In the array of possible natural hair colors, dark hues are the most common more than 90 percent of people worldwide have brown or black hair.  That’s followed by blonde hair.  Red hair, occurring in just 1 to 2 percent of the population, is the least common.  Blue eyes are similarly uncommon, and they may be becoming rarer.  One study found that between 1899 and 1905, more than half of non-Hispanic white people in the United States had blue eyes.  But from 1936 to 1951, that number fell to 33.8 percent.   Today, estimates suggest about 17 percent of people worldwide have blue eyes.  Your hair color and eye color come down to what genes you inherit from your parents.  If one person has both red hair and blue eyes, there’s a good chance one or both of their parents do, too, but not always.  You must inherit two sets of genetic information for both your hair color and your eye color to have these less-common characteristics.  The likelihood of this happening is quite rare, especially if neither of your parents has red hair or blue eyes.  Sometimes, however, the genetic stars align, and individuals are born with the rare combination of red hair and blue eyes.  https://www.healthline.com/health/red-hair-blue-eyes    

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will not run in the Preakness Stakes, trainer Cherie DeVaux announced May, 6, 2026.  DeVaux and owners decided to skip the Preakness and set their sights on the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.  DeVaux, the first woman to train a Derby winner, is from Saratoga Springs, which is hosting the Belmont for a third and final time this year.  "We are incredibly appreciative of the excitement and support surrounding the possibility of a Triple Crown run," DeVaux said in a statement.  "Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort.  His health, happiness and long-term future will always remain our top priority."  Golden Tempo is the third Derby winner in the past five years not to be entered in the Preakness.  For various reasons, it is the sixth time in eight years the Preakness will happen with no chance of a Triple Crown on the line.  American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 are the only horses to sweep all three races over the past four decades.   https://www.espn.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/48695744/kentucky-derby-winner-golden-tempo-run-preakness-stakes     

Memorial Day, a federal holiday held the last Monday in May, is the nation's foremost annual day to mourn and honor its deceased service men and women.  Originally called Decoration Day, it was formalized by a "Memorial Day Order" issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan in 1868.  https://www.cem.va.gov/history/Memorial-Day-history.asp   

Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country.  It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.  During that first national commemoration, former Union Gen. and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried there.  This national event galvanized efforts to honor and remember fallen soldiers that began with local observances at burial grounds in several towns throughout the United States following the end of the Civil War, such as the May 1, 1865 gathering in Charleston, South Carolina organized by freed slaves to pay tribute and give proper burial to Union troops.  In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday.  By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities observed Memorial Day, and several states had declared it a legal holiday.  After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States.  In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be commemorated on the last Monday of May.  https://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/memorial-day/history/    

May 22, 2026

curtilage (plural curtilages)  noun   (chiefly property law)  A small piece of land, such as a garth or yard with the buildings and structures on it, immediately surrounding a dwelling house and legally regarded as part of its property; originally, such areas that were enclosed by a fence or wall.  Synonym:  grounds   https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/curtilage   

Famed British naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough turned 100 years old on May 8, 2026 and a team of researchers prepared a special present: an entire new genus of wasp named in his honor.  Meet Attenboroughnculus tau, a tiny parasitic wasp discovered in Chile.  The specimen is 0.14 inches long and has a T-shaped marking on its abdomen that inspired the species name, “tau.”  The insect was collected from Chile’s Valdivia Province in 1983, and it took over four decades for someone to officially recognize it as something new.  See picture at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/sir-david-attenborough-100th-birthday-110100910.html     

“OK” (implying ambivalence or even distaste).  What started off as an initialism—an abbreviation in which the letters are pronounced individually—has evolved into one of the most widely used words in American English, and the subject of entire books (Allan Metcalf’s The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word).  Thank you, reader.    

