Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:44:30 GMT
Nobody Home
This little scene is from our ridgetop campsite at Fallen Timbers. The bluebird house is an old timer that the kids made at one of the many, many nature workshops we took them to when we had some control over their little lives. I imagine someone like Hal of Ranch Ramblins cut a few dozen from a template, sanded the edges, pre-drilled all of the holes, then assumed a grandfatherly air as a roomful of little darlings started hammering on the pieces of wood, transforming them magically into birdhouses and instilling in themselves a lifelong sense of stewardship. I like to think that’s how it worked anyway.
The bluebird house hung for many years on a fencepost in our back yard in suburbia, and though it never hosted any bluebirds, the sparrows made frequent use of it. When we acquired the 40 acres of Fallen Timbers, this house was one of the first things we carried with us. Adam, a teenager by then (and now in medical school), hung it on a likely tree near the fire ring. On every visit, we opened the front door to see if anyone was interested.
I think all of the natural cavities and other nesting options made this development unnecessary because we never found a nest within. Sometimes there would be a bunch of grass, and once we found it partly filled with acorns. But our visits to Fallen Timbers became less frequent and we started hanging birdhouses at Roundrock instead. I had thought that the placement of the house right in the middle of our parking, cooking, and camping area might have deterred guests, but even when we stopped visiting so frequently, the house didn’t show any sign of tenants.
Nor do they get any mail. We put the mailbox on that tree stump about the same time. Within are a bowl for dog food/water and a roll of essential paper in a sturdy plastic bag. We’ve also left a notepad and pencil, thinking that someone would leave us a message sometime. That’s never happened. I suppose anyone who would leave a note would be an interloper and so not be eager to leave a sign of their presence. No one has left a note for the birds either.
The stump has rotted away. Only the part protected by the mailbox is still there, and I won’t be surprised when we find the box on the ground beside a spongy stump.
Missouri calendar:
- Look for “frost flowers” with first hard frost.
Libby and I did see frost flowers at Fallen Timbers on one of our early visits. I wish I had taken some pix of them then to share with you now.
Posted by: Roundrockjournal Read more Source
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:55:32 GMT
Shorts and books
Having adeptly summarized a history of Cahiers du cinema by Emilie Bickerton back in February, Girish now turns his attention to Movie, whose run span roughly the same period in Britain, albeit in the shadow of Sight & Sound.
Related (you''ll see): Harriet Margolis reviewed the second edition of The Cinema Book for Screening the Past back in 2000.
"During the crowded rush of award-season, when both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have recently published stories titled, respectively, ''Not Just Some Movies: This is a Glut of Cinema'' and ''Arthouse Depression,'' there''s one type of non-studio film that''s nearly absent from both theaters and the debate surrounding the packed release calendar: world cinema." Anthony Kaufman looks into it for indieWIRE.
Posted by: dwhudson Read more Source
Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:05:01 GMT
Tricoryne simplex
It is somehow heartening to know that it is always spring or summer somewhere in the world. Another thank you to David M. aka petrichor@Flickr of Sydney, Australia for sharing one of his photographs (original via BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Here''s another plug for David''s weblog as well, Kipili.com, with near-daily photographs of Australian plants.
The genus Tricoryne contains seven species, six of which are endemic to Australia (and one that is also found in New Guinea). Tricoryne simplex is one of the Australian endemics, native mainly to coastal New South Wales. Herbarium records seem to indicate one disjunct population in Queensland near Brisbane and a second disjunct population in the interior of NSW near Cobar, but these seem to be so far from the main distribution range that I wonder if the information has been verified. To see the herbarium records map, visit the New South Wales Flora Online record for Tricoryne simplex, then click on the “AVH map” button to view records from the Australian Virtual Herbarium. It''s quite possible that these disjunct populations exist (or existed at one time), but it is also possible that there is some error in the location data, that an error occurred while keying in the location data or that a misidentification occurred.
It seems that it has a not-so-commonly-used common name: yellow rush-lily. This moniker makes more sense if you view photographs of the entire plant: Tricoryne simplex via the and Tricoryne simplex via Plants of Sydney.
Lastly, I should note that Tricoryne is typically associated with the Anthericaceae, a plant family that has now been lumped into the Agavaceae.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin Read more Source
Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:40:02 GMT
Biology and Art
I love reading
bioephemera; Jessica always has interesting things to say about biology and art (and her bioephemera is amazing). I was impressed at the insight in her latest bioephemera. It taught me a thing or two about detachment and human nature. Don''t take my word for it, get over there and read it.
