Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Post from Abey Weitzman using Tell us Abey...
Chicken Satay 3 tablespoons each peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice 1 teaspoon chili oil 3 boneless chicken breasts sliced thin Marinate the chicken for two hours. Grill and enjoy ! _
Post from Abey Weitzman using Tell us Abey...
Dear Diary, Last weekend we wanted a visit with William that wild, wooly wierdo! What a wacko! We went white water rafting willingly. When creeping along the river we saw a frightened fox fleeing from four fat felines. Friendly flies flew first toward a very vivasius vole. Vying visibly, they veered toward the cats, casting caution carelessly aside, they killed, kereening at their keesters. Our canou capsized as the camera captured the creatures! Crazy! Abey_
Friday, May 4, 2012
Downy Woodpeckers
The downy woodpecker is not endangered; it lives with people nearby finding food and nesting places easily. The baby downy needs a hollowed out tree for shelter and plenty of bugs to eat. Both are as available in Central Park as the forests of North America, the downy's natural habitat.
The life of the downy woodpecker is driven by the seasons. In spring they find their mates. Even though they mate for life, they must get acquainted each year. They search together for the nesting tree but the female chooses. They work together in alternating fifteen minute shifts to dig out the nest. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs over 4 to 6 days.
The eggs incubate for twelve days. The baby downies hatch with no feathers. Both parents feed them but only the male stays in the nest at night. In fifteen days the babies leave the nest but the parents continue to feed them for the rest of the summer.
In the fall the families split up. Downy woodpeckers live alone in fall and winter to make sure that their territory has enough insects, sap and berries to keep them alive until spring. The adult downy is six inches long weighing about one ounce. They have white bellies and striped black and white wings, which help camoflage them from hawks. If the downy woodpecker has enough food and isn't eaten by a hawk, it will live for 8 to 9 years in the Catskills or the Bronx. _
The life of the downy woodpecker is driven by the seasons. In spring they find their mates. Even though they mate for life, they must get acquainted each year. They search together for the nesting tree but the female chooses. They work together in alternating fifteen minute shifts to dig out the nest. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs over 4 to 6 days.
The eggs incubate for twelve days. The baby downies hatch with no feathers. Both parents feed them but only the male stays in the nest at night. In fifteen days the babies leave the nest but the parents continue to feed them for the rest of the summer.
In the fall the families split up. Downy woodpeckers live alone in fall and winter to make sure that their territory has enough insects, sap and berries to keep them alive until spring. The adult downy is six inches long weighing about one ounce. They have white bellies and striped black and white wings, which help camoflage them from hawks. If the downy woodpecker has enough food and isn't eaten by a hawk, it will live for 8 to 9 years in the Catskills or the Bronx. _
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Frogs
Frogs are found all over the world. They are diverse in size, color, and habitat. Every frog has one thing in common - metamorphosis. They have a unique life cycle which involves changing their appearance, diet, and how they breathe. What makes them different and similar makes them interesting.
There were 2600 known species of frogs and toads in 1985. In 2007 there were 3400. As of February 2012, there are 6112 known species living on every continent except Antartica. Most frogs live in warm, moist environments where they have bodies of water to breed in. Some species have adapted to live in temperate zones or desert biomes. Even in the harshest habitats frogs reproduce in water.
The frog’s life starts when the female lays unfertilized eggs in a pond. The male leave spawn and the eggs are fertilized. The eggs divide and develop into tadpoles with gills and tails. Tadpoles get oxygen from the water and eat algae. After 21 days they start to change.
Tadpoles grow legs and lungs and lose their gills and tails. Their mouths get larger for their transformation to carnivores. The frogs leave pond life for land coming back to eat and breed.
Frogs have many enemies. Predators include snakes, birds and even other frogs! Frogs camoflage themselves using skin colors like green and brown to hide. Some have red or blue skin to warn that they are poisonous. They have eyes on top of their heads so they can see while they swim unseen.
Frogs are endangered by invasive species, pollution, and the chytrid fungus. The fungus has decimated frog populations in warmer climates. Subtropical and tropical species have been hardest hit. Mountain species in cooler climates have been untouched. Scientists are looking for a cure.
Frogs are indicators of ecological health. We must protect them! _
There were 2600 known species of frogs and toads in 1985. In 2007 there were 3400. As of February 2012, there are 6112 known species living on every continent except Antartica. Most frogs live in warm, moist environments where they have bodies of water to breed in. Some species have adapted to live in temperate zones or desert biomes. Even in the harshest habitats frogs reproduce in water.
The frog’s life starts when the female lays unfertilized eggs in a pond. The male leave spawn and the eggs are fertilized. The eggs divide and develop into tadpoles with gills and tails. Tadpoles get oxygen from the water and eat algae. After 21 days they start to change.
