Monday 9 January 2012

Tying Loose Ends ... or just loosening more strings?

If I said six toed elephants, Great Barrier Reef, a deluge of fish, a loveliness of ladybirds, shark hybrids and perfume – you would know what I was referring to – wouldn’t you?!
Satellite image of part of the Great Barrier
Reef adjacent to the Queensland coastal
areas of Airlie Beach and Mackay.

This weird and wonderful world ... our natural wonders, weird events, new species and then the ever changing flora and fauna – that happens so imperceptibly, which fortunately the scientific geeks of today can and do record.

The naturalists of the past started us on this road of knowledge  ... Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia (AD 77 – 79); Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist and encyclopaedic author, published 36 volumes of his Histoire Naturelle during his lifetime (1707 – 1788); in England specialisation had started to creep in as seen in my N for Naturalist postunder last year’s A – Z Challenge; ...

The English Channel and the Great Barrier Reef have one thing in common – they became as they are today after the Great Ice Age thaw 20,000 to 10,000 years ago ....

Cassowary - upper body
.... woolly mammoths used to roam from England to Europe, while the coastal plain of the Great Barrier Reef was grazed and occupied by early Rainforest and Reef life.

All habitats are interdependent – adapt or die is the world’s maxim: the mammoth died out, the Goanna on Lizard Island adapted to island life by becoming a generalist.  The Cassowary lives on ... just.

A familiar scene - simultaneously
showing the lithosphere,
hydrosphere and atmosphere 
The waters of the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef offer much to its changing world – the tidal displacements, as too the seasonal ones, the storms, the diurnal cycle – all play a major role within the biosphere of the Reef.

Having just posted about perfume – I was surprised to find that fish exude perfume ... and can be smelled out by other predatory fish e.g. the cone snail, which paralyses its victim before swallowing whole.

Cone Snail
While the parrot fish emits a cocoon of mucous to sleep in, but even that can be sensed out by the white tip reef shark through twitching muscles and the bio-electrical signals it emits.

Two species of the black-tip shark (local Australian and global counterpart) have very recently been confirmed by researchers to be interbreeding – ‘which is very surprising, and is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination’.

Panda's Thumb
The elephant “now” has six toes – the sixth one buried beneath the leathery skin of its foot, is not a true toe – it’s more like a panda’s faux thumb, but nonetheless supports the pachyderm’s mighty girth ...


Weird events ... fish falling from the sky – almost certainly a water spout had swept them up and quietly deposited them in suburbia ....  

A loveliness of ladybirds
.... a loveliness of ladybirds in California – the aphid plague leads to a loveliness profusion.

Cappuccino coast – I posted about it in 2009 – the soup stirred up by the ocean storms meeting the flood enriched waters from the land ... it looks like soap but is a surfactant naturally released by the dying plankton.

The osteopath I have who visits my mother to help her with her joints – both stroked and unstroked – asked if I’d heard of the book ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Suskind ... I bought a copy – and it is fascinating ... about 18th C Paris and a chap who has an extraordinary (almost superhuman) sense of smell.  It contains amazing descriptive passages.

The blacktip shark has black markings
on most of its fins
The connection of my ‘Perfume posts’ and this book, and then the fact that fish can smell and emit scent – had never ever occurred to me.

Phidippus Clarus - Hairy jumping spider


There are many new species being found, evolving, inter-breeding, or scientists are finding out why or how their anatomy is being used ... spiders’ hairs may be specialised independent ears – which nature has optimised as the spider has evolved.

Unravelling 'strings' ...

We are in an incredible world where everything in the biosphere – the air and sky, the land, the seas and outer shell of our earth with all its occupants – are forever tied together ...

The lovers Okiku and Yosuke
play cat’s cradle,
by Eishosai Choki (1804)
Japanese Woodblock print
... a ‘string’ releases, yet is tied back to our planet ... we can unravel and understand more ... but those balls of life form the global sum of all ecosystems – our zone of life – everything is and will always be linked.

All is woven together forever, synchronised, constantly evolving, changing, adapting – we only seem to change our thumbs ... so we can text, or perhaps improve our playing of the strings for cat’s cradle.

Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

65 comments:

Theresa Milstein said...

It's funny how these mutations can become commonplace over time.

The ice age did some extraordinary things, didn't it? I want to see the Grand Canyon with my own eyes someday.

Unknown said...

Unravelling strings - love it.

Another informative and fascinating post, Hilary. A great picture of the loveliness of ladybirds.

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I'm quite surprised that the ice age formed both the Channel and the Barrior.