Jessica Palmer
Bee and Echinacea
watercolor on Strathmore paper
2007
Posted by: Dennehy Read more Source
Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:02:16 GMT
When Pet Owners Go Too Far
Huge gallery of animals that have been dressed up by their owners. Laugh as you may, but these poor animals may need to seek counseling after what you're about to see.
Posted by: Gerard Read more Source
Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:21:37 GMT
Haemanthus albiflos
Another thank you to badthings@Flickr for sharing an image with us (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool). Do visit the Two Gardens weblog; badthings (aka MMW) is the primary writer and photographer. Plenty of colourful images and some handy book reviews are mixed in with the erudite garden blogging.
Since I have a soft spot for South African bulbs, here's another. Haemanthus albiflos is commonly known as paint brush (though it is of course not the Indian paintbrush or Castilleja spp. of the Americas and northeast Asia). Note that in the linked page re: South African bulbs, a second species of Haemanthus is shown, Haemanthus coccineus. The scarlet-red flowers of Haemanthus coccineus helped earn the genus its name, which translates to “blood flower” – one imagines that if Haemanthus albiflos had been used to name the genus, it would not have been named as such.
Graham Duncan wrote an extensive article on Haemanthus and their cultivation, describing Haemanthus albiflos as “highly variable, evergreen and virtually indestructible”. The South African National Biodiversity Institute has an article specifically on Haemanthus albiflos, while Wikipedia provides summaries (and extra photographs and colour plates): Haemanthus and Haemanthus albiflos.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin Read more Source
Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:14:44 GMT
Disaster area
It starts innocently enough: just a small rift, a discontinuity in the otherwise seamless joinery of our days. The pulse quickens. We feel a bit more… alive. Yes.
We were always told such frightening things about courting disaster. But what do the old people know? Surely they are just jealous of our youth and energy — they want to deny us the heady pleasures they themselves are too worn down to handle.
And the pleasures now are nothing if not heady. Bark turns to bite; bony dinosaur hide splits open and lifts into feathers. Welcome to evolution, baby!
But each new opening only retains its brightness for a little while before it, too, turns dull. The body is continually subverting the mind’s best efforts to fly free, and returning us to our cages of solid matter.
Nothing matters: that is our chant as we look for new chasms to outgrow, new eyeholes to peer out of, new mouths with which to whisper in disaster’s ear: save us.
And so we become like snakes, slipping our skins, going belly to belly with our parent rock. Our tongues taste the wind in stereo. We tap into the simple on-or-off reptile brain.
With our fellow heads we talk, we dance, we howl. Disaster possesses us in turn. We paint our headstones.
All photos taken at or near Wolf Rocks, a popular teen hang-out spot in the Gallitzin State Forest of Pennsylvania.
Posted by: Vianegativa Read more Source
Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:09:54 GMT
What to do if you're tired?
I’m going to write plenty of interesting articles in the next few days, but the only thing I can do now is to post these funny, web-related images. Enjoy and drop me a mail in case you have more!
Evolution, Mr. Anderson:
Posted by: Bertalan Read more Source
Tue, 09 Oct 2007 03:15:51 GMT
New Terminology: What is Bacn?
No it's not spelled wrong, and it's not food. It's a new term creeping into the social networking community. Just as spam (also the name of a pork product) is unwanted and totally annoying junk email, bacn is the new term for that new level of in between email. It's neither unwanted or wanted.
Bacn is the term for email that comes from your social networking site to tell you when you have a message, comment, blog post to read, or something else. Everytime your friends do something you can opt to receive bacn from them too. Before you know it your inbox is full of bacn.
Posted by: Linda Roeder Read more Source
Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:03:48 GMT
Friends Reunited
It seems that Friends Reunited is the top social networking site in the U.K. right now. From Friends Reunited you can find old school mates, find lost relatives or find people you used to work with. You may even be able to find a date.
When you sign up just list the places you've been to school, then search for other's who went to your same school. When looking for relatives sign up for the Genes Reunited family tree. Here you can build your family tree and search to see if anyone else on your family tree is already on Friends Reunited.
Posted by: Linda Roeder Read more Source
