The Nature of Things

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : This imposing pair is Jackie and Shadow, Bald Eagles who are nesting in the Big Bear Valley of California and who have a devoted following (including me) on Facebook . They are presently incubating three eggs. They've not had the greatest of success in past years. Fingers crossed that this year turns out more happily for them. *~*~*~* The senate has confirmed as the new director of the Environmental Protection Agency  former congressman Lee Zeldin, a man with no creditable environmental experience. *~*~*~* And on that note, welcome to the Year of the Snake . We can at least hope that it is a propitious one. *~*~*~* How do birds cope with the cold weather of winter? *~*~*~* The new administration in Washington has thrown spending on addressing climate change into chaos . It is likely that chaos will continue for the next four years. *~*~*~* A study has found that genetic diversity of plant and animal species is de...

Here's a reminder that the Ozymandiases of this world never last. In the end, time razes their vaunted power and the lone and level sands stretch around all that is left of the wreck.   Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is  Ozymandias , King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : I haven't seen American Goldfinches at my bird feeders this winter until this week, but suddenly there they are, in the feeders and on the ground under the feeders, scarfing down the seeds on offer. *~*~*~* And on the subject of feeders, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has issued a bird flu warning that encourages residents to take down bird feeders and birdbaths. The idea is to decrease the number of places where birds gather, facilitating the spread of viruses. *~*~*~* The new administration in Washington is no friend to endangered ocean and coastal animals . And one of the first acts of the administration was to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement . *~*~*~* How does implementation of the Endangered Species Act affect property values ? Generally in a more positive way than you might imagine.  *~*~*~* This picture of a baby chameleon clinging to a flower bud was one of the winners in the "Wiki L...

Winter has finally arrived in southeast Texas. We're actually expected to have some below freezing temperatures over the next few days. And the wise trees that have dropped their leaves will stand sleeping through it all. Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams   All the complicated details of the attiring and the disattiring are completed! A liquid moon moves gently among the long branches. Thus having prepared their buds against a sure winter the wise trees stand sleeping in the cold.

  A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment : This fantastically colored creature is the very aptly named Shining Sunbeam , also called the Copper-winged Hummingbird , a large, conspicuous hummingbird whose habitat includes both slopes of the Andes , from Colombia south through Ecuador and Peru. Its population is believed to be stable.  *~*~*~* In his last days in office, the current president is doing what he can to protect climate funding from the depredations of the incoming president. *~*~*~* The deadly Los Angeles wildfires  affect wildlife as well as people . Here are some  ways to help them . *~*~*~* "Guerrilla rewilding" is now a thing and is apparently responsible for the recent release of four lynx in the Scottish Highlands. All have now been safely recaptured . *~*~*~*                                     This little cutie is the Danish-Swedish farm d...

Since I first became acquainted with Robert Frost's poetry in high school, I've often taken comfort in it over the years. Whenever the world seems particularly fractious, as it has recently, I turn again to many of his poems that I love. There are two of Frost's in particular that are meaningful for me - "Birches" and "The Tuft of Flowers." Today, "The Tuft of Flowers" seems especially appropriate - a reminder that we are all in this together whether we work together or apart. The Tuft of Flowers by Robert Frost I went to turn the grass once after one Who mowed it in the dew before the sun.   The dew was gone that made his blade so keen Before I came to view the levelled scene.   I looked for him behind an isle of trees; I listened for his whetstone on the breeze.   But he had gone his way, the grass all mown, And I must be, as he had been,—alone,   ‘As all must be,’ I said within my heart, ‘Whether they work together or apart.’   But as I said...