Tiny Tater Tots Traverse Treacherous Terrain

(it's ok to giggle at the thought of this title!)


ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our ELEVENTH round with 'Captain Roger' at the helm! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "T".

TAILLESS TENREC

(image from Wikipedia)

Talk about an odd creature-that's what this tailless tenrec is. The tailless tenrec is described in Wikipedia as:

"the largest land-dwelling species of the Tenrecidae (tenrec family). It is 26 to 39 cm (10 to 15½ in) in length and weighs 1.5 to 2.5 kg (3¼ to 5½ lb). It has medium-sized, coarse grey to reddish-grey fur and long, sharp spines along its body. It not only eats small invertebrates among leaves, but also scavenges and hunts frogs and mice. If threatened, this tenrec will scream, erect its spiny hairs to a crest, jump, buck and bite. It shelters in a nest of grass and leaves under a rock, log or bush by day. It gives birth to a litter of as many as 32 young, with an average litter between 15-20 after a gestation of 50–60 days; when young, they have a black-and-white striped appearance. Despite being sometimes known as the tailless tenrec, they have a small tail 1 to 1.5 cm (⅜ to ½ in) in length."

So, I guess it really isn't tailless after all!

TETRAMETER

(image from: www.fromoldbooks.org)

A tentrameter is a verse is written in four measures. Consider it to be a rhythms that is given to verse by a specific way of construction.

I am a big fan of Emily Dickinson. Here is a sample of a ballad verse that follows the pattern of the tetrameter:

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

There is a web site totally dedicated to the tetrameter and it says that the best way to identify the tetrameter is if you can sing it to the tune of, "Hernando''s Hideaway". Funny, but true! He also lists poems written in tetrameter by author (if you are curious for more...).

TONOMETRY

(image from Eye Associates from Colorado Springs)

If you've ever been to an eye doctor, you would've had this test done on you which measures intraocular pressure. This is what tonometry is-the measurement of intraocular pressure. It is this measurement that can indicate the presence of glaucoma or not. There are several different ways in which this measurement is done (see if you can identify the methods you've experienced-info collected from the Web Md site):

• Applanation (Goldmann) tonometry. This type of tonometry uses a small probe to gently flatten part of your cornea to measure eye pressure and a microscope called a slit lamp to look at your eye. The pressure in your eye is measured by how much force is needed to flatten your cornea. This type of tonometry is very accurate and is often used to measure IOP after a simple screening test (such as air-puff tonometry) finds an increased IOP.
• Electronic indentation tonometry. Electronic tonometry is being used more often to check for increased IOP. Although it is very accurate, electronic tonometry results can be different than applanation tonometry. Your doctor gently places the rounded tip of a tool that looks like a pen directly on your cornea. The IOP reading shows on a small computer panel.
• Noncontact tonometry (pneumotonometry). Noncontact (or air-puff) tonometry does not touch your eye but uses a puff of air to flatten your cornea. This type of tonometry is not the best way to measure intraocular pressure. But it is often used as a simple way to check for high IOP and is the easiest way to test children. It may also be used for people who have had laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery. Noncontact tonometry does not use numbing eyedrops.
• • Indentation (Schiotz) tonometry. This type of tonometry uses a plunger to gently push on your cornea. The pressure in your eye is measured by how much weight is needed to flatten your cornea. This test is not as accurate as applanation tonometry and is not used very much by ophthalmologists andoptometrists. However, other doctors, such as family medicine doctors or urgent care doctors, may still commonly use this test.
  
  
  
  
  TROGON
  
  
  
  Black Throated Trogon (photo from LevelsBirder site-taken on a trip to Panama)
  
  
  
  
  Trogon: (description from Wikipedia): "The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family contains 39 species in eight genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the mid-Eocene. They might constitute a member of the basal radiation of the order Coraciiformes[1] or closely related to mousebirds and owls.[2][3] The word "trogon" is Greek for "nibbling" and refers to the fact that these birds gnaw holes in trees to make their nests."
  
  Isn't it interesting that this bird is called a black throated trogon when the rest of it's plumage is predominantly purple and a yellow belly? Such spectacular plumage though.
  
  And, last but not least, Wikipedia is doing their annual fundraising appeal. I hope you consider contributing a donation to help keep them afloat. I know most of us use this site quite a bit. Even $5.00 would help immensely.