Award and front page from Pixabay

Although I have only been a member of Pixabay for one month I was delighted today to find one of my pictures had not only received an award from them but also prime position on the front page of their website. I hope that you don’t mind but I wanted to share my pleasure with you all.

The picture is of my beautiful Buckfast Honey Bees and was taken yesterday during the Spring cleaning of our beehive

 

This is the actual photograph and it was taken on the first day of Spring, 21 March 2014

The variety of bee are Buckfast Honey Bees – they are extremely placid and very gentle, which is why they make an excellent garden bee. They are very good for New Beekeepers to have for their first pets whilst learning all about the art of beekeeping.

Jellied eggs

The frogs are singing at the moment. Every night their chorus, deep and loud, rings around the garden. A practising choir that alternates between bass and contralto, calls with an urgency. Their deep tuneful notes have proved very fruitful as the pond has been scattered in large dollops of beautiful jewels of frogspawn. The jellied eggs are currently resting on the pond netting and it is dipping deep under the waterline where the fish are hanging about like students waiting to be served in a 1950’s corner café.

Frogspawn – picture taken 16.03.2014 at the garden pond

Adam and Eve

As a little girl, I remember being told about the story of Adam and Eve. When I was old enough to read, my mother bought me a bible. It was the authorised King James Version in Ruby Text. It contained a few pictures but was mostly thousands of words in tiny print. A very long read with all the begetting … It was not a satisfying read as there were so many instances that didn’t make sense to me. Two people suddenly became thousands within a few lines of print.

As a woman, I felt deceived by the fact that the stories in the book that I had cherished as a little girl were incomplete. It is believed by some that parts of the Bible had been laced together from original texts provided by The Dead Sea Scrolls. Allegedly, it has been claimed that Genesis was pruned. There is no mention of Adam’s first wife, Eve being his second wife. I wonder if, at some point the original script will be returned? Perhaps not, for it was removed so long ago that many perhaps prefer the version that they know.

Wild fig - ficus carica

Simples – the beautiful meerkat otherwise known as a suricate

This is an adorable, sweet, lovable mammal that comes from Africa. They are disarming, endearing and engaged with their surroundings. Their lifespan is usually six to seven years with a trade-off in captivity of between ten to fourteen years. Their group which is given the name clan or mob consists of as many as twenty although very occasionally it will sometimes grow to numbers nearing fifty. The meerkat belongs to the mongoose family and survives mainly on a diet of insects. They will as their family genus (mongoose) suggests, also take the occasional snake or lizard to eat and they love eggs. They have litters up to four times a year and the litters range from one to five pups. Although, as in other animals that survive in groups there are a stronger male and female known as the ‘alphas’ who are usually the only breeding pair, most of the remaining females produce milk and will help to feed the youngsters of the clan to assure its success.

The meerkat will sometimes actually share a burrow with other animals. There is a primal guard at the entrance of the burrow usually referred to a sentry, who constantly checks for the safety of the rest of the unit and is ever ready to give a warning call.

 

This little meerkat is from Durrell Wildlife Park (Jersey Zoo), Les Augrès Manor, The Channel Islands

The honey bees in February

There is a gentle hum coming from the hive. After a quick inspection we decided to spoil the sweet ladies to some liquid feed, some crunchy candy standing in syrup and a bag of candy pollen. They have been coming out for a quick fly during the last week and yesterday some of the ladies came back with their pollen sacks stuffed full. There are crocuses about now, so maybe this current hoard is from the pollen of these.

On Saturday we rubbed the small landing step with some fresh Danish oil to keep it nice and weather-proofed – and with all of the rain that we’ve had over the last couple of months it really was in need of a new coat.

Honey bees anticipating Spring – Buckfast honey bees are active ….

