The Nature of Things

Political cartoonists are very adept at making their point with a few strokes of a pen, and of course they have a rich trove to draw from (literally) in our current situation. Here are a couple that I thought hit their mark pretty squarely in the last week.

Some of you may have actually noticed that I have been absent from these pages for a few days. The reason is that I have been in the grip of a seriously nasty bug which has kept me feeling quite miserable. I am recovering slowly. Perhaps my age is slowing my recovery - I just don't bounce back like I did when I was younger. At any rate the recovery is much too slow to suit me, but I'm doing my best to be patient and to be a good patient. And I hope to return to regular posting here quite soon. Thank you to those who have noticed and have actually asked about my absence. I appreciate you more than I can possibly express.  

Okay, I'm a bit late for Halloween, but here's a poem that I came across last week and I liked its images. So even though I'm late, I thought I would share it with you. I hope you find it...interesting. The Haunted House by Felicia Dorothea Hemans I seem like one Who treads alone    Some banquet-hall deserted, Whose lights are fled, Whose garlands dead,    And all but me departed.            —Thomas Moore, “Oft in the Stilly Night (Scotch Air)” See’st thou yon gray gleaming hall, Where the deep elm-shadows fall? Voices that have left the earth      Long ago, Still are murmuring round its hearth,      Soft and low: Ever there;—yet one alone Hath the gift to hear their tone. Guests come thither, and depart, Free of step, and light of heart; Children, with sweet visions blessed, In the haunted chambers rest; One alone unslumbering lies When the night hath sealed all eyes, One quick heart and watchful ear, Listening for those whispers clear....

 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...