Piltdown Superman

Anyone who has worked the land, even a small patch, has encountered weeds. Sometimes a plant is called a weed simply because it grows where it is not wanted. Many weeds can be considered aggressive: They are hardy, grow quickly, and hog resources. Indeed, some weeds grow larger and taller than desired plants so they  can get the good stuff. Some even suppress the growth of other plants. Yet weeds can be useful , even helping reclaim damaged land and reduce soil erosion. Dandelions are edible . Multiflora rose is a weed, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Some plants look good, but they are weeds. Goldenrod (also called ragweed) is an enemy of people with allergies. One name of  Achillea ptarmica is sneezewort ( wort  means plant ). Multiflora rose was actually brought into the Americas to help with soil erosion, but it was realized that the plant should have been left alone. Some weeds are deceptive. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares , and tares (called darn...

There is a perennial wildflower that grows in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere known as fireweed  in America, and  rosebay willowherb in Britain. It seems like an understatement to refer to land as disturbed  after fires or volcanic eruptions (or bombing, it has been called bombweed  in England), but fireweed is ready to reclaim the land. Fireweed is attractive, but may be sparse during good times for the land. Its method of distributing itself on disturbed land (above and below ground) is quite interesting. Fireweed, Flickr / Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Kristine Sowl (PD) When Mt. St. Helens erupted, the land was a mess and scientists watched for years to see how it would recover. Guess what showed up right quick-like? Yup, fireweed was observed  by 1985. Fungi also joined the land reclamation party. Add to this is that fireweed and other plants are food for wildlife — if they eat the right varieties at opportune times. One reas...

As a child, I watched what we called helicopter leaves (maple tree seeds) spinning to the ground. Sometimes they were plentiful, so other kids and I would scoop them up and fling them in the air, watching them spin down again. Do kids play with Javan cucumber seeds? The Javan cucumber is misnamed, more closely related to the pumpkin. It is not edible and seems to live to reproduce. Gourds swell and get quite large. When conditions are right, they open up and release the seeds. The seeds are also large and can travel surprising distances. Alsomitra macrocarpa seed, Wikimedia Commons / Scott Zona ( CC BY 2.0 ) While birds, insects, and flying mammals are the obvious choices for studies related to flight, these seeds have garnered a great deal of attention over the years for biomimetics (applying things found in nature for human applications). The seeds have inspired several aircraft designs. In addition, wind currents around the gourds that take the seeds on their journeys are also stu...

Although the secular science industry shuns evidence for design, occasionally its members slip up and imply that it actually happens. Design has been demonstrated when looking at biology from an engineering perspective which leads to better science. The word bullseye  can refer to a target at the center of the flower. It is inviting to bees. Researchers used the word blueprint , which implies an engineer, when they evosplained how  Hibiscus trionum developed its own bullseye and the way petals form to attract pollinating bees. Hibiscus bullseye, Wikimedia Commons / Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova  ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Getting bees to the pollen is an example of mutualism, benefiting both flower and bee. See? But evolution is supposed to happen without purpose. Mutualism here supposedly means that both parties evolved so they could help each other, and have this happen through random processes. That'll be the day! It's a much more reasonable conclusion that the Master Engineer makes...

