Podcasts about rice fields

Your Purple Pants Podcast Pitstop duo, @BriceIzyah and @TheRealBCamhi, is back breaking down The Amazing Race 37 Episode 4! This week, teams race through Bali, tackling muddy ATV trails, threshing rice in the scorching sun, and mastering intricate cultural offerings in a high-stakes Detour. A strategic use of the Express Pass shakes up the competition, while one team's navigation struggles lead to an emotional elimination. Tune in as we unpack all the drama, strategy, and unforgettable moments from this intense leg of the race!

Purple Pants Podcast | The Amazing Race 37: Muddy Roads, Rice Fields & a Tough Goodbye! | Episode 4 Recap   Your Purple Pants Podcast Pitstop duo, @BriceIzyah and @TheRealBCamhi, is back breaking down The Amazing Race 37 Episode 4! This week, teams race through Bali, tackling muddy ATV trails, threshing rice in the scorching sun, and mastering intricate cultural offerings in a high-stakes Detour. A strategic use of the Express Pass shakes up the competition, while one team's navigation struggles lead to an emotional elimination. Tune in as we unpack all the drama, strategy, and unforgettable moments from this intense leg of the race! You can also watch along on Brice Izyah's YouTube channel to watch us break it all down https://youtube.com/channel/UCFlglGPPamVHaNAb0tL_s7g LISTEN: Subscribe to the Purple Pants podcast feed  WATCH: Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube SUPPORT: Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks! Previously on the Purple Pants Podcast Feed: Purple Pants Podcast Archives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your Purple Pants Podcast Pitstop duo, @BriceIzyah and @TheRealBCamhi, is back breaking down The Amazing Race 37 Episode 4! This week, teams race through Bali, tackling muddy ATV trails, threshing rice in the scorching sun, and mastering intricate cultural offerings in a high-stakes Detour. A strategic use of the Express Pass shakes up the competition, while one team's navigation struggles lead to an emotional elimination. Tune in as we unpack all the drama, strategy, and unforgettable moments from this intense leg of the race!

Send us a textJoin me as we uncover Ha Giang, Vietnam's breathtaking last frontier, with Ying, a local Black H'mong guide, who shares insider tips and cultural insights for an unforgettable adventure! If you have ever considered venturing into this part of the country, then this episode is one NOT to miss. ( Please forgive some of the local background sounds)Key takeaways:-The Ha Giang Loop time allowance – How long do you need for your adventure through stunning valleys, waterfalls, and cultural sites like Lung Cu and Ma Pi Leng Pass. Best Time to Visit – Times of the year, and days of the week. From September to November, the golden rice terraces are at their most beautiful. Cooler temperatures make this the ideal season for trekking and sightseeing. Find out more.Cultural Immersion – Ying talks us through engagement with ethnic communities; traditional farming practices, and the joy of a communal hotpot meal.Guided vs. Independent Travel – The Pros and cons. The value of a local guide in managing language, safety, navigation, and cultural understanding. Options exist for all fitness levels.Approx Time stamps: 00:00:00 –Where is Ha Giang 00:01:06 - Guest Introduction: Ying 00:01:26 - Ying's Background and Early Life 00:12:06 - Common Questions from Tourists 00:15:24 - Recommended Duration for Ha Giang Loop 00:16:27 - Modes of Transportation 00:18:50 - Licensing and Safety for Motorbike Riders 00:20:00 -Day 1 Itinerary 00:20:40 -Accommodation Options: Hotel vs. Homestay 00:22:10 - Day 2/3/4 Itinerary 00:26:18 - Suitable Travelers - Fitness and Health Considerations 00:29:17 - Packing Tips 00:35:06 -Local Cuisine 00:36:09 -Best Days of the week to Visit & why  Reach out to Ying's website: dragonmountainfamily.com Her WhatsApp number :+84338805995 The best way to connect with me is not via text, it is through the website www.whataboutvietnam.com website and email.Thank you for listening. Do not send TEXT as I am unable to respond directly. Please email whataboutvietnam@gmail.com Keep abreast of news on our social pages on FB, IG,LinkedIn and TikTokWe'd love a review on your podcast channel.Let me design your #customised #private tour of Vietnam - See our Travel ServicesDo you need a #Dental Procedure? Why not find out what's possible through our Dental and #Cosmetic Medical partner Worldwide Beauty Hospital. Mention #whataboutvietnam to receive 5% discount at Worldwide Beauty Hospital

Our human body comprises 20,000 different essential proteins, each made up of a unique sequence of amino acids, unique in length, composition and three-dimensional structure. If our genome, or epigenome, fails to nourish us with one or more of our own proteins, say insulin, to whom do we turn in order to acquire such essential biomedical proteins or biologics? If our industries require biocatalysts like food processing enzymes or biomaterial proteins such as silk, how easily could our Prairies produce such otherwise expensive and exclusive proteins? Plant Protein farming is developing green sustainable technology to lower the production costs and simplify purification processes to enable cereals like barley and rice to supply recombinant proteins on a global scale. Dry Phission technology tethers or “paints” specific proteins onto the surface of starch granules in seeds. From harvested grain the starch granules are isolated by milling and air-classification allowing for dry gas liberation and collection of the pharmed protein. Speaker: Illimar Altosaar Illimar is Founder and CEO of Proteins Easy Corp. He has been working with cereal genetic engineering and plant proteins at Macdonald College, the Quebec Provincial Seed Farm, the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa and the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge. He has been innovating the molecular expression mechanisms and functional properties of proteins in genome-engineered plants. His diverse experience in genomics and biotechnology led him to envision PEC's protein purification technology using dry flour streaming and dry fractionation. Illimar was first to integrate a useful agronomic gene into the genome of the world's number one cereal crop, rice. A strong believer in the potential of molecular farming, he is revolutionizing the production of commercial proteins. Current knowledge of genomics and protein production in rice is developing genome-engineered rice lines with high yields of Synthetic Spider Dragline Silk for athleisure textile applications.

Join Dr. Scott Stephens, Dr. Mike Brasher, and ultra special guest Dr. Brian Davis for storytelling of days gone by and a report on hunting and habitat conditions from one end of the Mississippi Flyway to the other. Warm weather has kept wetlands open and birds around in the Canadian prairies, and when coupled with light hunting pressure, hunting success has been good. Conditions for early white-front hunting in Arkansas have also been dry, but with young birds around, Dr. Davis reports of good hunting success. The conversation then turns to changes in rice production, how this has affected food resources for wintering waterfowl, and what other changes may lie ahead in the future.Listen now: www.ducks.org/DUPodcastSend feedback: DUPodcast@ducks.org

Welcome to another episode of "Art Heals All Wounds," where we explore the powerful impact of art on the world and highlight artists creating positive change. In today's episode, I'm joined by filmmaker Kristin Tièche to delve into the fascinating world of bats and their ecological significance. **Key Episode Highlights:** - **Bats: Unsung Heroes of the Ecosystem:**  Discover how bats provide vital ecosystem services such as pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. Learn about their significant economic impact on agriculture, helping farmers like Mike DeWitt reduce pesticide use and save money. - **Threats to Bats and Conservation Efforts:**  Understand the threats bats face from habitat loss and white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease affecting North American bat populations. Explore how organizations like the Yolo Basin Foundation are working to raise awareness and protect bat habitats. - **Human Interaction and Misconceptions:**  Bats may be closer than you think! Discover the importance of bat houses for providing safe habitats and why wildlife rescue should be contacted if you encounter a bat in need. - **Insights Into Bat Filmmaking:**  Join guest Kristin Tièche as she shares her journey into creating the documentary "The Invisible Mammal," which focuses on bat conservation and the role of women in science. Learn how her storytelling aims to change perceptions and inspire action for bat conservation. - **One Health and Human Responsibility:**  Delve into the concept of "One Health," which emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, wildlife, and environmental health. Hear why protecting wildlife habitats is crucial for preventing pandemics and learn about the human accountability in events like COVID-19. - **Engagement and Support:**  Stay updated on "The Invisible Mammal" documentary by following on Instagram and Facebook (@theinvisiblemammal) or visiting the website theinvisiblemammal.com. Support the film's completion through donations to the Wildlands Collective. Join us in this episode to learn more about the incredible impact bats have on our world and how we can contribute to their conservation. Be inspired by the art of film and storytelling as a force for change and awareness. **Contributions and Support:**If you enjoy the podcast, consider sharing your own stories related to art and creativity on our website. Support "Art Heals All Wounds" by contributing via our "buy me a coffee" link. Thank you for being a part of our community! Don't forget to go to my website and leave me YOUR story of belonging to feature on a future episode!Buy Me a Coffee!Follow Kristin and The Invisible Mammal! InstagramLinkedInWebsiteFollow Me!●      My Instagram ●      My LinkedIn●      Art Heals All Wounds Website●      Art Heals All Wounds Instagram

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Finding Love Amidst Rice Fields: Lian's Journey of Hope Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.org/finding-love-amidst-rice-fields-lians-journey-of-hope Story Transcript:Zh: 莲坐在窗边，微风轻轻地吹起她的长发。En: Lian sat by the window, a gentle breeze lifting her long hair.Zh: 窗外是云南省乡村的美丽景色，稻田金黄，一座座传统的房屋点缀在田间。En: Outside the window lay the beautiful scenery of the Yunnan countryside, with golden rice fields and traditional houses scattered among them.Zh: 眼下正值夏天，村庄的声音充满了昆虫的鸣叫声和丰收的节奏。En: It was summertime, and the village was filled with the sounds of insects buzzing and the rhythm of the harvest.Zh: 莲是一位充满爱心的年轻女子，她日复一日地照顾着年迈的父亲。En: Lian was a caring young woman who took care of her aging father day after day.Zh: 她知道父亲需要她，但她心中依旧暗暗渴望着某种联系和浪漫。En: She knew her father needed her, yet deep down, she secretly longed for connection and romance.Zh: 丰收季几乎占据了她所有的时间，她感到困在了责任的牢笼中。En: The harvest season consumed almost all her time, and she felt trapped in the cage of responsibility.Zh: 有一天，莲抬眼望向远处。En: One day, Lian looked into the distance.Zh: 在稻田边，微站在那儿。En: At the edge of the rice fields stood Wei.Zh: 他是一位坚定的农民，长久以来默默欣赏着莲。En: He was a steadfast farmer who had long admired Lian silently.Zh: 他知道莲的努力和艰辛。所以，尽管工作繁忙，他总会抽空看看她，确保她无恙。En: He knew of her hard work and struggles, so despite his busy schedule, he would always find time to check on her, ensuring she was well.Zh: 正值七夕节，村子里充满了欢声笑语。En: It was the Qixi Festival, and the village was full of laughter and joy.Zh: 莲忙完了一天的农活，心中在挣扎着。En: Lian had finished a day of farm work and was caught in an internal struggle.Zh: 她多么想参加村里的七夕节庆祝活动，但又担心自己的职责。En: She wished to join the village's Qixi Festival celebrations but was worried about her duties.Zh: 幸运的是，她决定寻找生活中的小快乐，于是应邀加入节日的庆祝。En: Fortunately, she chose to seek small joys in life and accepted the invitation to join the festivities.Zh: 在村子的广场上，灯光点点，笑声不断。En: At the village square, lights twinkled, and laughter was constant.Zh: 莲第一次放下心中重担，尽情享受这一刻。En: For the first time, Lian let go of her burdens and fully enjoyed the moment.Zh: 她在欢乐的人群中转身，却看见微正朝她走来。En: As she turned in the merry crowd, she saw Wei walking towards her.Zh: 微眼中充满了坚定和温柔。En: Wei's eyes were filled with determination and gentleness.Zh: 他走到莲面前，递上一个精心准备的礼物。En: He approached Lian and offered her a carefully prepared gift.Zh: “莲，我一直很钦佩你，”微的声音温柔而坚定，“愿意和我共舞吗？”En: "Lian, I have always admired you," Wei's voice was gentle yet firm, "Would you like to dance with me?"Zh: 莲感受到了微的真心，心中泛起一阵暖流。En: Lian felt Wei's sincerity, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.Zh: 她犹豫了一下，但最终露出温柔的微笑，点头答应。En: She hesitated for a moment but finally smiled gently and nodded in agreement.Zh: 在动听的音乐中，两人跳起了舞。En: To beautiful music, the two began to dance.Zh: 此时，莲明白她可以在尽孝的同时开启新的旅程。En: At that moment, Lian realized she could embark on a new journey while still fulfilling her filial duties.Zh: 微的欣赏给了她新的希望。En: Wei's admiration gave her new hope.Zh: 从那时起，莲和微的故事有了新的篇章。En: From then on, a new chapter began for Lian and Wei's story.Zh: 她找到了追求自己快乐的勇气，微也因为能与莲共享美好时光而感到满足。En: She found the courage to pursue her happiness, and Wei felt content sharing beautiful times with Lian.Zh: 夏夜微凉，村庄在月光下显得异常温柔。En: The summer night was pleasantly cool, and the village looked exceptionally gentle under the moonlight.Zh: 莲看着天空，心中充满了希望与宁静。En: Lian gazed at the sky, her heart filled with hope and tranquility.Zh: 她知道，自己终于找到了心灵的平衡。En: She knew she had finally found a balance in her soul. Vocabulary Words:breeze: 微风countryside: 乡村scenery: 景色gentle: 温柔admired: 欣赏steadfast: 坚定determination: 决心romance: 浪漫harvest: 丰收responsibility: 责任embark: 开启duties: 职责festival: 节laughter: 笑声celebrations: 庆祝invitation: 邀请internal: 内心struggle: 挣扎burdens: 重担gaze: 凝视tranquility: 宁静chapter: 篇章journey: 旅程admiration: 钦佩fulfilling: 实现content: 满足twinkled: 点点surged: 泛起hesitated: 犹豫harmony: 和谐

