Dear Steve, Gilbert’s opening paragraph is largely Latin to me—in more ways than one. I can follow what he is trying to establish, but the detail makes me conscious of how much I don’t know, and of the opportunities to learn that I am not making for myself. What do I mean by that? GilbertContinue reading “2096 – Letter to Steve XXXII, Latin & The New Forest”
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2089 – Letter to Steve XXXI – Ants, Bees & Star Trek
Dear Steve, I really haven’t paid as much attention to letter XXXI this week as I should have done. I can’t give you a good reason. Having just reread the letter and reviewed the discussions I have had with my assistant, I think the view that I am taking with regard to XXXI is thatContinue reading “2089 – Letter to Steve XXXI – Ants, Bees & Star Trek”
2121 – Letter to Steve XXX – The fruit of the tree (or possibly bush).
Dear Steve, I read Gilbert’s Letter XXX with a little bit of bemusement. It was, to put it simply, a bit all over the place. In reality, there is no way I could produce a letter that was in line with his. This week, then, we will talk about the passion fruit bush thatContinue reading “2121 – Letter to Steve XXX – The fruit of the tree (or possibly bush).”
2094 – Letter to Steve XXVII – That’s just nature all over.
Dear Steve, Hedgehogs are the main topic of Gilbert’s letter XXVII. For once, he has done something with a wild animal that I understand and acknowledge. I’m not sure how he procured (his word) his family of hedgehogs; I hope it was not by stealing from their mother, and I am sure he treated themContinue reading “2094 – Letter to Steve XXVII – That’s just nature all over.”
2087 – Letter to Steve XXVI – Travels & Heat
Dear Steve, A couple of comments on the photo that I include with this week’s letter. I was curious to see this little plant, so vibrantly green against the severely blanched grass next to it, and couldn’t help wondering how it did that, how did it manage to stay so green? And then, looking atContinue reading “2087 – Letter to Steve XXVI – Travels & Heat”
2080 Letter to Steve XXV
Dear Steve, Gilbert devotes the entirety of his Letter XXV to birds and reptiles, especially smelly snakes (snakes that generate a smell to defend themselves). The weather at the moment really prevents me from going anywhere unless I absolutely have to. I can’t match that. It’s been too hot for me to have been veryContinue reading “2080 Letter to Steve XXV”
2079 – Blog activity
Looking back, I’ve realised that it is not far short of a month and a half since I last posted a photo that deliberately includes the Spinnaker. In the past, I could take, even if I don’t post, several pictures at a time. I want to talk just briefly about a series of posts thatContinue reading “2079 – Blog activity”
2073 – Letter to Steve XXIV
I spent a bit of time about a week ago, dissecting a passion fruit seed pod. Gilbert dissects a bird and finds eggs forming and food in its crop. I don’t think I could dissect a bird. I can remember one Rural Studies lesson at school where the teacher was going to dissect a rabbit.Continue reading “2073 – Letter to Steve XXIV”
2070 Messing around
Those passion fruits look almost good enough to eat, don’t they? I won’t of course, but I am keeping an eye on them, and if they start to swell or drop, I’ll have another one to disect. Next year, I want to watch the whole process from budding – I missed that bit this year.Continue reading “2070 Messing around”
2066 – Letter to Steve XXIII – Butterflies & Passion Fruit
Dear Steve Gilbert mentions Guernsey lizards being introduced at Oxford but not breeding. Is that the case? If so, are we lucky that we weren’t overrun? For how much damage do we blame people from the 1600’s onwards for the introduction of species from overseas that were incompatible with the UK? Witnessing the migration ofContinue reading “2066 – Letter to Steve XXIII – Butterflies & Passion Fruit”
