Bill Lyon

"Why make things simple and efficient when they could be complex and wonderful?"

Pears from the USDA Pomological Watercolors Collection - captioned, with background removed. YouTube video by Bill Lyon

Here's a 15-minute video of all of the pears in the USDA Pomological Watercolors Collection, with backgrounds removed and captions added. In alphabetical order by Variety name. Also captioned with Location, Artist, Year, and handle/filename included where available.

This book has been messing with my mind for a few years now.

A few photos from Craig Campbell at our Cider View orchard in Tieton, WA today...
1) Golden Russets in bloom. (Now they're just showing off.)
2) Roy Aceves, Orchard Manager, with the GR's.
3) Craig with the Harrison Apples, a little behind the Goldens blossoming.
... others just starting...

New! Dark Ages! Get an autographed copy of the brand new release Dark Ages here from Eliza's online store. Dark Ages is surprisingly upbeat, although the songs pull no punches in terms of the times in which we find o...

Any Eliza Gilkyson fans here? She's got a new album out today, "Dark Ages". One of my favorite voices with what might just be some classic protest songs for the next generation. elizagilkyson.com?p=1080

Blazing Star Supports Bees and Monarch Butterflies YouTube video by Native Plants and Pollinators

Happy Earth Day! My friend Professor Jeffrey Karron produced this short video to celebrate: "Blazing Star Supports Bees and Monarch Butterflies". Check it out for some soothing bees, butterflies, and flowers...
youtu.be/NqYcSp-vNcI

Happy International Haiku Day! Here are some of mine...#haiku

It’s a spectrum, of course, but the autistic people I know are incredibly creative, successful, smart, and just generally great people to know. RFK Jr’s description more closely describes Republicans at this point.

Poem of the Week: "Apple Blossom" by Louis MacNeice | WFU Press Louis MacNeice's "Apple Blossom" evokes a feeling of eternal optimism, of continuous appreciation of the world and all of its wonders.

Some hope and optimism for the beginning of apple blossom season here. Louis MacNeice's "Apple Blossom". One door closes, another opens...

Also: "The bad news is that we had to cut out your 401(k)."

Probably Trump's idea -- he's going to need a scapegoat soon and having Lutnick visible during the big decisions will help cement him as the culprit.

This was an astounding interview -- Heritage Foundation also said they were blindsided by the tariff details, not at all what they had expected, and wanted to know who were the incompetent Trump admin people that came up with it. Let the backpedaling and distancing begin.

Great new book on apples. Focussing on the rise and fall of apple growing in New Zealand and especially Kumeū region. As well as family histories from the region it plots the political and economic reasons for the decline of this once important export industry. #apples #NZ #book

“It happens sometimes. Teslas just explode. Natural causes.”

(Hacked RepoMan quote)

Quite a leap for someone who thinks he can declassify documents by just thinking about them.

Very sad. Hantavirus, while rare overall, is a fact of life in New Mexico, with a handful of cases every year, mostly in rural areas.

Ha ha - eat it, it's good! 😉

Meet the Italian 'Fruit Detective' Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis

Did you see this article from last Nov? Nice work if you can get it! 😊 www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...

SantaCafé in Santa Fe has one of those!

Noticeably absent is an explanation of what happens to the already collected data. Will it be used? Destroyed? I know there are groups that would pay good money for that kind of data -- I bet that Trump and Musk do too.

So I guess that Trump is now admitting that he can’t end the Ukraine war in one day?

Yup. Seen at today’s 50501 protest in Denver.

The sad truth is that once a dispute with a bank or insurance co or medical provider gets to a certain point, NOBODY wants to hear from you about why you don't owe them. They just want to hear about getting paid. That's when it's good to have someone like the CFPB around.

I had a multi-year dispute with a large insurance company. Once I discovered the CFPB had jurisdiction over them, I sent in my documentation and within 3 DAYS my credit was fixed and the insurance company called to apologize. CFPB has real teeth and banks/insurance-cos hate them. Keep it strong!

I lived in Santa Fe for about 20 years and still get down there every now and then. I may take a look sometime next year if I can... FYI did you know your neighbors at Tilted Shed started making cider in NM before going to Sonoma?

MyFruitTree Helping you name and value your apple trees!

Washington State has spun off a nonprofit that does a simple test for $50 that will provide matches against their (always growing) database and sometimes parentage information. See myfruittree.org/welcome

There is a small but active group of fruit explorers in NM (some quite close to these trees) that would be interested in hearing about these, and would propogate them if they did really turn out to be original or descendants of Spanish colonial apples.

If the tree-ring data was from the one "dead or dying" tree, then perhaps the other 3 were seedlings from that one. Some DNA testing of the living trees would probably be in order, at least to rule out more modern possibilities.

Well that's exciting. If the tree-ring data of "around 1800" is correct, it could quite possibly be an old Spanish variety or a descendant. The influx of Anglo settlers occurred mostly after 1820, which may or may not fall into the "around 1800" timeframe.

Also amazing that the entire USDA Pomological WaterColors Collection is now available online and is public domain. And, if you like a soothing feed, follow @pomological.xor.blue which posts random entries!