Photo: Plains zebra   (Wikipedia common license) 

Today is International Zebra Day which is to bring awareness and raise conservation efforts on the zebra and its vanishing habitats. 

The Zebra shares its genus with horses and asses.

There are 3 species of zebra alive today and they are the plains zebra, the Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra. The plains zebra is the most common and perhaps the most well known.

All zebras alive today are found only in the southern half of the African continent.

Zebra stripes are unique to each zebra with no two being the same, rather like human fingerprints. No one can really say why they have stripes, some say for camouflage from lions others think it's to repel biting horse flies but no one knows for sure. 

A newly born foal can stand within six minutes of being born and can run within an hour of being born.

See below for more information on these amazing animals of the plains and mountains of Africa.

www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/zebra



KIDS CORNER

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWxnadQI5Qw


By Brendon Crook.

Photo by Brendon Crook. Bentson State Park, Mission TX


Peccaries, also know as Javelina are a pig like animal found throughout the Caribbean, Central America, large areas of South America and the south western parts of North America. 

Peccaries are distant relatives of the pig but are not of the same family and have very distinct differences. Even so they are referred to as New World pigs.

​There are 3 species of Peccary. The white-lipped peccary, the Chacoan peccary and the collared peccary. 

Peccaries mostly eat cactus, roots and seeds but will eat grubs and insects if they are available. They have adapted to being around humans and can be found in cities and agricultural areas. Living mostly in groups of 6-9 individuals a group of peccaries is called a Squadron. 

An interesting little animal that seem quite at peace with their surroundings.

If you would like to know more about peccaries I have included some links below:


​www.southwestwildlife.org/resident-animals/javelina/javelina.html

​rainforests.mongabay.com/kids/animal-profiles/peccaries_extended.html
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=HodNVdJDntg

​KID'S CORNER
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS2uhBzigz0
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kids.kiddle.co/Peccary



By Brendon Crook

Photo: Lichen on trees, Bentson State Park, Mission, TX.



Something that people see a lot of but perhaps don't give it much thought is lichen. 
Lichen is a composition of fungi and algae. They are not considered plants even though many resemble them with leaves and even branches. 

Lichen can grow on almost any surface and at nearly any elevation from sea level to mountain alpine regions and can even grow on other lichen. 

There are around 20000 known species that cover 6-8% of the Earth's land area.

Lichens are very long lived with an Arctic species dated at 8600 years old. 
Like the Tardigrades covered in a previous blog here they can also live in extreme conditions of heat and cold and have even been subjected to conditions in space with no ill effects. 

Although able to cope with such extreme conditions some lichen are sensitive to pollution as they have no roots and no way to filter what they absorb so if there are pollutants in the air it can accumulate in the lichen which can become toxic although not all lichen are sensitive to air pollution.

More information on lichen can be found on the links below. 

www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/about.shtml

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ_ZY57MY64

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​By Brendon Crook

January 6 is Alan Watts Day!

6 January 1915 - 16 November 1973

Alan Watts was a philosopher and popularizer of Eastern religions like Buddhism and Taoism, who wrote throughout the Fifties and Xixties. He wanted to bring Eastern ideas to the West, and perhaps did so more than anyone else prior to his time, and perhaps since. Most people associate him with Zen buddhism and other eastern religions, but in his later years he described himself as a Pantheist.
Watts described himself as "an unabashed pantheist" in his autobiography, In My Own Way. He wrote: “We are all unconscious pantheists, trying to grasp the moment, the Eternal Now, in its various forms, trying to identify God with something in the moment.” According to a recent collection of surveys at online pantheism discussion groups, Watts has been considered the favorite communicator and advocate of pantheism, followed closely by Carl Sagan and Eckhart Tolle. Although best known as a Zen Buddhist, his efforts to blend Christianity, mysticism, Taoism, and other Eastern philosophies is actually a form of modern Pantheism.

He said, “The religious idea of God cannot do full duty for the metaphysical infinity.... The style of God venerated in the church, mosque, or synagogue seems completely different from the style of the natural universe.”

