Author. Thinker. Other things.
The recent post I wrote about planetary issues was so popular that I've decided to do another one. Like before, it's hard to keep up, because things are changing rapidly. And, like before, much of the news - frankly - isn't great, although within that, there's reason for hope. Ocean Temperatures. The world's oceans have... Continue Reading →
In case you missed it, International Bat Appreciation Day was April 17. It's easy to overlook, crammed up against Earth Day on April 22 (today, in fact). The bat appreciation celebration was founded by Bat Conservation International (BCI) in 1982 to recognize the importance of protecting them. And they truly do deserve our appreciation. Far... Continue Reading →
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. But we’ve had warning - the decorations started going up in stores the day after Christmas. As a holiday, though, it almost keeps pace with Christmas. The first incarnation of the celebration may go back to Ancient Roman times, with the fertility festival of Lupercalia. St. Valentine himself could... Continue Reading →
The beginning of a new year often makes people philosophical, thinking about what has or hasn't worked the year before and what they resolve to improve. Most of this is positive, at least for me. Lately, though, and I imagine also for many, it's getting easier to let those thoughts become tinged with concern for... Continue Reading →
Manatees are hard not to love. It's not exactly that they're charismatic - slow and ponderous, their beady little eyes constantly on the prowl for the next snack. But nonetheless, they capture the hearts of many people, for their cuteness, playfulness, and tendency to appear in warm water of places like Florida, which gives people... Continue Reading →
In 1835, Charles Darwin wrote these worlds in the Voyage of the Beagle: “The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous population.” Chapter XVII: "Galapagos Archipelago" (second edition, 1845), entry for... Continue Reading →
I braved the over-friendly mosquitos to get some photos. You can also make out some of the many pond snails who hitchhiked in on the aquarium plants. In my last post, I wrote about my utter failure to build a successful frog pond. This was based on considerable research, and no experience whatsoever. What all... Continue Reading →
Last summer, listening to nights filled with frog calls from the trees around our house, I resolved to put in a frog pond in our garden. My hope was to encourage breeding and bring our property a tiny step further towards being a well-rounded habitat for native wildlife. A Gray Treefrog, one of the species... Continue Reading →
Mother and baby lion-tailed macaque. Image: Nagaraj Papanna 2017 A mother lion-tailed macaque cradles her baby against her, undisturbed by the camera crew in close proximity. Polar bears trudge across sludgy ice floes to find ringed seals in winter. A herd of pronghorn antelope bounds across the screen and condors fly high over herds of... Continue Reading →
ERIC DORFMAN 