The Nature of Things

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : This little jewel is the White-bellied Woodstar , a resident of forest edges, open pastures, and fields throughout the central and eastern Andes. The three-inch-long bird is fairly common within its range and is mostly non-migratory. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week .  *~*~*~* The next four years do not look hopeful for our confronting climate change. *~*~*~* The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded. Now that we have reached a dangerous warming threshold, will be be able to reverse the trend ? *~*~*~* The Caribbean area has experienced record-breaking heat over the last couple of years and that does not appear likely to change. *~*~*~* Moreover, the climate crisis is disrupting the planet's water cycle which is affecting entire ecosystems and billions of people.  *~*~*~* And yet Nature has shown repeatedly that it ha...

As I sat outside in the warmth of a winter sun I thought there must be a poem that expresses this feeling that it gives me, and if there is such a poem, it was probably written by Mary Oliver. So, I went looking for it and sure enough, here it is.  The Sun by Mary Oliver Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful than the way the sun, every evening, relaxed and easy, floats toward the horizon and into the clouds or the hills, or the rumpled sea, and is gone-- and how it slides again out of the blackness, every morning, on the other side of the world, like a red flower streaming upward on its heavenly oils, say, on a morning in early summer, at its perfect imperial distance-- and have you ever felt for anything such wild love-- do you think there is anywhere, in any language, a word billowing enough for the pleasure that fills you, as the sun reaches out, as it warms you as you stand there, empty-handed-- or have you too turned from this world-- or have you too gone cr...

  A roundup if the week's news of birds and the environment : This magnificent creature is the Violet-tailed Sylph , a member of the hummingbird clan that is a resident along the western slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. It favors misty, mossy cloud forest habitats at around 3,200 feet. Its population is fairly stable at the moment but it faces threats from habitat loss and degradation. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week . *~*~*~* It is reported that President Biden plans to establish two new national monuments in California in coming days, honoring the wishes of several Native American tribes there. *~*~*~* Residents of Papua New Guinea are being displaced by rising sea waters and thousands are moving to the mountaintops to escape. *~*~*~* Yellowstone National Park exists atop a magma field that is part of one of the world's largest active volcanic systems; however, scientists say a full-scale eruption is unlikely . *~*~*~* Changing tides ha...

It turns out that 2024 was a pretty slow reading year for me. I had set my goal at 40 books which was less than half the number of books I had read in past years, but I didn't even manage to hit that target. I ended the year having only read thirty-four books. Nevertheless, I was generally quite happy with the ones that I did read. I rate my books from one to five stars, but it is very rare indeed for me to rate a book at five stars and I almost never have a one-star read. I didn't have any five-stars or one-stars in 2024; however, I did have fourteen that I gave a four-star rating and eighteen that were three-star reads for me. Two were a bit disappointing and I only gave them two stars.  For 2025, I'm setting my goal at 40 books once again which I do realize is quite paltry compared to most of my blogging friends. But this year I'm going to try a little harder to actually reach it. Wish me luck!

 

Here's a thought for the coming year - a reminder to us to be brave. Fear by Khalil Gibran It is said that before entering the sea a river trembles with fear. She looks back at the path she has traveled, from the peaks of the mountains, the long winding road crossing forests and villages. And in front of her, she sees an ocean so vast, that to enter there seems nothing more than to disappear forever. But there is no other way. The river can not go back. Nobody can go back. To go back is impossible in existence. The river needs to take the risk of entering the ocean because only then will fear disappear, because that’s where the river will know it’s not about disappearing into the ocean, but of becoming the ocean.