Category: Nature

Charles Siebert authors a fascinating article in the New York Times about the evidence that elephant society is breaking down. The parallels with our own are uncomfortable.

 

(hat tip to Apophenia for the link)

There’s a new comet in the night skies. Comet Swan. I’m hoping for a clear night in order to try and glimpse it. It looks as though it will be passing between the constellations of Boötes and Hercules at the moment.

Today, we went with a couple of friends to visit the gardens at de Wiersse – a moated manor house in Gelderland. The gardens are only open a few times each year, but they are well worth a visit. Some of the photos I took can be found in this photo set up on Flickr. The main web site for the house and gardens is here.

 

 

Who says a godless universe can’t be beautiful? These images from the Cassini spacecraft of Saturn and its rings are magnificent.

 

(hat tip to the Bad Astronomer)

New Scientist has an interesting article that imagines how difficult it might be for future non-human archeologists to establish human presence on the earth. I can readily accept that our current levels of "civilisation" are a fragile thing, and will wither away very quickly in less than geological timescales. But fossil evidence will persist for a while, even though those future archeologists will have no comprehension of what drove our lives. I’m reminded of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story "History Lesson" published in 1949.

 

But one thing is certain, the title of the New Scientist article is wrong. Give it long enough and you won’t have to imagine earth without people – it will be a plain fact.

Last night, we were woken up at about 1 am by the barking of our dog, Kai. I went to see what was up. He was standing by the door to the front garden, still barking. I looked out through the window into the garden, which was illuminated by moonlight. At first I couldn’t see anything, but then I saw something scurry along by the garage block. It looked ominously rat-sized. Switching on the outside light to get a better view, I was relieved to see that it was only a hedgehog.

 

But, I’m rather curious to know how Kai detected it. He couldn’t have seen it. Perhaps he caught a scent of it through the door (he sleeps next to it), or perhaps he was woken up by the sound of the hedgehog snuffling past the door – they are noisy little buggers at times.

 

 

…I want more than this. It’s like something shouted to me as you whizz by en route to somewhere much more interesting. I need more – come back!

I mentioned the TEDTalks yesterday. Here’s an example of a speaker who may be a would-be emperor, or perhaps he has really hit on something: Aubrey DeGrey. What do you think? The related links on that page have more information, and it would seem that the jury’s still out on the validity of DeGrey’s claims.

Michael Jackson, eat your heart out…

 

(hat tip to Improbable Research)

We’re on the point of tumbling into Autumn. The garden still has plenty of flowers, but this week the field of maize next to the house was cleared, and leaves are beginning to fall…

 

 

A striking photo illustrating the natural phenomena of sundogs and a sun pillar.

 

(hat tip to Neatorama)

Alex, over at the Museum of Hoaxes, wonders whether the Netherlands has disappeared as a result of a nuclear explosion. I am glad to report that we’re all still here…

The barmaid’s got intelligence, unlike her customers…

An interesting illusion that plays with the way in which we perceive people’s faces. Though to use the face of Margaret Thatcher is enough to give me nightmares in any event.

All things must pass. Everything dies.

 

Perhaps it’s my age, but thoughts such as these increasingly occupy my mind. Not in a morbid way, but simply in the sense that it is so. This entry was triggered by Gelert posting his cosmic law:

At the same time, I’ve just started reading Joan Didion’s "The Year of Magical Thinking" – her memento mori, about her family, the death of her husband and survival. It opens thus:

But ain’t it the truth?

 

And then, today, Dr. Charles posts one of his literary entries: Lantern. His writing is brilliant. Read it.

 

I usually think of the state of being alive as very fragile. So when I come across a story like this, it gives me pause for thought.

While the trigger-happy among us might point to Intelligent Design or Alien Interference, these stone balls in Costa Rica are apparently a totally natural occurence. Ain’t Nature amazing?

…of blue. Lovely.

 

(hat tip to Alun for the link)

We’re into the second week of having the work done on the kitchen and other parts of the house. That includes renewing the electricity distribution panel in the meter cupboard. Tonight, I was seated in my usual place (at the computer) and heard scratching sounds coming from the meter cupboard in the room next door. On investigation, I discovered the culprit…

 

 

 

Not sure how he/she got there, but it was safely transported back outside to the garden.

Nice advert by the Blue Man Group for StopGlobalWarming.org. The BMG were in Amsterdam a couple of weeks back. I saw them (on TV) perform in a concert in the Dam Square and liked what I saw.