Now I know why I'm not a very good fisherman...I must smell bad. (wink)

Interesting post, Hilary!

Old Kitty said...

Please don't throw stuff at me but I absolutely completely and utterly did not "get" Patrick Suskind's Perfume. I thought Jean-Baptiste so reprehensible, so devoid of charm or any other facet that would normally make me root for the bad guy. And I love bad evil wicked protagonists but this one!??! And the ending. OH the ending. :-(

Anyway! LOL! I need to catch up on the Great Barrier Reef programme on BBC 2 - you've given me a hankering to watch it now!

Yes, Elephants have 6 toes! LOL! Awww but did you read about the blackbirds falling dead? Awwww!

Have a lovely Monday! Take care
x

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I think we are all connected man and beast by (imaginary)strings. It was God's plan to be so connected, I think.

I am in love with the Cassowary. Such a pretty bird. Yes I said pretty.

Teresa

Bob Scotney said...

A very educational post, Hilary. I hope you are watching the programmes on the Great Barrier Reef currently on TV. It's fascinating stuff.

Rubye Jack said...

I've heard of the book Perfume and wanted to read it but then forgot about it. So, thanks for this reminder. Fish who smell, spiders who hear too well, how very intriguing it all is, this life of ours.

Rosaria Williams said...

And blogging people!
Yes, we are also adapting in ways we still don't understand, by sharing, asking questions, influencing each other in so many ways.
Great inspiration with this post!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It all ties together, the way God intended.

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss hilary! i just saw on tv about that new species of shark. wow! so much neat stuff to learn. what you said got me thinking bout the net and how its got all of us linked up and so much links to cool things.
...hugs from lenny

Birdie said...

The world we live in never fails to fascinate. I especially like the Hairy jumping spider. He looks like he has something to say.
Interesting stuff! Thank you!

Diane said...

What an interesting post. I learnt a few things today that I did not know. Thanks Diane

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Theresa .. it's incredibly clever of life that so much of life does evolve continually.

The ice age - is so interesting to learn about and your continent must have many great connections with those days of ice.

@ Shirley .. unravelling strings - thanks .. glad you enjoyed the loveliness of ladybirds ..

@ Sharon .. it was the melting of the ice age that caused the seas to rise .. around the planet ..

I was very surprised to realise that fish give off a scent .. I wonder if the fish can scent us fishing for them?

@ Old Kitty - knew someone would react to Perfume .. I quite understand - I went in to reading it ..knowing I'd be sceptical - but was enticed by the descriptive passages. Also I'm fascinated by synesthesia ... and just feel there's a connection somewhere around. It was finding fish exude a scent .. that amazed me - and where I linked Synesthesia and 'that novel "Perfume"'!

The Great Barrier Reef programme has been amazing .. so hope you enjoy it ...

Those blackbirds the scientists tested vigorously and think within their murmuration they got mixed up and crashed to earth - hitting rigid fixtures on their way to the ground - hence the damage and death.

Thanks Theresa, Shirley, Sharon and Old Kitty - good to see you .. cheers Hilary

Sara said...

Hilary -- This is one of favorite posts of yours. I love all the others, but I like the tone of one. It's a melding of philosophy, evolution and genetics. You write about the beauty of how everything -- human and animal -- change and adapt as they need to for survival.

As always, there's so much to learn at Positive Letters. I thank you for finding new surprises for me each time I visit:~)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Teresa .. we are aren't we all connected .. by someone with a higher understanding.

The Cassowary is incredible with its helmutted head .. which might be a hearing organ, rather than part of the skull. It is beautiful though - I agree.

@ Bob - I have been .. that's where I picked up the bit about the fish exuding scent .. as you say fascinates me too.

@ Rubye .. well please read Old Kitty's notes and my reply - I still think it's worth a read .. just for the French 18th century, and the descriptive terms for perfume ... enjoy.

As you say this life of ours is very intriguing ..

@ Rosaria - you're right blogging people too - we do evolve, well I must say I have. I've learnt so much since I started blogging .. and it's great to meet so many from around the world.

Thanks Teresa, Bob, Rubye and Rosaria .. great comments - thanks .. Hilary

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Alex - you're right everything does tie in ...

@ Lenny - great that you spotted the new species of shark - bet you find out lots of interesting facts via your searches.

Wonderful that you feel like many of us do - I believe .. that we all link together and we 'educate' each other so much ..

Hugs Lenny from me too ..

