Encyclopedia of Life

If you haven't heard yet leading scientific institutions are planning to put together what will be known as The Encyclopedia of Life. It will be "an unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth. For the first time in the history of the planet, scientists, students, and citizens will have multi-media access to all known living species, even those that have just been discovered." This is going to be amazing! Check it out here.

Infertile Purple Martin Eggs

There are times when purple martins lay infertile eggs and some how the female knows which one out of the clutch is infertile and will push it out of the nest. Some believe that they can somehow "feel" which ones are infertile. Years back a friend had built for me a wooden T-14 house which had removable trays allowing for an easier nest check. I had found that one egg out of a clutch of four had been rolled out of the nest to the front of the tray, so I decided to test this theory. I took the egg and made a slight mark on it with a pencil and placed it back into the clutch. Five days later when I performed another nest check I once again found an egg that had been rolled out of the nest- in fact it was the egg that I had marked. So whether it is by feel or some other means they do know if the egg is infertile. The one in the photo is one such egg that I found today while checking my gourds. BTW, the egg count for today was 62!

The Dreaded Deer Fly

The deer fly- one of the most despised, annoying little creatures to ever exist on God's green earth. I would rather come to blows with a pissed off hourde of Texas-sized mosquitoes than to deal with just one of these pests. Once they find you they are persistent in their quest to sample your blood. One person was quoted as saying that "Deer flies are vicious painful biters that are relentless in their pursuit of blood to the point of a meal or death". Forgot bug repellents because they are not duped by this. I've read that those containing DEET will ward them off, but I beg to differ. I did come across an interesting product called the "Deerfly Patch". The ad says "It was discovered that deer flies typically buzz around your head in circles, lighting momentarily several times before biting. They attack moving objects from behind and high."
You place this flesh-colored patch on the back of your cap and as interested deerflies come to feast they land on its sticky surface and become trapped. There's a video showing how 21 deerflies were collected during a walk through the woods. Check it out.