Tag: mr. nature

Mammals that Lay Eggs

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Hi, Mr. Nature here again!

This cute little animal trundling along is a spiny anteater, or echidna–and along with the more famous duck-billed platypus, it’s one of only a very few mammals that… well, lay eggs!

It’s warm-blooded, but not as warm-blooded as regular mammals. It feeds its babies (when they hatch) on breast milk; but it doesn’t have proper nipples. We begin to wonder if these really are mammals, after all.

Ignore the Darwinian fairy tale that comes packaged with this video. If it weren’t for the intense politics involved, Darwinism would’ve bitten the dust quite a while ago. We can’t help wanting to gain a better understanding of the world and how it works, so scientific theories come and go–except for the ones that get a political constituency.

But the echidnas and the platypuses know nothing of politics or scientific theories. They are as God created them, and so are we–complete with our God-given urge to always try to find out more.

Gigantic Prehistoric Armadillos

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Image result for glyptodons

Hi, Mr. Nature here. We’ve been sort of on an armadillo kick around here lately, so let me introduce you to a prehistoric armadillo that was roughly the size and shape of a classic Volkswagen Bug.

They were called glyptodons and there were a number of different species. They aren’t actually armadillos, but the DNA in their fossils suggests they were closely related to modern armadillos. They lived in South America, with a few eventually moving north and winding up in Florida–sort of like humans, when we move south.

Glyptodons are now extinct, which is only to say there don’t seem to  be any of them left on earth. But God created them and pronounced them good, and has the entire universe at His disposal. It may be that someday we’ll see glyptodons again–and I’d like that very much.

The Hippo Chase

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Jambo, as they say on safari–Mr. Nature here.

Last night I dreamed there were several hippos on the loose in my neighborhood, running around chomping people. Trying to get away, I fell off my bike; but I woke before they got me.

Did you know hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa? More than lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, or cape buffalo. They look so so…and run and swim so fast!

I have no idea what made me dream that, but it stirred me up to share this little-known wildlife fact with you.

Nature Break: Armadillo

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Hi, Mr. Nature here–and I stumbled over this interesting armadillo video while looking for something else. So now I know why these critters appear to walk on tiptoe. It’s because they are walking on tiptoe. They have long claws for digging up termites, which they eat.

More of God’s cool stuff!

Katydid Warning

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We interrupt our coverage of Hillary Clinton’s fainting tour to bring you good advice concerning katydids.

They bite.

Hi, Mr. Nature here–and if you must handle these strikingly beautiful green bugs, be aware they’re quite capable of giving you a nasty nip if they don’t like the cut of your jib. Forsooth, the ones in the Amazon rain forest can really, really bite you.

The man in this video would have been munched on if the katydid hadn’t been in a good mood.

I think I’m gonna stick with bugs for a while, though, and not go back to the political arena: except to say I would vote for an insect over Clinton, any day.

Beautiful Tiger Swallowtail

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Hi, Mr. Nature here–and I just can’t let the summer pass without saluting one of my favorite critters, the tiger swallowtail butterfly. Happily, they’re not uncommon around here. I saw a nice one this morning.

The one in this video is a male. The females have a border of metallic blue spots along the bottom of their wings; and some females have black wings. I always thought that was another species, but I was wrong.

As man’s stuff continues to deteriorate, God’s stuff is still going strong-and this is one of the most beautiful examples of it.

It would be a sorry world that had to do without butterflies!

How Not to Get Possums Out of Your Garbage Can

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Hi, Mr. Nature here–and you do not have to do what these people do to get a possum out of your garbage can.

This morning when I went out to ride my bike, I discovered two young possums sleeping in one of our garbage cans–which means they climbed in to get something nice and disgusting and then couldn’t climb out.

Really, all you have to do is gently turn the can over on its side and then leave them alone. They’ll just get up and leave. You don’t have to freak them out by kicking the bottom of the can.

Another time, I went to put a bag in the can and spotted a very, very big possum inside it. Very, very dead, too. Oh, spiffy. You know how road-killed animals get all stiff and flat after a while? This possum looked like it had been dead for several days.

Well, I couldn’t just leave it there. I tipped it out of the can–

And it got up, hissed at me, and ran away!

“Playing possum” can be quite convincing.

Nature Treat: The Luna Moth

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Hi, Mr. Nature here–and would you believe it? I’ve never in my life seen one of these beautiful creatures in the flesh: the luna moth. The map says they live where I live, but I’ve never, ever, seen one.

Note how trustingly the moth perches on the man’s finger. I guess you have to, if your wings got rained on and they’re too wet to fly.

This moth is one of God’s loveliest creations.

I do hope I see one someday.

The Katydids’ Song

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Mr. Nature here–and good grief, where did the summer go?

I couldn’t let it pass without posting one of my favorite sounds of summer–the night-time chorus of the katydids.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy God’s stuff.

A Puzzling Fact of Nature

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Hi, everybody–Mr. Nature here, with today’s puzzling fact.

As you can see from the little video, the mother wolf spider carries her babies on her back; and if she knows how many there are, that’s more than I will ever know.

What you don’t see is this: if one of the babies should fall off while Mommy is on the move, she will stop and find that baby and put it back on her back. Please excuse the awkward sentence.

Now, how does she know that one of those innumerable baby spiders has fallen off her back? It’s not like any of the others can cry out, “Mommy! Willie fell off again!”

If there’s anybody out there who can explain this to us, we’re all ears.