Where to go, in real life or online, for best nature facts

  • By Sharon Wootton
  • Friday, July 26, 2013 2:52pm
  • Life

If I lick a frog or toad, what will happen? What happens if you freeze a frog? Why do frogs pee on you when you pick them up? How did bullfrogs get to Washington? What are caecilians?

To find the answers to these and many other questions in the herpetology field, go to www.burkemuseum.org/herpetology/question, where Burke Museum experts have posted the answers.

If you can’t wait to find out the answer to the last question, caecilians are long, slender limbless amphibians that look like a cross between a worm and a snake.

Still one of my favorite websites is www.sciencedaily.com. Recent headlines: Current Efforts Will Not Save the World’s Most Endangered Cat, Common Stem Cell in Heart and Lung Development Explains Adaptation for Life on Land, Purple Sunlight Eaters, Best Romantic Singers are Male Bats, and Shorebirds Prefer a Good Body to a Large Brain.

How can you resist?

Closer to home, the Slater Museum of Natural History in Tacoma has a great nature blogger in Dennis Paulson, its former director and an expert on biodiversity and biology of dragonflies and birds, and who is researching Northwest and neotropical butterflies.

His Northwest Nature Notes blog (latermuseum.blogspot.com) is a visual walk through nature, a combination of many photographs as well as text on a broad set of topics, including accipiters, alder, antlers and ants; chlorophyll, coots and crabs; eggs, feathers and goldeneyes; lava, lek, and lemmings; taproots, tiger beetles and toads.

His latest blog is “‘Tis the Season to Eat Ducklings.”

Or check out Living Wilderness (www.livingwilderness.com) for Kevin Ebi’s nature photography. He occasionally posts on his blog; the most recent ones are on teleconverters, manual exposure and “one scene, infinite possibilities.”

Hooks and bullets, plus: The 16th annual weekend workshop for women interested in a variety of outdoors skill will be held Sept. 13 to 15. The workshop is coordinated by Washington Outdoor Women, an outreach program of the Washington Wildlife Federation.

Instructors will lead 20 different classes on skills such as archery, fly fishing, kayaking, big-game hunting, map and compass reading, survival skills, and outdoor photography.

Workshop participants must be at least 18 years old and must have a current Washington recreational fishing license to participate in the fishing and fly-fishing sessions.

The workshop fee of $250 includes the weekend’s instruction, lodging, meals and use of all necessary equipment. Partial scholarships, provided by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, are available for first-time participants.

To learn more or to download the registration form, visit www.washingtonoutdoorwomen.org or contact Ronni McGlenn at CQ425-455-1986.

On the bookshelf: “The Life of a Leaf” ($35). Readers rarely see do-it-yourself experiments in a book written by a professor emeritus, but that’s what Steven Vogel surprisingly offers in “Leaf.”

Vogel’s premise is that if leaves could talk, they’d tell us much about our immediate physical environment and what leaf designs have parallels to our own architecture.

How does a leaf stay unfrozen? How does a tree raise water or sap without any moving parts? How does a leaf stay outstretched, and why do dead trees retain their leaves for months? How does an object get hotter than the air during a warm day yet cooler than the air temperature with a clear night sky?

The answers are here.

Go to www.press.uchicago.edu/sites/vogel/index.html for some companion demonstrations.

Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword@rockisland.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Everett P. Fog, 15, in front of an Everett mural along Colby Avenue on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Hello, Everett! No escape when your name is same as the town

Everett P. Fog, 15, sees and hears his first name wherever he goes. His middle name is also epic.

Jared Meads takes a breath after dunking in an ice bath in his back yard while his son Fallen, 5, reads off the water temperature on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Chill out: Dive into the cold plunge craze

Plungers say they get mental clarity and relief for ails in icy water in tubs, troughs and clubs.

Schack exhibit to highlight Camano Island watercolorists

“Four Decades of Friendship: John Ebner & John Ringen” will be on display Jan. 16 through Feb. 9.

XRT Trim Adds Rugged Features Designed For Light Off-Roading
Hyundai Introduces Smarter, More Capable Tucson Compact SUV For 2025

Innovative New Convenience And Safety Features Add Value

Sequoia photo provided by Toyota USA Newsroom
If Big Is Better, 2024 Toyota Sequoia Is Best

4WD Pro Hybrid With 3-Rows Elevates Full-Size

2025 Toyota Land Cruiser (Provided by Toyota).
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser revives its roots

After a 3-year hiatus, the go-anywhere SUV returns with a more adventurous vibe.

Enjoy the wilderness in the CX-50. Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda CX-50 Adds Hybrid Capability to Turbo Options

Line-Up Receives More Robust List Of Standard Equipment

Practical And Functional bZ4X basks in sunshine. Photo provided by Toyota Newsroom.
2024 bZ4X Puts Toyota Twist On All-Electric SUV’s

Modern Styling, Tech & All-Wheel Drive Highlight

Photo provided by Mazda USA Newsroom
2025 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus Hatch Delivers Value

Plus Functionality of AWD And G-Vectoring

2025 Mazda CX-90 Turbo SUV (Provided by Mazda)
2025 CX-90 Turbo models get Mazda’s most powerful engine

Mazda’s largest-ever SUV is equipped to handle the weight, with fuel efficiency kept in check.

Provided by Bridges Pets, Gifts, & Water Gardens.
Discover where to find the best pet supplies in town

Need the perfect store to spoil your furry friends? Herald readers have you covered.

VW Jetta SEL is a sedan that passes for a coupe. Photo provided by Volkswagen U.S. Media.
2025 VW Jetta Offers Greater Refinement, Technology And Value

A Perfect Choice For Small Families And Commuters

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.