The Nature of Things

"February, month of despair..." saith the poet.  But also month of joy - the month of my firstborn daughter's birth. Those of you who have been following the blog for a while may recognize that I have featured this poem before (the last time in 2024) but it is actually a favorite by a favorite author, so here it is again. I hope you enjoy it.  February  by Margaret Atwood Winter. Time to eat fat and watch hockey. In the pewter mornings, the cat, a black fur sausage with yellow Houdini eyes, jumps up on the bed and tries to get onto my head. It’s his way of telling whether or not I’m dead. If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am He’ll think of something. He settles on my chest, breathing his breath of burped-up meat and musty sofas, purring like a washboard. Some other tomcat, not yet a capon, has been spraying our front door, declaring war. It’s all about sex and territory, which are what will finish us off in the long run. Some cat owners around here should snip a ...

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : This is the Puerto Rican Owl which holds the distinction of being the island's only endemic owl. It was once found on several of the Virgin Islands but is now extinct outside of Puerto Rico. It was most likely a victim of habitat loss. The little owl is primarily an insectivorous bird and is vulnerable to the impact of insecticides. Its conservation status is not presently a concern but its population is decreasing. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. *~*~*~* The current president keeps trying to shut down offshore wind construction and keeps losing in court . *~*~*~* The salmon restoration on Washington's Elwha River has been jeopardized by the president's budget cuts. *~*~*~* A female gray wolf from a prominent Yellowstone wolf pack  was illegally killed  on December 25 which sparked a poaching investigation.  *~*~*~* PFAS "forever chemicals" have decreased in North Atla...

No otters and no snow here but I can remember well living in places where there were both and I remember enjoying seeing otters playing in the water of a lake. That's why this poem spoke to me when I came across it in my search for a poem to feature this week. And so, here it is. I hope you enjoy it.  Midnight Snow by James Crew Outside in the creek that feeds the lake and never freezes, an otter slaps the water with his paw to feel the current's pulse— Slip in, lie back. Slip in, lie back.  He shuts his eyes and obeys, knowing the layers of hair and underfur will warm him while he floats on a faith we wish could carry us.   The sound of his splashing fades, but not his joy in being pushed, light as driftwood, back to the mouth of the den I have seen carved out beneath the roots of a fallen fir now packed with snow and lined with leaves that promise his sleep will be deep.   Because no dreams wait softly for me, I open the woodstove and strike a match, hold the bloom...

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is the seven-colored Painted Bunting . Happily, this is a species that is still maintaining its population throughout its range which includes the southern tier of the United States and northern Mexico. Its greatest threats are being trapped for the illegal pet trade and, as for many other species, habitat loss. Despite its bright colors, the birds (especially the males) are difficult to see because they are very secretive and often hide in dense thickets and grasses. *~*~*~* Research reveals that predators like alligators are our allies in protecting and preserving their habitats. *~*~*~* It seems that melting ICE might have benefits for the natural environment as well as the human environment. *~*~*~* Surveys of the overwintering population of Monarch butterflies in the West show a slight increase from last winter, but the numbers are still extremely low. *~*~*~* ...

  The space shuttle Challenger exploded forty years ago today taking the lives of these seven people. Those of us who witnessed it will never forget.

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : As Earth warms, how will penguins, evolved to live in a world of snow and ice, survive? Can they adjust fast enough to meet the new conditions ? These Chinstraps are among the species most affected by the changing conditions.  *~*~*~* Here's the sad list of species that we lost in 2025. *~*~*~* According to a new United Nations report, the world has entered an era of global water bankruptcy which has irreversible consequences. *~*~*~* A plant called the black-bulb yam tricks birds into spreading its seeds by producing fake berries that are actually small clones of itself.  *~*~*~* A Mayan heritage site is under threat from a logging concession that has been granted to a furniture company.  *~*~*~* A 67,800-year-old stencil of a hand found on the wall of an Indonesian cave may be the world's oldest rock art. *~*~*~* In 2025, researchers at the National Museum of Natural History described a previously u...