Here at the Hearty Soul, we love optical illusions, puzzles, and mind tricks. The more frustrating they are the better, and this most recent puzzle certainly fits the bill. How fast can you find the odd turtle in this puzzle? Full disclosure: it took me more than 15 minutes! (don’t tell anyone) How Fast Can...

Every spring a familiar pest reemerges from its winter hibernation: the carpenter bee. While they don’t have stingers, these large, noisy, black and yellow insects wreak havoc on our houses, decks, and patio furniture, boring holes into the wood to make their nests. The male bees then aggressively patrol the area surrounding their nest, which...

Birds are always looking for places to build nests where they can safely lay their eggs and raise their young, protected from the elements and hidden from potential predators. While the typical nesting place for most birds is high in a tree, it is not uncommon for them to occasionally take up residence on a...

With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the poorest communities the hardest, New York State farmers are stepping in to help out. Instead of dumping the produce, milk, and other products that they are unable to sell, they are donating them to those in need. New York Farmers Donate Product to Feed Families After having to painfully...

Periodically throughout the year, different meteor showers come around for a few nights to light up the sky and give us the best light show the natural world has to offer. They’re easy to miss, however, if you don’t know when they are happening and where you need to go to see them. We’ve done...

Scientists and engineers around the world have been working to come up with innovative solutions for more sustainable, environmentally-friendly energy generation. While there have been several promising projects, one German company has come up with a solution that has stood out from the rest: floating solar panels. As our world has become increasingly advanced and...

There are many unexplained natural phenomena around the world. The sailing stones in California’s Death Valley National Park, Australia’s Pink Lake, and the Fairy Circles in the Namib Desert are just a few examples of natural wonders that have baffled scientists for decades. One lesser-known but equally fascinating occurrence that fits into this category is...

Fake news is a broad term that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Some use it to describe content that is outright false, written in a misleading way, or as an attack on content they personally disagree with, regardless of accuracy. At The Hearty Soul, we define fake news...

For most of us, it’s hard to imagine describing a spider as cute, much less beautiful. That being said, even one of nature’s creepiest looking creatures can have their moments. Peacock spiders are proof that mother nature hides beauty in even the most off-putting of her creations. Peacock Spiders As it always seems to be...

Mother Nature is capable of some pretty incredible things. In some cases, where you least expect it, you find gorgeous, natural works of art. The Thunder Egg is one of those incredible geological phenomena.  The Thunderegg Formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers, this is a rock similar to a geode with a gorgeous surprise inside....

Relentless poaching has remained one of the major concerns plaguing the conservation efforts of African wildlife [1]. Many formerly thriving species have faced declining populations in recent decades, and the situation just keeps getting worse. However, governments are becoming innovative with anti-poaching strategies, and it’s a gold star for the attack-dog initiative that has helped...

As the warmer weather begins to settle in, we are all being met with the familiar signs of the season: the sound of lawnmowers, the smell of the neighbors’ barbecue, the feeling of a warm breeze against our skin, are all synonymous with summer.  There is one sound, however, that when you hear it you...