Under a spreading chestnut tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a might man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands ——The Village Blacksmith, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1912. The American chestnut was once a widely distributed, magnificently large deciduous tree […]
American chestnut (Castanea dentata) Read More »
I marvel how the fishes live in the sea – Why as men do a-land, the great ones eat up the little ones. William Shakespeare. Pericles, Prince of Tyre Really – what would you do if you pull this thing into the boat? They are in the sculpin superfamily, Cottoidae, a wide-ranging marine and freshwater fish
Big Mouth Sculpin (Hemitripterus bolini) Read More »
His clothes had been made of some stuff that was brown holland probably, but it was covered with patches all over, with bright patches, blue, red, and yellow—patches on the back, patches on the front, patches on elbows, on knees; coloured binding around his jacket, scarlet edging at the bottom of his trousers; and the
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) Read More »
He lay with his head against its side. Its ribs lifted and fell with its breathing. It rested its chin on his hand. It had a few short hairs there that prickled him. He had been cudgeling his wits for an excuse to bring the fawn inside at night to sleep with him, and now
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginiana) Read More »
They are seen in numbers varying from a dozen to many hundreds, tumbling over the surface of the sea, or making arching leaps, plunging again on the same curve, or darting high and falling diagonally sideways upon the water… accompanied by a report that may be heard at some distance.” C.M. Scammon, 1874. These are sleek
Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchos obliquidens) Read More »