[Email subscribers ... remember to click on the headline to be transported the the website for the full Silverback Digest experience. SB SM] Here's the well-dressed gardner, prepared to ply his trade. Take note of (from top to bottom): Blackberries in background. They're looking good for this year. Ballcap from Saratoga Raceway, a great summer... Continue Reading →
[In The Jungle we have but one word, Oo-oo, but an infinite variety of inflections. Humans, by contrast, are so primitive that they have to resort to communicating with their hands. SB SM] from the MIT Press Reader by way of The Browser An excerpt from François Caradec’s book “Dictionary of Gestures.” We might believe... Continue Reading →
[It won't be difficult to get the 'Gators to join the Orcas and the Silverbacks in their revolt against the humans. SB SM] Photographs of the Los Angeles Alligator Farm (ca. 1907) From 1907 until its relocation in 1953, the area of Lincoln Heights was home to what the Los Angeles Times dubbed “the city’s most exotic residents”:... Continue Reading →
summarized by Bryan Pfeiffer published in chasingnature.substack.com, May 26,2023 Clockwise from upper left: Atala (Eumaeus atala), Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis), Little Metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis), Leonard’s Skipper (Hesperia leonardus), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) Sara Orangetip (Anthocharis sara) / All images @ Bryan Pfeiffer Butterflies: Made in the Americas Lepidopterists everywhere dropped our butterfly nets and... Continue Reading →
Orcas are ramming yachts off the Spanish coast – is the whale world rising up? [Pay attention to this! Forget about the threats posed by AI. That's going to be a second-rate Y2K. The idea of nature striking back at humans, however, is intriguing, not to mention frightening. What if the Orcas teamed up with... Continue Reading →
[After witnessing this historic moment in culture-- on my 16th birthday, no less-- I picked up my guitar to learn how to play this song. I will have to lower the key to fit my singing register, so it won't sound as sprightly as Paul, and there's no way I can play the triplets as... Continue Reading →
[Silverbacks do not molt. Neither do humans. This story, however, is a vivid reminder of what a miracle life on this planet, and this universe, is. Do yourself a favor, read this! SB SM] By: Eric Wagner | May 19, 2023 Published in The Last Word on Nothing https://www.lastwordonnothing.com/ Brown Penguins are black and white—everyone knows this—except when... Continue Reading →
Ancient Beer Is Craft’s New Frontier By Sara Toth Stub This work first appeared on SAPIENS under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license. Read the original here. One morning in May 2019, a crowd of journalists gathered around the Biratenu bar in Jerusalem, snapping photos as a bartender poured golden, frothy beer into plastic cups. The... Continue Reading →
Three researchers discuss the possibilities and problems arising as psychedelic plant medicines, held sacred by many Indigenous communities, move into the global mental health and tourism industries. from SAPIENS, May 17, 2023 by Keridwen Cornelius Artwork in Mexico likely depicts María Sabina, a Mazatec shaman who preserved traditional knowledge of psilocybin mushrooms for healing. Artur... Continue Reading →
NPR, May 8, 2020 by Eleanor Beardsley [A tip of the hat to Silverbelle Babsje (Heron SBs) for this delicious piece. SB SM] Being in lockdown in Paris during the coronavirus pandemic turned out to be the perfect time and place to devour Bill Buford's new book Dirt. Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in... Continue Reading →
