Sorry, the one I had here did not work.... This one does!
:o)
Friday, February 23, 2018
Just stuff.....
.... of pics that I never posted from this past month...
One of the girls made that teeny, tiny egg - there was nothing in it:
Cut trees on a logging truck:
Cows:
Painted on a the side of a barn:
A nearby stream rushing with water from melted snow:
More cows:
"India" rolling in the snow:
A really, really cool barn:
The roof of that really, really cool barn:
The local airport.The plane on the left has cement barriers around it -
guess he didn't pay his parking fees!
And still more cows:
Sometimes the town goes overboard cutting the trees:
Had rain and snow flurries all day yesterday - only went outside to take care of the gang.
I hope the weather next week will be nice!
:o)
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
The Hurdy-Gurdy
I've heard of it, but have never seen one before - Boy! Have I been missing out on a great sound!
Tons of detailed information about this wonderful instrument here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy-gurdy
More very interesting info here:
http://hurdygurdy.org/pdfs/hghistory.pdf
And if you really want one, you can build a working model yourself:
Tons of detailed information about this wonderful instrument here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy-gurdy
More very interesting info here:
http://hurdygurdy.org/pdfs/hghistory.pdf
And if you really want one, you can build a working model yourself:
https://ugearsmodels.com/hurdy-gurdy/index.html
:o)
The sun! The sun!
After a foggy morning, the sun finally came out!
The gang was let out of the pen an wandered all over the place!
The gang was let out of the pen an wandered all over the place!
This is Louise - she ALWAYS looks startled!
'
First time this year without a blanket!
Just some pine cones - 4 of 'em on a branch:
Those silos belong to the riding academy down the road - when the
leaves come on the trees, I won't be able to see them:
Still patches of snow left:
Charlie & Betty looking for goodies:
Was good to finally get to stay outside for a while - don't know how long this break in the weather is going to last, but I'm sure going to take advantage of it!
:o)
Monday, February 19, 2018
Mole crabs
What an interesting little creature!
by Bob Thomas
It is easy to walk down a pretty sand beach, with waves sloshing back and forth, and imagine that there is little life along the edge of the sea. There is no vegetation growing – there is just sand.
Actually, the margin of the sea is alive with a host of organisms who have figured out how to exploit the unique environment and its seemingly invisible wealth of organic foods.
One of the masters is the mole crab, Emerita portoricensis. Not the large edible variety to which we are accustomed, this inch or so long critter looks more like a shiny bullet, being smooth shelled and tapered at both ends. They do not bite or pinch humans, and they cannot walk. Their limbs are adapted for burrowing and swimming.
Mole crabs make their living in what is called the surf zone where waves die as they move up the beach face, then slide back into the sea. When there is no water, the sand seems impenitrable. A person can walk across it and not sink. When the water washes across the sand, any slight aggitation easily separates sand particles and the sand becomes a thick fluid. This is called thixotropy, and allows access to the sand as a place to hide as well as a place to dine.
This is where the mole crab excells. As the water momentarily covers the sand, mole crabs appear in the water, swim about frantically looking for a new dining room, and disappear beneath the surface, leaving only their antennae exposed on the surface to funnel food particles into their mouths. If one squats and looks down the beach face, the antennae appear as little Vs along the sandy surface.
Mole crabs normally feed on plankton and other small organisms in the water, but they are also known to eat the toxically armed tentacles of Portuguese man o’ war, a jellyfish whose stings are very painful to humans..
Mole crabs are an excellent example of an animal that has perfectly adapted to living in a specialized environment. Be sure to look for them on your next visit to the beach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Delta Journal
by Bob Thomas
It is easy to walk down a pretty sand beach, with waves sloshing back and forth, and imagine that there is little life along the edge of the sea. There is no vegetation growing – there is just sand.
Actually, the margin of the sea is alive with a host of organisms who have figured out how to exploit the unique environment and its seemingly invisible wealth of organic foods.
One of the masters is the mole crab, Emerita portoricensis. Not the large edible variety to which we are accustomed, this inch or so long critter looks more like a shiny bullet, being smooth shelled and tapered at both ends. They do not bite or pinch humans, and they cannot walk. Their limbs are adapted for burrowing and swimming.
Mole crabs make their living in what is called the surf zone where waves die as they move up the beach face, then slide back into the sea. When there is no water, the sand seems impenitrable. A person can walk across it and not sink. When the water washes across the sand, any slight aggitation easily separates sand particles and the sand becomes a thick fluid. This is called thixotropy, and allows access to the sand as a place to hide as well as a place to dine.
This is where the mole crab excells. As the water momentarily covers the sand, mole crabs appear in the water, swim about frantically looking for a new dining room, and disappear beneath the surface, leaving only their antennae exposed on the surface to funnel food particles into their mouths. If one squats and looks down the beach face, the antennae appear as little Vs along the sandy surface.
Mole crabs normally feed on plankton and other small organisms in the water, but they are also known to eat the toxically armed tentacles of Portuguese man o’ war, a jellyfish whose stings are very painful to humans..
Mole crabs are an excellent example of an animal that has perfectly adapted to living in a specialized environment. Be sure to look for them on your next visit to the beach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:o)
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