The Nature of Things

Toads and frogs are facing threats to their existence right around the world today. Habitat loss, pollution, global climate change, and fire ants, to name just a few, have joined the amphibian's traditional enemies - herons and egrets and snakes and other such predators that love to dine on them - as mortal threats. But in my yard this year, both toads and frogs are doing very well indeed. I see them daily as I work in my garden. The addition of a goldfish pond to my backyard has perhaps aided the amphibians, because they do, of course, live a dual life. They start their lives in water. The eggs hatch into tadpoles which rather quickly develop into true frogs which hop out onto the land to begin their second life. The toad in the photos is one of Woodhouse's toads and that seems to be the species that is prevalent in my yard. It is highly nocturnal, so even though I encounter them during the day, they really leave their cover and get active at night when they capture large quan...

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Noted religious scholar Reza Aslan set out to write a biography of Jesus of Nazareth, the man. It was a daunting task given the fact that there are only two known contemporary historical references to his subject, one by Pliny the Younger and one by Jewish historian Josephus. And both of those references are simply made in passing and contain little information. In fact, the reference by Josephus is made as he is discussing the influence of Jesus' brother James. James, known as "the Just," was the leader in Jerusalem of those who followed his brother's teachings and he was a highly respected and influential man among both the Jewish and Roman communities there. James lived his brother's philosophy. He was a strong defender of the poor and weak against the wealthy and powerful. As such, he came into conflict with the greedy high priest, Ananus, who was a reverse Robin Hood kind of guy. He believed in stealing from the poor and giving to the ...

Goodreads has published its monthly newsletter for members and it again features a "poem of the month" by one of those members. Her name is Pam Vap, and her poem struck a chord with me, as I think it might with many mothers, especially very new mothers who are struggling to deal with their new responsibilities. Responsibilities for which nothing can really prepare you. I can just barely remember a time when I did not swear, when, in fact, the idea of my swearing would have appalled me. That was before fate sent two small human beings into my care, while a frustrating and demanding full-time job daily drained the energies that I would have liked to expend on caring for them.  I made many mistakes with them. As I look back now, I seem to only be able to remember the bad decisions that I made in regard to them. I wonder how they ever managed to grow up to be such normal, loving, funny, and successful people.  Maybe their father had something to do with it.  I Learned to Sw...

Oh, no, Henri! Say it ain't so! Surely you have not sold your soul for a can of Friskies! But, here is the proof. It cannot be denied. Finally, though, Henri gets a chance to explain himself in  this interview with a journalist from  Catster . Ah, the demands of stardom...

I've done my best to ignore the sleazy Anthony Weiner stories that have dominated the news over the last couple of weeks. After all, that is New York's business and I am fully confident in New Yorkers' ability to handle it. Besides, slimeball though he may be, Weiner's transgressions are personal and his actions have humiliated one woman. Here in Texas, we have the yahoos of  the Texas legislature and the chief yahoo in the governor's office seeking to humiliate and abnegate the entire female population of the state. If we weigh the two sins against women in the balance, it is easy to see where the greater guilt lies. One thing I haven't been able to completely ignore though is the extent to which certain female pundits have rushed to excoriate and blame Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, in this affair, and, through her, to splash whatever mud they can onto her long-time employer and friend, Hillary Clinton. As an avowed admirer of both Abedin and Clinton , I am ...

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Wood warblers are sometimes referred to as the rock stars of the bird world, and they certainly do draw vast and enthusiastic crowds of birders when they are in migration. And even as devoted followers of loud rock concerts might suffer from damage to their hearing, warbler fans often suffer from a common malady. It is known as "warbler neck." It comes from standing long periods under a large tree, looking straight up into its leafy canopy, trying to see a tiny bird perhaps 5.5 inches long and weighing maybe 1/3 of an ounce. For that is where most of these particular rock stars are routinely found and seeing them is not easy. If you are able to actually see one and get a good look at it in spring and you have a moderately good field guide nearby, you will probably be able to identify it, because warblers in springtime are at their most colorful and most distinctive. If you encounter that same bird in autumn when it has shed its breeding colors and take...

A major topic of conversation among gardeners this spring and summer has been the scarcity of butterflies. I have written about it several times in my other blog, Gardening With Nature , and it was even expressed as a source of concern at my Mystery Book Club meeting this month.  The scarcity seems mostly related to an unfortunate series of weather events that has been unfriendly to the production of butterflies, but it is likely that the profligate use of pesticides by gardeners and farmers also plays a part. Butterflies appear to be such fragile creatures and yet they have been around on Earth since the mid Eocene epoch, between 40-50 million years ago, so obviously, they have found ways to survive in tough conditions before .  The evolution of butterflies is closely linked to that of flowering plants, since both adult butterflies and caterpillars feed on such plants.  Of the 220,000 species of  Lepidoptera , which includes both moths and butterflies, about 45,000...