@ Birdie - we do live in a fascinating world .. and so pleased you like the hairy jumping spider - people with their phobias I was a little worried about posting. Delighted you enjoyed it ..

Thanks so much Alex, Lenny and Birdie - lovely to see you here .. cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

What an interesting post! How ever do you find the information? You must do so much research. I learnt a lot about nature. Love the fish under the sea that shoots perfume poison.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Lots of interesting facts that make you think about the wonders of the world around us. Someone commented about the Grand Canyon. I've been there several times, have painted a few paintings of it, and I still want to go back!!! It and Yellowstone National Park are two of the most wonderful wonders! Thank you, Hilary!

Monti
Mary Montague Sikes

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Sara .. many thanks - I was worried about this post - a bit of a mixed bag, and I had so many more ideas for it.

As you so rightly point out - we are all here and certainly they change, whether we, humans, will change to survive - I'm not sure.

Delighted you enjoyed your visit - lovely to see you.

@ Clarissa .. the information finds me I think - and some I've picked up since I've been blogging. I just knit it together in a format that makes sense to me for the particular post ..

Creatures, or critters as Lenny would say, are just amazing the way they adapt and survive over the aeons.

@ Monti - many thanks .. yes Theresa mentioned she wanted to visit the Grand Canyon sometime ..

I caught the tail end of an interview with David Hockney on his paintings of a long lane in Yorkshire at all seasons of the year .. and his latest project - a 9 camera montage -which opens the lane landscape up much more .. wish I'd seen it all and concentrated!

So can appreciate you saying you want to go back .. as an artist you'll see it in many guises ... and then the Yellowstone National Park too .. one day I shall get to see both, I sincerely hope.

Thanks Sara, Clarissa and Monti - wonderful seeing you all .. cheers Hilary

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane .. just remembered you'd snuck in with a comment - lovely to see you and glad you picked up a few new pieces of information.

Cheers Hilary

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

How wonderful that you still find delight in the beauty and mysteries of the world, and that you are still eager to learn about them. That's what keeps our minds sharp and young. (Unfortunately, the bodies are on their own.)

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

A most informative post as usual Hilary. much I didn't know so I always come away more educated.

Yvonne.

Susan Scheid said...

Hilary, I really don't know how you do it--this, as with all your posts, is information rich and exuberant in the joy of knowing, of making connections, of just being alive. (And how you found the time amongst all this to go through and comment on the last 4 PD posts, well, it's a wonder--and I will of course respond at PD in due course!)

There are so many strands to follow here. I want to note one in particular: about those ladybugs (as we call ladybirds this side of the pond). We were astonished our first spring up here when ladybugs appeared all around the windows, on the ceiling, flying around in every sunny room. We had hundreds and hundreds in the house. It seems that they are particularly attracted to white (the outside of our house is white) and, come wintertime, also seek a warmer place to stay. If we thought our windows were snug and tight, not so! In they slipped and took up residence in nooks and crannies. The sad thing is many don't make it, for they dry out. But there certainly were plenty left in spring! They also, by the way, have an aroma--when you get them in quantity like that, it's quite noticeable, and I'll confess I wouldn't call it perfume . . . but we love them. A very fine beneficial insect.

Mason Canyon said...

I am always amazed at the wealth of knowledge I learn from visiting you. I never knew about the fish and perfume, very neat and strange. A very informative post.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Anonymous said...

Our world and the animals and plants that inhabit it are full of wonderful and awe-inspiring surprises. And cures for diseases too! After tidal waves and hurricanes, I always tune in to see what new species of marine life wash up on shore.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I just heard about the fish falling from the sky thing a short time ago, hard to believe that could really happen! What a wonderfully amazing world we live in!

Joanne said...

Wow, I've never seen anything like that cappuccino coast ... That's a whole latte foam ;)

I haven't played Cat's Cradle in a long, long time. But if I had to pick between Texting and Cat's Cradle, I'd choose Cat's Cradle any day. You?

Have a great week ...

Betsy Brock said...

The color of blue in that water is just amazing!

I posted about a lady bird today..but only one! ha.

Juliet said...

A 'loveliness of ladybirds', fish that smell, and the network of connections between us all - I love the way your mind roams far and wide, and that fact that I can connect with you from across the world, through the blogosphere.

TALON said...

The earth is truly fascinating, as is your post, Hilary! I loved it! Thank you, always, for enlightening me.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Susan .. it's been a wonderful learning experience and yes I do love learning more and more. As you say - the old bod .. well that's another matter!

@ Yvonne - glad you found something of interest - lovely to see you.

