There is a white oak tree on the corner of Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia that is said to own itself.

The earliest known telling of the tree’s story comes from a front page article titled "Deeded to Itself" in the Athens Weekly Banner of August 12, 1890. The article explains that the tree had been located on the property of Colonel William Henry Jackson. William Jackson was the son of one James Jackson (a soldier in the American Revolution as well as a Congressman, U.S. Senator, and Governor of Georgia), and the father of another James Jackson (a Congressman and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia). He was the brother of Jabez Young Jackson, also a Congressman.[1][2] (William Jackson was reportedly a professor at the University of Georgia and is sometimes given the title of Doctor; the nature of his military service and the source of the title Colonel is unknown.[3]) Jackson supposedly cherished childhood memories of the tree and, desiring to protect it, deeded to the tree ownership of itself and the surrounding land. By various accounts this transaction took place between 1820 and 1832.[4][5] According to the newspaper article, the deed read:

I, W. H. Jackson, of the county of Clarke, of the one part, and the oak tree… of the county of Clarke, of the other part: Witnesseth, That the said W. H. Jackson for and in consideration of the great affection which he bears said tree, and his great desire to see it protected has conveyed, and by these presents do convey unto the said oak tree entire possession of itself and of all land within eight feet of it on all sides.

It is unclear whether the story of the Tree That Owns Itself began with the Weekly Banner article or if it had been an element of local folklore prior to that time. The author of "Deeded to Itself" writes that, in 1890, there were few people still living who knew the story.

The current tree is actually the "Son of The Tree That Owns Itself."  The original tree fell in 1942 and a new tree was grown from one of the original tree's acorns.

Link

Over the weekend, Jason, Colleen (Jason's mom) and Ted (beekeeping expert) split their hive in order to set up a secondary hive in another location.  Chris Wiggins witnessed the hive splitting and lived to tell the tale.  He wrote a great post over on his blog Beautiful Bokeh and also shared amazing photos he took on that day. 

Link to Beautiful Bokeh.  Link to photo gallery.

Update:  Jason wrote up a post over at Make: Blog about his hive splitting experience and provides information on how to start your own backyard beehive.  Link.

Today is Earth Day!  Over at Hackszine.com, Jason has opened the comments up to any and all Earth Day hacks, links and activities.  He has also listed a number of Earth-friendly things that we can do on a daily basis to be kind to our Mother Earth.  Link.

Go out and enjoy the outdoors today! 

[Image removed at the request of the copyright holder]

Here are a series of photos that show us how NOT to release a bear into the wild.  I bet you have an idea of how this ends.  Link.

[Correction: The link used had falsely represented the image series as their own. The author of the series of images is Richard P.

Due to global warming, pythons may start finding northern states as desirable habitats.

"Burmese pythons — an invasive species in south Florida — could find comfortable climatic conditions in roughly a third of the United States according to new 'climate maps' developed by the USGS," the agencies reported. "Although other factors such as type of food available and suitable shelter also play a role, Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes have shown themselves to be highly adaptable to new environments."

Link

The "Super Mushroom" has been found growing in the wild, but it won't make you grow bigger.  Better known as the Amanita Muscaria (or "fly mushroom"), it causes hallucinations or even death.  The fly mushroom can be found in Northern Europe and Scandanavia.  Here is a timelapse video of the mushroom growing.

These pictures of flowers captured in drops of rain are just amazing.  It's nice to get a different perspective on things.

Elephants are such fascinating animals and I have to thank my son for getting me interested in them.

Here is an interesting National Geographic article on how elephants in war-torn Angola have "learned" how to avoid land mines that are scattered throughout the land.

[via MonkeyFilter]

By using its claw as a sonic weapon, the pistol shrimp's prey stands no chance of survival.  The pistol shrimp cocks its claw back like a gun and then "fires" by snapping its claw shut which creates a blast of bubbles.  When the bubbles collapse it causes an implosion, momentarily reaching the temperature of the sun, and sends a shockwave which stuns their prey.  Video.

[via MonkeyFilter]

Here is a very cute, very adorable Flickr photoset of tiny animals on fingers. 

[via digg]