Sudden Entropy

Physics was never my strong suite but I seem to remember that entropy refers to disorder in the Universe (and to the natural tendency of tha...

Tragedy on Mount Ontake

Japan sits at the intersection of four major tectonic plates, making that country especially prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic act...

Cuivre River State Park

The West Fork of the Cuivre River rises south of Benton City, Missouri, while its North Fork rises west of Bowling Green; these primary fork...

A Short Carefree Life

Walking to the University yesterday morning, I came across a young American toad, smashed on the pavement of our street.  Conceived during a...

Gray Wolves in North America

Natives of Eurasia, gray wolves (also known as timber wolves) spread to North America via the Bering land bridge during the Pleistocene Ice ...

Eagles in the Fog

Following a chilly night in Central Missouri, banks of dense fog enveloped Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area yesterday morning.  As the fog beg...

White Snakeroot

By late summer, white snakeroot begins to appear in our flower beds and along our wood borders in central Missouri, adorning the property th...

American Mountain-Ash

On our recent travels through southern Quebec, American mountain-ash trees were abundant, their clusters of bright red fruit adorning both r...

Reptile Season

Reptiles, the last major group of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) to appear on Earth, evolved in the Carboniferous Period, about 300 milli...

Pigeon Hawks

Merlins are small, powerful falcons that summer and breed across Alaska, Canada, the Pacific Northwest and New England.  Heavier and slightl...

Culture & Abuse

The domestic abuse that is causing a "crisis" for the NFL is certainly not unique to that organization.  Indeed, the scourge of ab...

Life in the Big City

After more than a week of exploring the spectacular landscapes and natural ecosystems of southern Quebec, we are back in Montreal, awaiting ...

West from Perce

Following our tour of Bonaventure Island, we headed west on Route 132, hugging the north shore of Chaleur Bay.We soon crossed the lowlands o...

Bonaventure Island National Park

Following a 24-hour delay due to rain and high winds, we climbed onto a crowded tour boat to Bonaventure Island National Park, off Perce, Qu...

Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins

On our last day at Forillon National Park, the winds had subsided and both Gaspe Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence were relatively calm.  We ...

Forillon's Spectacular Vistas

This morning, as yesterday's cold front pushed out to sea, bright, chilly sunshine bathed the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula and strong nort...

East to Forillon

On this cool, rainy day, we headed east on Quebec Route 132, hugging the south coast of the St. Lawrence Estuary.  Curving southeast along t...

Parc National de la Gaspesie

Driving east from Mantane, Quebec, one soon encounters side ridges of the Northern Appalachians, some of which end abruptly at the edge of t...

Parc National du Bic

Leaving Quebec City this morning, we headed east on Route 20 through a landscape of dairy farms and hay fields, broken by riverine woodlands...

Tale of Two Quebec Cities

Our trek across Quebec, Canada, has begun.  Yesterday afternoon, we landed amidst rain showers in Montreal, which sits in the scenic St. Law...

The Nature of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, destroys the function of motor neurons, nerves that connect...

A Focused Killer

Wildlife was not especially abundant or conspicuous at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, in central Missouri, on this hazy, late summer mornin...

The Laurentides of Quebec

The Laurentides, also known as the Laurentian Mountains, run across southwestern Quebec, from the area northeast of Quebec City to the regio...

The St. Lawrence River

The St. Lawrence River of eastern Canada flows northeastward for 744 miles, from the eastern end of Lake Ontario to the North Atlantic Ocean...