Category Archives: natural history

arts, books, current affairs, music, natural history, nudism, quotes, science, thoughts

Quotes of the Week

I’ve been reading quite a bit over Christmas, so this week there’s a good selection of quotes; something for almost everyone here …

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.
[Paul Harvey]

If people turn to look at you on the street, you are not well dressed.
[The Economist; unknown author and date]

You can’t prove that there isn’t a magic teapot floating around on the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and shoots lightning out of its boobs but, it seems pretty unlikely, doesn’t it?
[Kurt Hummel]

A bird is an instrument working according to mathematical law, which instrument it is in the capacity of man to reproduce with all its movements but not with as much strength, though it is deficient only in power of maintaining equilibrium.
[Leonardo da Vinci, The Flight of Birds, 1505]

Newton saw an apple fall and deduced Gravitation. You and I might have seen millions of apples fall and only deduced pig-feeding.
[Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher; Letter to the Times, 12 January 1920]

All dog-lovers must be interested in Lieutenant-Commander Elwell-Sutton’s account of his white whippet which insists on singing to the accompaniment of his (or, may I hope, his young son’s?) accordion – presumably one of those gigantic new instruments, invented, I think, in Italy, which make noises as loud as those made by cinema organs, and rather like them. This dog’s taste is low; but a musical ear is a musical ear.
[Sir John Squire; letter to the Times, 11 January 1936]

They [18th and early 19th century Quakers] became a bourgeois coterie of bankers, brewers and cocoa-grocers.
[Mr Ben Vincent, letter to the Times, 13 March 1974]

[The correct] forking technique is called the Continental method. It’s the method used in Europe as well as anywhere else that the British have killed the locals.
[Scott Adams]

Alice: Would you please tell me which way I ought to walk from here?
Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where –
Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk.
Alice: – so long as I get somewhere.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.
[Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland]

natural history, photography

Fox Tracks in the Snow


Fox Tracks in the Snow, originally uploaded by kcm76.

Not a terribly good picture as it was taken in a hurry to a waiting taxi, but there were lots of fox tracks in the snow through our front garden and along the pavement. And yes they are fox: you can just see impressions of the claws (which rules out cat, which would be smaller too) and they are too narrow for dog.

Interestingly they usually go over our neighbour’s low brick walls between gardens (there’s a nice trail of tracks and snow knocked off the walls) rather than go round the end of the wall which is only 3 yards away – and yes, I have seen Mr Reynard do this!

Like them or not they are an incredibly efficient rubbish disposal system. Last night Noreen put out the bones from Sunday’s oxtail casserole. No sign of the bones this morning, just lots of Reynard tracks.

natural history, photography

Not a Remembrance Day Poppy


Hibiscus, originally uploaded by kcm76.

Something to cheer everyone up a bit on this dull, grey, wet and windy November week.

Having spent the summer outside on the patio enjoying sun and rain our Hibiscus has recently been brought into the kitchen for the winter and is sending out new shoots and leaves and is still flowering!

natural history, photography

Pavement Liverwort

Liverwort, originally uploaded by kcm76.

I was in Pinner today to see my hypnotherapist. When I left I was surprised to spot this this roughly 150mm across patch of liverwort growing among the the paving slabs and general detritus. I’m no expert on liverworts although I think this is a common one, but still a nice surprise find.

food+drink, natural history

Chillies


Chillies in a Row, originally uploaded by kcm76.

The first chillies of the season, variety Habanero Tasmanian. Grown from seed (sown a bit late though) on the study inside windowsill in a couple of plastic window-boxes. I’m also growing Bulgarian Carrot (they look like their name suggests) and Hot Lemon (long yellow fruit with a fresh lemony flavour). These are all hot varieties. Unfortunately none of them seem to be very prolific for me so the crop will be small, but judging by the one Habanero I used tonight the quality is good.

natural history, photography, science

Yeuch of the Day

1 Comment

Noreen was off early(ish) today on a work outing. On her way she phoned me to say she had found an embryo lying on our front garden path and had moved it into the shrubbery nearby so no-one trod on it. (Handily we keep a trowel by the front door for burying the cats’ prey.)

Of course being interested in natural history I had to go and look. And yes, there was a roughly 4 inch long fresh foetus, complete with placenta still attached. Nice! And of course I just had to photograph it.

But what is it? Well it isn’t human as it clearly has a tail. Phew! It is too big for domestic cat – it is bigger than a new-born kitten. Being London this immediately says it is going to be either fox or dog. I would guess it’s too late in the year for fox, and maybe a little large.

Hmm. Interesting, if slightly yeuchy – but not as yeuchy as I’d expected.

If anyone really wants to see the photo you can find it here. I bet you all say “yeeuuuwwww”, but still go and look anyway!