The Nature of Things

For the past several weeks, all the way back to the first few days of April, we have been without rain. As I worked in my garden, the soil for the first several inches on top was nothing but dust. I had started providing supplemental water for my plants that needed it. In April! But over the last few days, Mother Nature has done her best to make up for her neglect. Last Friday, we got 1.25 inches of much-needed rain. It turned out, that was just a down payment. The rain started around 11:00 last night and continued until at least 5:00 this morning. This was the rain gauge in my vegetable garden when I went to check it this morning. That's right - three glorious inches of rain fell during the night! My world looks washed clean and refreshed this morning. The bird poop has been washed off the bench under the magnolia tree. And everything else - even the tops of the bird feeders that are always covered in the poop of their visitors. It won't last long, of course, but at least it w...

Scientists have been closely studying frogs for a number of years now, trying to figure out what is causing gross abnormalities in many of them and why these wonderful creatures may be slowly slipping away. This ancient species could be on its way to extinction. It has already been determined that pollution of their environment is one of the main culprits causing their problems. Frogs are also extremely sensitive to changes in climate, so they are being attacked by modern society on many levels. Now comes a report from the National Academy of Sciences , as reported in Discover magazine , that details how a herbicide that has found its way into our waterways can alter amphibians' hormones and actually cause them to change sexes. The potential exists that the herbicide would have similar effects on other animals, including humans. The herbicide in question is atrazine and, apparently, it is widely used in the Mid-West among corn crops and other row crops. It has been found in man...