a route closer to the Canadian side. I had never seen the falls from below, and they were a worthy sight, but still paled in comparison to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Brazil.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/391588cb-812a-4b4a-9fc2-e6b2c4498999_361x272-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJiVhhmS5rP4SeGF2ZkuMfg1lhnjdB4IOawoKcIDdAnddPuB4IpCSbnzewsPbZuEGEs7Pr-dOzN%5FFSnFA50RL9qSIM53l%5F8K1XlFpvyech4olKh-igSikyoDw16ZhG970Z0LeTLqH8t8UHhaAxnuaRXvMQumiq-hVA9nJtM1PIoufgIJcbEg1MCEO7Gg/s4080/PXL%5F20260614%5F184153070.MP.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

The American Falls

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/00209a16-1eab-46d6-a1b5-f53f55e9ddaa_381x287-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlw0l6qn3%5FVJV1Xg669LOIzTOVvVS3CQY0ChHkjMCD2mnqZDu1PnEtj4-AkCRxrOxb%5F492OI10SLlZ9u69aDl3CVb6Y68gQAGhUM3sDw4QKc7l1pgoHmda161GUSIxXa6jKYizHG6RYjoQS11bS1bXivc4qYEUaIYT2KkMKAeeSRAeqbA1gQd0egafWfM/s4080/PXL%5F20260614%5F184536312.MP.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d66b3e3d-8aa9-4c33-a950-e0f2266ec7c3_361x272-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeX4Ps21v5%5Fd-XLL0lBRHsMkWCWMpHCU7mkEIpkC73Q5SSYCevvTfqlT%5F-S0TRms1Kpin4KggnaDcZLu-dlzSph2k7T2uWzwzE84YF8EtgTZxFcL8Lub89RMSRl6DtOFmLiDSSv1YwFXTVxQe23fww0I8uJi6VFOdaQmW%5FRoEruRFWwTD6C2zn92RSo8/s4080/PXL%5F20260614%5F184619541.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

The other Maid of the Mist vessel  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/f25c22d0-2080-4f51-bb23-fc199854b8d7_376x283-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMxGtsFpcAVxYMFgFYwg1PzCNABcNrvx9Xktmxn9Avv%5FhDEbE25BtNnlggLU1AplRXLwQcilvvd1XzyHhcGMxFnK3R3JhJ8vbkeybNTizDPjjGHVVFMPlALtvzKT0wRdUqM8OYlxyNod9kQ-wI8-JuBVLVvY0opfaGo%5F0tTRbDBx2Qolm9UaELTyJdfY/s4080/PXL%5F20260614%5F183344438.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Leaving the area underneath Horseshoe Falls
### Blog No 29 The Catacombs of Paris
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-29-catacombs-of-parishtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:04:46.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/be3de122-1cc8-4094-8417-8d1eaece6dab_171x296-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdOSgVzg1Zy9km5hqtm22x7ywEmo6IsJFDpirmeB7VvM76xxQizODzY2Pod7AUG6UpsA8XQQg8%5Fk4H9pKRZKDmBTDVpftWJvVfEwAXbAHiVIxiha6sOlsI1WqwS-MNwd41cYtvF70lXox2KxvYdFJIR7Pu1Sgb9dnVs7u1SAhwc2TiMUeotToWDJCDmg/s3450/Catacombs%204.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Tunnel at the beginning

At the end of our 17-day tour of the northwest African coastal region, Michele and I flew from Marrakesh, Morocco to Paris for the last leg of our trip. Both Michele and Megan urged me to visit the Paris Catacombs, something I had missed on my previous visits. I walked from our hotel to the Chatelet les Halles metro station, a bewildering underground network, and when I asked a young man for directions (he spoke little English) he motioned for me to follow him as he was going to my train.

I managed to find the entrance with a little extra time for my time-slot ticket. I had been given dire warnings of the steep stairway, but found it easy compared to the tower I had climbed in Siena, Italy, or St. Patrick’s Well I had descended into in Orvieto (written about in a previous blog). We walked single-file for 15 minutes through an ancient limestone tunnel with a constant temperature of 55⁰ F before we finally arrived at the ossuary.

During the Catacombs tour you walk along only a fraction of the vast labyrinth of unground tunnels on the Left Bank that date as far back as Roman times. Beginning in the 12th century Parisians mined gypsum (Plaster of Paris) and Lutetian limestone, a light-colored limestone used in historic Parisian buildings, including the Louvre and Notre Dame. Previously, the tunnels were explored by cataphiles, a secretive subculture that banned leaving trash, and held underground parties, but these tunnel have been restricted by the government since 1955\. Beginning in the 1700’s, the cemeteries became overcrowded, resulting in pollution of ground water causing foul odors to the residents, and the solution was to move the bones to the underground catacombs.

As I walked through the ossuary (total length about a mile) I was spellbound by rows of neatly stacked tibia bones interspersed with skulls that lined the walls of the tunnel. Circular openings could be seen in the boney wall where a visitor had pilfered a skull. I noticed one skull with a trephination in the frontal bone had smooth edges, evidence that the person had survived the operation. I write extensively about trephinations performed by Inca surgeons, and about a new theory why they had performed them, in my memoir. I was given earphones to listen to a narrative that was synced to my position in the passageway. I saw several crosses, and when we came to the bones of the people who had been killed during the French Revolution, they received a special tribute. 

As I passed an endless display of bones and skulls along the tunnel, I began to wonder about the lives of some 6 million people, whether they had been wealthy or penniless, how they had made their living, and how they had died. I was overcome with intense emotion that I had not expected, and I consider this experience something that should not be missed.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/f43c3b20-696e-4e94-bd32-e4ca354cd0d6_395x268-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98f4HGkcx4a4G7InSbbxwQHNLWn2oL9gbaaeIoRPdnjEAas4Uf%5FAZQtCK2K3hcb%5FH2PMJi-YjdgbLHOw6MLn1cPcVdZghjsUwiYTGaceg%5FahMWOXlTla5l5wNUNbaqzK5ErPTqitbnB70dL0YpxyRWJRIHmjqdhtjVGZRfY8E2lEhgsty-OlE5qo45GE/s4080/Cross.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2d9870d3-80e1-4c5a-8615-f01faca916d4_352x451-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FHiuKjzR02BzA9U%5FPx8nHOK8fD6IdGQzylGCdSsOnKyyBlhIUsCdKMJBcEW0Eq5NldK6M5Z841AKCxJwpv7Qj3bUM86tvdJtphc6HEFCNpK18XixUEnUs1YWY0WXeoTIScRBNg1gjjqvJPvPAHex%5FCxCen%5FfLK44hNJYUkaE8DmjTepiOgol4vx4uEI/s3940/Catacombs%201.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Tibias stacked lengthwise

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/653d259f-9dcc-4702-92b0-f570782ee100_273x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf08l5oCxw2xMcP9YnSSP1Kqx79vw-OPE7yYqWmD8IciVPUK5rasITNTeGOlLsfIjzw08H6-CGuXn90xxvymhRtjyNC1KzzNlyvbl2HAp-Dw1IL30qZx6bwcarQB87AW7AyY50mPOEuatTV2H4MvLctSWRDn9F8tW93mXsgX1RskOBBT3KaXD1L3EdkP4/s3154/PXL%5F20260516%5F090232080~2.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Appearance of trephination suggests survival

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/e870dfd7-0393-4cb1-b1c7-eaee8e35757e_415x302-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGoMkDY8XRtd6huhNyV0oxd3GREHD3mg%5FEMEsYr09ygMeu5XcSfseV2IzQjG9lOQ0G09RJq1QZk3cyB0Hdm1mbU-KPgTokaibcWIujnfVslNZMksc6sZ5SRTpSIlL0KoGgmlGYzcj2tk2S1Bog7QN1SJpZilYELKXkSTQCkoO6hv32k8tqdrKBqahXbo/s4080/Catacombs%203.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6e76e51c-c5f9-4fdb-826a-7eb21507350b_382x288-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidZfbHe9UJ1i7Oncbllemiu-8SD%5F%5FVsbB5VEfLpHThW59u7jurzc%5F5RpM3%5FxP6Rbf63Pza2YK4k3eAASUne0G9WXdWunrCSQFDHzzC0iVTXiKG1PM3FavSn0BWhbhq-kEOGQtjHC5kQMGjBGX-OuHGgnzm5p1xvXckSdN%5F5cLgKbyej1JemchraKxTGg/s4080/Plaque.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

These bones are from Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs church and were placed in the Catacombs in 1859
### Blog No 28 Goats and the Argan Tree
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-28-goats-and-argan-treehtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:22.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/ca7d741b-e847-463b-968a-14e5073eec98_137x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvom1SGgFyboiUJXWknP7cyXBNbBIlzGVDA%5F5vknfC9R6bw1vrFdZKiDL0rMVyGVq1KLEf%5FLeK4V7o0pnH5XDXMsyjW9kpZFxgxWTHCxO0t7sq3O6R9Do1XMHAGlsMgLBEt4U-DTHJ5gYyhxQnjKPolhyoR7na9NHkIlxFZuY5fPCbxDlT0Ti-g566Ma0/s3290/Tall%20man%20at%20argan%20tree%203.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

During a week-long cruise along the northwest African coast, Michele and I joined a day excursion from the port city of Agadir, Morocco (founded by the Portuguese in 1505) on a bus that traveled inland through the arid countryside with fields and olive trees. We passed villages, some in the distance, but each town seemed to have a single mosque, usually the tallest structure in the town.

Our guide wore a long robe called a djellaba and he spoke about the customs of the Moroccan people, momentarily veering into a topic not in good taste with Western standards. Our bus pulled over at a turnout and when I got out I was puzzled to see a number of goats standing precariously on the horizontal branches high in a tree. I thought it was an olive tree but soon learned it was an argan tree that is found primarily in the harsh environment of southwestern Morocco, where it withstands drought and temperatures of over 50⁰ C (122⁰F). 

An exceptionally tall man with a staff gave me permission to photograph him and the goats, after a small donation. A herd of goats of all sizes hung out underneath the tree, but what got my attention was the goats in the tree that were nibbling on the argan fruit. The goats eat only the outer portion of the fruit, and it is the seed or the "kernel" that is left to produce valuable argan oil. 

As we drove into the town of Taroudant I glanced up and saw two White Storks flying over the town square, but they vanished before I could get my camera out. These birds are famous for their long distance migration between Europe and Africa. Our guide led us along narrow streets where vendors plied us with their wares. We stopped in a store that sold argan products and in the front, three women labored at the task of extracting oil from the argan seeds. Unroasted seeds are used to produce oil preparations used on your skin and from roasted seeds an oil is made with a nutty flavor used in cooking.

As you might expect, there are people who protest what we had just seen, alleging that tourists are preying on the people and their goats. This concern seemed misguided, as the oil from argan seeds is a prized agriculture export from Morocco, and of vital economic importance. For the women who engage in this laborious process to make argan oil, it can be a significant part of their income. As far as the welfare of the goats, they appeared well-fed and content.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2c4e4217-60dd-440f-982b-09f63db7267c_413x329-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoc2Evu71eKdG81hxjrYkUG7hlhGF926XIocl-fBFODlGyzoJgfATTlqE3gX7sUsqy5CejNN9Q4NC026aHaFAcXFJfn44HsaJKe4kf-aJ8U6-YSZX5%5F%5FXOvApYHzcPog5fhqk-wgERhsS4FE%5F-RJVjMSzQyo%5FLai99Pr%5F7Yzshh-nFV6i2NGNuhthF9y8/s1656/Argan%20fruit.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Argan fruit

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/f2856520-6098-4188-adad-fb5f00abc503_406x271-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdTHI%5FFuZzdLehNQYW50SHOAQGCPiYkq7DtQveGxc34RbsD7d9RRpztm2PFqMpwm9FkFA1fPMDbNS8EexZzDOme77Yk-c5GBbUWqPpCR5c6Uogt1W%5FwhiwXmtK5-nEqdh7uw2ZpOnW914YJbHuBOdL%5F-CouPUAPHg61YpfAnS7CdhMTU6aqd6y775w9U/s3648/IMG%5F2842.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/f23b12d9-aa22-40cf-9b43-21f54781e2b1_521x347-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQ92RXvrqDR-hW-Ar4JghE1wUuXaHPblKCw5jGQqsIRCv1%5FHXdxr9j8Irz-B7k38PY0ehD7o3R8wWtT%5FT4WjK4hibDckxU2Dno8QQ4UNqjIKT3v6vmg1EdkUUKnUdF3wUkkVllld55HCoHpKG%5FisAGUtgLlBbVmGBNzrXHntw7MQy1TE6GF7w4w0Omrw/s3648/IMG%5F2847.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/91e24a9b-d7ac-4ecb-8aa3-8bf446e65017_529x398-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdVMtmVcFTddSaYbpAnStspBJ%5FKVrODRCFpJAX8haKHUy0QKvQWt6Mi7goH-t-Pziq24VpyB51UY4CCmDAH5xdiEAAjm8ZPC1DTQMOlaqufFZjPlVSgast0tVquLyehFWhPqoJFHWFMIfOlKXGG7k9BKJkQOO4kkc45ErctYkwjdMOAL5I%5F3IckK0YNw/s4080/PXL%5F20260506%5F103044642.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Goats appear healthy and content

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2942bafe-e8c9-446d-a2fc-fe1775d6cea5_426x356-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdbS2H4m9MSbGZ4SqnP1JkEAjWa8dRu6XGhiLgcaK%5FTePBmrRWoG-xwO7zxMkue63jTBJuibBrWEnS-X9vt2-pIQQCo-arRbcSkEpR3wFZjAUAEO1QEfnlIoDNHwzQJBLjs3IIykfSdpXSkVSoO8ZMLuN%5FmAQkW3Be-AqPzVqRrOtz6D6vG5iGHCX07CE/s3336/PXL%5F20260506%5F124559404.MP.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Making argan oil inside store that sell argan oil products

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/037fbb8d-f60d-490f-8298-963a746c07b9_451x280-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYcsiqIulA9PJ9l5nyB1B6224-mMsoyPpiFmDmkSNbnKSTPOdOfvEILltPKeaoCQbS8i9LRZ97oCybYg4FUvP1cj1AZQ6ylAUaKa7ynnePelAZ58K1Q8OMpgNDybEupAIIouwEaWCN9eLbimPyGAPz4mWgMoazQl0hJCueRIiDHVxxGLxdbUfA9A-3C58/s3463/IMG%5F2852.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Mosque in small countryside village
### Blog No 27 Jardin Majorelle
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-27-jardin-majorellehtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:24.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d323bdf6-7f42-4646-afd9-18a5e37b1485_207x275-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QG5YcuwyE57mK0NzS5ZRPUaMJkzaQJFCW%5FTfx0EGTcj5xw0S1yivH5aTWeuI4AkriwC3IHaydKgMlHjGBeum3VKXp0Na2K07itAzZjzuZuAoP2Bx2FPJXmgmo2aDHAOtmqwJDKxHd-%5FtqsLJgsxLoxgf0-K6erTI9yuiDXSYYR0VPki-Ymm%5FDruv7GY/s4080/Tree%20cactus.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Mexican tree cacti

  
Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962), was born to a famous Art Nouveau furniture designer in Nancy, France, who wanted him to study architecture, but Jacques chose to study art at the Académie Julian in Paris. During his formative years, he lived in Egypt for a few years where he had gone for health reasons (tuberculosis) and he became enamored with light, colors, and the Islamic traditions of Africa. These experiences influenced his tastes in painting and he became known as an orientalist painter. 

He moved to Morocco in 1917, and eventually acquired almost 10 acres of land in Marrakesh, to which he devoted years of arduous work, creating a lush garden of palm trees, Mexican tree cacti, bamboo groves, bougainvillea, water lilies, and other exotic plants. Majorelle developed the deep cobalt blue (Bleu Majorelle) that accents the Cubist style villa, and reflecting pools. In 1947, Majorelle opened his garden to visitors to meet expenses, but before long the garden fell into disrepair and fortunately, it was acquired and restored by Yves Saint Laurent. (There is a museum close by that is dedicated to Saint Laurent's life and work.) The garden is best photographed in the morning or evening light, and we were fortunate to visit the gardens shortly before closing.

Majorelle travelled to the Atlas Mountains that lie south of Marrakesh (the peaks still had snow during our visit) where he painted structures called Kasbahs in colors of ochre and earth tones that contrast with the Berber villages of reddish and yellow hues.

Jacques Majorelle was involved in a serious car accident in 1955 that required amputation of his left leg. In 1962, he suffered a second car accident and was was sent to Paris for treatment but died some months later. 

*All photos by author except Atlas Mountain. I will be at a family reunion next Friday: next blog will be posted in 2 weeks.*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/150fb7de-4d77-4187-bce1-0ddb95971c93_228x305-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiD2V7sG7jvkFbeKmQQRl5Rcgtkv45rO3ARTHT2ffsH0kdDcXSsAfGF1DcXGK2JV8H2fZ1EvgY27wBexKBffa4anOPH6FPvbkS81ZsT%5Fq7QZrvsbvMUV4L4C3SfMWCjBW0siU8eWqjbv-eZ56JDnxryIOoEk1yafN2IqP-qXUUO7ORvEJI2hLByfetbM/s3304/Two%20windows.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/b470bc73-ec08-40bd-b266-f550a20158b0_271x204-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgN15kam10Q6ofy9y4ip7jRWu4kT0Z3LfOV9wGS2pN9Sw67eBpwQMTGcDddlvpKbuS8NAfS4332kFljLNV-mjMD5ahSsnVxJh7fGwwEFRyvB901eNGO9AVkKXD5tUZ5cPaQrgZTac43ocsGe%5FEtA08kkAESN7dmyf8btBkpP5nI6PqSZ2wEigY0cI4DU/s4072/Blue%20pool.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Vibrant yellow and blue

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/49ec8789-8541-45f3-b00e-c5074eb786b0_196x260-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlC6dtr6%5FwgfbFU9%5FB4V53BD2JlDT7BUjHCyIrUWPJwr5WSWMlFJRM2rxDAD%5F0EP3mfXiE3bog9Yhb4TlAJ6SGN83BrJigwXdMHNb5LI2laBpVGiR-DNAWYK5GfQVhMWqjkiw064BaDOyKHFwxvGdFInaRXtZgyThF1TvhJ7SDAyaJNOYDviMZG8cIcY/s4080/PXL%5F20260512%5F155350980.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Frog on lily leaf

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/641fb267-b142-4eea-b753-66e99bf733e5_229x354-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPK%5FcSXGxmsJzfuXd2cvNwCkYJkJfpbV3EeJkSm8yPLimxorbPfqoIxItOHLcyjvxyYxYmNx997rF9wyFwUUBcK-SITtU2PpB9LjxzSUTPnVqBgnx66oirHtl86wtsY6KP3eX6NinO-PzKWwkXBvRV0nXkVFpkJHuEBWluJoRoFlyJJOBIlLOUA%5Fk0eg/s3737/PXL%5F20260512%5F162930419.MP%281%29.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Woman in white in stairwell

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6732ef5d-bd37-4337-b9cc-1276cfc207f3_234x311-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYOJD0TfrYau2ypbHdd-8URya1HwBRA8PXupIkxdwiLsx7z2VMSh2U%5FEJiZib02Lzy0RNx5c8SvWdythtpg2KUycQtt1%5FVpoQtQm4eXL3Dd1YzQPRfuxF3vjrTqGlpUXMbTsSjm9Iu4l0yawPNrly1JOM%5F94nEVOKjK6OE5J-g0ya7KEy7HuTtYOtbDc/s4080/PXL%5F20260512%5F161111743.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/03199575-429d-44f3-8d50-42a482b9b1e5_470x364-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7HcSknm1QUKuQxrqLUFI6L0jMJCxvgBcoRvmjdfuZoo-Z0o9tyTUCbZckFRpmG0cET0SDFAT2cd-LZRNvMKTrvOQYIFgCxWh-tSr-selru7DJTwPzMR11J9qZNPK-dTZqvERP9%5FbPqGmM9Di2cZaBz0LvPrbhBnazaPBVh042ibG3GBcrh6AgPQsnKA/s3967/Atlas.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Majorelle painting in Atlas Mountains
### Blog No 26. The Desert Snake-the World's Longest Train
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-25html/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:06:00.000Z
Blog No 26\. The Desert Snake--the World's Longest Train

Michele and I returned from a 22-day journey to northwest Africa with a stopover in Paris. The highlight was a week voyage on the Swan Hellenic Diana*,* a 5-star polar ship (a class of its own) that was now traveling north from Antarctica. Our ship departed Dakar, Senegal, scheduled for five stops in Mauritania, the Canary Islands, Morocco, and ending in Casablanca. Arrangements had been made with Mauritania authorities well in advance, but when our ship made its first stop in Nouakchott the port officials denied entry, despite hours of negotiation by our captain and crew. We expected better luck the next day at the port city of Nouadhibou, but after another long afternoon of negotiations, we were only allowed to step off the ship to walk about briefly on the gangplank. At one of our scheduled stops we hoped to see a camel auction in the desert. We took comfort in our warm interaction with the Mauritania crew who had been waiting to take us on our scheduled land tour, and they were disappointed as well. An eagle-eye passenger identified Mauritania's famous freight train leaving the port that I had not expected to see. I excitedly took photos of the train in distance beyond the ship grave yard with a telephoto lens.

