picturebeauty

Groundhog

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:18:00 +0000

The groundhog is a rodent, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. It is widely distributed in North America. Groundhogs are well adapted for digging, with short but powerful limbs and curved, thick claws. In the wild, groundhogs can live up to six years, with two or three being average. In captivity, groundhogs are reported to live from 9-14 years.

Common predators for groundhogs include wovles,coyotes,foxes,bears and dogs. Young groundhogs are often at risk for predation by snakes which easily enter the burrow.
Groundhogs primarily eat wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries and agricultural crops, when available. Groundhogs also eat grubs,grasshoppers, insects, snails and other small animals.

Groundhogs are one of the few species that enter into true hibernation, and often build a separate "winter burrow" for this purpose. This burrow is usually in a wooded or brushy area and is dug below the frost line and remains at a stable temperature well above freezing during the winter months. In most areas, groundhogs hibernate from October to March or April, but in more temperate areas, they may hibernate as little as 3 months. To survive the winter, they are at their maximum weight shortly before entering hibernation. They emerge from hibernation with some remaining body fat to live on until the warmer spring weather produces abundant plant materials for food.

Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular American custom of Groundhog Day, held on the second of February every year. Tradition dictates that if a groundhog sees its shadow that day, there will be six more weeks of winter, though such a prediction seems a sure bet over much of the groundhog's North American range. In the spring, females welcome a litter of perhaps a half dozen newborns, which stay with their mother for several months.

Sea Weeds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Sea Weeds

Sea weeds are found throughout the oceans and seas and none is known to be poisonous. Many are actually nice to eat. Seaweeds (kaiso) have been an important part of the Japanese diet for many centuries. Today, various types of seaweed are used extensively as soup stock, seasonings and other forms in daily Japanese cooking. The following are the three most commonly used types of seaweed: Kombu,Wakame and Nori.

Studies show sea weed cause weight lose. Seaweed has special properties that draw out and transmute toxins. Seaweed can transform toxic metals into harmless salts. Edible seaweed is often used in weight loss programs to reduce cholesterol and fat in the blood. It is helpful in alleviating high blood pressure, building strong bones and regulating thyroid imbalances. These marine plants are packed with nutrients including some key minerals that are hard to find from any other source. All of the trace elements required by the human body are found in edible seaweed. They also contain protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. All sea vegetables are excellent sources of iodine, calcium and iron. According to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods, “hijiki, arame, and wakame each contain more than ten times the calcium of milk.

Two specific environmental requirements dominate seaweed ecology. These are the presence of seawater (or at least brackish water) and the presence of light sufficient to drive photosynthesis. Another common requirement is a firm attachment point. As a result, seaweeds most commonly inhabit the littoral zone and within that zone more frequently on rocky shores than on sand or shingle. Seaweeds occupy a wide range of ecological niches. The highest elevation is only wetted by the tops of sea spray, the lowest is several meters deep. In some areas, littoral seaweeds can extend several miles out to sea. The limiting factor in such cases is sunlight availability. The deepest living seaweeds are some species of red algae.

Related websites

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060915204728.htm

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/eatseaweed-lose-weight-naturally.html

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:09:00 +0000

Although most people enjoy watching these cute animals, not everyone likes them. Sea otters almost became extinct because hunters and fishermen killed them for fun and because they ate too many fish. Some were even killed when tangled in fishing nets. Oil spills are another reason why they are dying out. In 1989, the biggest oil spill occurred in Alaska and killed one thousand sea otters. Another reason is that people are taking away their homes. By the early 1900’s more than one million may have been killed. Just at the last minute when the otters were almost extinct, in 1911 Russia, United States, Japan and England signed a fur treaty (agreement) protecting sea otters and fur seals. There were only between five hundred and a thousand sea otters left
Sea otter is a marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter lives mostly in the ocean.
Sea otters are carnivores (meat-eaters). They eat crabs, clams, mussels, octopuses, squid and fish. They hunt for their prey in the ocean and on the sea floor. These intelligent mammals use rocks to help crack open clams and abalone.

Green sea turtle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:02:00 +0000

The Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) or green turtle is a large turtle of the family Cheloniidae. ^[1] Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.^[2] Their common name derives from the usually green fat found beneath their upper shell.
Like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances between feeding grounds and hatching beaches. Many islands worldwide are known as turtle island due to green sea turtles nesting on their beaches. Females crawl out on beaches, dig nests and lay eggs during the night. Later, hatchlings emerge and walk into the water. Those that reach maturity may live to age 80 in the wild.^[2]

Autumu leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:16:00 +0000

Autumn leaves.
We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves.Leaves are nature's food factories.
During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.
The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.
It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful fall foliage colors we enjoy each year.