Host Chris Jennings is joined by Rusty Creasey, manager of the Coca Cola Woods in Arkansas, for a discussion about the off season. First, the two discuss the highs and lows of the 2023-2024 season and Creasey provides information on a few oddities he saw throughout the duck season. With water off the property, Creasey is preparing to clean up boat lanes, beaver dams, and a few blow downs that happened in the woods, all before preparing for planting season. Good duck hunting doesn't just happen, there is typically some well thought out management behind the scenes, and Creasey brings that to the DU Podcast.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

Tim Johnson CEO of California Rice Commission shares how rice growers are modeling the future of agriculture by delivering a fabulous array of ecosystem services, wealth creation and delicious, healthy food for California and the world.

This episode we look at the reign of Tamura, aka Jomei Tenno. For references and more, check out https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-105   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 105: Onsen and Uprisings The general paced back and forth behind the walls of the fortress.  Glancing around, he couldn't help but notice how empty it now seemed.  The palisades were holding, but most of the soldiers had gone, disappearing in the night.  Outside the walls of the fortress, he could hear the Emishi laughing and singing.  They were in good spirits—and why wouldn't they be?  The great army of Yamato sent to chastise them had been routed, and they had besieged them in their fortress, built in these still wild lands of northeastern Honshu, on the edge of an area known to many as Michi no Oku, roughly: the end of the road. And for the general, it looked like this might be the end of the road for him.  His options were limited, and he was clearly outnumbered.  It was beginning to look like his troops had the right idea.  Of course, it meant leaving his wife and other women to fend for themselves, but fear can do a lot to motivate someone.  The general eyed the walls and the trees beyond.  If he could slip past the besieging forces in the darkness, perhaps he could escape.  It wouldn't be the most honorable way out of this situation, but it would at least leave him with his head.  And so, as night fell, he decided to make his move… Greetings everyone, and welcome back!  Before I get into it, a quick shout out an thank you to YamiRaven for supporting us on Patreon, and thanks to Johnny for a supporting us on Ko-Fi.com.  If you'd like to join them, and help us keep this thing going, we'll have more info at the end of the episode. Speaking of: This episode we are going to be talking about events during the reign of Prince Tamura, also known as Okinaga Tarashi-hi Hiro-nuka, or by the name given to him by the 8th century chroniclers: Jomei Tennou.  As we discussed back in episode 103, Prince Tamura came to power in an interesting turn of fate.  The grandson of Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tenno, his father, Prince Hikobito no Ohoye was killed during the tumultuous period following Nunakura's death.  After several short-lived reigns, it was Kashikiya Hime, wife to Nunakura, who took the throne, known to us as Suiko Tennou. Kashikiya Hime had named an heir, Crown Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, but he died before she did and by the time that Kashikiya Hime passed away, there was nobody clearly set up to take the throne, though two candidates did stand out.  There was Prince Yamashiro no Ohoye, the son of Crown Prince Umayado, whom a strict lineal succession might seem to indicate was next up to inherit, but Yamato inheritance tradition was not so cut and dried.  Soga no Emishi, the son of Soga no Umako, the powerful Oho-omi who helped run the government during Kashikiya Hime's reign, campaigned to put Prince Tamura on the throne, rather than Yamashiro no Ohoye, despite—or perhaps because of—the fact that Yamashiro no Ohoye was actually a close relative to Emishi. Now Prince Tamura was on the throne and Soga no Emishi was the Oho-omi, taking his father's place. And yet, despite the chaotic start to the reign in 629, the majority of it was almost tame and nondescript.  Don't get me wrong, Tamura, as I'll keep referring to him, was on the throne for a respectable thirteen years, and during that time there were certainly events that move our narrative forward in many ways.  However, much of the years of his reign are filled with discussions of things like rain storms and celestial phenomena.  In fact, the only thing that apparently happened in all of 634 was that they saw a comet in the sky.  The year before that, in 633, the only entry was the return of envoys from the Tang.  For two years, then, there is hardly a mention of politics and anything else going on.  And yet, this is a period that would set the stage for what was coming next. Shortly after Tamura was appointed sovereign, he appointed his consort, Princess Takara, as his queen.  Takara was, herself, a great-great grand-daughter of Nunakura Futodamashiki, a granddaughter of Prince Hikobito and daughter of Prince Chinu—presumably niece to Tamura, then, which is basically par for the course.  She was also a royal descendant on her mother's side, tracing back to Nunakura's father, Ame Kuniyoshi, aka Kinmei Tennou.  In fact, her mother, Kibitsu Hime, is said to have been buried in her own kofun at the head of Ame Kuniyoshi's kofun—and today it is the site of the 7th century saruishi figures that I mentioned in the talk about traveling around Asuka. Takara would give birth to three children of note.  The first was her eldest son, Prince Katsuraki, who would, spoiler alert, later be known as Crown Prince Naka no Ohoye.  He was around three years old when his father took the throne.  He had a sister by Takara, named Hashibito, and a brother, whose name you may have heard me mention previously:  Oho-ama. Yes, Naka no Ohoye and Oho-ama are the future sovereigns Tenji and Temmu, but for now they are still relatively young.  In fact, Oho-ama wouldn't be born until several years into his father's reign, in 631. Some of the early events of the reign were carryover from Kashikiya Hime's time on the throne.  In 629, for instance, Tanabe no Muraji went to Yakushima, returning the following year, and with people coming to Yamato from Yakushima the year after that. There were also a fair number of foreign embassies, including an Embassy from Goguryeo and Baekje.  These may have been missions of condolences and congratulations—typical international diplomacy at the time when a neighboring ruler passed away and a new one ascended the throne, it would seem.  They arrived in the third month of 630 and departed in the 9th month of that same year—a 6 month visit, all told. We also have the first actual account of ambassadors sent off to the Tang dynasty: Inugami no Mitasuki and Yakushi no E'nichi, each of Dainin rank.  These are some of the first true kentoushi, or Ambassadors to the Tang court, that were sent, but over time their influence would be felt across Yamato and the archipelago. These ambassadors—or at least Mitasuki—would return in 632 with a Tang ambassador, Gao Biaoren, along with student-priests Ryou'un and Soumin, as well as Suguri no Torikahi.  Perhaps most tellingly, they would arrive with Silla escort envoys, which would seem to indicate that passage to the Tang court was not done without Silla's assistance.  As you may recall, Silla had entered into a nominal alliance with the Tang against Goguryeo.  The Tang Ambassadors eventually reached Naniwa, where they were met with boats decked out with drums, flutes, and flags, and where they exchanged formal greetings before being escorted into the official residence.  The Nihon Shoki takes pains to note the different individuals involved in the duties, from the initial greeting, guiding them to the residence, and then preparing them in the residence, along with a welcome drink of sake brewed on temple rice land. And then, three months later, they depart once more.  Nothing else is said of their visit. Meanwhile, in the time between when Mitasuki went to the Tang court and when he returned with Gao Biaoren and company, a few things had happened.  For one we get a note about Tamura moving to a new palace complex known as Okamoto no miya, supposedly at the foot of Asuka hill, hence the name, which means “foot of the hill”.  This would not have been much of a change from Kashikiya Hime's palace, still within the sacred area defined by the Soga temple of Asukadera as well as various other temples being stood up in that area as well.  A move was to be expected, though in this case it is interesting that he didn't go very far. There is also mention, still in 630, of the repairing the official residences in Naniwa where ambassadors from the continent would be quartered during their trips to Yamato 631 opens with something of a treat – so it would seem, anyway.  We are told that in the third month of Tamura's third year on the throne, Prince Pung—named Pungjang in the Chronicles—was sent to the Yamato court by his father, King Wicha of Baekje.  On the one hand, the Korean sources do agree that Prince Pung was, indeed, sent to Yamato, where he would live as a guest and diplomatic hostage.  We've talked about this practice in the past, which seems to have strengthened bonds between nations, although we rarely hear of Yamato returning the favor by sending hostages to the continent.  It may have also helped keep a potential heir out of harm's way in case of a coup or other such politics.  Several times, heirs returned to Baekje to be enthroned with Yamato assistance, if the Chronicles are to be believed. Except that this entry is probably not quite right.  You see, Wicha wouldn't even come to the throne until 641—he wasn't even made Crown Prince until 632—so why would he send his son as a diplomatic hostage in 631?  Johnathan Best, translating the Baekje records of the Samguk Sagi, suggests that perhaps the Chroniclers were off by a factor of 10 or 12 years.  You see, as we mentioned earlier, the East Asian calendrical system was based on a series of ten stems and twelve branches.  The stems represented the elemental forces, and the branches were identified with the twelve signs of the zodiac.  Incrementing each one each year led to a series of 60 years before it started repeating, and based on the way that the records for this reign are dated, it looks like the records the Chroniclers were drawing from used this system for their dates.  However, if you misread—or even miswrite—one of these characters it can change your date by ten or even twelve years.  It would make much more sense for Prince Pung to have arrived twelve years later, in 643.  Similarly, we find other records, particularly having to do with Baekje, which may be a bit jumbled, possibly indicating they came from a similar source that either had things in the wrong chronological order or was simply vague or poorly scribed so that the Chroniclers had to figure out exactly what was happening when—which they may have made mistakes with, from time to time. So Prince Pung arriving as a hostage is probably misplaced, and likely didn't happen during Tamura's reign.  Which means that other than people from Yakushima showing up in 631 the only other major event of the year was Tamura going to the hot springs of Arima, in Settsu, where he stayed for about three months. Now I know I've mentioned hot springs, or onsen, before in the narrative.  After all, the volcanic islands that make up the Japanese archipelago are full of them, and it isn't like they were suddenly discovered during this reign, but it does look like this might be the first formal mention of them in the Nihon Shoki—which gives Arima, in the mountains north of Kobe, some serious bona fides to be considered the oldest known hot spring town in Japan. And that would be a cool side note in most reigns, but for Tamura it seems to have been a habit.  He apparently went for a dip at least three times in his reign—the second time, in 638, he apparently went to the “Arima no Miya”, or the Arima Palace, which suggests that he had something built specifically for his visits.  And then, in 639, he headed to the hot springs in Iyo. The country of Iyo is better known today as Ehime prefecture, on the western edge of the island of Shikoku.  The largest city in Ehime is Matsuyama, home to the famous Dougou Onsen, which also lays a claim to being the oldest operating hot springs in the archipelago.  Dougou Onsen is not only the traditional place in Iyo where Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou, took the waters, as they might say in the west, but in the Iyo Fudoki it is said that its fame goes back even further.  As we mentioned back in Chapter 18, it is said that the legendary figures Ohonamuchi and Sukuna Bikona met there, back in ancient times.  In more recent times, relatively speaking, Dougou Onsen was the inspiration behind the fantastical bathhouse created by Hayao Miyazaki in the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. For all that these visits to the hot springs are somewhat interesting, they don't exactly tell us a lot about what was happening with government, and in fact tend to make it seem almost as though Tamura was skipping out, at least in the fall to early winter.  And to be honest, can you blame him?  Winter is one of the best times to go take advantage of the volcanic springs. Many of the other records appear to be natural phenomena, mostly having to do with the heavens: rain, storms, lightning, and more.  Some of the more intriguing are comets—stars with “long tails” that appeared in the skies.  There are also mentions of eclipse and what may have been a meteor—a star in 636 “floated east to west, with a noise like thunder.”  The Priest Soumin, from the Tang, said it was the sound of the Celestial Dog, a creature from the ancient Han or possibly pre-Qin text, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a fantastical account of mythical geography and various animals, including the nine tailed fox and the celestial dog, whose bark was said to be like Thunder.  This book was considered to be a true account up through the Tang dynasty. One could probably track the celestial phenomena and see if there is any correlation with known sightings, but it is also just as likely that some of it was taken from continental records and inserted into the Chronicles as appropriate. Besides such phenomena, there were accounts of more missions, especially from Baekje.  