The Mauritania Railway operates a single track freight train from Nouadhibou to the iron-ore mines of Zouérate, some 700 km northwest into the Sahara Desert. The train is said to be among the world's five longest trains, consisting of 200 to 270 freight cars with 3 to 4 diesel engines, and takes 15 to 20 hours to complete a trip. Adventure travelers can schedule a journey on the train, although there are numerous Utube videos of train hoppers who know where the train stops briefly and manage to clammer aboard the freight car, loaded with food, water, warm clothes and sleeping gear. The temperature varies from freezing to extreme heat. The practice is illegal, the best I can determine. Seeing the iron-ore train, the grave yard of abandoned ships, and the brief encounter with the Mauritania people, was at least a bright spot in my day.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/898710a8-4068-42fa-8272-26bf9ced953e_579x201-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEHRNBIRUPji7vk8lIXZfRAQOEgbuAAMECsoR93Z3RMv-cdG%5FSfI3sAbGeTwzPaF33fjdDMSot9F81n9j2r3u8IxE1qclQpcw-lS6qD2LXKDu9SIwUwoiAu02VKB87KOXJQPf3ct9o-Uh1jqh8rpiMB5C-fZLfrnOlbTvDEGPbjddtVae0WDkJOqzhRA4/s3435/Desert%20snake%202.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Graveyard of ships. End of train can be seen on left as it leaves for the desert.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/312101c2-f381-4707-92f9-d9e13e674846_596x161-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHQny112rq05GWMWby9aCRTza4h7%5FlQxttWoymfLl0Ah-C9hlzN9RaFZLlT2zBmewAX1pfemsam6gLKF4eGfVz7nFhaURUhU-uhLOsNNOXoq63uftILhP8pjbmNO5wf7OGNjLSKtI8DO1Wvh6KubLnZT1Zh4ZoPU%5Fv%5Ff4Q0%5Fz4XqmN5gdtUjvm%5FpPr1M/s3648/Desert%20snake%201.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Abandoned ships in harbor: train cars in background

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/fec0ab6f-e39b-4bd3-a2f6-035e24fbebe4_273x375-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj%5FayoKdi58k3tcz9vFxCYlTU-mfbg7zoawXJXdFnjuPyJ%5Fcnr%5FowyyWxW6SHQ1ijZEgCy74sPtrU2ortWESJDIsUE2nF7sF8yvlTtcbMPnGlL4U6HlagTxsSXDuEfLZNuXz7Eb8sOozxu2o0S-N2OCJUiRtdC0nE1VnY%5FHF3ahWsu5ooMjbXA0ANorV8A/s3351/PXL%5F20260503%5F154252942.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Michele, Ron and I pose with dock workers

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/72a74973-20c9-45cc-8cef-28356d733284_478x317-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavkvqRIu1tWNRlxS5A6vMJF3spR0uvvXzOf%5FdakagiFw7fs-QTsqugyzdk5mgRix2-sLNUizu1jlkjpcIvuHjYOhnmwBYg-rxSsbo7iX6TVPsuMamTThL3pbrZfLrTRabUX6O02nthvRRNmuN4AdphWrbBXZcDo2MWd1dbQ8Zw7ZuMl1yQPPG-qB%5FAyg/s4080/PXL%5F20260503%5F154357703.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Members of our ship with the dock crew: Diana in background

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/3dc31d31-4b23-430b-ab03-489f9caeae09_456x224-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfCqmeE1GNW-HOtYlqfO0UtbwIjta6jOHoen3OCS-xpRpfLjiShHCJMtdjrrSYCc4CaWk2FO2vBl9M5-CiPSAg3Ln5C00AM5upVdEg1ZUh5qj4mW8bk4PYwrJQSBIXODjkb%5FD-ZMaxDHSGf2IwRiEOff8rlawX9tL35No4vVRFFexTj2X%5FD3jw0VCjxk/s3149/Train%20Getty%20image.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Train du Desert

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/c97d7cca-ff01-4fac-8a16-331acc412ecc_320x298-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPd0k-u6b74nUxQLFrYNtncZndXLOyVTGSwmtxECHKo8YrNNut2WFlLKA8Q%5FOilF-GZI4FjmAupvNpd7GfiXxJBo7HUcxBHjj5XbDbPvYwHd1GwWr9IYJcJmAi1kU84clCq2FTqBXuVS-k785QFJVVk8gYZbvJVAs4YXGn3SjKMyTZG9n40iC7lryMrk/s3072/PXL%5F20260521%5F205516178.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)
### Blog No 25 Essentials of Back Surgery
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-25-essentials-of-back-surgeryhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:26.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/a444e6bf-03ad-4605-b34f-9d10ac7d83fe_151x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOAtOhpswODdzYGaU5vF9OAyNS6hGwBzLeKH%5FIS7yUcdjjjCw7405xuC9Ugy22kxXrHHYKAN-by%5Ftql-0645bEnwny-6CNvlykHE-pCqsYRJG6O5PFcK5E6zqahMQBxTPGRxNjmC5yrHZMr2ra30jwnOU9a7udcAl3jHj2MX%5FOclVsvgIj7mI2B0hm%5Fs/s1048/Synovial%20cyst.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Large synovial cyst at L4-L5

  
Soon after I began practicing neurosurgery, I wrote, “Why Back Surgery Has a Bad Name,” that was published in my local medical society’s periodical. Essentially, nothing has changed. The main reason for “failed back surgery” is because the patient was not a suitable candidate for surgery to begin with. Radiologists, under pressure not to “miss anything” (because of liability concerns) include every minor abnormality, whether clinically significant or not. Some spine surgeons use the radiology report as their guide to performing surgery! Radiologists are experts at reading MRI scans, but they lack the experience to know when surgery is indicated, or what kind. Unless your surgeon is basing their indication for surgery on their personal review of an imaging study, you should make a quick exit. Two additional reasons for not having a successful back surgery; the pathology was not adequately treated, or the surgeon caused an injury to an adjacent structure. 

Lay people generally know physical therapy is done before undergoing surgery. This is a good rule, but there are exceptions. High-grade lumbar spinal stenosis can rarely be treated effectively with physical therapy alone, and it may make you worse. An exceptionally large, herniated disc compressing a nerve root causing severe sciatica is a candidate for immediate surgery. Don't be surprised if the parting advice from your surgeon may be: “when you can’t stand the pain come back to see me.” This supposedly sage advice given by professors to their students is often welcomed by patients as they are impressed their surgeon is not overly eager to operate to pay his mortgage. However, this is often just bad advice. I saw patients who had suffered with severe sciatica for months on end and when I performed a microdiscectomy their pain was relieved immediately and they wondered why they had waited so long. Moreover, when a nerve is compressed for long periods of time, the recovery may be incomplete, even after surgery. The L5 nerve root (usually compressed from a disc rupture between L4 and L5) is especially finicky and may suddenly result in causing a complete foot drop and not recover even with surgery.

There are important differences regarding indications for surgery in the lumbar spine vs the cervical spine. Narrowing of the cervical spinal canal with compression of the spinal cord, makes you at risk to suffer spinal cord injury (with a varying degree of paralysis) in case of a fall or motor vehicle accident. (I once saw a patient with compression of his cervical spinal cord with a history of seizures, and I warned him he might suffer paralysis with a seizure. He actually turned up in our hospital after a seizure with partial paralysis.) This is not true with your lumbar spine as your spinal cord ends before it reaches your back. The nerve rootlets (cauda equina) in your back can tolerate compression much better than your spinal cord. Patients frequently told me their surgeon had warned them of possible paralysis, if they didn't have surgery. As a rule, you are not at risk of suffering paralysis from a lumbar disc herniation, but an exception is a massive disc extrusion.

Second opinions are overrated. When you get conflicting opinions, who do go with? Start with a board-certified spine surgeon (preferably neurosurgeon) and try to find out their reputation in the community. I’m skeptical of Google recommendations when it comes to having surgery. Unfortunately, the advice from your internist may not be much better as their referral is often based on friendship rather than direct knowledge of the surgeon’s abilities. Needless to say, the surgeon’s technical ability is of paramount importance when your spine or brain is involved. (This may change as surgery becomes more machine driven.) Never let a poor bedside manner deter you when selecting a surgeon. Often the best advice comes from the operating team where the surgeon performs surgery—from the circulating nurse or the scrub technician. The problem is this information is often not available to a layperson.

In spite of it's bad reputation, spine surgery can change the quality of your life. Don't let people who are clueless of its benefits control you decisions.

(I will be taking a 3-week hiatus from my blog writing.)

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/04f7e6af-dcb5-4b6f-9804-6ad6ae9b9212_269x288-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjU67zxQQ9%5FSZ6fRkt2R5WHBtjU5%5F6xgkuP1T9fuv1Oh8mu3tS91NRc1RurCJ-muk0ZTkn%5FZlA4BaoC2vK1cz8-C0zB%5Faa2fEn6Lr69ecsZ0ctPYNGh7zOqgOxGQqD8nuyq1-qy54qBtjhEL4NEBbHSNh7nee%5F85%5Fi9o9JXf1emth2Wls0CRDKXd-7Zg/s1723/Spine%203.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Axial view of lumbar spine showing sever stenosis

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/bed9dd8e-a298-47eb-8d6d-2979fc3d0e8e_243x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnI-BnekzmP7gt%5FxIk7d1NIq39npmA0AUw9JYRsPiFt0S9oNL6cbQGKqsaVWb-GJsGWyPX0dwqxzJI1ye-BhX5GCmRhdyEu8mgyVBl8rXfQBjn4xJEgSVU2ZzCglnDj0a8jSigy%5FEL899TpUtyfeRbOPtUjdNGwFEP32P0dXrOMRLh%5FdhUkEz1jqLxhs/s1494/Spinal%20canal-normal.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Axial view showing normal spinal canal

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/48a3875f-bc74-45c7-b384-a7692e7529d8_474x350-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhS8RthnKOOivXhs0RVClgFQDmpXfpaxlNllPPqS-7zNXCQ6%5FeVM-BBaTLaIa1xjPZtPqPPrhjdTP4vgi35UTHjSCZtPg6PASVQG-RXw-Z5jQc7OXQSiKWg4ZSill7g8juzcyywb7axz4QV3C8m4au8nAPlmP0AyQplFXwUqeREK8W5jN8%5FYOQSG8ktKQ/s1694/Microsurgery%20through%20tube.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Setting up to perform microdiscectomy--we operate through the small tube with a microscope

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/c087e6cd-003c-46f6-9d6e-243977daf649_320x293-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycwe0CGeYx1C1ouRHNLnFFpQbWFxHRKQVMCNxmZ7sSKpJhkneTwJKJeDZWEV7j1FPQMVQ1cvx%5FVZzVt-0EpFU-MB-MIN2BGQlVwMSnbYXmq8SeHzmzvk0qNjhCGEv2jBqQAmnJloDNrt1iFP0S8evrLRuDvZ4f7QwDzmA3c1vvhPOnNTIepF0X%5FR3DJc/s398/Micodisc-tattoo.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

This young woman had a tattoo directly overlying where my incision was required for microdiscectomy. Healed incision is along left side of butterfly's body (I had a series of these patients, mostly women)
### Blog No 24 Backpacking in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-24-backpacking-in-wichitahtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:29.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d8102591-8bee-4f1f-bc2e-437cacd35b0d_164x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyuDI1cD604n9O6XNgEx5iOt0cTzw%5FBH1-A3g%5FyiSFeLUrvUGkd3CsDvuGyhEzb8QJNq4N5m6JoKP-xU5vYnWS%5FAy0jInln77WoVtUuJbgL-qZFk6I%5F6P3nytEe16Owsz5Y%5Fid5Zc%5FOITIlz1UtmmqqpEY92F7sKv-xES9gFaGrVXPIfmCqSrzVy%5FQDY/s2432/IMG%5F2520.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

  
In 2018, my brothers Alvin, Garner, and I, with a few close friends, camped in this wildlife refuge southwest of Oklahoma City at the beginning of April. Fortunately, our friend Jack T had just acquired a huge shelter that along with a fire, shielded us from a cold front that barreled in with howling winds and chilling temperature. Many years earlier in 1994, Alvin, Jack, and Mike Scott had set up camp in this wilderness area when a helicopter descended from a smoke-filled sky, landing on a nearby plain, and the pilot told them in no uncertain terms they must leave the premises because of an approaching wild fire. 

On Easter 2026, Alvin, Garner, Jack T, my nephew Sam Martin, and I (Mike Scott camped the last night with us) returned to this unique wildlife refuge. We camped at Doris Campground on the first and last nights, and we backpacked into the Charon Wilderness (requires an entry permit) for the two middle nights. At the campground, a number of Turkey Vultures circled over us disapprovingly, before landing in the top of oak trees for their nightly roost. Three inches of rain fell the day before our arrival, and supplied us with excellent water. The weather could not have been better: nights in the lower 40’s and sunny days.

The Charon Wilderness has been a longstanding, cherished haunt for our crew with its grassy plains, small oak trees, and valleys with clear streams. Surrounding our campsite on all sides were ancient sandstone rocks saddled precariously on top of ridges (1500 to 2000 ft elevation) that had been worn down over the past 300 million years. On the first afternoon in the outback, we set up our tents at a favorite camping spot and as Garner began to clear a spot in the shade he was startled by a large Western Diamond Back rattlesnake that slithered into crevice underneath an oak tree about 20 ft from his tent.

Early one morning when only Alvin and Garner were up, a large bull bison walked through our camp. We were entertained by 3 male Brown-headed Cowbirds sitting in the top of a nearby tree serenading a single female who seemed to show no interest. We set up our camp chairs on a rocky prominence that also served as our kitchen. One afternoon we shared the warmth of our rock with a splendid male Collared Lizard. The only distraction from our peaceful existence were F-16 fighter jets practicing several times each day with their thunderous roar; stationed at the Ft Sill Amy base just behind the mountain to our west.

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/0eb37f6f-b3bb-4c0b-bfbf-a597c9adf9ff_472x368-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOr5DasgpiIJH5IsWCWOtORG9YDmnECvMdn6y-2GfguDMPvbG52a8o0SLvkkcxxHBpHm4tqQbma4nFkT%5FwYQPy0zOARuGDWA%5FArruvBLBkXIrJpd1gDUC4rvOD7Mj86JyMh2Gh45J5W4SWu9cTyjOEptBEVDOg1sy7y%5FD4mhPIdK5iSZmT3vJ%5FdfZOhuk/s2503/IMG%5F2399.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Turkey Vulture circling over Doris Campground  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2d3f5f39-555c-4efb-b5ab-27c84a2dd56b_379x382-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HtihekVSKvFE1aW89bwD1nXFZtxFkApGo%5FaNhlXij9BhUxDNcrqnckGRQW-SMp9bwPw0xodoVfcTBX-GzxX1w5V2H5GZtUKqUMclYWpQoAFWLmM8imNsxqLdbJTnB9YwWYxXwDoCY8xR0zdcvgsHrSKdYMwsrvRLTHqUBWxJVP2L%5FvCAQBB7yaGfNJk/s2432/IMG%5F2504.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Sam high on the mountain obtaining news about the war 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/215267d2-1119-48c5-b362-278446984e0d_301x436-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzHCjmdZyHomCauMS%5FvvQarY6i52%5FoYKb9JK%5F6AsyhffYA8H9fNoVD58S0jWZLYPl6XKkOObiMM6IpBRtVfbYb2x%5FpXgotcnSVDpsNZU7C5NBcRvknz4giU08oZudbb6SwIRkX2j%5F7-yxn2BcR3omYe6gNvy8XDeLtPSc-fbIqQOTkxLUzasHD3px-oQ/s4080/PXL%5F20260410%5F154033241.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Goat weed Leafwing on Black Jack Oak

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/e369fd30-c146-4c94-8957-b352a62ecfa2_440x491-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nSbWWCnKziSs6W-YvPENtjULw-oGv9qYCEFUu%5FcaMPxDzb%5F7diKJlS2sQgr4tHer5O9Vsx5qGLbNqsHDc4HR3DOeah4expFqN03TQP6uIs9xzVrIKX7ncaGqRdYd2G1ybKE15i075lFI8a8s0yYOt9hsLQT890iCXNKnrZhNlo2Dke87tEVBQl5uZy4/s1093/IMG%5F2451.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Male Brown-headed Cowbird serenades female  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/8b4b5452-7feb-49f9-9d6e-b7182977f477_390x518-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlEYn3%5FT1tnVJyWItrsKyU9EyvBhqs3IdCIWWjvYWQsDfjvm%5FGzUfMYAqlgqdrcG4RQA3NEnVRzOjVPrpwhVMc5FDNbxikCebK0oPabpwxbxFrCa9xjwqAYF7%5FlkZSG8dJVflBFOUxqf3XCycKUW3m9rOy1hqadp%5F7n5uCj%5F2q3P-DdGPjIeJ4330AH8/s4080/PXL%5F20260406%5F182755555-EDIT-EDIT.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Purple dot: Garner's tent Red dot: rattlesnake 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/df711b45-784d-4bca-bfac-b328cd250bee_313x415-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwN3StBCvLz7nPiXeDGvPbt09qBlJ1Og4-6v5vkwV8p2tGDB6opYQPGnEbbE4nT45yDhV7-N8SRTNjdpl%5FV2S9pYZP42twzb68Qnuh6k80L5i%5FBGLrDxja8CX%5FFtEZqqdD4yk5I3waGY3H7rDPpkqo7aArKzLu18NVapYHxguPIjMEPiUSQqPhancNq%5F8/s4080/PXL%5F20260406%5F173342745.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6608a012-05fb-4c5c-a507-0f88a586410f_531x400-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCGs-Oy0PlVqw-RDGbjT3emPA9pd7zot-UGHUCyGpJfaOvyN3L14V7fJ8WX5F39EO4LT0i4VX64vGgs62tJKyqbp8qNiumxveGZ4fltG9L30xm6XFOgWDr3FDFT5-G27feD3FLl9r57Cr-wXReqDpNVIff7W1KurllX-vAKMA0DHOF7JGAWUq5bco7ogk/s4080/Eastern%20colored%20lizard.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Male Collared Lizard

