Lake and Pond Scum

Lake and pond scum is that nasty film of debris and biological decomposition that usually indicates a stagnant body of water with more significant problems. It is not pleasant to look at, swim in or even boat across. And the water column is typically not healthy for the fish that live within those waters. These fish are trapped in those conditions and have to endure low oxygen levels and high algae growth leaving them stressed. If these conditions continue weak fish will die off. If they worsen, even healthy fish will succumb to the conditions.

One very effective technique to prevent this stagnation from happening is to install a laminar flow aeration system. Also known as a bubbler, the only indication of the system is a small area of bubbles rising to the surface in one or more places depending on the size of your lake or pond. Installing a system such as this will mix the water column from the surface to the bottom. The movement breaks up the pond scum allowing toxins trapped at the bottom of the pond to release into the air. At the same time, oxygen is absorbed into the water which then travels to all levels of the water. Bacteria are then able to utilize the oxygen rich conditions to more effectively digest the biological load preventing algae blooms by taking away their food source.

You lake or pond will not only appear cleaner, the water quality will be improved and be a more healthy environment for you and the fish. A more balance ecosystem is the result with fewer swings in water quality. Minor fluctuations will still occur due to adverse weather conditions, but overall your pond will suffer fewer of these events and will self correct more quickly than if no aeration were present.

Aeration is a time tested technique used to digest biologicals in the waste water industry. It has been used in numerous lakes and pond around the world with great results. It uses nature and the good bacteria present in every body of water to remove the excess nutrients. Instead of aquatic pesticides and herbicides which can leave harmful residues that have long lasting unintended effects, aeration simply adds oxygen back to a ecosystem that desperately need it to operate properly. If you choose to discontinue the aeration, the ecosystem returns back to its previous state without and detrimental effects.

Soil Formation and Erosion

Soil formation

Soil is the uppermost, fertile layer of the earth. It is one of the natural resources present on the earth. It is formed by the physical, substance, genetic and organic changes which go on taking place constantly in the layers of the earth, by the external forces like water, wind, glacier, ocean waves, etc. the weathered rock can be of different size. The numbers factors contribute a lot in the formation of the soil.

Climate has a significant role in influencing the decomposition of the different rocks to a great extent. The quality and amount of moisture and dryness in the soil depends upon the climate. The soil forming processes take place differently in varying climatic conditions. Its' took place more rapidly in the summer and rainy season. The classification and patterns of soils also depend on the climate.

The nature of weathered particles is responsible for the formation of soil. The particles may be obtained from the weathering of rocks or depositing of material by river, winds, glaciers, etc. The physical and chemical compositions of soil particles determine the relative proportions of different minerals in the layers.

The topography of a region affects the formation of soil. Steep slopes in the mountainous areas have the thin soil layers. It's due to the erosion and the state of moisture in the different layers. In areas of bad drainage and rigid topography, soil is not well developed.

Time is an important factor of soils' formation. A rich and fertile soil is formed only when the weathered particles of rocks remain uninterrupted on the same place for a long time.

It is only the longevity of time that the action of physical, chemical and organic processes takes place. It leads to the formation of deep and well- developed layers of soil. If time is not sufficient, the soils will remain undeveloped and skinny.

Soil profile

Each type of soil has a well-developed vertical section called the soil profile. There are four distinct layers in the soil profile.

The top layer is the biological layer and consists of fine particles and natural matter from decayed plants and animals. It is about 1-2 inches thick. Living things carry on with their life activities in this layer. Therefore, it is called humus.

The second layer is the horizon A. This layer has bacteria, which helps in the recycling of different material, and has plant's roots, fungus, etc.

The next layer is called horizon B, which contains materials obtained from the top layer by the seepage of water from the surface. It has a few symptoms of life. Below the sub- soil, there are the layer rocks and pebbles, of partly weathered rocks. In some areas, it contains water, depending on the water table.

Causes of Soil Erosion

Deforestation is the major cause of soil erosion. In the natural conditions, the roots of the trees hold the soil particles together and save soil for erosion. However, when trees are cut down uncontrollably, running water cut the soil and become a cause of erosion. Nothing can check the speed of running water during the rainy season. It erodes soil ruthlessly.

Drizzle and light showers do not cause much damage to the soil, but heavy and torrential rains carry away the fine soil particles with them due to their great speed and erosive capacity.

Overgrazing, especially by cows, goats, camels and sheep in the desert and semi-desert areas are the causes of Soil erosion. Plants and vegetation, which conserve soil, are uprooted by these animals. It generally happens on the mountainous, arid and semi-arid regions. Water during the rainy season carries away the loose soil. Same actions are done by wind the desert areas, resulting in the soil erosion.

In the areas of steep slope like mountain and hilly areas, water is more affected, then any other agent of erosion.

Clayey soil an absorb water easily. Therefore, the soil erosion is much less in the areas of clayey and sandy soil. Land is a prime natural resource, but due to its excessive use; it has been degraded to a large extent throughout the world.

