Nature

The Day a Seagull Named Gympy Found Me
Yesterday, I wasn't looking for magic. I just wanted to get away for a few hours. Something in me needed the ocean, so I pointed my car toward the Sonoma Coast and ended up at a beach near Jenner. I parked overlooking the water with my Carl Jung book beside me and settled in for what I thought would be a quiet afternoon of reading, note-taking, and listening to the waves.
By Alexandria Hypatia12 days ago in Earth
Ten Animals With Abilities That Seem Supernatural
The Immortal Jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii medusa. 23 May 2016. Bachware. Wikimedia Commons The immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) is a tiny, biologically immortal hydrozoan that can revert to its juvenile polyp stage when faced with environmental stress, physical damage, or aging.
By Kristen Barenthaler12 days ago in Earth
I watched a king cobra swallow a banded krait. The “mutual bite” question answered itself.
The flashlight hit the king cobra when most of the banded krait was already down its throat. The last section of tail hung outside, black and yellow bands stretched by the swallow. The tail was still looped around the cobra’s neck. It looked like a rope that had gone slack. The cobra turned into the grass. Beside it, a small duck lay dead with its neck caught in the net. The net was still there, its mesh just wide enough to trap a snake whose head could pass and whose body could not.
By Jin14 days ago in Earth
Beyond the Falling Leaves: The Hidden Hazards in Your Autumn Trees
Late October brings welcome stillness to the yard. Once leaves turn amber and fall, properties take on an open, austere look. Most of us head outside with a rake or a leaf blower, clear gutters, and prepare outdoor furniture for storage. It feels like the natural close to outdoor work for the season.
By ORB Tree Service Marketing14 days ago in Earth
The Weight Above: What Really Protects Mature Trees When Severe Storms Hit
Anyone living near mature hardwoods knows the specific tension that comes with an approaching storm. It starts with a shift in the afternoon light, followed by rain drumming against the siding. But for most homeowners, the real anxiety is not the water. It is the steady sway of forty-foot limbs hanging directly over the driveway, the garage, and the bedrooms.
By ORB Tree Service Marketing16 days ago in Earth
Living in a Tree
Bats Any woodland or tree that has cavities in the trunk or branches, woodpecker holes, loose bark, cracks, splits, or thick ivy is a good roosting place for bats—particularly oak, beech, and ash trees. Bats have diverse diets that vary by species, including insects, fruit, nectar, and even blood. Their feeding habits play a crucial role in ecosystems, such as pollination and pest control.
By Rasma Raisters18 days ago in Earth
Nine Geological Names That Look Chinese but Aren’t
Open an old geology textbook. The contents page lists nine terms: 寒武, 奥陶, 志留, 泥盆, 石炭, 二叠, 三叠, 侏罗, 白垩. They use Chinese characters. They do not read like everyday Chinese. Some readers take 寒武 as “cold” plus “martial force,” picture 泥盆 as a basin made of mud, or treat 二叠 as a kind of stacking. Those guesses make sense. The terms were not coined in Chinese. Most followed one route: nineteenth-century European geologists named rock layers after places, ancient tribes, or features of the rock; Meiji-period Japanese scholars translated the names into Chinese characters; late Qing and early Republican Chinese scholars brought the terms into Chinese through Japanese textbooks, students who had studied in Japan, and compiled works. The Chinese names carry two kinds of traces. Some characters record sound. Some carry meaning. Some readings lead back to old Japanese translations. Others lead back to maps of Europe.
By Jin18 days ago in Earth
The First Law of Evolutionary Development: Why the New Always Replaces the Old
• • • The most fundamental pattern governing the story of existence is this: at every stage, simpler forms give way to more complex ones. The old is continuously replaced by the new. And the new, without exception, is more developed, more structured, and more capable than what came before.
By Han Elucidation18 days ago in Earth
The Shore That Keeps Moving
Once, my child went to the park by our compound to look for friends to play with. He didn't find anyone, but he lay down quite contentedly on the round archway. I took out my phone to take a picture of him, and he caught me. Lowering his voice, he said, "Don't make a sound. There's a bug on top of the archway (I don't know its name), and it's crawling very slowly." He just lay there, staring at it, as if guarding some enormous secret. I stood beside him for about two minutes. My legs began to ache, and my mind drifted to what we should cook for dinner. Suddenly he said, "It turned." There was a very serious kind of surprise in his voice.
By Jin19 days ago in Earth
International Day of the Wombat
Australia is renowned for its weird and wonderful animals. Each is cute in their own right. Each is endangered in some way, shape, or form. Today, October 22, is International Wombat Day.
By Calvin London21 days ago in Earth
When the Trees Began to Fall
In the spring of 1987, field researchers began tracking thirty-four ornamental Monterey pines on the grounds of Soquel High School, just a short drive from the central California coast. Over thirteen years, eleven of those trees withered and died.
By ORB Tree Service Marketing21 days ago in Earth
Heaven
Work, Sleep, Eat, Repeat. Work, Sleep, Eat, Repeat. Work, Sleep, Eat, Repeat . Everyone venturing, on a clock adjusted to their days; Tweaked to match their schedules, spouses' plans, and children's delights. Fast, fast, fast. GET IT DONE !
By Izzy Jean21 days ago in Earth