Month: October 2020

More Ways to Combine Modular Units

October 19, 2020

Let’s Make a Daisy Wheel and a Star Bracelet:

In previous posts I have shown you how to fold and glue the units to be used to create these new forms. It always amazes me how many ways the units can be combined.

To make these variations you just need to glue them together in new arrangements.

First Things First:

In order to have plenty of units to work with, you should find the colors of paper you want to use and determine the size of the units you will fold. In these projects all the units are the same size. To find the instructions for folding the base units look at my earlier blog entitled : Eco-Balls: Neat away to Recycle Paper which is found in the Origami section under the date of publication: Sept. 18, 2017. You will need 24 units to make the Daisy Wheel and 12 to make the Star Bracelet.

The Daisy Wheel

Above you can see one side of the project. Below I will show you the other side of the same form.

Below you can see the basic units used for this project.

Use 16 of the units to create 8 of the double units pictured on the bottom of the picture above. Keep the rest of the units as singles to add to the perimeter of the wheel you will make first. By gluing the 8 double units together you will have a Wheel.

Though the picture above shows three wheels you only need one.

Next, add the remaining 8 units to the perimeter to finish the form.

Now Let’s Try A More Difficult Form:

The Star Bracelet:

You need 12 units. Choose the colors you want in the finished form. I like to use two different colors to add interest, however, you can have all the same color for a monochromatic look or use more than two colors. It’s your choice.

Glue Together to Form Double Units:

Take your 12 units and make them into 6 double units. This time you will glue them in another way. You will probably find this project more difficult than the previous one. It all has to do with the gluing since it uses fewer units than the Daisy Wheel. Because less surface area is covered in glue you need to hold them together firmly and longer than you did when gluing up the double units.

Notice where the glue needs to be placed on the edges that will make contact with the other units.

Notice that the glue forms a “V” shape in the picture below.

The next few pictures show how the units go together.

Flat Surfaces Outward:

Continue gluing the units together keeping the flat surfaces outward. You should see a Star of David appear in the center of the form if you are combining them properly. It should look like the photo below.

Notice how the outer surface looks compared to the inner star form.

Now You Are A Star:

I hope you are enjoying learning how to make these various projects. If you create some new models on your own, please send me pictures.

Join With Others for New Possibilities:

While gluing these units together I often think of how we join together with others to accomplish different tasks. God has given each of us various gifts that make us different and needed by others in the Body of Christ, the Church. Our differences add contrast and interest just like the colors do in the projects above. It takes a Master artist to combine the pieces to make a whole. God has a place for you to make a difference in the world if you will let Him place you where He wants to. Be willing to combine with others even when they are different. You will be surprised how He can take people of every sort to accomplish His will and benefit all involved.

I Peter 2:4-6

“As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For the scripture says: ” See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Discover the Mystic Mist Flower

October 10, 2020

One of my favorite Fall blooming flowers here in Tennessee had been a mystery to me. I finally decided to look for an answer to its identity. After looking at about 50 pictures of flowering blue to purple native plants I finally found an answer. It is the Blue Mist Flower.

What’s In A Name?

To be more exact, the scientific name is Eupatorium coelestinum. The Latin genus name means “coned-shaped, nodding Flowers” while the species name means “sky blue”. It also goes by many other common names like: Wild Blue Ageratum, (though it is in another family than the Ageratums), Break-bone, Blue Bonset, and many others.

A Butterfly and Bee Favorite:

One thing you will notice quickly when these flowers start to bloom in late Summer and early Fall is the many kinds of insects that feed on this plant. You will see lots of different kinds of butterflies, bees, moths, beetles, and flies landing on the flower tops gathering nectar. For this reason they are often planted in Butterfly gardens by those who love to watch their Lepidoptera friends.

Often Comes in Multiple Colors:

It’s interesting to note all the variations you can find in the coloring of the flowers on these plants. Some times they are bright blue. Other times they are more purplish in color and they even come in white. I found it interesting that on some plants you could find all three colors.

Some Identifying Characteristics:

Blue Mist Flowers can be planted by seed but more often a gardener may find rhizome root cuttings to get a quicker result. As the plants grow and spread their underground root system insures they will be ready to spring up and flower in the years to come since they are Perennial plants. They usually grow up in large clumps of closely spaced stalks. They have opposite triangular leaves and usually grow to 1-4 ft. in height. They have composite flowers like other members of the sunflower family. The flowers almost look fuzzy when viewed in their flower heads. They have multiple, long, skinny petals. The flowering heads often tend to droop as they mature. When the leaves are crushed they smell similar to tomato vines.

Water Lovers:

You will often find these flowers growing anywhere where there is an abundance of water, like along ditches, creeks, rivers, lakes, low moist meadows, roadsides, and fence-lines. It is also interesting to note how important these plants are in preventing erosion from the water that runs over the surface on its way downhill. Their root system nets through the soft soil holding it in place.