Herbs make you thin, spices fat

Maybe it is an English trait or maybe it isn’t that eating herbs keeps the body lean whilst indulging in spices makes the fat spread. It could well be the fact that spice added to food can disrupt the stomach and intestines in some people, thus creating the need for more food to dissipate the acid eruption. Dry spices are noted for their belching properties, which in turn may lead to the presence of burning rather like indigestion or heartburn. Dry pepper or ginger powder cause the body most difficulty as the burning from these two powders leads to sleepless nights.

For people suffering with any digestive problem, it is well worth checking exactly what foods they are ingesting and eliminating all forms of spice. They will most likely notice how much happier and healthier they feel from this one simple act.

The herb rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis

‘Parsley all the summer long, as thin as a lath but twice as strong.’ Anon

‘A heady green makes sinews lean.’ Anon

The herb parsley - Petroselinum crispum

The herb sage - Salvia officinalis

‘Cool as a pool, is a leaf of sage.’

Sage is known for cooling down the body, cooling down the blood.

 

‘Pepper fattens the meanest and leanest frame, but it will not bring a smile to their face!’ Anon

Pixabay …. Royalty free, copyright free, best quality downloadable

I have found an amazing website where pictures are available for use without attribution and I was extremely impressed by the variety and quality of the pictures on offer. They do not have watermarks. They are totally free for anyone to use so I decided to join up.

The company is called Pixabay. I am uploading my best quality photographs so that anyone can use them and enjoy them.

So, if you have a blog post and are in need of a picture; if you are a college or school and want to find pictures for projects; even businesses are able to use this particular site. It is the most innovative website that I have ever found that spreads free content for anyone to use.

Check out my profile page:  Polly Dot's Pixabay Profile Page

 

The weather is strange but a visitor has arrived

Although it's very windy and showery it is also quite warm for February and this has brought a hedgehog out from hibernation - looking for tasty treats. This one is tucking into cheese, cat nibbles, roasted peanuts in their shells and dates - (well it is Valentines evening, after all said and done).

What have you given your hedgehog to eat tonight?

I wonder just how many hedgehogs and other wild life have been lost during this Winter period and it still isn’t over? One weather cycle after another with threat after threat to people and animals alike. No one and nothing is safe. It shows just how vulnerable and fleeting life can be and how everyone, everything and each second in time is more precious than any jewel that man has ever cast his eyes on. No one knows who will be affected next or which area will succumb to either floods, winds or snow and ice or maybe even something else…

We’re in need of a spy

The failing with all people, is that having been taught something it tends to plant itself quite deeply setting itself in stone deep in our brains. Never mind whether a particular fact is accurate or right, if we have learnt it then as humans very few of us will question its accuracy. Yet facts are rarely ever concrete. They should never be written in stone. As we evolve then so should our knowledge and our capacity for recognising that anything may not quite be as we once thought. We should at the very least learn by our forebears who believed fervently that the Earth was flat; the Sun spun around the Earth; the Moon was made of cheese; all religious people were good; all fat was bad, and so on and so forth.

The latest findings about sugar has been a welcome revelation. The reason I make this statement is because so many people over the last few years have rubbished every kind of sugar as they have with salt.

Now according to a recent Horizon programme ‘if sugar is completely taken out of the diet the body loses the ability to produce insulin and therefore is more likely to develop diabetes.’

This programme will turn everything you have ever been taught to understand about fat and sugar completely on its head. So if you wish to lose weight without dieting, if you never want to gain weight then take a look at this Horizon programme: Sugar V Fat

 

 

Sugar V Fat

Learn from these doctors and never have to worry about being over-weight ever again ……. and remember the main rule – avoid foodstuffs with a 50% fat 50% sugar ratio this is usually processed food and is never found in nature. Look after your muscles – dieting on a high fat diet destroys muscle!

The ultimate diet ride – eat in moderation and be careful of any fad diets as you never know what harm they may be doing to your body and you only have one body!

