361 – The Breeze of Balance
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
2d ago
The wind can be a symbol of unity, freedom, eternity and balance. It is as true ecologically as it is metaphorically. As the winter winds swirl around you, take moment to appreciate the wind’s role in encouraging balance and unity in our sometimes stormy world. The post 361 – The Breeze of Balance first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum ..read more
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360 – Frost Cracks
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
1w ago
It wasn’t long before someone keyed in on an adorably squiqqly line snaking up the length of a tree. A frost crack! Long ago I learned that these cracks burst open with a noise like a rifle shot as a sunny day plunges into a frigid night. I couldn’t remember, though: was it the contraction of cooling wood, or the expansion of ice that caused the trunk to split? Both make sense. I pondered this as we hiked along, and also tried to spot more cracks throughout the forest. The post 360 – Frost Cracks first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum ..read more
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359 – The Sweetness of Bitter Cold
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
2w ago
You know it’s chilly when even Lake Superior can see their own breath. During a recent period of bitter cold, there was sea smoke drifting across the shining gray wavelets near Grand Marais, MN. Lake water had also formed ice on the rocks near shore, and we circumnavigated Artist’s Point to admire Nature’s sculptures. All the while, a small flock of mallard ducks bobbed on the waves in East Bay, behind the protective curve of Artist’s Point in Lake Superior. Then, driving home, something large swooped across the highway in front of us and several feet above the car. The blunt face and tapered ..read more
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358 – Second Grade Tracking Stories
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
3w ago
Murmurs of interest rippled through the classroom as I spread a rectangle of green felt on the floor at the front of the room. The murmurs became questions as I placed two lines of life-sized animal tracks, printed and cut out of white paper, onto the felt. When I finally invited the second graders to come up and gather around the felt, I was amazed by the almost instantaneous formation of a perimeter of kneeling children, totally focused on the scene. The post 358 – Second Grade Tracking Stories first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum ..read more
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357 – Operation Owl Rescue
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
1M ago
On Christmas Day, I found myself driving from Lutsen, Minn., to Duluth with a very unusual package next to my skis and duffle bag. To reassure ourselves that the owl was still alive, Christine opened one of the flaps on the box. Staring up at us were two giant yellow eyes nestled into satellite dishes of gray-patterned feathers that funnel sound into the owl’s hidden ears.  The post 357 – Operation Owl Rescue first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum ..read more
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356 – Wilson’s Warbler WOW
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
1M ago
Gathered around a bonfire on the Winter Solstice, the hostess asked us each to share one moment from the past year that made us go, “Wow!” Despite the fact that my year had included rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, my favorite “wow” moment happened on a river much closer to home. One lovely afternoon last May, I set out with a friend to paddle an upper section of the Namekagon River. Approaching a bridge, a burst of twittering, movement, and flashes of yellow in the alder shrubs drew my attention. Squinting, I thought I spotted a black cap on one of the tiny heads, and quic ..read more
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355 – A Black-capped Brain
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
1M ago
Chickadees cache as many as one hundred thousand food items per year. Not only do chickadees remember their seed cache sites, but they also remember details like which food items were the most favored and which seeds have already been eaten by them or by a thief. To support such an incredible memory, chickadees grow 30 percent more neurons in the fall when caching behavior peaks. Last April, researchers at Columbia University added to our understanding of chickadee memory. They discovered that chickadees create “neural barcodes” and essentially create their own system for inventory and checkou ..read more
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354 – A Stomach for the Holidays
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
1M ago
While digesting one of the many rounds of holiday feasts and leftovers, with plates of cookies in between, a headline caught my eye: “Big brains or big guts: Choose one.” As much as the post-holiday-dinner-brain-fog is real, I don’t love the implications of those options. Luckily, the article wasn’t about humans. It was examining birds in cold, highly variable habitats, and their struggle to survive. Essentially, birds have two options: spend energy maintaining a big brain that allows them to find high-quality food, or spend energy maintaining a large stomach that can make low-quality food suf ..read more
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353 – The Color Splash of Mountain-ash
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
2M ago
In a landscape of winter white, bits of color really pop. Recently I was on the North Shore of Minnesota when they received several inches of fluffy, wonderful snow. The forest seemed decked out for Christmas with clusters of bright red mountain-ash berries adding color in the woods along the ski trails, around town, and on the rocky shore of Lake Superior. Ruffed grouse appreciate them even more, I’m sure, as they perch in the dark purple twigs and nibble both berries and buds. And now the trees have given me a bit of a mystery to nibble on too... The post 353 – The Color Splash of Mountain-a ..read more
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352 – Red-eyed Vireo Nests
Cable Natural History Museum
by CNHM Admin, Cable Natural History Museum
2M ago
The lack of leaves in this “see-through season” reveals aspects of the landscape otherwise obscured. For example, “Check out that nest!” I exclaimed to my friend, and we admired the small cup suspended between a Y in the sugar maple twigs. The placement of the nest, plus the few pale strips of paper from a bald-faced hornet nest woven among grass, bark, and pine needles, told me that it was likely built by a red-eyed vireo. The post 352 – Red-eyed Vireo Nests first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum ..read more
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