Yamato was still using the cap rank system attributed to Prince Umayado during Kashikiya Hime's reign, and some of the envoys were given cap rank, or granted a promotion—a gesture that was likely pure diplomacy, as the rank wouldn't necessarily convey any special rights back in their home country. There are a few more things of note.  First, in 636, we are told that all those who had affairs with the uneme at court were put on trial and punished—which likely means they were put to death.  The uneme, as you may recall, were women sent to serve at the court, and as such they were apparently off-limits, at least while they were serving.  That clearly didn't stop people from having some late night escapades, though. The main reason it likely comes up, though, is that we are told that one of the accused was a man named Miwa no Kimi no Osazaki, and that he took his own life by stabbing himself in the throat because the examination—by which I'm sure they meant torture—was too much to bear.  And here I have to wonder how similar Yamato's sense of justice was to that of their neighbor, the Tang dynasty.  In the case of the latter, there was often a suspicion that any person accused of a crime must be guilty of at least something—after all, why would they have been accused if they didn't do something to upset the peace, even if it was just that they didn't get along with their neighbors.  It was considered de rigeur to submit suspected criminals to torturous ordeals with the idea that this would elicit a confession.  Unfortunately, this idea that harsh and torturous examinations can be used to uncover the truth often still persists, despite evidence that, under enough duress, most people will say anything.   In this case, it drove Osazaki to take his own life. Later in that same year, the Okamoto palace caught fire and burned down, and so Tamura moved to a new palace, called the Tanaka palace, or the Palace in the Middle of the Rice Fields.  We also have a little more court action, as Prince Ohomata, a son of Nunakura Futodamashiki by one of his consorts, reached out to Soga no Emishi—called in this record the Toyoura no Oho-omi, likely because his mansion was in or near Toyoura, in Asuka. Prince Ohomata suggested to Soga no Emishi that the ministers had not been attending court properly.  He suggested that they should be there by roughly 5 or 6 AM—an hour before daybreak—and they should stay until 10 or 11 AM.  Specifically he mentioned the hour of the hare and the hour of the serpent, as each ancient hour was actually two, with twelve hours making up the day, each named for one of the twelve signs of the Asian zodiac. To enforce all of this, Ohomata also recommended having a bell rung that would let people know that it was time to start or end work.  This was all common practice in the continental courts of the day, and it wasn't like they were asking for a modern 40 hour work week, even:  the court ministers would literally be serving for maybe 5 to 6 hours at court, with the rest of the time to handle their own affairs.  Still, Soga no Emishi apparently didn't think much of the idea and so was not inclined to support it. All of this is kind of an odd mention.  First, Ohomata is an obscure Prince—he's only mentioned three times in the Chronicles, and once just in a list of Nunakura's children.  Second, the idea doesn't go anywhere.  Third, they don't call Soga no Emishi by the name they used in both the previous or the next reign, but use Toyora no Ohoomi, for whatever reason.  It just sticks out as odd, and I wonder if it was added to show that Soga no Emishi was resistant to change and new ideas. At the same time, it does give us a clue that Soga no Emishi was still running things.  His name may not have been on a lot, but then again, neither was Tamura's, so we can only infer what was actually going on during this period.  It's  almost a lacuna in the history. There were a few other events worth noting, however, one of which took more than a bit of the Chroniclers' ink, and this was a rebellion by the Emishi people. First off, because it can be confusing:  There is no apparent link between Soga no Emishi and the Emishi people that I'm aware of.  Emishi, of course, is the name given to the people living outside of the Yamato cultural sphere in the northeast, from modern Ibaraki prefecture north.  They were apparently expected to pay tribute at court, and are clearly treated differently from other outside groups, like Baekje and Silla.  Some of them were likely members of the groups that had lived in the region since the Jomon period, who never fully adopted the Yayoi and later Kofun lifeways, and they may be related to the Ainu people who still live in modern Hokkaido, though there is also evidence that some of the Emishi may have been ethnic Wa people who had gone to live outside the Yamato court's reach—though that is more evident in later centuries than in the current narrative. I would also note that “Emishi” is an exonym—that is a name given by outsiders, in this case, by the Wa people of Yamato.  In fact, other than what we can see in the archaeological record, what we know of the Emishi comes from Yamato sources, which are almost entirely biased.  We don't really have any good telling of their story from their own perspective.  For instance,did they feel oppressed by Yamato in general, and not think they should have to keep bringing tribute?  Or was there a more specific event that occurred, much like the conflicts we see later between the Wajin, the ethnic Japanese, and the Ainu up in Hokkaido? It is unclear. To subdue the Emishi, and bring them back under Yamato hegemony, the court appointed Kamitsukeno no Kimi no Katana, a courtier of Dainin cap rank, as general. Spoiler alert: he's the general in the story at the beginning of this episode.  Based on his name, it would seem he was from the family in charge of Kamitsukenu, later shortened to Kozuke Province in modern Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo.  As such, he would have been well positioned to know something of the Emishi on his border.  That said, he apparently didn't know them so well that it gave him an advantage.  His forces were routed and they retreated back to their fortress, where they were besieged by the Emishi. Now when I say “fortress” please don't picture some grand castle, like Himeji, Azuchi, or Matsumoto.  In fact, don't really picture a castle at all.  More likely than not, this was simply an area enclosed by a wall—possibly some earthworks and maybe a moat, but perhaps just a quickly erected palisade structure.  True castle structures wouldn't come until later.  For those familiar with American history, this may have been something like the fort at Jamestown or even the quickly assembled and ill-fated Fort Necessity—though perhaps a little larger if it was capable of housing the forces and the noncombatants that had accompanied them. And so, when some of Katana's soldiers decided they didn't really want to be there any longer they apparently just up and left.  Presumably they found a time when nobody was looking and just yeeted themselves over the walls and did their best to hide from the surrounding Emishi forces.  Pretty soon just about all of the able-bodied soldiers had taken this approach, and Katana was thinking about joining them.  In fact, he was getting ready to when his own wife noticed what he was doing. That's right, his wife was there with him.  Whether she was a combatant or simply part of the train it isn't entirely clear, but she wasn't going to have her husband run off and abandon his post.  She poured out sake for him to drink and as he did so, she took his sword and girded it to herself.  She then went and found all of the bows and handed them out to all of the other women and people who had been left behind when the soldiers deserted, and they started pulling the bowstrings back and making a sound like they were being shot. Upon seeing this, Katana roused himself, grabbed a weapon himself, and advanced out of the fortress. The besieging Emishi were not sure what to make of this.  They could hear the twang of bows, and it sounded as though there was quite a force, so as general Katana stepped out of the fortress they pulled back, thinking that there was a much bigger force than he actually had.  As they did that, some of Katana's own forces, who had escaped, but not too far, started to gain hope.  They regrouped and attacked the Emishi with fresh energy, eventually defeating them. Of course, Katana's wife remains nameless throughout this whole episode, even though she was the one who helped turn the tide—first by turning her husband, but then by organizing the others to make it seem like they had a lot more people than they did. After this fascinating story, the Chronicles getback to the normal records of storms, of fruit trees blossoming, of hot springs, and tribute.  It wasn't until two years later, in 639, that we get something interesting that we might easily overlook.  This was the start of a new temple on the banks of the Kudara River, known to us as Kudara dera, or Kudara Temple. Kudara Temple is definitely a bit of an enigma.  It is mentioned quite heavily in later records, and yet it would eventually disappear without a trace, or so it seemed.  It wasn't until modern times that archaeologists identified a temple that we believe is Kudara dera.  We are told that it had a nine-story pagoda, which may reflect ideas from Tang or Silla practice—somewhat ironic given that “Kudara” is a name used to refer to Baekje.  In this case, the name seems to have come from the Kudara River, on whose banks the temple was built.  From the 80s through the 2000s there were a series of excavations at the site of Kibi Pond north of Asuka, closer to the center of Sakurai.  Here a temple was found, which we believe to be the site of Kudara dera.  The pond itself was dug at a later point in time, on the site of the temple, which was likely moved.  Today, there is a small Kudara temple to the northwest of the old site, but it isn't nearly as grand as it once was. By all accounts, the construction of Kudara temple took years, in contrast to the building of royal palaces, which went up relatively quickly.  This is because the palaces, for all of their size, were still being made using largely local construction methods.  Posts were placed directly into the ground and the roofs were thatched.  Being made of wood, these buildings went up relatively quickly, which was good seeing as how every reign the sovereign and court would move to a new palace.  Of course, I also wonder if the tradition of moving didn't come from the fact that the palace would likely have started rotting away on its own after a while.  Then again, even in a single reign you might change palaces multiple times, as Tamura did. In contrast, we have temple construction from the mainland.  Here, rocks were set down, and the posts were placed on those, which gave a firm foundation and prevented water from easily getting in and ruining the base of the pillar.  Packed earth and stone construction were used in places, along with heavy tile roofs, for which thousands of rooftiles had to be constructed.  Centuries of architectural knowledge were used to design and create structures that were meant to outlast any patrons who helped to build them. Add on to that the nine story pagoda.  If you consider that the beautiful and imposing tenshukaku, or main keep, of Himeji castle, built in the early 17th century, is six stories and rises over 46 meters, or about 152 feet, this pagoda may have been about the same height or even a bit higher, assuming that relative proportions were similar to those in other pagodas from the time, such as that of Yakushiji.  It must have been a towering beacon at the time, and the temple is considered one of the four great temples of the Asuka era, at least by some. That this temple was commissioned by Tamura and not by Soga no Emishi is something that may indicate some unspoken tensions at the time.   Tamura's previous palaces were in Asuka, near Asuka temple, the chief temple of the Soga family, and situated in a Soga stronghold.  Kudara temple was built significantly outside of this area, though still within walking distance, so not so far as to be a complete move—it isn't like he moved it up to lake Biwa or anything, wink wink. In 640, Tamura returned from his trip to the hot springs in Iyo—again, modern Ehime prefecture—and came back to a new palace at Umayazaka, but just six months later he moved into the Kudara palace, which was presumably nearby Kudara temple, effectively moving the court out of—or at least to the periphery of—Soga controlled territory. Unfortunately, his stay at Kudara palace would only last about a year, as he passed away there in the 10th month of 641.  He was roughly 48 years old.  His son, and heir apparent, Prince Hirakasuwake, aka Naka no Oe, pronounced the funeral elegy. And just like that, the throne was vacant again.  There was an heir apparent, but Naka no Oe was only 16 years old, and so his mother, Takara, would take the throne, presumably until he was ready.  She would be known as Ame Toyo Takara Ikashi-hi Tarashi Hime, aka Kougyoku Tennou, and her reign was anything but quiet.  To give some context: if we had a little over 50 or so events recorded during the 13 years that Tamura was on the throne, while we have over 60 events recorded in just the first year of Takara's reign.   So, you know, there's that. But I'm going to have to ask you to wait a little bit for us to dig into that.  For one thing, the politics are going to start getting hot and heavy, as anyone who may recognize the name “Naka no Oe” likely knows.  As this young prince was coming into his own he was going to come face to face with the power of the Soga family.  All that, starting next episode. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for her work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

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Dr. Mike Brasher and Katie Burke are on location at a family hunting camp in the Mississippi Delta for the January roundup. Joined by DU Podcast producer, Chris Isaac, and return guest Dr. Ronal Roberson, the group reflects on the morning hunt and tackles recent questions from listeners, including the ethics of water swatting and origins of the term “bull” when referring to studly drakes. Also discussed are the incoming Arctic weather, lingering drought, and family bonds built around duck camps.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

