The view from airplanes is a gift we too often take for granted. C.J. Cherryh wrote, in Visible Light (1986), that when the plane takes off, she thinks of the countless generations of people from before the invention of airplanes who would have so loved to fly. I have remembered that vision for decades. We grow jaded, and we shouldn't.
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| the world below |
Cheatgrass, also known as downy brome and downy chess, Bromus tectorum (grass family Poaceae) is a very small grass that has become a major weed. Generally we think of problems increasing as plants get bigger. Individual plants of cheatgrass are almost too small to notice. It makes up for that in numbers.
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| patch of cheatgrass along a trail (red) |
Hummingbirds are a strictly New World group of birds, some 375 species (family Trochilidae) found from Alaska to southern Chile and Argentina. They are the main group of birds that pollinate in the New World. Fast and often brightly colored, people love to watch them. They typically hover while probing flowers for nectar, a fascinating sight.
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| hummingbird pollinating Monarda |