Our Wonderful Nature

I found a delightful nature documentary video about water shrews that I want to share - please view THIS video.

Solstice Moon

(source)
Tomorrow evening is the solstice moon - one where the moon appears to be gigantic on the horizon. Check out this NASA page that explains some possible theories for this moon illusion.

Life imitates Art: X-men edition

A group of African frogs have picked up a trick or two from reading x-men comics - these Wolverine-like frogs have claws that must pierce through the skin on their toes in order to be deployed when threatened. Makes you wonder what other kinds of mutant powers frogs have picked up from comic books - perhaps a frog that can stop a speeding locomotive? Or maybe a mind-reading frog that shoots lasers from its eyes and can call upon weather phenomena to defeat its predators.

Birding from my office

This lovely fellow (or several like him) has been visiting me for the last week or so. He was nice enough to sit right on the window ledge about 2 feet away while I tried to figure out what he was today. At first I thought goldfinch, but then I found this picture. He seemed quite interested when I was playing the sounds off the All About Birds: Baltimore Oriole" website

Interesting combinations

What happens when you combine a volcanic eruption and an electrical storm?

You get some pretty awesome pictures, that's what.

Check them out HERE. I swear, some of them look like something out of Lord of the Rings.

They're Here!

The invasion of the evil paratrooper worms has begun. I hates them so!

Although their techinical name is apparently cankerworms

Beetles are going to cause the apocalypse

Well, maybe not but they may contribute to carbon emissions by killing western pine forests with a fungus they carry, making them a source rather than a sink.
"Researchers estimated that from 2000 to 2020, a 374,000-square kilometre area of B.C. forest (an area larger than Labrador) would produce 270 megatonnes of carbon." about the same amount that Canada has pledged to cut by 2020.

Mark and I saw this type of damage on the Western side of RMNP last year. I took the picture above of a dead tree showing all the beetle burrows.

Killing coral reefs while saving yourself

A recent study has shown that ingredients in sunscreen have a devastating effect on the symbiotic algae in coral reefs and thus leads to coral bleaching. Looks like people going to visit coral reefs are going to have to risk sunburn in order to save the coral.