Thinking. Naturally.

Slugs are mollusks, one of the first forms of animal life to live on land. In Spanish, slugs are called babosas, from the verb meaning "to drool." Slime, secreted from a gland under the slug's head, flows down to a muscular "foot" and allows them to glide over surfaces as they travel.                                                                                                 A shiny trail of mucus on sidewalks and roads is a good indication that a slug has traveled down that path. Their slime not only protects the sl...

Common but not usually seen due to roosting during the day and foraging for food at night. Foraging birds walk slowly along mudflats searching for crabs, or in wooded swamps searching for crayfish, as opposed to the Black-crowned Night-Heron that crouch quietly at water's edge waiting for fish or other prey to come by. Each year my aunt and cousin who live in northern Texas have Night-Herons nesting in the tree canopy near their house. One can imagine the sites (and smells!) of a colony of these birds raising their young in a neighborhood. They sent me this great picture below of a young Night-Heron walking on their skylight! Notice those wide feet and toes, perfect for walking on mud flats without sinking. "What hath night to do with sleep?"   ~John Milton   On a side note, I fear that my last post on snakes came across as a bit preachy and arrogant. My sincere apologies if that is the case. I'm new to this sort of thing, and I'm learning as I go. Th...

Hi everyone. Its been quite a while since my last post, and I admit it took some self disipline to get myself to sit down with the laptop to finish up this particular blog about snakes. I work outside in the heat all day, and by the time I get in, shower and eat something, I'm done. Just done. Fortunately for me, my desire to share stories and thoughts about nature is overtaking my desire to "become one" with the couch. So, lets talk about snakes, baby!                                                                                  There are roughly 37 species of snakes in South Caro...

                                                                                    I would wager that yelling "Snake!" in a crowded theater would yield the same chaotic results as yelling "Fire!" or "He has a gun!".  German professor and priest, Martin Luther, (1483-1546) was quoted to say: "Snakes and monkeys are subjected to the demon more than other animals. Satan lives in them and possesses them. He uses them to deceive men and injure them". Of course I think this is nonsense, but the story of Adam and Eve and proclamations like this from a (then) figure o...

Why don't birds fall out of trees when they're sleeping? When birds "sit" on branches, tendons in the legs pull their claws into closed position and lock the birds onto their perch. When awake, the bird "stands," unlocking the tendons to prepare to take off.                                                      From: Nature, a day at a time by Cathie Katz                                                                ...

Water is the foundation of life. Spend much time near a pond, river or even a ditch and its easy to observe some form of life that is either finding food there or is a potential food source for something else. The approximately 1/4 acre pond near our house is a perfect place to observe the life cycle of so many species of animals, plants and insects, all relying on the water, and each other for survival. One of the most obvious to witness this time of year in our pond are the Pumpkinseed bream, (Pronounced "brim"), Lepomis gibbosus. These bold and bejeweled little fish are members of the sunfish family that includes approx. 37 species of fish, including crappie and large mouth bass. Once water temperatures reach 55–63 °F in the late spring or early summer, the male pumpkinseeds will begin to build nests. Nesting sites are typically in shallow water on sand or gravel lake bottoms. The males will use their tail fins to sweep out shallow, oval-shaped nesting holes t...

"When we say 'That's our true nature,' We're saying much more than we realize. The behaviors that make up our nature---eating, sleeping, loving, mating, creating, talking, wandering, migrating, yearning, grieving, decieving, dreaming---are as much a part of human biology as color, size, sex and shape. When we started our early years with instincts and intuitions that didnt exactly make sense ( 0r they were criticized, or we were taught to overcome them), we learned to hide them, and then to bury them. Being told to get out of bed on time for school was so hard...eating when we werent hungry didnt make sense...craving sex with the wrong person felt so right. To survive in a world of conventions and confusions, we buried our quirks and irregularities (our authentic nature, bit by bit, to help us fit in. To see nature as 'our nature' exposes a power within us--the power to become the person we want to be. This is a gift--available every day, wherever we a...