<![CDATA[ Stan C. Smith

<![CDATA[ Stan C. Smith - Blog]]>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:17:49 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Life's Great Mysteries - Why do we think certain animals are cute?]]>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:05:33 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/july-09th-2026You know what I'm talking about. We see certain animals, and we automatically say (or think), "Awww."

THE FIRST PHOTO is a juvenile cottontail rabbit I saw a few weeks ago, and it's a perfect example.

The leading explanation for this phenomenon comes from Konrad Lorenz, an ethologist (someone who studies animal behavior). In 1943, Lorenz suggested that almost all baby animals have certain physical characteristics in common. For example, a relatively large head compared to the body, rounded cheeks, a high forehead, a small nose and mouth, and rounder bodies. He called this the "baby schema," and the reason most people find these critters to be cute is because humans have a deeply ingrained instinct to nurture babies. After all, humans are animals too, and our babies have these same physical characteristics.

On a more fundamental level, when we perceive cuteness, this stimulates the pleasure center of the brain, releasing dopamine and oxytocin, which promote social bonding and reduce aggression. Cuteness actually triggers a physical response.

And, from my experience, I feel like the closer the baby animal is related to humans, the more we feel the cuteness factor. Baby non-human primates, for example. THE SECOND PHOTO includes a baby howler monkey that we saw in Belize a few weeks ago.

With many species of monkeys, we even perceive the adults as cute. THE THIRD PHOTO is an adult white-faced capuchin we saw in Panama. Even though this individual appears to be grouchy, its similarities to a human, and the overall baby-like proportions of its face, stimulate our brain to feel affection for it.

And a lot of other types of mammals that are not primates have body proportions as adults that strike us as cute. THE FOURTH PHOTO is an agouti (a large type of rodent) that we saw in Belize. Even though this is an adult, its proportions trigger our brain to feel affection for it.

The animals don't even have to be mammals. THE FIFTH PHOTO is a baby gecko we found in Belize, barely larger than the tip of Trish's finger. Simply because its eyes were proportionally huge compared to its body, we both immediately thought of it as cute, and we went to considerable effort to move it safely to a place where it wouldn't get stepped on.

The cuteness factor is powerful!

All photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Birds that Eat Fish]]>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 15:57:23 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-birds-that-eat-fishAs I was browsing through my photos from our recent trip to Belize, I saw several photos of birds that are adapted to eating fish. No big deal, right? But doesn't this seem strange? Fish are masters of the water, birds are masters of the air. Two very different domains.

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that birds can eat fish. After all, birds are diverse, and various bird species have adapted to specialize on eating just about every type of food you can imagine. Hummingbirds drink flower nectar. Robins eat worms. Bearded vultures are experts at eating bones. African honeyguides eat bee's wax. Amazonian Hoatzins eat only leaves. European honey buzzards specialize in eating Asian hornets. Sharp-beaked ground finches consume blood. Snail kites and limpkins (we've seen both of these in Belize) eat only snails. The list could go on and on.

Here are a few kinds of fish-eating birds we saw in Belize as we drifted along a river in a boat.

Kingfishers seem like they are too small to catch fish, but they are master anglers. They sit on perches above the water, and when they see small fish swimming near the surface, they swoop down to snag one with their specialized beak.

PHOTO ONE is a male green kingfisher. This small bird is only 7 inches from beak tip to tail tip, but that doesn't stop it from catching and swallowing surprisingly large fish.

Speaking of catching large fish, PHOTO TWO is a ringed kingfisher (more than twice the size of the green kingfisher). This dude (yes, it's a male too) was working hard to soften a catfish it caught so that it could swallow it. I watched for a while, but the bird was still working on the fish when our boat drifted beyond sight. I'll never know if it got the fish down its throat.

By the way, neither of these two kingfisher species make nests in trees. Instead, they dig burrows in the mud at the shore using their strong beaks. Then they lay their eggs on the bare mud at the back end of the burrow.

Let's consider a larger fish-eating bird. PHOTO THREE is a green heron. These birds don't hunt fish by flying down to scoop them up like kingfishers do. Instead, they creep along the edge of the water (like this one is doing), moving slowly and often holding very still. When they see a fish or frog, they shoot out their long beak and snatch the prey. They rarely wade in the water while hunting like larger herons do, I suppose because their legs aren't long enough.

Let's go up in size even more. PHOTO FOUR is a bare-throated tiger-heron. They stand about 30 inches (76cm) tall. These beautiful birds not only eat fish (they stand very still in the water and ambush their prey), but they eat almost anything else they can swallow, including frogs, crayfish, rodents, snakes, lizards, small birds, and even baby turtles and crocodiles (we saw at least eight baby crocodiles while drifting on this river). Tiger-herons are not the least bit picky.