Found to Be Useful in Many Other Ways:

While reading many different articles about these plants I found that they have been used medicinally for hundreds of years. Native Americans and early settlers used the crushed leaves to prevent ticks and mosquitoes from biting. They also used the essential oils to treat sore throats, coughing and skin conditions. One of their common names, Bone-break, comes from their use in treatment of broken bones. It seems that this plant’s rich antioxidants promote calcium production helping bones heal and become stronger more quickly. The oils from these plants have been used as an insecticide to prevent damage from nematodes in the soil that cause crop damage as well as being used in grain storage areas to prevent pests that can destroy the crops. It also kills and repels many kinds of mites and spiders.

It is important to note, however, that any medicinal use of these plants be guided by doctors and scientists that have tested these measures.

Some people are allergic to the pollen and oils of these plants. It is best to leave it to the experts to find new applications to the use of these plants. It’s interesting to note that the oils from these plants are often used in cosmetics for their antioxidants when mixed with other ingredients.

Often Used In Flowering Arrangements:

Since these flowers bloom in the Fall when many other types of flowers are scarce, you will often find them mixed in flower arrangements to add a little color and texture. Since they have long stalks they can easily be added to add height to and arrangement.

Thinking of Flowers:

While learning so many interesting things about these flowers God created, I was also reminded of the promise in Matthew 6: 25-34. How important it is to let God remind us through his creation of his love, care and purpose for us.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you- you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” NIV

Tricky Triggerfish: Designed for Defense

October 8, 2020

Early Morning Discovery:

“Get those lines down! The Triggers are waiting!“, was the cry we heard from the Captain of the Party boat, the Destiny, two hours out in the Gulf of Mexico from Destin, Florida in the early October morning.

I was in for a treat. I was about to hook into my very first Triggerfish. These amazing creatures have unique design and behavior that demonstrate the careful way in which a God made them. They have amazing defensive strategies.

Finally up and in the basket. Take a closer look and see how these fish differ from the ones you have caught over the years.

My fish was only 2″ smaller than the one that won the 2020 Destin Fishing Rodeo daily contest when we got back to the dock.

Above you can see The Daily Winner that was Bigger than My Fish.

The Destin Fishing Rodeo is an annual event in Florida to bring in fishermen to extend the tourist season into October. There are daily and overall prizes in several different categories of kinds of fish and age divisions. When you come in for the weigh in, expect a large crowd of onlookers. You will also meet the current reigning Miss Destin Beauty Queen who poses with those who catch the big ones.

Fancy Fins

One of the most fascinating behaviors of the Triggerfish is the way it uses its fins. Triggerfish have two spines on the front of their dorsal fin that are designed to help the fish escape predators. When a shark, Amberjack, Grouper, Sailfish, Marlin or other large fish comes in to attack, the Triggerfish flees into a crack or crevice in the rocky bottom. They then slide into the opening and spring their trigger fins to lock themselves in. The spines interlock when sprung and this makes it almost impossible to remove. When you get one on the line, be sure to maintain pressure so they don’t drop down and use this same trick on you. The name “Triggerfish” comes from this behavior.

Put On Your Armor!

When God created the Triggerfish He gave them a suit of armor. The outer skin of the triggerfish is so strong that when you try to clean them with a knife, you cannot cut through their outer skin. While watching the deckhands that cleaned my fish I saw that they had to cut through the thinner skin around the upper dorsal fins or enter through the vent at the bottom of the fish. They then peeled back the skin while ripping it away from the flesh beneath. The guy that cleaned mine kept the two large pieces of skin to take home, cover with salt, then scrape away any remaining flesh to create leather to use to make knife sheaths. While thinking about how much protection God gave these fish, I was reminded of the Armor God has given to His children to ward off the attacks of Satan. (You can learn more about this in the Bible, Ephesians 6: starting at verse 11.)

How to Out Trick The Bait Stealers:

One thing we had to learn quickly was that the Triggerfish are masters at bait stealing. The deckhands told us that, if we had no bites within 30-45 seconds, we needed to reel in and rebait. So, how does one out trick a tricky Triggerfish? Use circle hooks and the fish will often hook themselves. These special hooks are designed to curve into the lips of the fish as soon as they bite down on the bait. Don’t jerk the line, just reel up as fast as you can. You can also bait your hook with pieces of squid which stay on the line better than the other cut fish bait.

Be Ready for a Battle!

Of the five kinds of bottom fish I caught during my three days of fishing in the Gulf, the Triggerfish were the hardest to bring in. They put up quite a battle. The oval shape of the body of this fish creates a lot of surface tension and resistance when traveling through the water as the fish swims sideways while trying to escape.

