Wonders of Nature

nearby seawall Images and video of Dane Street Beach in the early part of the storm.   Northeast Massachusetts coast. When we arrived half an hour later

Hurricane Katrina just before it hit the Gulf Coast There is a dark majesty to big storms as they remind us that for all our human advances, the force of nature remains paramount to our existence. We exist and are beholden to the supreme countenance of nature and always will be. Perhaps that is why so many people, including myself, are fascinated by storms. Through modern technology we can watch them grow into behemoths of destruction, and anticipate their arrival. We know they will bring devastation, destroy people's lives and property, and yet cannot help feel a rush of excitement as they approach. Lord of the winds! I feel thee nigh, I know thy breath in the burning sky! And I wait, with a thrill in every vein, For the coming of the hurricane!                -- William Cullen Bryant (1854) Is it part of the human condition... this macabre and primal wonder of storms? Blizzard of 78' My relationship with massive ...

W ho could fail to be amazed by any creature who loves to live in the harshest and even the deadliest of places; in a pond of scalding water, in toxic acid, and even under a blast of radiation. Scientist have coined the term extremophile to describe organisms adapted to severely inhospitable places. Although most are bacteria or microbes, not all are single cell. Have you ever heard of moss piglets, also known as waterbears? T he short, plump, millimeter-long creatures with four pair of legs and little clawed feet are called tardigrades.  Some are vegetarians and some are hunters; there are 500 different species in all. These guys are found in the wildest of places, like hot springs in the Himalayas, and will blow your mind with what they can do. Hot Spring in Yellostone National Park A tardigrade can enter a cryptobiotic state (a very bizarre, death-like state of life) allowing them to survive in a dehydrated condition and highly toxic environment, even for many year...

The Grand Canyon Traveling the long highways along the high, plateau deserts of the American Southwest, one can stop and visit places like Zion or the Grand Canyon and many other amazing National Parks. The beauty of the Colorado Plateau is most often portrayed by images of the Grand Canyon.  Visually, it captures you, as it did my son in this picture. And yes, it is a magnificent place, but I want to tell you, there is so much more to discover... Hiking in the Colorado Plateau is an experience of natural awakening; the area is a geological marvel dotted with bits of intriguing history and culture.  The area’s old nickname, Red Rock Country, comes from the brightly colored sandstone, long ago deposited by an ancient sea that cleaved North America in two. Lava flow at Hidden Crater Meteor Crater in Arizona The scales of time resonate within you, if only one stops to listen.  At the bottom of the Grand Canyon you can pick up rocks more than two billion ...

NASA Image, Aurora over Midwestern US I magine mysterious curtains of crimson wavering in the night sky, while in a fit of madness, electrical equipment goes haywire.  That’s what happened in early September of 1859.  Literally out of the blue, telegraphs everywhere began to spark and crackle.  There was so much energy inexplicably flowing through telegraph systems that they continued to transmit even after being turned off.   Some operators reported being severely shocked. In 1859, a particularly powerful stream of particles from the sun hit the earth straight on.  For two days, unusually brilliant auroras could be seen across the planet, even in the tropics.  More than a century later, we still don’t fully understand solar storms and the auroras they generate.  The Inuit people tell us the Northern Lights sing; only recently has science discovered they actually do. Every eleven years, solar flares become more frequent and can prod...