I doubt I'll ever tire of taking photos of the woodpeckers. But, my favorite will probably always be the ruffled feather.
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An artist could draw a picture of a rat... Next, double or triple or quadruple it in size, and increase the length of the most prominent two front teeth. Perhaps lengthen the front claws and flatten the tail so it could slap—and you'd have a North American beaver. At one time, fur-traders trapped them for their pelts. But times have changed and the animals have been left to their own devices in many places.  The beaver is the second largest rodent, and the tree photos taken are from my acreage. Whole trees have disappeared in a week's time, leaving only the stump.  One of the cutest sights I've even seen was a baby beaver cuddled against his mother at aquarium. He had a sliver of wood held in his hands like a pacifier, and was fast asleep as he took little gnaws from the wood. But, that was someone else's responsibility.  They never stop with one tree. And sometimes their trees don't fall straight, but tip over, teetering in the branches of other trees. Creating a hazard.  And they also change the landscape in other ways.  They created this ditch in the field. The trail is between the pond and the creek. Even the sides of the creek have been burrowed into. When walking in the area, I have to be careful not to step in one of the smaller holes that grass has grown over or drifting leaves have concealed.
So what are the advantages these giant rodents bring? Well, I'm sure Native Americans appreciated them at one time for their pelts or as a food source. But, seriously, they can be a pest today.  The Greeks believed in nine Muses. Nine. And each muse had her own specialty. These nine sisters didn't only give creativity to poets and storytellers but also to mathmaticians and scientists. If an area needed thought, one of the sisters was considered to hold sway over that area.
The great library of Alexandria, Egypt, was said to be dedicated to the muses. Imagine a single institution built for the purpose of increasing mankind's learning in all areas, and you have an idea of what the Alexandria library was like. Approximately 300 years B.C., the library flourished, and is pointed to as being the first place where scientists accurately understood the size of the earth. People were dedicated to discovering as much as possible about the world we live in. Even though they were able to understand the concept of creating a steam engine, they didn't make enough advances in printing. All books had to be created by hand on scrolls. Their muses were just as fleeting as ours are today. |
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