By the way... tiger-herons have a really weird bellowing call, very different from the croaks of many other herons. Listen to the call here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gp6tOCyGxjc

Wait! Something else just occurred to me. Are there any fish that eat birds? I mean, why not? Actually, there are. Northern pike and largemouth bass are known to prey on young ducks and geese that happen to be swimming on the surface. But this is nothing compared to the giant trevally. This large ocean fish can analyze the flight trajectory of low-flying seabirds, and then leap completely out of the water to catch them mid-flight. And the silver arowana, a fish of the Amazon Basin, can leap two meters out of the water to snatch birds from overhanging limbs.

As it shoots skyward to grab a bird, I wonder if the fish is thinking, "It's payback time!"

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Arrow crabs and two kinds of lobsters.]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 20:42:26 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-arrow-crabs-and-two-kinds-of-lobstersToday, let's look at a few crustaceans we saw while snorkeling at Turneffe Atoll, about 35 miles (56 km) off the coast of Belize.

First, the arrow crab. This bizarre creature appears to be all legs. PHOTO ONE is an arrow crab I saw crawling on a boulder coral.

See what I mean? All legs. During the day, these long-legged critters hang around inside the openings of sponges, among the tentacles of anemones, and on corals. At night, they skitter around and feed on whatever tiny stuff they can find. Sometimes these crabs will decorate their bodies with bits of algae and sponges to make it harder for predators to see them.

PHOTO TWO is an arrow crab Trish was holding in her hands:

Now let's look at two species of lobsters. PHOTO THREE is the Caribbean spiny lobster, sometimes called the rock lobster. During the lobster season (July 1 through February 28), many of these huge crustaceans are harvested, and Belizeans have grand lobster festivals to celebrate the opening of the season.

We saw a number of these magnificent crustaceans, but this one came right out from its coral hiding place as if it wanted to pose for a photo.

Unlike the Maine (or Canadian) lobster and the European lobster, which have massive crusher claws (called chelae, for cracking open the hard shells of their prey), spiny lobsters have no claws on their front pair of legs. But... although they lack large claws, they have impressively long antennae. I've seen some spiny lobsters with antennae close to a meter long.

Caribbean spiny lobsters average about two pounds, but they sometimes grow to fifteen pounds (7 kg).

Fossils of spiny lobsters show that they have not changed much structurally in at least 110 million years.

Interestingly, in Australia and the surrounding islands, people refer to spiny lobsters as crayfish. Here in North America, we use the name crayfish for a group of much smaller (but structurally similar) freshwater crustaceans.

Finally, we also saw several Spanish lobsters (a type of slipper lobster), which are odd-looking relatives of the spiny lobster. Spanish lobsters are shy and often difficult to photograph. See PHOTO FOUR.

Two striking features you can see in this photo: first, notice the two tiny, blue antennae that have forked ends? These help the lobster sense its surroundings. Second, notice the flat, shovel-like things that extend out in front of the eyes? These are modified antennae, and the lobsters use them to dig in the sand to find food and to escape predators.

Those shovel structures are why some people call these shovel-nosed lobsters or bulldozers.

There you go... a few interesting crustaceans of the Caribbean!

Photo credits:
All photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Yucatán black howler monkey]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2026 21:57:44 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-yucatan-black-howler-monkeyHow could I not share a bunch of howler monkey photos? These animals are so cool! And yes... the males' calls are loud enough to hear a mile away. If you are near a river or a good-sized expanse of rainforest, this is a sound you will almost definitely hear first thing in the morning and in the evening. Most of the howling happens because these creatures are announcing their presence to other troops of howler monkeys. They are very territorial, and they have no tolerance for interlopers.

Fascinating animals, and I love photographing them, especially when the babies are hanging on to their mothers or following the adults around. The FIRST PHOTO is my favorite because the monkeys were lazing around in the heat of the day, and the mother howler appears to be studying her hand as her youngster studies me while lounging around on its mom's back.

Anyway, here are a few howler photos. Just because.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Smooth Trunkfish]]>Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:24:33 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-smooth-trunkfishCoral reefs have an abundance of unusual fish, but one the strangest, and awesomest, is the smooth trunkfish. While snorkeling on our recent trip, we were lucky enough to see several of these beauties.

