Snapshot

Wisteria is associated with romance and spring, and it turns out spring love is more than a romantic idea. Longer days and increased warmth boosts phytochemicals in plants and hormones in animals. Plants transition from vegetative to reproductive growth (blooms and flowers) when Flowering Locus T (FT) is released.

At 300 million years old, dragonflies are reportedly the oldest winged insect. Prehistoric ancestors had wingspans of two and a half feet. Each of four wings moves independently allowing them to hover, fly forward and fly backward.

Quadriennial Olympics competition started nearly 3,000 years ago in this, the first 'stadium' in Greece

Vihar is a great horned owl, one of several ambassador birds at The Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County (BRC), a local resource that’s been around for 50 years and needs help.

Pigs are smart. These two came in from the rain this week. In warmer weather they roll in the mud. Oh, that loving-the-mud thing? It’s not because they like to be dirty. It’s to prevent sunburn and cool themselves.

Rust is primarily oxidation-producing iron oxides, most commonly Fe3O4 and Fe2O3. Other metals undergo oxidation, but the term rust is exclusively used for iron. Copper’s oxidation (or corrosion) creates a blue-green color, copper carbonate (Cu2 CO3), commonly described as patina. The Statue of Liberty, clad with hand-hammered sheets of copper, has copper’s distinctive blue-green patina.

Veterans Day occurs on Nov. 11. It was originally conceived as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The holiday’s name changed in 1954 to honor all...

Fire season is over at last. This week, we’re bracing for wind, waves, rain and snow at elevation. Meteorologists predict a “bomb cyclone” as this goes to press, with four days of continuous rain. Not 40 days, notes Pierre Ratte with causal ease - after all, he filed his latest Snapshot from a Baja beach!

Fairies are a part of folklore in many cultures. Typically, they are spritely, small creatures with magical qualities and a penchant for frivolity and trickery. Peter Pan is not a fairy, though Tinker Bell is...

"For over 30 years, my daily pour has been a latté. Some years ago, I took a latté art class in Seattle. While it’s not every day that hearts and recognizable shapes like the one above get poured, it’s often enough that it is intriguing. What will my coffee look like this morning?" asks Pierre Ratte.