Make Sure It’s a “Keeper”!:

Only one of the six Triggerfish I caught was a keeper. Triggerfish, at the time of my trip had to be at least 15 inches long to be “keepers”. The one that I was able to keep was 20 inches long. Depending on the area and season restrictions you may not be able to keep any of these fish. Fortunately for us, they had reopened the season in October due to the lower number of fish harvested this year because of the Covid crisis. Be sure to check the current fishing regulations if you go out to fish in the Gulf of Mexico. If you go on a registered Party Boat the Captain and Crew will help you know which ones you can harvest.

Tricky Teeth:

Triggerfish have an amazing set of “choppers”. Their front teeth are very well developed and are used as chisels to bore holes through hard-shelled prey.

Above is a picture of a Triggerfish skull that shows you what these teeth look like. Since the mouths of these fish are so small, the teeth extrude out through the lips. Even though Triggerfish can chisel through thick shells they have other tricks that make acquiring food quicker.

Be Like a Helicopter:

Two food items Triggerfish like to eat are sand- dollars and sea urchins. To get to the meat inside these creatures requires a strategy. The Triggerfish uses its fins to hover in the water vertically above the sandy bottom of the sea floor. They then squirt out a stream of water through their mouths to blow away the sand exposing the sand-dollars hiding in the sand. Next, they grab their prey in their teeth and swim up and drop it until in lands on its back. The bottom side of the sand-dollar is much softer than the top making access much easier. Once flipped, the fish will descend rapidly and ram the inverted sand-dollar with its hard front teeth cracking the shell. They then quickly gobble up the soft creature inside and repeat the process again and again.

I’ve Got My Eyes on You:

As you have seen in the pictures in this blog, the Triggerfish has eyes high up on the sides of its body. These are placed in just the right place for the Triggerfish to locate and target its prey as well as keep an eye out fir predators.

Just One of Many Bottom Dwelling Fish:

In the above picture you can see only one Triggerfish in the Cooler. If you compare how many snapper fish there are in relation to the Triggerfish you get a pretty good idea that it is pretty special to catch a Triggerfish.

Triggerfish are usually caught when people are trying to catch grouper, Amberjack, snapper, and other game fish since they all live in the same areas. Don’t be disappointed, however. The triggerfish is one of the tastiest of them all!

Fish Family Matters:

While researching these fish I discovered some amazing things about the roles of the parent fish as well as the behaviors of their young. The male Triggerfish actually build and prepare the nesting sites before the females arrive during the nesting season. The males actually prepare more than one nest because one male may mate with several females. The males create depressions in the sandy bottom and guard their territories aggressively. They have even been known to attack scuba divers if they invade their territory, though they pose very little danger to humans. The females will deposit hundreds of thousand eggs and the males then supply the milt to fertilize them. The mothers will stay close by the nests until the eggs hatch. They frequently use their fins to oxygenate the eggs to help the embryos develop. After the eggs hatch the young will rise to the top of the water column where they feed amongst the sargassum (a type of brown seaweed that floats in masses on the surface of the ocean). Within the sargassum the baby fish find all kinds of tiny crustaceans and other food items. When the youngsters mature they drop back down to the bottom of the ocean to live out the rest of their lives.
Triggerfish have been known to grow as large as 30 inches and weigh up to 13 lbs., however these large triggerfish have had to survive for about 16 years to reach that size. As you can guess, most are much smaller, more in the 14 to 17 inch range.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed learning about Triggerfish. Maybe you can go out and catch some yourself.

Let’s Catch Some Mingo Snappers!

October 5, 2020

Out to Sea from Destin, Florida

It was early in the morning when I got up to go deep sea fishing in the sports fishing village of Destin, Florida. Once you arrive and board the party fishing boat, you are off for a two hour ride into the Gulf Bay. I went out on two different boats during the three days I was there: The Destin Princess and The Destiny.

Ready to Catch Some Fish?

Once the captain located a good fishing site the deck hands gave us instructions on how to catch the fish. To catch Mingo you have to lower the bait to the bottom and then bring it back up about nine cranks of the reel. It doesn’t take long to get a bite! They told us that if you were not getting bites within 30 seconds you have probably lost your bait. It seems the larger fish like to be just above the bottom.

These fish were often caught two at a time on the two hooks on the line. When you get into a school of them you have to quickly get your bait down while they are still biting before the captain tells you to bring up your lines to move to a better location.

What’s In A Name?

At the first stop some of us were a little confused when they called out the names of the fish we were catching. We could only keep the White and the Vermillion Snappers, but not the Red Snappers which were out of season. Sometimes they called the Mingo Snappers Vermillion and sometimes they called them Beeliners. After asking a few questions we learned that these fish have several nicknames. No matter what you call them, they are plentiful and will fill your stringer fast.

