Natural History

  • Blessed are the Beadmakers January 1, 2009 lottery numbers Grand Turk was the site of a prehistoric bead-making workshop. Story & Photos By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson One of the long-forgotten beatitudes reads: “Blessed are the Beadmakers, for they shall inherit Grand Turk.” Ok, we invented this supposedly Biblical reference, but the point is that Caribbean archaeology is going through a major episode of ... Read more about this post
  • Totally Tubular January 1, 2009 pennsylvania lottery Some marine worms live their entire lives inside a cylinder of their own making. Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos and Captions by Barbara Shively Even if the word “worm” gives you the heebie jeebies as you conjure grade-school boys dangling them in front of your face on the playground, you’re going to love the elegant ... Read more about this post
  • Talking Taino: The Book September 1, 2008 florida lottery By Bill Keegan & Betsy Carlson It seems like yesterday, but five years have now passed since we began writing our column called “Talking Taíno” for Times of the Islands. Our goal has been to use the words of the original inhabitants of the Caribbean, known as Taínos when Europeans arrived, to highlight Caribbean natural ... Read more about this post
  • Salt June 1, 2008 An essay on the most valuable commodity in human history. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson “Guinea John . . . made his way to the East Coast, mounted the cliff at Manzanilla , put two corn cobs under his armpits and flew away to Africa, taking with him the mysteries of levitation and flight . . . He ... Read more about this post
  • Masters of Disguise June 1, 2008 These fish have perfected the game of aquatic hide-and-go-seek. Story By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos By Barbara Shively We get the English word camouflage from the  French camoufler (to disguise), which likely derived from camouflet, meaning “a puff of smoke” or “smoke blown in someone’s face as a practical joke.” But to fish, who exist in an ... Read more about this post
  • Fans, Rods, Plumes and Whips April 1, 2008 Soft corals play an integral role in the coral ecosystem. Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos by Barbara Shively You can’t dip below the water’s surface in any tropical paradise without noticing the amazing Technicolor world that exists there—“the inner planet,” as it’s been called. It truly is another world, teeming with more life and ... Read more about this post
  • Mother Sea Turtle April 1, 2008 A look at the importance of turtles to the Tainos as food and myth. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson “On a voyage north from Panama to Hispaniola, according to the journal kept in 1503 by Ferdinand Columbus, ‘we were in sight of two very small and low islands, full of tortoises, as was all ... Read more about this post
  • Talking Taino: The Chip-Chip Gatherers January 1, 2008 Collecting and eating small shellfish serves as a metaphor for Taino life. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson Chip-chip: a small shellfish found along the tideline of Trinidadian beaches. Gathering chip-chip is a weary task, bringing almost no reward. Shiva Naipaul, 1973 In 1973, Shiva Naipaul, the brother of renowned author Sir V. S. Naipaul ... Read more about this post
  • Bedrock of the Reef January 1, 2008 Bedrock of the Reef Hard corals are the underwater realm’s essential, yet vulnerable building blocks. Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos by Barbara Shively It’s not exactly like missing the forest for the trees, but let’s just say that the novice snorkeller or diver pays much more attention to the passing fish and other ... Read more about this post
  • Talking Taino: Catch of the Day September 1, 2007 Contrary to our current dilemma, the Taino always knew where their fish came from. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson “Here the fishes are so unlike ours that it is amazing; there are some like dorados, of the brightest colors in the world — blue, yellow, red, multi-colored, colored in a thousand ways; and ... Read more about this post
  • Sea-Faring Butterflies September 1, 2007 Flitting about the reef for food and courtship, butterflyfish swap wings for fins. Story By Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos By Barbara Shively English speakers call this colorful, delicate and playful species of fish by a poetic name — butterflyfish — but its scientific name tells a different story. Chaetodontidae, pronounced key-toe-DON-ti-day, comes from the ... Read more about this post
  • Partying, Taino-style June 1, 2007 The ritual of Taino arietos often had a deep and sacred meaning. By Bill Keegan and Betsy Carlson Music and dance are integral parts of human life. Every culture in the world has songs and dances that are used to mark important occasions and special ceremonies. Among the Tainos these were called arietos. Taino communities are characterized by ... Read more about this post
  • “Can’t Get No Respect” June 1, 2007 Often feared, the humble eel is actually fascinating to study. Story by Suzanne Gerber ~ Photos by Barbara Shively Pity the poor eel. It never makes anyone’s Top 10 list of Favorite Fish. In fact, for many underwater visitors, the mere pronunciation of its name inspires profound fright, often bordering on terror, or, at best, disgust. And ... Read more about this post
  • The Stranger King April 1, 2007 By William Keegan and Betsy Carlson The tale of the “stranger king” is told in some version in virtually every culture in the world. It is the tale of an immigrant king who deposes the former ruler and marries his daughter. The basic story line is as follows: The heroic son-in-law from a foreign land ... Read more about this post
  • Color My World April 1, 2007 Some fish exhibit drastic changes in appearance as they age. Story By Suzanne Gerber Photos By Barbara Shively Of all the traits and qualities of a fish’s life, color is the most important. We humans who snorkel, scuba-dive and visit aquariums tend to regard fishes’ colors and patterns as merely aesthetic: things of beauty that enchant and beguile ... Read more about this post

What's Inside The Latest Edition?

On the Cover

Gary James at Provo Pictures (www.provopictures.com) used a drone to photograph this bird’s-eye view of Dragon Cay off Middle Caicos. It perfectly captures the myriad of colors and textures that make God’s works of art in nature so captivating.

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