One of the many joys of field guides, aside, of course, from their utility of identifying species, is perusing them out of pure curiosity to discover what manner of animals, plants, or whatever their respective subject may be are to be found in a given area (or even in existence, for that matter).
When it comes to species of birds that, upon seeing, it is all but impossible not to stop and gape in unrestrained, unapologetic astonishment, the birds of paradise are right near – if not actually at – the top of the list. Similarly, regarding fascinating avian behavior, few can best the bowerbirds in their feats of enticement through architectural and design skills.
Hold on to your gardening hats, my friends, because come late February, Princeton University Press is going to be publishing Dr. Ross Bayton’s “The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names.”
In these days when everything seems to be being questioned – sometimes honestly, other times with nearly palpable disingenuousness – the idea that someone would actually ask the question “why trust science?” is not particularly surprising. To those of us who have spent our lives studying one or more of the various disciplines of science, or who simply find ourselves naturally turning to science for answers to many of life’s challenges, both large and small, the question at first seems illogical. One might as well ask “why breath air?”