I have three more now, of which this is one, but do send in your photos (two max, please) and commentary.

Today’s reader is Gregory Zolnerowich, who has some interesting commentary (indented):

I’m responding your appeal for photos of readers, as I’ve enjoyed seeing other people and their photos. Karl Kramer, a retired USDA scientist you featured some weeks ago, lives right down the street from me.

I’ve been reading WEIT for several years, it’s part of my morning routine each day. To borrow from a well-known phrase, “Mornings are for coffee and WEIT.” I enjoy the fascinating tidbits of biology, science commentaries, cool photos, and as a food junkie, always enjoy the photos of your meals when you travel.

I’m an entomologist at Kansas State University, specializing in insect systematics. My love is the parasitic Hymenoptera in the superfamily Chalcidoidea, particularly the family Encyrtidae. They are the Lamborghinis of the wasp world, with some bizarre morphologies and fascinating biologies. [JAC: Go here to see some photos.] I really enjoy teaching and try to infect my students with my curiosity and enthusiasm, but fear the campus will shut down again and everything will be remote/online.

I enjoy all things outdoors, from kayaking to fishing to hiking. One of my COVID-19 activities was to kayak and camp the entire 173-mile length of the Kansas River, which took 9 days and 8 nights in July. It was an excellent group of people from Friends of the Kaw (www.kansasriver.org) along on the excursion, and we saw an abundance of wildlife like bald eagles, beavers, owls, deer, and, of course, insects. I did have to take advantage of some teachable moments to expound on tiger beetle larvae, dobsonfly egg masses, and stag beetles. The first photo was taken on the last morning of our trip, so I had not shaved in 9 days.

I also lead a burn crew that conducts controlled burns at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (kpbs.konza.k-state.edu). This is an NSF Long-Term Ecological Research site, with a long history of studying the interactions of fire, grazing, and climate. Fire is a management tool that is necessary to preserve the tallgrass prairie. I learn something new every time I’m out, and it’s just fun to coordinate and conduct a controlled burn. It’s also an opportunity to see some cool wildlife and some pretty impressive fires. The second photo is at the end of a burn when all the cameras come out.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, those of other genders, and comrades, this is the last “photos of readers” contribution I have. If you want this to keep going, please send me two photos of you (preferably in quarantine, but not required), and cat photos are welcome too, so long as they’re your cats.

Today’s reader is Julian Cattaneo (note that “cat” is in his name), and his notes are indented below:

I’m usually quite reticent to publicizing my mug but finally decided that perhaps I should help keep your tank supplied (you keep asking). I’ve enjoyed reading about some of my co-WEITers, if that can serve as a descriptor.

I’ve been following WEIT assiduously for quite some time now — started shortly after reading Why evolution is true, although I post very infrequently. Have always found it interesting and it is one of the few sites where I can stomach reading the comments (your Roolz and enforcement certainly help!). And have learned quite a few things, from you and others. Plus you pointed me in the direction of the (now sadly discontinued) Imagine Conferences, which turned out to be among the most intellectually stimulating gatherings I’ve attended. I had the pleasure of meeting you in Richmond and Toronto and obtaining your cat-enhanced autograph on my copy of Faith vs Fact.

So: I’m a retired business prof (human resources management, international management, mainly) from the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) and also, for my sins, had a variety of administrative positions at the university. (My last actual teaching gig was at the Canadian Executive MBA at the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland, March 2018). So  photos of me at work are few and far between and excruciatingly boring.

Instead, some other views. We went to Argentina in April 2019 and visited parts of the northwestern provinces of Salta and Jujuy. The first picture is of my wife, Vivian (a retired social worker) on an outlook by the Cuesta de Lipán, a stretch of Route 52 that connects to the highway network and allows commercial travel from Brazil, through Argentina, and on to Chile. The cuesta itself is a succession of hairpin turns (some are visible under the sign on the right) ascending for 17 kilometres from the town of Purmamarca, Jujuy province (at 2192 metres above sea level) to the Abra de Potrerillos (4170 m). This outlook is at around 3600 m above sea level.

We continued on to the spot below. I get a kick out of asking Canadian and American friends to identify what is pictured. Invariably the answer is some variant of “people on a glacier” or “people on an ice field”. But no…

These are the Salinas Grandes (Great Salt Flats), some 30 km west of the Abra de Potrerillos. They are at 3450 m above sea level and cover about 212 square kilometres. A closed basin, the salt is left behind by evaporation. Certainly not as big as the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia (10,000 sq km, the world’s largest), but still quite impressive. There is another Salinas Grandes in Argentina, further south, which covers some 4700 sq km at 4500 m — world’s second largest after Uyuni.

Below, the two Ragdoll sisters we are staff to: Scotch and Soda.

Finally, for many years one of our hobbies has been Scottish Country Dancing. Here we are photographed at the Annual Ball of the Windsor SCD group. If you’re wondering at the coats of arms on the wall, it was held at the local German club. The dancing is an activity — like travel — that has been curtailed by the current pandemic.

Thank Ceiling Cat, we have two entries in the tank (one after I post this). Send in your contribution or I’ll shoot this cat!