White earworm

We all occasionally have an attack of ‘The White Earworm.’ This is the name given to one of those tunes that you hear playing on the radio or other device that keeps rolling round and round and round your brain – and for some reason you are unable to switch it off. It is usually an annoying tune or one that you do not even particularly like. It plants itself like a seed in the brain and no matter how hard you try you cannot rid yourself of its continual repetition. You are plagued with an attack of ‘The White Earworm’ and there it will stay, turning around inside your ear until it decides to wriggle away of its own accord … because no matter how strong a character you may be, this is one little addictive syndrome that you cannot discard all by yourself.

 

Mug shot of ‘The White Earworm’s’ face

To mock this nasty little creature, I decided to make an animated gif. I hope that you enjoy my little white earworm … and that perhaps next time you are attacked by one of these little brutes, you will think of him and perhaps laugh the problem away! It is rumoured, however, that if you hum a National Anthem theme for ten whole minutes the problem will just disappear, at least until it strikes again!!

The White Earworm Animated Gif.

Making hazelnuts/cobnuts/filberts edible

Hazelnuts, cobnuts and filberts all taste similar and offer a natural package of multivitamins and minerals that make them worthy of being fit for a king or queen. They are, however, extremely bitter and so have lost their popularity except in various ready prepared foodstuff favourites. It is easy to make this nut sweet, mellow and magnificent and once you know how, they can become part of your daily nutrition of excellence. All it takes to sweeten the hazelnut (cobnut or filbert) is a little heat. Either place them on a baking tray in the oven for ten minutes on a medium heat or under the grill or stir them in a pan on the top of the stove. The heat slightly roasts the nut and sweetens the flesh. I always leave on the brown skin but this is easily removed if you prefer an extra sweet nut – place the cooked nut into a tea-towel or clean cloth and gently roll the package on a hard surface with your hands. The outside brown flesh all falls off leaving just the fleshy inner nut, clear of the skin and they are ready to eat and enjoy. They may be added to cereals, cakes, chocolate, eaten by themselves .. so many choices.

See below for the vitamins and minerals that each nut is packed with.

 

Hazelnut, Kentish cobnut, filbert – all look and taste very similar – so much so that it would probably take a professional chef to be able to tell them apart by taste alone.

A little note to add why hazelnuts or their cousins should be part of your daily diet – here is what they contain in alphabetical order:

Minerals – calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, zinc and quite a few other trace amounts of other minerals not listed here.

Vitamins – Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E, K, other tiny amounts of various vitamins.

Ten large hazelnuts are only 80 calories and yet they help to maintain a good and sensible weight as they are slow to digest keeping a person feeling satisfied for hours.

“Bananas in the morning catwalk dread;

bananas in the evening beautifies the head!”

I have always loved and eaten bananas all my life. A banana baby, a banana child and a banana woman. There is little that I do not know about this satisfying, sweet, vanilla, ambrosia berry.

Bananas emit so much radiation that they set off a Geiger Counter when approached. They are noted for the large quantity of potassium that are packed within their skins and are a useful tool for reducing blood pressure naturally. An asset for both constipation bound patients and also ones who may be temporarily suffering from diahorrea. Amongst other useful additions to the diet the banana berry contains Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12 or Folate, C, E, K, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Iron, Manganese, Selenium, Calcium .. and so the list goes on making it a very nutritious food.

Bananas – variety Cavendish, which is a sub-group produced from a wild variety from Asia called ‘musa acuminata’ and the seedless ‘triploid’ (from three sets). This means that the Cavendish variety of banana is always cloned from a parent plant as it always produces seedless fruits.

The most amazing sight is to see an ape take the skin off a banana for it removes it from the bottom blunt end pulling down towards the stem. This most likely is the correct way to peel the fruit as it takes off the ‘inner string’ or the correct name for this ‘Phloem Bundles’ that run from bottom to top of the fruit. A bunch of bananas when pulled off the plant is called ‘a hand.’

It is often found that if a person is allergic to latex they often cannot eat bananas.

