Sunset is a special time of day. Low-hanging clouds glow vivid red and orange as the background sky turns cobalt blue. The first stars pop out in the heavenly dome overhead, eliciting wishes from backyard sky watchers. the sunset of May 26th will be extra special. On that date, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will gather in the fading twilight to form a bright triangle only three degrees wide.

Triple conjunction: Planets Aligning in the Sunset Sky

Background: Bad Astronomy: Movements in (Infra)Red

Cloaked in the snows of California's Sierra Nevada, the 3,200-year-old giant sequoia called the President rises 247 feet. Two other sequoias have wider trunks, but none has a larger crown, say the scientists who climbed it ... Oh, also: The tree is more than three millennia old, and contains about "54,000 cubic feet of wood and bark," according to National Geographic magazine.

the President: One Photo, 126 Frames, 2 Billion Leaves, 247 Feet

A frost flower is a name commonly given to a condition in which thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter. The thin layers of ice are often formed into exquisite patterns that curl into "petals" that resemble flowers. ~ Wikipedia

"Raptor poles" will be installed above problem prairie dog colonies. These are perches for red-tailed, Swainson's and ferruginous hawks. The idea is to encourage natural predators to rein in animals that are damaging the landscape.

Tucked deep within Chestnut Ridge Park, New York, is a small waterfall called the Eternal Flame Falls. The waterfall is so called because of a simple phenomenon – a natural gas leak just underneath the falls that just happens to be burning. The flame is not really "eternal" in the sense that it goes out occasionally. Often it is re-lit by the next hiker that finds it extinguished.

Eternal Flame Falls in New York

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Moab, Utah - 2012 - B. Pettis

Happy Birthday, Woodsy Owl!

The fields around the office are full of purple thistles.

Question: How long does it take for most of the atoms in your body to be replaced by others?

Answer: Every 16 days about 72% of you is replaced.

What makes Crater Lake unique, though, is its most celebrated occupant: not a fish, not a bird, but a floating tree trunk known familiarly for decades as the Old Man of the Lake. And what makes this ancient hemlock so very remarkable is that it has been bobbing, absolutely vertically, in the water for as long as Crater Lake has been documented.

The Old Man of the Lake.

It's National Wildflower Week! Celebrate Wildflowers with the US Forrest Service.

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?

-- Robert Redford, Actor and Activist

Today is Arbor Day.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree...

Seven decades after the last reported sighting of the Eastern cougar, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service declared it extinct Wednesday and recommended that it be removed from the nation’s endangered species list.

Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct (With an Asterisk) - Note: Florida Panther Not Extinct, Eastern Cougar Is; Here's the Difference

Revenge of the Redwoods

The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Survey results reveal that the bark beetle infestation affected about 400,000 new acres in 2010 across the three forests in Colorado and southern Wyoming, bringing the total number of acres of infestation up to 4 million since the first signs of outbreak in 1996. This acreage includes lodgepole, five-needle and ponderosa pine tree types.

The U.S Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service announced the results of the 2010 Forest Health Annual Aerial Survey today.

The United Nations has declalred 2011 The International Year of Forests.

I think that I shall never see
a poem lovely as a tree.

Pucker up now! Mistletoe could vanish in the next 20 years.

Longwood Gardens ... has just unveiled the largest chrysanthemum ever grown in North America — a single plant with 991 blooms measuring more than 11 feet in diameter. Called the Thousand Bloom, this plant derives its name from the ambitious goal of cultivating a single chrysanthemum plant to produce as many perfectly placed blooms as possible.

Longwood Gardens Grows Largest Chrysanthemum In North America

It's true, trees do help the atmosphere by absorbing smog, but...they have to be the right kinds of trees.

Trees that help: Ash, Apple, Birch, Hawthorn, Hackberry, Maple, Pear, Peach.
Trees that hurt: Poplar, Eucalyptus, Oak

Sweet yellow clover covers all the rolling hills and meadows between Broomfield and Boulder these days. It's really pretty, and the bees love it, but I'm not sure whether those with allergies are so appreciative!

RARE: Portraits of America's Endangered Species by Joel Sartore

Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.

-John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)

30 years ago Mount St. Helens erupted. Here is The Big Picture's remembrance of the event.