OK with spelling variations including okay, O.K. and many others, is an English word (originating in American English) denoting approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, acknowledgment, or a sign of indifference.  OK is frequently used as a loanword in other languages.  It has been described as the most frequently spoken or written word on the planet.  The origin of OK is disputed; however, most modern reference works hold that it originated around Boston as part of a fad in the late 1830s of abbreviating misspellings--that it is an initialism of "oll korrect" as a misspelling of "all correct".  This origin was first described by linguist Allen Walker Read in the 1960s.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK   

"A-O-K" is a song by American singer Tai Verdes.  It was released on June 8, 2021, as the fifth single from his debut studio album TV via Arista Records.  The song was written by Adam Friedman, Brian William Brundage, Martijn Tienus Konijnenburg and Tai Verdes, and produced by Friedman.  A remix featuring guest vocals from fellow American rapper 24kGoldn was released on September 10, 2021.  Additionally, an alternative version featuring latin artist Manuel Turizo was released on November 18, 2021.  The song was also the walk-up song for Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott until 2026, making it particularly popular in the Delaware Valley.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-O-K_(song)     

In English grammar, an intensifier (from the Latin for "stretch" or intend," also known as a booster or an amplifier) is a word that emphasizes another word or phrase.  Intensifying adjectives modify nouns; intensifying adverbs commonly modify verbs, gradable adjectives, and other adverbs.  The opposite of an intensifier is a downtoner, which lessens the emphasis on the word or phrase it's modifying.  https://www.thoughtco.com/intensifier-grammar-term-1691176    

Oblong is a village in Crawford County, Illinois.  The population was 1,466 at the 2010 census, and then was later recorded to be 1,371 in the 2020 census.   Oblong was incorporated in 1883.   The original town site was on a naturally occurring oblongular prairie, hence the name.  The crossroads at the town site was the location of a general store owned by Henry Peck.  The prominent sign "Hen. Peck" gave rise to the village's original moniker, Henpeck.   According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Oblong has a total area of 1.09 square miles (2.82 km²), of which 1.09 square miles (2.82 km²) (or 99.36%) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) (or 0.64%) is water.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblong,_Illinois    

May 14, 2026

 

Once known as the Madison Square Depot, Madison Square Garden’s legacy began adjacent to Madison Square Park, located at the northeast corner of 26th Street and Madison Avenue.  The first (1876-1889) and second (1890-1925) Madison Square Garden hosted a crazy quilt of diverse activities:  there were dog shows, cattle displays, political conventions, circuses, theater, opera, balls, religious revivals, and boxing matches.  The first Madison Square Garden, owned by William K. Vanderbilt, was constantly abuzz with sporting events, as well as P. T. Barnum’s circus, which was brought to Madison Square Garden each year and is credited as keeping the financially inefficient building afloat.  Unfortunately, the roofless and structurally unsound building was unable to host enough events to bring in necessary funds, leading to the building’s sale in 1887 and demolition in 1889.  The second Madison Square Garden, erected at the same location,  had to be built in one year so as not to miss more than one season of shows.  Working on a 24/7 schedule, one source reported that “at least one thousand men were at work at any given time” on the site.  Upon completion in 1890, the new Madison Square Garden was once again New York City’s epicenter of culture and large-scale events.  The expenses of operating Madison Square Garden again grew too steep, resulting in the Garden being sold in 1908 with The New York Life Insurance Company securing a mortgage for the building.  Remaining open for several more years, the Garden closed on May 25, 1925.  The third Madison Square Garden opened that same year at 49th Street and Eight Avenue.  The Garden on Madison Square Park was demolished in 1926, and over the course of the next two years, the New York Life Insurance Building was built--and still stands today, as the beautifully gothic building adorned with a golden roof that can still be seen from Madison Square Park.  Thank you, reader.   https://madisonsquarepark.org/community/news/2021/04/history-of-madison-square-garden/    

Golden Tempo (19) ridden by Jose L. Ortiz won the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville on May 2, 2026.   Golden Tempo horse entered with 23-1 odds.  Renegade (5-1) and Ocelli (70-1) took second and third, respectively.  Golden Tempo, the son of two-time horse of the year Curlin, had run well during show efforts in the Louisiana Derby and Risen Star Stakes but wasn’t considered a serious contender in the Run of the Roses.  Golden Tempo claimed Saturday’s Kentucky Derby and made history, as trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to ever prep the winner of America’s most famous horse race.  “I don’t have any words right now,” DeVaux said after the victory.  “I’m just so, so happy for Golden Tempo.  (Jockey) Jose (Ortiz) did a wonderful job, a magical job at getting him there.” https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/horse-racing/live-blog/kentucky-derby-2026-live-updates-rcna341955    

