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...