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/707ffc39-c024-4156-9913-bf0261126d62_320x282.png)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdt-5Bq7SzCyccJCPP4Uqw6BfImTAf4M4SBOsFapPQnPvxka5zI-QoIlFfpk27ZhV5fQkwg0OzCGCrZwZqfjfdcQJnbWX-jhwvfNh%5FfvyHoDQQ6JBeppwHJLxMAw9raJPD-R3QYO3%5F1lO992fqNbJe1LqshmYWbJE1FYqswQJfK4lFqB3mAFO25CCGiY4/s850/Japanese%20noodle%20soup.png?ref=amosstoll.com)

Japanese noodle soup I made first night out

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/234e1800-6de2-4213-b1ef-18d99150ff27_422x464-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0c5T5lXrzGLG1SMFH%5Fa59XoDdDHRYvY9EBOtlXX6ZnddnNobubojPjr5v8ZcyvEIjxSJD7SybRnr%5F4CXZ-Fx2S1UJKNvjZGT8JW12r-g9GZtn89p6ixVqjqWkDJYBLwzT2WLTDsyJ8hgVLWXxLv0jpl%5F-QmQndfUDRpA9ZDVzoGjkeukJGRUWyZ3XE0/s2432/IMG%5F2409.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

"Crab Eyes" on top distant ridge, proved a valuable marker for orientation

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/3b78a7a1-6355-4769-b1c1-0a58c09e5867_497x330-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPToOQlOmsd2C8Suqgpo3me32hEiLUp3nQYx3huPosCBX-3qTJC8xFyoWrqY39GqdLxO2nLFYsHRdkzU3VWp9DMCPMYzupow7mj4rvZhyphenhyphen4Az%5FethXgi0-70O4k5gULytIes8D6JVAyByCnGWUQZjqkFQZjzHedGonIXkkpuOz37zqcy5vvluSgC1uUgo/s3440/original%5F6f83112a-ed9c-4a15-a39b-73d200e9a8a9%5FPXL%5F20260409%5F145047615.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Herd of American bison in the open non-wilderness area

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/ece6d57e-6464-407f-94cc-0cc5a087673d_516x344-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWf0ViX0dMak4t05uneXGOyOd4-VIlIov3dkTOwXzjjcSRVQM3ylzlkKuooaGJhCnEmRAPDs18i3arNwcI1zsT8Bj9%5FNf%5FbEGE8V1ZUN%5FpjUucPi8ZIIInErVEX2Pfz6OOFl0WnYz-oWjtRoknIcPUK5cBTPhhcwGfBeA1-YVS9o9JIjq0U1edbOSJP0/s3648/IMG%5F2489.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Our campsite from the mountain showing 4 tents. Garner's tent is hidden by the rattlesnake tree
### Blog No 23 Birding on Cape Cod
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-23-birding-on-cape-codhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:32.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/45c787f3-274e-4a5d-afb9-bec911351891_215x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqle66YJ4QYBFNwV9Bdg9xQYoFzO417I30q9c36QDUztHWSjGUkit3Havuu8Q29vT1AihH6uOFEiyU6ksBtGz5t4eGidyJjeRn0H8nXHBWAhL3quZCN8RJNKn433MKVq90%5FzSNmS35FqqVn-gVCJX0Ew1lp3%5FCYFlDC1rOEfnytTa3bKAhJL%5FeCBRaHo/s1855/Capecod12.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

In December 2015, my brother Alvin, our nephew Ruben and I spent a week birding at Cape Cod and the surrounding area. Ruben and his brother Victor, recognized as champion birders, won the Big Year Lower 48 in 2022, shattering the previous record by some by 24 species. Thankfully, our pace was considerably less hectic than theirs. I was thrilled to observe the Northern Gannet's spectacular method of catching fish. They begin a dive from high above the ocean and accelerate up to 70 mph, their body now long and slim, as they penetrate the surface of the ocean with a relatively minor splash. Under water they can swim for a long period of time while they chase down and catch a fish. The gannets were pretty far from the shore, and a telephoto lens was required to document this remarkable feat.

In the summer, Snowy Owls inhabit the high Arctic tundra, preferring coastal tundra with hummocks and rocky outcrops. Their distribution is circumpolar, meaning they nest in Alaska, Canada, and the Euro-Siberian region--all areas that surround the North Pole. It's always as special treat when these majestic owls show up in the northern US in the winter, but similar to the morel mushroom, their appearance is unpredictable. We were most fortunate to see one of these magnificent owls near the Boston Logan Airport, where birders had been reporting their presence. I was pleased with my photo of this lovely owl, even though it was perched on a building instead of on a snowy field or in a tree.

Ruben verified the identification of the Black-backed Gull and Purple Sandpiper.

*I will leave in two days for on a backpacking trip over Easter with my brothers and friends in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge, southwest of Oklahoma City. My next blog is scheduled in two weeks.*

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2da6da5c-106b-413b-bfbf-a245ac334124_389x410-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQo34C%5FZnC6Nh5UZh1%5FBIPMlK6XIn0Vecg%5F74imcAM8-5YAnJeFhvvdFRBIWrihyphenhyphenAh1z%5Fp%5FKUbe6Kx%5FfVivfVJui780sz6Q%5FMqHQexluhCN6vjb4JERZR4SF1%5FpJCMUmMcZlycDvYweVa5ybsXmRzJeT3ct3fMsrdMBHI7oW%5FjcV2rDLaGfhUw3IFzR8/s440/Capecod11A.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Cylinder-shaped gannet before striking water

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/bef88bd3-49b2-4191-8f9d-8a4610f75218_431x420-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEETwIP9avTw4Ze3ana2K5gUNTxuUKbs-TwWmnhn7E%5Fi79JKIPHhaQg80mWg76SN8-Q6y31pF8DgNfBMoWfn2DgGxljTRe21NKmIPXgJFFWtH0TBI7WYEnaKBQ1C30rLNczBzBTnsuC30FeFTsZotrmfWsNnMkwpzVDFQOWds9lUumhUWE-MBYss1TJy4/s839/Capecod2.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Snowy Owl perched on roof of building neat Logan Airport

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/1763a581-7d06-4ce2-b01d-01d4b51bc560_345x508-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7iBsDZP4REzFvQJ0Eeo2%5FAs2gRmrRT1sQ1fQKljGkCLLhioFGNuQKrCwBkfuj1hUzItdq0UR89Kr%5F-0IHnVdX%5FF2yivkLCSNv7kQr8WZGSIYZMhEw4pO927DGugFWFLT2c3Jpv%5FZ1d-ALEvrLAChOXl7KQG91VfaOeAYaC9yx3KRMrE9FrbdTepFtV4/s2432/Capecod10.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Great Black-backed Gull

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/3f539647-7c1e-4a6e-8b19-ad1fa3513956_296x357-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgditGqczWybpwcPas0lQMMmAs5CQYDKpKjejA6TT4Jg3dkpNI5m0nbjR-DgsYQovaffaTN3hNASTE4wWz3-k8BZihHBnTOWQH2G-doKsP834twIYMjcpn68Ms019ZI-dkU84OtPQPYmN3dDMJ5AJvTzJc3jyUeIQ2BD8SyYUNuq9X37s6wfE5BKttvd68/s1658/Capecod5.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Purple Sandpiper  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/0d835489-49aa-4788-ac9d-ac6ab2ab4254_386x227-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ZfvEVQl8upb38HvNkFccUp83I4o1oEVc65l7FyycES3LYxvySbPC4XIDW%5FEiFtrQBjLQGd%5FgVJvNshyphenhyphen-3R6YenN%5F0bnNPqQy2-d3euNNN0W4ojkTMfumzmPA77mZiaAlSRpLmyQxti7LQS3d4GeCNSy1LOV-bk6uMmMV-4YzHN7PQ8mebAZXS1QwXJs/s2212/Capecod6.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Canada Geese  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/419f2fc2-16e9-4acb-a307-9fcec97ff880_379x324-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UIPKUyYzr5S1iLhyphenhyphenk6ANG6eFrPcsexc2-uFOt2dde6Y4zcYObuNWIQae82jJGViRYvRgWhG3pqmXMTIelD-Rs352Y1O3NW6BmG8-%5FaI67rpefxjEYBf1G5tV%5FtY7xhxqb7Y1ZhfnqAvMfkASV7oejsPdekrjDYpbvuneBId9JBoXQGLCfL8c7Bt0OkU/s2461/Capecod1.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Alvin and Ruben

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/75a28ef8-fb21-40a9-98b1-6bb544e7f1b7_392x325-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZc1NyTqf4inqHcZp6Vw8H1WOQZ9k1gFXmI45WiapJjhb4uKKLytVVG%5Flg9YDwzV5kP09jnhXytsQwFRiLl5DL6OZudHfBwiHwQ-ZjF6Wb9xC%5F%5FirtBb2c6M4vwE-mwkDBS2Po3slx1EsrmG3QLl6lPea2-uh%5F4g-lV5XjMx9MYlrmPN9DuRhDSi8ziDA/s2933/Capecod9.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Scene in Provincetown

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/897c8a9b-afba-4aa0-9a5b-192d08d01bc8_289x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF815eGBpNDPIfVIvz60mNDJj19NBR69AkGugPXeG82KLOVoSVlPDj5gUBpyEDqJrXYhdO1-ey2gpy09GLntXt3vrDXldyyOTJ-VbhAgefL5gYsjgVqI3G6OOfQAx%5FNeHHqAFW95bL4VnMWswQLusSHxdYlT1GoxDE4axRGdVVgoMb71so%5FlJh8ctvhaA/s1565/Capecod4.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Male Downy Woodpecker (reliable distinguished from Hairy Woodpecker by a tuft of feathers at base of a small beak)
### Blog No 22 The Iguazu Falls
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-22-iguazu-fallshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:34.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/294b4e4b-2bca-4b51-8462-2937494c1405_216x257-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7kNtBBiR2eBReyWAygGbexw8ZLdk97q7sTxwTCj9IOcQ5tR-s7wmvhlzlKTD8Sf8d0gfO08Bt-84%5FOoVX-%5FxMpU8Dg2O3aRnY3pZ7FXJWwQetv7kdPH1xXLfZdt6SWlTTROgEYN8cxzJBPxeDjnxzEaFa33-V7Tn3aUFLdIBvkBG6v8jw2izYA4I2Zs/s960/MegAlec.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

  
Michele, Megan, Alec and I departed Miami's international airport shortly before midnight in the summer of 2005, bound for Buenos Aires, and arrived at the capital of Argentina in the middle of winter. We did the usual tourist routine, visiting the soccer stadium outside the city, marveled at the splendor of Teatro Colon, and paid our respects at the memorial to Eva Peron. We caught a flight to Montevideo, Uruguay, but on our return to Buenos Aires we were detained for 24 hours because Montevideo’s airport was shrouded in a dense fog. Unfortunately, we missed one day of our planned stay at the splendid hotel near Iguazu Falls. 

On several leisurely visits to the world’s most spectacular waterfall close to our hotel, we stood next to the thundering torrent of water that rushed down the main cataract called the “Devil’s Throat, plunging 269 feet to the bottom of the gorge. We watched Great Dusky Swifts fly through the wall of water to where they roost and nest behind the falls. It gave us an eerie feeling to be this close to Nature’s awesome power.

One day we journeyed to the Brazil side, also inspiring, but an altogether different experience. Here you can walk on a wooden walkway out over the edge of the river and view a wide expense of water with multiple falls in the distance, accented by tropical foliage. The weather was sunny, producing rainbows in the mist. On the boardwalk we were surprised to run into a medical colleague from work. The experience was overwhelming and I consider myself most fortune to have experienced it with my family.

We returned to Miami in a jumbo jet in an overnight flight from Buenos Aires. During the night, some 30,000 feet below me over the Brazilian jungle, I saw intense thunderstorms with constant flashes of lightning. After we arrived in Miami in the early morning hours, I went straight to work. My partner Dr Powell was happy to be relieved of 14 successive days of being on call at our hospital.

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/1fc20445-0e10-4412-b1d3-bc91107b565b_287x250-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ76smgvWmFRuUweX5N3LMV9551k8Cq2V%5FSRjbcZifhhhkhNHYbRoke-6sFv-aGE5yykQSww8Tfxg1CcLH8cdfw1aBzmNi9o9hFypycgvKDjkqMmk-NtRIspf9tma6sxXlqnOt72FCrlgk%5F37id3wNDQV6GI7lZvBgjknfS0uIASD5fUjjcHgHv6Sy-Bs/s1103/Igu1.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/03b51ab2-d221-4a37-9558-30672778c71c_280x218-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpoYnXCpIrMeaGcBMHVsUP%5F3UStIM-2ATul9%5FvV9PMtPoOfvZcpRkHcz9KrawnW87GMOsJI4pP3kcViKkj7qzhKs8FVRKxcPnRT4O9sJkcG2oDrG43PU-a3QOt5gdTvIwhFphnKTlvUiF0CH4LlbweWYYBQKhXA7df1TRxS9qfogVCx1Y44dl9PTDkLk/s1231/Igu6.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/545f2d2e-a5aa-4449-b968-b75e07219094_398x356-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiT64bA%5FJDvCG1LDI37gsbc2L9QIQaTieHR7hLbuRbUvGsmI%5FnAtIrVV4U4wY7ZCastKR1yXErZxG3f6K4LTb24DgDaMSxqKp53Z6eLZo%5FGdX08LRQSAhd5em-iuM6GNltGTFbpnXOyopAkzEqAiNAEOsYVZNPEW-Imq-RuBS0QZXf6QZUo1emsftx0dQ/s1041/Igu9.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

From Brazil

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/a5f0a7c3-3281-46f2-add5-331d2a99f395_320x251-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8vNnnqsCLA-JnwMpYL-leNqD489tEGqQiNnUoW9HY24JNKtq7Pcun40h0ZvlQXVVZe42BJUt0d6ZHCanl%5FwSuyPTjeFzT-l1RCX2ayenW6GasSF%5FNc3qQsvd2B9I8rC0mamo%5F74Pbd5HCf372sjPhC-mA0apyx-11ogeZUxnMH%5FF99iCEfhmbhSWZPo/s1151/Igu8.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Michele, Alec and Megan

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/72296ae6-ed3a-46e1-9956-02dc33fb79e8_520x407-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3wllkaD-fII4TW6DefTN3vjRweYPk7iJGDOCElrhHGfAD2Umv2tRnDJ4yb5GPxZgQR4eegVVPrnW7SfqL0GqbkDokgKneGc8mvQJdkAA8sUpPVlLi-bdlm-dYQ4u84R%5F5Rmz9D4wVZcOh9JX46Lp%5FogKHmBVeLlcxVdwjucOASbu6IuQreh5s7QXFGk/s1226/Igu5.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

The Devil's Throat  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/adadee03-128b-4ad7-84e9-14c5244d720a_403x331-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRKulIoLBC5eQEs1puledc9V5WBeOwt0oEHJLMU%5FfPCNi-6U4oVxFsqDrJnQW8oPKjI7YjMQ8xhxDDkikt1Lt6rFNlN0E1uTFUkUP1Ga2csHhCS-sXr31Yb%5FD%5Fs9avHTD5aFJ-%5FMX01VSf4BjWkYeZTYrKhIOvKBEIQjDXrEGM0c9UK81ZD2QgL-eGxw/s1170/Igu11.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/0651dc82-1de5-42d6-b784-8032b9a315be_421x367-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9H2OO%5FAZrAinmfUTM95GvLdG743Goxs78s0ksAS%5FrMQrpo85GSZkrD9DS7c42vUnC-mA5JRwRaLb4huMzvbV6wikKsMObyZYG31Ld9Pp5-Zt0Ffw1-Hzzvzupba8hjwpcPYWiaty-wwhaBGQfgwnlDD5y6g6XtaUWtMvoyAruiRx8KqjBci7jHXB06U/s1103/Igu1.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)
### Blog No 21 The Screech Owls vs Honey Bees
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-21-screech-owls-vs-honey-beeshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:36.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/f4725c96-0507-4c88-8454-3a3853012a42_147x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeh3qTIDDXDCD2nwBQuZvnhUT9sBXqSSGvSXp0Jp7fviaxB%5Ffq6aj72WGrnFZ4NGZ%5FbIMiqhv0-efqKARHQGDS4R79dV3aDPhLqpnIdMChd1ZWiOO3E4R6aOAds0Al5pByIJAXs-ZYlaNlNQLyDaaf2iW%5FzbZrGkWdWNpaoVTVgWIKbGfGX%5FEmia-7yiY/s4756/Youngscreech3.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

About 10 years ago I attached a birdhouse made for screech owls to the trunk of our large gumbo limbo tree in our front yard as I knew we had Eastern Screech owls living in our area. These owls as well as hawks and crows now live in cities as few people shoot them any longer as they did in the old days when I was growing up. The screech owl is one of our smaller owls and comes in two color morphs, grey and red. I've mostly seen the grey version in south Florida. The owl gets it's name from a shrill horse-like whinny. During breeding season the pair communicates in what is referred to as a trill and when I first heard it I mistook it for a toad calling. 

Soon after I erected my owl house, I heard these small owls calling to each other early one spring and I was hopeful they would nest. I never saw them enter or leave the birdhouse, so it came as a complete surprise when one spring day I spotted two young owlets in one of our fruit tree in our front yard. The owls had nested without my knowledge! My good fortune was short-lived as a colony of squatter honey bees appropriated the owl's house. I hired a beekeeper to remove the bee colony, and he warned me there was a good chance a colony would return. True to his warning, a bee colony commandeered the owl’s residence before long.

I took down the original owl house, and each season I erected more houses for the screech owls. I attached one house to a 70-ft Royal Palm tree near our garage, and a pair of owls nested in it. I erected a box on the mango tree that borders our property, another in our sapodilla tree, and one in Royal Poinciana tree on our swale. Finally, I erected a house in our large lychee tree and one in our gumbo limbo tree in our backyard. Sooner or later, all the houses I erected for screech owls were colonized by honey bees. When the bees ran out of boxes, they constructed a free standing hive high on a branch of a mango tree! Another colony fashioned a hive on a branch of our gumbo limbo tree. I had never heard of this behavior in honey bees. It's not likely ideal as these colonies lasted only for a few years.

