Mammals and birds have hearts with four chambers. Reptiles and turtles have hearts with three chambers. Fish have hearts with two chambers. Insects and mollusks have hearts with one chamber. Worms have hearts with one chamber, although they may have as many as eleven single-chambered hearts. Unicellular bacteria have no hearts at all; but even they have fluid eternally in motion, washing from one side of the cell to the other, swirling and whirling. No living being is without interior liquid motion. We all churn inside.
— Brian Doyle, from “Joyas Voladoras” The American Scholar, March 20, 2022
Photos: Lukas Souza in Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil
Live & Learn 
How interesting is that? Very!
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Agree!
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What a great read! Thank you
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Sure was! Thanks Simon.
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I had no idea where this was going until they last sentence…I suppose that as long as there’s a heart, there’s a churning and regardless of the number of chambers, there’s no place for that churning to go, other than in the beating.
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Love where your mind goes and what materializes!
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It can be a very convoluted path!!
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WMS…was wondering how (and where) this was going to end up. Cool!
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Smiling….
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that we do, ever-churning, until the churning stops.
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We hope….
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Fascinating.
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A face only a mother could love. But actually, with that smile, he is kind of cute (in a reptilian sort of way).
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Laughing. Yes!
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LOL. What an expression. Great for morning call.
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Yes!
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Oh my God! I haven’t expected this handsome one! I woke up and I can’t sleep now… Thank you, Love, nia
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Laughing!
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Have you seen the latest Nova on PBS about slime mold and intelligence?
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No! I must check it out.
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Special thanks for sharing this, David! I looked up and read the whole essay, it’s absolutely brilliant! Then I found several novels by him, and am sampling them all. I think he’s going to be my new favourite author.
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So agree! It was brilliant! thank you.
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