The Nature of Things

 A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : It is perhaps appropriate that on this Halloween the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is a blood-drinking bird, the Vampire Ground-Finch . It is believed that the bird's behavior of drinking blood evolved from its habit of pecking at parasites as it cleaned them from the plumage of larger seabirds. The bird's range is two tiny islands (Darwin and Wolf) in the northwestern corner of the Galapagos Islands. Charles Darwin only ever visited the main Galapagos Islands and so he never encountered or described the Vampire Ground-Finch. *~*~*~* Earth is growing dimmer , reflecting less light back into space, and the Northern Hemisphere's light is decreasing even faster than the Southern Hemisphere.  *~*~*~* Horseshoe crab blood has long been used in making safe medicines but now alternatives that could spare those creatures are being tested. *~*~*~* For the first time in its long history, it seems th...

October truly is one of my favorite months of the year and I think it must have been one of Paul Laurence Dunbar's as well because he wrote this lovely poem in honor of the month. Dunbar was an American poet and novelist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was the son of parents who had been enslaved before the Civil War. He was a remarkable poet who overcame many obstacles to become the first African-American poet to gain national recognition. I hope you enjoy his description of this "Whole-hearted, happy, careless, free" month. October by Paul Laurence Dunbar October is the treasurer of the year, And all the months pay bounty to her store; The fields and orchards still their tribute bear, And fill her brimming coffers more and more. But she, with youthful lavishness, Spends all her wealth in gaudy dress, And decks herself in garments bold Of scarlet, purple, red, and gold. She heedeth not how swift the hours fly, But smiles and sings her happy life...

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : This is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week . It is the Groove-billed Ani, a bird of the most southern tip of Texas, into Central America and on into the northern and western parts of South America. The bird is given the common name of "Tick eater" which is a bit misleading, but like Cattle Egrets , it does enjoy dining on the insects that are stirred up by the feet of cattle. *~*~*~* Although the federal government is shut down, some employees are still working - those who issue permits for oil, gas, and mining operations, for example. Priorities... *~*~*~* And no more climate research in the Arctic region , it would seem. Will we even notice when everything finally melts? *~*~*~* It seems the phrase "survival of the fittest" may be somewhat misunderstood . *~*~*~* A close friend of Vice President J.D. Vance has just been appointed to take over the NIH Environmental Health Institut...

This one caught my eye with its title. I'd never thought much of housework as being a "Zen" activity. My interest was piqued and so I read.  The line about the glass being full of the "grey wine of domesticity" made me smile. And so I decided to share it with you. Let me know what you think.  The Zen of Housework by Al Zolynas I look over my own shoulder down my arms to where they disappear under water into hands inside pink rubber gloves moiling among dinner dishes. My hands lift a wine glass, holding it by the stem and under the bowl. It breaks the surface like a chalice rising from a medieval lake. Full of the grey wine of domesticity, the glass floats to the level of my eyes. Behind it, through the window above the sink, the sun, among a ceremony of sparrows and bare branches, is setting in Western America. I can see thousands of droplets of steam—each a tiny spectrum—rising from my goblet of grey wine. They sway, changing directions constantly—like a school...

  A roundup of the week's news of birdsa and the environment : This little beauty is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week . It is the Velvety Black-Tyrant and I think that we can agree that it is very well-named. It is a bird of the dry grasslands and forests of eastern Brazil, the only place, in fact, that it is found. The bird has not been well-studied, but scientists believe that its population is stable and that it benefits from having a very large range. Still, it is vulnerable to the dangers that face all birds: habitat loss, a changing climate, and pesticide use. *~*~*~* Our current administration's Interior Department has canceled an enormous solar power project in the Nevada desert that would have been one of the world's largest.  *~*~*~* It has, in fact, been a crushing year all-round for American science as the administration has sharply cut funding for scientific research and cut thousands of jobs.  *~*~*~* The president seems determined to br...

 

How about a little Shakespeare to brighten your Sunday? This is actually one of my favorites of his sonnets. I have featured it here before but it was way back in 2018, practically a lifetime ago!  He's writing here about just this time of year but also about this time of life - the autumn of our years. He speaks of the "boughs which shake against the cold...where late the sweet birds sang." There are no boughs shaking against the cold here where daytime temperatures still reach around 90 degrees F. But I am in my autumn and winter is coming. Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold by William Shakespeare That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou see'st the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up al...

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment :  These are Lava Gulls , a bird of the coastlines of the islands in the  Galápagos archipelago. The species is endemic to that island chain and it occurs nowhere else. Unlike other gulls and terns, it is a solitary nester and it maintains a large territory which it defends aggressively against intruders. It is an adept flyer but tends to stick close to shore.  The Lava Gull is the  American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week .  *~*~*~* Remembering Jane Goodall ... *~*~*~* The current administration "leading" this country is certainly no friend of climate science but climate scientists are doing their best to keep the issue alive and in the public eye . *~*~*~* India's first Red List of Endangered Species was to be revealed this week at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. *~*~*~* Our president has this week frozen billions i...

The Picture of Dorian Gray  

This one has been featured here before - actually more than once, but it is a favorite of mine and, after all, a great poem bears reading and rereading. So, here it is again, the tale of the caged bird that sings "of things unknown but longed for still." It's a tale that could apply to many, I think. I hope you like it as much as I do.   Caged Bird by Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and    his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings    with a fearful trill    of things unknown    but longed for still    and his tune is heard    on the distant hill    for the caged bird    sings of freedom. The f...