FIVE SECOND STORIES

Scientists estimate that 150 million years from now, Saturn's rings will have mostly disappeared and may look like this.

 A kitten in Turkey was born with four ears, evidently the result of a recessive gene. Her name is Midas.

 

The black heron from Africa also known as a black egret uses a hunting method called canopy feeding — it uses its wings like an umbrella, creating shade that attracts fish. 

Tony Castro

Here's a group hard at work.

Werner Suter

꩜

Fun Fact:

London landmark Big Ben is actually the Great Clock of Westminster renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Big Ben refers to the Great Bell, part of the chiming mechanism within the clock.

David Bezaire

Many early European keyboards were made out of woolly mammoth ivory.

 ꩜

Fun vids:

Resurrection plant-from Wiki:

Selaginella lepidophylla (syn. Lycopodium  lepidophyllum), also known as a resurrection plant, is a species of desert  plant in the spikemoss  family. It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert of the United States and Mexico. S. lepidophylla is renowned for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation. Resurrection plants are vascular rooted plants capable of surviving extreme desiccation, then resuming normal metabolic activity upon rehydration. The plant's hydro-responsive movements are governed by stem moisture content, tissue properties and a graded distribution of lignified cells  affecting concentric stem stiffness and spiraling. During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball, uncurling only when exposed to moisture.

Wild evolution: Giant honeybees, including Apis dorsata (shown), send waves cascading across their open nests by flipping their abdomens upward in a coordinated motion. The behavior seems to deter bee predators such as hornets.

 

Wild evolution: the pink orchid mantis:

A microburst over Lake Millstatt, Austria:

 

How water behaves in zero gravity-an experiment devised by 10th grade Nova Scotian students for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS):

 

View of Earth taken by ISS astronaut going outside to make repairs:

 

A woman missing an arm has it replaced with a prosthetic vine/tentacle:

Bernoulli's principle: formulated by Daniel Bernoulli states that as the speed of a moving fluid increases (liquid or gas), the pressure within the fluid decreases. Although Bernoulli deduced the law, it was Leonhard Euler who derived Bernoulli's equation in its usual form in the year 1752.

 Elf girl hypnotizes a chicken

 

American artist David Popa renders charcoal images on ice floes:

Two bees work together to open a bottle of soda. "That's righty tighty, lefty loosey, right?"

Clever surrealism from a lad in UK:

 ꩜

4/17-we had a tornado warning ahead of a band of storms. The rotation was seen on radar East of Eaton Rapids, along with several reports of hail moving to the Northeast towards Mason. We were in no danger here. C's last class of the term was ended early. This system was followed by a blast of cold air with lows at night into the 30's.

4/20-we had flurries! Meanwhile, the grass is needing to be mowed but it is only 43°!

꩜

Critter news

C's new name for Bud is Buddy-roo. Buddy is rather generic used for kids, dogs, cats-she added the suffix reflecting his vocalizations. 

So, up to this point I have been referring to this squirrel with the truncated tail as Stubbs. But now, this one has nipples. Have I mis-gendered for some time? It knows me and will come dashing up for peanuts. Could it be Skye from a couple of years ago? Tis a mystery.

I believe I have finally ID'd our birch residents: this is a male House Sparrow. Upon research, I found that they like to nest in tree holes and once the eggs are laid, both genders take turns roosting.

Yesterday evening, I spotted Mr. Bun lounging in the grass on Benny's yard just beyond the East Garden. His grandson had been over in the afternoon to mow the lawn. Mr. Bun was enjoying having a snack on freshly cut grass and looked like he felt safe and relaxed.

 

The power of Spring: life has awakened and this energy is widespread and intense with all the growth and baby making. This is overwhelming to predators who feel this in their veins with every breath. 

Molls, in her final Spring, had a youthful spate of hunting. For a good week, she was bringing in nearly a kill per day, proudly displaying the corpses in the library for us to admire and praise her prowess. His Lordship has indulged in this predator bacchanalia as well with a bit of a twist. In a feline gesture of thankfulness, he has brought in kills, offering to share them with us by placing them under both of our desks. Sigh. While we reluctantly accept his predator instincts and allow him to be an inside/outside katter, still it is shocking to discover these partially eaten corpses. We're hoping this blood lust will abate as the season goes on. Meanwhile, we're going to cleanse the rooms with healing sage to honor the dead.

Diner News:

A black squirrel visited, the first since last Fall. 

Of course, Napoleon got into a fight with him:

After a couple of bouts, they settled down for a peaceful bite:

꩜

The Museum for the United Nations-UN Live has just announced the launch of Sounds Right, a global music initiative that enables nature to earn money from its own sounds. Earthrise, Earth Percent, and Spotify will also participate. Nature will be listed as a musical artist in its own right and will be awarded a percentage of profits from sales. Those royalties will first go to EarthPercent, a charity cofounded by ambient music pioneer Brian Eno. Then, an advisory panel made up of conservation experts, biologists, environmental activists, and Indigenous peoples will distribute the funds.