His views led to a profound ecological awareness. He complained that “Civilized human beings are alarmingly ignorant of the fact that they are continuous with their natural surroundings.” He saw that in the same way that brains, hearts, lungs, and stomachs are our internal organs, the air, water, plants, insects, birds, fish, and mammals are our external organs."

He said, “The sun, the earth, and the forests are just as much features of your own body as your brain.”

Despite his association with Eastern religions, he centered his religious relationships directly in Nature, not with the writings of men. 

He often warned against what he considered spiritual charlatans. 

He said: “I wish that there was a way of putting a time-bomb into scriptures and records — not a time-bomb, but some kind of invisible ink, so that all scriptures would un-print themselves about fifty years after the master's death. And just dissolve.”

 Watts said “if you want to find out what is the spiritual, what is Buddha-nature, what is Brahman, what is Tao, the best way is to go directly to the physical world and find out: the physical world as you are it, and as everything around you is it; the immediate experience.”
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Read more about Alan Watts in this presentation:

http://www.pantheist.net/uploads/1/8/9/8/18984797/alan_watts_as_pantheist_-_a_presentation_by_harold_wood.pdf

Photo above: 
Summit Lake Colorado U.S.A - elev 13000ft  (photo by Brendon Crook)





Left: 
Mountain Goat on summit of Mount Evans Colorado U.S.A - elev 14000ft
(photo by Brendon Crook)






Today is international mountain day.

A rather unusual geological feature to have a day for you may think, however mountains contain many very important eco-systems.
These differing eco-system levels are called altitudinal zonations and occurs where different environmental conditions change due to elevation and location.

These vary according to where the mountains are located and can range from flora and fauna the same as the surrounding areas to near desolation towards the peaks with species adapting to the biomes they inhabit.
The resilience of life to adapt is truly remarkable.

Mountains are formed in two ways.
One is by earths tectonic plates pushing together and forcing the earth upwards. The other is a  volcanic mountain which is formed when molten rock inside the earth erupts through the crust.

Mountains are also formed under water — again by tectonic plates or volcanic action which are called seamounts. If a seamount breaks the surface of the ocean it becomes a volcanic island. 

Although mountains look permanent they do in fact level over time.

Mountains make up one fifth of the worlds landscape and about 80% of fresh water originates from mountain sources. 

Mountains hold a special place in humanity's heart. They are an inspiration to many a painter and poet and aspiring mountain climber.

Even people not particularly drawn to nature can find moments of awe upon being confronted with a mountain in all its grandeur and imposing silent majesty.

Below are some interesting links on mountains:

www.treehugger.com/how-are-mountains-formed-5119556

​www.treehugger.com/mountain-biomes-life-at-high-elevation-3573200



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KIDS NATURE CORNER 
Here are some really interesting facts on mountains:


kids.kiddle.co/Mountain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgvAaTZdpLo&t=150s
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By Brendon Crook
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Today is world soil day.

Soil is one of the most important factors for life on earth. It allows flora and fauna to flourish in a most amazing and diverse way.
Soil is made up of minerals, rocks, living and dead organisms, air and water and is regarded by soil scientists as an eco-system due to its complexity. 

Soil is constantly forming although in human terms at a very slow rate and forms at varying speeds depending on location/climate. 

Fossilized soil dates back at least 2500 million years although modern soil dates back to a little more than 2.5 million years.

Soil has 4 important functions:

1/    As a means for plant growth.
2/    As water storage and purification 
3/    A habitat for organisms many of which we can't see with the naked eye.
4/    Helping with adaptation of the earths atmosphere. 

Soil has been and continues to be lost due to human activity including agriculture, urban development, pollution and salination with little thought of just how important and valuable it is to life on earth including our own. 
It is a vital component to the flourishing of the biological world.

It can also do wonders for your connection to the planet.
Holding soil in your hands and meditating on the millions of years it took to produce and the millions of lives you are holding within the soil in your hands is an awe inspiring experience. 
Planting trees in the rich soil is also a wonderful way to open your heart in deep reflection of the power and life giving properties of soil.
The smell of wet soil after rain can stimulate the senses and bring much pleasure and relaxation. 

​Below are some links you may enjoy on soil and the benefits to human mental health soil can have on us. 

