Thursday; Bookshelf;

A beautifully written book, highly recommended for people with an interest in plants and history. These sort of books are my favourites and a must have in my library.

The Knot by Jane Borodale;

 The story about a remarkable man, Henry Lyte; 

This is a story about dreams, about the fragility of human achievements and the restorative and destructive powers of nature.

Anno 1565. Across Europe.a new era of natural science is dawning. In a remote corner of Somerset, a pioneer is working to change the course of English Botany. Passionate, private, meticulous, Henry Lyte has begun to neglect his other responsibilities in the pursuit of knowledge. This has happened before with disastrous results.

The good and vertuous Physition, whose purpose is rather the health of many, than the wealthe of himselfe, will not, I hope mislike this my enterprise, which to this purpose specially tendeth, that even the meanest of my countrymen (whose skill is not so profound, that they can fetch this knowledge out of strange tongues, nor their abilitie so wealthy, as to entrtaine a learned Physition) may yet in time of their necessitie have some helps in their owne, or their neighbors fields and gardens at home.

Henry Lyte, a Niewe Herball 1578

Tuesday; complete or finished;

No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words: complete and finished.

In a recently linguistic competition held in London, England, and attended by the best in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese man from Bachelors Adventure, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.

The final question was: How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy  to understand.  

 Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.

Here is his astute answer .... when you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED.   And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!

Monday; phoshene;

Phosphene

The lights you see when you close your eyes and rub them;

 Physiology .

a luminous image produced by mechanical stimulation of the retina, as by pressure applied to the eyeball by the finger when the lid is closed.

---

Origin:
1870–75;  < French phosphène,  irregular < Greek phôs  light (contraction of pháos ) + phaínein  to show, shine

A phosphene is a phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye. 

Phosphenes are flashes of light, often associated with optic neuritis, induced by movement or sound.

Courtesy Wikipedia

Wednesday; silk & science;

 GENETICALLY MODIFIED SILK IS STRONGER THAN STEEL

At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. Different groups hope to benefit from the super-strength silk, including stronger sutures for the medical community, a biodegradable alternative to plastics,

 bbc.co.uk


Photo Courtesy of Indigo Moon Yarns.

Tuesday; musica; GIANGOL - La Lüna

Arrivederci Ticino!

Giangol (Switzerland)

Giangol,  from an antique game that children played in our valleys in times gone by ( dialectal name from Val Cavargna) to a new group whose intent is to have fun and to entertain. Made up of musicians who for some time have shaken the Ticino and international folk scene presenting popular songs from Tessin, Lombardy, Piedmont, and the Venetian region in a modern and pleasurable way, without compromising the musical quality and the personalisation of their tracks.

With Davide Zoppellari ( vocals, guitar), Leo Canepa (vocals, accordion), Katia Albertoni (vocals, percussions), Stefano Fedele (violin, mandolin, hurdy-gurdy), Patrick Botticchio (djembe, cajon).??

Sunday; au·toch·tho·nous;

< Greek autóchthon  of the land itself,   the earth, land,

Ecology, one of the indigenous animals or plants of a region.

Banksia integrifolia; or simply coast Banksia;

Notice the white underside of the leaves.

© Ts Photos my garden.

Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as Coast Banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed Banksia species, it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a broad range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountains. It is highly variable in form, but is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres. Leaves have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides.

It is one of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, and one of four species published in 1782 as part of Carolus Linnaeus the Younger's original description of the genus. 

A hardy and versatile garden plant, B. integrifolia is widely planted in Australian gardens. It is a popular choice for parks and streetscapes, and has been used for bush revegetation and stabilisation of dunes. Its hardiness has prompted research into its suitability for use as a rootstock in the cut flower trade.

It was known to Indigenous Australians,  the Gunai people of Gippsland called it Birrna.

Because of its wide range it would have a name in a number of other indigenous languages, but these are now lost. In 2001, a search of historical archives for recorded indigenous names of Victorian flora and fauna failed to find a single name for the species.

Tuesday; rescue;

Kookaburra, still a youngster;

Saturday morning I went to the back garden, Billy as always at my side. I was looking around and just noticed a flurry of feathers, in haste I said:" Billy stop", but it was not Billy, because he never touches any wildlife in the garden.The Kookaburra above was wedged between a fork of three small branches and he could not move forwards or back. His beak was wide open, quite exhausted from trying to get free. I think when Billy past it, it flapped its wing, one was caught as well. Luckily I could prise the branches apart and with some luck it came free. He was fairly numb from his ordeal. I checked  that nothing was broken and let him recover. After a couple of hours he was sitting on a nearby tree. Perhaps he was chased or chased something, and was caught in this unfortunate situation.

This time all is well for this youngster.

My grand children liked to sing this song;

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,

Gay your life must be!

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Eating all the gum drops he can see.

Stop Kookaburra, stop Kookaburra

Save some there for me!

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Counting all the monkeys he can see.

Laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra

That's not a monkey, that's me!

©Ts Photo/Text