Breyer horse models are made to-scale and, except in the case of some of their special runs or fantasy horses, are made to look as realistic as possible. The company also sells an utterly vast variety of models in different breeds, colors, and collector sets. Due to their amazing quality and realism, Breyer models are as popular today as they were when they were created in 1950 and have a huge following among children and adults alike. Collectors of Breyer horses are so committed that a whole world of Breyer model horse shows has sprung up.

In an attempt to keep their huge collection of model horses fresh and exciting, every year Breyer not only produces some brand new models but also retires a few. The retired Breyer models of course become instantly worth far more money for those who have them, and you can readily find a few of them on sale at eBay or at online model horse auction sites. Many models change hands through re-sale and auctions, also. But many hold on to their retired models and relish collecting as many as they can.

Amazingly, Breyer never set out to create collectors’ items or even toys. The Breyer Molding Company was a plastics manufacturer in Chicago, Illinois. In 1950, it was commissioned by the drug store chain F.W. Woolworth’s to make a model horse to adorn a mantelpiece clock. This model #57 Western Horse was so well-made that people began contacting Breyer and Woolworth’s to see if they could buy JUST the horse. A living legend was born.

The collections that Breyer offers include:

* The The Traditional Breyer collection makes up the world’s most asked for horses since 1950 group. These are all hand-painted and each one is slightly one of a kind and realistic. These are sculpted in 1:9 scale.

* The SPECIAL RUNS consists of Breyer horses commissioned by a select group of retailers. These horse models are collectors’ dreams and are almost always limited production runs. The US Equestrian Team Foundation and Tractor Supply Store have commissioned special runs and equine film star, Spirt, is one of the models.

* The CLASSICS are specially designed for authentic and imaginative play for younger collectors; they give them realistic horses and superior collectibility. These are created at a scale of 1:12.

* The WIND DANCERS are butterfly fantasy horses, and each one is made to embody a different one of the four winds. Breyer says they are “”fun, spirited, and gossamer-winged, with brushable manes and tails. Their ethereal wings flutter in the breeze as they float on the gentle winds of the earth, bringing adventure and excitement to those who believe.

Breyer also creates other accessories especially targeted at younger collectors.

Children and adults alike love and collect Breyer horses. Many collectors collect special models such as the popular race horses including Secretariat, Sea Biscuit, and Barbaro. Other collectors concentrate on particular breeds (i.e. Arab, Warmblood, Quarter Horse) or colors (i.e. black, bay, palomino). It is getting more common to see the rarer breeds represented as well, such as the Trakehner, the Friesian or the Hanoverian.

The Breyer horses are created in a variety of sizes and scale. The Breyer Traditional Collection is the largest size, and is sculpted in a 1:9 scale. The Classic is done in a 1:12 scale, while the Paddock Pals are a bit smaller, being sculpted in a 1:24 scale. Stablemates used to be the smallest Breyer horses at 1:32 scale, but now the Mini Whinnies are even smaller. All sizes are fully detailed and come in a variety of colors and breeds. Some also are available with accessories.

Showing of Breyer Horses has become a popular past time. Shows include Photo Shows and Performance Shows, with some live and some by photo only. With Photo Shows the collector presents their horses decked out for the target class – i.e. western pleasure or English Equitation. Performance classes require the appropriate tack be on the model, and sometimes a rider is also included. Some areas host live shows as well. Exhibitors bring their models to the show to be judged right there and then. Winners receive ribbons and sometimes trophies for their models. Show models are sometimes repainted or even repositioned to make them more unique. Breyer is a favorite to use since they are already so realistic and come in so many different positions.

Whether you decide to show your Breyer model horse or not, collecting them can be great fun. Every year new models are released, and others are retired. Some go up in value quite a bit, especially if they are in good condition.

Of course, children like to play with Breyer horses, too. They can spend hours playing with them, designing pastures, or utilizing the many accessories that are available, such as stables, fences, barn tools and realistic Western and English tack to put on the horses.

No matter what your age, if you love horses, you’ll enjoy Breyer model horses. Whether you collect a hundred or only a few, they are a fun way to enjoy the beauty of horses.

Take the Saguaro Cactus for example. These desert plants, part of the cactus family, have adapted. Instead of the wide leaves their wet area brethren sport, cactus have thin needles to minimize water evaporation. They they have also developed very thick stems or trunks. This is another way to stop water evaporation. The Saguero has developed two additional features. The first of these is the use of a nurse tree, another plant that provides shade while the Saguero grows. You’d find shade under that hot sun too. It can reach 15 feet high, but the growth is very slow, maybe an inch each year. Slow growth in the shade of a protector ensures the Saguaro will reach maturity, when it is more likely to withstand the vigors of desert living.

There are common adaptations shared by many desert plants. Xerophytes, such as the cacti and specifically the Saguaro Cactus, have the needles instead of leaves and share other methods of gathering and storing water. Phreatophytes are another type of plant that has adapted. Their roots are deep enough to reach all the way down to the water table. We have to mention two other things.

Many desert plants are perennials, that is plants that live for a number of years. When it’s hot and dry these plants are dormant. When it rains they awaken. This is how they survive.

Another type of desert plants called annuals live only one season. Unlike the perennials whose strategy is to stick around for a long time, the annuals only bloom when conditions are right. Their lives are short, then, during these arid periods when they germinate and spread their seeds for the next generation.

You can bet that whenever you visit the desert you will see some amazing desert plants.

NASA’s website contains a lot of this information. NASA stays on top of all the latest events, and even makes a lot of the news itself. A quick look at NASA’s web site in mid November revealed some pretty big current events in astronomy.

The shuttle Endeavor launched in November, which was an important one of the many current events in astronomy. Refueling the International Space Station was its goal. This included a number of space walks to perform routine maintenance on the outside of the station. Space walks are not just spacewalks they are also learning experiences that apply to future missions. Space station work includes a lot of astronomy work.

And amazing discovery by the Hubble telescope is another one of the current events in astronomy. It took a historic visible light image of a planet circling another sun. Back in the early 1980s an infrared telescope called IRAS saw dust around the star. Scientists knew this was a sure sign that planets might circle the sun.

Current and events in astronomy can also be about what happened a long time ago. Images of the moon taken in 1966 and 1967 are being restored in the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project. Luckily much of this data had been removed from tape and stored in analog form. NASA has already released some of these restored historic images.

Astronomy, like the Universe, is huge. Also large is a list of current events in astronomy. Keep watching!

The closest star we know is our sun, about 94,000,000 miles away from Earth. Consider what the sun feels like on a hot day, imagine how hot it is up close. 98% of the stuff in our solar system is in the sun. That takes into account everything, the rocks, material, even the very large Jupiter and Saturn in all their moons. The sun could hold over 1.3 million Earths. The nuclear reaction at the Sun’s core comes from pressure 340 billion times that at sea level on earth and temperatures of over 27,000,000