The Nature of Things

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week was one of my favorite birds when I was growing up. It is the beautiful Eastern Towhee , although when I was a child I knew it as the Rufous-sided Towhee . By any name, it is a remarkably beautiful bird with a sweet song. *~*~*~* Shall we celebrate "Gulf of Mexico Day" on March 18?  *~*~*~* The Environmental Protection Agency has become the Environmental Destruction Agency in the new administration. Apparently that administration believes that greenhouse gases are good for our health  and there will be no resistance to climate change . And birds will die as a result. *~*~*~* In fact, the Fracker in Chief, otherwise called the Secretary of Energy, believes that the world needs more fossil fuels , not less. *~*~*~* A new study indicates that microplastics may already be affecting our food supply .  *~*~*~* Meanwhile, the fossil fuel lobby is campaigning fo...

From " A Shropshire Lad " by A.E. Housman, here is his ode to March.  MARCH by A.E. Housman The Sun at noon to higher air, Unharnessing the silver Pair That late before his chariot swam, Rides on the gold wool of the Ram. So braver notes the storm-cock sings To start the rusted wheel of things, And brutes in field and brutes in pen Leap that the world goes round again. The boys are up the woods with day To fetch the daffodils away, And home at noonday from the hills They bring no dearth of daffodils. Afield for palms the girls repair, And sure enough the palms are there, And each will find by hedge or pond Her waving silver-tufted want. In farm and field through all the shire The eye beholds the heart’s desire; Ah, let not only mine be vain, For lovers should be loved again.

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is a handsome shorebird, the Hudsonian Godwit . The "Hudwit" is a particularly well-traveled bird that breeds in Alaska but, after the breeding season is over, it may fly all the way to the tip of South America, ending up on Tierra del Fuego.  *~*~*~* The United States is burning. Literally. There are wildfires burning all across the country, many of them in Texas. Meanwhile, the federal government is cutting federal wildfire crews and the consequences of that could be dire indeed. *~*~*~* Global sea ice hit a record low in February, which was the third warmest February on record. *~*~*~* And then there is the  El Niño/ La Niña  weather pattern in the Pacific that has its effect on global weather. *~*~*~* There are thirty-six companies that are responsible for at least half of the world's climate-altering emissions. *~*~*~* Here is a list of the worst...

And so we've come to March already as the days and weeks of this new year fly by. March can be, as William Cullen Bryant describes, a stormy month in more northerly climes. Here, near the Gulf Coast, it is generally more peaceful, but we shall see just what she has up her sleeves for us this year.  March by William Cullen Bryant The stormy March is come at last, With wind, and cloud, and changing skies, I hear the rushing of the blast, That through the snowy valley flies. Ah, passing few are they who speak, Wild stormy month! in praise of thee; Yet, though thy winds are loud and bleak, Thou art a welcome month to me. For thou, to northern lands, again The glad and glorious sun dost bring, And thou hast joined the gentle train And wear'st the gentle name of Spring. And, in thy reign of blast and storm, Smiles many a long, bright, sunny day, When the changed winds are soft and warm, And heaven puts on the blue of May. Then sing aloud the gushing rills And the full springs, from f...

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment :  This dapper looking guy is the Black-headed Grosbeak , also called the Western Grosbeak and it is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week . It can be found throughout western North America in its preferred habitat of forests and forest edges. It sometimes hybridizes with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak where the two species' ranges overlap.  *~*~*~* The Environmental Protection Agency in its current iteration appears not to be mainly interested in protecting the environment. *~*~*~* It isn't often that a previously unknown plant is discovered in one of our national parks, but that is what has just happened in Big Bend National Park.  *~*~*~* The Musk/Trump administration's mass firing of federal employees has hit hard at the agencies that manage and protect our national parks and lands. The Forest Service firings in particular have wreaked havoc on rural areas . *~*~*~* The American chestnut tree ...

And now for something completely different...  Sideman by Paul Muldoon I’ll be the Road Runner To your Wile E Coyote I’ll take you in my stride I’ll be a Sancho Panza To your Don Quixote Your ever faithful guide I’ll stand by you in the lists With our market strategists I’ll be your sideman, baby, I’ll be by your side I’ll be a Keith Richards To your Mick Jagger Before he let things slide I’ll be Sears to your Roebuck Before he took the headstaggers And opened nationwide I'll support you at Wembley I may require some assembly But I'll be your sideman, baby, I'll be by your side I’ll be McCartney to your Lennon Lenin to your Marx Jerry to your Ben & Lewis to your Clark Burke to your Hare James Bond to your Q Booboo to your Yogi Bear Tigger to your Pooh Trigger to your Roy Rogers Roy to your Siegfried Fagin to your Artful Dodger I guess I’ll let you take the lead I’ll be a Chingachgook To your Leatherstocking A blaze of fur and hide Our shares consolidated Our directorate...