Information on the formation and value of soil:
www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/what-are-soils-67647639/


Information on the benefits of soil to human mental health:
ecohappinessproject.com/soil-benefits/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20National%20Wildlife,can%20benefit%20from%20soil%20as
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHbl2r2AjQ4


​KIDS NATURE CORNER with KISMET THE TURTLE
















Hi kids, Here is some really good info and a cool video on how great soil is!!!

kids.kiddle.co/Soil

​www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-J2FErZHuA&t=196s


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By Brendon Crook
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Literary Naturalist, and Pantheist Joseph Wood Krutch (1893-1970) birthday is November 25. Enjoy his reflections on celebrating life on Earth:

"It is not easy to live in that continuous awareness of things which alone is true living. Even those who make a parade of their conviction that sunset, rain, and the growth of a seed are daily miracles are not usually so much impressed by then as they urge others to be. The faculty of wonder tires easily and a miracle which happens everyday is a miracle no longer, no matter how much one tells oneself that it ought to be. Life would seem great deal longer a a great deal fuller than it does if it were not for the fact that the human being is, by nature, acreature to whom "0 Altitudo" is much less natural than ”So what!”. 

"Really to see something once or twice a week is almost inevitably to have to try - though, alas, not necessarily with success to make oneself a poet. For our natural  insensibility there is no permanent cure. One may seek new sights and new wonders, but that aid to awareness, like other stimulants, must be used with caution. If the familiar has a  way of becoming invisible, the novel has away of seeming unreal -more like a dream or a picture than areal actuality. And certainly no nan is less aware of things than the conscientious traveler who hurries from wonder to wonder until nothing less than the opening of the heavens on judgement day could catch the attention of his jaded brain. Madder music and stronger wine pay diminishing returns. 

"I have never practiced the swami’s technique for "heightening consciousness” and I doubt that I ever shall. For one thing, I am not sure I want to be so exclusively aware  of either myself or the ALL in the colorless essence of either. To put it in a dignified way, I prefer to live under the dome of a many-colored glass and to rest content with the general conviction that the white radiance of Eternity has something to do with it. To put it more familiarly; what I am after is less to meet God face-to-face than really to take in a beetle, a frog, or a mountain when I meet one. 

"Those who advise us to stalk, as it were, exquisite sensations, seem to warn us how alert we must be if we are not to miss one of those special moments when  something or other  in nature, or art, or music is reaching perfection, as though only a few things were worth  experiencing. But the rare moment is not the moment when there is something worth looking at, but the moment when we are capable of seeing. 

"The acute awareness of a natural phenomenon, especially of a phenomenon of the living world, is the thing most likely to open the door to that joy we cannot analyze. What is the content of the experience? What is it in such moments Iseem to realise? Of what is my happiness compounded? First of all, perhaps, there is the vivid assurance that the things of the universe itself really do exist; that life is not a dream; second, that Reality is pervasive and it seems, unconquerable. 

"The future of mankind is dubious. Perhaps the future of the whole earth is only somewhat less dubious. But one knows that all does not depend on nan, that possibly, even, it does not depend upon this earth. Should  man  disappear, rabbits nay welll still run and flowers may still open. If this globe itself should perish, then it seems not unreasonable to suppose that what inspires the stem and the flower may exist somewhere else.  And we, it seems, are at least part of all this."

• from The Desert Year, by Joseph Wood Krutch, The Viking Press, New York, 1951. 

Learn more about Joseph Wood Krutch here:
​ https://planetpatriot.net/joseph-wood-krutch/

- Harold Wood

Photo:  A microscope image of a tardigrade   (via Creative Commons license.)


Tardigrades, otherwise known as Water Bears or Moss Piglets are 8 legged micro animals that grow from between 0.05mm to 1.2mm. They live from about 3-4 months up to 2 years and were discovered by scientists in 1773.

They are extremely hardy creatures that can be found all over the world from deep oceans, rainforests and in freezing snow covered climates.

Not only are they able to withstand such diverse climatic conditions they are also able to withstand high and low pressures, radiation and dehydration and starvation that would kill other life. Tardigrades have survived all 5 mass extinction events due to their extreme survival abilities. 