These fish are obviously not built for speed. They are rather box-shaped, and they swim around by fluttering their pectoral fins (on the side, behind the gills). Perhaps to make up for being slow, the trunkfish's scales are all fused into one solid protective shell, like a suit of armor. Also, when they feel threatened, they release a substance (called pahutoxin) into the water, which incapacitates other fish in the vicinity.

When hunting for food, such as small invertebrates, this fish uses it puckered lips to blast a jet of water at the sand to expose its prey.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Green Iguanas]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:31:56 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-green-iguanasGreen iguanas are so photogenic that I can't help posting a set of photos from our recent Belize trip. Here are a few really cool tidbits about these lizards:

Green iguanas have a "third eye." Well, kind of. It's called a parietal eye, and it's on top of their head. It's sensitive to changes in light, which helps them keep track where the sun is and to escape predators from above, such as hawks and eagles.

Green iguanas are great swimmers. They often bask in trees over the water, and when threatened, they launch themselves into the water and swim away. On this trip, when we were in a boat drifting on the Belize river, a large green iguana swam right up to our boat. And this was at night, which was odd because green iguanas are usually only active in the daylight.

Green iguanas can use their long tail as a whip to defend themselves from predators.

And... during the mating season, male green iguanas change from green or brown to a spectacular orange color to attract mates.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Spiny-tailed Iguana]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:25:42 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-spiny-tailed-iguanaMeet the amazing spiny-tailed iguana. These lizards, which sometimes grow over four feet in length, are seen throughout many of the Caribbean countries, including on small islands. Here are a few cool tidbits of information:

Spiny-tailed iguanas may not look like they could run all that fast, but they are speed demons. In fact, they are considered the fasted lizards in the world, running at up to 21.5 miles per hour (34 km/hr). The older, larger adults cannot run this fast (I can identify with that), but the smaller, younger ones can, especially when fleeing from predators.

Spiny-tailed iguana hatchlings are often bright green, which makes them easy to confuse with young green iguanas. But they soon turn to the more familiar grey and black colors.

Spiny-tailed iguanas are predators when they are young, feeding mostly on insects, but they turn into herbivores as they grow larger, eating flowers, leaves, and fruits (but they won't pass up a bird or rodent if they have the opportunity).

Quick story: The last photo shows the tail of one of these lizards protruding from a hole in a tree. Trish and I found it this way, and we were almost convinced the lizard was stuck. I tugged on the tail a bit, and the lizard moved, so we knew it was still alive, but it had jammed itself in there really tight. It was still there the next day. I tugged again, and this time the lizard moved farther into the hole, so I realized it wasn't actually stuck. And on the third day, when we walked past the tree, it was gone. I guess it just liked being there and wasn't in any hurry to leave.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Ruddy Turnstone]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:19:15 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-ruddy-turnstoneI'm not very good at identifying shorebirds, especially in the Caribbean, because there are so many, and a lot of them look so similar. Seriously, there are tons of sandpipers, snipes, godwits, phalaropes, curlews, dowitchers, and more. Sound like a foreign language? I agree.

But this one, the RUDDY TURNSTONE, is one I can recognize because it is so striking in appearance. Hmm... Ruddy Turnstone sounds like it should be the name of a character in an old western. But it's actually a shorebird seen on the beaches of coral and mangrove islands (called "cayes") off the shore of Belize.

This little bird has an interesting habit of flipping over rocks, shells, and other debris to find crabs and other invertebrates, which it snarfs up with gusto.

The SECOND PHOTO is a ruddy turnstone that we found while walking along the beach. At first I thought it was dead, but I noticed its eyes were open. I gently picked it up to put it on its feet, then we saw that its wing was hopelessly broken. It was able to hobble off for a short distance. It would be unrealistic to hope that the bird might survive. Maybe a gust of wind caught it off guard and drove it into the sand dune, or something like that.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

]]><![CDATA[Life's Great Mysteries - Who wrote the first novel?]]>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:15:41 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/lifes-great-mysteries-who-wrote-the-first-novelI write novels. I also read novels, as many other people do. But I rarely hear anyone talk about where the concept of a novel came from in the first place. I mean, how did this particular form of expression or storytelling originate?

Think about it. A novel is a rather strange thing—tens of thousands of words painstakingly written to tell a long, convoluted, fictional story about events in a person's life. Adventure, romance, terror, and countless other sequences of events. Many novel lovers would argue that novels allow readers to feel emotions beyond any other form of writing. But what crazy writer came up with the idea of putting themselves through such a daunting task?

