Vet variety Apr 8, 2014
It's astounding to me that you can bring an animal -- pretty much any animal -- to a vet and expect a reasonable degree of veterinary knowledge.  Human doctors specialize in one species.  Vets specialize in entire classes of organisms.  If a vet can deal with a parrot, a rabbit, and a turtle on the same day, that covers pretty much half the animal kingdom. #nature
Snow bacteria Apr 1, 2014
Snowflakes form around particles called nucleators, which can be anything from dust and soot to bacteria.  Some research showed that as much as 85% of nucleators in some regions are bacteria.  Maybe that's another reason why people say you shouldn't eat snow.  (via Radiolab) #nature
Compost magic May 8, 2012
I'm kind of in awe of compost.  Somehow, as if by magic, I'm able to pile a bunch of leaves, grass clippings, vegetable parts, rotten fruit, rabbit droppings, coffee grounds, and newspaper, and after a certain amount of time, I'm left with simple, healthy dirt.  I understand the idea of decomposition, and I realize it's mostly just worm poop, but I still find this process immensely fascinating. #nature
Ovipositor Dec 5, 2011
The cave crickets that live in my crawl space and jump onto my head each time I enter or exit have this giant pointy thing on their tail end that looks like a stinger.  It frightens me, to say the least.  After some research, it turns out it's called an ovipositor, which is a body part certain insects use to place their eggs in the ground.  On crickets, it's a non-violent appendage.  On other insects, like bees and wasps, it's a stinger. #nature
Turkey sex Nov 21, 2011
The Broad Breasted White breed of turkeys is the most common commercially-raised turkey in the US.  But there's a problem: 
These birds have shorter breast bones, exceedingly large breasts, are often very fat, and have shorter legs than "standard" turkeys, rendering them unable to breed without human assistance (typically via in vitro fertilisation).
Unless you intentionally buy a heritage breed for three times the price, this is the turkey you eat at Thanksgiving.  (via Freakonomics)

Slightly related:  Corn sex, grape sex #nature
Resomation (2) Aug 26, 2011
It has been suggested (via Neatorama) that the most environmentally-friendly thing to do with your body after you die is to liquefy it by means of an alkali salt bath, which is called resomation.  Casket burials use embalming fluids that leach into the ground, and cremations utilize fossil fuels for combustion.  Or as one commenter added:  "I remember reading [about] a method where the corpse is put in a tub full of crabs, who eat it."  Response:  "Then do all your friends & family gather a week later for a crab boil?" #nature
Uranusquake Aug 26, 2011
Uranusquake:  An earthquake on the planet Uranus.  Actually, that's not true.  It's still called an earthquake. #nature
Paria Canyon Aug 25, 2011
This is Paria Canyon in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona:



This picture was found online somewhere.  Someday I'll go here. #nature
People tagging Aug 18, 2011
As we drove into a state park recently, there was a sign posted that said something along the lines of how wild animals were tagged for tracking purposes.  It was likely related to animal-people interactions, which in turn are often related to people feeding animals even though there are plenty of signs forbidding it.  Wendy proposed that they should instead tag the people who illegally feed wild animals, and refuse then entrance to the park.  I'd say that's pretty reasonable. #nature
Baby rabbits Aug 5, 2011
Here are two pictures of baby rabbits found on the internet. 



#nature
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