Moon jelly fish stranded on an autumn beach seemed like a sad story of dislocation and abandonment, but they were also testaments to the resiliency of nature.
A Sign of Autumn: Fall Webworms
Look for the white, cottony webs in the trees this fall. Inside are hundreds of caterpillars munching on leaves, fattening up for a winter’s hibernation. They will emerge as moths next spring.
Ruminations on the Shortest Day of Year
The winter solstice just passed. The shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter is also a good time to take stock of our natural resources and commit ourselves to sufficiency, rather than sustainability.
Are the Horseshoe Crabs Telling Us Something?
An unusually high number of small horseshoe crabs started showing up in Stump Sound. That got a noted naturalist thinking about global warming, changing ecosystems and the powers of observation.
‘Animalcules’ and the Poison of Mercury
The estuaries least glamorous of beings — bacteria — drive the entire ecosystem and play a crucial role in the birth of mercury’s most insidious form.
