The apple was wrongly accused.

It might just have been an innocent victim of an ancient slander. Many scholars believe that it was actually a pomegranate and not an apple that tempted Eve and led to her banishment from Eden. The mistake may be understandable, as pomegranate translates roughly as “apple with grain-like seeds.” Eve was not able to resist.

Sometimes you just have to face the facts, even if they seem rather unpleasant.

Most people use the term habitat without realizing that they are one. Yes, you read right: whether you know it or not, you are a habitat and a home base for ectoparasites.

Sometimes you just have to face the facts, even if they seem rather unpleasant.

Most people use the term habitat without realizing that they are one. Yes, you read right: whether you know it or not, you are a habitat and a home base for ectoparasites.

In the forest, the dead sometimes stand tall and refuse to fall.

Don’t mourn for these deceased; they are a sign of healthy woodlands, wealthy with wildlife. In truth, there is life in tree death.

“Fight blue-sky thinking.”

So says part of the manifesto of the Cloud Appreciation Society. This London-based organization (with a membership of 11,546 cloud spotters) takes the position that “clouds are unjustly maligned and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.”

Sometimes a story just drops into your lap, or more accurately into your e-mail box.

That was the case last October when I received an inquiry about a mystery creature. But since I believe in saving for a rainy day, the story has waited until now.

I received a well-written, humorous, and descriptive inquiry from Jamie Katz, who even did some of the research for me.