Known by many names – sprig, pinny, bull – but unmistakable in appearance, the northern pintail is one of North America's most recognizable, graceful, and well-studied duck species. Unfortunately, much of that attention was garnered because of dramatic population declines and the mystery surrounding it. Dr. Scott Stephens joins Chris Jennings and Dr. Mike Brasher to profile this iconic species, discussing its ecology, population status, causes of its decline, and conservation opportunities.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

Specialist 5th Class Clarence Eugene Sasser served in Vietnam as an Army Medic. In spite of numerous wounds and excruciating pain, he continuously administered aid to fellow soldiers for 20 hours as his company was attacked in Vietnam.  Sasser later said this about spending the night under fire: “The tough part wasn't enemy fire, it was listening to guys call for their mama, and you can't do anything. Listening to them beg all night. And then you don't hear them anymore in the morning, so you know they died.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this preview, SP5 Clarence Sasser relives the traumatic mission for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Check back tomorrow to hear our full interview with Sasser. Specialist 5th Class Clarence Eugene Sasser served in Vietnam as an Army Medic. In spite of numerous wounds and excruciating pain, he continuously administered aid to fellow soldiers for 20 hours as his company was attacked in Vietnam.  Sasser later said this about spending the night under fire: “The tough part wasn't enemy fire, it was listening to guys call for their mama, and you can't do anything. Listening to them beg all night. And then you don't hear them anymore in the morning, so you know they died.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Molly Kneece, waterfowl biologist for South Carolina DNR, makes her podcast debut by discussing ducks, dogs, habitat, and public hunting opportunities in The Palmetto State. Kneece takes us on a virtual tour of her state, sharing her career path, identifying the most harvested ducks in the state, updating on early season hunting and habitat, highlighting new duck research and data collection in the state, and describing how South Carolina was once the rice production capital of the U.S. www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

Chris Jennings and Dr. Mike Brasher discuss updates from across the world of waterfowl. Reports are emerging of minor avian flu outbreaks across the US. What do you need to know? How have recent weather patterns influenced migration and hunting. What's behind above average duck counts in Missouri and record lows in Louisiana? Get the latest update on duckDNA, and learn about new science on the dogs of Chernobyl. Lastly, we dispel myths about HIP certification and harvest estimation.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

In this weeks edition we catch up with Hattie to talk about the lifestyle of Bali.

In this limited series by Clydesdale Media we check out the wonder and the beauty of Bali with our friend Hattie Kanyo, We check out some local waterfalls.  Rice Fields, the pool Hattie Trains at with Sauna, cold tub. warmer tub and hot tub.  and talk about her weightlifting meet comng this weekend.

A story from Japan. Source How to tell Stories to children. Read by Namita Khurana

In this episode of the Ducks Unlimited podcast, host John Gordon interviews Doug Pike about the Houston waterfowling culture. Throughout the podcast, Doug shares stories of hunting the East and West sides of Houston, dives into the people and places of the region, and tells the story of his father's inadvertent hunting in a game reserve. Doug also recounts his own journey of becoming a professional writer with the Houston Chronicle, and explains why hunting geese was always special to him.www.ducks.org/DUPodcast

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A 25-minute pomodoro background track followed by 5 minutes of silence. For longer play times, open myNoise.net or google myNoise Rice Fields and follow the top links.

A 25-minute pomodoro background track followed by 5 minutes of silence. For longer play times, open myNoise.net or google myNoise Rice Fields and follow the top links.

In this episode, the AFAA farmhands get educated on just what it takes to be a farmer. There's a surprising amount of learning in this anime! Never forget that monkey...

On today's episode, we hear about a salmon conservation project that looks to incentivize growers' rice fields in the winter. Additionally, Kylie Harlan reports on the effects of the Ukraine War on global ag.   Supporting the People who Support Agriculture Thank you to our sponsors who make it possible to get you your daily news. Please feel free to visit their websites. The California Walnut Board – https://walnuts.org/ Phycoterra –https://phycoterra.com/ Verdesian - https://vlsci.com/ Rango - http://www.rangonow.com/  

Since fundamental changes were made to the way rice straw is managed following harvest in the early 1990s,  Sacramento Valley rice country has steadily grown as a vital rest and refuel stop for millions of birds.  Local rice fields not only provide habitat for nearly 230 wildlife species, the value of rice fields for the environment is proving to be even greater during drought years, because there is less water on the landscape and fewer habitat options. What's next for the environmental crop? If promising research by the Rice Commission and UC Davis pays off, Sacramento Valley rice fields may one day help dwindling salmon runs. The third year of field work for the salmon project has just completed, and the last of the baby salmon raised on Steve Neader's Sutter County rice farm have been released and are heading out to the ocean. Through sophisticated tagging, their journey will be studied. The ultimate hope is that rice fields specifically managed for this purpose will provide an even greater role in preserving and enhancing the California environment. “I'm extremely optimistic about it,” remarked Andrew Rypel, one of the study leaders and professors in the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology at UC Davis. “All of the data we have collected points to the fact these fields are going to be helpful for, not just salmon, but lots of native fishes.” There were new elements in the latest year of the project that will ultimately help researchers adapt the habitat management strategy and understand prospects for future success.  “This is the first time we've ever done the project on full size rice fields, with about 125 acres devoted to testing the practice at scale, “ said  Paul Buttner, Environmental Affairs Manager of the California Rice Commission. “One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of the checks in the field and out of the field when they want to, which is called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches to allow the fish to move through the system entirely.” Buttner stressed the importance of partnerships to make this multi-million dollar project successful, including the scientific research from UC Davis and other technical partners. “It would not be possible without funding, that comes first and foremost from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service,” he said. “They provided over half of the funding for the project. All of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in-kind. Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well.  The full sponsorship list can be seen at http://salmon.calrice.org/#Sponsors.” As the salmon left the rice fields to start their journey to the ocean, it was a somewhat emotional time for researcher Alexandra Wampler of UC Davis. “I'm very excited,” Wampler said. “I can't wait to track their migration to the ocean. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take, and it's going to be very exciting.” It will take a while longer to determine the viability of the project, but those involved remain optimistic that, perhaps one day, Sacramento Valley rice fields will add a significant new area to their environmental benefits. “I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for waterfowl,” said Carson Jeffres, research ecologist at UC Davis. “It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities because fish can't fly, so you have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have, and I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that, and we're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape right now.” Episode Transcript Jim Morris: The environment holds special importance in California, and salmon represent one of the most beleaguered species in what now is year three of a major drought. There is a ray of hope in the form of a partnership being lived out in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley. Jim Morris: Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris, proud to have worked with the state's farmers and ranchers for more than three decades to help tell their stories. Environmental stewardship among the rice industry is unparalleled. Not only do Sacramento Valley rice fields serve as a vital part of the Pacific flyway migration of millions of ducks, geese, shorebirds, and other species, those same fields offer great promise to help salmon. Jim Morris: I'm at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, where researchers play a pivotal role in exploring how local rice fields might help salmon. I'm speaking with research ecologist, Carson Jeffres. First of all, Carson, salmon in California have been struggling. What are some of the factors that have led to that decline in their population? Carson Jeffres: They face multiple threats, both in the freshwater environment where we've experienced drought for multiple years. We're on our second major drought in the last 10 years, which is probably much more of a long term drought. Water and fresh water environments is limited, but also there's other factors from thymine deficiency coming back from the ocean. It's just one thing after another that they've experienced over the last, probably, a hundred years. Now, we're starting to see the culmination of climate change and management really affect the populations. Jim Morris: Rice fields may help in two different areas. Can you comment on those? Also, your degree of optimism that these two areas may significantly help. Carson Jeffres: There's two ways that those, what we think of as historic floodplains, which are not rice fields, can benefit the salmon. One of them is that, unlike birds, fish can't get to the dry side of the levee, but we can take the food that grows on the dry side of the levee and the rice fields and pump it into the river for the fish that are out migrating to the ocean. The other way that rice fields are used for salmon during their out migration, is that in the flood bypasses. In particular, is that when we have flood events, many of those habitats are rice fields now, and fish can use them during their out migration. If we manage those habitats well, we can benefit salmon during their out migration on those habitats, and the food that we grow that they consume, and they get big, and then they head out to the ocean. Jim Morris: In a larger picture, reactivating the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley, do you see multiple benefits from that, not only just for salmon? Carson Jeffres: Many species rely on these habitats, from waterbirds, the waterfowl, there's the waiting birds, there's fish, there's groundwater recharge. There's lots of benefits from having floodplains activated in the Central Valley. For human uses, for wildlife, it's really a win-win to see those habitats inundated. Jim Morris: Fish food, and rice fields, how nutrient rich is that, and how optimistic are you that can make a difference? Carson Jeffres: Fish food is really interesting in that what happens is as the rice double breaks down, when it's flooded, is it's basically carbon that's being released in the water. Carbon is the currency of energy in the floodplain. When carbon is released, microbes eat it, and zooplankton can eat it, and that's creating food for the salmon. It's really that ability to create that carbon out and make it usable for the animals in the system. That's what happens when you flood during the non-growing season. Jim Morris: How important is it to consider the long term in this process? I imagine the salmon population probably won't rebound immediately, but steps need to be taken to help this important part of our environment. Carson Jeffres: This is a problem that's been constructed over the last 150 years, since the Gold Rush. We shouldn't expect that we're going to fix it in one, or two, or five years. This is a long term idea that we need to change. The decisions that we're making now are something that will affect the future. Understanding that we have climate changing, being able to be plastic with our decision making, and our management, is really important. Jim Morris: Rice fields have helped a lot with the Pacific Flyway and are essentially surrogate wetlands in California. Do you feel that they might be able to play a similar role down the road for salmon? Carson Jeffres: I think that rice fields have the same opportunities for the salmon as they did for the waterfowll. It's a little bit different. It takes different opportunities, because fish can't fly. You have to make it available for them, as opposed to having it just available for them to fly to. There's those same possibilities that we have. I think that we've really turned a big corner in doing that. We're starting to see those benefits being realized on the landscape now. Jim Morris: Andrew Rypel is a professor and the Peter Moyle and California Trout chair in cold water fish ecology at UC Davis. Andrew, this is year three of field work of the pilot salmon project between UC Davis and the Rice Commission. At first glance, it may sound like a wild concept, but good things are happening. Can you provide an overview on the project? Andrew Rypel: What we're trying to do this year is to really scale out some of the lessons we've learned from previous years, such that we're working on production scale rice fields, working with growers, using the infrastructure that they already have in place, and trying to do things to help fish, to help salmon, using that infrastructure. Jim Morris: Let's talk about that infrastructure. How suitable is a rice field to raise salmon? Andrew Rypel: Well, we think it's very productive habitat. When you look at the river habitat that salmon have been using in recent years, it's functionally equivalent of a food desert. What this is really about is activating the floodplain, activating the food factory that already grows food for people, but now might grow food for fish, and grow salmon to be big and healthy. Jim Morris: To have this work, you really do need quantifiable data, and of course, good results. How are those achieved? Andrew Rypel: Using sound science. What we're really trying to do here is get down in the weeds, get down in detail with the kinds of questions that managers and agencies are really interested in here. Trying to understand how well salmon move through the infrastructure, through the modified rice ports that we have, how well they survive in the fields, how well they egress out to the river, out to the bypass, out to the ocean, these sorts of really nitty gritty science questions that are hard to do, but we need to really advance the practice. Jim Morris: What level of optimism do you have that this will ultimately work and help the salmon population? Andrew Rypel: I'm extremely optimistic about it. Everything we've collected so far, all the data we've collected, points to the fact that these fields are going to be helpful for not just salmon, but lots of native fishes, but the key is to really do the hard work, do the science, to work with the agencies that manage these fisheries, and these stocks, to address their questions, to do things in a partnership-oriented method, and to move the practice forward. Jim Morris: When you talk about native fish, I have seen some of your writings on that. That's an area of passion for you. It sounds exciting that maybe salmon are just the first part and there could be other species that could be helped by rice fields. Is that one of your hopes? Andrew Rypel: Absolutely. Many of the native fishes in the Central Valley are adapted evolutionarily for floodplains. Though we only have 5 percent of the natural floodplains left, we have 500,000 acres of these rice fields. We think they can be used smarter to help lots of native fishes, including salmon, but including a lot of other are kinds of native species, things like Sacramento black fish, and Sacramento perch, and maybe even smelt, who knows, but a lot of these species evolved to exploit the food rich areas of these floodplain areas, which rice fields can still provide. Jim Morris: Oftentimes, when you have fish and farming, particularly in California, can be rather adversarial. What's different about this arrangement as far as you see? Andrew Rypel: Fish and farms have been pitted against each other for a really long time in California. But to me, that's becoming somewhat of an old trope, and something that we need to get past. This is a great example of an interesting project where fish conservationists, growers, can work in collaboration to really help the resource, while still helping make food for people. That's the kind of thinking that we need in California. That's the kind of thinking we need in the world. This is just one example of how a project like that can come together. Jim Morris: Paul Buttner is environmental affairs manager with the California Rice Commission. Paul, it hasn't been easy at all times, but after three years of field work, what are your thoughts about the potential viability of this project? Paul Buttner: Well, Jim, I'm very encouraged about the possibilities for this project. As you know, what we're really trying to accomplish is to do for fish, what we've done for birds, for many, many years, that is develop habitats that's ideal for them. Of course, there's a lot more challenges with the fish side than the bird side. Of course, the birds fly over the habitat. They see it, they come down, they use it. With fish, it's all about the plumbing. It's how do we get the fish there? How do we get them off of the fields? These are the types of questions that we're really trying to answer. Jim Morris: What were some of the new areas that you were working in this year? Paul Buttner: Well, first of all, this is the first time we've ever done the project on full size rice fields, 125 acres or so, with five or six checks. One of the things we needed to make sure is that we could allow the fish to move freely through all of those checks, and out the field when they want to. It's called volitional passage. We put in specialized boards with holes and notches, allowing the fish to move through the system entirely. Jim Morris: Carrying this out takes a lot of coordination, creativity, and partnerships. Let's talk about the latter. How vital are partnerships to make this effort a success? Paul Buttner: Yeah, this is a very significant project. We're in phase two. Both phases are pretty expensive. They cost about $1.2 million apiece. Tremendous amount of science being done by UC Davis, and our other technical partners. It's a really significant endeavor and it would not be possible without funding that comes first and foremost from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services, which has provided over half of the funding for this project. Of course, all of the funding they provide has to be matched with private sector contributions, both financial and in kind, and Syngenta and State Water Contractors have really stepped up with major contributions, and then we have a long list of other sustaining contributors as well. Jim Morris: We've come to the final day of the third year of field work for the salmon project. Alex Wampler of UC Davis, you've been here through the start. What are your thoughts as the fish are going to head from the rice fields out to the ocean? Alex Wampler: I'm very excited. I can't wait to track their migration to the ocean. I suspect the fish will make it out in about 14 days. We have a very dense receiver array, so we should be able to track each step they take. It's going to be very exciting. Jim Morris: Is it at all emotional? You're kind of in a different area. You're working with living things. We sure hope that the salmon will ultimately be helped by all of this. Alex Wampler: Oh, yes. It's very emotional. I care about these fish deeply. I've hand raised them since they were eggs, in November. I suspect that they will do very well out at sea. It feels great to know that our efforts, and our research, are going immediately to species survival and helping these endemic and endangered species have a great chance while working within human boundaries. Jim Morris: Hopefully, those same rice fields that provide major benefits for wildlife, especially during drought years, will also play a valuable role in restoring salmon, an icon of the California environment. Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode. Thank you to Andrew Rypel, Carson Jeffres, Paul Buttner, and Alex Wampler for their comments about this promising project. You can find out more at podcast.calrice.org. Please subscribe and leave us a review. Thanks for listening.

