The Black Oystercatcher is a conspicuous black bird found on the shoreline of western North America. It ranges from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the coast of the Baja California peninsula. It is a large, noisy bird with a massive long orange or red bill used for smashing or prying open mollusks.

It is restricted in its range, never straying far from shores, in particular favoring rocky shorelines. It has been suggested that this bird is seen mostly on coastal stretches which have some quieter embayments, such as jetty protected areas. It forages in the intertidal zone, feeding on marine invertebrates, particularly mollusks such as mussels, limpets and chitons. It hunts through the intertidal area, searching for food visually, often so close to the water’s edge it has to fly up to avoid crashing surf.

The diet of oystercatchers varies with location. Species occurring inland feed upon earthworms and insect larvae. The diet of coastal oystercatchers is more varied, although dependent upon coast type; on estuaries bivalves, gastropods and polychaet worms are the most important part of the diet, where rocky shore oystercatchers prey upon limpets, mussels, gastropos and chitons. Other prey items include echinoderms, fish, and crabs.

The Black Oystercatcher is a territorial bird during the nesting season, defending a foraging and nesting area in one territory. Some pairs have been recorded staying together for many years. Nests are small bowls or depressions close to the shore in which small pebbles and shell fragments are tossed in with a sideward or backard flick of the bill.

Metacognition refers to a level of thinking that involves active control over the process of thinking that is used in learning situations. Planning the way to approach a learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating the progress towards the completion of a task are skills that are metacognitive in their nature. Similarly, maintaining motivation to see a task to completion is also a metacognitive skill.

The ability to become aware of distracting stimuli, both internal and external, and sustain effort over time also involves metacognitive functions. The theory that metacognition has a critical role to play in successful learning means it is important that it be demonstrated by both students and teachers. 

Metacognition helps people to perform many cognitive tasks more effectively. Strategies for promoting metacognition include self-questioning, thinking aloud while performing a task, and making graphic representations such as concept maps and flow charts of one’s thoughts and knowledge.

Metacognologists believe that the ability to consciously think about thinking is unique to sapient species. The metacognitive processes are ubiquitous, especially when it comes to the discussion of self-regulated learning. Being engaged in metacognition is a salient feature of good self-regulated learners. Groups reinforcing collective discussion of metacognition is a salient feature of self-critical and self-regulating social groups.

Watermelon snow, also called snow algae, is snow that is reddish or pink in color, with the slight scent of a fresh watermelon. Compressing the snow by stepping on it or making snowballs leaves it looking red. Walking on watermelon snow often results in bright red soles and pinkish pant cuffs.

This type of snow is common during the summer in alpine and coastal polar regions worldwide, such as the Sierra Nevada of California. The snow is caused by the presence of Chlamydomonas nivalis, a species of green algae containing a secondary red carotenoid pigment. Unlike most species of fresh-water algae, it is cold-loving and thrives in freezing water. At altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, the temperature is cold throughout the year, and the snow has lingered from winter storms.

Chlamydomonas nivalis owes its red color to a bright red pigment which protects the chloroplasts from intense visible and ultraviolet radiation. They also absorb heat, which provides the algae with liquid water as the snow melts around it. Algal blooms may extend to a depth of 10 inches. It has been calculated that a teaspoon of melted snow contains a million or more of these cells.

The algae sometimes accumulate in “sun cups”, which are shallow depressions in the snow. The carotenoid pigment absorbs heat and as a result it deepens the sun cups and accelerates the melting rate of snowbanks. During the winter months when snow covers them, the algae become dormant. In spring, increased levels of light and melting water stimulate germination.

The first accounts of watermelon snow are in the writings of Aristotle. Watermelon snow has puzzled mountain climbers, explorers, and naturalists for thousands of years, some speculating that it was caused by mineral deposits or oxidation products that were leached from rocks.

The Quince is a small deciduous tree native to warm-temperate southwest Asia. It is related to apples and pears, and has a fruit which is bright golden yellow when mature. The fruit can be eaten cooked or raw and is an excellent source of vitamin C.

Cultivation of quince preceded apple culture. Among the ancient Greeks, the quince was a ritual offering at weddings, for it had come from the Levant with Aphrodite and remained sacred to her. Plutarch reports that a Greek bride would nibble a quince to perfume her kiss before entering the bridal chamber.

Quince was later introduced to the New World, but has become rare in North America due to its susceptibility to fireblight disease caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. Almost all of the quinces in North American specialty markets come from Argentina. In Latin America the gel-like, somewhat adhesive substance surrounding the seeds was used to shape and style hair.

In South America, the membrillo, as the quince is called in Spanish, is cooked into a reddish jello-like block or firm reddish paste known as dulce de membrillo. It is then eaten in sandwiches and with cheese, traditionally manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds. The sweet and floral notes of quince contrast nicely with the tanginess of the cheese.

In the Canary Islands and some places in South America a quince is used to play an informal beach toss-and-swim game, usually among young teens. When mixed with salt water a mature quince will turn its sour taste to sweet. The game is played by throwing a quince into the sea. All players race to catch the quince and whoever catches it takes one bite and tosses the quince again, then the whole process gets repeated until the quince is fully eaten.

