Nature

Regal, Yet Also Ridiculous. Top Story - June 2021.
King Henry VIII had a bum-wiper. And if you're wondering what the heck that has to do with a somewhat strange photo of an elk, hang with me because we're going on a bit of a ride.
By Linda Caroll5 years ago in Earth
Finding a Buck
Washington, D.C., our nation's capital, is rich with people and locations that invoke the past, resonate with the energy of the present, and hint at the future of our country. During my time living in Northern Virginia and working in the District, I enjoyed many walks through the bustling city viewing memorials to heroes of our past while brushing shoulders with individuals who were working for a better today...and tomorrow.
By Leigh-Anne Dennison5 years ago in Earth
Gardening
The act of growing your own food or tending to plants in a garden is an act of love. Bell Hooks, an activist, and writer that I admire says in her book, All About Love: New Visions, that “Love is ‘the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.’” (Hooks 1999). Apply this statement to gardening and we can see that when we are gardening we are extending ourselves (our energy and time) to nurture the growth of the plant, the soil, and the creatures living within the garden. And what does this realization teach us about ourselves, our community?
By Carli 5 years ago in Earth
The Forager
My internal alarm clock wakes me up to another early morning; I stretch as I rise. I move past my sister who is just stirring. We both have a lot of work to do today, as we did yesterday and the day before. I move quietly through our home as I prepare to leave, not wanting to wake anyone.
By Shelby Rider5 years ago in Earth
Birds of Eden
Legend has it that an $800.00 black pearl earring is hiding somewhere in Birds of Eden, the world’s largest free-flight aviary in South Africa.
By Jess5 years ago in Earth
The Singing of Summer
The tweeting of a bird....no, not that blue icon for the platform geared and driven by hate, racism, and fake news. The bird is found in the forest, high above the world in the mountains, high up in the trees of strong and glorious pines or soft and swaying maples. Lilacs and daisies prance their dance and sing with the bird ever so softly as the movements of the wind bring to them a sound of pure joy and ecstasy. Such peaceful bliss I find in the summertime mountains. Such resounding and infinite bliss, such erotic spiritual awakening I find within myself, pleasuring not my flesh but the very core of my soul. Published are the works of many a great poet, storyteller, artist, musician but the greatest song to never be recorded in it's full beauty is truly the song that nature sings as winter fades, spring germinates the seeds of life, and summer resurrects the dead hope that we have lost in the cold months before. The song of the bird starts this melody and begins the great concerto of summer, but it is only the opening voice of this sweet lyrical hymn of Summer.
By Zenith5 years ago in Earth
The Pounce
As the sun shone on the grasslands and warmed the treeless ground, an ocelot crouched in the tall grass. He moved his paws through the closely clumped-together blades, trying to touch the ground as quietly as possible. He couldn't afford to make even the quietest of sounds. He had a target to pin to the ground and there was no chance he was going to let it get away under his watch. He had promised himself he was going to practice stalking and get better at hunting on his own to prove to himself that he could do it, and he would be as quiet as it took to make that happen. To minimize the rustling of the grass, he used the pads of his paws, moving forward as slowly as he possibly could. He kept his gaze straight ahead of him, his eyes focused on his primary objective and his head completely stationary. He wasn't going to break his concentration under any circumstances. He was going to get this right.
By Jamie Lammers5 years ago in Earth
An evening with a true Seaholic 🐾
Last November, soon saying goodbye to the lockdown, I wanted to breathe some fresh air. The place to think which has the power to soothe me, just listening and observing its beauty was THE SEA. I think this connection comes from my childhood as I was born and raised in a beautiful village by the sea in Sri Lanka. The sea was a friend of mine who knew the art of refreshing my mind and soul. Yes I'm a seaholic.
By Lankani Croos5 years ago in Earth
The Hawk Moth
A Hawk moth first appeared on my living room window one evening last year in the spring time. The following morning I noticed another sitting on the window of my car. I had to lift him off with gentle coercion onto my hand but again the next morning another was sitting again on the window of my car. I had never seen anything like it before.
By Kassandra Coghlan5 years ago in Earth
FIRE ANT
I was sitting alone as usual, contemplating the flow of water by the scenic campus waterfront and the flow of existence itself, when a "friend" joined me. That friend was no ordinary friend, that friend was the FIRE ANT, friend extraordinary, worker of the highest caliber!
By Rana5 years ago in Earth
Church Flowers
As we pasted the craft paper to the sides of the milk carton I knew my mother would love the hand made craft of propagated Marigold seeds. They were petite yellow French marigolds, as I would discover some time later in life. These small flowers quickly outgrew the carton and my mother planted them outside by the sidewalk. They died out and created seed pods which my mother took and planted the next season. Mom has gone on now and I have been to her grave site, out of state, and planted marigolds right there. Planting flowers has since become a hobby and a great love of mine. I grow 50 to 200 individual plants on my front porch every year and even more in my yard. I grow everything from daisies to roses to lilies. I have grown Foxglove, columbine, lambs ear, crown of thorns, cactus, and various succulents just to name a few.
By Michael R Bragg5 years ago in Earth
Cloning Without a Brain
How often do you think about jellyfish? If your answer isn’t ‘everyday’, you might need to make some adjustments in your life.
By Soomimuu5 years ago in Earth