An Old Shell: Poems of the Galapagos, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Tom Pohrt, is a collection of 34 poems in which Johnston pays tribute to the wonder that is the Galapagos. I'll begin at the end of the book and share an excerpt from the author's note.
After reading about them for a lifetime, in 1995 I visited the Galapagos. When you stand in this place, wild and vast and stark, looking out over the endless and shining skin of the sea, you hear the flutter and roar of Creation, feel the stir of your own beginnings upon the delicate chain of life. Here, you are at the core of the mystery and poetry of Nature.
These islands symbolize the peril that the entire earth faces. We can take it apart, sea turtle by sea turtle, shell by shell, but we cannot put it back together.
Meanwhile, as we struggle with our humanity, the sun bakes their old backs, the wind caresses the salt grass, the waves wash the Galapagos.
The book opens with a two-page map of the islands. The poem topics include the sea, the islands, animals, plants, and more. Here is one of my favorites.
Small White Flowers
At night the lava cactus blooms
In small white flowers. Its faint perfume
Floats upon the quiet dark
Along the lava still and stark
Where lone owl, old cold shadow, glides
While rice rat hugs the dark and hides.
When dawn comes up and darkness goes
Silently the petals close.
Evolutionists Flock To Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain
by Snakebyte_XX
Evolutionists Flock To Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain
Steady stream of devoted evolutionists continued to gather in this small Tennessee town today to witness what many believe is an image of Charles Darwin—author of The Origin Of Species and founder of the modern evolutionary movement—made manifest on a concrete wall in downtown Dayton.
"I brought my baby to touch the wall, so that the power of Darwin can purify her genetic makeup of undesirable inherited traits," said Darlene Freiberg, one among a growing crowd assembled here to see the mysterious stain, which appeared last Monday on one side of the Rhea County Courthouse
Harriet was 175!
by Ha-ha-erThe Truth About Darwins Tortoise (Harriet estimated age 175)
Reprinted with Permission of International Zoo News, Published Oct/Nov 2006 issue, by Nicholas Gould
"The story of Harriet, the Galapagos tortoise who died at Australia Zoo in June this year at the estimated age of 175, is subjected to scholarly scrutiny by David S. Lee in a recent article [Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 41 (9), 161165].
For years media reports have described Harriet as Charles Darwins tortoise and one of the worlds oldest living animals. Mr Lees researches shed serious doubt on the first of these claims but, surprisingly, give some grounds for believing the second
Harriet was about 175!
by Ha-ha-erThe Truth About Darwins Tortoise (Harriet estimated age 175)
Reprinted with Permission of International Zoo News, Published Oct/Nov 2006 issue, by Nicholas Gould
"The story of Harriet, the Galapagos tortoise who died at Australia Zoo in June this year at the estimated age of 175, is subjected to scholarly scrutiny by David S. Lee in a recent article [Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 41 (9), 161165].
For years media reports have described Harriet as Charles Darwins tortoise and one of the worlds oldest living animals. Mr Lees researches shed serious doubt on the first of these claims but, surprisingly, give some grounds for believing the second
An Old Shell: Poems of the Galapagos, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Tom Pohrt, is a collection of 34 poems in which Johnston pays tribute to the wonder that is the Galapagos. I'll begin at the end of the book and share an excerpt from the author's note.
