Question and Answer
What they did before Google… Question C.D. Velie to Thomas Sadler Roberts, December 8, 1921: My Dear Doctor: I have two carrier pigeons, mounted, on my desk here at the office, which you can have if you will send over…
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Termites
Are you sick of glass plate negatives yet? I certainly do post a lot about them. The fact is I spend the better part of my day looking at the scanned images of the negatives, deciphering the hand-written notations on…
Wild Animal Wednesday: Scary Animals
A close friend of mine recently shared a quote from her 2-year-old son, “Bears can scare people, Mom. And monsters, and snakes, and lions. All sorts of animals can scare people.” After I read his realization, I had to laugh,…
Tuesday Tweet: Baby Hawks
While it may be more common in this day and age to refer to little animals as “babies,” the slightly more academic terms “young” and “juvenile” were used by Thomas Sadler Roberts when he noted the age of the birds…
Keeps the stars and stripes flying…
In honor of Veterans Day, it is apt to share a patriotic image: – Itasca State Park Commissioner John P. Gibbs at the Park House, 1902 A small slip of paper inserted within the envelope that protects this glass plate…
Friday Flora: Across the Pond
In honor of the British holiday Guy Fawkes Day earlier this week (Remember, remember the 5th of November!), I thought it would be appropriate to share something from across the pond. You may ask, with the Exploring grant focused on…
Let It Snow
Following the first snowfall in the Twin Cities yesterday evening, I remembered that I have encountered several snowy scenes while working with the glass plate negatives in the Bell Museum collection. Here are some selected snow scenes to help sensitize…
Tuesday Tweet: Bath time!
(from the glass plate negatives in the Bell Museum of Natural History collection) – Birdbath at Frank Commons residence, 1923 – Birdbath on wall at W.C. Edgar’s place, 1923 – Birdbath in front yard at W.C. Edgar’s place, 1923 -…
The Survey, Year II: It could use a little salt…
In our previous post regarding the initial evaluation of the progress made by State Geologist Newton Horace Winchell in the first year of the implementation of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey, we ended with the following question and…
Friday Flora: Picnic Amongst the Pines
When he wasn’t in the field making bird observations in pursuit of his ornithological hobby, Thomas Sadler Roberts shared his love of nature with his family members. Here Roberts is pictured having lunch with Mrs. Roberts and their three children…