Vortex Streets, Anvil Clouds, Glory, and more: Weird Clouds Look Even Better From Space.

A cherry blossom bird's eye view.
Aerial shots of the Washington D.C. Tidal Basin during cherry blossom time.

Scientists say the huge earthquake in Chile may have slowed the earth's rotation by 1.26 microseconds (1 millionth of a second). Even more serious, it moved the earth's axis 3 inches.

An earthquake can make Earth rotate faster by nudging some of its mass closer to the planet's axis, just as ice skaters can speed up their spins by pulling in their arms. Conversely, a quake can slow the rotation and lengthen the day if it redistributes mass away from that axis

A great wildlife photograph celebrates the unexpected, and the 39th annual National Wildlife Photo Contest is full of improbable images: A bald eagle and its prey appear frozen in midair. A night-blooming flower glows from within, revealing a visiting insect. Calling for a mate, a Brazilian frog appears nearly swallowed by its own vocal sac. This year’s contest winners are drawn from nearly 70,000 entries—the largest pool in contest history—in seven categories: Mammals, Birds, Other Wildlife, Landscapes and Plant Life, Backyard Habitats, Connecting People and Nature and, for the first time, Global Warming.

NWF 2009 2009 Photo Contest

The Grand Prize winner is from Colorado.

From Maya Lin, a short video about deforestation. (via)

The real scoop on why leaves fall.

Every fall across the Northern Hemisphere, diminishing daylight hours and falling temperatures induce trees to prepare for winter and they shed billions of tons of leaves. In the Rocky Mountain Region, a spectacular color show precedes the shedding of leaves. Formerly green leaves turn to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red as a result of transformations in leaf pigments.

Chemistry of Fall Colors: Leaf Changing Color Rocky Mountain Region

"Tiny" T-Rex discovered in China.

James D. Griffioen: Feral Houses. Architecture being reclaimed by nature.

Nature's fireworks on display.

Time has likely run out for 300 or so of Boulder's oldest residents.

According to city forestry officials and biology experts, nearly the entire population of black walnut trees in Boulder is now infected by fungus-carrying beetles and will need to be removed this summer.

Bridge at Cherry Creek State Park

A bird is nesting in a plant outside our front door and has laid five eggs. The mama bird bolts away whenever we come in or out of the house. I hope the eggs hatch - last year we had eggs in the same plant but the got knocked out and broke.

A "swarm" of earthquakes have hit Yellowstone--more than 400 in the last eight days!

December 21st Winter solstice.

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Mike O'Connor, owner of Bird Watcher's General Store, writes the popular article, Ask the Bird Folks, for The Cape Codder newspaper. Every week Mike tries to answer some of life's most challenging questions. You know, bird questions."

Frost as Art

What type of tree is hit by lightning more frequently than others?

The oak--because it generally grows taller than other trees, and has deeper roots and a higher moisture content, making it more conductive.
from "365 Amazing Trivia Facts"

What color is the black mamba, the dangerous African snake?

Anywhere from light gray to dark brown--but not black.
The black in its name describes the color inside its mouth, which is inky black.

from "365 Amazing Trivia Facts"

Fireflies are declining as their natural habitat (wetlands) disappears.

Photos from "In The Whirl" - sailfish rounding up sardines. From the National Geographic article.

Ancient cemetery found in "Green" Sahara

Wildlife Conservation Society researchers have found approximately 125,000 endangered western lowland gorillas in a relatively small part of the Northern Republic of Congo. That's more than double the number of western lowland gorillas thought to exist in the world. (More info in cnn.com)

World's smallest snake discovered!

You think you have trouble keeping your bird feeder full? Check this out!

An infestation of miller moths frequently plagues Colorado in early summer. This year we escaped due to a cool spring, which slowed the growth of the moths' caterpillar stage.

How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountaintop it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make -- leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone -- we all dwell in a house of one room -- the world with the firmament for its roof -- and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track.

John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer
(1838-1914)

Giant squid autopsy. It is 30 feet long, weighs 900 pounds, and it's eye is as big as a dinner plate!

Looks like at least three baby chicks in the eagle nest this year!

Things you learn from comics: The bluefin tuna is in danger of extinction.

The Denver Zoo has hidden dyed hard boiled eggs in the animal cages to give them a treat for the Easter/Spring season. The critters liked all the eggs, but especially the yellow ones, which were being fought over!