Out Colorado way,  Gunnison National Forest takes up parts of five counties. It is bordered by other national forests. Quaking aspens (the leaves tremble in the breeze) are widely distributed across North America, and may be mistaken for birch trees due to their white bark and size. Aspens have several features that indicate the design work of the Master Engineer. The bark is thin, so some critters munch on it. However, the bark performs photosynthesis, a job normally done by leaves. These trees also have interesting growth techniques. Gunnison, CO scene with rainbow, Unsplash / Abby Santurbane In another part of the forest is Taylor Park Reservoir. When the rock was blasted to make the dam and reservoir, bent rock strata were revealed. Biblical creationists point out that rocks cannot be folded or bent over the millions of years in the uniformitarian stories; rock will break. This sedimentary rock was deposited in the Genesis Flood and was pliable, so it was compatible to folding...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Animal rights extremists have been known to refer to the killing of animals as "murder," but that word does not mean what they think it means. Murder is the unlawful taking of a human  life. Humans are sentient. We have consciousness, intelligence, awareness, and all that good stuff. Some critters have consciousness, but not on our level. Corvids (crows, magpies, ravens, blue jays, and the lot) are considered very intelligent, yet they do not write music. Consider  panpsychism , where all living things supposedly have some consciousness. This includes plants. Dandelions, Pexels / Egor Komarov Plant consciousness would raise some questions of morality for some people. F'rinstance, many vegetarians and vegans choose their eating habits on what they consider to be moral grounds. If it turns out that plants have consciousness, they would have to be consistent and not eat those either! On the other hand, this scientist loves dandelions and points out t...

In our neck of the woods, the autumnal equinox has just happened. The first day of fall...because that's what leaves on deciduous trees do. Some folks have fun admiring the autumn foliage, even taking trips to see it. They are sometimes given the silly epithet "leaf peepers." Nature is not tied to solar or manmade calendars. Some trees begin the leaf color-changing process before autumn, others hang on to their leaves a while longer. Conditions are the guiding force, including stress. Leaves changing colors and falling is by design. Late summer trees beginning to change color, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen While scientists have a handle on the process, there is still much to learn. Since there will be less sunlight, the leaves that are used to catch it are burdensome. Before they are released from their duty, trees take back nutrients. There is no chlorophyll in the leaves, so their existing colors are revealed — except red leaves, those undergo a chemical transformation...

This post is unusual in several ways, especially since the author is in the ID camp and not friendly to biblical creation science. Links are given here for information and to try to prompt readers to think. Although creation is not mentioned, the subject is still of interest to creationists. Scientists are considering the idea that less complex living things may actually be sentient. (Some are even pondering the idea of sentience in cells, but that idea seems to be too much too soon.) Insects have tiny brains, but show intelligence in facial recognition, for example. Wildflowers in Oneonta Forest Preserve, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen (modified at PhotoFunia ) Materialism is the belief that material is all that exists, no God or spirits, and naturalism is its kid brother. That is,  nature  is all that exists. New word alert: panpsychism . This belief is that all living things have some consciousness. Although there does not appear to be any real conflict between naturalism ...

If someone gets a notion to saddle up and ride to the extreme northeast of the US, going on through Maine in a certain place will get them to the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Some fossilized plants were found there that paleontologists described as "enigmatic." One reason for this wording is that they show an extreme amount of detail, which seems to be increasingly common among fossils nowadays. In addition, scientists were surprised at the complexity of the fossilized plants. Neither of these facts are surprising to creationists. Fossilized water fern (image adjusted), Fossil Butte, Wyoming, National Park Service (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Yet again, secular paleontologists are assuming deep time and evolution, which in turn dictates the way they interpret evidence. Creationists have the same evidence, but presuppose recent creation and biblical truth in their interpretations (see " What is Really Seen from the Webb Telescope " for ...

Some of the hands from the Darwin Ranch traveled down from Deception Pass and gone into town to celebrate. Rusty Swingset, the foreman, was even paying for their drinks. The reason? Some evolutionists had used education, technology, and skill in making a hybrid plant receptor, supposedly demonstrating no intelligence or Designer was necessary. Study on that a spell. Good science is often tainted by worthless efforts to prove evolution. Plants pay attention to their environment with receptors, and two of them control development and immunity. Woodland sunflower, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen It is not an isolated incident. Instead, faulty logic, incomplete evidence, materialistic presuppositions, and more are common. For that matter, part of our DNA was called "junk" by tinhorns who did not know what they were doing and used a faulty dataset. Other Darwinists gleefully joined in and added their two grotzits-worth of opinions "Junk" DNA became the consensus — and it...

