July 30, 2009

Any news story that features chipmunks, Paris, and Lyme Disease is guaranteed to get my attention. The BBC has posted a cute video report on their website about French scientists stalking Siberian chipmunks in the parks of Paris in an attempt to determine the Lyme risk in that city. What's hilarious about this video is that the reporter indentifies Lyme borrelia as a virus (it's a bacterium) and the only symptom of Lyme he mentions is paralysis. If paralysis was the only symptom I've had to deal with, I think I'd be looking a lot less stressed.

You can view the video here.

July 24, 2009

I know you're all just dying to hear about my hat. Like most gardeners, I've accumulated quite a collection over the years in an attempt to keep the sun from frying my face and shoulders. My all time favorite was purchased a few years ago from Art Knapps Plantland in Kelowna. I bought it because it's made of 75% paper and something about that appealed to my inner eco-geek. Since then, I've done just about everything you can do to a hat and it still looks brand new. I've even stepped on it a few times (accidently, of course) and it pops back into shape. And yes, it can get wet without disintegrating.

My hat is made by the San Diego Hat Company. I don't know if they still carry the line at Art Knapps, but it never hurts to ask.

July 17, 2009

When I harvest my carrots each year, I daydream about all of the interesting things I'm going to do with them once I get them in the kitchen even though I know that I will inevitably end up preparing them the same way I always do. Not once did it ever occur to me to make flutes out of them. At least, not as an adult. Then someone introduced me to the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra, a one-of-a-kind musical group featuring, among other things, carrot flutes, celeriac bongos, and pepper trumpets. Now that's far more interesting than carrot soup.

You can check them out at their website. Judging by the audio clips, the music is as odd as the instruments.

July 10, 2009

I recently visited the Nitobe Memorial Gardens at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. It's a very peaceful place - except possibly when I'm there. During my brief visit I managed to a) scare a koi b) photograph my foot c) trip on nothing. All in all a successful adventure. The photograph on the right is by my husband, who does not have a single photograph of his feet. There is a website where you can learn more, but it doesn't do justice to the gardens, so you'll just have to visit them in person.

Photo by: Michael Farnsworth

July 3, 2009

As I've long suspected, when scientists get bored, they sit around thinking up ways to freak out other forms of life. These particular scientists cloned a Sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata) then set about trying to determine if it could differentiate itself from its genetic twin. It could.

How do they know the plant could recognize its twin? You'll have to read the article to find out.