Wait, what's this? An actual post! Watch the trailer below for the British film, Pelican Blood, based on the novel by Cris Freddi. The main character is a birder or a twitcher as the case may be. Warning: Foul language.
Pelican Blood Trailer from TOBY COURLANDER on Vimeo.
For some reason, this just popped into my head today. It's a mnemonic I learned for tree and shrub identification: MADCAP HORSE. It is used to help you remember which trees and shrubs have opposite leaves. It works here in NJ at least.
Maples
Ashes
Dogwoods
CAPrifoliaceae - viburnums and honeysuckles*
HORSE Chestnut
*I think viburnums are now in the family Adoxaceae, so this may be a bit confusing
I'm sure there may be exceptions to this mnemonic, but it's worked for me.
If you're local to NY and free on September 11, you can join the Cricket Crawl. It's a citizen sciene survey of 7 common cricket and katydid species. The web site has a link to learn the calls of these 7 species, so that's useful, even if you can't attend.
My parents have a group of spiders living in a large hedge that separates their yard from the neighbor's yard. The spiders build dome-shaped nest and are possibly Filmy Dome Spiders (genus Neriene). I was able to get a photo of the web, but not the spiders themselves. My point-and-click camera wouldn't focus on them. The spiders are about an inch long including legs. There are several webs in about a 3 foot square area. The detail of the dome webs is incredible. The web shown below is about 8" across. The second photo is a zoomed in version of the first photo.
Note to self: Don't try to shoot a dragonfly. Check out the story here.
Douglas Brinkley, author of a new book about Teddy Roosevelt, was the guest on The Daily Show last night.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Douglas Brinkley | ||||
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