I just came across this video this morning. Apparently this is a very rare occurrence that happens when ice becomes brittle due to the sun and warm temps. At some point it reaches the state where ice first crystallizes and then splinters.
I think it’s beautiful and very strange. I’d love to experience it.
To see the video, CLICK HERE.
Today I learned that the world’s largest organism is….a mushroom.
People were aware of the fungus growing in Malheur National Forest in Oregon for quite some time, but it was investigated more closely by researchers when they realized that it was responsible for killing large groves of evergreen trees. When foresters cut into an infected tree they would find spreading white filaments, mycelia, which draw water and carbohydrates from the tree to feed the fungus. Researchers collected samples of the fungus from a widespread area and analyzed the DNA. A large sample of the specimens they collected turned out to be from a single organism. They estimate that it has been growing for about 2,400 years, covering 3.4 square miles. It’s name is Armillaria solidipes but it’s known as the “Humongous Fungus.”
You would not see a huge, looming mushroom in the forest where it grows. Armillaria grows and spreads primarily underground and the sheer bulk of this organism lies in the earth, out of sight. Occasionally, during the fall season, this specimen will send up golden-colored “honey mushrooms” that are the visible evidence of its hulking mass beneath. Scientists have not yet begun to attempt to estimate the weight of this specimen of Armillaria. Low competition for land and nutrients have allowed this organism to grow so huge; it possibly covers more geographical area than any other living organism.
I that’s pretty amazing.
It would be difficult to find better dance partners than Carolyn Scott dancing with Rookie. They dance together with such joy. You get the feeling that they live to dance.
There is actually a Musical Dog Sport Association. Click here to see more wonderful dance partnerships.
I’ve always felt that work didn’t seem so much like work if you could make it fun. Here is a delightful video in which a group put fun into walking up and down a flight of stairs. I love observing the smiles on the people’s faces.
This video is one of my favorites. It makes me laugh every time I see it because many people act like this when they encounter new technology. I love humor that makes fun of life.
This was a difficult week in the USA with the terrible bombs that went off during the Boston Marathon and then the horrific explosion at the fertilizer factory in West, Texas.
It’s not difficult to find the stories of tragedy and destruction that happened in the news on TV and the Internet. I thought instead I’d share the awesome acts of kindness that occurred during the week.
This is an amazing time-lapse photo of the night sky above Sleepy Hollow State Park in Michigan, taken by Vincent Brady.
It reminds me very much of Van Gogh’s painting called Starry Night.
The resemblance caused me to wonder if Van Gogh had ever seen a time-lapse photo of the stars and if it had influenced him to paint the picture. My interest stirred, I searched on the internet and learned that the first camera was invented in 1841 and Van Gogh had painted Starry Night in France in 1889. So it is possible.
These pictures brought up a memory of the first time I saw a time-lapse photograph of the stars. I was probably elementary school age. My Dad went out with the camera and set it up to photo the stars. When he showed me the picture, I thought it looked like it was raining light. I couldn’t believe those were stars, or that the stars could move so quickly and dramatically.
Think you can outwit a squirrel? Think again. This squirrel is better than James Bond.
I am not a person who cries at the drop of a hat. However, this video moves me to tears every time that I see it. The sweep of unsullied beauty, the variety of creatures, set to the song Creation Calls by Brian Doerkson, reminds me of the love and creative power of the God who made it all, and overwhelms me.
I had no idea what to expect the first time I watched this video so I was caught off-guard and burst into laughter. This video makes me laugh every time I see it. It’s such a delight. I love this video.
It reminds me that laughter is a gift. It also reminds me of the joy of being different, of dancing my own dance…but not necessarily when anyone is watching. Laugh.
Click here for the story behind this video: Interview
This is a stunning video of a time lapse view of the earth from the International Space Station. I’ve seen videos of the earth from the ISS before, but never one as beautiful as this. Words can’t describe it.
I think animals are absolutely fascinating. I never get tired of watching them and learning about them. For example, just look at this video of an octopus escaping from a boat. I never knew they could do such things!
I have always thought rocks were interesting. I don’t know all that much about them. I just mostly enjoy the interesting beauty of them. I could easily learn about rocks, but I have a very long list of things that I want to learn, and I can’t learn them all at once. Mostly I am a casual “enjoyer” of rocks. With the Internet at my fingertips, I learn about the rocks that interest me.
Like many children, I always picked up interesting rocks that I found. I remember when I was a child, a neighbor spread pretty white rocks on his family’s driveway. My friends and I admired the rocks, and then noticed that some of them were sparkling with gold. We excitedly whispered, “Do you think they know there is GOLD in their driveway? Should we tell them???” I think we showed one of the rocks to one of our older siblings, who informed us that it wasn’t real gold. It was FOOL’S GOLD, “Ha, ha, you guys are so stupid.”
My husband and I spent our honeymoon along Lake Michigan. We walked along the beach and, yup, picked up interesting rocks. We found several that were plain brown with white cracks. We thought they looked like smashed chocolates with the filling showing through the cracks. They looked much like the rocks in the picture at the right.
As I looked for a picture of the rocks we found on our honeymoon, I just discovered that they are Septarian Nodules, locally called Lightning Stones. They are found on beaches in the lower west side of Michigan. They consist of clay cemented onto an iron mineral called siderite. These concretions form in part through bacterial activity. They become fractured and the fractures fill with calcite brought in by ground water. The results forms lightning like patterns on a dark background. Awesome.
What caused me to write about rocks is this picture I came across on the Internet. This type of rock is called Banded Chalcedony. I thought it was absolutely beautiful–a stunning work of art. I learned that Chalcedony is the form of Quartz that is compact and microcrystalline. It occurs in many different forms, colors, and patterns, and many varieties have been used as gemstones since antiquity. In the gemstone trade, the term Chalcedony is often used specifically to describe the white, gray, or blue translucent type of Chalcedony, but its technical term includes all additional varieties.
Pretty cool, huh?
I Love To Go A Wondering 