Cartoon by @deadder.bsky.social.

I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake By A Horse Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where they want to go. The main food the humans give me is hay and oats. But I am thinking it would be nice to have a different food. I am thinking I would like to try cake. Yes, yes. Cake. I know all about it. When humans eat cake, it is in glad times. It is the food for a celebration, such as when a woman becomes 47. I have seen cake on the Fourth of July. When humans have a cake, they stand around it and clap hands and smile and say happy birthday at each other. Sometimes there are beautiful markings on a cake, such as balloons or a pink shape. Sometimes the top of a cake is on fire and a boy must blow on the fire with mouth wind. This is the scariest cake. I do not want this kind. But I will eat any other cake. Any cake that is not the fire cake that tries to kill the boy. Please understand: I do not get money for doing work. I do not get to go inside the house. All I am either doing my horse job or standing in my pen or eating food off the floor. I always do these things. But I have never once gotten cake and I would like it very much. I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children. I am more helpful to the farm. Children do not move the heavy things like me or let anyone ride on them. And yet they get cake. Maybe the humans will realize this. Maybe they will say, "You know who deserves cake? That horse. That horse whose back we are always on." Every day I dream about what it will be like if I get to eat cake. Here is what will happen. First, I will walk to the cake and putt my nose at it like hrrfff to make and stomping my hooves to make sure it is not a snake. Then I will trot in a circle to show that I am a horse and I am large. After that, I will nuzzle the cake to …

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me.

It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

Book shop

Why do we live in such a childish, stupid country? A country that wastes its money on useless billion dollar aircraft carriers, when it could be spending those tax dollars to actually help its citizens like sane countries.

If Trump wants to put boots on the ground in Iran he should start with the 1600 pieces of shit he pardoned for attacking our Capitol on January 6th.

a beautiful flower filled lane in Devon, Englad

I will never get tired of the moment when I receive the first copy of my book. 5 years... it all starts in my head but now it's really really real. An object with pages, words and illustrations.
#TheTraveller

The Lawton Principles: more, bigger, better and more joined up. YouTube video by Bill Sutherland's Conservation Concepts

Really enjoyed discussing The Lawton Principles (more, bigger, better and more joined up) with the ever enthusiastic John Lawton. youtu.be/GMlzvNxM2N0?...

Cover of The Lancet:

@thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

A little armored one / turtle rabbit in the wild

The word armadillo is borrowed from Spanish and simply means “little armored one.” But an even better word for an armadillo, in my opinion, is the Nahuatl ayotochtli. It means “turtle rabbit.”

“The Zukunftskolleg Konnect Fellowships support early career researchers from Africa, Asia and Latin America, who do research that fits to one of the thirteen departments at the University of Konstanz.” www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...

We use a coordination game to study repeated emergence and abandonment of mutualistic interactions. The game reflects that mutualisms must be widespread to generate robust benefits. Mutualisms can collapse even in the absence of cheating and even if they would result in higher fitness. rdcu.be/eWnIc

No, they are only alienating a minority of entitled degenerates who think that chasing animals to exhaustion and throwing them live to be ripped apart by a pack of dogs is a bit of a laugh. This should have been confined to history just like bear baiting, dog fighting, and hare coursing long ago.

Screenshot of a tweet by James Tate reading, “An educated populace is a threat to power.” The tweet includes a quoted graphic stating that ICE is offering a $45,000 signing bonus and $100,000 starting salary, compared to a teacher earning $55,000 in their eighth year with a master’s degree, arguing that education has been intentionally defunded.

Our government’s priorities are entirely backward. And purposefully so.

On this day, a child was born who left an indelible mark on human history, transforming our understanding of the world. Famous for his long hair, he unraveled the mysteries of the heavens and brought light to the world.

Happy Birthday, Sir Isaac Newton.
(Born Dec 25, 1642, Julian Calendar)

@billbramhall.bsky.social

We are thrilled to announce the #launch of the Tom Lovejoy Conservation Fellowship #postdoctoral #research program!

Learn more here: lovejoycenter.arizona.edu/lovejoy-fell...

Intriguing! I wonder what same figure looks like for plants and fungi?

Rethinking how we talk about conservation—and why it matters Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For a movement so often framed by loss—and confronting a particularl...

Thoughtful end of year piece by @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social about how we frame #conservation: “Less crisis, more agency.”
news.mongabay.com/2025/12/reth...

A person carrying a backpack crosses a footbridge in a hilly area. Text overlaid on the image says, “Out of Eden Walk is a 38,000 km walk across the world in the footsteps of our ancestors.”

✍️ Slow journalism requires public support. Out of Eden Walk is a nonprofit org, & we're raising funds for the journey ahead. Our Board is matching all donations at a 1:1 ratio up to $45k. As we walk into the Americas, pls consider a donation to keep us moving: www.outofedenwalknonprofit.org/campaign

Paddy Kalish OD shared this photo of reindeer eyes, showing a dramatic difference in eye color, probably dramatized, because the real effect is a eye-shine color, which is hard to represent.

So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.

For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.

Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.

To remember William Bond, you could listen to his powerful talk on behalf of grasses! It is a seminal lesson in savanna ecology. Personally, I also find it nice to hear his voice.

jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2021/02/21/a...

🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience #savanna

A great loss. A formidable and eloquent mind.

In the year of our Lord two-thousand-twenty-five, there are still shockingly diagnosable, legit never-before-seen-by-scientists new bird species out there to be discovered

The stock market's gains are being overwhelmingly driven by seven Big Tech companies who have invested heavily in AI, which has made tech oligarchs even wealthier.

But when that AI bubble bursts, the rest of us will be stuck holding the bag.

Be warned.