Tuesday, August 17, 2010

BBC News - Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'

BBC News - Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'


I am of course familiar with the story that the mammoths were destroyed by ice-age hunters, who hunted them to extinction. It turns out that the warmup after the ice ages helped the spread of forests, which reduced the grazing for mammoths.

When you think about the old story, there are questions. Native Americans never hunted out the buffaloes or any other game animal they hunted. Why should their ancestors have done that?

As a forester, I always think of any increase in forest area as something to be desired. But it doesn't seem to be if you are a woolly mammoth!

heirloom tomatoes

This summer we planted some new variety of tomatoes, that we didn't
know much about. One was cherokee red, pictured here.
When ripe, they are dusky red. At first I wasn't sure they were ripe, but they definitely were, They are very tasty tomatoes that I would definitely grow again.

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Willows

I usually walk in Norlo Park every day, sometimes twice, with the dog. These willows get only minimal trimming. I think they just trim the low-hanging branches. Yet, they always look like they are sculpted. These trees are doing great near by the edge of the stream.

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Photo Friday Challenge: Crooked


These are redwoods in the Arcata Community Forest Park in California. Old redwood forests tend to have a lot of leaning and fallen trees.
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