The Secret Language Of Birds; Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson - The Secret Language of Birds

Lawns are a Soul-Crushing Timesuck and Most of Us Would Be Better Off Without Them

A recent essay by an Ohio woman who refuses to mow her lawn has struck a nerve. Thirteen hundred people have weighed in with a comment on Sarah Baker's tale of flouting a neighborhood mowing ordinance in the face of a $1,000 fine.

As Baker notes in her essay, lawns are a big part of contemporary American life. There are somewhere around 40 million acres of lawn in the lower 48, according to a 2005 NASA estimate derived from satellite imaging. "Turf grasses, occupying 1.9% of the surface of the continental United States, would be the single largest irrigated crop in the country," that study concludes. Conservatively, American lawns take up three times as much space as irrigated corn. The authors mapped the entirety of the nation's turf grass, below. You'll notice that it's basically a population density map of the U.S. — where there are people, there are lawns.

You'll notice, if you look closely, that the colors start at light green in the urban cores and get darker as you move outward — lawn density increases in the suburbs.

In some states, a significant chunk of the landscape is covered in turf grass — meaning residential lawns, commercial lawns, golf courses, and the like. Delaware is 10 percent lawn. Connecticut and Rhode Island are 20 percent. And over 20 percent of the total land area of Massachusetts and New Jersey is covered in grass, according to that 2005 NASA study.

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You will be better off growing food, than mowing the lawn.

California Legalized Selling Food Made At Home And Created Over A Thousand Local Businesses

A government official appears at a man’s door.  The man has been breaking the law: He has sold bread baked at home.

This isn’t a page from Kafka—it happened to Mark Stambler in Los Angeles.

For decades, Stambler has followed traditional methods to bake loaves of French bread.  The ingredients are simple: distilled water, sea salt, wild yeast and organic grains.

Stambler even mills the grain himself.  To make it easier to steam loaves, he built a wood-fired oven in his own backyard.  Stambler’s loaves came in first place at the Los Angeles County Fair and the California State Fair.

Soon after that, Stambler got the idea to expand his hobby into a home business, which became Pagnol Boulanger.  Word of mouth spread.  In June 2011, The Los Angeles Times profiled Stambler and his bread in a full-page feature.

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Chia Seeds: Superfood That Are Packed With Goodness

Acai, Wheatgrass and Goji berries are common place on the shelf of any health conscious person's kitchen cupboards.

And it seems rarely a year passes without at least one new health-food frenzy.

The latest product which is set to take Briton by storm is Chia seeds. 

Already a hit in LA and New York, they were once worshipped by the Aztecs as the food of the Gods, the tiny seeds are from the same family as mint.

They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, minerals and antioxidants. They are also meant to help make dieters lose weight as they make feel fuller (mixed with liquid they expand).

Now the seeds could be approved for use in products in the UK.

They are currently only sold here as a bread ingredient but the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods, an expert panel which helps the Food Standards Agency, looks set to give it the go ahead.

Read more here

13 Awesome Reasons To Eat Chia Seeds Every Day

Chia Seeds Are Latest Wonder Ingredient for Skin

The Garden (Poem) by Andrew Marvell

"The Garden", by Andrew Marvell, is one of the most famous English poems of the seventeenth century.

This poem was first published in Miscellaneous Poems. It was published for Robert Boulter, in 1681 This was the first edition. Miscellaneous Poems was sent to the press by Mary Marvell, who claimed she was Andrews Widow.

Andrew Marvell's poem The Garden is a romantic poem. The poet personal emotions and feelings are told throughout the words of nature. The poet explains the value of nature and is explaining it through the poem.

The Garden

How vainly men themselves amaze
To win the Palm, the Oke, or Bayes;
And their uncessant Labours see
Crown'd from some single Herb or Tree,
Whose short and narrow verged Shade
Does prudently their Toyles upbraid;
While all Flow'rs and all Trees do close
To weave the Garlands of repose.

Fair quiet, have I found thee here,
And Innocence thy Sister dear!
Mistaken long, I sought you then
In busie Companies of Men.
Your sacred Plants, if here below,
Only among the Plants will grow.
Society is all but rude,
To this delicious Solitude:

No white nor red was ever seen
So am'rous as this lovely green.
Fond Lovers, cruel as their Flame,
Cut in these Trees their Mistress name.
Little, Alas, they know or heed,
How far these Beauties Hers exceed!
Fair trees! where s'eer your barkes I wound,
No Name shall but your own be found.

When we have run our Passion' heat,
Love hither makes his best retreat.
The Gods, that mortal Beauty chase,
Still in a Tree did end their race.
Apollo hunted Daphne so,
Only that She might Laurel grow;
And Pan did after Syrinx speed,
Not as a Nymph, but for a Reed.

What wond'rous life in this I lead!
Ripe Apples drop about my head;
The Luscious Clusters of the Vine
Upon my Mouth do crush their Wine;
The Nectaren, and curious Peach,
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on Melons, as I pass,
Insnared with Flow'rs, I fall on Grass.

Meanwhile the Mind, from pleasure less,
Withdraws into its happiness:
The Mind, that Ocean where each kind
Does streight its own resemblance find;
Yet it creates, transcending these,
Far other Worlds, and other Seas;
Annihilating all that's made
To a green Thought in a green Shade.

Here at the Fountains sliding foot,
Or at some Fruit-trees mossy root,
Casting the Bodies Vest aside,
My Soul into the boughs does glide;
There like a Bird it sits, and sings,
Then whets, and combs its silver Wings;
And, till prepar'd for longer flight,
Waves in its Plumes the various Light.

Such was that happy Garden-state,
While Man there walked without a Mate:
After a place, so pure and sweet,
What other Help could yet be meet!
But 'twas beyond a Mortal's share
To wander solitary there:
Two Paradises 'twere in one
To live in Paradise alone.

How well the skilful Gardner drew
Of flow'rs and herbs this dial new;
Where from above the milder Sun
Does through a fragrant Zodiack run;
And, as it works, th' industrious Bee
Computes its time as well as we.
How could such sweet and wholsome Hours
Be reckon'd but with herbs and flow'rs!

The Garden (poem)

Hanami: Cherry blossom viewing

 

 

Japan's Cherry blossoms, or "Sakura" in Japanese, never cease to inspire. The gnarled trees bloom before they have leaves, their thin branches spilling over with delicate pink-white blossoms and nothing else.

For more than a week, they have brightened up a country still trying to shake off the chill of early Spring. Cherry blossom viewing, or "Hanami", is an annual ritual that takes many forms, from contemplative walks along rows of Cherry trees to boisterous picnics in crowded public parks.

The ephemeral beauty of Japan's Cherry blossoms
We should all adopt 'Hanami,' the Japanese tradition of flower viewing
Sakura Forecast 2016 - Japanese Craze for the Cherry Blossom
2017 Cherry Blossom Forecast
Sakura Matsuri Stockholm 2016
DC’s Pop-Up Cherry Blossom Bar is the Most Festive Place to Drink This Spring
I Captured Plum Trees Blooming In Japan

Cop describes the Women’s Institute as Britain’s Biggest 'Organised Crime Group' Because They Pick Wild Fruit

Sergeant Colin Norden pointed the finger at the Women's Institute for picking wild fruit to make jam – but said there would be no prosecutions.

A police officer has described the Women’s Institute as Britain’s ‘biggest organised crime group’ because they pick wild fruit to sell at fetes.

Sergeant Colin Norden told a council committee meeting that anyone who makes a profit on selling berries is technically breaking the law.

But he reassured WI members by revealing police have no plans to start prosecuting fundraisers at the charity Sgt Norden said: “The WI are the biggest organised crime group."

“That would be quite a controversial thing to say but they pick wild berries with the intent to sell them at a fete."

“That’s a crime.”

Sgt Norden made his comments on Thursday while speaking to Cambridge City councillors about antisocial behaviour.

He used the WI’s fruit-picking activity as an example of a ‘crime’ that does not always lead to prosecutions.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed the offence is classed as theft and falls under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Theft Act 1968.

This makes it illegal to uproot plants for commercial purposes without authorisation.

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Five Minutes to Moonflower: Planting a Clock That Tracks Hours by Flowers

The professionals said it could not be done. They had never tried it, and they didn’t know any public garden that had tried it, and they wouldn’t recommend anyone else give it a try.

This was not the response I expected when I called a few plant people and asked how to design a type of flower bed that has been around since the mid-18th century. It’s called a Horologium Florae: a flower clock. (No relation to the Apple Watch.)

“Please don’t show this to my bosses,” said Marc Hachadourian, the director of the Nolen Greenhouses, a 43,000-square-foot grow facility at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. What Mr. Hachadourian, 41, meant was, Don’t give management any ideas.

He was joking. Mostly. Because once you hear it, the idea behind the flower clock is irresistible. First, identify a selection of a few dozen flowers that open and close at regular hours. They can be old friends like lilies, marigolds and primroses. Next, plant them in an organized fashion — perhaps in the segmented shape of a dial or clock face.

At this point, clock-watchers may want to skip ahead to the useful flowering timetable in the second half of this article. The seeds and plants for growing a flower clock may already be tick-tick-ticking in the stack of garden catalogs on the mail table.

Here’s how the timepiece works. During a stroll in the summer garden, you notice that the sow thistle petals are open while the adjacent pumpkin blossoms remain shut. The first plant, according to your records, blooms reliably at 5 a.m.; the second at 6 a.m.

Who needs a watch when the flowers know the time?

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Philosophia Botanica

The Garden (poem)

Polenta and Elderflower Cookies

Every now and then along comes a recipe that you may have glanced at, skimmed through, perhaps even mentally bookmarked, but between one thing and another maybe you’ve never found the time, the inspiration or the energy to actually make it. Maybe you’ve even forgotten about it. And then one day you remember it, you’re in the mood for it or something else spurs you on. You go out and look for the ingredients or realise you have them on hand and before long, you’re in the midst of making it, dirtying hands, bowls and kitchen counter as you go. Then finally there’s that telling moment, that moment of truth, where you bite into that creation that almost never was and you think, where have you been all my life?

Well this, for me, is one of those recipes. It’s from Artusi‘s 1891 cookbook, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, and is one that easily escapes the eye, firstly because in a book of 790 recipes, there’s a lot of competition. Secondly, Artusi has given it the rather anonymous name of paste di farina gialla II, or yellow flour pastries II. The vague title of the recipe (‘yellow flour’ is rather sweet though), I think, is its downfall as it makes it too easy to skip over without reading the recipe first properly. It also comes after another polenta cookie recipe (you guessed it, paste di farina gialla I) that calls for lard and a touch of aniseed, not everyone’s current favourite cookie ingredients; ingredients that may not encourage you to read the second. And so, this recipe sat there, under my very eyes for about two years.  

Then it just so happened that I was searching for polenta recipes, particularly baked goods (more on this soon but it’s also no secret that I have a profound love of polenta cakes). Only Artusi doesn’t call this wonderful ingredient polenta, but rather ‘farina gialla‘ (‘yellow flour’) in the titles or ‘farina di granturco‘ in the list of ingredients, which is tricky if one does not know that he means polenta. In English, the name of this slightly coarse ‘flour’ – or more a ‘meal’, really – made of stone ground (if you get a good one) dried corn, is just as confusing. In Australia, we call it polenta, in the US it’s often also known as cornmeal, it’s just not to be mistaken with corn flour, which is an entirely different product, a powdery, white wheat starch (also called corn starch in many British-influenced countries or maizena in Italian) used in cooking as a thickener. 

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How To Make Elderflower Cordial and Champagne

 

Elderflower Cordial From The Courtyard
Bottled our First Batch of Elderflower Mead Summer Somerset Sparkling Wine

Doctors Should Prescribe Gardening for Patients More Often

Doctors should prescribe gardening far more often for patients with cancer, dementia and mental health problems, the NHS has been urged in a new report.

Outdoor spaces including gardens can reduce social isolation among older people as well as help patients recover and manage conditions such as dementia, according to the influential King’s Fund health thinktank.

Jane Ellison, the public health minister, backed the plan, which could see GPs in particular advising patients to spend more time outside as a way of alleviating their symptoms. “[Gardening] is profoundly good for you … [it] is a great way of keeping people active, of keeping them outside and keeping their sense of wellbeing very high,” she said. “There are things we can do around physical activity in particular that bring immediate payback ... I’m trying to put this right across the agenda of dementia and cancer.”

Parts of the country are already investing in this more social approach to health at primary care level and in some places, such as the Bromley by Bow Centre in London, GPs are already prescribing gardening. Such schemes have been proven to reduce patients’ need to see a GP or attend A&E, enhance wellbeing and even promote better sleep.

Schemes that use this type of social prescribing focus on mental health and wellbeing as much as physical health, including through reducing social isolation and strengthening community bonds.

“Social prescribing schemes, by their nature, vary considerably but generally provide a way for GPs and other primary care professionals to offer or signpost to non-clinical referral options instead of, or alongside, clinical ones,” says the report’s author, David Buck.

Read more here

Why Gardening Therapy is the New Health Trend We Should Start Doing
Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy
Depression is A Disease of Civilization: Hunter-Gatherers Hold the Key to the Cure
Human Brain Hard-Wired For Rural Tranquillity

‘Oh My God, The Cauliflower!’

Written by Anne Kingston; The real reason behind the great Cauliflower Panic of 2016; The crisis in the cauliflower economy was never about taste, or even food fashions: it’s a signal of something much more significant.

When historians review the trumped-up “cauliflower crisis” of early 2016, sparked by a trebling of the vegetable’s price (from $3.99 to $8.99 in supermarkets) between late November and mid-January, they will locate its Canadian ground zero at the popular Toronto restaurant Fat Pasha. News that chef Kevin Gilmore was forced to remove its signature dish—an $18 whole roasted cauliflower stuffed with Halloumi cheese and topped with tahini, pine nuts and pomegranate seeds—was oft-repeated in news stories, becoming a metaphor for some sort of collective loss. It fed into a larger, unidentified if overblown panic seen in media and online chatter, reinforced by news trucks camped outside of supermarkets as if covering a crime scene.

Maclean's

$10 cauliflower is just the beginning: Canadian grocers, retailers warn more price increases on the way

Growing Flowers In Space

This weekend, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly posted a picture of the first flower to bloom in space. The International Space Station has been home to the Veggie plant growth facility for almost two years, and scientists have been working hard to figure out how to keep crops alive in microgravity. It's a challenge to keep plants properly heated and hydrated, and their current specimens been attacked by mold as well. "More crops for Veggie are heading to the orbiting laboratory aboard SpaceX-8. The Veg-03 run will include two sets of Chinese cabbage, and one set of red romaine lettuce. In 2018, there are plans to launch dwarf tomato seeds to the space station. Smith said the lessons learned from growing zinnia flowers will be critical in the process of growing tomatoes, a fellow flowering plant. Studies are also in progress to see how adjusting the lighting in the Veggie plant growth facility can affect plan mineral composition. There will be preflight testing to determine what 'light recipe' to use aboard the station."

Link here

Botanists Baffled by Rapid Growth of 'Space Cherry'

In Images: Stunning Flower Fields of the Atacama Desert

The normally barren, almost Martian landscape of the Atacama Desert recently erupted in flowers, painting the hillsides, blue, fuschia, orange and yellow. 

The almost magical transformation occurred thanks to heavy rains earlier in the year, which watered flower seeds that had lain dormant for years. One Twitter user, Tomás Cuadra Ordenes, captured photos of the gorgeous blooms.

Earlier in the year, the Atacama Desert received heavy rains, with the town of Antofagasta, Chile receiving seven years' worth of rain in a 12-hour span. 

Those heavy rains turned the parched desert into rivers of mud. But the same rainfall watered seeds that had been buried in the ground for years, waiting for their chance to bloom. Here, photos of the blooms painting the landscape.

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Desert deluge: Cars, entire houses swept away by freak mudslides in Atacama (VIDEO)

21 Delicious Ways to Enjoy All Kinds of Mushrooms for National Mushroom Day

On October 15^th, people come together to celebrate fungi on National Mushroom Day. There are over 14,000 different varieties of mushrooms though not all are edible. We, of course, will only concern ourselves with the ones we can enjoy in our recipes – the white button mushrooms, the cremini, the Portobellos, the oyster, shiitake, and trumpet mushrooms – to name just a few.

When you want that meaty taste, that umami, mushrooms are the way to go. Their flavor is rich, earthy, and meaty, especially cremini or Portobello mushrooms. Their texture, as well as their taste, lets mushrooms replace meat in any recipe. Check out The Missing Link: How to Add Umami Flavor to Your Vegan Meals.

Mushrooms are also healthy. They are low in sodium, low in calories and filling so they can help us maintain our weight. Mushrooms are fiber-rich and can help regulate cholesterol. They are a good source of protein, potassium, B vitamins and the only plant source of vitamin D. To learn more about the health benefits of mushrooms, read Mushrooms: Health Benefits of the Humble Funghi and Recipes!

Mushrooms are also versatile. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They can be sauteed, roasted, baked, grilled, stuffed or eaten raw. Mushrooms make delicious appetizers, gravies, soups, casseroles, and pasta dishes. Check out these 30 Cool Vegan Recipes Made with Mushrooms and 10 Delicious Ways to Cook With Mushrooms. Then take a look at these 21 incredible ways to enjoy all kinds of mushrooms.

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Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) and it's healing powers

How Chaga Mushroom Can Help You Be Healthy

Being There With Chance The Gardener

Chance (Peter Sellers) is a middle-aged man who lives in the townhouse of an old, wealthy man in Washington, D.C. He is simple-minded and has lived there his whole life, tending the garden. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from what he sees on television. When his benefactor dies, Chance naively says he has no claim against the estate, and is ordered to move out. Thus he discovers the outside world for the first time.