All the water and air on earth gathered into spheres and compared to the Earth

Looks like there's at least one baby eaglet in the nest at Fort St. Vrain this year.

Whooping Cranes threatened by wind farms.

A bat fossil found in Wyoming shows that bats learned to echolocate AFTER they learned to fly.

The Kiwi Recovery Program of New Zealand collects eggs and incubates them in a safe environment, then returns the young birds to the wild.

Whales may have evolved from THIS?

Women's spines evolved for pregnancy.

In Alaska they have The Hanging of the Moose. Fortunately this isn't a tradition every winter!

We're evolving faster and faster.

"Nobody 10,000 years ago had blue eyes." John Hawks, anthropologist

One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding rocks at Racetrack Playa... These rocks can be found on the floor of the playa with long trails behind them. Somehow these rocks slide across the playa, cutting a furrow in the sediment as they move.

Greenpeace needs your help to Name a Whale. Apparently Mr. Splashy Pants is winning...

Newly discovered Nigersaurus was a "prehistoric cow".

Flooding frees hundreds of crocodiles in Vietnam.

Nature Creates a River

An 800-pound moose roamed through Broomfield yesterday.

Chinese dolphin 'probably extinct'

The long-threatened Yangtze River dolphin in China is probably extinct, according to an international team of

Species Discovered This Millennium, and Other Natural Wonders

This site brings together just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of new species discovered since the year 2000. Hopefully, it will i

This past week the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons site was officially given new status as a wildlife refuge. The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife will oversee this area that was once contaminated and considered off limits. Eventually it will be open t

Just can't make it to the great outdoors? Here's a great website for taking a quick (virtual) vacation: VirtualParks.

Bald Eagles removed from the Endangered Species list.

Devil's Tower Twilight Lightning.

The Lark Bunting, Colorado's state bird, has suffered a decline in the short grass prairie it calls home. In the past 24 years the sightings of the bird have decreased 53%. Th

Poachers kill one of last two white rhinos in Zambia

I recently moved my birdfeeder to a location outside my kitchen window where I can monitor the activity more frequently. This time of year I have to fill the feeder twice a day and I go through a ten pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds in less tha

The return of the American Elm.

The most popular shade tree of all time is now available in a disease-resistant variety, tested and approved for planting by the USDA National Arboretum.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4351  05/11/2007 12:34:37 PM

Project Budburst says it's getting warmer!

The smell of lilacs blooming is one of my favorite sensory delights. Keeping track through the years, "citizen scientists" have discovered that spring now arrives 6.8 days earlier in the Midwest than it used to--and they figured this out by checking th

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 4332  04/30/2007 10:18:30 AM

Measure your impact on climate change

Want to know how much YOU personally impact climate change and global warming? Click here to calculate the amount of CO2 you generate. The US average is 27 tons annually. Unfor

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 4320  04/22/2007 1:49:28 PM

Earth Day Every Day

Astronaut Wally Schirra says:

"I left Earth three times. I found no place else to go. Please take care of Spaceship Earth."

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 4288  04/03/2007 7:44:19 AM

Woodsman spare that tree!

Cameo came home yesterday to find the trees in our backyard-neighbor's yard were being cut back - way back! She found out that our north-side neighbor has a deal with our other neighbor to trim their trees back every few years to "improve the views". N

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4278  03/26/2007 7:11:36 AM

Butterflyway

Taiwan will close off part of a major highway to make a safe passage for the massive seasonal migration of the purple milkweed butterflies.Nets will be set up

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 4276  03/25/2007 8:01:33 PM

No Orangutans in 5 years?

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4270  03/22/2007 8:43:52 AM

I think that I shall never see...

10 Magnificent Trees

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4266  03/19/2007 12:37:37 PM

Not global warming?

Antarctic Glaciers' Sloughing Of Ice Has Scientists at a Loss

Some of the largest glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are moving in unusu

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4265  03/19/2007 12:36:39 PM

Super Volcano

Activity discovered at Yellowstone supervolcano

One of the largest supervolcanoes in the world lies beneath Yellowstone National Park and scientists say activity there is increasing. <

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4254  03/13/2007 7:56:53 AM

Jackalope

Pictures of real jackalopes: Rabbits infected with the Shope papillomavirus. I suppose every legend has some root in reality...