Bugs for lunch, what a marvelous idea! No, this is not about nutty leftist environmentalists , but rather, something that is in the environment: carnivorous plants. Although not envying their diets, creationists have been discussing pitcher plants and Venus fly traps for years. Pitcher plants are slippery and flytraps snap shut, but there are several other kinds of these plants. While it is true that questions are raised about the existence of carnivorous plants in a very good  creation, biblical creationists take on those challenges . Venus flytraps, morgueFile / xianstudio Carnivory in the plant world is not explainable by evolutionary speculations. One way to evosplain them is to say that various types of these plants "evolved independently" multiple times, but that is sometimes annoying even to Darwin's disciples. In addition, there are disparate mechanisms in place in each kind of plant, each contributing to irreducible complexity: Every part must be in place and w...

As many people know, a cornerstone of particles-to-paleontologist evolution is mutations. Fundamentalist evolutionists insist that mutations are entirely random — admittedly, that is plausible on the surface. They also claim that there is no purpose (teleology) in evolution. While there are many random mutations, it has been shown (much to the dismay of the Bearded Buddha and his acolytes) that some mutations are the result of advance planning, not random at all . In addition, DNA repair systems are taking the wind out of Darwin's sails. Thale cress, Rawpixel / NASA (Public Domain) Over Eurasia and Africa way, there's a plant that the locals consider a weed. Scientists love it, though. Using the science of genetics pioneered by creationist Gregor Mendel (peas be upon him), a great deal of the genome of the thale cress has been studied. Then came some surprises. Although they won't admit it, not only is there DNA repair happening, but non-randomness in mutations. This seem...

The other day, I saw a graphic called First Day in Heaven  that was meant to portray someone joyfully embracing Jesus upon their arrival. I said that this is how I pictured it with my beloved wife. Someone replied that she will greet me with open arms again. A vile atheist chided that person for "lying" to me. Aside from having the decency to let me have my comfort even though he rejects the truth of the gospel, he was assuming that there is no Heaven, so we are wrong — or lying. Because atheism. This is similar to how atheists and evolutionists call on biblical creationists to explain our views on things, yet they often assume we are wrong or lying and will not listen to us. That is not the way to have an intelligent discussion. How can some poisonous plants be a part of God's original very good  creation from a creationist perspective? Both skeptics and many Christians want to know. Sosnowsky’s hogweed, Wikimedia Commons / Krzysztof Ziarnek ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Creationist...

There are words with phile  or similar in them that often mean a love of something, such as philosophy (love or wisdom or learning). The word structure can also make it seem like an organism has a fondness for something, actually meaning that it thrives in a certain environment. A thermophile  lives in extremely hot areas such as the thermal vents on the ocean floor. Want to take a crack at halophyte ? That one is a bit tricky, but it uses the word for salt. There are plants that thrive in saline conditions inhospitable to many other plants. Athel Tamarisk, iNaturalist / Xochitl Zambrano ( CC BY 4.0 ) Athel tamarisk is one of those stubborn plants that lives in deserts and is found in many parts of the world. One of its handels is the Athel pine, and it does resemble pine in some ways. It is also useful as a windbreak, and since it doesn't burn easily, it can be used to hinder fire. When it lives in saline conditions, it actually gives off salt! Athel tamarisk was designed by...

There is an expensive word we need to define: anthropomorphizing. That means giving human characteristics to non-humans, such as those talking rodents in cartoons or animatronic bears in pizzarias. It seems to be human nature to give human traits to things. It is similar to reification , which is a logical fallacy. F'rinstance, "Science insists..." No. "Evolution gave this creature..." No, again. Those are concepts  that are given human characteristics. The part about reification is a bonus for you, now look at how the smart plants know that autumn has arrived here! Burning Bush changing colors, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen , modified at PhotoFunia The vocabulary lesson may seem trivial, but there is something deeper going on that the author of the article linked below wants to present. Regular readers have seen that there are many plants that seem intelligent, even with the ability to communicate with each other . It has been claimed that plants "know...

