THE MEERKAT

Photograph by HA!

The amusing and highly sociable meerkat is a native to the scrub-lands and deserts of southern Africa.
They live in large colonies with 20 or 30 members in a complex co-operative society that has led them to be described as the most sociable animal on earth.
It is a popular belief in some regions of Africa that the meerkat is a "sun angel" sent by the gods to protect villages, straying cattle and lone tribesmen from the "moon devil" or werewolf. It is also believed by the Bushmen of the region  to be the first animal created by their god.

The Owl

Photograph by HA!

Thousands of years ago among the ancient civilisations of the Indus Valley , the owl represented wisdom and helpfulness and was thought to have powers of prophecy. These same beliefs were upheld later on by the ancient Greeks through their myths and fables. People have always been fascinated by the owl and in the recent past it was also feared and associated with witchcraft.

The dragonfly

Photograph by HA!

The dragonfly is one of our most ancient insects, flying around ,up to 250 million years ago.
They are masters of flight.They can move each of their four wings independently, fly 30 miles per hour, move up or down, make 90 degree turns while in full flight, hover, fly backwards and fly in slow motion. They have two large compound eyes with amazing 360 degree vision and up to 30,000 lenses allowing them to see a wider spectrum of colours than humans. They do not sting and contrary to folklore and legend, this prolific mosquito hunter is not evil!

Mespilus

Photograph by HA!

Mespilus, loquat or medlar are evergreen trees and shrubs that grow pomme like yellowish fruits.
Known to have been cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans, wild plants also grow in China ,Japan and South East Europe. In the US they are also known as Chinese or Japanese Plums.
There seems to be two types of plant with two distinct types of fruit, the one pictured above being more common in the Mediterranean.
The syrup is used in Chinese medicine to soothe the throat and its leaf can also be used to make tea.
Known to contain Amygdalin which is an anti cancer vitamin. Its very popular with birds and if you look at any tree you come across this time of year you will see that they will have eaten any fruits left on the higher parts of the tree.

Pond Lily

Photograph by HA!

Eleven months a year, a dirty pond with slimy waters in my front garden. 

Then once a year nature gives us this, a water lily or Nymphaea to use its scientific name.

(a word which actually means water lily in Greek  and originates from the Nymphs in Greek Mythology and also is the modern greek word for bride).

Water lilies are associated with rebirth and optimism and also fertility , sexuality and creation.

Its easy to see why the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans revered it so much.

.

Apple tree blossom

Photograph by HA!

Apparently in some Druid traditions, the oil from apple blossoms was used in different potions to bring health and prosperity.

Additionally, you can hang garlands made out of apple blossoms around your bed and bedroom if you are trying to conceive a child.

Apple Blossoms are of the element of water and are connected to the following deities: Venus, Diana, Apollo, Zeus, and Aphrodite.

You can use Apple Blossom Oil for relaxation and peace, and add it to your bath water or use as an incense for success.

Oxalis pes-caprae (Xinouthkia)

Xinouthkia yummy...............................

Oxalis pes-caprae (

Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, Buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, Xinouthkia, Goat's-foot, Sourgrass, Soursob and Soursop; (Afrikaans: Suring) is a species of tristylous flowering plant in the wood sorrel family Oxalidaceae. Oxalis cernua is a less common synonym for this species.

The Oxalis pes-caprae flower is actinomorphic, with a calyx composed of five free or slightly fused sepals, a sympetalous corolla composed of five fused petals, an apoandrous androeciumcomposed of ten free stamens in two ranks, and a compound pistil. Like most African Oxalis species, it produces adventitious subterranean propagules. These take the form of true bulbs in botanical terms, which is unusual among dicotyledons. 

The plant has a reputation for being very difficult to eliminate once it has spread over an area of land. The weed propagates largely through its underground bulbs and this is one reason why it is so difficult to eradicate, as pulling up the stems leaves the bulbs behind. Soil in which the plant has grown is generally filled with small bulbs.

Oxalis pes-caprae is often called by the common name sourgrass or soursob due to its pleasant sour flavor. This sourness is caused by the exceptionally high content of oxalic acid.

