The Violet Crown

This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

The Violet Crown City of light, with thy violet crown, beloved of the poets, thou art the bulwark of Greece.  –Pindar, Fragment 76 The drawing-rooms of one of the most magnificent private residences in Austin are ablaze of lights. Carriages line the streets in front, and from gate to doorway is spread a velvet carpet, […]

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Indigo Buntings

This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

Indigo Buntings One of the most distinctive birds of the Americas is the indigo bunting. Named for its resemblance to an ancient dye, the bird can be brilliantly colored. A male indigo bunting – photo by Dan Pancamo Indigo is the black sheep of the ROYGBIV colors. Is it closer to blue or purple? Is it even a

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Yellow Dust

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

Yellow Dust In the fifth year of Di Xin, it rained dust at Bo.  –The Bamboo Annals In the past decade, Americans living east of the Mississippi have become accustomed to occasional skyscapes that were previously confined to the West. At times, the Sun’s disk can almost be viewed safely with the naked eye during the day,

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Top Dads

Top Dads written by Deborah S. You might be familiar with some of the better-known dads of the animal kingdom, such as the Emperor penguin, where the father incubates eggs and cares for newborns, while the mother leaves to gather sustenance. Or, perhaps seahorse papas, which, unlike almost all other species, carry eggs in a pouch

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Orangey Minerva

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

Orangey Minerva Animal characters on television and film can be as memorable as the most iconic human personalities. Toto. Mr. Ed. Lassie. In 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry. For many of the television roles, multiple critters played the part. Six collies played Lassie, starting with Pal

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The Red Queen Hypothesis

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series RAINBOW

The Red Queen Hypothesis Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.  –Red Queen, Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass Undoubtedly, one of the greatest scientific revolutions transpired in the mid-1800s, as Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace advanced the theory of evolution. Borne time and again

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Oklahoma Has Mountains!

Oklahoma Has Mountains! It’s always dangerous to assume stereotypes are true or, at the very least, absolute. The states in the Great Plains have earned reputations as flat, featureless bread baskets. In some ways, this standing is accurate. The majority of agriculture in the United States comes from this region. However, digging into the statistics

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