Time "Outdoors"

Readers who frequent this blog may have noticed that, since March, things have slowed down quite a bit around here.  At work, I've been required to spend less time at my desk (a great place to blog when I can), and more time moving about.  I've been taking courses, which takes up quite a bit of time as well.  But as the weather has gotten warmer, the majority of my free time has been spent outdoors.  This has been the first spring and summer that I've been in my new home after the previous occupants moved out last year, which means I've had a lot of yard work to catch up on.  Getting rid of invasive species, trying to get as many native plants on my property as possible, and keeping my garden take up the majority of my post-work daylight hours.  Quite a bit of energy goes into this, which is both good and bad.  Good because I love working outside, and I'm excited for my home grown foods and the wildlife that native plantscaping will bring to my yard.  Bad because when the sun goes down, I usually do as well.  Blogging, unfortunately, has not been as large of a priority as sleeping, so it has gone by the wayside.

"The Fighting Pair"

Allosaurus fragilis and Stegosaurus stenops face off at the Denver Museum of  Science and Nature.  Photo by Luke Jones, from Wikimedia Commons.

Good news, everyone! I woke this morning to discover that, once and for all, scenes like the one shown above are proven by science! That's right, good old fashioned science, where someone digs up fossils, doesn't publish research on them (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that bit), and sells them to the highest bidder. Thanks to the diligent work of Heritage Auctions, we now know that Allosaurus and Stegosaurus existed together at the same time.  Huzzah!

A quick, but important, post.

The Xingu River is a tributary of the Amazon River located in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pará.

It is currently home to fourteen tribes of indigenous peoples that live along its borders.  They get most, if not all of the things they need for survival from the river and the surrounding forest.

The area is home to countless terrestrial and aquatic species, some of which can be found no where else on earth.

The Brazilian government wants to build a dam there. This will result in the diverting of 80% of the rivers waters, the flooding of 400 km² of forest, and the displacement of indigenous tribes and an additional 20,000 people from the surrounding municipalities.

If this bothers you, please, take the time to have a look at the Amazon Watch website dedicated to informing the global public about the issue, and stopping the construction of the Belo Monte Dam. And if you're so inclined, perhaps you'd like to sign a petition urging the Brazilian government to abandon the project, and instead, search for a more sustainable energy solution.