Too much taken for granted

I recently came to a conclusion when it was suggested that people would funnel into Hot Springs by the droves. The eclipse was certainly a natural oddity. However, I also began to ponder how many amazing occurrences, although equally as intriguing, occur in the midst of Mother Nature on a regular basis. But for some reason, they go ignored.

Let’s begin with photosynthesis. One could dedicate an entire article to the process. But in a nutshell, a plant absorbs water through the root system, sunlight and carbon dioxide through the leaves, and produces life-sustaining oxygen.

Wildflowers and other plants also emerge from the leaf-littered soil with the arrival of spring, producing an ever-changing palette of beautiful colors that will continue until the arrival of the following fall and winter seasons.

Although we most notice the blanket of beautiful colors swaying above the forest floor, there is far more going on than what we see. This is actually a process when plants are spreading their seeds to ensure the species’ future existence.

Many intriguing occurrences take place in the animal world as well. Let’s begin with the phenomenon of embryonic diapause, also referred to as delayed implantation.

This, too, is a subject that would consume an entire article if one went into great detail. But we’ll keep it extremely basic.

So what is it? Well, it is a process used by a number of mammal species, including black bears, where the blastocyst does not immediately implant to the uterine wall following the mating process. It remains in a state of dormancy until favorable conditions are present, when attachment to the uterine wall will then occur. In turn, the offspring will experience a greater likelihood of survival.

Let’s address a few interesting facts about other mammals as well. Male whitetails undergo an interesting transformation on an annual basis. Even those who are not avid hunters are awed by a buck’s antlers. However, these beautiful bone-like structures are shed on an annual basis, just at the arrival of the most frigid months of the year.

It is equally interesting that they begin growing new antlers shortly after the shed. The new antlers are fed by a blood supply and are covered with a fuzzy membrane during the growing stage. However, blood flow eventually ceases and they turn to hardened bone, and the velvet dries and is then sloughed or rubbed off.

Bats also have some very interesting characteristics. First and foremost, they are the only mammals throughout the animal kingdom that are actually capable of flying and sustaining flight.

Over 1,400 species of bats navigate the night sky throughout the world, around 45 of which can be found in the United States and Canada. They are capable of eating their body weight in insects in a single night, and their lifespan is rather long in comparison to other small animals.

Bats have very few predators. It is suggested that they live less than twenty years in the wild. But they have been documented to live more than 30 years in captivity. Baby bats are referred to as pups, and are fed their mother’s breastmilk.

Some bat species can exceed 100 mph in flight. And I find it most interesting that

they navigate the night sky via echolocation, a process of emitting high-frequency sound pulses and listening to the echoes to determine distances of objects or their next potential meal.

How about possums? These guys are easily identified by their hairless tails. Although often considered as pests, they have several interesting qualities.

Possums are the only marsupial native to the United States, carting their babies, referred to as joeys, in their pouch. They have the shortest gestation period of any other North American mammal at only 12 to 13 days. Newborn possums are hardly the size of one’s thumbnail.

When confronted with potential danger, possums often make a run for it or climb a nearby tree. However, they sometimes resort to the theatrics of simulating sudden death. Hence the term, “playing possum”.

As for theatrics, we can’t leave out the hognose snake. These guys also depend upon bluffing their adversaries as a means of survival. They often inflate their body, form a cobra-like hood by flattening their head and neck, and hiss fiercely.

These harmless snakes might even strike several times. At the last resort they, too, often play dead, rolling on their side with their mouth open and their tongue hanging out.

Hummingbirds also live an interesting life. The fact that they are the smallest migrating bird would be enough to make them worthy of mention. But the fact that they travel as far as Mexico or Central America to winter, and are capable of navigating back to the exact location from where they spent the previous summer in the U.S., is amazing. They are also capable of flying backward and weigh less than a nickel at adulthood.

Well there ya go. Listed are but a few intriguing facts. And the list goes on and on.

In conclusion, I’ll step out on a limb and suggest that those who dig a little deeper into the intricacies and oddities lurking in the midst of the wonderful outdoors will likely agree that we take far too much for granted. And we are missing out on the opportunity to be awed and wowed every time we stray from the comfort of our homes.