Well, hello there, two-oh-21! We thought you would never show up! Even if you get off to a bit of a wobbly start, we’re hopeful that you’ll spread your wings and take flight in no time.
Looking forward to your happy, brand-spanking-New Year’s ways. Thanks for coming!
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson
As this downside-up, outside-in year draws to a close, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dear readers, who made time to make room for nature at Weekly Wondrous. Whether you’re far or whether you’re near, we want you to know we’re so glad that you’re here!
The WW Year in Review
Bionic corals,
one trillion new trees,
shiny, cloud parasols,
resilient, smart bees
Precious koalas,
zen jellyfish,
Earth Day at 50,
and our planet’s last wish
The flower power of pigment,
New Guinea’s last singing dog,
a weirdly wonderful bird
with a mouth like a frog
Boogying monkeys,
bickering bats,
and the laser-sharp focus
of the eyes of big cats
Imported beavers,
cool hummingbirds,
a poet named Walser
who had the best words
Two baby whales’
happy, hopeful debut,
shy, stripey okapis
hidden from view
A mini-marsupial’s
Indigenous name,
the Tree of the Year’s
leafy, green fame
Hard-working scientists
in need of big hugs,
tool-using tamarins
skilled at harvesting bugs
Bringing back nature
to make cities sweet,
cooling the planet
with hoofed reindeer feet
Matching red pandas,
an owl all alone,
copycat dolphins,
and a tree-planting drone
A green, flightless parrot
that won the top prize,
a whale of a shark
with teeth on its eyes
Protecting the pollinators
to help flowers bloom,
saving the elephants
by carving out room
An urban sky garden,
robotic bees,
how nature heals sadness,
making music with trees
Keeping tabs on sea turtles,
the floral language of love,
miniature sky labs
tending whales from above
An egg-laying mammal
with an eerie blue glow,
and a fat city cat,
stalking mice in the snow
And that’s that!
From our Favorite World to yours, best wishes for an all-around kinder, gentler, seriously more splendid 2021!
LSF • WW • FWP
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
Whisper of running streams, and winter lightning.
T.S. Eliot
This holiday season, and always,
may you find comfort and joy
in the poetry of nature.
Wishing you peace.
LSF • WW • FWP
Because she’s been grumbling about her lack of internet exposure this year, we offer a rare glimpse of Stella, the FWP in-house, aspiring snow leopard, traversing the rooftop tundra in search of elusive subarctic mice. So fierce!
And in the spirit of the season, a little snow day glow.
Stay safe and warm out there—brrrr!
1.5-minute read
In the how-about-some-hopeful-news category, two baby bright spots have appeared in the Atlantic Ocean, helping to dispel a bit of the 2020 gloom. As recently reported by CNN, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced dual special deliveries. North Atlantic right whales, 13-year-old Chiminea, and 16-year-old Millipede have successfully given birth and been observed swimming alongside their newborn calves off of the coasts of Georgia and Florida.
At a time when the small remaining population of fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales is struggling to survive, these two youngsters are very welcome additions to their pod. According to an April 2020 study from universities in Denmark and Australia, the critically endangered species has been declining at a rate of about 1% a year. The two biggest threats to the rare animals are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. In one year alone, between November 2016 and November 2017, 17 juvenile and adult whales died from strikes and entanglements. More than 83% of North Atlantic right whales carry scars from getting caught in fishing gear.
Scientists aiming to come up with strategies to keep northern right whales safely in the swim have been analyzing how their health and environmental conditions compare to those of the growing populations of tens of thousands of Southern right whales (pictured above) in Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.
Although right whales can grow up to 50 feet long and weigh up to 140,000 pounds, North Atlantic right whales are significantly smaller, have less blubber, and are in poorer overall condition compared to southern whales. Researchers believe that the reduced body size is negatively impacting resilience and female whales’ ability to support their calves. Northern right whales only give birth every seven years, while southern whales reproduce about every three years. Not a single northern whale was born between 2017 and 2018.
The primary difference between the two populations is the location. Southern right whales live in remote environments while their northern relatives occupy heavily developed coastal areas with some of the world’s busiest and noisiest shipping lanes. As oceans warm due to climate change, North Atlantic right whales follow their food supplies into cooler waters and higher traffic areas leading to strikes. In light of the daily challenges to the animals’ existence, the birth of two healthy calves is all the more remarkable. Well done, ladies!
It’s clear that North Atlantic right whales are going to need additional support to increase their chances for survival. You can learn more about the ongoing efforts to keep one of the planet’s largest mammals out of harm’s way from the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.
1.5-minute read
As quirky creatures go, the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a pretty tough act to follow. The web-footed, duck-billed, paddle-tailed, venom-producing water dweller is one of only five egg-laying mammals on Earth. Although the ancient, semi-aquatic oddity has been paddling around the streams, lakes, and lagoons of eastern Australia for around 110 million years, researchers have only recently discovered another unusual platypus-ian trait—biofluorescence. Platypus fur contains special proteins that absorb sunlight and re-emit it as a blue-green glow under ultraviolet (UV) light.
Why the need for built-in brightness? Because the platypus is primarily active at night, scientists believe its biofluorescence could be an adaptation to the murky, low-light underwater world it inhabits. By absorbing rather than reflecting UV light, the fluorescent fur of the platypus may help keep it hidden from the prying eyes of predators with UV sensitive vision. Navigating in stealth mode could be especially important to the animal’s survival, given that it closes its eyes and ears underwater and can’t see or hear when trouble is headed its way.
