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Have a Happy Thought:   Many moons ago (thankfully), women were excluded from being taken seriously as scientists. So many women instead kept researching the natural world anyway. And so we have inherited the beauty of the world that they discovered. Specifically today we will focus on fungi, and how women especially in the 19 th century devoted themselves to hand-drawing mushrooms, among other botanicals. The eye for detail is amazing, the colours and imagery beautiful, and there are so many sources to follow down lush, nutrient-rich rabbit holes… Here’s a few of my favourite images, and I’ve linked some sources down below should you wish to electronically thumb through some of these images, and writings, yourself! (If you like this sort of natural drawing, and the stories of intrepid women, and also scifi / fantasy, I strongly recommend the books by Marie Brennan, starting with A Natural History of Dragons .) Agaricus acutisquamosus, from Illustrations of British mycolo...

Have a Happy Thought: Sometimes, you don’t want to learn * something new on a Friday. Sometimes, you just want to look at pretty pictures. This one’s for you 😊 All images courtesy of the Audubon Society Photography Awards, you can check out the other nominees and winners . There’s information about where each photo was taken, camera settings and lens information, and little stories by each photographer about their shot or subject. Baltimore Oriole. Photo: Sandra M. Rothenberg/Audubon Photography Awards Chinstrap Penguin. Photo: Karen Blackwood/Audubon Photography Awards Verdin. Photo: Linda Scher/Audubon Photography Awards Green-winged Teals. Photo: James Fatemi/Audubon Photography Awards Northern Hawk Owl. Photo: Liron Gertsman/Audubon Photography Awards   * If you do want to learn something… there are a lot of calls for the Audubon Society to change its name, due to the much-less-than-savoury-character of the person for whom the society is named...

Have a Happy Thought:   While some wasps strike terror into the heart of a summertime barbeque, we should be happy that most species of wasps exist. Because of the 103,000 species of wasps in the world (yes you read that right), the vast majority don’t want to bother humans. In fact, most wasps will actually “help” humans… by pollinating plants that we eat or like to look at… And also by controlling other insect species.   Often by parasitising those other species. I’m not going to go into that in much detail, but you’re welcome to look into it. Just remember that even Charles Darwin, famously delighted by the myriad ways that life developed on Earth, was seriously put off by parasitoid wasps, writing:          “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae [a family of parasitoid wasps] with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies o...

Have a Happy Thought:   Recently I learned a new term, and it’s just too adorable not to share with all of you.   Splooting.   This is when animals spread-eagle onto the ground to really press their furry little bellies onto the surface. It’s usually done when it’s really hot out and the ground is a bit cooler, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen animals doing this on cold days onto sunny pavement.   Still not quite sure what I mean? Have some adorableness:     Red Panda Red panda "splooting" - lying on its belly on the ground with limbs spread out. Seen from behind, with its head at the top of the picture. Photo: https://romancelandia.club/@beecycling/110662180395066975     Squirrel: Brown squirrel splooting on wood in trees   Photo: https://romancelandia.club/@Justmaryp/110662626145190305     Cat: Black-and-white cat splooting on floor tiles, facing the camera. Its front legs are crossed Pho...