A to Z Challenge: My theme this year is NYC before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

XANTHOPHYLL: This is the yellow pigment (lutein), that related to carotene, and found in plants, particularly in autumn leaves. These pics are from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens last November. While it was a clear morning, a chill in the air kept most people away, so we felt lucky to get these shots before it warmed up a bit that day.

XENOPHOBIA: Fear of foreigners has been around since the beginning of time, and I suspect, it will never go away. It’s during crises like these we see spikes in xenophobia. This Atlantic article points out that during the yellow fever pandemic, Eastern immigrants were targeted; East Asians bore the brunt of SARS; and Africans were blamed for Ebola. Everyone wants a scapegoat, right? For one (not mentioning any names) it’s the cornerstone to their re-election campaign. Check out Unicef’s 5 Ways to Fight Racism and Xenophobia and the UN’s article on what helps to reduce racism and xenophobia.