Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a deciduous shrub which is a fruit bearing plant. The flowers may be solitary or grouped in twos and threes at the ends of the branches. The pomegranate juice can range from very sweet and sour, but most fruits are moderate in taste.
Some fields of scientific study rack up an astounding rate of new species discoveries annually; think entomology as an example. But ornithologists are currently more likely to be subtracting species than adding them.
But last year Peter Pyle, a sharp eyed scientist at the Institute of Bird Populations noticed something amiss while studying a group of pelagic bird specimens in the Smithsonian’s collection from 1963. Pyle’s theory was strong enough to merit a DNA study and it was discovered that the small bird had been misidentified as a Little Shearwater. The analysis was correct and the bird was given the name Bryan’s Shearwater, Puffinus bryani. Continue reading
Click the image above to go to a story covered in Wired about a novel approach to mapping threatened rainforest, using existing technology in an innovative manner:
A small, twin-propeller plane flies over the Amazon rainforest in eastern Peru. The scale of the vegetation is extraordinary. The tree canopy stretches as far as the eye can see — an endless array of broccoli florets bounded only by haze and horizon. Greg Asner, 43, has seen the rainforest from this vantage point many times before, but he still stares out of the window in rapt fascination.
We take a break, whenever we can, and check out the urge to paddle, surf, skate, or other-board on just about any kind of surface. Sometimes our own contributors are in the action. Continue reading
Amherst Island, Ontario
In two recent posts linking to stories about two very different photographers, there may have been an implied answer to the question raised in the first and repeated in different words in the second. Art critic Peter Schjeldahl– who has a good track record of mixing insider knowledge, smart observation and common sense — weighs in with his own answer:
Starting in 1982, Sherman countered a popular clamor to discover “the real Cindy,” as if she were the latest shtick-wielding show-biz celebrity.
We met Mr.Steve from England who stayed at Cardamom County from 26th Feb to 28th Feb. He kindly shared his experiences with us. He sighted herds of elephants, a niligiri langur, and also went to see the Kathakali program.
The young man working his way through the kitchen brought to mind a young man of about the same age, three decades earlier. I had the good fortune, in my early adulthood, to work in a restaurant owned and operated by a man who is one of the great chefs of his generation. I did not work in the kitchen, but in the dining room, from 1983-1985. It provided the most important education of my life, which is saying a lot because I eventually earned a Ph.D. and even that did not top the learning earned in Guy Savoy’s restaurant.
Many of my posts reflect my outlook to err on the upside of life’s circumstances. I try to drown out my inner (and often powerful) pessimism by surrounding myself with positivity and optimism. I find that this is a careful balance of being hopeful while remaining realistic. Today, when I was taking a break from my coursework, or the slightly negative part of my day, I watched an encouraging Ted Talk that I think demonstrates hopeful realism.
Johan Rockstrom suggests that the earth is at a point where major transformation must occur. He optimistically recommends that we use and continue to use crises as opportunities and local initiatives to transform and sustain life. Also, he makes a realistic statement that climate change is not our biggest problem only a symptom of our land use.
I found this talk engaging and thought-provoking. I agree that I transformation is soon to happen and I look forward to being a part of it.
Kerala is dry. The places I’m used to seeing so green and vibrant that they practically drip are now dry, brown and crackly. What are normally torrential waterfalls are reduced to sunbaked rock faces. Clouds occasionally float through the sky, mostly in early morning, but they haven’t shed tears throughout the season. The native plants are geared to survive this climate, as the year seesaws between dryness and enormous moisture. In the forest, untold thousands of dead leaves cover the ground, crackling with glee as trekkers pass under the trees. Continue reading
One of the most effortless pastimes is visually-cued memory. Out of nowhere you see something that reminds you of something and you are off to the races. Or you hear something. Whether the trigger is visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, or olfactory–or any combination of those–if you have the fortune of a stock of pleasant memories then something may take you to the kind of place linked in the image above.
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is an ornamental shrub which grows up to heights of 10 to 16 ft. The plant’s attractive red colouring is actually the leaf shaped bracts. The flowers themselves are the tiny yellow bunches at the base of leaf structures. Continue reading
Sprague's Pipit
When you ask someone why they are not a birder nine times out of ten they will say, “birds are awesome, but I don’t know how you tell those little brown birds apart”. To be completely honest, trying to distinguish between a Cassin’s and a Botteri’s Sparrow in the American southwest can be rather tedious and challenging; and when visiting the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas birds like Green Jay seem a lot more appealing than a Clay-Colored Robin. But those boring, pass over in the field guide, birds can be some of the most rewarding as they often times are even rarer and harder to find.
In case you missed the short item about this cyclist down under, it is worth a look. So is the related item (click the image above to go to the original) about honesty boxes:
Many tourists in automobiles surely pass right by them unaware—but cyclists see these handmade, unguarded food stalls in the distance, usually first as a cardboard sign advertising some product of the homestead. Many times it’s just pine cones, sacks of sheep stool or firewood—and sometimes the sign is just a notice that a reputed local bull is ready and eager to mate.
A completely different kind of photographer from our hero, Errol Morris, Cindy Sherman is more classically defined as an artist. With all the wonders as well as baggage that come with that term. Although artists have sometimes been heroic, the recent trend has included plenty of fashionistas. Cindy Sherman challenges; decide for yourself. A retrospective show opens today, showing 35 years of her photography. The New York Times review, titled Photography’s Angel Provocateur, has a nicely turned phrase about the show and how the viewer is:
…confronted by an artist with an urgent, singularly personal vision, who for the past 35 years has consistently and provocatively turned photography against itself. She comes across here as an increasingly vehement avenging angel waging a kind of war with the camera, using it to expose what might be called both the tyranny and the inner lives of images, especially the images of women that bombard and shape all of us at every turn.
Ottawa, Ontario
I happened to meet Mr.Madhu Menon who is a Director of ANALA (Ahmedabad Nature Lover’s Association) when he came to Cardamom County for a property visit on the 25th of Feb. He happily shared his nature loving photos with us.
Errol Morris has been a hero at the vanguard of quirky approaches to justice (made a film that freed an innocent man on death row; followed that up with a film that led a famous statesman to be able to acknowledge his war crimes), but has never been noted as a hero within the wider popular culture.
Smithsonian has an article about Morris (click the image to the right to go to it) that will not likely change that, but it does have one of the most fascinating paragraphs you are likely to read about a film maker who writes extensively, especially about photography:
Born in suburban Long Island, Morris graduated from the University of Wisconsin. After a stint of cello study in France, he talked his way into the Princeton graduate philosophy seminar of Thomas Kuhn, an icon of postmodernism, the man who coined the term “paradigm shift.” It wasn’t exactly a meeting of the minds. In fact, it almost cracked Morris’ skull, which is what Kuhn seemed to be aiming to do at the climax of an argument when the esteemed philosopher threw an ashtray at Morris’ head.
Cape May, NJ
Organikos 