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4238  03/04/2007 12:07:15 PM

Go Outside and Play

Leave No Child Inside

The movement to reconnect children to the natural world has arisen quickly, spontaneously, and across the usual social, political, and economic di

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4237  03/04/2007 11:59:14 AM

March Moonrise

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4170  01/18/2007 12:56:27 PM

The ocean's health reflected in a bowl of chowder. The New York Times reports on how changes in the contents of New England's favorite soup

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 4106  12/15/2006 8:29:16 AM

A modern-day Dr. Doolittle

Talk about creative probem solving! The World's Tallest Man (7 ft. 9 in.), used his extremely long arms to reach deep into the stomachs of two ailing dolphins at a Chinese oceanarium and pull out

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 4104  12/13/2006 10:18:50 PM

Last Chance to See... gone

Chinese Dolphin Deemed "Functionally Extinct"

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3892  08/19/2006 11:33:44 AM

What is the grass? It is the handkerchief of the Lord, a scented gift.

Walt Whitman

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3864  08/01/2006 7:43:51 AM

Wild Geese Flying South?

The past several days I've heard Canada Geese honking as they fly overhead. I am hoping that this means an early Fall, since I am more than ready to have an end to this HOT summer!

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3811  07/02/2006 9:12:48 AM

Oil Seeds

Our birdfeeder had not been seeing a lot of action, so Mom suggested using 100% black oil seeds instead of a mix. I filled up the feeder yesterday: last night we had a lot of birds in the yard and this morning two squirrels were hanging upside down fro

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3805  06/29/2006 11:43:09 AM

Extinction of the Passenger Pigeons.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3778  06/15/2006 7:25:09 AM

Must not be any oil there...

A new National Monument will be designated by President Bush today. It is 84 million acres of ocean northwest of the Hawaiian islands, and will be given a Hawaiian name

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3704  05/07/2006 7:45:18 AM

It's sneezin' season!

I have noticed the cottonwood fluff beginning to drift through the air this weekend. Always a problem for allergy sufferers. Achooo!

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3698  05/04/2006 7:57:41 AM

Look at the size of that nest!

Yesterday the Colorado Division of Wildlife went to the eagle nest that I have been watching at the Fort St. Vrain energy plant. They scaled the huge cottonwood tree where the eagles have their nest, removed the three eaglets, and lowered them to the grou

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3679  04/22/2006 7:44:20 AM

Earth Day Every Day

Hurt no living thing;
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep.
Christina Rossetti

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3678  04/21/2006 8:01:57 PM

Eat Meat

Fruits, vegetables not as nutritious as 50 years ago.

... data collected by the U.S. government show that the nutritional content of America's vegetables and fruits

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3658  04/11/2006 7:28:22 AM

There ARE three!

This clearer picture lets us see that all three of the eggs in the Fort St. Vrain eagle nest DID hatch. Looks like it's breakfast time for the eaglets, and it keeps both Mom AND Dad busy getti

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3648  04/06/2006 7:24:05 AM

Feeding time

It looks like there may be only one eaglet in the Fort St. Vrain nest. It's hard to tell with some of the images. There were three eggs originally.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3632  03/29/2006 7:30:04 AM

The eggs have hatched!

Fort St. Vrain eagle nest has eaglets!

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3620  03/22/2006 7:45:31 AM

Be like the bird, who halting in his flight
On limb too slight,
Feels it give way beneath him, yet sings
Knowing he has wings.

Victor Hugo, writer
(1802-1885)

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3616  03/19/2006 8:02:01 PM

I have seen a flicker like this twice in the past couple of weeks. It hangs around my back patio and bird feeder, but I know it eats bugs, not seed, so it's probably just passing by my place. I d

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3610  03/16/2006 7:19:31 AM

Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot defend themselves or run away. And few destroyers of trees ever plant any; nor can planting avail much toward restoring our grand aboriginal giants. It took more than three thousand years to make some of the olde

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3603  03/12/2006 3:31:48 PM

THREE eggs!