Monarch Caterpillars

The tiger striped Monarch caterpillars are among the most beautiful of the caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars are usually born on and eat milkweed plants. This is helpful to the caterpillar and butterfly because the toxins from these plants are passed into the insect, which makes them distasteful to predators like birds. Even if an ignorant bird tries to eat a Monarch caterpillar, its bad taste will discourage the bird from eating any others.

The caterpillar is but the second stage in the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. It starts out as an egg laid on the milkweed plant. The female butterfly will glue the eggs to the leaf of the plant with her own bodily secretions to make sure they're secure, then she'll leave and give no more care to the eggs or the larvae.

When it's time for the caterpillar to emerge, it will chew a circular lid in the eggshell, then pull its body free of the egg. Then, it will eat the eggshell, which gives it some nutrients before it starts to eat the milkweed.

Like all caterpillars, the Monarch caterpillar's task is simply to eat and eat till it reaches the size when it will be ready to pupate. This is about two inches long and takes about two weeks. After the caterpillar has reached this size and survived predators and other hazards, it will find a location (usually away from the milkweed) and spin a pad there. It'll attach its rear to the pad with hooks and hang in the shape of a "J" for about twenty four hours.

Then, the caterpillar's skin splits down the back and the pupa emerges. It wriggles free from the skin which is finally cast off. The pupa then hardens, and waits.

Even the pupae of Monarch caterpillars are attractive. They're mostly jade green and have beautiful dots of what look like gold along the tops and on the side.

During the pupal stage, the body of what was the caterpillar is broken down into something like a soup and slowly formed into the adult butterfly. This drastic process is known as complete metamorphosis.

Finally, the pupa case splits and the Monarch butterfly struggles out. After it emerges the butterfly rests for a while. Its wings are crumpled and damp and can't work right away. The butterfly spends a couple of hours pumping fluid into the wing veins so the wings can expand and harden properly. The Monarch butterfly then flies away to begin the process all over again. The time between egg and adult is about a month.

How to Find Sea Glass or Beach Glass

Sea glass, also known as beach glass, is becoming rarer to find for two main reasons. The first is that over the last decade or so, fewer glass items such as bottles are finding their way into the sea. Although this is good from an environmental point of view, it is heart breaking for collectors and enthusiasts. The second reason for the decline in beach glass is that more people have become aware of its existence and rare status resulting in more people collecting it to make items such as sea glass jewellery.

However, there is still plenty of it to be found if you know where and how to look. Although most beaches will have at least some pieces of beach glass, some will have a great deal more. The location of the best beaches for finding the treasured glass depends on a number of factors including the conditions of the sea in that area, accessibility and popularity with other collectors. The best thing to do is under take a search on Google for and you will find that collectors or jewellery makers will often list their favourite places for finding it.

Once you have found a beach local to you, it's time to work out when best to go. The best time for finding sea glass is at low tide as the greatest expanse of beach is available for searching on. Again you will be able to do a Google search and find out low tide times in your area. The best time of year for sea glass collecting is in the Spring after high spring tides and storms which will have washed it ashore.

Once on the beach, there are two main methods for finding beach glass. The first is to look along the water's edge. Sea glass is frosted in appearance when dry which can make it difficult to spot amongst the pebbles depending on its colour. However when it is wet, it is easier to spot. You are looking for pieces of smooth shaped glass, with the most common colours being green, brown and clear.

The second method of finding beach glass is to look along the tide line. This is where the majority of sea debris is washed in from seaweed to rubbish and glass. If the tide line is dry, sea glass will have a frosted appearance although most colours should still be obvious to spot. The most treasured pieces are old so will be very smooth in shape - often an oval or triangular shape. However watch out for fresh glass which will have been washed in too. This will be clearer in appearance and is likely to have sharp edges so be careful if handling it.

Often beginners to sea glass collecting will simply pick up all the pieces they find. However more seasoned collectors and people that use it to make sea glass jewellery and other items will be more selective about the size, colour and shape of the pieces they pick up, leaving the rest on the shores for others to enjoy.

Humane Rat Traps

Any rodent infestation is a bad experience but rats are particularly bad. While there many options such as snap traps, glue traps, poison, and electronic traps, many animal lovers opt for a humane rat trap such as the live ones made of wire mesh with steel reinforcements which are typically galvanized for maximum resistance to rust. The wooden type of humane rat traps are not ideal because a large rat can chew through the wood quite quickly. Plastic traps are considered by some to be a little too lightweight. Aside from being humane, these traps prevent escapes and stolen bait. The rat is trapped and not killed. The question is what to do with the rat once it is caught.

Peanut butter is effective as bait in such a trap because it lasts for days and is not as easily disturbed as something like pumpkin seeds are. You can poison the humane trap bait if you are not in the mood to deal with a trapped live rat. The problem with these types of traps is that rats are difficult to deal with even in a cage with a secure door.

