Gripping the smooth gravel with its feet, it walks to the water's edge and continues until it is well below the surface, easily negotiating currents that would sweep away a fisherman in chest waders. Beneath the flow, tiny flaps seal off nostrils, while a second, transparent set of eyelids serve as goggles. Like the water nymphs of ancient lore, dippers sometimes dwell behind cataracts where the only access is through the falling water and where spray continually soaks their nests. Although researchers have yet to prove this theory, what they have documented is no less astonishing.
Mantises are among the few insects that can swivel their heads.
This talent allows a female to respond to an amorous male, stealthily approaching her from behind, by literally biting his head off, an admonishment that impairs his sexual performance not a whit. Scent of High Summer Long after most plants have blossomed, sweet pepperbush fills the air with a fragrance that freezes the fleeting hours of August, drugs the droning bee, and transports aging wanderers of woods and water to a time when summer never ended and one's only commitments were to fish, frogs, and turtles. This leafy shrub, also known as summer sweet, does best with full sunlight in wet soil from southern Maine to Florida and as far west as Texas. The tiny white flowers appear in clusters on upright spikes, which make fine air fresheners if your car smells of, say, wet dog. At this time of year the female will return to her roost several times a night to nurse her pup, which she cradles in her soft wings.