Tadpoles grow legs and lungs and lose their gills and tails. Their mouths get larger for their transformation to carnivores. The frogs leave pond life for land coming back to eat and breed.
Frogs have many enemies. Predators include snakes, birds and even other frogs! Frogs camoflage themselves using skin colors like green and brown to hide. Some have red or blue skin to warn that they are poisonous. They have eyes on top of their heads so they can see while they swim unseen.
Frogs are endangered by invasive species, pollution, and the chytrid fungus. The fungus has decimated frog populations in warmer climates. Subtropical and tropical species have been hardest hit. Mountain species in cooler climates have been untouched. Scientists are looking for a cure.
Frogs are indicators of ecological health. We must protect them! _
Friday, March 9, 2012
Bison
The bison is the largest land animal in North America. An adults they weigh 900 to 2000 pounds, depending on their gender. They are six to six and a half feet tall at the shoulder. They should not be confused with buffalo that are found only in Asia and Africa.
In the eighteenth century between twenty and thirty million bison roamed the North American plains and woods. By the late nineteenth century there were about one thousand bison left. This reduction in population caused a genetic bottleneck. This means that the bison were at risk for inbreeding because of a lack of diversity.
Bison start their life, after 285 days of gestation, living in a group of about twenty females and calves. They nurse for seven months. They start out with light brown fur that turns chocolate brown as they mature. When males turn three they leave and live alone or with other male adults.
The bison live in conservation herds and on ranches where they are bred with cattle for eating. Cross breeding dilutes the bison genes. The herd that lives in Yellowstone National Park is genetically pure. Staying in Yellowstone is a problem in the winter when the bison do not find enough grasses, berries and sedges to eat. That leads to their enemy, the Montana rancher.
Ranchers have an irrational fear that bison give their cattle brucellosis even though none of the herd has the disease. When the bison would try to leave to graze on public land in Montana, the ranchers would haze them back or kill them! Last year, for the first time, the bison were allowed to graze in Montana under the Interagency Bison Management Plan as part of a joint effort between the Federal government and the State of Montana. The future remains uncertain for the bison. _
In the eighteenth century between twenty and thirty million bison roamed the North American plains and woods. By the late nineteenth century there were about one thousand bison left. This reduction in population caused a genetic bottleneck. This means that the bison were at risk for inbreeding because of a lack of diversity.
Bison start their life, after 285 days of gestation, living in a group of about twenty females and calves. They nurse for seven months. They start out with light brown fur that turns chocolate brown as they mature. When males turn three they leave and live alone or with other male adults.
The bison live in conservation herds and on ranches where they are bred with cattle for eating. Cross breeding dilutes the bison genes. The herd that lives in Yellowstone National Park is genetically pure. Staying in Yellowstone is a problem in the winter when the bison do not find enough grasses, berries and sedges to eat. That leads to their enemy, the Montana rancher.
Ranchers have an irrational fear that bison give their cattle brucellosis even though none of the herd has the disease. When the bison would try to leave to graze on public land in Montana, the ranchers would haze them back or kill them! Last year, for the first time, the bison were allowed to graze in Montana under the Interagency Bison Management Plan as part of a joint effort between the Federal government and the State of Montana. The future remains uncertain for the bison. _
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Pandas
Pandas are born blind, bald, and helpless. They weigh four ounces and live alone with their mother. They live on their mother's milk until they can leave the den and eat bamboo.
In China, where all wild pandas live in the mountains, there are forests with hundreds of varieties of bamboo. There are twenty varieties eaten by pandas. Each panda only eats four or five of the twenty. If the bamboo they eat isn't available they will starve to death.
Pandas are cute and cuddly looking. They have black and white fur on black and pink skin. They grow to five feet tall and two hundred pounds. They have related DNA with bears. Pandas have thumb-like bones called radial sesamoids to help them hold bamboo.
The diet that makes pandas unique, also makes them vulnerable. The government of China has established large preserves to protect pandas from their greatest enemy - loss of habitat. Pandas are endangered; we must prevent their extinction. _
In China, where all wild pandas live in the mountains, there are forests with hundreds of varieties of bamboo. There are twenty varieties eaten by pandas. Each panda only eats four or five of the twenty. If the bamboo they eat isn't available they will starve to death.
Pandas are cute and cuddly looking. They have black and white fur on black and pink skin. They grow to five feet tall and two hundred pounds. They have related DNA with bears. Pandas have thumb-like bones called radial sesamoids to help them hold bamboo.
The diet that makes pandas unique, also makes them vulnerable. The government of China has established large preserves to protect pandas from their greatest enemy - loss of habitat. Pandas are endangered; we must prevent their extinction. _
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