Okay, a tree can only be friendly when it is given human traits in stories. But if one could actually be friendly, it would be the baobab (its counterpart would be the poisonous manchineel tree ). Nine species have been counted that have some basic similarities. A grown baobab may have been in place for a thousand years, so it has an impressive circumference. Leaves? It only grows them during the very short wet season. Although the top branches look like roots, the actual roots run deep. The Creator built it to survive those harsh conditions. Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar, Pexels / Beau Botschuijver Baobab trees have many uses. The leaves are edible, the branches trap rainfall, even the seeds can be eaten. The bark can be used to make clothing and rope. But baobabs are not in a hurry to grow, so they are difficult to cultivate — except researchers in Ghana have some promising work happening. These trees are in several diverse regions, which causes so much controversy among evolut...

There are a few in the secular science industry who are not content with a simplistic " it evolved " response, they want do dig in deeper. Especially when something like the Venus flytrap has baffled them for years. The more they study, the more puzzling it is. This little plant from the Carolinas in the formerly United States has been treated like a toy by some people. It will not snap shut by just any touch. Similarly, a rapid increase in heat can cause it to snap shut. Venus flytraps, morgueFile / xianstudio Researchers tested the plants with heat to see what happens, and this child wonders if they had a bit of fun like some kids might. Imagine... "Whatcha doin' with that hot air blower, Bo?" "Gladja came along, Cletus. Watch this." He blows hot air on the Venus flytrap and it closes. Well, I would have had fun. Anyway, those plants are not going to close up shop just because it's a hot day. The blower experiment revealed that they shut their t...

Southeast Texas has a national preserve that covers a great deal of ground. Texas can handle Big Thicket National Preserve , though. A national preserve is like a national park , but hunting and mineral extraction are permitted under close regulation. There is a variety of recreational activities partly because it has several ecosystems, so both hiking and kayaking can happen on the same day. Naturally, this means there are several different kinds of lifeforms. One that is our focus shows the genius of the Creator and planned mutualism. Cypress slough habitat, Big Thicket National Preserve, WikiComm / William L. Farr ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Pitcher plants show design through their shape, which takes in some rainwater under the hood, and a fragrance attracts insects. They get in there and become food for the plant. In the days before the plants grow pitchers, they attract bees but do not trap them. However, the plant is designed to nudge the bee to pollinate other flowers! Many things in natu...

Although professing atheists claim that living things only appear to have been designed, people who do not filter their observations through that opinion can easily see that living things were not only designed, but designed by our Creator (Rom. 1:18-23). I will go further: I believe part of his purpose was for our pleasure — and meet our needs. They are like living jewels with an incredible array of colors, but they fade away when their time is done (Isaiah 40:8). One does not have to be a botanist to appreciate them. Pink peonies, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen , modified at PhotoFunia Flowering and reproduction are complicated systems (being a botanist is helpful for understanding these details). Birds, bees, flowers, trees have some connections to it. Many flowers need insects and sometimes animals for pollination, and seed dispersal is done through birds, insects, various animals, the wind, and so on. By the way, believers in particles-to-peonies evolution claim that everything c...

Back when Darwin roamed the earth, he called the ginkgo a living fossil. Some organisms with that moniker disappeared from the fossil record, then were found alive and well ( such as the coelacanth ). Others have remained essentially unchanged over alleged millions of years when compared to their fossils. A frequent rescuing device when something remains unchanged is stasis : It had no need to evolve. To be blunt, that is a stupid excuse because a lot can happen over all those years. No, one reason it did not change is because the earth is not as old as evolutionists claim. Gingko leaves in autumn, Wikimedia Commons /  Joe Schneid  ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Moving on from the living fossil aspect, people can easily find ginkgo biloba supplements in "natural" food stores and in vitamin sections of stores. Like with many health benefit claims, those not fully researched . Coordinated international research would be nice. Ginkgo is a large, hearty tree. It also has a large genome — bigge...