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The ever-present brush-tailed tree rats out my office window.

I've got tomorrow off. Any requests for the last snapshot of the calendar year?
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Eastern gray squirrel eating ice. (same individual as pictured here)
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Decomposed squirrel carcass amid the Pennsylvania smartweed.
urbpan: (moai)

When Yellowstone was created as a park it was before Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho were states. Being a big area full of edible animals and interesting mineral resources that were suddenly all protected by the U.S. government, it needed protection. That job went to the army, who did the job in tents until they got tired of camping in fifty below, so they put some buildings up.

Then the Parks Service was created, and protecting the park became the job of Park Rangers, so the army cleared out to kill Spaniards or something. The buildings became a little tourist village called Mammoth Hot Springs. This village has watered lawns and a lack of predators, which suits the local elk population just fine. They have given up migrating, and they hang out surrounded by tourists (being yelled at by Park Rangers) an awful lot of the day.

Plus there's the hot springs which are mind blowing. )
urbpan: (pigeon foot)
No one who grew up in the Pioneer Valley will be surprised that this is a Hampshire College study. Hey, if you can design your own curriculum, why not robot squirrels?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_on_sc/robotic_squirrel

in case the story goes away, or you don't want to follow the link )
urbpan: (boston in january)

Yesterday was perfect weather for tracking: a small amount of snow overnight, just below freezing during the day so that the tracks didn't melt and distort, and overcast so that photos of the snow didn't white out. Maggie is noticing something. What is it?

Read more... )

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