Today’s reader is Steven Nelson, and I find we have another talented musician as a reader (be sure to watch his YouTube video linked below). I’ve indented Steven’s captions:

I am Steven Nelson, Australian by birth but resident in Japan for more than forty years now. I’m a professor in the Japanese department of the Faculty of Letters, Hosei University, Tokyo. I have posted under the name SteveninTokyo, though not very often. This academic year (April to next March) I am on sabbatical, and had planned to spend most of it in China, traveling to ancient sites on the Silk Road and surveying the musical riches depicted in cave murals and the like. But COVID-19 put a stop to all of that, so here I am, in my Tokyo apartment.

My second photo is of a rescue cat who has been living with me since July 8. She was one of 20 or so cats rescued from a dire situation early in February this year, and had been kept caged at a shelter until she came here. She had little contact with humans before she was rescued, and won’t let me touch her, but we’ve got into a fairly good routine of eating, sleeping and playing with toys that I can manipulate far enough away from her for her not to be frightened by me, like feathers and fake insects on long strings. I’ve named her Nana, using nice Chinese characters to express the idea of ‘seven,’ since she was the seventh cat rescued, and called Hepta at the shelter. Any hints from cat lovers about how to get along with better with her? Food looks like the best way to get into her heart at the moment; she has begun to take treats from my hands, and eat them without moving away. I’m happy with her the way she is, but it would be nice to hear a purr or to be able to scratch her neck occasionally!

Yep, another contribution came in but this is the last, so send your photos and captions in. Today’s reader on view is Gregoray from Texas. His caption is indented:

Here is a photo of my Summer. I am an artist/designer/animator in Austin, Texas. I am also a backyard biologist and permaculture enthusiast. For 8 months of the year, we support a native beneficial insect called the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens). Its larvae consume 100% of our kitchen waste and convert it into compost and protein/fat that we feed to our chickens. If you have not heard of this beneficial insect, you will in the coming decade as it is being used to process organic waste and also provide a protein source. Photo is me feeding larvae to our chickens and a closeup.

This is the last one I have, folks, so if nobody steps up to the plate, this feature goes in the dumper.

Our next (and, I hope, not last) reader post is from Christopher Moss, who’s also contributed photos here. His captions are indented:

Just a thought that might be topical and help to drag in some more photos – why not appeal for photos of readers wearing face masks? Anything that normalises it would seem to be helpful for you guys. As of Friday, masks are mandatory in any indoor public space here in Nova Scotia, and no one has complained at all. We rather like staying safe and infection free. We have had no new cases for weeks that were locally transmitted, and the province currently has four cases in total, all of whom travelled abroad, self-isolated on return and were diagnosed when they got symptoms. Seems we ought to discourage all travel outside the province! It just seems quite remarkable to me that wearing a mask when suggested is universally adopted here (maybe because our responsibilities to our fellow citizens are paramount), whereas in certain localities it appears masks must be fought even if they may save your own life, never mind that of others. Once again, I find myself brimming with pride about the upright sensibilities of my adopted countrymen. Nova Scotians may actually just live up to their reputation of being the nicest people in the world.

Anyway, if the thought inspires you, here I am wearing my all too usual N95 as I wait for my bone marrow transplant (I’ve been in lockdown for many more months than the rest of you!):

. . .and my wife, a child psychiatrist who is figuring out how to conduct ADOS tests for diagnosing autism, during which the child must be able to see facial expressions, so she has come up with a homemade face shield:

Send in your photos, please, so we can keep this feature going. This is the penultimate entry I have in the hopper.

Today’s reader is Iain Haysom, and I’ve indented his captions:

As a reader of your website for a number of years now, it is only right I answer your call to keep this feature running. My name is Iain Haysom, I am a microbiologist and currently Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and Food Safety at Bath Spa University in England. Since the end of March, all teaching has had to be carried out at home,  so my photo shows me in my home office. This was taken from a short video of congratulations we made for our graduating students as a very poor compensation for not being able to congratulate them in person. The final lecture I delivered on campus back in March was on the Covid-19 pandemic, so the masked picture with me and a coronavirus on my shoulder seemed appropriate.

The final two images, taken from outside the Biology building on campus, shows a flowerpot by an entrance where a duck, sadly unnamed, chose to nest and rear her ducklings. I missed the event itself, but I believe all ducklings did well and made it to the pond on campus.

JAC: I gather the nest was in the pot!

Thank you for your books and your website; I have learned a lot both from you and from those who comment. I should start doing some of the latter myself.

Yes, indeed! All readers should make at least the occasional comment.

After this one, we have but one in the tank, so please send in your contributions. Today’s reader, is Peter Nothnagle, and his words are indented.

For the last 40+ years I have been a recording engineer, specializing in classical music. I am a loyal WEIT reader, and I even made an unexpected appearance in the very first Photos of Readers.

Among the many things that aren’t happening during the pandemic are performances and recording sessions by orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles, so I have spent much of the year doing other things (helping musicians sound better on Zoom, for example). For the last ten years I have volunteered at a state prison, making recordings of the prison choir and helping with a songwriting program in collaboration with the University of Iowa Music Education department. We haven’t been able to visit the prison since March, but we can collaborate with the incarcerated songwriters via email, and I thought it would be nice to record some of their songs, which will be shared on a Zoom call later this week.

Here I am recording the talented Joe Kim, who is singing one of the new songs. I normally record classical ensembles in concert halls and cathedrals but here we’re observing social distancing and enjoying the fresh air and sounds of nature in my garage:

Long ago I fancied myself an electronic music composer, and I mean to get back to that some day. A few years ago I participated in an informal concert, and here I am playing my Akai Electric Wind Instrument, with my 1965 Robert Moog theremin in the foreground: