Fido  noun  a coin having a minting error    generic name for a pet dog   system for enabling aircraft to land, involving the dispersal of fog by means of petrol burners on the ground   It was developed by the Allies during the Second World War.  https://scrabble-word.com/dictionary/fido 

The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection.  Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation.  As of 2022, the 42,826 protected areas covered 1,235,486 km2 (477,024 sq mi), or 13 percent of the land area of the United States.  As of 2007, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, the U.S. had a total of 6,770 terrestrial nationally designated (federal) protected areas.  Federal level protected areas are managed by a variety of agencies, most of which are a part of the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior.  They are often considered the crown jewels of the protected areas.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_the_United_States 

The word heyday originates from the 16th century and is derived from the old English phrase ‘heydaeg,’ meaning high day or festive day.  It has been used in various contexts over the years, such as to describe the peak of someone’s career or the golden age of a particular era.  What Does Heyday Mean - AZdictionary.com  Thank you, reader.   

Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription-based content, including newsletters, podcasts, and video.  It allows writers to send digital content directly to subscribers.   Founded in 2017, Substack is headquartered in San Francisco.  Substack was founded in 2017 by Chris Best, the co-founder of Kik Messenger; Jairaj Sethi, a head of platform and principal developer at Kik Messenger; and Hamish McKenzie, a former PandoDaily tech reporter.  Best and McKenzie describe Ben Thompson's Stratechery, a subscription-based tech and media newsletter, as a major inspiration for their platform.  Best acts as CEO of the company.  In 2019, Substack added support for podcasts and discussion threads among newsletter subscribers.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substack   

For the cover of the June 2, 2025 New Yorker issue, the artist Kadir Nelson features Marshall W. (Major) Taylor leading a parade of bicyclists from eras past and present.  “I wanted to pay tribute to the most celebrated cyclist in the nineteenth century—the first African American superstar of any sport—and to the epic six-day indoor cycling event in 1896 at Madison Square Garden’s Velodrome, where Taylor competed,” Nelson said.  Though Taylor was admired during his era for being the “world’s fastest man,” he also encountered a lot of racism and aggression throughout his career; he was once knocked off his bike and choked to unconsciousness by a white racer.  In December, 2023, a bill to award Taylor the Congressional Gold Medal was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.  June 6, 2025  Thank you, Muse reader.   

The Major Taylor Velodrome is an outdoor, concrete velodrome in Indianapolis, named for 1899 cycling world champion Major Taylor.  The 333.34 m (364.55 yd) track with 28 degree banked turns and 9 degree straights.  The Velodrome is located immediately north of the Marian University campus and is the home track of the 41-time USA Cycling National Champion Marian University Cycling Team.  The velodrome was opened in July 1982 for the U.S. Olympic Festival.  It was built at a cost of $2.5 million.  It was a facility required to host that year's National Sports Festival, with money coming from a partnership between the Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Department and the Lilly Endowment.  The proposal to name the facility for Taylor came initially from Tom Healy, a writer for the Indianapolis News, who contacted Taylor's daughter, Sydney Taylor Brown.  The two advocated among the city's business community and Mayor William H. Hudnut.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Taylor_Velodrome  Thank you, Muse reader. 

List of State Birds | State Symbols USA  Thank you, reader. 

June 3, 2025  The W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden features the largest collection of historic—pre-1950—herbaceous peonies in North America, “and likely the world,” curator David Michener said.  “Once you come here to the Peony Garden, you’ll be mesmerized, and you’ll understand why people love peonies,” he said. “The fragrances, the colors, the forms, it’s just intoxicating.”  The peony watch is a spectator sport with tens of thousands of visitors arriving at The Arb each spring to behold the unique perennials—so many that visitors have to be bused in.  The campus Peony Garden contains more than 300 historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing American, Canadian and European peonies of the era.  The garden typically features up to 10,000 flowers at peak bloom.  Their colorful blossoms draw admirers from Michigan and beyond, but the peonies’ beauty is not their primary function.  The garden is designed as a support mechanism for academia—to be a research collection for students and faculty to explore genomics and social issues.  Michener and his colleagues at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum work closely with their sister garden in Minsk, the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, trying to understand how ornamental peonies are related to each other and the wild, ancestral species.  Michigan’s Peony Garden is free to visit and open from sunrise to sunset.  

https://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/lifestyles/2025/06/annual-peony-pilgrimage-begins-to-u-of-m-arboretum-in-ann-arbor/  Thank you, reader!   

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2950  June 4, 2025