Author Archives: Roger Gosden

About Roger Gosden

A British/ Canadian/ American scientist specializing in reproduction & embryology whose career spanned from Cambridge to Cornell's Weill Medical College in NYC. Married to Lucinda Veeck, the embryologist for the first successful IVF team in America. They retired to Virginia, where he became a master naturalist and writer affiliated with William & Mary. He also writes on Substack at What’s Hot in Fertility? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Gosden

Bee Swarm or Split

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Roger Gosden

Beekeeping is like farming. All livestock—whether large animals with four feet or tiny ones with six—need food, water, shelter, and sometimes medication. Like an old farmer checking his herd in a meadow, I watch our ‘girls’ flying back and forth between … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee-line | Tagged bee hive, bee swarm, colony collapse disorder | Comments Off

Snake Hole

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Roger Gosden

A snake has taken up residence in one of our bluebird boxes. Every morning three feet of coiled and blackened steel hose sunbathe on its roof. Four species of snakes call our yard home. This one, the Eastern ratsnake, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Animalia | Tagged Bluebird, D.H. Lawrence, Jungle Book, nestbox, ratsnake | 1 Comment

Citizen Science

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Roger Gosden

At one time all scientists were amateurs. Most were gentlemen with private incomes like Charles Darwin or clergymen like the Rev. Gilbert White whose church stipend enabled him to spend spare time rambling in the Hampshire countryside. There was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged Birding, cherry tree, climate change, cocorahs, growing season, humming bird, meteorology, Monticello, National Cherry Blossom Festival, Patrick Moore, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, weather, Williamsburg | Comments Off

Maungatautari

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Roger Gosden

There’s an Isle, a green Isle, set in the sea… If you guessed Jean Blewett wrote this poem for Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day you are right. But the first line is also a good fit to New Zealand’s green … Continue reading →

Posted in Animalia | Tagged conservation, kakapo, kiwi, Maungatautari, naturalist, New Zealand | Comments Off

Wings

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Roger Gosden

This post is scheduled to go online while I am flying over the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Los Angeles. It is a journey of 10,500 kilometers (6,500 miles) and about 12 hours. That’s a long flight, although short … Continue reading →