Curations from the Human Jungle
Love live the Queen! Queen Season: Bumble Bees in Spring By Kenrick Vezina Hear ye, hear ye! The queens have emerged! We’re talking about bumble bees (genus Bombus). For several weeks each spring, any bumble bee you see is a queen – and very hard at work. She must construct her kingdom. Her mother (the... Continue Reading →
[ Yesterday's post on Silverback Digest A Berdick in Your Future elicited such a thoughtful commentary from Silverback Steve (Burlington SBs) that I've made it today's post. Here's a link to yesterday's posting. SB SM] https://silverbackdigest.com/2023/05/10/a-berduck-in-your-future/ And here's where to learn more about Silverback Steve: http://www.steven-shepard.com "As the author of nearly a hundred books and... Continue Reading →
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/ [Silverbacks and 'belles frequently lament the fact that our Silverpups (offspring and offspring-of-offspring) are growing up in a world that does not value reading, writing, and word glorification in the same way that our generation did. My wife sent her grandson a birthday card. He said "Thank you, Nana, but I can't read it... Continue Reading →
Silverback Todd (Greenback Silverbacks) shares the following: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eB9AMTBGDv8 Silverback Mike and Silverbelle Cyndy (Post Island SBs) have turned their winter residence back to Post Island. Silverback Bill (Hinesburg SBs) has increased his vocabulary by one word: Procrustean This marvelous adjective characterizing pointless or ruthless demand for conformity owes its meaning to a son of Poseidon:... Continue Reading →
[In my short, not-illustrious stint in the U.S. Navy I found myself onboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) for eight weeks cruising the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. This is a long story that I will leave for another time, aside from pointing out that we had our own, little language... Continue Reading →
[Part II of a Quaker Jew Screwing Around in G for the Honor of the Truth, chapter 4 of my unpublished autobiography Extra-Ordinary. SB SM] Screwin’ Around in G One of the transcendent words of my generation is “cool.” “Hot” has morphed from jazz to women. “Groovy” has gone the way of flower power. “Boss”... Continue Reading →
Chapter 4, Part I … For the Honor of Truth Moses Brown School 250 Lloyd Avenue Providence, Rhode Island For the Honor of Truth [from my never-to-be published memoir Extra-Ordinary.] My mother, attended by my Uncle Arthur, gave birth to me in Milton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1948. That day is not a national holiday, My... Continue Reading →
Silverbelle Babsje publishes a great blog focusing on herons and other graceful birds. Here's a recent example: https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com/ She's also a keen observer of the Silverback Digest. Our recent post on Henry David Thoreau prompted her to share her own thoughts on the man: Walden Pond is a grounded space, a grounding place that I... Continue Reading →
[Is James Bond a Silverback? Well, Sean Connery for sure. The jury is out on the rest of them. SB SM] The remarkable story of 1983’s Battle of the Bonds Forty years ago, Roger Moore and Sean Connery duked it out at the box office as Octopussy and Never Say Never Again faced off on... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story By Jen Weimer Why do ants suddenly appear every time Spring is near? Just like bees, they long to be close to you – especially if your home is made of wood. Carpenter ants (genus Camponotus) and the eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) both nest in wood and are frequent visitors to... Continue Reading →