Bellis perennis (the daisy) is a European species of the family Asteraceae, often considered the archetypal species of the name daisy.  To distinguish this species from other plants known as daisies, it is sometimes qualified or known as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy.  Bellis perennis is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 20 centimetres (8 inches) in height.  It has short creeping rhizomes and rosettes of small rounded or spoon-shaped leaves that are from 2 to 5 cm (³⁄₄–2 in) long and grow flat to the ground.  The species habitually colonises lawns and is difficult to eradicate by mowing, hence the term 'lawn daisy'.   The plant blooms from March to September and exhibits the phenomenon of heliotropism, in which the flowers follow the position of the sun in the sky.  The flower heads are composite, about 2 to 3 cm (³⁄₄–1+¹⁄₄ in) in diameter, in the form of a pseudanthium, consisting of many sessile flowers with white ray florets (often tipped red) and yellow disc florets.  Each inflorescence is borne on a single leafless stem 2 to 10 cm (³⁄₄–4 in), rarely 15 cm (6 in) tall.  The capitulum, or disc of florets, is surrounded by two rows of green bracts known as "phyllaries".  The achenes are without pappus.   Bellis may come from bellus, Latin for "pretty", and perennis is Latin for "everlasting".   The name "daisy", possibly originating with this plant, is considered a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Geoffrey Chaucer called it "eye of the day".  In medieval times, Bellis perennis or the English Daisy was commonly known as "Mary's Rose".   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellis_perennis   

Dandelions have deep roots in history throughout the ages.  Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans enjoyed the flower, and they have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years.  Dandelions probably arrived in North America on the Mayflower--not as stowaways, but brought on purpose for their medicinal benefits.   See more at https://www.mofga.org/resources/weeds/ten-things-you-might-not-know-about-dandelions/  In the last week of April 2026, mowers cut down dandelions in my backyard.  As they did, more dandelions popped up.     

May 4, 2026

hamlet

From Middle English hamlet, hamelet, a borrowing from Old French hamelet, diminutive of Old French hamel, in turn diminutive of Old French ham, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *haim, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (whence English home).  Equivalent to Middle English ham (“home, village”) +‎ -let (“small”).  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hamlet   

Hamlet quotes

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” 

“This above all:  to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day . . . ”

“To be, or not to be:  that is the question: 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles . . . ”

 “To be, or not to be:  that is the question: 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles . . .  ”

“Brevity is the soul of wit.”

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”  https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1885548-hamlet-prince-of-denmark   

Hamlet - Entire Play  https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/hamlet/read/   

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware.  Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana in the United States.  The museum and estate were the home of Henry Francis du Pont (1880–1969), Winterthur's founder and a prominent antiques collector and horticulturist.  Part of the natural area is old-growth forest and recognized by the Old-Growth Forest Network.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterthur_Museum,_Garden_and_Library    

chock(n.)

1670s, "piece of wood, block" (especially one used to prevent movement), possibly from Old North French choque "a block" (Old French çoche "log," 12c.; Modern French souche "stump, stock, block"), from Gaulish *tsukka "a tree trunk, stump."

also from 1670s

chock(adv.)

"tightly, close up against," 1799, back formation from chock-full. 

also from 1799

https://www.washingtonpost.com/ 

Thank you, reader.    

Books connect us to the past and teach us how to map our future.  The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan (2025)    

To erect a tower 1,000 feet (300 m) high, Gustave Eiffel and his engineers had only one material at their disposal: iron.  Wood was hardly a realistic option.  A stone tower would have collapsed under its own weight.  And reinforced concrete was still in its infancy.  But iron was a material that had been perfectly mastered both in its production and in its implementation.  It had been known since the 2nd century BC, but it wasn’t until the 1850s that its use became widespread in construction thanks to its industrial availability.  https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/news/130-years/what-eiffel-tower-made  Thank you, reader.    

April 29, 2026