This year the house in the mango tree was no longer occupied by bees so I cleaned it out, hoping the screech owls will use it. On a hopeful note, a screech owl is now roosting each day on the exact same branch of our lychee tree. The dense foliage makes the owl virtually invisible, but I have not heard them calling so far but I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

*Postscript: After I had completed writing this blog, I drove up to my house after dark last night and I saw a screech owl scoop up a morsel from the street. In my driveway I heard the trill of its mate and I took a picture with a headlamp and my cell phone shown below.* 

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/cff61dac-3925-497c-995d-4646c104931c_270x482-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRLdo-Ne4DiIsb7GwwN3h8EfnZjGwb4FoeKP5ToQKVxDWMVI1D%5F1EDcVH4MtNoGKl82Q4Vkit7Uwb5xgu4Euv9xoJ7b5IEpdS53oaziWeQB5qvd%5FP-uatZ5PwYlhdIJl-5AWxbQOuBo-SVRFlcvnNnp3gBp8At7DwVOQVzo2IpSaky4kTyaUfnREt4rE/s4467/Youngscreeh2.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Young screech owl in breadfruit tree

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6426e5f3-592b-45be-b29b-c1f8107844a7_325x426-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmj7jVMcQoSvyszpDUW1nOqh4%5FHJbLJ5L2x6PVGGBu1nL2IMk4arPXAkUwcYJyavQQ7HKTw8cOWq5WnyQBkPH2O3KGgAvTLZtJQCzgdlwUTN6aqKYpXZIRNw1bCMa2aB05L%5F6yttaZ2ATBOPr7GeIFLcG0Nj3eI-hmFRCIC0NUctJii1h4rPntGV9BF8/s3620/Royal%20Poinciana.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Colony outgrew house (Royal Poinciana) 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/3c76416e-f0b3-4530-834f-66ef0fd7617b_251x380-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPqjmmLNgCPCRKtpTo2P%5FKI2MS0xVBJ5ZnPtAa9sJheeiBLIcnJuoH-zid5-kojoX97YULU-ts9vIyyJq16bSjvODPDxz56Iz6yYqenefXHZbNYEVFFASTMXJoDcW%5F1epgFG2qsPSQkEsIF5Wo1A09aHzF%5FPgZL5XA2vXX1PyAA8knpX9FBwDujOY4To/s2241/20211115%5F062817.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Adult screech owl (Royal Palm tree)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/18a0b099-ac46-4add-94f3-eedcc2622a94_236x355-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGSQcc7ibG23LcsUe4Hkf7etbtJTzBWtnvfEU5GFtlYy-%5FUiXDIgfkrpbfPrRE9lmiZyp98QlKsYzEpT0epMmRdqH2Zp9UI92vR-mMeYI2fAZ7EuZBJa3xKfgQwmbUPMkUCbdR4om4oJnOMFUjXoOs4%5F6%5FjT6FR7d0WQleFidUnGpiNZlgu%5FaGsIBx9g/s3548/20220912%5F165935.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Colony attached to gumbo limbo branch  
(foliage is from sapodilla tree)  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/49a962fb-a21b-4ae9-a6da-ec81b4d9ddbd_338x461-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4GIhQPhngT98UIRe0Vk4ccRmea-MvcTk1P-6JlBj1ZGp5Qo7vS6vAMx6BWeepT02igrO097vz7zzrTyi1PmClC5RSvKOV-Wmg0bOp6MOyXbs7uKT8S1pwQ0DhR7Sl7M2e6ervgrTfgl19cLi9pDsX8ICDRIgD-gJcjE3RNWxFjgBpECLWuFc0w6GYi8/s2648/20221224%5F120959.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Free-standing colony high mango tree

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/d598a8a6-12b7-497c-8280-1b3418b54bb8_261x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryP%5FG09pzIbHAGw29LHbPCcuOaOhMqbdbFc3vCaQaWco5sUraOn8-v147tHaRZpU-whzGXgm6HhbZt03fP0mLN7b7qQsrz3hmtbSctE54dDy9aea58ThH9r8TcadHfwxdT7ztfj8x8QFxvJqZQBke68jFZRQEn54l2CisulE6yB2rHhyphenhyphenTypC0BSm4tEk/s2435/ScreechowlMangohouse.jpg?ref=amosstoll.com)

Owl peering out of mango tree box (3.19.26)
### Blog No 20 Bald Eagle as our National Bird
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-20-bald-eagle-as-our-nationalhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:38.000Z
Immediately after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, a committee was appointed to design a seal for the new nation of the United States. After six years of work by the committee, the Great Seal of the United States was adopted by the Continental Congress on June 20, 1882, and featured our bald eagle as its centerpiece. Ben Franklin in a letter to his daughter in 1884 described the bald eagles as “a bird of bad moral behavior,” presumably because bald eagles routinely wait for an osprey to catch a fish which they can steal due to their superior strength and size. Although Ben Franklin thought our wild turkey would have been a better candidate, there is no evidence that Franklin formally protested the Congress’s choice, as is widely thought.

The golden eagle is wilder and more ferocious (and I would argue grander) than the bald eagle but its distribution is not limited to North America but is found widely throughout much of the northern hemisphere. The bald eagle’s distribution is limited to North America from Alaska to the northern Mexico and from that perspective is well suited as our national bird.

Although the bald eagle graced our Great Seal for 140 years, it did not officially become our national bird until legislation was sign by President Joe Biden on December 24, 2024\. Let us hope the bald eagle will continue to be our official national bird.

The population of the bald eagle reached its lowest in 1963 when there were only 417 known nesting pair in the lower 48 states. Its precipitous decline was attributed to the wide spread use of the pesticide DDT (caused thinning of the eggshell) as well as illegal shooting and loss of habitat. Shown below are photos of a pair of bald eagles that nested in midst of a sprawling urban region of south Florida.

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/85b97990-031c-48dd-95b1-98672573475b_417x590-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicabXGJHdvPW%5Fo5mJXYRMf1ofDSevI30bfksPAaU8ROeyOp-HEZ4dvF2nnQQQ9KC8JQHOMBMEYHk6zt5DdDdDoVhE2qG8JXGaERPHiCR5pDxADN6nVzlnbLltk9RxK%5FRIPW90ivJpQH2EM5mS3-s8CaaICZo2DEd1Stx8VuRRzMBMnmxqbGEUKz6RZWTE/s1430/Current%20River%20Eagle3.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

 *On the Current River in Missouri* 

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/1d5d81f8-cc71-4534-936e-b5b61ba8cc27_324x419-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-On8gK2vdC82sIm8yQwqILMa%5F4FfWWBzVFBPWF3R-Hn5h66%5FVredRDC6Ko-Jtlv0L3HljuNSs1yXYbrEdf9xHgNah92KpQCXiODTg-8%5Fu7NCw0bouwypPNVc%5FsO3NZ4lIL8RHrFV2Zq-5o%5FI7miTg1pnXiQtZa6zJHeKqs-SbJJIS9fCqGdxRJC4YAQ/s1000/P1020692.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Near Quiet Waters Park

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/051773d9-0823-4842-beda-db82fb9b1364_522x339-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMofYLc78HnnMH87KvyHcGAGFDrJ0M%5FA1UxlCxmTcqqKqPYZ%5FIJTeMnciRIiWxTt42WVb7x3uDPcfJUzm-9IZ65Vz6W1klezc-dB5G44BbYDq-cdE7AoK0bLWswiytlm1s25pmqImWmZkkWCg4t7st80Z45DJmETrTVTFsKazURQoPdfgvGUmEnA58GSo/s1764/P1020693.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Bald eagle nest

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/c6e8227d-f1ef-46ea-ac34-0e8ad5006aaf_282x388-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkjWW8S4ylz-007CyCWe2yWfHELsC5RM1ZRjnw1pkmPkNYTdxIlXz4KLuF-1cmN2r51F-kJCzEIJ8deE0Q%5FwyON-IdLGDDsRoP%5Fs1JX6MMvyqLGxx6BjC7MHUEZ%5F-f13UOJC23MX0yS4tOmAwVgXMVGxPfXk%5FM8sGwN-PX2fdhlBKB9sdIg3d4Cu817o/s4074/Osprey%20nest.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Osprey nest  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/dcad6ba4-6669-4e31-a68d-586e95fe62b9_193x406-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj5ZArrLezuxYDjsj5NqO8t8nKjILC1D5U6Fxj0AErUuQO7LV1Bywn8Bm5uKQydSYD3qOXqQmvull4%5FmTdleO-1emw6rm%5F7fgUxWoGe4S190eIz5ftTYj-7TD9uFqQ8lhtSbW4FzPLAo%5FZUm9lxciq2gweVwIKngksLq0gehVdKH1MvgcUPMtsbkQFiM/s1249/Baldeaglenest1.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Bald eagle nest

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/2a0d5172-bd1b-43b6-9a97-d64b4f2c0512_486x530-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbP%5FFs2PjPLY8xJxNSNx0aYZ-QO%5FKnrkv6-Dejt1pS0qwGnMWAQV3h3xT2gJvhuutuuW6JsT9XM0qmJHWiXkkIr44edhECGhL5XsIMY00FpabEXUNnSYZGetfu9Y-YxN6qEV5%5FG1m7o6MhosHqlOohBPuBDTXwGgJWvk7zCLjtSjB1rscu5Als9cSqDqA/s3593/Osprey%20with%20fish.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Osprey, Ten Thousand Islands
### Blog No 19 The Ancient Greek Monasteries of Meteora
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-19-ancient-greek-monasteries-ofhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:39.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/244adba1-d6ae-4dd0-9360-71eaf239d033_181x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAd6sP%5F7LkQr%5FcFyf9VaA5NVrEGUUc483C3UpKkaGDaYT6DbwYAPLXrhpwz1gy-UUv-FlANxWS-8DSCeeuf%5FIsixcHdi5jAKAvNRJSxYysylBW7MWpQZNMpLBBoCahi%5FcYJjKsUmKP8OTTxafZMVWPfTTZzhELf0eXGzi6eg91TdMPHoWZFIegKTSDVw/s1283/Monastery9.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Michele and I visited Greece in 2009 and enjoyed seeing important historical sites as well as staying several nights on the exquisite island of Santorini. But nothing satisfied me more than a short side trip we took by bus, traveling from Athens to Thessaly into north central Greece to visit Meteora and see the ancient Greek Orthodox monasteries laboriously constructed on top of sandstone pinnacles in the 14th century. They are now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Center. 

The region has been historically known for its caves (which we did not see) that were inhabited by ancient humans from the Middle Paleolithic through the Neolithic periods, some 130,000 years ago. During the 11th century hermits and ascetics began to settle in this this rugged, remote area, and eventually a total of 24 monasteries were built on monolithic sandstone pinnacles rising from the forest floor. The combination of Byzantine architecture built on inaccessible rocky pinnacles (Meteora means “suspended in air”) makes it a magic fairyland. The monks used rope ladders to ascend to the monastery which they could pull up behind them, making the citadel inaccessible. 

During our day-long tour of the six monasteries that were still in use, we drove along a winding road through this enchanted land. The Holy Trinity Monastery sits on top of a 400-meter-high rocky prominence and gets attention as it was filmed in the James Bond movie *For Your Eyes Only* (1981).

From our hotel set in the countryside, we had a picturesque view of a massive rock dome formation, rising out the valley. When we looked through our binoculars, we could make out tiny specks crawling up the slope that turned out to be rock climbers.

*All photos by author*

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/827b71ac-90af-4b9b-9ef4-3c69af963121_417x438-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi%5F%5FJQbFBXDPg5wbSgh9Ll19RrL7%5Fs%5FSImuwe%5FuYVYAIjmXAkCjIaEUBotddQbI4l%5Fd71-SBGDXMQs3sO-IZZ74gZ5I5Shy4Svn5J1rCpTYKBduf4tEn8OPI6LJ7tiFz19AwRdVrLvSS80q%5F7xq4A46%5F6G%5Fj8as8Y4fkoMReSCfy0KGXjKjipCkRa70vCc/s1536/Monastery6.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/70b6a5e4-0ba9-4637-92d0-14157ccd4086_295x393-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsghKGLPsn%5F20hhWQUwRBHqU%5FaHGGAGXErfiNhlmomVKn5Vnjeo5zz767eBw6lrqx6FpL3iAXR0Ujm%5Fs2oz0L7OQJKtV8S3PwcFGzGN8ra6rQ-LPwSsYykf6MeBoNKU0%5FKASUikc%5F7T3%5FgqcePoBwSqAqE-d0pRe2mTOl6gx4VVCzvnF5JtVcw2GN25Y/s2048/Monastry3.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/c70b3f43-f73a-4318-a757-aeb8998280ea_356x255-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqcrpCIag-pkAvUs%5FxWRr5haX-nGJPJlgsdK9zUeDaXHt9ygWjJwIA11DjvVwfkbaH5W9tOp0cJMXZKM0L5WwCmi9MAO-UG07MWQbzD5BQAEfS0W7fpC7XS0XMFyWnlmZHdmNHqTGJlUf2-6tBd7HvmDA5eeCDLdi-WQTg6iYs9OEgaGrMFNA-o%5F18Uk/s1942/Monastery%204.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/51349dfe-a927-46d7-bce7-23168b082fcd_420x315-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7drtDg8HlES7Fp%5F-GttrTncdU2gOrDBxbX-3oD6NiI%5FxFgtgHZFzKgetuonzbVqtiynypnaxujVzqvGm9wfzb8aL4zsVXSkOQWwsF8ziIKCnHSPyu3FWtJNpIjMm3VvFSSdW8hMyG9FAHc1zQkR6negbyX9ToxP6106JP2moBSuZ8lcnDo4awtV-ruQ/s2048/Monastery2.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Monastery built in a massive sandstone cliff

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/4aaad0a2-91b4-49b9-8b1a-16a3b799c9aa_474x379-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEXCuUa4i5kFUFB6Euaeb0XMo17VZZ9z4vWLK%5FtiNQPZVLdT9%5Fw9zvUyB4NkssN8d1xwilo4D54MQPQCJfakEz2WksU6Q9y1mpzHZjvOtv4L0RWrRbd9GQhzHbXCOwmDsY67QqhT2PBlZNgEq%5F6s1tQq1UZP6eHobdqKVIe0VimRJK5n5pHyGDZ-onNs/s1920/Monastery7.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/1b84ffba-b657-4dbe-81da-cc71339dd3da_457x343-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFnj22sUCK4yGJHfa9jIYXiRALJikwWYNOIpgQgdQxmKmzndosF3GbJp62ckQxJcORdMBgky8pAN%5FPEiw0bTqOENSXDv6zvgvlYZIo7JLH4pfcaj79g0AQDha-gZSR809mwT3YmM%5FlDfbEhQFuwy47XyLbPPMCluGMEQR42WbHhDc%5FBk2iqLdZdxM8OE/s2048/Rock%20climbers.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Rock climbers are shown with my telephoto lens
### Blog No 18 Boiling Lake of Dominica
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-18-boiling-lake-of-dominicahtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:41.000Z
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/6def7734-8aa0-465a-a226-917dceec2ab7_151x320-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhogwM0e89hmzdZcD8%5FtePVebwpSh1Kgy%5Fjx1U3NOK1CahGVh5lScpIE4YfIxVNLa4%5FN9va6mY6Qsd0F0sOpwO1TR7pMw1oGSRS7EQ5rHWkdK7HlPQqDzlm478eJIuaRMkb2OrkFliRJo0JCUhCNDdGirzr5m7D6E2yNVESBGyBFRpCwOxNFNTg5PdwWkg/s2560/Waterfall.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

  
In October 2013, Michele and I traveled to the tropical island of Dominica and stayed at Rosalie Bay Resort on the east side of the island. It was wonderful way to rejuvenate from work as well as to escape the spectacle of the major news outlets having a fit because the Obamacare website wasn’t working. They continued to focus on this topic for weeks after we returned. How quaint! 

We took delight in being lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean each night. During the day we journeyed to various attractions of the island in our rental car—hiking in pristine jungle and searching out numerous scenic waterfalls. The island had about 70 thousand inhabitants, small enough that almost everyone knows each other. After a few days on the island, we learned it was considered rude not to pick up a hitchhiker. 

I enlisted a young guide to take me on the 6-hour, arduous trek (round trip) to Boiling Lake in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. The trail ascended up a mountainous slope and when we reached the top we enjoyed a scenic view of the ocean behind us. The diversity of the tropical forest, orchids, butterflies and birds surpassed anything I had experienced on any other Caribbean Island. We labored along a rocky trail through the Valley of Desolation, carefully choosing our steps through the canyons with puffs of white vapor emanating from crevices, and a strong smell of sulfur dioxide in the air. I would have been hard pressed to make the descent down to the lake without my guide leading the way and assisting me through the more difficult parts. Boiling Lake is caused by a fumarole that is filled with water and the temperature at the center of the lake can reach 92 ⁰ C (198 ⁰ F). Sometimes the lake is obscured by fog but on this day the boiling cauldron near the center of the lake was visible much of the time. The cauldron in Boiling Lake is not caused by boiling water but by gases bubbling up from deep inside the fumarole. 

A similar hot water lake formed in New Zealand after a volcanic eruption of Echo Crater in 1917\. This lake is vast compared to Boiling Lake but has a lower temperature of 55 ⁰ C and is covered with steam. Both lakes appear to be boiling but the bubbling is actually caused by carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfuric gases coming up to the surface.

