Many enjoy watching it snow, as the slow-motion quiet of falling flakes provides a peaceful, serene setting. A single snowfall offers a myriad of exquisite ice sculptures that are short-lived, often unnoticed, and worth a closer look. In his book, Snowflake, Kenneth Libbrecht discusses how to observe snow up close.
Reindeer are always of interest at Christmas, famously known as the mode of transportation for the Big Fellow on his annual trip around the world. But they are interesting enough animals to talk about for other reasons, so let me provide some interesting facts that you can impress your friends with at Christmas parties.
One part of the Christmas story that has intrigued scientists for centuries is the mysterious star in the east that the wise men or "Magi" followed, seeking a newborn king to worship. Matthew does not go into detail concerning the star but describes it as a miraculous occurrence.
While we in the U.S. are well entrenched with Christmas traditions, it is of interest to see how others on the planet celebrate this wonderful season.
By Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
The smell, look, and feel of a live tree creates a strong Christmas tradition that many folks (and me) cannot do without. But with that comes the concern of the tree drying out and becoming a fire hazard. There is an amazing number of water additives suggested for helping keep the tree fresh, but I have seen little research to back them up. Here are a few.
Geese are often perceived as awkward, rather silly creatures that waddle around honking off key. “He doesn’t have the sense of a goose” is an old put down. But I contend that geese have an intellect and team approach that humans would do well to emulate.
It’s a tradition in my family for the men to go rabbit hunting on Thanksgiving morning. Our native cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is the fourth most popular game animal in the United States, behind deer, turkey, and squirrel. They provide food and sport for humans and are an important food source for other animals higher on the food chain.
Plant life is very lush in our area. If the landscape is not paved or has a building on it, it has plants growing on it if it sits long enough. Which begs the question: How do plants spread if they are literally rooted to the ground? The answer is in seed design, and several ingenious mechanisms are used to allow plant embryos (seeds) to move away from the shadows of the mother plant.
Everyone has heard the old term “once in a blue Moon”, which is used to reference a rare event. The origin of the term comes from the fact that when a month has two full moons in it, the second one is called blue. This will occur this month appropriately on October 31, Halloween, so be sure and watch for it. This second full moon blue thing is not old folklore. A March 1999 issue of Sky and Telescope describes the term as recent occurrence.
Seeing the hills and valleys ablaze with color is a special Autumn event. Many variables influence how bright the colors will be, such as sunlight, temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions. These will cause color variations in a given tree from one year to the next or even differences in various portions of the same tree.