@ Susan .. the brain makes the links for me and then I might dig a little further - e.g. the pictures and find a bit more info. I've been missing out on Prufrock's Dilemma and wanted to read .. so I was saving your posts!

Ladybugs - I love that name .. white attracts the heat, so I suppose the house is warmer than other areas .. and I've heard of them 'swarming' in houses - it can happen here occasionally ... only ever seen and experienced it with bluebottles and they are different!

Then you say they have an aroma/perfume ... I'd never realised before - my nose will be closer to the ground in future checking out insect scents.

Ladybugs are wonderful insects as you say .. beneficial to the world at large.

@ Mason .. Nor had I realised about fish having an aroma, nor ladybirds as Susan mentions above .. glad you enjoyed the ...

@ Stephen .. the world and its life is an amazing place - and it's wonderful you're constantly on the look out too - and teaching your kids.

Lovely to see you Susan, Yvonne, Susan, Mason and Stephen - thanks for visiting .. cheers Hilary

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Karen .. fascinating all these myths, that turn out to be true - in an extraordinary way. Wonderful world as you mention - yes!

@ Joanne .. had you not seen the Cappuccino coast .. exactly very much latte foam and just right for a coffee break. When I saw the pictures originally I was amazed .. a weird event if ever there was one.

I could never work out Cat's cradle - not having dextrous fingers ... so I did learn to play (very slowly!) .. and text very slowly!! But I'd definitely chose cat's cradle .. we could have a game one day?

@ Betsy .. your photos are stunning .. I had to find a loveliness - I just think the word is so descriptive. I'll be over to see your ladybug. The sea waters give us some wonderful blues .. your artistic bent would have noticed those.

@ Juliet .. you picked up a 'loveliness of ladybirds' and fish that can scent out others ..

.. and as Rosaria and Lenny both said like you -- the blogging connections interlinking across our universe - fantastic world.

@ Talon .. delighted you enjoyed it - many thanks ..

Thanks so much Karen, Joanne, Betsy, Juliet and Talon - great seeing you ... have good weeks .. cheers Hilary

A Lady's Life said...

For sure everything is connected in one way or another and therefore everything is needed to keep balance in the world. So getting rid of all the sharks for example will hurt the environment, although I can understand why people would want to.
Barracuda have been known to attack for no reason. I swam with them many times and never knew that lol
Then I found out they prefer eating black people to white people. Not many white people get attacked or if they do, the meat is spit out.lol Interesting.

Anonymous said...

Another interesting post. That Hairy Jumping Spider looks a bit scary to me. Probably because I don't like spiders.

MorningAJ said...

Fascinating post. I had no idea the collective noun for ladybirds was a 'loveliness'. (What's the word for a group of collective nouns? A description, maybe....)

I read Perfume some years ago. I agree, it's a very good book.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ A Lady's Life - if one thing goes we lose all the connections .. it was interesting to read that sharks had been found to cross-breed .. only confirmed late last year.

@ Susanne - many thanks .. I wondered about people's phobias for spiders - but they are part of life .. and if each of those hairs join together to hear with .. amazing animals.

@ Anne - thank you .. having been reminded of the loveliness of ladybirds .. thought I'd use it! A collective of a collective I've no idea .. !! Interesting thought though - just looked it up = a collective of nouns ..?!

Glad you read Perfume and enjoyed it .. it was an interesting read, especially for its descriptions of adjectives ... no collective for them.

Cheers A Lady's Life, Susanne and Anne .. thanks for coming by to comment .. Hilary

Anonymous said...

Hi Hilary, I am back as you see, in the land of blog. I enjoyed your unravelling of a ball of string - thoughts and facts tumbling out almost randomly yet joined by invisible thread... your post is inspired as always - I love it :-)

Janet Johnson said...

I did NOT know that elephants have 6 toes! fascinating! But I agree about the wasted use of human thumbs. :) And I love the image of hte ball of life. We are definitely all connected. We need even those annoying gnats (I suppose). ;)

klahanie said...

Hi Hilary,
Thanks for sharing another whole bunch of facts and fun. And you know me, I shall endeavour to leave some semblance of a vaguely reasonable comment.
Now, I could say that the Great Barrier Reef would be a good place for coral sex...but I won't.
Ah yes, and a reminder of your 'N' posting and that challenge in regards to bringing further awareness of the alphabet. Which reminds me, must go to the 'Alphabet Store' in Leek. Must prepare a few satire postings.
And speaking of strings, Before I go, exciting news. I've been offered a part in a local play. Easy work, great money. "What's the catch?" I asked. "No catch", I was assured. They need someone to play the part of a motionless puppet..no strings attached.
Here's to connectivity and cheers to you :)

Denise Covey said...

