What do Spanish moss, Jack Daniel’s No. 10, Yoknapatawpha County, and Darwinian evolution have in common? The first three conjure up images of the American South, but it is Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish moss) that makes us think of expansive white columned mansions and giant southern live oaks. You’ve seen these trees, growing in the shape… Continue reading
Summer has arrived in Atlanta. If high temperature, sweltering humidity, the Peachtree Road Race, and mosquitos were not enough, bullfrogs and fireflies treat us to a visual and auditory display on a summer evening. We have all heard bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) and seen the blinking of fireflies (Photuris lucicrescens) on a summer evening. Besides being… Continue reading
The association between light skin color and high social status has a long and distinguished history in Western society. In Victorian England, light skin was venerated and considerable effort was expended to keep women, particularly the upper class, out of the sun. Women in the Victorian period went to great lengths to avoid sun exposure… Continue reading
The recent southerly shift of the polar vortex and the concomitant plunging temperatures prompted me to think about how we deal with cold weather. We have all heard the expression “Cold hands, warm heart,” in reference to an individual’s disposition or personality, but what about response to cold weather? Recently much of the US experienced… Continue reading
Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Eastern Samar province of the Philippines, on the southern tip of Samar Island on November 7, 2013. When the storm departed, thousands of people were dead, millions displaced, and there was massive property damage. News about this natural disaster was everywhere. Aid organizations quickly sprang into action, and urgent… Continue reading