Jim Virkler

Adapting to Seasons

By Jim Virkler / August 18, 2015

Published 8-18-2015 “Snow birds” describes a population of US northern climate residents who take refuge from cold winters by migrating to the south, perhaps Florida or Arizona, during the harshest…

Seasons by the Stars

By Jim Virkler / August 13, 2015

Published 8-13-2015 Several weeks ago after family members observed the close conjunction of the crescent moon and planet Venus, my 10-year old grandson pleased me by asking if the Summer…

Copernicus Affirmed

By Jim Virkler / August 9, 2015

Published 8-9-2015 Observers on Earth have been examining the skies for thousands of years. Today’s young people are not often challenged to explain the movement of stars, planets, the moon,…

Is Seeing Believing?

By Jim Virkler / August 3, 2015

Publsihed 8-3-2015 In Holy Scripture there are many descriptive passages engendering wonder at the glory of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. Bible authors described what they saw in the…

Movement in the Skies

By Jim Virkler / July 29, 2015

Published 7-29-2015 In our last post we observed that the conjunction of bright Planet Venus with the crescent moon on July 18, 2015 looked like a “Semicolon in the Sky.”…

Semicolon in the Sky

By Jim Virkler / July 22, 2015

Published 7-22-2015 My 10-and 11-year old grandchildren journeyed outdoors toward evening last Saturday with their uncle to search for milkweed caterpillars, the larvae of monarch butterflies. Milkweed caterpillar collection has…

On Their Own Terms

By Jim Virkler / July 20, 2015

Published 7-20-2015 In our previous post on “Wildlife Perspectives” we closed our discussion of South African mammals and Midwestern birds by mentioning two theories of origins— creationism vs evolutionism. Our…

Wildlife Perspectives

By Jim Virkler / July 14, 2015

Published 7-14-2015 Mammals in South Africa? Birds in the US Midwest? We highlight two geographic regions almost half a world apart for a brief wildlife discussion on animal diversity and…

‘Wrath of God’ Headliner

By Jim Virkler / July 8, 2015

Published 7-8-2015 On June 23, 2015, vicious thunderstorms and windstorms tore through northeastern Iowa. Our local newspaper described widespread damage. Heavy winds knocked down trees and damaged multiple homes. There…

Hundred Year Events

By Jim Virkler / July 3, 2015

Published 7-3-2015 Our personal neighborhood in extreme northwest Illinois has been struck many times in the last dozen years by monumental rainfall events. It is debatable whether their frequency has…

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