5 Animals With An Extraordinary Sense Of Smell

……and you know sharks made the list!  On a side note, yours truly contributed the info for the tiny shark blurb on this list.  Check it out HERE!

Super scary close-ups

Below is the link to a great compilation of frightening images from under the microscope.

http://memolition.com/2013/05/07/terrifying-images-from-the-microscope-16-pictures/#!prettyPhoto-9599/0/

What do the tiny beings in our world look like when you zoom way WAYYY in?  Some are straight up scary looking.  Insects, worms, and parasites of all sorts are among the worst.  I have known this for a while, given my biology background, but none freaked me out quite like the detailed micrographs and drawings of the heads of marine worms.  I did my undergraduate thesis on one such creepy worm and as a result spent a lot of time looking at these pictures – so much time that these freaky-faced worms have invaded my nightmares on more than one occasion.  Yes, the mark of a true nerd.  Their miniscule, little faces are often adorned with tentacles, bristles, and raptorial jaws for maximum (mini) destruction power!  Anyhow, appropriately so, these marine worms occupy at least 3 spots on this lovely list.  Check it out!

Ohe’o Gulch (7 sacred pools)

On the very last day of our trip to Hawaii, we drove around the island of Maui, stopped in Hana, which we would have all together missed if not for our guidebook, and at Ohe’o Gulch (aka 7 sacred pools).  At the gulch, there are multiple cascading waterfalls that have eroded out at least 7 pools.  It was a little crowded at the bottom pools – lots of people clamoring over the rocks to take in the view and kids jumping off the cliffs into the water.  We decided to climb up to the upper pools/waterfalls and found that we had it completely to ourselves.  It was magical.  Our own private Maui waterfall.  So of course we decided to jump off the cliffs and take turns swimming over to and under the waterfall.  What Hawaiian vacation is complete with out a swim under a waterfall!?!?  It  was a perfect way to end our visit to one of my favorite places on the planet.

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Our wedding trip was completely perfect and everything we wanted it to be.  We were able to have our private moment making the biggest commitment of our lives to each other on a beach in paradise and spend the rest of the time cramming in as many wild adventures as possible.  We missed sharing this moment with our families, so in less than a month we will head back home to celebrate with all of them (you)!  See you all soon!!!!

5 caves dive in maui

Here are a few photos from our last dive in Maui – 5 caves.  I have only ever done one “cave dive” in my life and it was this site during my last visit.  Dave was a little wary when I described it to him, but decided he wasn’t going to miss out on such a cool adventure.  We saw lots of fish, eels, and sea turtles (including a couple IN the cave with us).  I also kept finding sea urchins that looked like they were making faces at us!  I did not pose them this way – it’s just how I found them.  Enjoy the show!

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On another note, I just have one more wedding trip post before I move on to all the other amazing stuff that has happened in our lives since then.  Next up, pictures from our drive to Hana and to 7 Sacred Pools. 

Cats can see optical illusion too

Here’s a video that combines a cute kitten and a cool science trick, an optical illusion.  Awesome!

Maui Hike

Finally, I am resuming with the wedding/honeymoon trip photos.  Here are some pictures from a hike we took with our friends, Morgan and Josh on Morgan’s bday.  I can’t remember the name of the area we hiked, but it was a nice long, vertical climb.  The views were astounding, as with almost everywhere in Maui.  We also took a little break for a little jumping photo session as you’ll see below.  I have almost as much fun taking these photos as looking at them!  Enjoy!

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Creepy zebrafish larvae

The power of microscopy…. to freak you out.  These are zebrafish larvae.  Little weirdos.

Photo found HERE.

 

Also, a few more wedding trip posts to come…