Collection of certifiable crap from the WWW. plus we continue reading The Jungle Book!

Before the major growth we've seen today on Houston's West side, much of that land was used for farming, in the late 1800's up through the mid 1970's. You can hear more from Bill Ingram weekday mornings on 89.3 KSBJ in Houston, TX, or listen online at ksbj.org.  "Welcome to Texas" with Bill Ingram is a part of Hope On Demand! Life can be hard and overwhelming, and you might not always know what to do. Through videos, podcasts and blogs, we help connect you more deeply with God so you can live with hope. You can watch, read and listen at hopeondemand.com.

Jatiluwih, the 600 hectares of rice fields in Tabanan, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is listed as a cultural landscape... but what does that even mean? It refers to the subak water-sharing system and how the rice fields are the manifestation of the Balinese Tri Hita Karana Philosophy, the three elements of well being, God Nature and People, that must be in balance and in harmony with one-another. So how exactly does the subak, a water-sharing or irrigation system, represent the relationship between God, Nature and People? That's what we're hoping to explain today. Support us by purchasing a copy of TIMELESS Bali, a limited edition magazine on Balinese culture. For more great stories got to nowbali.co.id and subscribe to our Newsletter. or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Join Mary and I as we discuss Return to the Enchanted Island by Johary Ravaloson (translated by Allison M. Charette) Podcast Transcript coming soon Mentioned in this episode; Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo (translated by Allison M. Charette Shrill (2019) Dodo Vole Publishing Wild Swans by Jung Chang Deviant Women episode on Ranavalona Nancy by Bruno Lloret (translated by Ellen Jones) Invisible Cities Reading Project   Find Mary online Twitter: jus_de_fruit Instagram: jus_de_fruit    Support the show via Patreon Social Media links Email: losttranslationspod@gmail.com Twitter: @translationspod Instagram: translationspod Litsy: @translationspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/translationspod/   Produced by Mccauliflower.

"All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green."

Tadpole shrimp evolved to survive in vernal pools and are unfortunately well-adapted to persist in rice fields.

UCANR's Ian Grettenberger says these shrimp have evolved to mature at just the right time to feed on rice seedlings.

It’s a miraculous journey done every year. An estimated 1.2 million snow geese are part of the annual Pacific Flyway migration, traveling thousands of miles as they head south for the fall and winter. Fortunately, the Sacramento Valley provides just what is needed for these boisterous birds to rest and refuel. Rice fields provide more than 60 percent of the fall and winter diet for these hearty travelers, as well as the flocks of migrating ducks. “The Sacramento Valley, I don’t think you can overstate how important it is, especially for wintering waterfowl,” remarked Mike Casazza, Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center. “We’re in a Mediterranean climate here, so they’re not facing climatic extremes. These birds, they’re primarily coming from the northern latitudes. They come down here, to spend the winter. The environment here is just ideal. They can relax in a rice field. There’s food here for them.” Snow Geese share local rice fields and adjacent wetlands with many other bird species, and it can be a balancing act to make sure the finite habitat can best support this diverse ecosystem. Andrea Mott, Biological Science Technician with the U.S. Geological Survey, is among those studying geese populations, including snow geese, to see how their growing population impacts other waterfowl species in our area. To do that, she and colleagues have placed GPS/GSM collars on about geese, which allows them to continual monitor their migration via their computers. Currently, about 100 geese are being studied. This allows researchers to better understand where they are moving around the valley and the fields they are using. They have transmitters on ducks as well, so areas of overlap can be studied and analyzed. “Technology has come really far in the last several years,” Mott said. “It used to be that we put a transmitter on and we had to be within a mile or so of the bird to hear a beeping to understand where it is. With these, once we put them on the goose, they have solar panels so they recharge and keep the battery up. It literally just transmits its locations through cell phone towers and then sends it to my computer. Then, I can look on my computer from my desk and see where all of my geese are.” The monitoring system provides a location of each goose every 15 minutes. The data is saved and offloads every 24-hours, showing where all of the geese have been. This information helps researchers better track the goose migrations and much more – including how high they are flying and “accelerometer data” – showing the movement of the goose; whether it’s flying, sleeping, eating or walking. Mott said the Geological Survey work is made possible through a collaborative effort, including the California Department of Water Resources, Ducks Unlimited, California Waterfowl, and UC Davis, along with many others. The goose tracking information will be reviewed and critically analyzed before any future steps are made to make sure the Sacramento Valley best serves the entire array of migrating wildlife each fall and winter. Episode Transcript Mike Casazza: The Sacramento Valley, I don't think you can overstate how important it is, especially for wintering waterfowl. Jim Morris: Mike Casazza, Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey on the importance of rice fields for wildlife, including more than a million snow geese, an iconic and boisterous bird in our region. Mike Casazza: We're in a Mediterranean climate here, so they're not facing climatic extremes. These birds they come primarily from the Northern latitudes and come down here to spend the winter. And the environment here is just ideal because they can relax in a rice field, there's food there for them. Jim Morris: Maintaining that habitat is important, and you're about to find out how researchers work to keep balance in this diverse ecosystem. Welcome to Ingrained, The California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. Proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for 30 years helping tell their stories. Winter in Sacramento Valley rice country is a great time. The harvest is done and these rice fields have a tremendous value as wildlife habitat for millions of birds that are making their annual Pacific flyway migration. I'm visiting with Andrea Mott, Biological Science Technician with the U.S. Geological Survey. Andrea, you are working to try to help maintain this healthy population. What are some of the areas that you're working in? Andrea Mott: I'm just looking at snow goose populations and just seeing how the healthy, or maybe a little too healthy population, may affect other waterfowl species that also winter in the Valley. Jim Morris: It does appear that we have a very healthy snow goose population. Some of that is good, some might be challenging, but generally speaking how has that population been in recent years? Andrea Mott: It's kind of increasing exponentially, so every year we're seeing more and more snow geese calling the Sacramento Valley their wintering grounds. Jim Morris: Why is it important to track their population? I believe it has something to do with the other wildlife that depend on the rice fields and making sure there's a good balance. Andrea Mott: There's a ton of overlap in habitat between snow geese, other species of geese, and then ducks and swans as well. So they all depend on the rice and the rice fields that the Valley has. There's a ton of overlap, so we're just monitoring to see if too many geese may end up being detrimental for waterfowl populations, ducks specifically. Jim Morris: How do you do that? How are you able to track geese? Andrea Mott: We put out GPS/GSM collars on these geese and we can monitor them from our computers. So, I can essentially see where they're moving around the Valley, what fields they're using, and then we also have a bunch of ducks transmittered, so we can see where major areas of overlap are and go from there. Jim Morris: How do you get the transmitters on the geese? Andrea Mott: We have to trap them. We use rocket nets where we set them up in an area where a bunch of geese are hanging out and we essentially just shoot these nets over a flock of geese, and it just traps them. We go pick them up really quick, and put them in crates, band them, and throw a collar on them. Jim Morris: How many geese are you tracking at any given time? Andrea Mott: We have about a hundred active right now. They're not all in California. Some of them went to the Central Flyway, which is kind of the mid-continent, like the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, and that area. It's a collar that goes on the neck of the goose. So yeah, technology has come really far in the last several years. It used to be that we put a transmitter on and we'd have to be within a mile or so of this bird to hear a beeping, to understand where it is. Where these, we can put them on the goose. They have solar panels, so they recharge and keep the battery up. It literally just transmits its locations through cell phone towers and then sends it to my computer, and I can just look on my computer from my desk and see where all my geese are. Jim Morris: How often can you track the birds, and why is it valuable to know where they are? Andrea Mott: We have the collars set to take a point, or like a GPS a spot, every 15 minutes. Then it saves up that data and then offloads it every 24 hours. So, I get a day's worth of data every 24 hours on where all of the geese have been. It's just really important to see what they're doing, where they're going. Like, we've been able to look at crazy migrations that they've been doing like flyway switching. You know, sometimes they'll stay in California one winter and decide they want to go to Nebraska another winter. We can see all of this stuff from these collars. Jim Morris: I'm picking California for my winter as opposed to Nebraska, but that's just me. If you have your laptop open, and what is on the screen that we're looking at? Andrea Mott: This is the website that all of the GPS points get uploaded to. So, here we're looking at a snow goose that was collared up on the North Slope of Alaska. It is a male, and he's back here in the Valley. We can see here, this yellow line is just kind of where he's been in the last couple days. So yeah, he's in a rice field around here, currently. Jim Morris: Tell me a little bit about some of the travels he's made, if you don't mind. Andrea Mott: Yeah. He's just kind of bopping around the Valley. You know, I'd have to look at it a little closer, but most geese spend time in the rice eating and then spend time on refuge areas to sleep, and loaf, and that kind of thing. Jim Morris: So some of that is predictable. Like you say, they come here, they need to rest and refuel, but it is interesting that within that group I imagine there can be some variables. So, one of the reasons why it's important to track it through the computer. Correct? Andrea Mott: Sometimes a goose will just get a wild hare and just go fly off into some weird spot, and that's a cool thing to see. And we get geese that end up in places that we didn't expect them to be. Like I have one of our snow geese is in Mexico right now. Jim Morris: Besides your ability to track their journey, do the collars help in any other way? Do you receive any other data through them? Andrea Mott: They don't just give us GPS points. They also can give us elevation data, like how high they're flying. They can tell us temperature, outside temperature, and then we have accelerometer data, which I mean I know doesn't mean a lot to many people. But essentially, it's the movement of the goose. So, a lot of times we can see, based on this graph, if it's flying, sleeping, eating, walking. We can see what it's doing based on the data that these collars can take. Jim Morris: A lot of the conservation work I see in the Sacramento Valley, there are partnerships that are important to get successful results. Is that the same case for the work that you do with the USGS? Andrea Mott: Absolutely. This is a major project. Lots of collaboration from Department of Water Resources, Ducks Unlimited, California Waterfowl Association, so it's a ton of people that are helping. It's not just USGS. Jim Morris: Have you traveled and done work like this elsewhere? Andrea Mott: I was really lucky and I got to go to Alaska in summer 2019. It was their molting grounds. So for about a four-week period snow geese and all geese can't fly because they molt all of their flight feathers. So we just corral them into a catch pen, and band them, and I was able to put collars on them up there in Alaska. Jim Morris: I'm glad you went in the summer. I'm reasonably well-traveled, but I've never been to Alaska, but I'm fascinated by it. So, where in Alaska were you, how long did you stay, and what are some of your observations about that area? Andrea Mott: I went all the way up to the North Slope, which is the furthest north part of Alaska. There's a ton of snow goose colonies up there. I was up there for about a week or so. Jim Morris: I'd love to know a little more about the landscape. It sounds really interesting. Andrea Mott: It's tundra, so it's not like the mountainous landscape that a lot of people picture Alaska. It's pretty flat, a lot of little seasonal ponds and stuff, which is super important to all of the birds that nest up there. But yeah, I essentially flew into the biggest major town and then we took a helicopter out to a river delta where we camped for about a week. Yeah, we had to have polar bear fences up just in case a polar bear came into camp, which it didn't thankfully. Jim Morris: Oh, yeah. Andrea Mott: But yeah, it was pretty crazy. Jim Morris: Any interesting things that you saw or ate while you were there? I mean did you have a caribou burger or anything? Andrea Mott: No. No caribou burgers. We essentially just had to bring some food out with us. But everything was just very different than everything down here. I saw so many birds on their breeding grounds that I've never seen. Like I've never seen baby specks because they're always adult-size down here. I did see some polar bears when I was up there, so that was really cool. From a very far safe distance, thankfully. Jim Morris: Well, that's good. Andrea Mott: Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it was really, really cool. Jim Morris: You say specks, those are a specklebelly or Pacific greater white-fronted geese. Do I have their title correctly? Andrea Mott: Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Jim Morris:  Tell me a little bit about some of the observations that you've seen since you've started this work, and what are some of the things also that you've observed and learned when you've been in and around the rice fields? Andrea Mott: I've just noticed how much these geese actually use the rice. I am not from this area, so when I got here for the first winter I was like, "Wow. This is the most waterfowl in one area I've ever seen in my life. This is amazing." And people are like, "Yeah. It's because there's all the rice agriculture here, and it really helps support such a large population." Jim Morris: When you're in the field and you're looking over the data, it's pretty cool to have that visual. Right? I mean it's extremely foggy today, but normally seeing thousands of geese in a field, I find it pretty uplifting. Andrea Mott: Oh yeah, for sure. I love just going out and doing field work because I get to look at all the geese and the ducks that are around and just the sheer numbers that are here. Jim Morris: Tell me about the journey that they make, because you've been on different ends of the Pacific Flyway Migration, and to think about that they do it every year is unbelievable to me. Tell me about that journey. Andrea Mott: It's absolutely nuts how far these geese migrate every year, like thousands of miles. They're down here, they go up to Alaska, remote parts of Canada, Russia even. And, with these collars, we're able to actually see these migration pathways and kind of see where they're going, if they're taking weird different routes, or the same kind of route. So we've been able to really see interesting detail on their migration, their nesting grounds, and their wintering grounds. Jim Morris: One of the things that I've learned with the U.S. Geological Survey, I thought years ago that it was simply just geologic-type subjects. And, in visiting with some of your colleagues on our giant gartersnake podcast, Episode 11 if you want to check that out it's really cool, Anna Jordan and Allie Essert, Giants in the Rice Fields. Did you work on the snake project for a while too, and what were your experiences there? Andrea Mott: Yeah. It was cool to just get outside of the bird world for a minute, so it was a cool experience. Snakes don't scare me- Jim Morris: Oh good. Andrea Mott: ... so that was fine. But yeah, it was neat to see the other species that really use the rice outside of the winter season. Jim Morris: What do your friends and family think as you're tracking geese with radio collars, and handling snakes, and everything? Are they surprised? Andrea Mott: No. I mean my parents think this is the coolest thing they've ever heard. On a regular basis they tell me they can't believe that this is my job and it's super exciting. But yeah, a lot of my friends are like, "What is it you do again? Chasing geese around the Valley?" Like yeah, that is what I'm doing. Jim Morris: I love that sound. It takes a while for all this data to be gathered and then decisions to be made to make sure the populations are all sound, so where are you in the process? Andrea Mott: We spent the first couple years collecting the data, trapping the geese, and now we're in the data analysis phase, where we're starting to look at the big-picture questions and figure out what we want to ask with this data. Jim Morris: How does it make you feel, knowing that you're playing a role in hopefully having healthy populations of wildlife in rice country for a long time to come? Andrea Mott: It's very important to maintain these bird populations from a wildlife aspect, but also conservation hunting, and all of that. I want to be part of what preserves these animals for years to come. I love when a huge, huge flock gets up and starts swirling around, and the sun hits them just right, and just the noise, the sheer noise of how many are there. It's just a really cool thing that I hadn't really seen before in my life. Jim Morris: That will wrap up this episode. Thank you to Mike Casazza and Andrea Mott with the U.S. Geological Survey for their time and insight. You can learn more about their work and listen to past episodes at podcast.calrice.org. You can also subscribe, and we appreciate your feedback. Thanks for listening.