First, there are many definitions of a novel. But they all include:
- Considerable length (often 40,000 words or more)
- Written in prose (as opposed to poetry)
- A narrative (a structured account of connected events)
- It must be fiction

Let’s dig into this. As it turns out, it’s not so easy to identify the very first novel because there were many pieces of literature that approached the level of a novel. But most historians agree that the first novel was “The Tale of Genji,” written around the year 1010 AD (1,016 years ago) by a Japanese noblewoman named Murasaki Shikibu. Yes, the first novel was written by a woman. Cool.

Why is “The Tale of Genji” considered the first novel? Because it was more than just a very long piece of prose fiction. This book extensively explored the characters’ states of mind, which allowed readers to understand their inner personalities and motivations. In 1925, Virginia Woolf (the influential English author of the late 1800s and early 1900s) stated that “The Tale of Genji” captured “the intricacies of behaviour, in what men said and women did not quite say.” Scholars agree that Murasaki Shikibu’s “novel” went far beyond the other shorter and less intricate works of fiction before it.

How long was “The Tale of Genji”? Well, it had only fifty-four chapters, but the most common versions translated into English are about 1,200 pages, containing roughly 330,000 words. That’s a long novel even by today’s standards. To compare, my longest novel, “Profusion”, is 115,000 words and most of my others range from 50,000 to 90,000 words.

I guess I should point out that there were long fiction books before “The Tale of Genji.” For example, “One Thousand and One Nights” (sometimes called “The Arabian Nights”) dates back to about 570 AD (1,456 years ago). But it isn’t considered a novel because it’s a loose collection of stories.

So, “The Tale of Genji” meets all the requirements for a novel. Earlier works, despite being long-form prose, do not.

While we’re at it, let’s consider the first science fiction novel. Simply because sci-fi is so awesome.

There is a book titled “A True Story” (or “True History”) written in the second century AD by a Syrian author named Lucian of Samosata. It is the earliest known fictional book that includes travel to outer space, alien lifeforms, and interplanetary war. It’s pretty wild. Lucian and his fellow travelers are blown off course, and their ship is sucked up in a giant whirlwind and carried to the Moon, where they become caught up in a war between the king of the Moon and the king of the Sun.

Wait! “A True Story” was written long before “The Tale of Genji”, so why isn’t it considered the first novel? Because many scholars don’t think “A True Story” is a novel because it’s a satire or parody and doesn’t have the sustained character development of a novel.

Then what is the first science fiction novel? That honor typically goes to Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein”, published in 1818. Why? Because “Frankenstein” bases its plot on scientific principles—reanimation through electricity/chemistry—rather than magic or fantasy, and it includes extensive character development.

So, there you go—the first novel and the first sci-fi novel (though it's possible some historians might suggest alternatives).

By the way. If you want to read Murasaki Shikibu’s “The Tale of Genji”, it’s available on Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66057
And “A True Story” by Lucian of Samosata is here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45858

The original 11th century version of "The Tale of Genji" did not survive. Below is a portion of the oldest known "copy" of the hand-drawn, illustrated scroll, created in the 12th century.

Photo Credits:
- Portion of 12th century scroll of The Tale of Genji - Imperial Palace Kyoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

]]><![CDATA[Belize Treasures - Cashew Apples]]>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 02:07:37 GMThttps://www.stancsmith.com/blog/belize-treasures-cashew-applesDid you know this is how cashews grow? I didn't, until we learned this in Belize a few weeks ago.

Cashew trees are large tropical trees that stay green all year around. The nut itself forms at the bottom of what becomes a much larger "cashew apple" (FIRST AND SECOND PHOTOS). I know... it looks like a pear, but they call it a cashew apple. Anyway, when these cashew apples are ripe, like the one in the first photo, they are amazingly delicious! Unique and very sweet. Unfortunately, they do not store well, and therefore they do not travel well. So, they cannot be shipped for wide distribution. Basically, if you want to eat a cashew apple, you have to get it straight from the tree in the tropics and eat it on the spot. Which I did. Yum!

The cashew nut many of us are familiar with is inside the small, curved shell protruding from the bottom of the cashew apple. But that green covering over the nut contain an acid that can really irritate your skin (not if you just touch it, but if you dig into it to try to get to the nut). To remove the toxin, workers pull the nut from the cashew apple, roast or steam them, then crack open the hard shell and remove the edible nut. It's an intensive process, which explains why cashews are kind of expensive.

The THIRD AND FOURTH PHOTOS show different stages of development. You can see that the nut forms first (ants seem to like this stage), then the stem above the nut expands to become the delectable cashew apple.

Photos by Stan C. Smith

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