Monthly Archives: October 2016

More from Ostia Antica

Posted on October 6, 2016 by JohnMatel

More from Ostia. The first photo shows the public toilets. It must have been odd to be sitting in rows like that doing your business. I suppose the men could encourage each other and compete to see who could be … Continue reading →

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Visiting clear cut in Brunswick County

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

Inspected the place we clear cut last year. It is now fall, so I can see what is coming under. We planted 21,000 seedlings in March and April, almost 500 per acre. It looks like there will be a lot … Continue reading →

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Gardens at Caracalla

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

I like trees and so I appreciated the trees in the gardens at the Baths of Caracalla. Roman stone pines (or umbrella pines) are particularly impressive and lend themselves well to shading ground well below. The big trees have orange … Continue reading →

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Poles & siege of Vienna

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

Vatican museum features a large painting by Jan Matejko, whose work I got to know well during my time in Krakow. Jan Matejko lived in the 19th Century in Krakow. His specialty was massive works depicting great moments in Polish … Continue reading →

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A room with a view

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

We are staying at Courtyard Central Park in Rome, using my accumulated Marriott points. It is, as the name implies, up against a big park that stretches from here to the Vatican. We have a little balcony with a nice … Continue reading →

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Through the Holy Door

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

Went through the Holy Door of Mercy at St Peter’s yesterday. The idea is that sins will be forgiven by walking through it. Let’s hope so. Pope Francis declared the door open last December. It door will close next month … Continue reading →

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GMOs

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

I would like to see some of this applied to forestry. The leading ecological threats today are invasive species and native species made functionally invasive by environmental change. We have seen near total destruction of the American chestnut, which once … Continue reading →

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Baths of Diocletian

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

Yesterday it was the baths of Caracalla. Today we visited the baths of Diocletian. They are similar. Diocletian was an interesting emperor and even after 1700 years, he is still controversial. We all agree that he saved the empire. We … Continue reading →

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Etruscans

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

The great thing about ancient history is that what is so old can become new. I have to become reacquainted with the Etruscans. I met them back in the 1960s and my knowledge of them stopped growing in the 1970s. … Continue reading →

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Chasing Roman rainbows

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JohnMatel

We had significant afternoon rain in Rome, but it cleared up nicely before the sun went down, leaving very clear air, a shinning sky and a few rainbows.

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