Mole National Park, Ghana
Bird of the Day: Pearl-spotted Owlet
Mole National Park, Ghana
Ecology’s Social Enterprise
This organization (click the banner above to go to the site), new to us but working its way to a centennial birthday (click the banner below to go to that section on the website)–
A meeting was held at Columbus, Ohio, on December 28th, 1915, at which it was decided to organize the Ecological Society of America….The interests and activities of this society will be of the broadest character, embracing every phase of the relation of organisms to their environmental condition…–The Geographical Review 1916–
About the Ecological Society of America
1914: The beginning…
–is as modern and practical as one could want, including this section on its website titled Explore Ecology As A Career with a wealth of links and related resources:
Ecology As A Career
What Do Ecologists Do? Continue reading
Flavours Of Kerala – Meen Curry (Fish Curry)
Meen Curry (Fish Curry) is a hot and spicy fish preparation in thickly seasoned red sauce. Although the spice levels may be varied as per individual preferences, meen curry is one of the all-time favourites of every Malayali household. This preparition is best served with rice, but tapioca is also an extremely popular accompaniment. Continue reading
Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Karnataka
Bird of the Day: Painted Stork
Foodie’s Feature
Click the image for today’s Sunday New York Times, our annual favorite edition, dedicated to Food and as recently more and more is the case, particular attention is paid to the intersection between food and wellness:
The Food & Drink Issue
Yes, Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Edible?
By MARK BITTMAN
Time to supersize your bean burger and sweet potato fries.
From Behind the Wheel: Pachyderm Parasol
Photo Credit: Ramesh Kidangoor; Near Mysore
Take A Walk In The Park!
Brain fatigue is reduced by strolling through a park, The New York Times reports:
Researchers have long theorized that green spaces are calming, requiring less of our so-called directed mental attention than busy, urban streets do, but it had not been possible to study the brains of people while they were actually outside, moving through the city and the parks. Continue reading
If You Happen To Be In London
Click the image above to go to the video at the website of London’s Natural History Museum, and click here to go to an excellent podcast of an interview conducted by the Guardian‘s Camila Ruz with the exhibition’s curator, Blanca Huertas. The exhibition is now open:
In the exhibition, butterflies are everywhere, so take care… they may even land on you or on the paths where you walk. Continue reading
Theerthakkulam – Temple Ponds, Kerala
Photo credits: Shanavas
Most temples in Kerala have a sacred pond, or Theerthakkulam, outside the temple wall. Normally the pond is located on the North- East corner of the compound. The sacred water is used by devotees to wash their hands and feet before going into the temple . Continue reading
San Francisco Bay Trail, CA
Bird of the Day: Snowy Egret, Juvenile
Willfully Contemplating
A Boat in the Sea by Arkhip Kuindzhi, c.1875. Oil on canvas.
We tend to favor action as a general rule on this site, but without contemplation where would we be? Two choice paragraphs from a recent philosophical musing in one of our newly favored and now reliably interesting online publications:
…After three years, I was no wiser than when I started. Did we choose freely? Or were we just victims of larger historical, social and biological forces? It was impossible to tell. What I did realise was that philosophers had been struggling with such questions for thousands of years, but were no closer to understanding the answer than they were when they started out. Continue reading
Innovation And Toxic Hope
The Sabi Sand Game Reserve is injecting non-lethal chemical mixtures into rhino’s horns. Photograph: David Smith/Sabi Sand Game Reserve
We have only occasionally mentioned the facts surrounding the epidemic slaughter of rhinoceros, mainly because the stories are hopelessly hopeless almost (but not all) all the time. This one may be either another case in point, or a perverse example of innovation in times of extreme need. Click the image above to go to the story in the Guardian:
A game reserve in South Africa has taken the radical step of poisoning rhino horns so that people risk becoming “seriously ill” if they consume them.
Sabi Sand said it had injected a mix of parasiticides and indelible pink dye into more than 100 rhinos’ horns over the past 18 months to combat international poaching syndicates. More than 200 rhinos have been poached so far this year in South Africa, driven by demand in the far east, where horn ground into powder is seen as a delicacy or traditional medicine. Continue reading
Beauty Of Kerala – Wayanad
Photo credits: Nidhin Poothully
The road leading to Wayanad is smooth and even and surrounded by greenery from deciduous forest to soaring bamboos. The sanctuary around Wayanad is rich in fauna and flora. Elephants are the most common wildlife sighting, sometimes even amidst the the thick bamboo groves flanking the road en route to the sanctuary. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Four-banded Sandgrouse (Mole National Park, Ghana)
Feather Hill Flowers
Feather Hill flowers are hybrid orchids in the Cymbidium family. Up to 15-25 butterfly-shaped white flowers adorned with light pink spots hang gently on the strong stems. Cymbidiums grow widely in Kerala’s Western Ghats above 1500 meters. Continue reading
From Behind the Wheel: Onion Dome
Gokarnam, Karnataka; Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
A Thekkady Easter
The dawn of my Easter Holiday experience in Kerala started with this unique communion bread served with Molasses sauce to represent the wine. The beautiful church nearby the resort was filled beyond capacity but I fully enjoyed the Sunday service together with other worshippers standing across the street. There I stood, not understanding any of the words (the service was in Malayalam) but following all the rituals with the same sense of peace as in my own church in Accra, Ghana.
After a good lunch and the sleep of the blessed I had my road to “Emmaus” experience by going on the 3 hour Green Walk in the Periyar Tiger Reserve with one of the naturalist guides. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Purple Sunbird
Outskirts of Bangalore, Karnataka
Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?
From this week’s Sunday New York Times an article by Susan Dominus in which the:
organizational psychologist Adam Grant argues that the key to hyperefficiency is tirelessly helping others. Continue reading
Aihole Temples – Karnataka
Photo Credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Aihole was the capital of the Chalukyan Kings, who between the 4th and 6th century A.D began experimenting with the idea of constructing temples with stone blocks. Aihole has over 125 temples, all intricately carved and rich in detail. Durga temple has a semicircular apse and a sanctum, encircled by a richly carved colonnaded passageway. Durga temple is roofed in the usual flat Early Western Chalukyan manner. The niches in the circumambulatory passage around the sanctum are filled with statues; notable among them are splendid images of Durga and Shiva. Continue reading
Organikos 