Isn't it amazing what we learn. Life is such a discovery! Like your journey into perfume. The Great Barrier Reef is certainly a place to learn and wonder.

Thanks for your kind words when my blog was stripped naked Hilary. I've got it pretty much rebuilt now!

Denise

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Deborah - great to see you back - just in time for the unravelled ball of string - oh well! Just so much going on in this world of ours - it's interesting to be reminded.

@ Janet - that 6th toe has only just been confirmed .. though they've been pondering the thought for nearly 300 years - not an easy thing to investigate - with the weight of the elephant to take into account.

Yes - I'm afraid all annoying creatures great and small . gnats included - they are a bit much though - but excellent food for another!

@ Gary - I love how you always connect more dots, or perhaps try and tie me up in knots answering!

Glad you didn't extrapolate further! I must have met you round about 'N' .. coming out of your satire store - April is looming large.

No strings - are they painting you gold or perhaps silver to stand so silently .. then you could dash home and get Penny to help scrape the wealth off?

I agree - here's to connectivity!

@ Denise - my journey into perfume has been really eclectic and one I certainly never thought I'd explore or link with.

You must have seen the Great Barrier Reef - it looks fantastic and so beautiful .. and one day I'd love to visit.

Your blog - that must have been so frustrating and I'd be left standing there not knowing what to do or where to start.

Thanks Deborah, Janet, Gary, and Denise - lovely comments .. cheers Hilary

The Blonde Duck said...

I just love the happiness here.

Talli Roland said...

Parrot fish? Cloud of mucous to sleep in? Sign me up!

Seriously, a wonderful post. I always find all those strange creatures very fascinating.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ BD .. good to see - happiness and hilarious go hand in hand - I live up to my name.

@ Talli - well I'll definitely come with you - if we're signing up to travel to the Great Barrier Reef? I was amazed at the creatures they mentioned in the BBC programme, or that come my way via the RSS feeds I find in my Reader.

Now I'm off to correct smelt to smelled?! Fishy error ..

Cheers to you both - Hilary

jabblog said...

Who will rule the earth when man is extinct?
Fascinating post as ever, Hilary. It's truly amazing to see how 'coincidences' are not coincidental but all part of an elaborate, delicately-balanced whole. Man meddles at his peril.

Belinda said...

Hello Hilary,
This was a fascinating read. I especially love the last paragraph because this knowledge that we are all from the same fabric lends to a more compassionate view of other living things.
I wonder how you all feel about climate change in South Africa? Here in San Francisco, CA, we haven't had a drop of rain and every day this year has been sunny. I love the sun but it's become impossible to deny that if we human beings still don't know what we've done to our planet thus far, it may soon be too late.

Susan Kane said...

Isn't it incredible how all is woven together in a big net? Isn't it amazing how adaptable we are? I truly am in awe of creation.

J.D. Meier said...

I actually like that you exposed the architecture of an elephant's foot.

Feet of all kinds are pretty amazing once you start to know how they work. I've learned a lot more than I expected by dabbling with barefoot running. Now I see why Leonardo made such a big deal about the design of feet. What they are capable of is amazing, when we connect with our terrain.

dolorah said...

I enjoyed this tour Hilary. You are right, it is so fascinating.

........dhole

Amy @ Soul Dipper said...

What a superb mixture of nature's magnificent strangeness and secrets. Loved every minute of it, Hilary!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Janice .. a baboon - did you see the C4 programme "Inside Nature's Giants" .. I didn't I have to say - but saw the trailer. How that alpha male was running amok around human life ... Baboons will rule the world?

Glad you enjoyed the interweaving .. it amazes me how everything is linked - connecting the dots really does apply to life.

@ Belinda - good to see you again, thanks for coming by. I hope you're right and we do become more compassionate of ourselves and life in general.

Your comment reminded me of my return to this country 20 years ago - when it had been hot in SA, and I got back here in May ... and we had a hot summer .. I was looking forward to some soft rain!

Here we've had no winter as such - in Wales they did a count of wild flowers .. and found 63 in stead of the usual 5 - 10; and things are flowering 3 - 4 months early, or haven't stopped flowering. The world has always changed though - the techtonic plates (earth's shell) are moving ... we messed with it and are messing with it - but the world will go on til its own time comes.

@ Susan - so right we are adapting as life goes on and it is interesting to know and realise those changes .. 'awe' is a good word.

