Category Archives: Animalia

All animals and general biology

Living or Livid with Nature?

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Roger Gosden

We weren’t always doggedly efficient extirpators—of insects for eating crops and stinging, of moles for spoiling perfect lawns, of predators for preying on livestock, and so on and on … Not so long ago, humans tolerated annoying wildlife with a … Continue reading →

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Alpha in a Wolf Pack is a Fallacy

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Roger Gosden

Studies of wild wolves reveal family and without pecking order Continue reading →

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Virginia is for Oyster Lovers

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Roger Gosden

“Why then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open.” Thus, Shakespeare gave us a new idiom in the Merry Wives of Windsor repeated ever since, and Oscar Wilde wielded it with customary wit: “The world was my … Continue reading →

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About Giant Eggs & Double Yolks

Posted on June 27, 2020 by Roger Gosden

This week’s gift from a neighbor’s chicken coop included one extra-large egg. After hard-boiling and cracking open we found a double yolk, which some say is a good omen on our wedding anniversary. The following conversation over a meal would … Continue reading →

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The Dawn Chorus—Requiem for a Birder

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Roger Gosden

The last hour of the night seems darkest after tossing and turning to wake from strange dreams with a pounding heart. But there is a spell that can cast off the pall if we listen at an open window in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animalia, Environment, Nature | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments