Happy St George’s Day to one and all!

The St George Anthem

Red is our rose,
Red is our blood,
Proud is our Nation;
Wise and so good.
Our flag it is white;
It's cross dipped in blood.
St George is our patron -
And we are his brood.

Today, the sun is shining and the sky is blue. It is Spring. The blossoms are beginning to wave their skirts in the hedgerows and blooms are now appearing on my plum trees!

Happy St George’s Day to you all – may you all have a wonderful day.

A simple St George’s blessing: “May your weather be mild and fair; your day be long and productive; your health good and your happiness be never ending!”

The flag of England – St George’s Cross

Pearls of the pond

Our first batch of frogspawn ‘pearls of the pond’ was laid on 13th March this year which must be at least seven whole days later than our first clump last year. The second lay of spawn appeared during the first week of April.

Tiny tadpoles are wriggling over their jelly homes from the first of the nurseries. None of the second lay have yet broken out of their eggs.

I wonder how long it will take before they begin to grow their little ‘frog’ legs?

 

Happy hedgehog

At last the hedgehogs have been able to leave their hibernation as the temperature has reached 5°C at night.

I prepared a miniature banquet for these wonderful prickly creatures of: cat kibble, some of the cat’s dinner, some cheddar cheese crumbs, pork dripping placed in a half coconut shell and various broken nut pieces. However, the first hedgehog on the scene had something other than eating on his mind as he approached his little buffet his shiny little black nose wobbled up and down and as he took in the various smells a most enormous black motion came out of his back passage. Obviously, he was making room for his very first meal of the year!

 

hedgehog

Life from the most smallest to the largest recorded

I often feel uncomfortable with sharing finds from other websites. Some for reasons I cannot understand close themselves down, some change their content on the page that is linked to and some are hacked and end up with disagreeable content.

On this occasion I came across a most wonderful website that displays by means of a slider, all known life and creation from the smallest invisible speck to the largest of the known galaxies. This is an experience that everyone should witness and enjoy.

Here is the link (there is sometimes an advert to begin with) using your mouse click onto the START button then at the bottom of the page you will see a slider run this backwards and forwards several times and be totally mesmerised.

 

Click here to enjoy the view.

 

 

 

To enjoy more from the above website that produced the above ‘slider’ here is their link: http://htwins.net/

What a crazy day!

It is Spring, the clocks have just been put forward an hour into British Summertime and the weather is oh so very, very cold. As it is now April the temperatures should have at least reached double figures, not the miserable 1° to 2°C. It isn’t just the cold it is the fact that little mammals that should be waking up and feeding only do so when the weather is above 5°C all during the night … so there is still no sign of hedgehogs, bats, or other little creatures. Added to this, by now it is usual to see a few butterflies and bees, both of which also appear to be missing from the landscape.

Comments

A little apology to all of my friends. I’m not sure whether it was my computer or a glitch in the system but until today I haven’t been able to get to my comments to publish any of them. I do hope that you will understand and forgive me. Thank you everyone for taking the time to leave your comments here. As always I will try and return to your blogs and see what is new in your lives! xx

Wood preserver

It is strange how knowledge occasionally comes into our possession. Recently, whilst reading an article about the health hazards of unprotected wood, I wrote an email to try and find out which would be the preferred wood preserver for a new hobby that I was thinking of taking up. I was politely informed that the best one I could use is called Danish Oil and unlike most other wood preservers this one is easy to apply either with a brush, painter pad or even rags. It goes on quickly, smoothly, economically and easily and the surface dries to a tough, hard weatherproof finish almost with a shellac appearance. Why is this preserver kept a secret? I know from personal appearance after using standard preservers, the sun completely ravages them added to this, wasps will scrape lines from the surface to build their paper nests. This means that it becomes almost a perpetual job at applying fresh coats of the stuff on anything and everything ..

The only warning that I will give when using Danish Oil as with Teak Oil is that brushes, pads and rags need to be soaked/washed through. This is because they will spontaneously burst into flames and so are a hazard if left in a house, garage, shed or even outside on the floor. They need to be either washed or covered in an air-tight container – even take care when throwing them away with the rubbish because they do not need a match or open flame they can and will ignite very efficiently without any other aids!

Wood

Lavender’s Blue, Dilly Dilly .. old English love song

When I was a very small child my mother would sit me on her knee and sing songs to me. Sometimes she would rock me gently backwards and forwards. She would hug me, tickle me and love me. The result of my childhood is that many songs, rhymes and stories remind me of my mother. Children are usually sung a shortened version of this particular song thus rendering it into a perfect nursery rhyme. In truth the full version is a most wonderful love song that promises true love between two lovers that will last throughout the whole of their life into the hereafter. Love always and forevermore – a perfect love song.

Here is the version that I enjoy the most – very old fashioned – very loving – beautiful:

 

Lavender’s Blue, Dilly Dilly ..

This I must say, dilly dilly, and it is true,
You must love me, dilly dilly, 'cause I love you.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your Queen, dilly dilly, when I Wed you.
Send for your men, dilly dilly, set them to hoe,
Set them to reap, dilly dilly, set them to mow,
Some to cut hay, dilly dilly, some to cut corn,
Whilst you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your Queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

When you're away, dilly dilly, work all day through,
I'll be at home, dilly dilly, waiting for you.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your Queen, dilly dilly, when I Wed you.
Whilst you're at work, dilly dilly, I'll brew your beer,
When you come home, dilly dilly, I'll be your dear,
I'll serve your meat, dilly dilly, I'll bake your bread,
I'll share your board, dilly dilly, I'll share your bed.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your Queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

Wedding's for life, dilly dilly, love is to share,
And love must grow, dilly dilly, with joy and care.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your Queen, dilly dilly, when I Wed you.
If you love me, dilly dilly, never to roam,
If I love you, dilly dilly, babies must come.
Blue for a girl, dilly dilly, pink for a boy,
Binding us close, dilly dilly, bringing us joy.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your Queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

Close we will live, dilly dilly, and when we die,
Both in one grave, dilly dilly, close we will lie,
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your Queen, dilly dilly, when I Wed you.
If I die first, dilly dilly, and that may be,
You must live on, dilly dilly, thinking of me.
If you die first, dilly dilly, maybe you will,
I will live on, dilly dilly, loving you still.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your Queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

Little note: only in recent times have girls been dressed in pink and boys in blue.

As I pointed out above there are many versions of Lavender’s Blue, Dilly Dilly – this is the nearest version I could find to the love song up above – click here for a beautiful, natural version.

 

Lavender’s Blue

Small additional note:

If choosing to use the spoken words for an eternity party, engagement, wedding, partnership or funeral then part of the rhyme is more appropriate usually with the words ‘dilly, dilly’ left out. For example:

This I must say, and it is true,
You must love me because I love you.
Wedding's for life, love is to share,
And love must grow,with joy and with care.
Close we will live, and when we die,
Both in one grave, close we will lie,
Lavender's green, Lavender's blue.
I will be true, when I Wed you.
If I die first, and that may be,
You must live on,thinking of me.
If you die first, maybe you will,
I will live on, loving you still.
Who told me so, how can I know,
I told myself, love told me so.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Footsteps in the snow

The snow has lasted and lasted, confusing every creature – especially our cat ..

She has rushed outside into the garden, a world of white, cold, softness that no longer resembled her familiar territory. Then she has quickly returned, bounding at thrice the pace, back into the warm house and curling tightly up into a ball to warm herself up again. After this, she has simply eaten and eaten and eaten .. would she ever be satisfied? The cold seemingly makes every creature and every person require more and more food to stave off the bitter cold!

The frog

The sun has shone on the first day of the year. The lawn however is sodden. It squelches under foot and everywhere is muddy. Despite the cold, the Golden Tench were moving at the bottom of the pond where they were joined by a solitary frog. All were too far down under the water to get a good picture so here is a fun one instead ..

Essential for life – 90 plus nutrients our bodies require to remain healthy

Since the early stuttering of man’s realisation that nutrition and the quality of food is the main ingredient to good health we are slowly beginning to learn the vital importance of everything that we put into our bodies. This is a slow and often painful path to gain true knowledge. Indeed there are many who have laid down the gauntlet many years ago without effort, care, knowledge, tests or experiments and sadly even in our wisdom we are still following their dictations.

Mans’ beliefs regarding essential nutrients at the moment:

Essential Vitamin List

Vitamin A (Retinol)

Vitamin B1(Thiamine)

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

Vitamin B4 (Choline)

Vitamin B5(Pantothenic Acid)

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Vitamin B7 (Biotin)

Vitamin B8 (Inositol)

Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)

Vitamin B10 (PABA or Para-AminoBenzoic Acid)

Vitamin B11 (PHGA or Pteryl-Hepta-Glutamic Acid)

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Vitamin C (Ascorbinogen)

Vitamin C (Rutin used by blood vessels)

Vitamin C (Tyrosinase is required for strengthening the effectiveness of white blood cells)

Vitamin C (Factor J used for the oxygen carrying capacity of the red blood cells)

Vitamin C (Factor K)Vitamin C (Factor P required for the strength of the blood vessels)

Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol – found in plants)

Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol – found in animals)

Vitamin E (Alpha-tocopherol)

Vitamin F (Essential Fatty Acids Omega 3 and Omega 6 – Omega 9, is usually listed separately)

Vitamin G (Also referred to as Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin)

Vitamin H (Also referred to as Vitamin B7 or Biotin or Vitamin I)

Vitamin I (Also is occasionally referred to as B7 or Biotin or Vitamin H)

Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)

Vitamin K2 (Menaquinone)

Vitamin L (Lysine)

Vitamin M (Also known as Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid)

Vitamin P (Bioflavonoids and Flavonoids – usually occur in the same foods as Vitamin C)

 

Essential Mineral List

Aluminium
Arsenic
Barium
Beryllium
Boron
Bromine
Carbon
Calcium
Cerium
Caesium
Chloride
Chromium
Cobalt
Copper
Dysprosium
Erbium
Europium
Gadolinium
Gallium
Germanium
Gold
Hafnium
Holmium
Hydrogen
Iodine
Iron
Lanthanum
Lithium
Lutetium
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Neodymium
Niobium
Nickel
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Praseodymium
Rhenium
Rubidium
Samarium
Scandium
Selenium
Sodium
Strontium
Sulphur
Silica
Silver
Tantalum
Terbium
Thulium
Tin
Titanium
Vanadium
Ytterbium
Yttrium
Zinc
Zirconium

 

Essential Amino Acid List

Valine

Lysine

Threonine

Leucine

Isoleucine

Tryptophan

Phenylalanine

Methionine

Histidine

Arginine

Taurine

Tyrosine

 

Comments:

Although these nutrients are found in the body, it is not known for definite the exact requirement needed to support good health. Many will be in such minute portions that they may not ever, at least by current means, be totally measurable. Others are totally guess work. What is apparent is that most are best obtained through the ingestion and digestion of food and we must aim to make our foods far more nutritious. Perhaps the way forward would be to grow food on well prepared, naturally fertilized soils using a combination of animal manure and compost ..

And here comes 2013!

 

Winter toadstool

This has been an exceptionally wet year. Month after month we have had damp, rain, drizzle, mist and not much sunshine. This has led to some unusual happenings. We had miniature daffodils blooming in November after finishing their initial bloom in April. This is also the first year I can ever remember seeing toadstools approaching the end of the year. This is a picture of one in my garden – I have tried to identify it but any that it resembles are listed as much smaller than this. It measures 7.5 inches (19cm) in diameter – a proper Alice in Wonderland special ..

 

Winter toadstool

Led and fibre optics

Early in December I got the old Christmas tree out, put it up and dressed it and as usual it looked lovely. A week later and temptation caught me, locked me up and threw away the key. In other words, I saw a Christmas tree that was twinkling with fibre optics and scattered with Led lanterns and I was drawn to it like a drug. I reasoned that our old tree, although very pretty could really do with replacing .. and so that is what I did ..

Christmas tree 2012

The Cat this December ..

Sometimes animals sport a certain look that creates a bond more with the viewer of the scene than with the animal themselves. This happens both with pets and wild animals. It is a certain look that has the ability to hook our hearts. This is a picture of our cat this December, a look we sometimes see but this is the first time we have managed to capture it in a photograph!