Hans Herkert, a first-generation rice farmer in California’s Central Valley, and I talk quite a bit about the ways rice fields serve vital ecological functions – including raising salmon and providing temporary shorebird habitat during migration. There is an emerging awareness or recognition that ecosystem services are crucial to maintain a hospitable planet for human life, and we find ourselves in a position where we must use preservation, restoration, and biomimicry on working lands.Coming from a small town heavily dependent on agriculture, and with extended family in the farming industry, Hans got his career started serving in a support role and then took the plunge in 2011 by acquiring a lease on a 154-acre field. The bird and wildlife benefits from rice field management were always at the top of mind for Hans, and I learned quite a bit about the evolution in California from burning rice straw after the harvest to now flooding the fields to decompose it instead. By recreating floodplains that used to exist naturally, rice farmers like Hans are providing critical wildlife habitat and building climate resiliency.Hans and I talk about the emerging research and pilot programs attempting to value these kinds of ecosystem services, including a recent study by University of California and the California Rangeland Trust. We talk about a few conservation programs that incentivize farming practices that maximize benefits to wildlife, the potential challenges scaling up these programs, and one of the biggest challenges facing California: the demands for water. Hans is a thoughtful steward of the land and I hope you learn as much as I have from our conversation.--- FULL EPISODE NOTES WITH LINKS @ https://truestewards.com/hans-herkert ------ TOPICS DISCUSSED ---1:39 – The path from growing up in Colusa to that first lease4:12 – Not your grandfather’s rice field – how is rice farmed today?6:45 – The ecological impact of flooding rice fields after the harvest7:57 – Water in the context of rice production plus the benefits in recreating floodplains that used to exist naturally11:02 – Recent studies attempting to value these ecosystem services12:05 – Incentive programs to increase economic feasibility of synching farming practices with benefits to wildlife14:38 – Is there enough funding for every farmer to participate if they want to?16:52 – Resources for people interested in these types of programs17:37 – How Hans stays on top of current farming trends and best practices18:17 – The demands for water in California, increasing supply through storage and conservation22:37 – Agriculture practices not only coexist with wildlife but can allow wildlife to thrive24:00 – Steep learning curve starting out and the importance of the business management side of things25:44 – Failure is an opportunity to learn27:16 – Hans suggests actions to take to learn more about these conservation efforts28:06 – Birding in the Sacramento Valley in the winter time, after the harvest

In this episode, Pearland (TX) Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson joins host Brett Lyle to share his personal journey and lessons of humility, mentorship and leadership.In a fascinating account, Chief Johnson helps his father lead guided duck hunts at only three years old, becomes a volunteer firefighter before being old enough to drive, and through those experiences develops into the respected 20-year firefighting veteran he is today.During the discussion, Chief Johnson opens up about overcoming an early setback in his career that left him doubting his ability to coach and lead his team.Through reflection of what he calls a “failure,” he circled back to the fundamentals that made his mentors successful: love, accountability and providing the why.Jacob shares his epiphany during training that it was leaders failing his profession’s newest members, as opposed to the current generation’s unwillingness to learn.As a proposed solution, an instructor challenged him to attack the problem and develop a mentorship class that the Chief eventually cultivated into a proven program designed to help leader be better mentors to their crews.Please join in and listen. What type of hardships or failures have you overcome as a leader that better equipped you to develop others?Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

Rice fields are unique amongst row crops in that they sustain so much wildlife. From birds to invertebrates and now even fish – hundreds of species of critters call these working fields home. U.S. rice farmers know this and actually count on it, so they do everything they can to support it. Hosts Lydia Holmes and Dr. Steve Linscombe are joined by California rice farmer Leo LaGrande and Ducks Unlimited’s Dr. Scott Manley as they explore the unique biodiversity opportunities and challenges of rice fields. Hosted by: Lydia Holmes and Steve Linscombe