Shallots probably originated in Asia, traveling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name “shallot” comes from Ashkelon, presently a city in Israel, where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated. It is a relative of the onion, and tastes a bit like an onion, but has a sweeter, milder flavor. Finely sliced deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine.

Like garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. Their skin color can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta. Shallots are much favored by chefs because of their firm texture and sweet, aromatic yet pungent flavor.

Shallots are propagated by offsets, which, in the Northern Hemisphere, are often planted in September or October, but the principal crop should not be planted earlier than February or the beginning of March. In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and it is a commendable plan to draw away the soil surrounding the bulbs when their roots have taken hold. They come to maturity about July or August, although in cooler climates they can be harvested later.

The shallot in Iran is often crushed into yogurt. Iranians enjoy yogurt in this way, especially in restaurants and Kebab-Saras where kebabs are served. Most shallots are grown wild, harvested, sliced, dried, and sold at markets. Buyers will often soak the shallots for a number of days then boil them to get a milder flavor. Crispy shallot chips are also used in Southern Chinese cuisine. In Indonesia, sometimes it is made into pickle which is usually added in variable kinds of traditional food. Its sourness increases one’s appetite.

The sticky monkey flower is a flowering plant that grows in a shrub form, native to North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California. It grows up to 4 feet tall and has deep green sticky leaves. The flowers are tubular at the base and occur in a variety of shades from white to red, the most common color being a light orange. They are pollinated by bees and hummingbirds.

The stickiness of the leaves and sepals comes from glandular secretions. This resin, which makes up almost 30% of the leaf’s weight, helps to lessen the impact of the larvae of the Euphydryas chalcedona butterfly. The resin that the larvae consume inhibits their growth and protects the plant to some degree.

They are called monkey flowers because the species has flowers shaped like a monkey’s face. The Latin name mimus meaning “mimic actor” originates from the Greek mimos meaning “imitator”. When an insect touches the stigma of the flower, it immediately folds its tips together, thus exposing the anthers so that the insect becomes dusted with pollen. This can be observed by touching the stigma with a pencil.

The Coast Miwok placed the crushed leaves on sores and burns. The roots have been used to treat fever, dysentery, diarrhea, and to curtail hemorrhages. The Pomo have used a decoction made from Sticky Monkey Flower to treat sore, bloodshot eyes which affected many of the men and women who lived in smoky, poorly ventilated dwellings. The flowers commonly have been used to ornament Miwok wreaths and children’s hair.

Questioning the parameters of being human and its relationship with nature has been of philosophical interest before and since Socrates. Questioning the future of the human brings to light moral, religious and philosophical belief systems and, especially, ethical concerns regarding tampering with human nature and what is considered by many, especially in Western culture, to be natural.

The etymology of the term Transhuman goes back to futurist FM-2030 (born Fereidoun M. Esfandiary) who, while teaching new concepts of the human at The New School university in 1966, introduced it as shorthand for “transitory human”. Calling Transhumans the “earliest manifestation of new evolutionary beings,” FM-2030 argued that signs of Transhumanism included physical and mental augmentations including prostheses, reconstructive surgery, intensive use of telecommunications, a cosmopolitan outlook and a globetrotting lifestyle, androgyny, absence of religious beliefs, and a rejection of traditional family values.

Many thinkers today do not consider FM-2030’s characteristics to be essential attributes of a Transhuman. However, analyzing the possible transitional nature of the human species has been and continues to be of primary interest to anthropologists and philosophers within and outside the intellectual movement of Transhumanism.

Jeffrey McKee of the Ohio State University said the new findings of accelerated evolution bear out predictions he made in a 2000 book The Riddled Chain. Based on computer models, he argued that evolution should speed up as a population grows because population growth creates more opportunities for new mutations; and the expanded population occupies new environmental niches, which would drive evolution in new directions. Whatever the implications of the recent findings, McKee concludes that they highlight a ubiquitous point about evolution: every species is a transitional species.

Manuka or Tea Tree is a shrub or small tree native to southeast Australia and New Zealand. It is particularly common in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales and on the drier east coasts of New Zealand. Manuka is the name used in New Zealand, and Tea Tree is a common name in Australia because Captain Cook used the leaves to make a tea drink. 

It is a prolific scrub-type tree and is often one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land. It is typically a shrub but can grow into a moderately sized tree, up to 40 feet in height. It is evergreen, with dense branching and small leaves. The flowers are white, occasionally pink, with five petals. The wood is tough and hard, and was often used for tool handles. Manuka sawdust imparts a delicious flavour when used for smoking meats and fish.

Manuka products have high antibacterial potency for a limited spectrum of bacteria and are widely available in New Zealand. Similar properties led the Maori to use parts of the plant as natural medicine. Kakariki parakeets use the leaves and bark of Manuka to rid themselves of parasites. Apart from ingesting the material, they also chew it, mix it with preen gland oil and apply it to their feathers.

Manuka honey, produced when honeybees gather the nectar from its flowers, is distinctively flavoured, darker and richer in taste than clover honey and has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties. The finest quality Manuka honey with the most potent antimicrobial properties is produced from hives placed in wild, uncultivated areas with abundant growth of Manuka bushes. However a very limited number of scientific studies have been performed to verify its efficacy.