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/58e2543f-b81a-438c-9940-688ddab3a0d9_487x365-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2M4FuxDA12uV-B9y7bIxu1ZY%5Fy6kzmkXaTix29pwt0G-zf4rsRGABdz8hz8tGqVcpAQFB0AwCasbsmPPFfJV6u9cF5ounLnmMviGDn1cMAMMEYvhCZZ935Umvt8qrTvXAUwkCQvkGpSg14ipWRvlJYnS-hdjMFzp0E7DeczAsjo5q-2jPi8mCv6dleE/s2560/L1030840.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Boiling Lake

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/efa9cf77-2b5f-43f5-9f41-028940e686f9_345x259-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uGqSeyp1y5xlFzDlGTnDCfZPHNALbcJLjnCsWVz2KeIFButOAUUNd%5FZwSKA5%5FOgCaFI-JMzjWGciXXdPtbdOupiyFJ3X-W-frM1WWWHLhJPeS3YOuMB1jT42zd3cwQLmGS7cyG%5FaljGDUx-3aKcyMsUZuYgfcP3KGBuYtaZprY4WC3GjYlH01Ui3UEw/s2560/L1030852.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Valley of Desolation

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/cc5614fc-9bde-4c4f-a215-ef30a48bac5d_293x220-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V2MaRNoTDSFQn8Pop8gfhNRMvUPwEHOEONjbMw84w8e5Wh40M1oe-yhh3hkZL%5F%5FFuCpJj4g-1QW1nYjnFN2L8vO32iS8GLfaeOP09PRlxA-SbeFLBjabGAN1XkiCkWs1Cx5EZQ3Pkx2sy7kOs9Ohz5RsEljFRdhXTn4rKiNs4KW7jOLB%5FvO9rwnwPug/s2560/L1030777.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Guide making soap from native plant

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/06379223-d0c6-46a2-bb88-5dbee505093b_307x230-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHhJGk0de-ElxzkGeOOlhFW3R1RtBlsRpcdySM67OgBhYg1USXS1CEkdIM75BXTsn18xsmBBkGJfEiui9ogykpuihUwC0PXQSfZvmu2zpBfxeYFPWmXAKiDVEOIEY-YmFjrgXuproTOFe6mGxCZ6i9te5mehOaYy6VV7hbhCeHN%5FBzulKHiQIDKcUs5k/s2560/L1030818.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

Steam escaping ground  
  
  
[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/57499c05-9ab2-49b0-acf4-0f270a749eaf_212x282-jpeg.jpg)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm1ZuqVseYo6spvrGbCXTlSxP6%5F%5FE4h4Wru7KkBrWhEKUxYXEr8fapwEjgr1BDaJSzyeh22MBZRSCZyXI0vvFyUYwWMfkcCxIiMgib1GfMBwGFmhDwqJrhPLtXXcKx2JofoHyi5dU-asmZ4XXL3ULZH84y%5F8kJZXq0IoHzU6-RmrVtfgg2iMGh4erAlo/s2560/L1030817.JPG?ref=amosstoll.com)

My guide
### Blog No 17 Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-17-aurora-borealis-northernhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:41.000Z
The Milky Way on a moonless night devoid of light pollution or a ferocious thunderstorm with lightning and thunder should inspire awe in the most jaded mind, but the two natural phenomena that represent the best that Nature has to offer is a total eclipse of the Sun and a dazzling display of the aurora borealis. I have been fortunate to see the northern lights in Fairbanks, Alaska, in Iceland, on the frozen tundra outside of Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, and most unexpectedly, while on a canoe trip on the Current River in southeastern Missouri. The aurora is typically observed at 60 to 70 degrees latitude north and the display is caused by solar mass ejections that travel to the Earth and excite molecules of oxygen high in our atmosphere, causing green colors at lower altitudes (the most common color) but produce red hues when the sunbeam strikes oxygen molecules at very high altitudes (150 miles.) When the solar mass ejections strike nitrogen molecules at lower altitudes of about 60 miles above the Earth it produces hues of blue and purple. The strength of solar mass ejections correlates with the 11-year sunspot cycle of the Sun, that reached its peak in 2024 and is now in its declining phase. Unusually strong eruptions that can be seen in the lower United States occur during the peak of the sunspot cycle. A requirement to see a solar eclipse or the aurora is at least a partially clear sky.

In 2015, Michele and I accompanied an organized aurora borealis excursion to Fairbanks, Alaska. The first night that we saw a major aurora exhibit we were stationed next to the Alaskan pipeline, when the show began around 11 PM and lasted until about 1 am. The most favorable time to see the northern lights is from around 11 pm to 1 or 2 am. 

On one night our group gathered at a lodge at the summit of a ski slope. We drank hot chocolate and made periodic trips outside to the frigid temperatures and although we had a completely clear sky not even a glimmer of the aurora was visible the entire time. Around 1:30 to 2:00 am the crowd’s attention waned and our tour guide called it a night. Our bus made its way down a winding mountain road with groves of conifer trees blanketed in snow. A cry rang out and our driver luckily was able to pull into a turnout. Amidst the branches of bare trees and conifers a swirling green plume erupted over a distant ridge and kept billowing into the sky, eventually passing overhead. I set my camera on a tripod and excitedly took photos. After 30 to 45 minutes the edges of the aurora were less clearly defined, but the eerie, ghostly green and yellowish colors were still hanging in the sky when we got into our bus and departed in the middle of the night.

In March 2025, Michele and I visited Yellowknife, NWT, where we experiecd subzero temperature much of the time. A unique city with much to offer, my primary goal was to see the northern lights. During March there is an approximately 70% change of clear skies, although on the 5 nights we were there, there were gaps in the cloud cover only briefly and on one night it allowed my to photograph a dancing aurora with a moon eclipse that later became total. 

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97XzlnGrPVXCojqnSn4hGG3nkR6vLNlCcMYLz0crOlc1Zppktp2HDVrBML5MDwgdFks5kWf2PbU01SMNFzeOxNLWdOoqH6H-v8v1q2OV0TNpWYregynTZxWAADNoLvTG5i1QE95vCrWrleLn3zROo4QQWnVHY9246eyHgXjlYoM5cX0jQrfO8kCyFsXo/w505-h349/AuroraPipeline1.JPG)

Aurora forms rapidly at Alaskan pipeline

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMm0ACAuDSREtKrUQL-MsnFeu0116DSrH2e_m6EpquZod01tfruy6cdGu3o-zYE6IQtbcZuxfP-ctZFKtaxK0J7UtTTud5xarx2vVXDTpeIqIEzobpUbAkiaW_TIAaFV8ncHAevxPU9rqOKuvgOz8Tm4hbvnTArfme9gyfJfAWEASgmFyZSiUDRCWfauA/w475-h316/AuroraPipeline2.JPG)

The two aurora displays in Alaska dwarfed all others in comparison  
  
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lJRWRaTCU-5hZKpCBnSLIzCSflXLwdnbaGuQheBL7Zk9swpiTJbj61Kr6A9mODS6w5pZV4jOU6JZ4rSHRF5vGXaHAA0kwfnPfwqjdZqX4n7qQ7kYf7RJLc-tkBQp0fm6QzAvLt7B8hMfVNWS7MMc_CbPhj3EeGpz-rxiOSdXItTvwTo1HtN7wA1_72w/w371-h558/AuroraSki3.JPG)

Arora appears miraculously at roadside stop

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_l5lCRhqjy1GF3f5ktSoUCMyQr9W5B4SLsQ5axFvJ4m6WwFOrEaWWOOPgo5TxEgTTfRphiQw3QxoMzJiddCsnqxp0B7o_vXaR2Ofw6GtJo2MCaOqOYnggXDIIdKX2p5pjqOFFCun2VqNiRwpdEqIe-QyMH17vXmX1JjIor3D42t-Zcw6beqvJhyphenhyphen-gW4/s320/AuroraSki1.JPG)

A second serpentine aurora develops

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89D-pQMNWYoqzJtR1nyEcyOqcPXKb2ZhZyS-n17C5IMkvOROVxrSvBDqmAIqVNl_1S8avAvkf1SSr-dY_VOipbLsq_SoM3Ob2cyPOlLU41Yq0ijg7MumMnPbCYDRT7CqxRpjNhCM3N2j-k0NNQetxEEFbc5Q3DcJXrWBJdWv37N2aFH9KKq72Wdc7nFE/w426-h313/AuroraSkiTakingPhoto.JPG)

One last photo before leaving  
  
  
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKBWCHf6gdWwuyjNt_7YnqsAU4yqpQl6sm99bSqXYDOhTPN7ssL4L3E6wWqBBF-jmzJTV4560NIT3gN6_hCjn5Z857tG4002Eo9c8-nQQlxU8jBg-JXea0Z1KZp_WwPpPO89mhAQH_pijp3NjybLKYcwNs7UlqT-jrImAUwtyGjdRSJvHPaSjBf9ChII/w397-h369/Aurora%20and%20Eclipse.jpg)

Aurora in Yellowknife with moon eclipse
### Blog No 16 Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well)
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-16-pozzo-di-san-patrizio-sthtml/
Last updated: 2026-02-13T15:13:00.000Z
Hill City of Orvieto 

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZDsJyJgUJzvjSq_p-xGMWnhYjx0UWOyqgjBOU4eFbquznxjWfe1YcEFO8sEE1SDEHCOeOhn1Zbuwbd5eyXREJH_bnjJhv6EGCFmyYXq4Zif4rSG7jve7hsyyAcOgd76vWQ3InTLO3blM9a8KJz9PDxwqjVLzm6j_0DLa3o8QCKoT_Xx9twZcFzHHueU/w182-h241/PXL_20251109_111853316.jpg)

Windows along stairway

While visiting Italy and Austria in October and November 2025, Michele and I visited the hill city of Orvieto in the province of Umbria. One of the mandatory sights is to visit St Patrick's Well and it's useful to know a bit of Renaissance history to appreciate why the well was constructed. The Holy Roman Empire was a secular union of a number of Central European states that was closely intertwined with the Roman Catholic Church. As Voltaire famously said the entity was “neither Holy, nor Roman nor an Empire.” Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at the time, had under him a collection of mutinous troops consisting of Germans, Spaniards and Italians, who without a direct order from Charles V, began a brutal attack on Rome, killing thousands of people, and leaving others to die of starvation and the plague, and is known as the Sack of Rome of 1517\. Pope Clement VII was taken as a prisoner to Castel Sant’Angelo, and after 6 months he escaped to Orvieto, disguised as a peddler. Taking refuge in the medieval hill city of Orvieto was a papal tradition, having been done five times. Charles V was staunchly Catholic, and exactly what led to mutinous troops brutal attack on Rome is still a mystery to me, although I learned that the Sack of Rome of 1517 is a prime example of internecine warfare. 

Pope Clement VII commissioned the architect and engineer Antonio Da Sangallo the Younger to dig a well as a source of water should it be needed on top this fortressed hill town of Orvieto where he had sought refuge. Near the edge of the cliffs on one end of the city, a cylindrical cavity was painstakingly carved out of the rock, 43 ft diameter and 175 -200 ft deep. Da Sangallo designed a double helix stairway so that pedestrians and mules could descend into the well down to the bottom and climb up out of the well without ever encountering traffic on the other helix. There were a total of 70 rectangular openings along the course of the stairway that illuminated the well all the way to the bottom with natural light. The well was completed under Pope Paul III, but from what I could gather the well was never needed as a source of water. 

We stood at the edge of the cliffs and enjoyed a splendid view of the valley below us. In the distance passenger trains streamed by on a serious of tracks, some stopping at the station, others whizzing by. We found the ticket booth and entered the well, beginning our descent walking clockwise. The walkway was steeply slanted interspersed with 248 steps before you reach the bottom. The pattern of a slanted walkway with steps was not a pattern easy to accommodate to, and seemed awkward throughout. I took my time and completed the journey down to bottom and back up to the top.

The climb down the well was not overly difficulty or frightening, and seemed pretty benign when I compared it to climbing the medieval tower (Torre del Mangia) at the clam-shaped central square of Siena the year before.

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6N2LZFo4viCokF2XOWZRwFBslccYMkcosp6-k93Lia4AOhVY-_ac_LJNrwyLW4Q91du07A6Saz62jFY65GHC83swvZcvGRibPJ7lqhhwrLx6XvAXMnt-JKpKOCDslXYyVqZJBpCvkGNaroqodJPMtDx5bO4Yx-iEtloF4i8vgA99nHmBSGEdK7tYFIc/w293-h389/PXL_20251109_112245170.jpg)

View from above

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54T1T0tzX23aGvIoML1w9Tl299uZcSVNOq-1_M1qwR8ETvXD8tkEP6Txnu11xHlJaZqrJb4JL0jazQurBDVRjTBzEPnphQhi_4qw2l-B-p2xxr-3ctxXjuIhpMA04oKKzS5Mp8lk5t5N1gF_W3BBL36C0VQNUToVm2a40Zqw_3MzVdi3L9WljWYitg4E/w280-h372/PXL_20251109_111233066.MP.jpg)

Looking up from bottom of well

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDI5AKm3XRu6pOX86vXKIdzhWXTZ6F_F-Wqe2ytVFIQJ2gPx8sl5-4TG3u2USK3S6Uc-rq8XgRj3DHIPcFY40STueq0vCNC_jpfrCMWov697s6NrySvt5ARpxavQ2qYqzew9KBEcAFz9X1x2VewXAlvd7om3duOqmTPaph76ilrg5i4HLf2cNrFRi_q9g/w402-h267/IMG_2163.JPG)

Orvieto

Photos by author
### Blog No 15    Plants From the Age of the Dinosaurs
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-15-plants-from-age-of-dinosaurshtml/
Last updated: 2026-08-29T13:38:18.000Z
The cycads are an ancient group of plants that have survived to modern times. The oldest fossil evidence of cycads dates back to the Permian period, but it wasn't until the Triassic and Jurassic periods (200-65 million years ago) that these plants became the predominant flora on Earth and flourished along side with the dinosaurs. Modern species of cycad plants date back to Middle Miocene Epoch (16 to 11.6 million years ago.) About 300 species of these fascinating plants can now be found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America, south Africa, Australia, China and Southeast Asia. Only one cycad is native to the US; it is called coontie (*Zamia intergrifolia*) by the Seminoles, and is found in south Florida and the West Indies.

Cycads are often confused with palm trees because of similar appearance but are not closely related to them. Cycads are classified as gymnosperms, meaning naked seeds, and are more closely related to conifers and ginkgoes, another ancient group of plants. The sago palm (*Cycas revoluta*) is the only common cycad widely planted in US, and survives in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 9 through 11\. Cycads are dioecious plants meaning each plant is either female or male. The cones from male plants produce pollen, and the cones from a female plant form ovules than turn into seeds when pollinated. 

Cycads grow slowly, reproduce infrequently but may live for a very long time; up to 1000 years. I have cycads plants from three genera, *Zamia,* *Dioon*, and *Encephalartos*. About once or twice a year my cycads will sprout a new groups of leaves at the apex of the trunk, called a flush. One or two of my *Dione* genus plants produced a cone. The plant must have well drained soil, and should not be over-watered. 

My most prized cycad is a bluish species called *Encephalartos lehmannii* that resides in agrey pot by my swimming pool. I cannot resist taking photos of its leaves that have an elegant, graceful curve at the end. When cycads are planted in the ground they may grow to a large size but remain relatively small when kept in a container. *Encephalartos* species are highly prized and are said to be vulnerable to poaching, but I have little concern about the fate of my robust *Encephalartos ferox* plant, as it is armed with sharp, ferocious spines on its dark green leaves that would keep any would-be cycad thief at bay.

An informative overview of cycads can be found at the [University of Wisconsin's website](athttps://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/cycads/)

*All photos by author*

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGLqdnvVGPNk63reQMNMCJGr1j7QPop5MpPN2cjvTYTZB9fc_wO1SZwjf5dCKCvWIJlW8oewtKXTuUkz4hBMzhJf-sMGEFxqQNX9Ihay9KWO8-e6OgSnkS_jKKPfXDkbP9WLvwaWWwlFTUZ7QVsY8ye6Ud9BDA_ki0Dgg5tEqnsJfwEWuokUrrUUJwDc/w561-h316/20180702_175120.jpg)

*Encephalartos lehmannii*

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPfmhzVM6N3CnJ_C7WDFFVnjheYlp1-ajqUKm4FIElNJCPDdEGJLaY4Ex3Hy-oyExua7VpZl5QWQwWhs-8M4dsgk0S0P-j8N8QtC9cVz9puJwwNd-BG5bRrc6t7-eQKe3GymqD5bTeUJynn0SCPaQFQ-mofPE-1Bm-0JC5vfmFhyphenhyphenoskCdViokEamsGvI/w325-h377/20210316_120304.jpg)

*Encephalartos lehmannii*

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9kpIT0Vc8TCDDCGCAbOg_9F-js7xGbiRs05_XoNJa76ZVM2tz8aYbWCbqMH2M-Tv4xOplNQOO3HcB6vCpWikLD7Do28J0hJm_KgQ-D5bKaQ35hYAGlE6w339qskeEKcNiph5qABJ9ChSHqFvnCERW56DqrT7UaELeKkBUEl3G_WyQ9ufI54pxbVHUJ0/w286-h380/20230927_124631.jpg)

*Dioon* species with flush

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHdIiRP7wCqpd0z2QfCSZHM3jEHwpJRoJsBISyi-z_19nfjWUcxjFx0GZfowujD-ZCgqTeg6K45UvzSyLvkgQBbbLwdY3i3UCwyGv2j-gVqSHhiXeOtjJkMWaPXdNV9tESAXFPGXmRpzUtxX_KROx2oPxaN8C1j8FtGjunojfRoVmYxsltJUH9OsuZQA/w221-h459/Enceph%20ferox.jpg)

*Encephalartos ferox* showing vicious thorns

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTrR-PR2EyDBScvVfH2pGdNn30gGyOnbQ5Dw0RhjS2rzxOiEiTi7TbiK4MXlQ2zLTbKmUxw40SG4IQqJDEQgawI4E_74HAFTPdgvmrgwVBmZu3wegVwkEvZaA4RkK2IcVTVZARFixXuDv-LZfjwvV6AuXVTCJf9wjRgN_Y-7cFqs-vZl7n3Rr5bnRH4s/w240-h320/20210429_150412.jpg)

*Zamia* species (do not have thorns)

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUxYgLrv8ccis8nG4dhcCblhX8gj0502IkCOuBe3uzYwYeG_xpSsPUvI366IGq0g6W7EMrqyG09TtEd6kBZaq-NvvpRiqFy7rRpDFVJdLjBISy8-mlQWRxClGtTU1GU5mJ0r6rvy4g7lhal0ir7KW06nOI1jl97f38jHx9ZZjv3v4WoPlxD1wNCcjP6Y/w314-h404/Enceph%20ferox%20(leaves%20removed).png)

*Encephalartos ferox* with a flush
### Blog No 14 The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-14-three-gorges-of-yangtze-riverhtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:42.000Z
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUvq7Cogv40rEK-gYxPbgQ2ZKYBn4XCp7HgOIizOqbuw4w1V7UcqQhjC6BVKwL53gt03tl4s3i6wI0fVdI_i10uLfRuXyZM3EXObO42cxD6VZ3kBSEef4ouEiAKzaDyisB7cozga0itoZecswAhoXPX9vDHt3QsLTFp8fgudOQJgnFoPk0YSDAjmMR_0/s320/Gorge1.JPG)

During 1990’s I was saddened when I read about the impending flooding of the Three Gorges on the Yangtse River in China, and resolved to see them before they were inundated. A massive new hydroelectric dam was under construction by the Chinese government, and the resulting reservoir would spoil forever the grandeur of these famous gorges. My family and I planned a three-week guided journey to China in August 2000 (through a tour operator, as individual travel in China was not yet feasible.) A portion of our grand China tour would be a riverboat excursion down the Yangtze River through the Three Gorges, embarking at Chongqing and ending at the industrial city of Wuhan. (Wuhan received notoriety during the Covid-19 pandemic.) A lingering image of Wuhan (and other parts of China) is that of a grey landscape with omnipresent yellow cranes projecting high into a smoggy skyline.

The Three Gorges Dam was first proposed in 1919 as a means to prevent recurring, devastating floods of the Yangtze River, and to generate hydroelectric power. Over the course of the massive 17-year project, roughly 60,000 workers took part. Work continued around the clock, seven days a week. The project displaced 1.1 million people; 1500 cities, towns, and villages were submerged as the dam was filled. Some 1300 known archaeological sites were flooded, although artefacts were salvaged before the dam was filled, if feasible. To prevent sediment to fill the lake bottom, the lowest sluices of the dam are opened during the summer months to allow water rich in sediment to escape. This has mitigated the buildup of sediment but the higher water flow results in increased erosion of the river below the dam. The dam has caused the loss or extinction of many species of fish. The giant Chinese paddlefish was declared extinct in 2020, the Yangtze sturgeon is “functionally” extinct, and the finless porpoise is critically endangered.

Critics of the dam believed the primary goals of the giant dam could have been achieved by construction of a series of smaller dams that would not have displaced as many people, nor submerged as much land. In the end the Chinese leaders chose Three Gorges Dam because it would be the world's largest dam, and would stand as an imperial monument to the developing nation.