Wikipedia

"Being There" quotes:

President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?  [Long pause]  Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.  President "Bobby": In the garden.  Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.  President "Bobby": Spring and summer.  Chance the Gardener: Yes.  President "Bobby": Then fall and winter.  Chance the Gardener: Yes.  Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy.  Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring!  Benjamin Rand: Hmm!  Chance the Gardener: Hmm!  President "Bobby": Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time.  [Benjamin Rand applauds]  President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.

IMBd

"Being There" Movie Trailer starring Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine

Bumblebee Species of Britain

Every bumblebee species found in Britain illustrated in water colour, with a border showing the best flowers to plant for bees in the spring, summer and autumn.

Catherine Pape illustration

Garden Centre Owner's '10% Tax For Tory Voters' Sign Goes Viral

Matt Woodruff says he stands by anti-Tory views on his shop’s blackboard in Lewes, East Sussex, despite some criticism from customers.

The owner of a small garden centre in East Sussex whose anti-Tory blackboard went viral on social media says he has no regrets, despite admitting it could put him out of business.

Matt Woodruff, the owner of Woodruff's Yard in Lewes, said he was moved to vent his political views on his shop’s blackboard after the Conservatives took the local seat that had been occupied by the Lib Dem former Home Office minister Norman Baker.

The sign proposes a “Tory tax” of 10% on any customer who voted Conservative as one of the “‘tough’ decisions I need to make to ‘balance the books’ under your preferred government”.  

The sign also says Ukip voters should “shop elsewhere”.  

Pictures of the sign have been retweeted hundreds of times and posted from a number of different accounts on Twitter.

So far, no one has paid his “Tory tax”, Woodruff said. “Only one woman has told me she voted Tory – and that was after she paid so I couldn’t add on the tax,” he said. “Obviously that’s a joke anyway, and she was very friendly about it. 

“The only bad reaction I’ve had were one Tory couple and a couple of people from Ukip,” he added. “I don’t really care about the repercussions. I don’t earn a fortune and this might be the death of my business but so be it. Sometimes you have to just stand up and say what you believe in.”  

The sign has transformed his small plant store into a hub of political conversation, Woodruff said, with many visiting his shop to talk about the new direction of the left.

Read more here

Cleavers: The Cleansing Velcro Plant

Today as I went wandering through the garden looking for cleavers to photograph I was captivated by the variety and abundance of weeds growing everywhere. 

 

Healers all, I felt such a gladness come over me. Every square metre of ground let run wild, had a fabulous collection of medicinal plants. Under the orchard where we have neglected to mow for nearly 3 months, and with the spring growth it was just delightful. Represented were so many plants I am already familiar with and so many more yet to discover. 

 

Cleavers, quite a nondescript plant and more often a real annoyance to most gardeners has been used for centuries as a champion to assist with lymphatic drainage, and detoxifying the body. 

 

All over the world and throughout so many different cultures this plant has been used for the same purpose. Now to me that is really saying something, and I certainly won't be looking at it in quite the same way anymore. Next time It's burred seeds stick to my clothes I'll discard them more carefully and bless them on their way. For more details read the full post.

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Spring Wild Green Cuisine (Archive for the ‘Cleavers’ Category)

Spring Into Action! Sniffing Out A Wild Garlic Patch

Wild garlic is not only free, it's tasty, too - in fact, the only problem is that its season is way too short. But that's all the more reason to make the most of it now.

If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a pungent surprise. Well, not absolutely sure, maybe, but it's an odds-on bet. Wild garlic announces its presence long before you see it, enveloping you in its bosky aroma. It feels ancient, the scent of garlic hanging beneath the trees' bare branches, in the damp, earthy, early spring air.

Wild garlic is a friend to first-time foragers everywhere - number two on the list of easiest-to-identify-and-use hedgerow spring greens, after the ubiquitous nettle. Although its glossy, spear-like leaves can look a bit like lily of the valley, its smell puts you in no doubt as to what it is, so you need have none of the tyro terror of the first-time mushroom hunter.

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Allium Ursinum, or wild Garlic, Ramps, Ramsons, Buckrams, broad-leaved Garlic, wood Garlic, Bear Leek, or Bear's Garlic.

Allium Ursinum (wild Garlic)
The wonders of wild Garlic
Why wild Garlic is good for you
Irresistible Wild Garlic Recipes for Your Wild Edible Adventures
Wild garlic Allium ursinum - Naturescalendar pdf
Hyacinthoides Non-Scripta (Bluebell)
Ancient Woodland Indicator Species
Ancient Woodland