Day: May 7, 2020

Nighttime musings

Adam's Art and Bonsai Blog

The Night.

My favorite time in The Nook. Early morning is nice, with the fresh air and birdsong. Afternoon can be a bear, especially in the summer. If it’s not raining, the 100% humidity can be stifling.

I can relax in the cool air of a Florida evening, the night breeze brings with it the smells of green, and night blooming flowers. When the sun goes down we can lose 20° F of temperature. That’s like 6-7° C.

Not good in the winter so much, unless you have a warm fire, a fine scotch, and some marshmallows to roast, but when the temps are high, the night air cools the head and brings relief. I’ve been working hard recently getting trees repotted that have desperately needed it, moving and building benches, wiring, pruning, fertilizing, weeding trees.

This Pause we are in has given me time. A pause in time. That’s…

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10th World bonsai day the 09 May 2020

Bonsaiwithromano

How many of you knew that world bonsai day will be celebrated on Saturday 09 May 2020? Not many… Well like many other hobbies, only a few passionate people follow the bonsai trends. Bonsai is small community although there is a lot of interest in bonsai there is but a few that really knows all the history behind it. I do not blame anyone for not knowing as this year there has been a few other things that took priority.

The world bonsai day was first celebrated in May 2010 to commemorate the vision that Master Saburo Kato had for “World Peace through Bonsai”. Saburo Kato was a third generation horticulturist and second generation to own the Mansei-en nursery. Saburo Kato has published numerous articles and was one of the four people that worked tirelessly to establish the World Bonsai Friendship Federation in 1970.

To learn more about Saburo Kato…

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BirdLife SA’s Webinars

Hermanus Bird Club

Barbara advises as follows:

“Good Afternoon Gentlemen  (this is addressed to John Saunders and me)

I know I am being a pain, but I do not understand your reluctance to inform the HBC’s members about the weekly webinars offered by BLSA, especially as you encourage them to join BLSA.

Since April 14th they have had interesting talks every Tuesday evening and this will continue till 22nd September.

All the members have to do is go to this website:  https://www.birdlife.org.za/blsa-conversations/  where they will get all the info about Zoom, how to register for upcoming talks and to get to know the various speakers.   It could not be simpler. 

Regards

Barbara”

Barbara, you are not being a pain at all!

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The Nature of Lockdown

incidental naturalist

2020 – The year of The Virus and the spring of lockdown. 

I returned from vacation in March to a Covid-19 tsunami, sweeping its way across the globe leaving devastation and misery in its wake. On the day I left for my holiday only 11 cases had been reported in the United States. By the time I returned, just 10 days later, a state of emergency was about to be declared and within 4 days I, along with millions of others, was in lockdown. All trips cancelled for the foreseeable future, including trips to the grocery store or office.

Anything that I write in this paragraph could be extracted straight from a horror script. We have all read that script too often recently, so let’s skip it!

It was nearly 3 weeks before I left my Hoboken, New Jersey apartment. I left because I was going crazy. The restraining band…

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Sydney Swans – Also Available in Black

incidental naturalist

All swans are white, right? Majestic snow-white angels of the lake. Wrong! It was during a 1980s summer holiday to a small English seaside town that I discovered the mute swan’s alter ego; the Black Swan.

The English town of Dawlish sits on the south coast of the county of Devon. It has been symbolised by the Black swan since 1906, when they were introduced from Australia by a New Zealander named John Nash. The species has made Dawlish Water their home since then, except for a brief hiatus between the wars. A Black swan drifting across the lake was such a thrilling sight for a wide-eyed bird-loving boy, on his summer holiday.

Most of us have encountered the Tundra swans of North America, or the majestic Mute swan that I grew up with, on the waterways of England. When spotted in the Northern Hemisphere, the Black…

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