Thinking. Naturally.

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...