Head north of Sacramento along any of the major freeways, you’ve likely seen the lush green rice fields with ubiquitous wildlife such as herons, hawks, and egrets. What may surprise you is just how diverse the rice field ecosystem is – and the unseen giants at home in those fields. Nearly 230 wildlife species depend on Sacramento Valley rice fields for food and a resting place, including the giant gartersnake, a threatened species. Although it has “giant” in its name, this creature is, at most, five-feet long. These snakes are heavily dependent on rice fields for their survival; having lost most of their earlier habitat – traditional wetlands, which have been lost over the generations. Anna Jordan and Allie Essert of the U.S. Geological Survey are among those working to maintain and enhance the giant garter snake population. They work in rice fields, trapping and tracking the snakes. The more they understand about this species, the better chance it has at surviving. This is unusual work may not appeal to many, but these biologists love what they do. “It’s really kind of funny. Whenever I tell people what my job is, the first question I get is ‘Why?’” Anna said. “It’s a hard question to answer. You don’t get that question when you’re an accountant or a doctor.  I love what I do and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYOZtOG4CDg Those who don’t like snakes – and there are many in that category – may not realize how valuable they are. “For all of the people who don’t like snakes, you probably don’t like pest species either,” Allie remarked. “Snakes do a lot to keep pest populations down. They help to regulate the ecosystem as an aquatic predator.” Here are links to more information on this rice field giant:   USGS Article - Construction and analysis of a giant gartersnake population projection model Article - Conservation reliance of a threatened snake on rice agriculture Article - Behavioral response of giant gartersnakes to the relative availability of aquatic habitat on the landscape WERC Scientists Find that Threatened Snakes Depend on Agriculture Episode Transcript Anna Jordan: It's really kind of funny. Whenever I tell people what my job is, the first question I get is, why? It's kind of a hard question to answer, because you don't get that question when you're an accountant or a doctor. So,  it's definitely really interesting and I love what I do and I wouldn't change it for the world. Jim Morris: Anna Jordan and her coworker, Allie Essert have really unusual jobs and I mean really unusual. But, what they and other colleagues are doing here in the rice fields of the Sacramento Valley, should pay big dividends for our ecosystem. Welcome to Ingrained, the California Rice Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Morris. Proud to have worked with California farmers and ranchers for 30 years. And today, I'm in the Natomas area at a rice farm, about a 15-minute drive from the state capitol. Sacramento Valley rice fields are home to nearly 230 wildlife species. And that includes millions of ducks and geese, more than a dozen types of raptors, and world-class habitat for shorebirds. Jim Morris: In my travels, I've seen bald eagle parents teaching their young how to hunt in a rice field. I watched an epic grind of about 30,000 snow geese in one shallow flooded rice field in the winter. I had to stop while a river otter family crossed the road in Yolo County, that was awesome. And only yesterday in Colusa County, I watched a muskrat peek its head up from a small canal next to a rice field. One of the most unusual species we have is also heavily dependent on rice fields for its survival. It's the giant gartersnake. I'm speaking with Anna Jordan with the US Geological Survey. And can I ask what your title is and how long you've been working with giant garter snakes? Anna Jordan: I am a wildlife biologist with the USGS and I'm also one of the project managers on our giant gartersnake project. And I've been working at the US Geological Survey since 2014. Basically right after I graduated college, I started and never stopped. And I loved it enough to start managing the project. Jim Morris: How important is it to maintain this habitat? We have a lot of urbanization in this area. It's critical for the snakes, right? Anna Jordan: So, the giant gartersnakes are a federally and state listed species. They are threatened. And the major reason for that is because of habitat loss. There used to be historically a lot of native wetlands, but like you said, with urbanization, a lot of those wetlands have been completely replaced by agriculture. And in some places that agriculture is orchards or sunflower fields, very dry crops, but giant gartersnakes are a wetland obligate species, which means they need water to survive. And, in the Sacramento Valley, which a lot of people may not know, we grow so much rice and this rice basically acts like a wetland for snakes, and it's what allows their population to exist at all. And so it's so important for them. Jim Morris: So we're right along Highway 99, checking out traps and Anna, how many do you look at in a given time that you're out here? Anna Jordan: So, our trap lines are made up of usually about 50 traps, but we can go upwards to a hundred, depending on how big the canal is because we want to get a good even sampling of the length of the canal. This one is only 50 and they're are about 10 to 20 meters apart. And that really just makes it so that, if we have a snake, we know that we're sampling the entire canal and where they could possibly be to get an idea of what the population is like there. Jim Morris: Oh great. You have a very large pole and you're going to see what we have here. So why don't you go forward and do that please? And this is a trap that's what, about three feet long, I guess? What do you have in there? Anna Jordan: Look at that. Lucky snake number one in trap number one. And there's also a crayfish with him, which is pretty common. There's a lot of crayfish and these rice fields, so that's a pretty common trap content. And here we go, this looks like an adult snake. I think it is a male, which you can tell by the length of their tail, but we do also probe them to check for the hemipene pockets. Jim Morris: This one looks pretty lively and healthy to me, but you're the expert. So tell me about the overall health here. Anna Jordan: Yeah,  I would say the snake seems pretty healthy, rambunctious, lively, not super happy that I took him out of the water. But yeah, he looks great to me, no scars, nice full tail. Sometimes they will have blunt tails and that's usually from predation or sometimes the crayfish will even chop them a little bit. And that happens even without us trapping. We will measure the mass of the snake. And we will also measure the length, both from the snout to the vent, which is this right here. And then the vent to the tail, to give us an idea of how big the snake is and can help us determine the overall growth rate of the population and how big the snakes are. We will also mark each snake. This actually looks like a new snake. So, this is a snake we've never captured before, which is awesome because we've been out here trapping for 20 years and we're still catching new snakes, which means that the population is still growing. Anna Jordan: And that's really good to see. We will also give them a pit tag, which is the same as you would give a cat or a dog, a microchip. And that lets us know, in case the brand fades a little bit, that we know we have the same snake. Because they are a listed species, obviously we really care about how their population is doing. And one thing that we found actually is that the presence of rice fields not only increases the possibility of giant gartersnakes being present in an area, but it also increases the probability that they will stay in an area year after year. And that's directly affected to the proportion of rice in an area. I'm really optimistic because, after that drought ended and farmers are able to grow rice and there's more water available, we've seen that population start to bounce back. So, California will continue to have droughts, but as long as we're able to keep that water available, then giant gartersnakes, I'm really optimistic about their population increasing. Jim Morris: They are a key indicator of the ecosystem, I imagine, because they interact with so many other species. Anna Jordan: They are a very important of the ecosystem. Almost every species in an ecosystem is important. And that includes the species that humans may not necessarily like, but giant gartersnakes are really important in keeping pest populations down. And if you remove one species, it affects everything else. So you really want to protect the entire community and not just the ones that you think are cute. Though personally, I think giant gartersnakes are very cute, especially for snakes. Jim Morris: I have to tell you, I was slightly disappointed when I first heard the name giant garter snake, because as a fan of B movie monsters, Anaconda comes to mind, 1997, J-Lo, John Voight, Ice Cube and an Anaconda, the size of a Winnebago. And that's not the case here, but are they still giants in their own world, if you will? Anna Jordan: Honestly, I was a little bit disappointed the first time I saw a giant gartersnake as well, because you hear the word giant and you think these giant boa constrictors, they are giant for gartersnakes. They actually did used to get larger in the southern portion of their range. But due to habitat loss, they have been extirpated, which means they are no longer present in that southern portion. Up north, they do still get pretty big. They can be about three to five feet, but that's not really as giant as you would think. Jim Morris: Do you have friends that have disowned you or do they think it's cool what you're doing, or is it a combination? Anna Jordan: I think it's a combination. I've had friends who are super eager and are like, "Oh, I would love to come out with you and get out and see those snakes." And I've had friends who, like I said, will go, "Why? I don't understand what you're doing, but as long as you keep them away from me." And usually those people who don't want to know about snakes, I take that as an education opportunity because a lot of people who don't dislike snakes have never held a snake, have never seen a snake. Their exposure to snakes is these kind of horror movies or rattlesnakes, which are dangerous. But, especially in California, the only venomous snake we have is a rattlesnake and even rattlesnakes don't want to bother you. They probably want to get away from you as much as you want to get away from them. So if you leave them alone, you will be totally fine. Jim Morris: What do you like about them? Anna Jordan: They are just a really cool species. And honestly, I think part of the reason that they're unloved is like I said, that lack of education. And so the more I learn about snakes, the more I love them and especially giant gartersnakes, they are the sweetest, most docile snakes. And even their musk doesn't smell that bad, which is kind of that smelly predator defense. I've had my first project manager when I joined the crew actually said she loved it. And once a guy gets perfume, which is their scientific name, I wouldn't go that far, but they are just very lovable snakes. And they're fascinating creatures that are kind of unlike anything else. And I think that's what makes them my favorite animal. Jim Morris: And you would be a big advocate, I suspect, for keeping rice in production?. Anna Jordan: Yes, a hundred percent. Without rice fields and rice production, these snakes would go extinct. Jim Morris: I'm also speaking with Allie Essert is with the US Geological Survey as well. And Allie, how long have you been working with snakes? Allie Essert: I actually started working with giant gartersnakes when I graduated from high school. I started volunteering after that first summer, and it is a really, really strange job. Most people are shocked or sometimes even creeped out, when I say that I spend all day at work, trapping snakes and handling snakes, looking for snakes, but I love this job and I'm so happy I've been able to do it for so many years. Jim Morris: It's interesting too, because we're not very far from Sacramento, yet we have rice fields which surprise people. And then we also have a threatened snake species out here. So you probably can have some great conversations with people. Allie Essert: Oh, definitely. Even before I got this job, I had no idea that there were snakes even out here and I didn't know snakes used rice at all, and being so close to Sacramento, it's kind of crazy that they're just next door neighbors with us. So, water for giant gartersnakes is super, super crucial. During the active season, they spend probably the majority of their time within five meters of water. So even having the water out here is really beneficial for them. And then once the rice fields are flooded and the vegetation grows in, they also are able to use that as kind of a surrogate wetland habitat. Allie Essert: Rice helps support prey populations like bull frogs and other types of fish that the snakes eat. And, it also allows the snakes to move between the landscape more easily. They prefer to move in the water then moving across any large terrestrial space, because they're kind of more susceptible to predators across the terrestrial landscape. So having the rice here allows them to get in between canals. It gives them more area for hunting and it really helps support their populations where wetlands are not available to them. Jim Morris: Now, I believe your project coming up at school and explain this to me, involves telemetry with snakes. So tell me a little bit about what this is all about and how this will help the giant gartersnake. Allie Essert: For my project. I am focusing mainly on telemetry of snakes. So studying kind of their movement behavior and how they're using the landscape, what type of habitat features they're selecting. And one thing that's really helpful with telemetry is we also do a lot of snake trapping, but we're only really seeing a snapshot of what the snakes are doing. And it's not as natural of an environment because they're caught in the traps and we don't know how they got in there, when they got in there. But telemetry is nice because it allows me to kind of track exactly where the snakes are located before disturbing them. Allie Essert: So I'm able to see what kind of substrate they're using. Are they underground? Are they under a certain type of veg? It also lets me see how much they're moving during different seasons of the year at different temperatures. So, it kind of gives us a look at their ecology and behavior that we really can't get in any other kind of sampling scheme. Allie Essert: They've been implanted with a radio transmitter. So it looks about the size of a double AA battery, and it actually goes inside the body cavity of the snake and has an antenna that kind of runs down. And each transmitter has a unique frequency, and that's how I'm able to use this antenna and receiver later on to pick up on the specific frequency of the snake and help zero in and locate them later on. Jim Morris: Interesting. So technology is really helping and you also mentioned GPS technology, global positioning system. Tell me a little bit about how that helps. Allie Essert: So, we use GPS points at where the snakes are located and then we also will take GPS points around the surrounding landscape. And we ultimately use these points to kind of get an idea of the total home range of the snakes. So kind of how much space each snake is using. Jim Morris: When you talk with your friends, do some disown you or do they think it's cool that you handle snakes? Allie Essert: Most think it's cool, but they would agree that they would never want that to be their job. And it's actually kind of comical because I love snakes. I've worked with them, I've had them as pets and I have absolutely no fear of them. But my husband is terrified of them and he agrees that he could never do the job that I do. Jim Morris: So it sounds like this has been a passion for a long time. Have you always liked animals then? Allie Essert: I've always liked animals. I was always the kid, just the young kid who was picking up frogs out of the ponds and showing weird bugs to my parents and relatives. So, I've always loved animals. And then when I got an opportunity to work with snakes, they've quickly become one of my favorite animals. I mean, even the mere fact that they do so many things with no legs, as weird as that sounds, it really fascinates me. I think snakes just have a really interesting, curious personality and I really enjoy working with them, especially giant gartersnakes. They're one of the most docile, friendly snakes of the snakes in this area. And for all the people that say they don't like snakes, I argue that point with you probably don't like pest species, either. And snakes do a lot to kind of keep pest populations down and they help just to regulate the ecosystem as an aquatic predator. Jim Morris: You can find out more about the giant gartersnake and all of the wildlife and rice fields at our website, calrice.org. We have hundreds of photos and videos available, and we will keep you posted on the latest developments and helping solidify the giant gartersnake population. That will wrap up this episode of Ingrained. Thank you so much to Anna and Allie for their time and fascinating comments, what interesting research they're doing. A reminder to go to podcast.calrice.org, where you can subscribe and listen to past episodes. And we would love to hear from you. We invite your questions and comments. Thanks for listening.

Good news is hard to come by these days, so let’s start with this: reservoir storage right now in California is enough to get us through this water year, and maybe a bit more available to move to south state farming regions. And University of California researchers have a breakthrough: a peptide that just might thwart citrus greening disease. With rural wildfire season upon us, Covid-19 concerns may hamper firefighting efforts. We have the details. We have tips for getting ahead of navel orange worm problems now, during almond hull split season. And, we relax with all the wildlife inhabiting Northern california rice fields right now, a win-win situation for rice growers as well as environmentalists. All that, crop reports, the extended weather, and more, on this week’s KSTE Farm Hour.

