Magnificent desolation, isn’t it. I went on a hike in the scrub ecosystem in Merritt Island Nature Preserve yesterday — nothing but me and nature and the sound of the wind.   This area is just north of the Kennedy Space Center and about an hour from where I live. The ocean is just on [...]

My first computer crime may help you understand the need to use paper ballots.  I’m being a little dramatic when I say computer crime — this was really a harmless prank that I ‘fessed up to, but it illustrates an important point as we approach the mid-term elections, and two years later, the Presidential elections.  Let [...]

Don’t you just love the TV drama and teases before they go to commercial break.  All to get you to stay on their channel, watch endless commercials, and wait for the punch line. This kicks my obstinate mode into high gear when I see I’m being manipulated like this.  So I change the channel.  And [...]

I have long admired the Australian Aborigines ability to live off the land with their deep insights into nature.  As a young man I recall being fascinated by an article describing how they could withstand terrific heat in the desert and had great endurance as well. Particularly the walkabout of a young boy, a months-long [...]

Thank you very mulch is a new TreeCard (e-card) you can send to your friends for FREE.  Just click the TreeCards menu button above. Many WoodChips readers take advantage of this great free service.  Indeed, it is one of the most heavily accessed sections of the web site.  And we will continue to create more [...]

So a panda waddles into a restaurant, sits down in a booth and orders a sandwich. He munches the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and shoots the waiter dead on the spot. As the panda stands up to leave, the owner shouts, “Hey! Where do you think you’re going? You just shot my waiter, and [...]

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today. Did you know a healthy tree absorbs thirteen pounds of of the greenhouse gas CO2 (carbon dioxide) annually.  And an acre of trees absorb about 27,647 pounds of CO2  That’s almost fourteen tons. Do this fun exercise.  Look [...]

Today we get into a little historical WoodChip lore with Pomona, the Roman goddess of trees, fruits and gardens.  There’s also a fertility thing associated with her, but I’ll pass on that — wouldn’t want the web site to spontaneously have sextuplets or something. Anyhow, trees have been revered in many historical times and cultures.  [...]

Apple bobbing may be an ancient tradition that we have carried on to today.  There are some thoughts it may go all the way back to pre-Christian Ireland, although there is not much evidence to support this.  But we know more certainly the practice was around a couple of hundred years ago in the British [...]