Scientists are more specific when naming creatures and use Latin names for each species. The scientific name of the Vermillion Snappers is Rhomboplites aurorubens. As you can see, the nicknames are easier to pronounce and remember.

What Bait Do You Use?

We were offered two types of bait: cut up mackerel and squid. Each piece of bait was about a 1 inch square. We found that the squid stayed on the line better, but the fish will eat just about anything you offer them.

Special Hooks So They Catch Themselves:

I learned that fishing for deep sea fish is much different that fishing for fresh water fish like bass and catfish. When fishing deep in the ocean you use circle hooks.

Don’t Be A Jerk!

When the fish bite you do not jerk back to set the hook! If you do you will just rip the hook from their soft mouths. what you should do, however, is reel in the line like crazy. I discovered that if you brought them up slowly you were likely to have them bitten off by sharks and dolphins. One of the times I was bringing up what must have been two Mingo fish when all of a sudden my line jerked down and then went loose again. When I reeled it up I was missing both hooks which had been cut off by the razor sharp teeth of a shark. Another time my line came up with just the head of a fish.

Here was one day’s catch of snappers. Notice that most are Vermillion/Mingo Snappers. I also caught some of their cousins the White Snappers. Notice the forked tails which help you know they are not Red Snappers which have a square tail.

These Are Great Fish to Catch!

As you probably know, many fish species have been over harvested to the point that they are endangered. When you go fishing you need to know the rules and regulations for the species you are likely to catch. You might even want to choose what time of the year you go to target specific types of fish. I was disappointed that I had to return my largest Snappers because the Red Snappers were out of season. Fortunately the Mingo fish are currently in season all year round which makes them a favorite target fish for the captains of party boats. Catching a big stringer of Tasty Mingo Fish seems to keep everybody happy while you still have a chance to catch other varieties of fish that live in the same environment. Since the Vermillion Snappers reproduce many times a year and produce thousands of eggs, it is assured that this species is a very sustainable catch. They are also tasty! They have a mild sweet tasting flesh that is low in sodium and fat, yet high in protein. They are easy to filet and one fish gives you about the right amount of fish for one person’s meal. You can cook them up several ways: fry them in butter or olive oil, bake them or grill them. They also taste great in fish chowders when cut into small cubes.

The Majority Rules

In my thee days of fishing I caught a total of 56 pounds of fish. The majority of those fish was by far the Mingo Fish.

This is the catch of one side of the boat. Notice how many Mingo fish are in the ice.

Other Interesting Mingo Facts:

Vermillion Snappers are reddish orange on the top and slowly fade to pink as the color goes toward the bottom of the fish. The bellies are silver white. Sometimes you can see some streaks of yellow in stripes on their sides.
Vermillion have very large red eyes.
Mingo fish have small mouths unlike their bigger cousins the Red Snappers.
This species can spawn anywhere between 23 to 93 times a year. A typical 7 inch fish can produce as many as 20,000 eggs. A larger 15 inch fish can produce up to 350,000 eggs a year.
Once hatched, baby fish rise up to the surface to feed on small creatures inside the seaweed mats toward the surface. When they get larger they descend to the bottom where they hang out over reefs, banks, artificial reefs and shipwrecks. They also like to be near where the banks drop off on the sea floor and around oil platforms.
They grow very slowly. It takes about a year for them to reach 5-7 inches in length. They can live up to 21 years and reach weights up to 7 lbs. the world record is 7 pounds and three ounces caught by John Doss in the Gulf of Mexico in 1987.
The average size caught is between 1 and 2 lbs.
Their diet includes crab, worms, squid, smaller fish, plankton, and shrimp.
Fishermen call them “Bull Mingo Fish” when they reach about three pounds. Most of the fish this size are males.
Most Vermillion are caught between 80 and 350 feet deep.
The dorsal fins of Vermillion are rose colored with yellow edges.
They are native from North and South Carolina, the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Caribbean Sea all the way to Brazil.

A view from the Destine Princess on the way out to the fishing area.

Variety Is The Spice of Life!

As I discover new creatures in God’s creation I am reminded of how many different kinds of creatures He has created that live in many different kinds of habitats. Just think of how carefully He must have thought through the design of each species. Some live in the deepest oceans. Others live in to top water. By creating them with different adaptations He assured they could all survive and balance out the food and territory requirements for survivor ability. It is important to realize that He has given man the responsibility for how we treat and manage these resources. When we use common sense and more carefully study a His creation we can enjoy what He has provided for us as well as insure that the supply can be enjoyed by others in years to come. When was the last time you thanked Him for creating the fish we like to catch, eat and study?

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5: 17

I often just take the time to speak out, “Thank you, LORD” as I am fishing. If you have a thankful spirit of gratitude you will find yourself enjoying your fishing time more. Someone else might also hear you and you might have a chance to share your testimony of how God is working in your daily life.