There are approximately 1300 species of Tardigrade with the modern ones going back to around 90 million years ago. 
They eat a variety of foods including algae, fungi, plant cells and small invertebrates.

They can be seen with a microscope and can be easily found in moss and lichens so perhaps you'd like to plan a field trip to see them always remembering to leave them where they are when you have finished observing them.

They are very fascinating little creatures and if you would like to learn more please click on the links below.

By Brendon Crook

www.marinespecies.org/tardigrada/

www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-literally-unearthed-a-whole-new-species-of-tardigrade

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXBkmLzBHZk
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Photo: Plains Bison at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (Colorado)



Today is National Bison Day.

Bison are the official national mammal of the United States and have played an important part in the history of North America.

The Bison is the largest land mammal in North America of which there are 2 living species, the Plains Bison and the Wood Bison.

They are believed to have descended from the Steppe Bison who appeared during the Middle Pleistocene age (now known as the Chibanian age) and crossed the Bering land bridge into North America between 195000 - 135000 years ago. 
The Steppe Bison survived into the early to mid Holocene age before becoming extinct.

Bison were a significant creature for Native Americans as a food source and spiritually and were treated with respect. 

During the 1800's Plains Bison were slaughtered in their millions by European settlers almost to the point of extinction. 

Plains Bison lived between the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Rocky Mountain ranges in the west and as far north as Canada and as far south as Northern Mexico. 

The Wood Bison is the larger of the 2 north American species and ranged from Alaska and throughout Northern Canada. 

After near extinction both are making a slow comeback due to captive breeding however the DNA has become blurred in many cases and many are hybrids in the Wood Bison species. 
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Life wasn't any better for the European bison which was hunted to total extinction in the wild. In the early 1900's they were returned to the wild, again via captive breeding programs. 

Some interesting links to more facts and photos on Bison are included below.

defenders.org/wildlife/bison

nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-bison


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Brendon Crook







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Photo:  Australian Green Tree frog       (Forster, N.S.W, Australia)


Frogs are amphibious creatures that have ancestry going back at least 200 million years and were the first land animals to have vocal cords.
There are over 7000 species of frog and they are the largest group of amphibians  ranging in size from smaller than a human finger to bigger than a human foot. 
They are a cold blooded animal that is extremely adaptable and that has made their homes almost everywhere throughout the world.
Toads are similar to frogs with a few subtle differences. Frogs have smooth and moist skin whereas toads have a dry warty skin. Frogs are also more likely to be found near a water source such as ponds, creeks and streams. 
Frogs also have longer hind legs that allow them to hop vast distances quickly and swim through water rapidly. 

A few examples of their adaptability are:

The Wood frog of North America that can live north of the Arctic Circle and survives the extreme cold with up to 65% of it's body water frozen. They achieve this by having glucose in their body which acts as an anti-freeze protecting its vital organs.

The Water-Holding frog that lives in Australia can live for years without drinking and in periods of hot dry weather buries itself in up to a meter (3 feet) of sandy ground in a water-tight cocoon made of its own skin. 

The male of the Darwin's frog carries his young in the vocal sacs in his mouth for up to 70 days. When the female lays her eggs the male keeps watch until the tadpoles hatch and he swallows them where they can safely grow within his vocal sac until they are baby frogs where upon he releases them. 
There are 2 species of Darwin's frog. One is in southern Chile and Argentina and the Northern Darwin's frog is found in northern Chile although hasn't been seen since 1981 and may be extinct.

Sadly frogs have been in decline since the 1950's and are thought to be bellwethers for the state of the environment. 
However, there are many ways to make your own yard frog friendly and listed below are some wonderful ideas you may like to read about plus more interesting information on frogs and toads. 

Links on building a frog friendly garden:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhRiUqjhkx4

gardenculturemagazine.com/frog-friendly-gardens/

nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2000/Want-to-Host-a-Garden-Party-for-Frogs

Links for information on frogs and toads:
www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/herpetology/all-about-amphibians/all-about-frogs

www.livescience.com/50692-frog-facts.html

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/frog-fact-sheet/

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Brendon Crook