Author: A. Rentner

Predators in our midst

At the top of the food chain in the natural world are the apex predators. They are the lions and leopards in Africa, the tigers in Burma, the jaguars in Brazil and big cats generally where they exist worldwide. Some say human...

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A muted voice no longer

Much of the flora and fauna in North America is not native to our ecosystem but was imported from Europe. Rock pigeons came from England with the first colonists in the 17th century and spread west with the pioneers. In 1851 an...

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Mugwort sachet keeps demons away

Despite what one might read on a blabosphere post, mugwort has nothing to do with a scaly skin blemish that shows up on a jailhouse booking photo. California mugwort (Artemesia douglasiana) is a fast-growing shrub often found in...

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The big bee is a thief

Philologists (those who study b’s) would go bonkers without the letter b: no more begat, begin, beguine or buckminsterfullerene. Melittologists (those who study bees) would be equally upset because there would be no bees (OK,...

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