02022-08-31 | Nature, Photos, Video
I love trees. Working together, trees and fungi made this planet habitable.
Yesterday morning I wondered what type of tree this might be:
It’s all over Waikiki, in the parks, along some of the streets. It has a gorgeous canopy that reminded me of the Stone Pines that grace Portugal–see next photo–and which can be found in so many public squares in Southern Europe. The French will play Boule underneath lanes of Stone Pine, and you can find them all over Rome.
I asked a few people and did a little research. Jacaranda, perhaps, or maybe Samanea Saman, also known as Rain Tree, because when it rains the leaves fold up and let the water pass. Don’t seek shelter under a rain tree when it starts to rain, I guess.
While looking for the tree I came across this lovely time-lapse of a Rain Tree’s first year of growth.
02022-05-29 | Nature, Photos
Early this morning, stepping out of the house to take my morning walk, I looked across the street at the neighbor’s cactus. It’s a beauty and must be about 15-18′ tall. It reminds me of the ones that grew in my house, limited to a height of 10′ by the ceiling.
The blossoms of my neighbor’s cactus are amazing. By the time I returned from my walk they had already closed up for the day.
02021-06-15 | Nature
The native Japanese honey bees have no issues traversing the mesh installed over their hive entrance. The hornets do not come close to fitting any part of their murderous bodies through the wire.
Minka – Our Japanese Farmhouse – with video
02019-06-13 | Nature
Ravens can solve puzzles, trick other animals into helping them out, and communicate with each other at a level even apes can’t match. And now we know they can hatch plans.
Ravens are so smart it’s actually kind of disconcerting, new study finds | Popular Science
I think ravens and crows are awesome.
Crows can snowboard.
Crows don’t forget a face.
Crows use cars to crack nuts.
The real question is will finding out that animals are intelligent change our view of the natural world and thus our behavior?
02019-02-24 | Nature
Designers don’t have power to stop extinction says Paola Antonelli
Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, the XXII Triennale di Milano, will bring together 120 architecture and design projects from the last 30 years that explore humankind’s fractured relationship with the planet.
The whole interview is worth reading, because it is truly perspective changing.
02009-02-18 | Art, Internet, Nature, Photos
Artist/Naturalist Nils Udo
It was toward the end of the dry season. It had not rained for months. The earth was concrete hard. We had to proceed most carefully so as not to damage the more delicate roots. Seven people dug, scraped and shoveled for a week. After the photograph, the hole was, of course, filled in.
– Nils Udo
