We don’t always see what’s going on around us, especially if it’s moving too fast.  For example, if you’re reading this on a computer screen, what you are seeing is being redrawn at a rate of 60-75 times per second (60-75 Hz).  Yet we perceive a constant image; why don’t we see the screen flickering?  That’s because the rate of ...

It’s a peaceful August night in Wisconsin.  I’m sitting in a cozy chair, talking with my Dad, when suddenly I see a tiny speck of light glowing through the window.  It was a brief flash, less than a second, but my face lit up with a smile in response.  It was a firefly – also known as a lightning bug.  ...

It sounds like a scene in a horror movie.  Imagine you are walking along a trail.  As you come around the bend, you see a Cobwebby Thistle (Cirsium occidentale) standing at least 6 feet tall.  But you’re not worried – the thistle is at least two feet in from the trail.  You approach…the music swells ominously…suddenly…the plant lurches towards you ...

We’ve all seen the recent news videos: fixed-wing aircraft swooping down to drop a load of fire retardant alongside the smokey edge of a wildland fire.  But did you ever wonder what those fire retardants are made of and how they work?   First, let’s start the composition of fire retardants.  Fires are classified by the fuels they consume.  Wildland ...

This Report is a “Best of Wendy Langhans” Report.   During allergy season , I sometimes wonder if pollen grains have their own navigation system .  If that’s true, then their map for the Santa Clarita Valley must have a fluorescent orange locator pin labeled “Wendy’s nose”.  (Thank goodness for antihistamines.) But locating my nose is not pollen’s true mission; ...

We learn by observing others.  Not only is that true for humans, it’s also true for other creatures, including certain species of bees.  And in the case of short-tongued bumblebees, what they learned is something we call burglary – “breaking and entering”. For millions of years, flowering plants and insects such a bumblebees have participated in a “backscratching” pact: flowers ...

As a child, I was attracted to butterflies by their color and patterns:  sometimes subtle, sometimes vibrant, sometimes simple and sometimes intricate.  As I took a closer look, I sometimes noticed that the trailing end of their wings had a piece missing, as though something had taken a bite out of it.  I wasn’t the first person to observe this.  ...

According to this LA County Sheriff Dept. website, “Black Bears were introduced into the San Gabriel Mountains in 1933. They are all descendants of 11 bears deported from Yosemite National Park for being troublemakers.” Can’t you just picture the scene?  Dramatic music swells in the background, as Ranger Smith plants his feet on the ground, narrows his eyelids and announces, ...

Santa Clarita Outdoor Report by Wendy Langhans Children learn to communicate with gestures before they learn to communicate with words.  Around the age of 8-10 months, babies begin pointing at objects with their hands, an action known as “deictic gestures”.  Deictic gestures are gestures “that refer to something around the child — pointing, showing an object, or reaching for something.” Don’t miss a ...

  Last week, we looked at what gives feathers their range of dull and vibrant colors, comparing reality to the LIVING COLOR of 20th century technology.  Fifty years after color TV’s became popular and affordable, our technology has greatly improved.  Now we have iPad’s with “Retina display” and “rich color saturation”.  So how does this newer digital version of “Living ...