Finally got a clear shot of the Fort St. Vrain eagles' nest without a bird in the way. It will be wonderful if all three of these eaglets hatch this year.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3594  03/06/2006 9:08:58 AM

The Trickster

Smithsonian looks at Coyotes and their move into urban areas. We've got a couple foxes in our neighborhood and Dad has seen coyotes in his back yard in California.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3587  03/02/2006 1:10:33 PM

I'm looking at you, mankind

Consensus grows on climate change: The global scientific body on climate change will report soon that only greenhouse gas emissions can explain freak weather patterns. And where does

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3586  03/02/2006 8:05:21 AM

An egg!!

For the past month I've been keeping a closer eye on the Fort St. Vrain Eagle Cam, trying to see if there was egg-hatching going on. There was always a bird on the nest, which made me suspicious, but I could never see under it. This morning I found

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3569  02/22/2006 4:25:53 PM

billion with a B

On Saturday, there will be 6,500,000,000 people on earth.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3561  02/16/2006 7:23:58 AM

Snow Fox

Last night about 9:00 I took Ravioli out for her final walk. It was just starting to snow, with a light dusting on the sidewalks, and the air was full of blowing flakes. Suddenly Ravi stopped and looked alertly ahead (the way she does when there's another

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3542  02/07/2006 7:24:03 AM

New "Eden"

Explorers in a remote area of western New Guinea have found a preserve of exotic species, many new to science. Hope they can keep people from exploiting this wonderful discovery.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3541  02/07/2006 7:15:58 AM

New

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3486  01/11/2006 11:11:57 AM

Wildfires

Oklahoma and Texas are not the only states battling early-season wildfires. Last night prairie fires near Arvada drove people from their homes.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3477  01/07/2006 6:09:00 PM

Eagle Cam

I checked the Fort St. Vrain Eagle Cam for the first time in the new year, and the eagles seem to have returned to their BIG nest. Last year they successfully raised two baby eag

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3476  01/07/2006 1:55:52 PM

Urban Wildlife pt. 2

Like Mom, we have some urban Wildlife in our neighborhood, too, and today I watched a large fox make its way across the street.

We have seen the fox before, sniffing around houses, slipping behind bushes, running around corners. Today it causa

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3474  01/06/2006 8:03:26 AM

Urban Wildlife

Yesterday I was startled to see a large coyote running right down the middle of a walkway that runs behind my house. Later in the day I saw a beautiful fox crossing a busy street near the Library. Both animals looked very healthy, with fluffy coats and a

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3433  12/18/2005 8:42:52 AM

How is climate change affecting our environments? Polar Bears Drown as Ice Shelf Melts.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3430  12/16/2005 9:42:37 AM

The full moon looked spectatular last night. As I drove home it was just rising over the downtown skyline (a lot like this only facing east). This morning it was bright in the wes

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3373  11/15/2005 8:47:26 AM

King Kong Lived?

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3341  10/29/2005 8:27:28 AM

Autumn
Oh be less beautiful,
or be less brief.

Sir William Watson

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3325  10/21/2005 10:11:10 AM

After a 100-day wait, the National Zoo's giant panda cub gets a new name.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3323  10/20/2005 7:29:47 AM

We don't have any leaves to rake this year but we are enjoying seeing the rest of the trees in the neighborhood change color. Maybe next year we'll have a tree and some leaves to crunch and rake.

Do you like the red colors maple trees turn in the

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3320  10/18/2005 9:57:30 AM

How the Snail Crossed the Bridge.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3319  10/18/2005 9:53:15 AM

Another new dinosaur found in Wyoming.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3302  10/09/2005 11:22:54 AM

with my finger I
trace the delicate pattern
lace wing butterfly

--Sharmagne Leland-St. John, tinywords haiku

We've had a large number of Painted Lady Butterflies passing through Colorado this year. Tonight's predicted snowfall will proba

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3295  10/04/2005 6:20:41 AM

U.S. FOREST SERVICE CENTENNIAL YEAR

Smokey Bear has been the symbol of the Forest Service firefighting campaign since 1944. Here are some trivia facts about Smokey:

• The "real" Smokey was found in

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3293  10/03/2005 8:08:27 AM

More Signs of Fall:
I feed the birds, and in the summer I can't keep the feeder full for a whole day. I put the seed in early in the morning and it is gone by 2:00 in the afternoon. I am now observing that when I go out to fill the feeder (a) it's sti