@ JD - thanks so much re the elephant's foot .. so interesting that they've confirmed the sixth toes' presence.

I hadn't realised Leonardo spent time analysing the human foot - I must look into that .. or that you partake in barefoot running.

Fascinating - I 'saw' a little about it 10 years ago or so, when they were bringing new athletic shoes in .. and had noticed that the Kenyan runners mostly ran barefoot, before they turned professional. I'll have to check out the Leonardo factor ....

@ Donna - good to see you and thanks for the comment.

@ Amy - the earth does support wonderful life ... and we're finding out more and more. Lovely seeing you here ...

Thanks so much Janice, Belinda, Susan, JD, Donna and Amy - lovely comments and great to see you here - cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

Very aromatic post.

I liked the end paragraph: All is woven together forever, synchronised, constantly evolving, changing, adapting – we only seem to change our thumbs ... so we can text, or perhaps improve our playing of the strings for cat’s cradle.

WE have a saying in our house. 'We've got opposable thumbs'meaning the task is crackable and we won't let it get the better of us. No wonder elephants have 6 toes, they're clever animals. I wonder where dolphins keep their thumbs?

The Blonde Duck said...

I really like your last words.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Madeleine - well scented up .. fish oil spray anyone?

Thanks - it just came to me ...

I love your saying .. 'opposable thumbs' - nothing is uncrackable - and will (eventually perhaps) be solved.

Interesting how each creature has evolved .. and how some seem to have evolved similarly eg Panda and Elephant .. I'm not sure whether both Indian and African elephants' feet have evolved in the same way. Hadn't thought about that aspect ..

@ BD - glad you enjoyed the re-read ...

Cheers Madeleine and The Blonde Duck .. see you soon .. Hilary

Chase March said...

Hi Hilary,

I really like the web of life idea and how everything is connected. Thanks for giving us some interesting examples.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Chase .. many thanks we are in a web of life aren't we - or mucous bubble, or being smelled out?!

Glad you enjoyed it - good to see you .. cheers Hilary

April Plummer said...

Your posts have so much information and...I can't explain it other than to say joy and hope. You've left me much to think about.

I've seen the Grand Canyon, and it will probably be the only great wonder I'm able to see in my life time. I remember it so clearly and wish I knew where the negatives were for the pictures I took there because, even as a writer, I don't think I could describe it.

Karen Lange said...

Interesting post, Hilary. Never thought much about "fish perfume" either. Who knew? :) I think I'll stick with my own people perfume. Thanks for sharing all these goodies with us!

Have a great weekend!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ April .. many thanks and I'm glad you'll go away 'thinking' and 'pondering' ..

I'd love to see the Grand Canyon and one day I sincerely hope I will .. descriptions for writers are so important aren't they .. the descriptive brush strokes of an artist crossing across the category to the written word. I hope you can find your negatives .. to bring those memories back ..

@ Karen .. ya - who knew about fish perfume .. does sound funny doesn't it! I agree .. my gentle perfume is easier on my nostrils ...

Good to see both - thanks for your comments April and Karen .. cheers Hilary

Marja said...

Your posts are extra ordinary. It is amazing how all the species adapt, how wonderful nature is and how everything is interconnected. Since I live in NZ and therefore closer to nature you come to respect it more and more. Unfortunately human species are good in distorting the ecosystem. Let's hope for the best

Liara Covert said...

Intriguing to make more conscious connections between things you are initially conditioned to believe are different. Life can seem like a process of shifting from noticing what is different around you to having revelations about what is ultimately the same. Barriers fall away. Remember every silver lining has a cloud.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Marja .. thank you. You are living closer to nature right now - with the earthquakes you're having ...

The flora and fauna seem able to adapt quite quickly (if necessary) .. while we just want to manipulate our way out - not realising we're part of the whole. As you say - let's hope for the best ... however, I think we need to do more.

@ Liara .. as you say it is surprising and eye-opening as to those connections that I'd never thought about. All life is the same ... if only we can realise that and accept.

Every cloud has a silver lining .. to hope: Milton says it in the 1600s

"A sable cloud
Turn forth its silver lining on the night"

Thanks Marja and Liara .. we should reflect nature within is be a part of it in all its glory ..

Have good weekends .. cheers Hilary

Liara Covert said...

Normality, like beauty, is always in the eye of the beholder.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Liara .. you're so right it's the way we, as people, look at things .. and how we translate that in our hearts and minds. Cheers Hilary

Door Hangers said...
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