We boarded the Victoria Pearl riverboat at Chongqing, a port city that lies at the confluence of the Jailing and Yangtse Rivers. The next four nights we slept on board; during the day we lounged on the decks, taking in sights or reading. Our boat made a stop at an archeological site on the right river bank where vendors were hawking arts and crafts. We climbed up a steep slope and enjoyed a scenic view. On another day, we made a side trip in a small boat up a winding river through a narrow scenic gorge, surrounded by misty cliffs. The clear water was a welcome contrast to the muddy Yangtze..

Our Grand Canyon gorge is more pristine, its canyon deeper, and its celebration of colors is unsurpassed. In contrast, the Three Gorges are older, its canyon are wide and intimidating. Some vistas of the river and the gorge appeared as if set on another planet, grey, ghostly and other worldly. 

*All photos by author*

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvrRwfpBITKsDI1dTerWg7u1d9CLFmh2qCAhAfv4cm7vSykHds18D85g17KReVIR3C-03SrSkovNy7GhfU4pLoOEpmU-2PAwoj3i2J9Oi4Tl5i3SlAlc9eFQwOYzGhByrsblptMsaK_4bfUdOhvZvz5tUyRq7U9YwsJP7blkbt_dL_-wakDO4wMn9EI4/w551-h366/Xiling%20Gorge.JPG)

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJeeWmRHesueZsStF8l_bwZRi6tvB4rffGbUN0kshjRQeG75EBeDi7IbBVRUhaWfw_Js4GPagqBHBIZO7Yzky3WHXCXaTYFQdPVKy5ur63FAAIeGATNoxnxwAlfGCOP84KyN9MjKl-QRZjNuZldabsgu93qgKiSrTyF-rX88kv1kjRA3sjpZFgwE7hy4/w548-h370/IMAG1441.JPG)

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7QvHmoJnv70AFAydB0jdDvoeXutYeyL24IdZEBSgknFGGPSYZF3RKeC5EYYe4IRaUlhzx_6igQTGbS_NiUw22dqNfnIV2MXwVhBQZ5tBncKHDpppXYJnKjouHdBg5fxebwMyLJ6cOhU8-5hZDd49y_xquvMoRJgaki-JRl-4DDv2FRAdqcOzcVqoHbM/w458-h304/IMAG1472.JPG)
### Blog No 13 Lore of the Appalachian Trail
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-13-lore-of-appalachian-trailhtml/
Last updated: 2026-01-23T20:40:00.000Z
The Appalachian Trail (AT) was first envisioned by the forester and planner, Benton MacKaye and his proposal was published in the *Journal of American Institute of Architects* in1921*.* After 16 years of trail construction, the AT was declared completed in 1937\. Since then a rich lore of traditions has been written about and transmitted orally from one hiker to another. You soon learn about “trail magic,” an act of goodwill or a serendipitous event that occurs, often under unhappy circumstances. Examples of trail magic are when hiking AT on a hot summer day, dehydrated and out of water, and you come to a road crossing and someone has left beer and sodas in an ice-cold container. Or you may find cold drinks stashed in a spring flowing from a rocky orifice near the trail. This is the essence of trail magic. 

Those kindly souls who have placed those drinks are known “trail angels.” From experience they have learned what hikers cherish the most. Trail angels also offer to take you into town to buy supplies, allow you to take a shower or laundry on their premises, or provide a free shuttle. They may live close to the AT, although many are previous hikers. One summer, my brother Garner and I were hiking in Virginia (the State has 544 miles of the AT) when we came upon an erstwhile thru-hiker who had set up a grill, handing out hamburgers, drinks and potato chips. He offered this service over a number of days, and word spread rapidly up and down the trail. Hikers sped up to reach him before he closed shop.

No practice is more fundamental to hiking the Appalachian Trail than acquiring a “trail name” that you use exclusively when interacting with other hikers on the trail. Often a trail name suits the hiker, but not always, as some trail names seemed weird and baffling. To force a trail name on yourself is a mistake. It's better to plod along without one, until an event or circumstance gives you a trail name that fits, and besides, a weak trail name is not likely to stick. 

My son, Alec, acquired his trail name after hiking a number of sections on the trail. For some reasons, the soles of his hiking shoes had a tendency come loose and on one occasion his shoes were almost new. We wondered if it had something to do with his gait. I had organized a section-hike with a small group but had difficulty figuring out the right mileage for the first night. We were bound for a brand-new shelter and the mileage to the shelter was not yet available. We got a late start, and it turned out the distance to the new shelter was over twice the distance I had anticipated. After hours of hiking in the dark, we arrived at the new two-level shelter and as luck would have it, it was fully occupied. We set our tents up in the dark as it began to rain.

Hours earlier, after we began our hike the sole of one of Alec’s shoes came off! Hector rigged up a makeshift sole that allowed him finish our hike. Troublesome and irritating to say the least, but Alec made the best of it my taking on the trail name of of Broken Sole!

I hiked only one section of the AT with my wife, Michele, a portion of the trail through the Shenandoah National Park that has a reputation of being easy and fun. Here the AT takes a course parallel to Skyline Drive (often crosses it) that consists of 105 miles of scenic highway. Certainly not in deep wilderness, as stores and a campground are found along the way, and yet black bears are often seen on this section. We camped near a shelter on a pleasant, sunny afternoon, but our problem was there was no good spot to pitch our tent. I finally had to settle for a flat area with much more incline than I preferred. After supper and siting around a campfire, we snuggled into our sleeping bags and slept uneventfully.

In the early pre-dawn hour, I was awakened by sharp piercing bite of the toes of my right foot! I yelled out, not fully awake. I hastily opened the side door of my tent and saw a smallish black bear, a year or two old, ambling away into the forest. During the night, I had slid down inside my tent so that the toes of my right foot pushed our tent wall outward. The curious bear saw the protuberance and decided to sample it with its teeth. The bear did not perforate the tent wall or break the skin of my foot, but it succeeded in getting my attention. Up to that point I was intermittently called Birdman, not exciting and too generic, but now I acquired a distinct trail name that I liked: Bearfoot.

In the New England states, Garner I met an energetic, robust man in the late 20’s or early 30’s from Belgium with the odd trail name of "Baker Be Free." He would get up at 4 am to bake fresh bread in a Dutch oven. He did this daily for weeks, carrying the oven and supplies for making fresh bread that he considered essential for breakfast--a Belgium tradition. His trail companions finally convinced him that baking fresh bread each morning was not essential, at least not when hiking the Appalachian Trail. Finally, he relented and his friends coined his trail name, Baker Be Free.

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5aWnNmyzwzLXAU1fy7i4ZbgBe55BGjUb604uJVFkjhE_5IMYqsVzwO0wbSpCRs42-stnRJG5dP4gWLSFH4p8GyBbOLWYJsk9IDai3qTWS959rtxJ0QAHpq7MABicTHFURsAUKuIUWLb5WXiwGNt0-CcHrCoN_-KCVeTXwo0b1doHPuF08AAZ33lUUws/w295-h224/P9302084.JPG)

Hiking with Megan and Alec

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdMUPc_I06-53L3ITGmgUm-cRcNpTe7iTZBMV_uykj0vS4e-3l8mEiAoVoofbGeClVYTKUNVIag65jSK4b03Hb3Fc1vdnUzsXs3kCTg9bTaMvSO76q3NnonIzxdopqCE2T9pU-YkrYI5h640OaVPSYYc8jEPuE7bKh-0nIT5Lp1Uxlz22q1rwhKO3JKc/w328-h246/P1010028.JPG)

North Carolina near Fontana Dam
### Blog No 12 Inaugural Hike on the Appalachian Trail
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-12-inaugural-hike-onhtml/
Last updated: 2026-01-16T13:00:00.000Z
I went on my first backpacking trip in the Pecos Wilderness near Taos, New Mexico, while a senior medical student. Years later, when driving through North Carolina, I crossed the Appalachian Trail and pulled over to inspect the trailhead. I felt a strong attraction and vowed that someday I would hike the trail. When I read Bill Bryson’s hilarious account of hiking in Georgia with his old friend, Stephen Katz, in *A Walk in the Woods* (1998) I knew I couldn't put it off any longer. 

My son Alec, 13, and I flew to Atlanta, rented a red sports car (not my first choice) and met up with a young woman named Leigh near Dahlonega, Georgia (America’s first gold rush town). I had made arrangements on line for her to provide us with a shuttle. We parked our car at Hogpen Gap on Highway 348 and Leigh drove us to Dick’s Creek Gap on Highway 76 near the North Carolina border, the starting point for our hike. We would be hiking from north to south.

We organized our gear and put on our heavy packs. It was on August 18, 2004, 5:30 pm. We were about take our first steps on the Appalachian Trail. Alec and I were in high spirits and ready for adventure, even if we had to make frequent stops to rest. A ruffed grouse exploded from alongside the trail, and soon another one erupted in the same manner. We paused to rest a level spot in the trail, and once more we were startled, this time by a wild turkey bursting from a tree up the hill. Seeing this many large birds in so short a time rarely happens on the AT.

We reached Deep Gap Shelter at 7:40 pm, dog tired and eager to call it a day. A hiker carrying his pole, taking long strides, with a long, flowing beard, appeared abruptly, and said, “I’m Scott.” We suspected a day hiker, given his small pack (the size of a 20-lb rice bag) but the opposite proved to be the case. He turned out to be much younger than his patriarchal beard suggested. He had begun his journey in Quebec the year before, had wintered in Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and this past spring he had stopped to help a friend build a house in Hot Springs, North Carolina, a hub for thru hikers. We were surprised when he announced his destination was Key West, hoping to make by New Year. He whipped out a crude backpacking stove, made from the bottom of a beer can that conveniently burned denatured alcohol, available at gas stations. He ate from the container in which he had heated his gruel, standard practice for long distance hikers.

Alec and I enjoyed Scott’s company as we were the only hikers at the shelter. A modern-day hippie, straight out of the sixties, and only later did we discover his trail name from a journal entry in a shelter the next day: Crash Test Dummie. (More on AT trail names in the next blog.) Alec had become skilled at starting camp fires, but on this night with the wood completely saturated with rain he was forced to give up. Our hippie friend fared no better. At dusk a Barred Owl hooted in the distance. Before long we were enveloped in complete darkness on this moonless night as the cries of a thousand katydids in the trees above us became increasingly louder, the incessant, deafening, pulsating chorus blocked out all other sounds and lulled us into a restful sleep.

The following morning was beautiful and sunny. After a breakfast of oatmeal, we struggled up to the summit of Kelly Mountain at 4200 feet. We now descended for 1000 ft and while passing a campsite named Cheese Factory, said to be a favorite of hikers. For most of the day we hiked along a ridge called the Sway of the Blue Ridge with shallow ups and downs. We monitored our progress by using a topographic map. That night we camped next to Tray Mountain Shelter where the afternoon sun warmed our solar shower. Refreshed, we sat near the edge of the cliffs and admired the blue haze and silhouettes of the distant ridges and peaks. We enjoyed a robust campfire that night. 

The third day was humid and cloudy and toward the afternoon the sky became darker as heavy clouds gathered. All afternoon we heard the diesel trucks grinding up steep mountainous roads and sound of their engines became noticeably louder. When growing up in the Ozarks we learned that when sound of tractor trailers became louder than normal, it reliably foretold rain. We arrived at Blue Mountain Shelter as premature darkness had set in. The shelter would keep us dry and protect us from the expected rain. But for reasons we could not explain, neither Alec nor I had a warm feeling for the shelter. Our AT map showed a spring about one-fourth mile down the mountain, and I told Alec whether we stayed in the shelter or camped in the woods would be his decision. Without hesitation, he chose the woods. We hiked down the mountain and were thrilled to find a clearing in the midst of the deep forest. It had a fire ring beside the spring, and a grassy knoll to pitch our tent. Alec hastily began to cut firewood and placed it under Noah’s Tarp and I erected our two-person tent. We we finished our Vietnamese noodle soup, but before Alec could start a fire, the storm was upon us.

For the first 45 minutes we experienced a spectacular lightning show, but with sparse rain. Each bolt of lightning, in a split-second, was followed by a terrifying thunderclap. And then the heavens opened and the rains came. We snuggled into our sleeping bags, and shone our flashlight outside to see rivulets flowing by on both sides of our tent. I had experienced many thunderstorms but this one was among the most ferocious. 

We slept until morning: our tent remained completely dry. After breakfast and breaking camp, we assumed our trek down the mountain. The first mile was nasty, slippery and wet, and strewn with rocks. We hiked through the forest shrouded in fog all morning That night we camped at Low Gap Shelter, erecting our tent on the actual floor of the shelter. During the night white-footed mice scampered over our sleeping bags. We had hung our food in bear bags suspended from a system of chains and pulleys and the bears had left us alone. Not so with the conniving mice that managed to chew through the bear bag and and help themselves to nuts and candy bars. We broke camp and after hiking for two hours or so we arrived at Hogpen Gap. We were happy to see our red car near an assemblage of bicyclists who had gathered for a ride through the mountainous roads. We had been out for four nights, hiked for 30 miles, and climbed a total of 7,150 feet. It was a wonderful introduction to the Appalachian Trail.

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAU0so_0VImvPGOQHCLTqG0CbgVbAj5dZgHy0QAym97GoQe1rR5RKmIm4GwFo7LEL3phS1zKF58qA1fn-4f85lCOXW2CZGB4iYlKRQKBHpZ3GYiCZQ30-htfnW89TCXeUWpVJKu93b1ehv-HHkY0vo9VOpMaDuGIgZzlZgvtubtQHrI4bOsi9Flwogeo/w320-h239/P1010004.JPG)

Taking a break at a shelter

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlE7sV8sRLhKhZfHaq2SLTG-iseya-AC_WolbyRoqh3GC2VbQ4xXxPI693lAOmhuppuYGuDoSNIN7C4BL15AZNjD6oVtEiyUt9DQ7iu873IGezBzPKbLFutc-5R1sd-6-6WsXQoF3ATVta48D_hz-DFm44733jHAGSQfK2673lUeywiBS7Zi0RQioeGc/w200-h150/P1010050.JPG)

Our tent and Noah's Tarp

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxQJYDtDnQQxQ4pzff3-G2IaoauoAzFncjEx2d_S63uCMBj34VXRnzYF7RMH0zqx0JLzcXgpzKBVoybirH0PtL4tyWihUQj_TAc7lVLWBrXLzW3KDga4KIRytM__nr6yQs_pw8F3YxETvLdaohXcmdiKgdwpX-z1lR5HFN_6ISUdYIirKRAXy5ZJ9ybU/w240-h320/P1010042.JPG)

Alec next to massive tulip tree

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vVQivFjseHx9FtjX49f_dQFsSInDGicIUXwT7mtKAfc7s8CmDtCOhXOL0bU2xceyNBFU6jdDleQ6gociWk6HuZua1-fmH4gIid3eUYcFg94H2t2L54ORYb9dwrqN87r0Gbpg_PEb8SvdA8fv5Bfc7NaoqgbPc361jBZtfMpdlsiUg6ANZwUGDv7drdg/w320-h240/P1010009.JPG)

Amos with backpack
### Blog No 11 Trephination: Most Ancient Operation
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-11-trephination-most-ancienthtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T17:10:42.000Z
Over the centuries, humans have had an astonishing proclivity to cut holes in their heads. Known as trephination, it is the oldest operation we know about and was widely practiced by ancient surgeons. Other surgeries may have been performed but since soft tissues decay, the knowledge of such operations no longer exists. Since our skeletons survive indefinitely, paleontologist have unearthed knowledge of these ancient operations, and even know whether the patient survived. If the edges of the cranial opening were rough and uneven, the subject had died, but if the edges were smooth and remodeled, the patient survived.

The term for this ancient operation is trephination or trepanation. The two words are now used interchangeably, but their origin is derived from different techniques the surgeon used to make the opening in the skull. Neolithic surgeons performed trephinations in ancient Russia, China, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and other regions, and the practice continued into the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. We do not know why ancient surgeons performed trepanations but the standard explanation traditionally given was to “cast out demons,” for the treatment of epilepsy, mental illness, to suppress headache, and to remove "stagnant blood." 

David Kushner, neurologist at University of Miami, reported the results of his study in *World Neurosurgery* (June 2018) of over 800 skulls that Inca surgeons had performed skull surgery from 400 BCE until 1400 CE. During the height of their skill before the Europeans arrived, the Incas had achieved a 80 to 90 percent survival rate. This prompted a New York Times article to report that Inca surgeons had a higher survival rate in brain surgery than Civil War surgeons. However, the comparison is unfair since Civil War soldiers likely died from their underlying brain injury, not from the craniotomy itself.

The astonishing high survival of the Inca surgeons is indisputable evidence they were consummate surgeons, had learned to stop bleeding from the skull (Sir Victor Horsley applied bees wax to the cut edge of the skull that advanced modern brain surgery), and had learned how to prevent infection, likely by using bacteriostatic plants. Inca surgeons performed trephination on all sexes and ages, but most were done on young men, many with skull fractures, suggesting they suffered head injuries from battle or perhaps while hunting, and were perhaps in a coma when the surgery was performed.

The conventional wisdom why this surgery was performed no longer invokes casting out demons, but recently it has become accepted that Inca surgeons were successful in treating head injuries with trephination. Plinio Prioreschi (1930–2014), a physician and medical historian who studied Neolithic skull surgery proposed a "unified theory," using all available data, that gives the best explanation why Inca surgeons performed skull surgery for nearly two thousand years. Prioreschi does not invoke effective treatment of head injury in his explanation. I explain his theory and and why this ancient practice was most likely not beneficial, in my memoir. Just because a treatment is performed over a long period dos not prove efficacy. Bloodletting was performed for over 3000 years, and was actually harmful.

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe9SBy8PHG1wPqGXzaRCOwkPgt_0uDJHgVJK0CMrItcNDB-LbGlN6EhZHCtP8jeJy4BoZOf6udmaKIdQJZ1BGwHTDifIbBx5MdLRbgUFQwzUzUicWrhJyeYxEguU-3lYqWKJjJCljMsvJQXUN6FLY0pWiteeMrHbhEbUEtZt_rfeI3zvJHbLNNu8Sp2Q/w222-h320/20190729_155012%20(1).jpg)

TUMI used by Incas

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkW357nhlHG1OjikZeFgDUDSsdTx8BZRpv0QNx6oElW0JKV5dDkwzVXXnOaW73LxJCOab_28bWat7RBnhzJpfwtsMO0bfIOwJm5mv7xBUKLqVgCemSrY8CmvmqC9lyOmKwMDrWxNC28vUk460LZDZiIwLqJaHFJF-6gewQ2Nj5-RY5Xx4ToJe15De3ouw/w292-h400/20190722_123824.jpg)

Center hole is directly over sagittal sinus, if injured would be fatal

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### Blog No 10 Flying June Bug Kites
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-10-flying-june-bug-kiteshtml/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T18:57:42.000Z
When the weather warmed up during the months of May and June at our homestead in Arkansas, swarms of June bugs would emerge from the ground, and take to flight, buzzing like a bumblebee. These beetles circled around the trees in our yard, careened wildly and glanced off objects, and somehow kept flying. Green June beetles (*Cotinis nitida*), as they are officially known, had just pupated from their ugly larval phase called grubs, into handsome green beetles. They wasted no time going about their business of mating. The male beetle has a metallic green color with a larger antenna, whereas the female is browner and bulkier, especially when carrying up to 30 eggs that are laid in the ground. June bugs measure about one inch in length, often described as clumsy, and have poor eyesight.

