All My Blogs

"Don't worry about it until they're endangered." That seems to be the mantra cycling through the minds of the general populace. Fish, hunt, pollute, capture, build, drain; these activities are all permissible until a species is just at the precipice of extinction. Then it is time to act. The great problem with this involves the destruction of ecosystems, the removal of keystone species from sensitive areas, and an unwavering belief that a species can make a comeback with numbers so thin that even a lottery ticket aficionado wouldn't take the risk. It wouldn't be a problem if someone cared before things got to that state. That, of course, is not true, because lots of people care; there is just nothing they can do about it. Corporations have the power to enact legislation to remove protestors. Forests get cut down. Vessels lose money if it takes too long to get goods to port. Whales become casualties of shipping. Free food is hard to pass up, es...

The term "old-fashioned" suggests both the passage of time and a refusal to consider a new approach towards achieving a goal. There are aspects of all adults, and many children, who could be accused of being antiquated in their actions or beliefs by not embracing modern methods. There are many people that come to mind when I reflect on the idea, my dad being chief among them. Although he has a cell phone, he doesn't make use of its features. The last computer he worked on was 30 years ago, and he couldn't write an email if his life depended on it. I have always found electronics fascinating and frequently embrace new technology, my pocketbook often being the limiting factor in acquiring any of it. I try to keep up to date in my camera gear and am currently thinking of switching over to mirrorless devices. But there is one thing that I don't ever plan on using in my photography; camera-based drones. I have always enjoyed being out and about with c...

One of the reasons I like to do my birding along set pathways is because many of the birds are used to the presence of humans. People, for the most part, show interest in the birds but leave them alone. The birds learn that there is nothing to fear from humans, even when modest interest is directed towards them. When a bird is present, it is less likely to flee at any undue interest or approach. This isn't always true, but it way in this particular case. I had gone as far as desired and decided it was time to turn around and head back along the same trail. It wasn't too long before I heard the distinctive sound of a woodpecker hacking away at deadwood. I slowed down, looking for it, and continued my progression along the path. The more I progressed, the louder the sound got. Still though, there was no visual confirmation of what I expected to find. Immediately beside the path was a dead tree, maybe four inches in diameter. As soon as I came alongside the tree I...

A gall is formed when an insect or mite bites into a leaf or stem of a plant. The plant responds with increased cell growth in that area in an attempt to heal the damaged tissues. There is something amazing going on between the plant and the attacking entity that causes the gall to form. There are two possible explanations. The first involves the insect possessing the ability to secrete plant hormones which cause the plant to respond by growing in that particular area. The two hormones gibberellin and cytokinin may well be involved. What an amazing adaptation these organisms would have that they would be able to fool the plant into constructing a temporary residence for them! The second explanation is even more peculiar. It seems that the gall's resident uses a process called lateral gene transfer, also called horizontal gene transfer. Genes are normally passed from cell to cell through mitosis or through meiosis which involves the unification of sperm and egg. ...