September 26th, 2007
recently read and enjoyed
It’s been awhile since I put together a “recently read” post. I’ve actually bookmarked several interesting posts over the past couple of months, but never seemed to get my act together. I’ll try to remedy that situation today. But first, about the spiders. The one above seems to be a Shamrock Spider (Araneus trifolium) and the one below is what is known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia). Both were photographed on August 31, 2007, at the Maccan Tide Bore Viewing Park in Nova Scotia. Both are members of the Family Araneidae (Orbweavers).
* First up, Doug Taron at Gossamer Tapestry has written a thoughtful post that poses the question, Why is this important?. It’s a good read and I suspect that some of you might have something to say on the topic. I’m sure Doug would appreciate receiving any comments. While you’re at Doug’s blog, you may also wish to check out his excellent travelogue, complete with stunning photos, of his recent trip to the Sierras. You’ll find the installments here, and here, and here, and here.
* On a connected theme, Marcia Bonta has written a terrific essay entitled Last Children in the Woods? You’ll see that she has also provided a link to a post by Dave Bonta at Via Negativa, that features a wonderful movie clip on Chasing Dragons. I meant to link to it back when it was posted. Actually, another that I’d meant to link to was Marcia’s post on Chasing Beetles which appeared back in August. Those who like insects will surely enjoy it along with Dave’s beautiful photos which accompany the post.
* Perhaps this doesn’t exactly fall into the “recent read and enjoyed” category, but this one will definitely make you think. Check out the website BreathingEarth to watch an updating map that displays CO2 emissions for different parts of the world. Study it for awhile to see it keeping a running tab on emissions, along with births and deaths.
* Last for today (I’ll do another of these posts very soon), are a collection of photos at Cathy Wilson’s Looking Up blog. Be sure to click on the photo of the bees on the dahlia to see the larger view. That one just slays me.
Okay, that’s all for now.
