Established in 1638, Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States.  Harvard has 28 libraries, a staff of 700, 6 million digitized and publicly available items, and 20 million books.  https://www.harvard.edu/campus/libraries/ 

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in two forms.  The main type is called phylloquinone, found in green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, and spinach.  The other type, menaquinones, are found in some animal foods and fermented foods.  Menaquinones can also be produced by bacteria in the human body.  Vitamin K helps to make various proteins that are needed for blood clotting and the building of bones.  Because vitamin K is fat-soluble, it is best to eat vitamin K foods with some fat to improve absorption.  So, drizzle some olive oil or add diced avocado to your favorite leafy green salad!  Link to information on all vitamins and minerals at https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-k/   

Basque Country, the autonomous region in northern Spain and self-proclaimed “culinary nation” is well-known for pintxos in Bilbao’s Casco Viejo and the temples of Basque food in charming San Sebastián, the city with the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the world.  Pinched between San Sebastián and Bilbao, Getaria sits in an ideal spot on the Urola Coast, where throughout the year currents refresh the waters, alter the temperature, and even play with the salinity, creating a diverse environment for all sorts of fish and shellfish species.  Every day, fishing boats deliver the day’s catch to the port.  Workers carry the fish just a few meters to asadores—the city’s traditional, family-run seafood restaurants clustered by the water —where they’re laid on smoking parrillas (grills) and soon delivered to hungry customers, preferably with a bottle of txakoli, the dry local wine.  Long before tourists discovered the city, Getarian fishermen were cooking fish on charcoal grills set up inside their boats.  In the 1940s, the grills came ashore.  After weeks at sea, sailors returned to Getaria carrying loads of fish.  On their way home, they often stopped at bodegones (local bars) to drink wine and catch up on conversation.  While these establishments only served alcohol, many of the owners built parrillas outside so the sailors could cook their own fish, allowing them to stay longer and consume more wine.  “As this became a habit, other people who passed by the streets wanted to eat in these places, giving birth to the first asadores in the city,” says Maialen Gereka, owner of el Txoko, the city’s first asador opened by her grandfather in 1953.  Little more than bars with grills in the beginning, she adds, the original asadors didn’t have any plates or cutlery, so bread was the only utensil.  Juan Sebastián Elkano:  Getaria’s most famous son, known as the first sailor to circumnavigate the Earth, Elkano is also somewhat of a patron saint in the city’s parrilla tradition.  The navigator relied on grilled seafood on transoceanic voyages and bequeathed two grills in his will.  One of the most famous restaurants in town, Elkano, is named after him.  Rafael Tonon  https://www.eater.com/23078265/getaria-spain-guide-grilled-fish-basque-country  

“The American alligator recovered from a lake in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on February 19, 2023 is undergoing medical evaluation at the Bronx Zoo by veterinarians and animal care staff.  The alligator, which was lethargic and suffering from exposure to cold temperatures, is extremely emaciated.  After arriving at the Bronx Zoo, the animal was slowly warmed to an appropriate ambient temperature and received supportive care.  Too weak and unresponsive to eat on its own, the alligator, a female, is being tube-fed to provide her with nutrients as well as fluids, Vitamin B, antibiotics and an antifungal medication.  “When the nearly five-foot alligator was brought to the zoo by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it presented as extremely emaciated weighing only 15 pounds.  An alligator of this size should typically weigh between 30-35 pounds.  Radiographs of the alligator, which is estimated to be between 5 and 6 years of age, show that she had ingested an approximately 4-inch wide bathtub stopper.  The Bronx Zoo, located on 265 acres of hardwood forest in Bronx, NY, opened on Nov. 8, 1899.  It is world-renowned for its leadership in the areas of animal welfare, husbandry, veterinary care, education, science and conservation.  The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is the flagship park of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which manages the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks including the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo and New York Aquarium.  https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18742/Update-on-American-Alligator-Rescued-from-Prospect-Park-Lake.aspx 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2637  February 27, 2023