While St. Nick’s reindeer could probably do with a break, it looks like he won’t be hitching a submersible sleigh to a team of platypuses anytime soon. Unlike Rudolph’s blinking, bright-red nose, the nocturnal animal’s blue-green fluorescence isn’t visible to the naked human eye.
You may also be interested to learn that the platypus doesn’t glow it alone. Fluorescent substances that emit light in shades of yellow, green, red, blue, and pink have also been found in the bones, fur, and skin of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other night critters, including the flying squirrel, which glows hot pink and the water opossum, which glows purple.
Blue platypuses, pink flying squirrels, and purple opossums! We might have to spring for a UV flashlight!
At Favorite World Press, we’re incredibly grateful for your continued support of our mission throughout this extraordinarily challenging year. You’re not just dedicated readers. You’re forward-thinking tree planters!
For every print or electronic book that you’ve purchased from the Tales of Total Kindness Series, there is a brand-new tree taking root that you’ve helped to plant with our partner, American Forests.
You made one more spot on our precious planet a little greener, cooler, and healthier, for people and wildlife, for generations to come:
You cleaned our air:
Trees absorb 17.4 million tons of air pollutants in the U.S., preventing 670,000 cases of asthma and acute respiratory symptoms annually.
You helped capture carbon:
Over its lifetime, one tree captures carbon emissions equivalent to driving a car 1,500 miles.
You kept it cool:
Trees reduce surrounding air temperatures by 9 degrees Fahrenheit and by 20 to 45 degrees under their canopy.
You helped restore forest habitats:
Forests provide food and shelter for eight out of ten land animals.
Wow, you’ve been busy! And you did all that without leaving your seat!
Thank you for reading. Thank you for planting. Thank you for caring.
Wishing you a safe and peaceful holiday.
With tree-mendous gratitude,
XO – FWP
1.5-minute read
We’ve got some exciting news about an important election! Forest & Bird, one of New Zealand’s leading independent conservation organizations, have announced the results of the 2020 Bird of the Year contest. The winner is—drumroll please—one of our favorite birds Down Under, and the world’s only flightless parrot, the charismatic, critically endangered kākāpō. Take a bow your royal feathered green-ness—no bird waddles quite like you!
Once widespread across New Zealand, the parrot’s populations have been decimated by habitat loss and the introduction of invasive predators. Although the number of kākāpōs has been increasing from a low of just 18 birds in 1977, according to the IUCN, there are currently only 209 on the planet.
The slow-moving, ground-dwelling kākāpō can live up to 95 years, given a fighting chance. Scientists continue to work intensely to save the rare species from extinction through captive breeding and identification and protection of safe habitat. The ultimate goal of conservationists is to establish a self-sustaining population of the beloved birds as part of a healthy island ecosystem.
You can learn more about the kākāpō and all of the beautiful Bird of the Year contestants here.
On a related creature-conservation note, if you’d like to help bee the change, through November 30th, non-profits, schools, and community organizations in the U.S. can apply to the Bee Conservancy through their Sponsor-A-Hive program for a custom bee house to host mason, leafcutter, and carpenter bees. While spring may seem a long way off, flowering plants in need of pollination will be popping up before you know it!
And since it is Monday, we leave you with a sweet, soothing dose of musical sunshine to help ease you into your week.
Wherever you are in the world, stay safe and be well.
From The Last Gold of Expired Stars, Georg Trakl:
In the evening, when the bells ring peace,
I follow the wonderful flight of birds
That in long rows, like devout processions of pilgrims,
Disappear into the clear autumn vastness.
Wandering through the dusk-filled garden
I dream after their brighter destinies
And barely feel the motion of the hour hands.
Thus I follow their journey over the clouds…
2-minute read
When it comes to growing flowers on your patch, are you partial to fiery reds, eye-popping pinks, cool blues, or vivid violets? Maybe all of the above? If you’re digging into the hopeful fall task of planting bulbs and perennials in anticipation of shades of spring to come, you may be interested to learn that there is more to flower color than meets the eye. How flowering plants keep on doing that beautiful blooming thing they do is partly owing to the protective power of pigment.
According to new research from Clemson University, petal pigmentation has been rapidly increasing in response to the stress of environmental change, helping pollen-producing parts of flowers to stay in good working order. This built-in mechanism for adjusting color intensity protects pollen from damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation and higher temperatures, which can negatively impact plant reproduction.
Over the course of the 20th century, a decline in ozone led to more UV rays hitting the Earth’s surface. Flower petals can either absorb or reflect radiation to shield exposed or enclosed pollen-filled anthers from overexposure to UV. When ozone decreases and radiation increases, the Clemson research found that one way flowering plants with exposed anthers reduce UV stress is by increasing radiation-absorbing pigmentation. The study examined 42 species of plants on three continents over a period of eight decades and found that petal pigmentation has been increasing by about 2% a year.
Why the fuss about a bump up in petal pigment? More highly pigmented petals don’t just hang around looking pretty. By reducing the reflection of radiation onto the exposed anthers, the flower power of pigment increases resilience to changes in radiation so that pollen remains fertile and the plant can reproduce and bloom on. Learning more about how flowering plants adapt to environmental stress so when growing gets tough, the tough keep growing will be critical to maintaining the health of green living things for the benefit of both people and pollinators.
If you’ve tucked in the last of your tulip bulbs and poppy seeds and now you’re feeling the urge to go big, you can find out about the how, what and where of tree planting from our pals at American Forests.
“Kindness is contagious. Pass it on.”
April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851
Graveyard at the Church of the Intercession in the Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum at 155th Street and Broadway.
Yeah, okay, but can you do this?
100 blog posts = sparklers + cake mountain!
Strenuously exercising on the inside!
“It’s going to be alright!”
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