The numbers are beyond comprehension for the global catastrophe that continues to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven human deaths. Thirty species of birds and more than 400 species of other kinds of wildlife threatened. At least 3 million gallons of oil, creating an oil slick that’s 130 miles long and 70 miles wide [...]
For some reason, I’ve always loved vultures. Broadly, their taxonomic group includes turkey vultures, black vultures, and relatives such as California and Andean condors. In prehistoric times, there was even a giant condor in North America with a powerful bill and a wingspan of 17 feet. That’s the length of a small-sized school bus! All [...]
Poison ivy. Its scientific name says it all: Toxicodendron radicans,” or “an easily-rooted poisonous tree,” as farmers and gardeners know all too well. A native woody low shrub that is erect or trailing, or is a climbing vine, the plant is well known for its ability to produce urushiol, an oily skin irritant that causes [...]
In the late 19th-century, Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a frantic orchestral interlude, “Flight of the Bumblebee,” for his four-act opera called The Tale of Tsar Saltan. In the story, a magical swan changes a prince into a bumblebee so that he can fly away to visit his father. Such flights of fancy seem to happen [...]
On my frequent “walk-abouts” with students in my biology and environmental studies courses, I set a couple of important rules for our hikes: (1) go single-file through the forest, staying on established trails as much as possible, and (2) do not pick flowers unless we can see at least 10 others just like it nearby [...]
Who’s “Jack” in the name of that wonderful spring wildflower throughout our region called Jack-in-the-pulpit? Jack-in-the-pulpit has long fascinated naturalists, herbalists, botanists, and even artists. Perhaps the most famous artistic depiction is Georgia O’Keefe’s oil-on-canvas portrayals that she painted in the 1930’s, sensuous renderings wherein O’Keefe believed that the most profound knowledge of the subject [...]
As a newcomer to the Roanoke Valley, I will not be convinced that winter is finally behind us until I hear the wood thrush sing. For me, the wood thrush is the declarative voice of the forest, a harbinger of a green and fragrant woods, the archetypal neotropical migrant just back from Panama to mate [...]
In part 1 of this essay, I began my exploration of our modern-day calendar, especially how it relates to the great religious observances of Passover and Easter. I even hinted that that calendar is somewhat controversial. Here’s the conclusion for my essay. I guess just about everyone knows that Passover and Easter do not fall [...]
For us scientists, time is an important part of our general work. For example, how long is a particular chemical reaction? What’s the time required for the flowering of a rare orchid? How much time does it take to travel to the Moon and back again to Earth? What’s the gestation period for elephants? How [...]
Today I’m angry. During my 10-minute drive to work this morning, I watched no less than three individuals flick their still-smoking cigarette butts out of their car windows – separately, two men and one woman who carried out their criminal acts with the indifference of a toad gulping a fly. I got the attention of [...]
