April Gardens Close-Ups!

 

The Circles Garden and Tulips--Spring!

Easter Monday @ the Maryland Zoo!

 While I volunteer a lot, I do not visit as often as I should.  

New Judges for Open Seats on the Federal Appellate

 Among my dalliances, I do like to keep up with the Federal Judiciary.  Like redesigning zoological parks, or creating elaborate cities out of Legos, or gardening, cooking, sewing, painting: I have this restless energy to direct.  

In contemplating the appointments that President Biden would put forward, I created a list of all of the openings.  I identified 3 of those openings at the Appellate level and then researched candidates and settled upon these three.

I am a firm believer in gender parity.  You can count the number of districts (out of 100) on one hand where women have parity or are in majority in the Federal Judiciary.  It's wrong.  And it's the easily branch of government to repair.

Then Biden announced his first 11 nominations to the Federal Judiciary including 3 at the Appeals Court level.  Well, I didn't pick a winner.  But I did get this much right.  All women of color--yes!  And I still might get one right, because Biden did put forth a judge for the First Circuit vacancy, but rather included a nominee for the Federal Circuit for a seat that isn't even vacant until June 1, 2021!

This is very unusual.  He did the same for other seats in these eleven candidates, too.  When you have something like 60 open seats, and you use a quarter of the first batch for seats that aren't even open yet?  When there are some seats that have been open for more than 4 years?  When some districts are in near crisis mode (Western Washington, New Jersey...)?  I don't get it.

And the Federal Circuit is an odd duck anyways.  It didn't existed from 1982.  It is charges with hearing cases not based on geography, but a narrow set of content criteria centered around with Patents and Trandemarks, with a little responsibility for Natural Resource contracts and trade.  Yet the bottom-line is copacetic--we are back on the road to diversifying the people who sit in judgement of our lives.  Amen.

 

Cookies!

 I made a batch of basic peanut butter cookie dough with organic crunchy peanut butter.  I rolled the balls into organic Cane Sugar, pressed them out, and tucked a Dark Chocolate Nonperials.  I'm calling them Black-eyed Susans!

Mourning Dove on its Own

For the past couple of years, a pair of mourning doves has spent the summer in my backyard.  This year I noticed just one.  Here on a rainy day.  Below a couple of days later on the bird bath, still by itself.

Pansies, Violas--and Wild Violets, Oh My!

 I buy pansies and violas for spring, then the wild violets show up!  And in my container, too!  They are prolific and delightful.