I don’t remember who taught us the game of flying a June bug. It was a two-person enterprise―one person held the beetle upside down, and the other person took a long piece of sewing thread, made a loop and placed it over one of their large hind legs. The June bug was then flown like a kite around in circles, tethered to the string we held in our hand. The beetle would soon wear out and land on the ground. At other times, the beetle was liberated when its hind leg was shorn off by the string attachment. The June bug kept flying and I don’t know if losing a hind leg harmed the beetle significantly.

This pastime has been written about by various authors, mostly from the South and in the Appalachian region. Dolly Parton writes about flying June bugs as a child in her autobiography. Many writers have observed that June bugs are no longer as abundant as in previous years. Green June beetles are harmless, do not bite you, and are fond of overripe fruit. The minor harm they may cause is the larva feed off roots for about three months as they mature underground.

I remember feeling a twinge of guilt when playing this game. A similar sport, more obscure and cruel, involves horse flies. My brother David recalls when we younger siblings accompanied our parents by train to visit our Freundschaft (used here to mean relatives) in southern Indiana where my parents grew up, the Amish boys caught horse flies and impaled a thin straw into the horse fly. The insect was allowed to fly away, armed with a straw antenna protruding from its body. David did not approve of the practice.

During my lifetime there has been a noticeable change, to our credit, in respect to how we treat animals, especially intelligent, higher life forms. Rhesus monkeys, crab-eating macaques, and squirrel monkeys, to name a few, are used in biomedical research, and have been used extensively to study head injury, to design helmets that provide better protection, as well as other aspects of injury to our nervous system. Baboons, with whom we share more than 90% of our DNA, are used to study traumatic brain injury and to study stroke by occluding the primate’s major arteries supplying the brain. How can I not be sympathetic to the movement that opposes this type of research? Admittedly, there is no better model to study brain injury, but I believe we should be cognizant of this moral dilemma .

The Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher,” gave me qualms about eating these creatures that clearly have a remarkable degree of intelligence. In the course of our existence, humans have made gradual changes to the betterment, in respect to treating other creatures more humanely, and we should make every effort to continue in this direction.

I recommend the biannual *Wings,* published by the Xerces Society, to learn about the fascinating and under appreciated world of the invertebrates. Although microorganisms and parasites are responsible for the most deaths in humans, this fact should not deter us from enjoying butterflies, moths, dragonflies, bees and the over 400,000 species of beetles that led evolutionary biologist J B S Haldane to observe that "God must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.".

*\* Images are not mine and were found on internet* 

![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOBpd7ojZu9pcxSoIWiQt348kBFhjda71VmOI49mq-7CqJ3ta8x69tVMnPdWMHTGfElxEeQUYeJDwm5IiXDGLvM_tE7JcdiU4A9zNUUr7a2RdYML4GuF7wD7LDlMoVJmNkoLra0_bJ8FX0IHoi9_SGvqwa-v62woJ1P_bPA2MeU0xajhvyOJ3SU8dTLE/w196-h228/J.png)

Illustration of June bug kite\*
### Blog No 9 Birding in the Tropics
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-9-birding-in-the-tropics/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:23:19.000Z
I was taught to identify birds from the paintings of the ornithologist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, by my older brothers when I was 4 or five 5 years old. My oldest brother, Victor, was fanatically devoted to Purple Martins and claimed to have the largest colony of these swallows in the US (one year he had 729 nesting pairs) at his home in Finger, Tennessee. My brother, Ervin, shared a fondness for these martins, but was never able to lure them to nest in his boxes when he lived in Ohio; even after taking the desperate measure to cut down a huge shade tree in his front yard.

My younger brothers and I cut our teeth as birdwatchers while growing up on our farm in Arkansas, after we acquired a monocular and a Peterson field guide. Later, my brother Alvin and I reached our pinnacle of birdwatching, taking week-long birding trips to Costa Rica, Belize and Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela. We began birding at daybreak, and birded until dusk, studiously ignoring all other living things including butterflies, mammals, and trees. There were a few exceptions, such as when we encountered the terrifying jungle call of howler monkeys, or sighted a clownish-appearing sloth hanging by its toes from a branch high overhead. After these long days, it was especially rewarding to have a cold beer, and dine in an ethnic restaurant.

Our first tropical trip was to Costa Rica (1992), and the highlight was seeing the Monteverde Cloud Forest, created by warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean rising and condensing into fog and mist when it reached the mountains, creating a profusion of moss, ferns, orchids and other epiphytes. The most desired bird to see is the Resplendent Quetzal, its long, exquisite tail feathers were used in headdresses of the Maya kings and nobles. We delighted in the melodic sound of the Three-wattled Bellbird that we heard from our lodge. We were able to identify only a handful of the over 20 species of hummingbirds that inhabit the preserve. Down on the Pacific coast we saw the Jabiru Stork, among other birds, and tried not be distracted by several species of monkeys that inhabited a park along the coast. In the deep jungle forests on the Caribbean side all was still, hearing only a few notes from high in the trees, but when we emerged from the jungle, the birds were abundant including noisy flocks of parrots flying overhead.

In Guadalajara, Mexico we rented a Volkswagen bus and headed for the Volcan de Fuego, Mexico’s most active volcano. We sped over a steep mound at the entrance of the trail (intended to keep us out?) and came upon meadows and trees along the road that was populated by familiar birds we knew from the States. At each higher elevation we encountered a new group of tropical birds. We camped one night along the way, and continue to bird until we reached a meadow in view of the volcanic cone, then turned around and headed for the coast.

On our first birding trip to Panama in 2005, we took delight in climbing the Canopy Tower, originally used as an US Air Force radar installation, but now prized for its lofty view. Birds flew into treetops at eye level, and we scanned the skies for raptors. We birded along the Pipeline Trail through dense jungle and tried to see the elusive Tinamou, a quail-like bird with a soulful call, but is rarely seen.

During our second trip to Panama, I obtained splendid photos of the Quetzal, and photographed a Black Guan lurking in a tree above us. As on other tropical birding trips, we became frustrated in trying to distinguish between a dozen species of flycatchers that differed only in the smallest detail. Another unique bird was the Great Potoo that sits camouflaged on a dead branch during the day, and scoops up insects with its wide gaping mouth during the night.

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtMe6YXR-bKu3ImS3F8uuoa8L-MOcWPOVghdqxuzmmNaPRPtZvZ0lnLfkYSoVBhQtIYIpBjuORxMzH9_klFaYCQdhoBgY3OZA5EyXlyB4zrkX9tC4RrS7GUPwrhH6KwqcLLPvWsvRYJaMNERa7uPYR45BjpmualfCErdJXQnlrnsTWFZVWeWuIkGY1eA/w342-h257/Quetzal.JPG)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| Resplendent Quetzal                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8sBp21Iu50HTzGEjjDv5hFYyL_lkYK_5GOexwfGXLI4iAg0l0tJUMVY4zyxSXbpaz2d-DIiNp_PfmmqROtkVnQIvtVV5BQEzRreCr6n476hZTU7QEpmiFNsulXElAyNQyTrhvW106GyfsxaWEF-nZct4vXgQOv2rqGY5g3-zU_qKjyOi5d3Um5mTVGg/w255-h226/Black%20Guan.JPG)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| Black Guan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |

We always felt safe on our birding trips except when we flew to Caracas, Venezuela. We ventured out to a restaurant near our hotel, and I remember Alvin had pasta with squid ink. Alvin had arranged for us to be picked up at our hotel and we were driven out into the llanos where we stayed in barracks built for the Llaneros. I was able to capture an image of a Scarlett Ibis in flight. Before dawn we heard the call of the male Yellow-Knobbed Curassow that sounds like a dive bomber but “without the thud at the end.” One morning after eating breakfast at our compound, I walked outside and became ecstatic when I saw a magnificent King Vulture sitting on a dead branch of a tree, holding court with a small contingent of Black Vultures. Each afternoon we were loaded on vehicle with other visitors and our guide took us out the llanos and marshes to observe wildlife. We were amused by a prehistoric looking bird called a Hoatzin with a spiky crest that frequents the wetlands. Another striking bird was a White-headed Marsh Tyrant.

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjhzPMfl62oGKWMVEMTivQURJ5KgT88CsJheZeb3586oGROqAgLoDvqUax2ZYdUPDa-RCHRX7d9lQomYPU3MievqkjEFbIfPNYyeIPjPN-XVZyAdndci6Rkzyp2_fRlx4OaPEGj1jWU7l33MZ1RmICW0GGOkwayXpskdzWAmIJrCj2ilVvfzN0yeGulU/w319-h294/King%20vulture%20with%20black%20vultures.jpg)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| King Vulture with Black Vultures                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUj3bMHnYbDPKqmXEbw5eMfXmh-Hr070UfjHyQK5yLS1QjrlQsdSf5Cw9EwF9z8LAEwzoFpoJbX-7HuDD7GQRLLv3OAH2I7wvSFz4R6NLez3lPcqzgDgavZc370kT-RrNQQXKRAKI2lImPe2dIvphewk0R7nd_ms0ti9evNAId-tRZNLLdbR0fMZHnYc/w231-h166/Hoatzin.jpg)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| Hoatzin                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAhIKir1z1iQux7g9FJGynJoXtihxVnj_UwXdt9GADb30UaVPXjm67y1iqYqrtR5qENPt_NQP3ln5okb4BdX_7-BXHhveP_ilJ7gphN-_FfjedK6CYcDz06HOLx0SZv1h3Rc8DLZ0JEaT6KR3rI_bek47oQH0rXmUc3SPmA4zF737wAHP6UdeOdoYZh0/w170-h121/2009-04-01%2010.00.16.jpg)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| Scarlett Ibis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindXvlM9tU6ObEK99YugT-1CLBkPpyO1WQUpJ2GT2wsxtPH8OuUSqsiDVPBRQ4Iifoxytrx-961jY1zA_aEcSgYZ6tGG-oByMjunSoZj1_rvaUfblTeQy1LsVCXoQcNizmzmgZQInMY6lMV9QL7Dp9v-xdajdbU3Yrfd5XC2SNM4SAQSQcM4IwGIUyIag/w158-h118/2009-03-31%2010.58.17.jpg)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| White-headed Marsh Tyrant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |

In 1995 we flew to Belize City and caught a small prop plane to Chan Chich Lodge in western Belize. Ocellated Turkeys were common on the grounds. While walking along roads in the forest we saw a number of hawk species flying overhead and were thrilled to see our first White Hawk, almost entirely white with a black band on the end of its tail. We then made our way across the western border into Guatemala where we birded at the splendid Mayan city of Tikal. The following days we birded while exploring the vast, ancient ruins. On one night we climbed up the main temple called the Temple of the Great Jaguar, built around 730 CE, stands 154 feet tall, and faces the main plaza. When the sun went down and darkness enveloped us, it was impossible to climb down safely, so we sat on top of the ancient temple like Mayan priests, knowing that in an hour the moon would rise and illuminate the plaza, allowing us to climb down the stairs with ease.

In 2015, Alvin and I returned to Costa Rica, this time with our famous birding nephews, Ruben and Victor Stoll. The list we accumulated with them dwarfed anything we had accomplished on our own. In February 2025, we returned to Belize with our nephews Ruben, Victor, and Sam Martin. The first night at the birding lodge we were treated to seeing a Sphinx Owl, pointed out to us by a birder--an owl that Victor and Ruben had long searched for, but had never seen. We camped out one night in the Jaguar Preserve, and in early morning hours Victor used recordings of the owls that brought two species of owls into the trees about our tents, where they made frightening unearthly sounds. Alvin was awakened by the roar of a jaguar close by during the night, but no one else heard it. We birded along a forest trail where I observed numerous "highways" along which ants were carrying fragments of leaves on their way to their underground garden to feed their fungus colony. The ants did not eat the leaves, but dined on the fungi.

| [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL96azKBlaH5GcJ_ccvvgxIAgaLhiHfeGld69ayU2_3HmsUhzv7OT01szaBbqx0oDfLYuXUnCNSN2PZxiAHeAKlcyF-SoMKqTpH9y5TQqAneCMbaMEM8UXMO0hNyyyWww5SCTjorV4ehoD25GGvNwElSWxff7Zs571S12bYxEWkzG3Xn_yZf8Bm97S7LI/w201-h267/0.jpg)](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/3052338094304721437?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com) |
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| Leafcutter ant highway                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
### Blog No 8 Ghost Orchid
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:17:34.000Z
Florida’s ghost orchid (*Dendrophylax lindenii*) is found only in Florida and Cuba where it requires a highly specialized microclimate to grow and reproduce. When my daughter, Megan, first mentioned a mysterious ghost orchid found in the Florida swamps I had no clue what she was talking about. Due to Megan’s interest in hiking the Florida Trail (few people know about this 1500 mile trail beginning in the Big Cypress Preserve and ending at Pensacola Beach), and through fortuitous circumstances, Megan and I became members of an exclusive club that have seen this orchid in its native habitat. After swearing on pain of death to keep it a secret, we were guided by Megan’s friend to an unmarked spot in the Cypress swamps, and we at once became mesmerized and charmed by these ethereal plants. The orchid is found on the trunks of pop ash, pond apple, and bald cypress trees, usually at eye level up to about 30 feet. The plants typically bloom from June to October, but timing varies year to year based on rainfall. The orchids are notoriously difficult to spot since they seem to float in midair, hence the name 'ghost'. The leafless plant has green roots that attach to the furrowed bark of these trees and is found in humid swamps where the orchid enjoys a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi. The roots are present year round but the orchid’s flower can only be seen during a few months in the summer. Usually we find a single flower, but I have photographed plants with two or three flowers. The famous “Super” ghost orchid in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is about 70 feet above ground in a bald cypress tree and has had up to 15 flowers at once. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/Ghostorchid.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/Dew-drop.JPG)

It takes the orchid plant around 7 years to reach maturity to be able to reproduce. The ghost orchid has a specialized tube about 5 to 10 cm long, called a nectar spur in which various species of sphinx moths place their long proboscis to feed on the nectar, and thereby pollinate the orchid. It was long thought that only the giant sphinx moth with a 6 inch wingspan and is said to sound like a miniature jet when flying, could perform this function. Recently, photographers working for National Geographic mounted cameras with remote sensors, and for the first time the moth’s visit to the flowers was documented. These researchers discovered several species of smaller sphinx moths are also involved with the orchid’s reproduction and this comes as good news since the orchid is not dependent solely on the giant sphinx moth for its survival. It is thought that only about 2,000 ghost orchid plants exist in Florida.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/IMG952400.jpg)

The swamp where we observe the orchids may be submerged in a few feet of water, or in one year the water came up to our waist. One another year during which it was completely dry we were intently looking up at the tree trunks to find the orchid when we happened to look down, and there immediately in front of Megan's feet was a large coiled cottonmouth, showing its white mouth agape.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/moccasin.jpg)

The reason the ghost orchid’s presence is kept a highly regarded secret is that orchid thieves harvest these flowers, although they cannot be kept alive. One plant is said to have been sold for $5,000 on the black market. Author Susan Orlean wrote the bestseller *Orchid Thief* (1998), devoted to these elusive orchids, and despite going on guided quests to find the endangered orchid, Orlean never saw the orchid while writing her book. There is a movie based on this book called "Adaptation" starring Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep, but if your interest is in learning about ghost orchids, don't bother seeing this film.
### Blog No 7 Diet and Health
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-7-diet-and-health/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T19:10:09.000Z
The diet in my Amish household in the Ozarks had many of the attributes that are now considered to be a healthy diet. We ate fresh vegetables and fruits in the summer and in the winter we relied heavily on large quantities of canned vegetables and fruit in Mason jars that were stored in our cellar. Meat made up a small portion of our diet compared to what the average American consumes today. Our flock of chickens supplied fresh eggs and we milked cows year around―our family was known for consuming large quantities of milk. Having descended from a Northern European heritage, no one was lactose intolerant. We separated milk into cream and skim milk by a hand-operated cream separator, and then made butter with a manual churn. Mom baked homemade bread that we ate with every meal. I can recall only one severe episode of food poisoning in our household even though we lacked refrigeration, ate fresh lettuce and other greens, and drank unpasteurized milk. 

 In the fall, squirrels were abundant, feasting on an unending supply of acorns that we hunted for food. Our mother fried the squirrels and we considered them more flavorful than chicken. However, no cuisine on our farm ever measured up to the morel mushrooms we found in April and that our mom dusted with flour and fried in butter. Our meals were fresh and wholesome, but had we possessed the skill and knowledge to add garlic, onions, fresh herbs from our garden, and a few hot chillis, our meals would have been exquisite instead of just wholesome.

 In the winter a “frolic” was held at our homestead when our Amish neighbors gathered to butcher a pig. The event began at daybreak, followed by frenzied activity for a few hours. A .22-caliber rifle was pointed at the pig at close range. There was a muted crack, the pig quivered and sank to the ground. Menfolk hurriedly attacked the fallen hog, slit its throat, and hoisted it up into a large vat of scalding water. After being immersed in the hot water for the exact required time, the hog was hauled out onto a wooden platform and men using circular metal scrapers fell on the pig, working feverishly to remove all of its hair. The hog was suspended by its hindlegs, and the men and boys attacked the animal with knives and saws, rapidly disassembling the hog into various components—ham, bacon, kidneys, and liver. The leftover parts, including ears, snout, pieces of leg, and feet were placed in a formidable metal meat grinder, producing sausage meat. The thoroughly cleaned intestines were rolled over a conical device attached to a formidable meat press, and by a hand crank the ground meat was forced into the casings producing sausage. 

 At midday, the work halted, and everyone went inside where we were assailed by a strong odor. We lined up in a cafeteria style to eat “dinner” that consisted of liver and onions, one of the few foods I never liked. Boiled kidneys, not exactly a delicacy either, were also featured at the noon meal. In the afternoon men and women were divided up to perform their respective tasks.

 Each fall my dad oversaw production of sorghum molasses that became our main cash crop that supported the remainder of our farming operation. My brothers and I were given the task to strip the cane in the fields, load the stalks onto a horse-drawn wagon and transport the cane stalks to the cane press near our house. As a team of horses pulled a long pole attached to the cylinders of the cane press around a circle, we fed the stalks into the press, as can be seen in this [video](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8769797983749878301/862409043728341356?hl=en&ref=amosstoll.com). A fragrant, green juice flowed from the press that was placed into a large, oblong pan with a wood fire burning beneath. As the sap flowed along partitions, from front to back, it gradually turned into amber molasses, and was much sought by the Ozark natives from our surrounding area. The amber color was a prized attribute.

 The scientific study of whether a given food is healthy is exceptionally difficult to ascertain. Humans and their diets cannot be studied like a rat in a laboratory under controlled conditions. The Mediterranean diet of Greece, Italy, and Spain has shown definite health benefits with a lower incidence of strokes and heart attacks. This diet consists of fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, olive oil, and fish, a moderate amount of dairy products, mostly cheese, small quantities of non-fish meat products, and includes red wine. We do not know which individual components are primarily responsible for its benefits.

 When my family toured China in 2000 I was impressed by how much the Chinese emphasized that each food should be eaten because it was “good for” a particular aspect of their health. The lack of hard science to ascertain whether a food is healthy or not contributes to the prevalence of fad diets. Fad diets are promoted on TV commercials and someone with no expertise in nutrition can get on a social platform and claim a diet is healthy, produces weight loss, or claim a substance like Prevagen will enhance your memory, without any evidence. The active ingredient apoaequorin is broken down in the acid of your stomach and never reaches your brain! If the person lacks credentials and profits from what they are selling, it should be rejected out of hand.

If you have an interest in learning what truly is known about a healthy diet, there is no better source than Michael Pollan's *In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto* (2008) which is based on evidence and what is known about a healthy diet. 

*Photo by author*
### Blog No 6 Languages Spoken by the Amish
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-6-languages-spoken-by-the-amish/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T20:53:29.000Z
During their childhood Amish children learn to speak three languages―at least in some measure. Their primary language is Pennsylvania German that originated in the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany and was the language the Amish immigrants brought with them when the earliest settlers arrived in Pennsylvania in 1737\. Unfortunately, this German dialect is also called Pennsylvania Dutch, not the Dutch of the Netherlands, but rather is a corruption of the word *Deitch* that means German in Amish dialect. Pennsylvania German is an oral language with no official written form. Writers, when attempting to write in Pennsylvania German, use spelling patterned after the German language. In my memoir I use phonetic spelling which requires the sentence to be read audibly before it can be understood. Non-Amish people from the Palatinate region of Germany also settled alongside the Amish, and spoke Pennsylvania German for years although speaking this language has slowly been lost with succeeding generations.

 Amish children first hear English from non-Amish neighbors who are called “the English.” Amish children typically do not learn English until they attend school and by the time they reach adulthood they are reasonably proficient, but often have a slight accent. The third language that the Old Order Amish learn is an older version of German, used primarily in church services and in prayers and resembles the High German used by Martin Luther in his German translation of the Bible, although the Amish High German used for worship is influenced by Pennsylvania German. Church is held in their homes as Old Order Amish do not believe in church houses. In some Amish churches the minister may preach in English if attendees in the audience do not understand German. Other ultra-conservative Old Order Amish communities consider the English language to be "worldly" in itself, and are loath to use it in their worship, and certainly do not speak it among themselves in their homes. Amish men whose work exposes them routinely to outsiders become fluent in English whereas most of the Amish speak English only when necessary and prefer to speak in their mother tongue.

There are over 7000 languages that are spoken throughout the world and some are endangered; others are spoken by only a small number. More than half of the world’s languages are oral without a written version. Linguists have learned new languages should be learned before a child is past the age of 6 to 9 while their brains still retain their plasticity, if we wish to speak as a native speaker without an accent. Of course, there are exceptions.

The Amish dialect (synonymous with Pennsylvania German) has many versions. My sister-in-law, Esther from Berne, Indiana speaks Pennsylvania German with a Swiss accent, uses fewer English words, and her version sounds more pleasing. The Martin family we grew up with in Arkansas spoke a version closer to High German. Our family spoke the worst Amish dialect of all, a sort of Amish patois, riddled with English words. When English words are incorporated into the Amish dialect, they are given endings consistent with German grammar.

My two brothers and I with our best friends, the Wickey boys, decided in the winter of 1963 to mount an overnight camping trip to Boat Mountain, the highest mountain in our region. Admittedly, not a rational decision, as the seven of us spent much of the night shivering on the mountain since we had no sleeping bags or satisfactory winter gear. In the middle of the twenty-mile trek along country roads on our way to the mountain we suddenly decided to speak only English among ourselves and kept up the practice from that day forward.

Note: Next week I plan to be at Mt Nebo in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. Next blog on Dec 5

Photos by author

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/W85A3626.JPG)

Amish Buggy in Holmes County, OH (2022)
### Blog No 5 What Makes America Great
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-5-what-makes-america-great/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T19:55:00.000Z
My wife, Michele, and I returned from an extended trip to Italy and Vienna where we experienced art and history to the degree not possible in our country, whether seeing an opera in the venerated Teatro de Scala in Milan, the magnificent St. Stephen’s Cathedral from our hotel window in Vienna, or hearing musicians dressed in period costumes playing Mozart in a small auditorium that Mozart lived in for brief time. The splendid Duomos of Milan and Florence, the fascinating medieval hilltop villages of Assisi and Orvieto, have no counterpart in our country. Rome’s Colosseum is a textbook of antiquity and marvelous engineering, but one must not forget that the audience that flocked to this stadium over the centuries demanded that that blood be spilled from gladiators and wild animals. Gladiators specialized in killing lions, tigers and many other animals, so many animals slaughtered that their numbers became scarce.\*

But what we have in our country that is exceptional, if we can keep it, is the inheritance of Western enlightenment that made our Constitution possible, giving us freedom and liberty not seen before. America also excels in our great outdoors, the Grand Canyon, the vast mountain ranges of Alaska, over 60 national parks and splendid national forest lands that no longer exist elsewhere.

Growing up on a farm in the Ozarks, my younger brothers and I learned from an early age to value the outdoors by birdwatching, exploring caves, finding arrowheads, and sleeping in our treehouse. This was during the time of acid rain and the diminishing ozone layer, before the warming of our planet. We discovered that predators play an important role in all living things. We turned from trapping predators to calling for their protection―much to the consternation of our community. My brother and I wrote a letter to the Harrison Daily Times protesting the construction of a dam on the Buffalo River that was being planned by the Army Corp of Engineers. Damming rivers was a part of the Army Corp of Engineer's DNA, no less than that of beavers, although the dams that beavers create are important to prevent flooding and droughts, and enhance biodiversity― something we have learned only recently. The Buffalo River was among the first rivers to be designated as a Wild and Scenic River.

Our college and medical school friends formed an all-male annual canoe and camping trip, that began on the Buffalo River but soon involved other rivers in the Ozarks. Later we branched out to the Rio Grande, the Green River in Utah, the Missouri in Montana, and the Niobrara in Nebraska. Lately we have been making canoe trips to the pristine Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota on the Canadian border, maintaining the tradition for over 40 years.

Over the years I have voted for the party that valued preserving our natural environment. Denying climate change is no longer tenable and defies all empirical evidence. There are many important causes to be involved in, but I believe protecting our planet is among the most consequential, especially for future generations. 

\* The Colosseum: a History by Robert B. Abrams

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/17/4f/174f3fec-f5c2-4d3d-b484-712bf308644a/content/images/2026/07/PXL_20251103_142624597-2.jpg)

View of St. Stephen's Cathedral from our Hotel
### Blog No 4 Treehouse and Tower
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-4-treehouse-and-tower/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T20:56:14.000Z
My dad hired a man with a bulldozer to clear land on our 400-acre farm in the Ozarks. When the highest hill on our land was being cleared, dad asked the bulldozer man to spare a red oak tree that stood at the highest point, and that must have given us the idea. On June 20, 1958, when I was 13, I made the following notation in my little diary: “Began building a tree house on top of the hill.” My younger brothers, Alvin and Garner helped me on the project that began by constructing a makeshift ladder by nailing short boards horizontally across the tree trunk. By the following week we had built a wooden platform about two thirds up the tree and when side rails were added, it became our treehouse.

Once the treehouse was completed on June 30, we began erecting a tower. We anchored long wooden poles from the floor of the treehouse and nailed sideboards to these four poles to provide stability. Finally, at the top of the four poles we constructed a platform surrounded by guardrails that served as a lookout. We carried blankets and pillows up to the treehouse and on July 2 we slept in the treehouse for the first time. 

We delighted in climbing trees from an early age and the climb to our treehouse and tower with its panoramic view of the surrounding hills and valleys became an enduring source of satisfaction. Our favorite view was the much-revered Pilot Mountain to the south, an oblong forested butte surrounded by sheer cliffs just below the summit. Almost due west stood Boat Mountain, appearing as a boat upside down with a fire tower protruding from its summit. We mounted overnight camping trips to each of these mountains. Our treehouse and tower turned out to be remarkably well constructed, serving as an observatory to enjoy the beautiful Ozark countryside.

Six years later the structure was showing wear, and we began a radical reconstruction. The overall plan was the same, but this time we cut off the top of the tree at the level on the treehouse which would give a sturdier foundation. On July 1,1964 Alvin and I tore down the entire old structure. We anchored four poles, one at each corner of the treehouse, that projected into the sky about 15 feet. For stability we attached a series of guy wires to the top of the tower and anchored them to the ground with stakes. It was a sound engineering plan as the tower withstood winds and thunderstorms over the ensuing years. When traveling along Highway 65 by bus we kept an eye toward the north and through the breaks in the trees we would spot our tower protruding from the top of the hill in the distance.

During the not summer months we slept in our tree house, not only to escape the heat of our bedroom, but to hear wildlife. We regularly heard whip-poor-wills, barred owls and great horned owls. On occasion we would hear the hoarse barking of a gray fox. One night we were awakened by a pandemonium at the forest edge just north of the treehouse – chittering sounds, growling, and snarling. It took us a little while to realize we were hearing a family of raccoons passing by.
### Blog No 3 Cotton Patch
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-3-cotton-patch/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T20:59:29.000Z
In the early 1950’s my parents, Old Order Amish, moved from southern Michigan to the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. They had found common ground with two other self-exiled families, the Rudy Wickey family from Ohio, also Amish, and the John Martin family from Pennsylvania, Old Order Mennonites. All made their living by farming.

A historically severe drought in the 1950s involved a large region of the Southwest and extended to norther Arkansas and stunted our crops. To augment our income, arrangements were made for our families to travel some two-hundred miles to pick cotton in the Bootheel district of Missouri near the town of Senath. The owners of the cotton fields arranged for a truck to come out to our homes, and we took enough of our belongings to get by for a few months, while picking cotton. The Stoll and Martin family shared a house and the Wickey family had their own abode nearby. There was a famous mansion in which the owner of the cotton fields lived.

My brother Alvin believes this took place in about 1953 or 1954 when he was about six, and I was around eight. Since I didn’t begin my diary until 1957, I cannot confirm the dates. Recently, when I spoke to Alvin he related two memories: he lost a front tooth while riding in the back of the truck, and he recalls picking cotton with our mom―she tugged a large sack behind her, and he had a small one. No one was too young to pick cotton, as my youngest brother, Garner, four or five, was picking cotton with Alvin when they got lost in the cotton field. Garner was crying, fearing the worst, until they found the group. We walked on hot sand between rows of cotton in a huge field dragging our sacks fastened to us by a shoulder strap. We were scratched by nettles and even the burrs that contained the cotton fibers had sharp edges that cut our fingers. We hung our sacks on a scale at the edge of the field, as we were paid by the pound. Sometimes we stopped to devour watermelons that were grown along the edge of the field. One of my fondest memories was getting off work early on a Saturday afternoon and after our mother came home from shopping for groceries, we feasted on an imitation ice cream called mellorine, made from vegetable and animal fats, and was cheaper than regular ice cream.

In the earlier years, our entire family including our parents left our home for a few months, while we picked cotton. Rudy Wickey, father of the Wickey boys, our best friends, house-sat for us during one year. Each fall mom would make catsup, boiling down the tomatoes in an enormous brass kettle. Rudy used her set-up and made catsup while we were gone, but apparently, his recipe called for the addition of chili peppers. After we got home and tried Rudy’s catsup there was a general uproar and people howled about the catsup being spicy. No one in our family cooked with hot peppers, but after I learned to like spicy food I can’t imagine a diet without it.

My brother David, just older than me, remembers he picked up to 100 pounds per day at 4 cents per pound. Fannie Martin was an exceptionally fast cotton picker, according to her sister Lizzie, and may have been able to pick between 300 to 400 pounds. David remembers seeing a TV while at Cotton Patch and that a non-Amish girl told him his English was better than the others. 

In 1957, the last season that our family picked cotton, on September 11 our older siblings were picked up at 4:00 am and left for Cotton Patch and the younger half of our family stayed behind with our parents. We slept for a few hours and when we got up later, Alvin remembers our remaining family seemed small as we sat down to have breakfast that consisted of shredded wheat and milk. While they were gone, I made an occasional notation about the cotton pickers in my diary, but most of my entries reported on fights between roosters from our menagerie of exotic chickens we kept that year. Finally, on November 8, I wrote, “Cotton pickers came home from cotton patch.”

My parents were raised in an Amish church in southern Indiana where my father became an ordained minister by the ancient tradition of casting lots. They did not agree with certain long-standing practices of the Old Order Amish, such as rumspringa and using tobacco, so with other like-minded families, they moved to southern Michigan where I was born. Life in that community still did not meet expectations, so my parents made yet another move, this time to the Ozarks in northern Arkansas where we settled on farms and were joined by the Rudy Wickey and John Martin families, with whom they found common ground.

A historically severe drought in the 1950s involved a large region of the Southwest and extended to northern Arkansas where my family made a living by farming. The drought stunted our crops and to augment our income my dad made arrangements for our whole family to pick cotton in the Bootheel district of Missouri near the town of Senath. The owners of the cotton fields arranged for a truck to come out to our homes, and we took enough of our belongings to live in cabins for a few months while picking cotton. Other families in our community accompanied us.

My brother Alvin believes this took place in about 1953 or 1954 when he was about six, and I was around eight. I didn’t begin writing my little diary until 1957, so I cannot confirm the dates. Alvin lost one of his front teeth while riding in the back of the truck on our way to Cotton Patch. Alvin recalls picking cotton with our mom―she tugged a large sack behind her, and he had a small one. No one was too young to pick cotton. Both of us remember walking on hot sand between rows of cotton in a huge field dragging our sacks fastened to us by a shoulder strap. We were scratched by nettles and even the burrs that contained the cotton fibers had sharp edges that cut our fingers. After our sacks were filled we put them on a scale at the edge of the field, as we were paid by the pound. Sometimes we stopped to devour watermelons that were grown along the edge of the field. One of my fondest memories was getting off work early on a Saturday afternoon and after our mother came home from shopping for groceries, we feasted on an imitation ice cream called mellorine, made from vegetable and animal fats, and was cheaper than regular ice cream.

During the earlier years of picking cotton, our entire family including our parents left our home for a few months, while we picked cotton. Rudy Wickey, father of our best friends the Wickey boys, house-sat for us one year. Each fall mom would make catsup, boiling down the tomatoes in an enormous brass kettle. Rudy used her set-up and made catsup while we were gone, but his recipe called for the addition of hot chili peppers. After we got home and tried Rudy’s catsup there was a general uproar and people howled about the catsup being spicy. No one in our community cooked with hot peppers, but after I learned to like spicy food I can’t imagine a diet without it.

My brother David, just older than me, remembers he picked up to 100 pounds per day at 4 cents per pound. However, a good adult cotton picker could pick two or three times that amount and would have earned 2 to 4 dollars per day. David remembers seeing a TV while at Cotton Patch and that a non-Amish girl told him his English was better than the others. David wonders whether the cabins had originally been used by slaves to pick cotton.

During the last season our family picked cotton, on September 11,1957 our older siblings were picked up at 4:00 am and left for Cotton Patch and the younger half of our family stayed behind with our parents. We slept for a few hours and when we got up later, Alvin remembers our remaining family seemed small as we sat down to have breakfast that consisted of shredded wheat and milk. Periodically, I wrote in my diary that we had heard from the cotton pickers, but most of my entries reported on the fight between an exotic menagerie of roosters we had that year. Finally, on November 8, I wrote, “Cotton pickers came home from cotton patch.”
### Blog No 2 Bus Travel
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-2-bus-travel/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:01:47.000Z
When I first became friends with non-Amish people while working at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, I learned that most people detested travel by bus and avoided it at all costs. As an Amish boy, traveling by bus was exciting, we were introduced to big cities such St. Louis and Indianapolis, and we saw wondrous sights never seen before. Since the Amish do not have cars, travel by bus was our primary mode of transportation for any destination beyond the range of horse and buggy. In the 1950s and 1960s there were two major bus lines, Continental Trailways and Greyhound, and although bus travel was more common, the automobile reigned as king during that time.

US Highway 65 passed within 3 miles of our home and this was where we caught the Trailway bus to our nearest town of Harrison to buy paperback books, or embarked on a transcontinental trip to visit Freundschaft in Indiana or Ontario, Canada. Long-distance journeys often involved overnight travel during which we relaxed in a comfortable seat and were lulled to sleep by the purring of the diesel engines. Only Trailway buses plied the US 65 route, and we became attached to this bus line, as fans get attached to a local sports team. During a 74-day bus trip in 1964 and 1965 that Alvin and I made to Pennsylvania and Ontario, we became acquainted with the “five-star luxury service” of Trailway’s flagship bus, the Golden Eagle. An uniformed attendant traveled on the bus with us, serving us drinks and meals, and more than qualified as luxury service in our minds. The earliest photograph of me in existence was taken by me at a coin-operated photo booth in a bus station in St Louis, when I combed my hair, and tried to look my best.

Some legs of our trip were only served by Greyhound bus and we were introduced to Greyhound’s Scenicruiser, the grandest bus of its time. It was a split-level double decker bus with 43 passenger seats, the upper level provided a 360-degree scenic view, and was equipped with a lavatory, but we still preferred Trailway. In retrospect, I thought we had not given Greyhound proper credit, until I recently learned that most passengers considered Trailway buses quieter, more comfortable, and they were known to have fewer mechanical issues than the Scenicruiser. 

Some years later, during my residency in neurosurgery in Portland, Oregon, my wife Michele and I visited my parents in Belize, where they moved in 1966\. Life as a resident was hardly luxurious, so we flew to Mexico City, but to conserve funds, we traveled on a direct bus through the Yucatan peninsula to Chetumal, a decidedly underdeveloped town on the border of Belize. By this time bus travel had lost much of its glamour.
### Blog No 1 Introduction to my Memoir
URL: https://www.amosstoll.com/blog-no-1-introduction-to-my-memoir/
Last updated: 2026-07-24T21:04:26.000Z
Diary and Journals

I grew up in an Amish family on a farm in the Ozarks where we attended school in a one-room school house. My two younger brothers and I and were called the “three little boys.” When I was nine, a teacher gave me a small five-year diary, with four lines for each year on the same page. Inside the front cover I recorded the date, “March 1954\. From Sallie Martin (teacher).” I stored the diary for almost two years, and then decided I would begin writing on January 1, 1956\. Unfortunately, I missed my planned start on New Year’s day, so I waited another entire year to begin writing on January 1, 1957! A year to a boy of ten is an eternity. 

This was one of the earliest manifestations of this obsessive-compulsive trait that has served me well during my professional career. I had a recent discussion with a good friend, an internist, and both of us agreed that some features of OCD―meticulous attention to detail, an enduring sense of responsibility, to name a few―are essential features of the best physicians, whether an internist or surgeon.

I kept this small diary for four years, then I changed over to large notebook format. At first handwritten, but after we acquired our typewriter (controversial in our Amish family as having a typewriter was not accepted by all Amish) all entries were typewritten and often were multiple pages in length. These journal entries have been essential to write my memoir, allowing me to write with specificity, including actual dialogue that I wrote down at the time.

Follow me on this blog where I will continue to write about my memoir, that is now in the process of being edited in preparation for publication in 2026.