The best bananas I have ever eaten are those grown in The Windward Islands: St Lucia, Dominica and St Vincent – all of these bananas are sweet, creamy textured, a milky rice pudding satisfying type of banana.

Never eat bananas early in the day if you have an important meeting as they make the tummy bloat and grow by several inches. They are also slow to digest and so a distended stomach may last for twelve hours or more. Bananas are best eaten in the evening when the body’s digestive system is working more quickly.

Words of wisdom from the old and wise:

“Bananas in the morning Catwalk dread; bananas in the evening beautifies the head.” Anon

Old bananas when they are slightly over-ripe may be peeled and chopped then frozen. Once frozen, mash them up or whizz them round in a food processor and they make a delicious and healthy ice-cream!

Random Ramblings Globe

And just for fun my Blogspot animated gif ..

Haggis/protect the wild haggis/haggis secret recipe

No matter where you may live in the world, there is the chance that a tiny portion of Scottish blood may be running through your veins. So there will also be a hunger and quest deep within that you will probably never be able to quench. The Scot’s mist that is woven into your soul is particularly melancholy at the beginning of each year. It is the month of January that brings with it the hunting season for the wild haggis in order for them to be laid onto the dinner plate, ready for the festive celebration of Rabbie Burns Night on the 25th.

This tradition of the recognition of Robert Burns (Rabbie Burns) date of birth, his birthday is marked by the cooking of the haggis which is served with neeps and tatties. Neeps are what the Scots call turnips but, in fact, the rest of the British Isles call Swede and turnips in Scotland are called new turnips. Tatties are potatoes. Both vegetables are usually boiled and mashed when served with haggis.

Burns night, at one time was celebrated in mid Summer on 21st July which was the anniversary of Robert Burns’ death.

 

Haggis

If like me, you would like to protect the wild haggis for he is a rare and special beastie, or if you live a long way from Scotland but would like to embrace a little warmth from the Highlands – then here is an especially scarce and secret recipe for you to make a ‘mock’ haggis.

Secret of the ‘Mock’ Haggis Recipe

Lean pork minced or ground finely(250 grammes for two-to-three persons)
Fine ground rice flour (one large metal spoon scoop) 
Butter (one small metal spoon scoop)
Squeezed nuts or nut butter (half small metal spoon)
Ground ginger spice (half small metal spoon)
Ground black pepper (one small pinch)
Finely ground sea salt (one large pinch)
Dried and crumbled sage (half small metal spoon)
Dried and crumbled thyme (half small metal spoon)
Honey (half small metal spoon)

Place all the ingredients into a large jug or bowl and fork together.
When roughly mixed – either pound with the end of a rolling pin or squash the ingredients through the fingers of the hands.
The mixture should go together into a round.
Place the round into an oven dish and gently squash down a little.
Slowly pour about half-inch of water around the little haggis.
Cut into shards one scallion spring onion and sprinkle into the water.
Place a little portion of chicken stock into the water.

Cook half-way down the oven on a reasonably high heat (425°F or 220°C or Gas Mark 7)
Cooking time will vary but should take around 35 to 45 minutes and the top of the haggis should be a crunchy dark brown when ready.

 

Sheep-keep

I have a sheep-keep. I came by it one, stifling-hot day as we were out on a walk. Although it was quite small, it stood quite high on a tiny shelf in a shop at the bargain price of £0.99. Ninety-nine pence well spent, I thought.

The keep has a hole in her tummy where the head and top part of her body comes away from the legs and the bottom part of her body. The small centre is for keeping buttons that fall off garments, so that they are never lost. We all know that buttons tend to fly off garments at precisely the time that a person is about to exit the door. As long as the button is in a discreet position then it isn’t missed at least by outside prying eyes and can peacefully dwell in the sheep-keep (button-keep) until returning back home when a needle and thread can place it safely back onto its home.

 

Sheep-keep – the button keep until they can be safely sewn back onto the garment they have fallen from

“Now where’s my needle and thread?”