Category Archives: Nature

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Jim deMaine

from Gordon Gray – thanks! Also, for more about eclipses from the Smithsonian (via Ann Milam), click here.

Posted in environment, Nature | 1 Comment

Join FHIA for the 8th Avenue Tree Walk!

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Jim deMaine

Join the First Hill Improvement Association (FHIA) as we celebrate one of First Hill’s most valuable assets- the tree canopy! We’ll be going on a guided tour of 8th Avenue’s urban forest beginning and ending outside of Town Hall. We’ll all … Continue reading →

Posted in In the Neighborhood, Nature | 1 Comment

Meandering

Posted on August 4, 2017 by William Calvin

The Jurea River in the Amazon and its many abandoned meanders.  Note all of the pale green loops that have revegetated.  Spring floods break through the narrower of the necks, as has happened at the center of this picture.

Posted in Nature, Photography | 1 Comment

Sunrise in the east—do my eyes deceive me?

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Jim deMaine

 From Ann Milam  

Posted in environment, Nature | 1 Comment

Picturing the Eclipsed Sun with a Holy Leaf

Posted on July 28, 2017 by William Calvin

 With a total eclipse of the sun coming up on August 21 (92% covered in Seattle, 100% in Corvalis), it seems a good time to review how our ancestors might have predicted eclipses with simple methods.  I will borrow from … Continue reading →

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Cool new stamp showing Total Eclipse of the Sun

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Jim deMaine

This forever stamp changes with a touch of the finger – amazing technology! From Ann Milam and the USPS web site On August 21, 2017, tens of millions of people in the United States will have an opportunity to view … Continue reading →

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Sunglasses won’t cut it: How to keep your eyes safe during the solar eclipse

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From Ann Milam Jul. 25, 2017 at 7:27 AM A. Pawlowski TODAY The total solar eclipse is coming, and as the excitement builds, so does the worry that it will leave behind a nation of eye problems. On Aug. 21, … Continue reading →

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Here comes the sun

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Jim deMaine

“Eruptive events on the sun can be wildly different. Some come just with a solar flare, some with an additional ejection of solar material called a coronal mass ejection (CME), and some with complex moving structures in association with changes … Continue reading →

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Eclipse: Who? What? Where? When? and How?

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Jim deMaine

Total Solar Eclipse (information from NASA) On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights – a … Continue reading →

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Scientists get political, will march

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From the San Diego Tribune: By Joshua Emerson Smith Will Americans start seeing more lab coats at political rallies like the upcoming March for Science in the nation’s capital, San Diego and hundreds of other locations? While many scientists have … Continue reading →

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Anxiety in Eastern Washington Orchards

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From Crosscut: “In the Yakima Valley, nestled east of the Cascades, the fruit trees are waking up. Signs along State Highway 24 advertise openings for “piscadores,” or harvesters. At the Doornink Fruit Ranch in Wapato, expert hands prune hundreds of acres … Continue reading →

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Advocate of Seattle Tree Canopy

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From Barb W: Neighborhood Flyways Symposium: Partners for Seattle’s Tree Canopy Thursday, April 6, 2017, 2PM-7PM  Town Hall Seattle Seattle Audubon has developed a 4-year Neighborhood Flyways campaign to restore and connect the tree canopy across Seattle. Please join us as we discuss: … Continue reading →

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The first seen Earthrise

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From PT: “I’m sure you’ve seen the world’s most famous photograph, “Earthrise”. It’s been on the cover of TIME and on stamps. But did you know it almost didn’t happen. It was Christmas Eve, 1968.”

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The Booby love dance

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Jim deMaine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z922by9_6Fw From the national wildlife federation: “The birds are seabirds called blue-footed boobies. No surprise how they got the first part of their name! They got the “booby” part from long-ago Spanish explorers, who called them bobos, which means “dummies.” … Continue reading →

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Hearts from the beach art

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Jim deMaine
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Snow day near Skyline

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Jim deMaine
Posted in In the Neighborhood, Nature | Comments Off on Snow day near Skyline

Not all paper is created equal: an 800-year-old tradition of making it by hand

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Jim deMaine

From Aeon: “A tradition dating back to the 16th century, making paper by hand is still central to life in the village of Kurotani in the Japanese prefecture of Kyoto. The durable and versatile material, called washi, is crafted in a meticulous … Continue reading →

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Human Evolution Lectures 2016-2017 (Calvin)

Posted on January 21, 2017 by William Calvin

After each stand-up lecture, I am producing a scripted youtube version. Here are the ones so far, in order. They are video files, so you can pause and back up easily, should you want to think about something for a … Continue reading →

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Human population through time

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Jim deMaine

From Aeon: “From our origins in Africa, humans began migrating around the globe roughly 100,000 years ago. But it was only with the advent of agriculture about 12,000 years ago that our population started to swell to more than a million. This data … Continue reading →

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Coded vibrations and signal jamming – the secret language of the treehoppers

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Jim deMaine

From Aeon: “Treehoppers, a large family of insects found around the globe, live on plant branches, sucking nutrients from sap and frequently blending in with their surrounding to avoid the attention of predators. At first glance, the creatures appear rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Science and Technology | 2 Comments

Beautiful chemistry

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Jim deMaine

This video isn’t just for the scientists. “Eight types of beautiful chemical reactions are presented in this short video, including metal displacement, precipitation, chemical garden, crystallization, color change, bubbling reactions, dancing fluorescent droplets, and smoke. This video won an Experts’ … Continue reading →

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Aliens have arrived – White Pelicans!

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Jim deMaine

“It was like seeing aliens arrive,” says Ehler, a seasonal biologist with a degree in ornithology. “It’s unprecedented for them to be here, so something really unusual is happening.” White pelicans are different from brown pelicans, a more common summer visitor … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | 1 Comment