The plant is palatable and in modest quantities is reasonably harmless to humans and livestock. In South Africa it is a traditional ingredient in dishes such as waterblommetjiebredie (water flower stew).

The plant has been used in various ways as a source of oxalic acid, as food, and in folk medicine. The raw bulbs have been used to deal with tapeworm and possibly other worms. The plant has been used as a diuretic, possibly hazardously, in the light of observations in the following section. The lateral underground runners, which tend to be fleshy, have been eaten raw or boiled and served with milk.The golden petals can be used to produce a yellow dye.

Edited text courtesy of Wikipedia

Photograph by the artist HA!

lemonmoon

LEMON MOON

Lemon

The origin of the lemon is a mystery, though it is thought that lemons first grew in Assam (a region in Northeast India), northern Burma, and China. A study of the genetic origin of the lemon reported that it is a hybrid between sour orange and citron.

Lemons were known to the Jews of Jerusalem, who, according to Josephus, pelted an errant high priest with them during a festival in the 90s BC,although Jewish tradition maintains that this was done with citrons, not lemons. They entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the 1st century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabictreatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.

The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century. The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine.In the 19th century, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California.

In 1747, James Lind's experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding lemon juice to their diets, though vitamin C was not yet known.

The origin of the word lemon may be Middle Eastern. One of the earliest occurrences of "lemon" appears in a Middle English customs document of 1420–1421. The word draws from the Old French limon, thence the Italian limone, from the Arabic laymūn or līmūn ليمون, and from the Persian līmūn لیمو, a generic term for citrus fruit, which is a cognate of Sanskrit निम्ब (nimbū, “lime”).

Moon

The Moon's regular phases make it a very convenient timepiece, and the periods of its waxing and waning form the basis of many of the oldest calendars. Tally sticks, notched bones dating as far back as 20–30,000 years ago, are believed by some to mark the phases of the Moon. The ~30-day month is an approximation of the lunar cycle. The English noun monthand its cognates in other Germanic languages stem from Proto-Germanic *mǣnṓth-, which is connected to the above mentioned Proto-Germanic *mǣnōn, indicating the usage of a lunar calendar among the Germanic peoples (Germanic calendar) prior to the adoption of a solar calendar. The same Indo-European root as moon led, via Latin, to measure and menstrual, words which echo the Moon's importance to many ancient cultures in measuring time (see Latin mensis and Ancient Greek μήνας (mēnas), meaning "month").

The Moon has been the subject of many works of art and literature and the inspiration for countless others. It is a motif in the visual arts, the performing arts, poetry, prose and music. A 5,000-year-old rock carving at Knowth, Ireland, may represent the Moon, which would be the earliest depiction discovered. The contrast between the brighter highlands and the darker maria creates the patterns seen by different cultures as the Man in the Moon, the rabbit and the buffalo, among others. In many prehistoric and ancient cultures, the Moon was personified as a deity or other supernatural phenomenon, and astrological views of the Moon continue to be propagated today.

The Moon plays an important role in Islam; the Islamic calendar is strictly lunar, and in many Muslim countries the months are determined by the visual sighting of the hilal, or earliest crescent moon, over the horizon. The star and crescent, initially a symbol of the Ottoman Empire, has recently been adopted as a wider symbol for the Muslim community. The splitting of the moon (Arabic: انشقاق القمر‎) was a miracle attributed to the prophet Muhammad.

The Moon has a long association with insanity and irrationality; the words lunacy and lunatic (popular shortening loony) are derived from the Latin name for the Moon, Luna. Philosophers Aristotle and Pliny the Elder argued that the full moon induced insanity in susceptible individuals, believing that the brain, which is mostly water, must be affected by the Moon and its power over the tides, but the Moon's gravity is too slight to affect any single person. Even today, people insist that admissions to psychiatric hospitals, traffic accidents, homicides or suicides increase during a full moon, although there is no scientific evidence to support such claims.

(Edited text courtsey of Wikipedia)

Photographs by the artist HA!