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This week, we’re going to be looking at my favorite weaver from classical mythology, Arachne. Arachne was a mortal weaver, famous for her skill and innovation— she is credited with the invention of linen and nets. But Arachne was a proud woman, and boasted that her talent was greater than that of any other weaver, even Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts. This— are we really surprised— got quickly back to Athena, who scoffed at the suggestion that she was second best at anything and quickly challenged Arachne to a weaving duel.Today’s episode features a story from James Baldwin’s 1895 Old Greek Stories.This episode was researched and written by Lindsey Morse. Niall Cooper assists with writing and editing. Our theme music was composed by Graeme Ronald.If you enjoy creepy TRUE stories of murder, mystery, and the macabre, check out Fresh Hell Podcast. You’ll find a promo in this week’s episode, and you can learn more about the show on their website, https://freshhellpodcast.com.Additional music: "The Rice Fields" by Purple Planet is licensed under CC BY 3.0 / A derivative from the original workFinally, make sure to check out our sister show, Assassinations Podcast: www.assassinationspodcast.com.Visit our website: www.fabfigmentals.comSupport us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/fabfigmentalsFollow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/figmentalsFind us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/fabfigmentals

Restless Books devotes itself to publishing books you don’t usually find in English—from Cuban science fiction and illustrated retellings of the Ramayana to doorstopper Hungarian novels. Its catalog features classics, like Don Quixote and The Souls of Black Folk, new immigrant writing from Abu Dhabi, and the mind-boggling prose of Chilean-French novelist Alejandro Jodorowsky. Only three percent of books published in English are in translation, most from European languages. So what does it take to transform a book from one language to another? To answer that question, Ilan Stavans and Joshua Ellison, co-founders of Restless Books, give us a crash course in Publishing 101.Go beyond the episode:Peruse the growing list of titles in the Restless Books catalogueRead an excerpt from Andrés Neuman’s How to Travel Without Seeing, his memoir of a whirlwind trip to every country in Latin America, and from Githa Hariharan’s Almost Home, a collection of essays about finding a place in the world when you’re not exactly from a single placeListen to our interview with Naivo, author of Beyond the Rice Fields (the first Malagasy novel ever translated into English) and his translator, Allison CharetteCheck out the University of Rochester’s Three Percent project, which frequently reviews new books in translationRead new stories in translation (including bilingual versions!) on Words Without Borders, the online magazine for international literatureCross a prizewinner off your reading list by exploring the Man Booker International PrizeTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Restless Books devotes itself to publishing books you don’t usually find in English—from Cuban science fiction and illustrated retellings of the Ramayana to doorstopper Hungarian novels. Its catalog features classics, like Don Quixote and The Souls of Black Folk, new immigrant writing from Abu Dhabi, and the mind-boggling prose of Chilean-French novelist Alejandro Jodorowsky. Only three percent of books published in English are in translation, most from European languages. So what does it take to transform a book from one language to another? To answer that question, Ilan Stavans and Joshua Ellison, co-founders of Restless Books, give us a crash course in Publishing 101.Go beyond the episode:Peruse the growing list of titles in the Restless Books catalogueRead an excerpt from Andrés Neuman’s How to Travel Without Seeing, his memoir of a whirlwind trip to every country in Latin America, and from Githa Hariharan’s Almost Home, a collection of essays about finding a place in the world when you’re not exactly from a single placeListen to our interview with Naivo, author of Beyond the Rice Fields (the first Malagasy novel ever translated into English) and his translator, Allison CharetteCheck out the University of Rochester’s Three Percent project, which frequently reviews new books in translationRead new stories in translation (including bilingual versions!) on Words Without Borders, the online magazine for international literatureCross a prizewinner off your reading list by exploring the Man Booker International PrizeTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this exciting episode of the show we sit down with UC Davis Ecologist Carson Jeffres and learn about a new fish rearing program that merges agriculture with fisheries science in innovative and amazing ways. We also learn about subduction zones and...

We discuss 5 unexpected self-care practices, and finish up with a 10 minute meditation using affirmations. The beautiful meditation music is The Rice Fields by Purple Planet Music. I mention my Healing Workbook Part 1 and emotion lists in this episode. To download these free items, visit athenarisingpodcast.com and click on Offerings. Visit me at any of these places: athenarisingpodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @athenarisingpodcast Facebook: The Athena Rising Podcast Phone: 828.635.9565 THE SOUL RISING PODCAST WEBSITE: thesoulrisingpodcast.com THE SOUL RISING PODCAST ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/the_soulrisingpodcast/ THE SOUL RISING PODCAST ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thesoulrisingpodcast/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/soulrisingpodcast/support

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Oh we went deep in this episode!  From talking about inhaling and exhaling our gifts to the universe, to releasing negativity and being truthful.  This episode explores the depths of our choices in life and how we connect to others.  Mia Yang, joins us for our Conscious Conversation segment.  Mia Yang is a the owner of her own Yoga Studio in Shanghai, China.  The studio is named Yoga Shala:   “Yoga Shala” for which Mia was inspired by after she experienced Self Liberation from her limitations and was REBORN in the Rice Fields of Ubud, Bali in Indonesia where Mia studied Yoga TTC 200 with the most experienced Yoga teachers who have over 35 years teaching experience and Mia is accredited as RTY200 Yoga Teacher.   Mia resigned from one of the Global Top 500 Companies in Beijing and became a Yoga Freelancer to start pursuit of her inner exploration and sharing with LOVE.   Mia believes "The physical body is the Temple of the Soul" and is deeply amazed by the Healing Power of our physical body itself, as Mia has healed her own serious neck and shoulder injuries by persistent Yoga practice and it took her 3 years to finally heal. This is the charm of Yoga - the infinite exploration and Mia is always a student in the journey of Yoga.   Therefore, Mia, with the great gratitude to the grace of Yoga and her teachers, would like to share and spread the LOVE, FAITH, COURAGE and FREEDOM with others.   LOVE is EVERYTHING EVERYTHING is LOVE Tune in and connect www.messagesfromabottle.com

This month is Africa: Stories in the 55, Malagasy author Naivo, speaks about his historical saga, Beyond the Rice Fields, which weaves the beauty of  Hainteny, a traditional form of Malagasy poetry, with the coming-of-age story of Tsito, a young slave, and his one love, Fara. Set in volatile 19th century Madagascar, both characters try to find their way amidst genocide and religious persecution. Malagasy author Naivo talks about of the traditions of highland culture in Madagascar, and the extensive research he did in creating main character Tsito's world. The intricate smaller characters come to life as Tsito and Fara encounter them-- at home, on the road to the 'City of Thousands', aka Antananarivo, the country's capital, and even abroad, in England.    

A measly three percent of books published in the United States are works in translation—so this week, we’re shining a spotlight on two books from dramatically different places. Naivo’s Beyond the Rice Fields is the first Malagasy novel ever translated into English; he and his translator, Allison Charette, talk with us about love stories and origin stories. And Tenzin Dickie, editor of Old Demons, New Deities—the first English anthology of Tibetan fiction—joins us on the show to talk about life in exile, the rain in Dharamsala, and the best momos in Queens (Little Tibet, in Jackson Heights, in case you're wondering). • Episode Page: https://theamericanscholar.org/the-three-percent/ • Go beyond the episode: Read an excerpt from Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo, translated by Allison Charette • Watch the book trailer for Old Demons, New Deities, narrated by editor Tenzin Dickie • Check out the University of Rochester’s Three Percent project, which frequently reviews new books in translation • Read new stories in translation (including bilingual versions!) on Words Without Borders the online magazine for international literature • Cross a prizewinner off your reading list with the Man Booker International Prize • Listen to our interview with the founders of Restless Books, Joshua Ellison and Ilan Stavans • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A measly three percent of books published in the United States are works in translation—so this week, we’re shining a spotlight on two books from dramatically different places. Naivo’s Beyond the Rice Fields is the first Malagasy novel ever translated into English; he and his translator, Allison Charette, talk with us about love stories and origin stories. And Tenzin Dickie, editor of Old Demons, New Deities—the first English anthology of Tibetan fiction—joins us on the show to talk about life in exile, the rain in Dharamsala, and the best momos in Queens (Little Tibet, in Jackson Heights, in case you're wondering). • Episode Page: https://theamericanscholar.org/the-three-percent/ • Go beyond the episode: Read an excerpt from Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo, translated by Allison Charette • Watch the book trailer for Old Demons, New Deities, narrated by editor Tenzin Dickie • Check out the University of Rochester’s Three Percent project, which frequently reviews new books in translation • Read new stories in translation (including bilingual versions!) on Words Without Borders the online magazine for international literature • Cross a prizewinner off your reading list with the Man Booker International Prize • Listen to our interview with the founders of Restless Books, Joshua Ellison and Ilan Stavans • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amanda and Jenn discuss their favorite small press and translated titles in this week's special 100th episode of Get Booked! This episode is sponsored by Because I Was a Girl, edited by Melissa de la Cruz, and 27 Hours by Tristina Wright from Entangled Teen.   Get Booked Bingo Card - enjoy! Guillotine Press The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz (Melville House), translated by Elisabeth Jaquette Citizen by Claudia Rankine (Graywolf) Hadriana In All My Dreams by René Depestre (Akashic), translated by Kaiama L Glover All In by Simona Ahrnstedt, translated by Tara Chace Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett (Aqueduct Press) The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky (Europa), translated by Tim Mohr Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz (NYRB) Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, translated Megan McDowell Border by Kapka Kassabova (Graywolf) Blood of the Dawn by Claudia Salazar Jiménez (Deep Vellum), translated Elizabeth Breyer - trigger warnings A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain (Pegasus Books) Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo (Restless Books), translated Allison M. Charette

How would your life change if you saw every hardship and obstacle you encountered as a promise of a better future rather than as something that ruins your plans (or just your day)? This kind of perspective is often clear in hindsight, but may be harder to see in the moment. I hope that today’s conversation with Getrude Matshe, who opens up about her recent near-death experience and how past obstacles have led to her happy present, will help give you some of that perspective. Find Out More About Getrude Here: Getrude Matshe on LinkedInGetrude Matshe on the Women Economic ForumGetrude Matshe on Huffpost@GetrudeMatshe on Twitter In This Episode: [01:52] - Getrude starts things off by telling listeners about her recent near-death experience in Bali. [03:45] - Getrude provides more details about the experience itself, and emotionally relates her sense of feeling that her work isn’t yet finished. [05:37] - How long did Getrude stay in the hospital? [06:46] - Currently, a few weeks after the experience, Getrude doesn’t feel fully recovered and still has some trouble exercising. [09:08] - Getrude found her Bali trip transformational on many levels, she explains, beginning with the birthday on which her children gifted her the trip. [11:53] - We hear about the importance of learning to love yourself first instead of looking for love externally. [12:42] - Stephan shares a recent experience from a Kabbalah class. Getrude then discusses taking off layers to look at herself for who she is. [15:22] - We hear about Stephan’s emotional reaction to his own divorce. [17:07] - Getrude shares a lesson about family that she learned from her divorce. [20:02] - Looking back, what you thought was your worst day may actually be your best day, Stephan points out. He then relates this to his own life. [21:57] - Another lesson that Getrude learned from her experiences is the importance of letting go. [24:07] - Getrude points out that she thought that the people who would benefit from the divorce are the lawyers. She then shares the words that she spoke to her ex-husband as she left. [25:45] - Getrude talks about her newest book, Dying in the Rice Fields of Saba. [29:16] - Is the principle of Ubuntu in the new book? As Gertrude answers, she offers an explanation of what Ubuntu means. [32:10] - Getrude talks about how she ended up in New Zealand (after growing up in Zimbabwe), including why she left her home country. She talks about the struggles of moving, and explains how they turned out to be blessings. [36:46] - We hear about Getrude’s life and successes since she made it to New Zealand. She also describes her first book, Born on the Continent. [40:52] - Does Getrude have a name for the film trilogy she has been talking about? She answers, then explains where in the process she is. [42:19] - Getrude talks about the charity she set up, Africa Thrive. Stephan then brings up her story of turning shipping containers into clinics, and Getrude discusses her plans. [45:01] - It’s a matter of using guerrilla warfare tactics for health, Getrude points out. [46:03] - Stephan and Getrude talk about how they met around a decade ago, and the path of their friendship since then. [49:21] - If Getrude could offer one piece of advice to listeners to make a difference in the world, what would it be? Links and Resources: Getrude Matshe on LinkedInGetrude Matshe on the Women Economic ForumGetrude Matshe on Huffpost@GetrudeMatshe on TwitterBorn on the ContinentAngiogramHypertension Laughing BuddhaKabbalahUbuntuOn Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Tse-tung    

Grade 4