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3259  09/18/2005 10:13:53 AM

The Flying Mobulas of the Sea of Cortez. Amazing pictures and article on mobulas - similar to mantas - breeching and "flying" over the ocean's surface.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3239  09/02/2005 11:03:04 AM

Clever Whale Uses Fish to Catch Seagulls

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3233  08/29/2005 7:25:24 AM

How humans track odors
Study shows humans have ability to track odors, much like bloodhounds ... Though humans may never match the tracking ability of dogs, we appar

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3224  08/26/2005 10:21:08 AM

Panda Mania strikes Washington, DC! Check out the PandaCam, too.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3223  08/26/2005 8:18:58 AM

I went to see March of the Penguins yesterday. Amazing photography (National Geographic) and the incredible story of a year in the life of Emperor Penguins.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3222  08/25/2005 8:08:43 AM

Think of the storm roaming the sky uneasily like a dog looking for a place to sleep in; listen to it growling.
Elizabeth Bishop

We have had afternoon thunderstorms for the past week or so, with "dog growling" a major part of it.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3221  08/25/2005 7:11:31 AM

Our new house doesn't have trees in the yard (yet), and while the neighbors all around have trees we don't have a habitat for birds to nest that we can call our own. This morning at work I was looking out the window by my desk at a plum tree in front of t

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3208  08/18/2005 8:19:11 AM

Scientists propose to reintroduce MegaFauna to North American continent. 13,000 years ago large mammals roamed North America, but were wiped out and the smaller mammals took over. Now sci

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3202  08/15/2005 7:58:02 AM

Today's sign of Fall: School Busses! Denver Public Schools are back in session today; I saw at least 10 busses as I drove in to work.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3199  08/13/2005 8:13:45 AM

Two more signs of Fall--I saw a bright red Maple leaf on the ground as I was walking Ravi this morning, and looked up to see the tree it came from beginning to turn red as well. AND, there was candy corn for sale in the grocery store this week. Usually th

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3198  08/12/2005 12:32:19 PM

Giant Waterfall discovered in California. Who says there are no undiscovered and unexplored areas in the country today?

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3195  08/11/2005 8:07:23 AM

Sitting out on my front porch at dusk yesterday, I heard a squeaking sound and suddenly something burst out of the bushes in my neighbor's yard and flew away. It was a hawk, carrying what I assume was a rabbit, heading home for supper. The area where I li

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3192  08/09/2005 7:56:03 AM

Another sign that Autumn isn't too far away: a cricket is in the building, chirping away.

(Of course, it's supposed to get up to the low 90's again today, so Summer isn't over yet!)

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3188  08/07/2005 7:51:43 AM

Grass is the forgiveness of nature--her constant benediction....Forests decay, harvests perish, flowers vanish, but grass is immortal. Especially crabgrass.
John James Ingalls

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3178  08/03/2005 8:07:20 AM

First signs of Fall--I saw my first V of geese yesterday.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3174  07/31/2005 5:29:04 AM

Moose moves into Laramie golf course.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3123  07/07/2005 3:22:46 AM

Today is World Ocean Day.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3120  07/06/2005 7:50:26 AM

One day's exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books. See how willingly Nature poses herself upon photographers' plates. No earthly chemicals are so sensitive as those of the human soul.
John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3108  06/27/2005 1:33:53 AM

Things I've learned before it was too late: One does not get rid of poison ivy growth by burning the plants.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 3095  06/18/2005 8:43:53 AM

Few are altogether deaf to the preaching of pine trees. Their sermons on the mountains go to our hearts; and if people in general could be got into the woods, even for once, to hear the trees speak for themselves, all difficulties in the way of forest

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3092  06/15/2005 2:55:54 AM

To make one pound of honey one bee would need to travel 50,000 miles, more than twice the distance around the globe. A single teaspoon of honey in 6 weeks is a bee's entire life quota.
Margaret T. Applegarth

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 3057  05/26/2005 1:01:03 AM

The Straight Dope on how birds find birdfeeders. I need to re-hang our feeder. We don't have any big trees on our property, but I asked the backyard neighbor if I could put the feeder on a

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2994  04/22/2005 8:40:55 AM

Earth Day EVERY Day!
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Google has a nice Earth Day logo on the first page of their site (which they change from time to time for special occasions).