In addition, it is often difficult to transport a rat to a place where it can be released. It is one thing to release a mouse in your garden. Rats are something else and you might have to take the rat to an animal disposal site. Another important fact about rats is that they are distrustful and smart. They are suspicious of anything new and the suspicion can overcome curiosity.

Poison is not considered the best choice for two reasons. One is that your pets can eat the poisoned food -- and this could happen even in a live cage trap. The other reason is that a rat on the loose can eat poison and then crawl into the framework of the house and die. Its corpse will decompose and smell very bad.

A humane trap is clean and efficient. You have to decide which you prefer to cope with -- a dead rat or an angry live one before you look through the products available. You also need to know if the trap is one that offers an easy set up. A glue trap may not be strong enough to hold the rat and a snap trap might not kill the rat, just maim it. There are products that will do the rat catching for you. You just have to chose the method that best suits you.

Tips for Identifying Bird Calls

There are approximately 10,000 different species of birds in the world today, and around 2000 of those can be found in North America alone. For bird watching enthusiasts, the challenge is to find and identify as many of these species as possible. In order to do this, birders use a number of clues including, the location and habitat, and the physical attributes of the bird itself such as shape, size and coloring. One of the easiest and most useful identification tools is the song or call, a unique attribute of each species.

Birds use their songs to communicate, and their calls can be heard over long distances, in dense vegetation or at night when the bird itself can't be seen. Birds can create a greater variety of sounds than humans, and have the ability to take shallow short breaths synchronized with their songs giving the impression that their calls are long and uninterrupted.

In order to identify a bird by its sound, a birdwatcher must listen to various components in the call. For example, does the song consist of a single note, two notes or three or more notes? The call of the Mourning Dove is a trill but always on exactly the same note, while a House Finch chirps up and down on two distinct notes.

Another characteristic is the musical quality of the call. Some birds such as the Skylark have a call that is amazing in its beauty and complexity, while the harsh nasal sound of the Laughing Gull won't inspire any cantatas.

Bird calls may be high, moderate or low pitched, and their songs may be short or long in duration. Even the speed of sound repetition can help distinguish one bird from another. The Song Sparrow issues short, quick, moderate pitched chirps with a break between each one, while the American Goldfinch's call is high-pitched, in groups of three, descending, short sounds.

The term birding by ear, means learning to identify birds by their individual calls. Gaining this skill requires time and patience. Start by listening to the birds in your own yard and trying to distinguish one sound from another. You can find the sounds you are hearing by listening to audio clips of individual bird songs online.

Choose the early morning to go bird watching. The cool air and lack of noise allows their calls to be carried more easily. Take detailed notes of what you hear and then go back to the internet and try to match the song to the bird. By listening for a birds call, you can more easily locate the bird itself through your binoculars, and learn to match the physical characteristics with the sound.

Learning to identify birds by their calls will add a rich dimension to your birding experiences, and allow an increased appreciation of the avian creatures that share our world.

The Culinary Delights Of: The Different Types Of Orchids?

Lately I've been reading a lot of orchid books and posts about edible orchids. Since the birth of civilization, the search for edible things has brought us the weirdest culinary delights, such as snails and insects. That is why it's no surprise that even an unlikely source -- orchids -- found its way onto the tables and into the mouths of people around the world.

Discover what and where these incredible flowers have been used as delicious and healthy concoctions. The most common question I found about eating orchids is what can be eaten and how. The answer is basically very easy. Everything! If you are not that picky, actually every part of the orchid that can be chewed and swallowed can be eaten. But the most favorite part of the plant that people eat is the flower.

Aside from vanilla being the most recognized orchid that can be eaten, orchid flowers have been a part of the diet of people long before any of them found their way to cakes and cocktail drinks. Clear examples to this culinary adventure are the people of Hawaii who have been said to have eaten orchids since the 1960's.

They eat them as salads and as candies. Singaporeans also use orchid flowers as a part of a stir-fried dish mixed with vegetables and meat. In Turkey and the Middle East, they use orchid bulbs as flavoring in ice cream. People of South Africa use orchid tubers to flavor meat sauces.

As a matter of fact because of this demand, the existence of the African orchids is now being threatened. The taste is described to be ranging from bitter to sweet depending on the orchid types. Basically since no orchid is poisonous, all orchids are quite edible. They are also rich in fiber, which is good for digestion, and Vitamin C to boost the immune system. Of course, this might not be for everyone's taste buds.

Some may think it's a waste to eat these delicate flowers. But do not worry! There are certain farms that grow these plants especially for cooking. To those willing to try orchids as food, it is surely a new way of seeing (or in this case, tasting) these wonderful beauties of nature. Enjoy the delights of what natural things bring, such as these flowers. Orchids are an alternative to fruits and vegetables. Enjoy them in salads and much more.