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2975  04/12/2005 5:57:35 AM

Trees purify the air; they also purify the mind....If you want to save your world, you must save the trees.
from "The Trees of Endor"

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2967  04/09/2005 10:36:12 AM

There are two baby eagles in the nest at the Ft. Saint Vrain energy plant! Hope they do as well as the two last year did. Wonder how they are going to manage in tomorrow's forecast snow?

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2948  03/30/2005 8:55:53 AM

Holy Cow! Check out Lurch the Wonder Watusi

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2918  03/17/2005 9:48:22 AM

Tiger attack - Caught on Tape!

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2913  03/15/2005 7:10:37 AM

We got a pretty good snowfall on Sunday and I wondered how the eagles up at Fort St. Vrain power plant were managing, now that they have eggs in the nest. Here's the answer--Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2909  03/13/2005 8:42:39 AM

Wow. Check out the photos from the International Snow Sculpture Championships held earlier in Breckenridge.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2887  01/08/2005 6:03:31 AM

The trees have come down to the bank to see the river go by.
Henry David Thoreau

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2884  01/07/2005 6:53:09 AM

I was looking through the Xcel EagleCam Daily Pics and saw yesterday in the 3:00-5:00 sets two eagles were in the nest. They are big birds with bright, white heads. It was pretty coo

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2865  12/29/2004 8:23:48 AM

Fire and Ice

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2864  12/29/2004 8:21:00 AM

You've heard of search and rescue dogs, guide dogs, even sniffer dogs. Well, here is a litter-collecting dog.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2845  12/21/2004 8:31:15 AM

Antipodes: The Other Side of the World. If you dug a hole straight down, where would end up? If you're in the US, not China - instead you'd end up in in the Indian Ocean.

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2840  12/20/2004 8:20:17 AM

Barr Lake, long a home to nesting Bald Eagles, is now threatened by a massive new development called Prairie Center. Despite assurances from the developers, birdwatchers are worr

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2832  12/17/2004 8:37:02 AM

Iceberg threatens Penguins' existance. How weird is this???

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2814  12/08/2004 1:09:06 AM

Zoo Gorillas hold wake for group's leader

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2788  11/23/2004 8:10:13 AM

Dolphins save swimmers from shark

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2783  11/20/2004 10:36:53 AM

Artifical Hermit Crab Shells: Attempting to Meet the New Needs of Natural Life-Forms

Right now, 30 percent of all hermit crabs on our shorelines are living in shells that a

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2771  11/16/2004 7:35:12 AM

A "dam" good investment. Beavers weave dollar bills into their home.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2747  11/04/2004 11:26:44 AM

Time Lapse Lunar Eclipse

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2718  10/22/2004 9:07:36 AM

Bad news for bird watchers

The Denver Post reports that "almost one in three bird species in North America are in serious decline because of habitat loss and damage, invasive species, pollution, and poor land management." Bird song is especially quiet t

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2702  10/15/2004 7:03:09 AM

The Earth's climate is in flux. We live in a narrow band of temperature, moisture, and natural resources. A change of just a few degrees can send the entire system spiraling out of control, as past ice ages can attest. The Guardian reports on Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2699  10/13/2004 7:58:21 AM

JAWS!
Efforts are now underway to declare the Great White Shark an endangered species.

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2675  10/01/2004 1:46:53 AM

UPDATE: Smoke and ash has been sighted coming out of the volcano!

With seismic activity

Posted by Jason to Nature 

Post Number 2582  08/14/2004 11:30:54 AM

I just attended a raptor program put on by HawkQuest and learned a lot of interesting facts. They showed a Harris Hawk, a Barred Owl, a Peregrin Falcon, and a Bald Eagle. The program was the final activity for the

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2435  06/02/2004 8:24:53 AM

Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
Douglas Jerrold

Sounds like the wonderful, black soil in Iowa!

Posted by Kerry to Nature 

Post Number 2421  05/27/2004 8:02:01 AM

In the open fields near my home Killdeer have been nesting. They have incredibly thin legs, and feign a broken wing or leg to lead intruders away from their nests on the ground. Yesterday as I was walking I saw a mother and father Killdeer running ahead

Posted by Kerry to Nature