'Bambi'

Stag in Antler

Pay attention class. We continue today with our week on local fauna.

Today's Lesson is on Odocoileus virginianus, more commonly known as the Virginia deer, or white-tailed deer. Also just called 'the deer'. It's another common animal found throughout North America, South America, and it has been introduced to New Zealand and some European countries, mostly in the East.There are about 30 subspecies of the white tailed deer, all of them highly adaptable.

I've always considered the deer to be my good luck charm. They're soothing, and there's something about their gracefulness and shyness that are enchantining. Their big, soft, warm brown eyes don't hurt, either. The day I had to put my first dog down, two does and a young fawn came to browse at my living room window. They made me feel so much better. Just last weekend, the boyfriend and I went for a country hike and saw a herd of five does.

Deer are ungulates (hooved) mammals with a red-brown to grey coat. Their tails are broad and about a foot long, with a characteristic white underside. When running or alarmed, the deer's tail becoems erect, flashing the white side like a little warning signal/surrender flag. Male bucks can weighs between 130-300 lbs, while the female doe generally weighs between 90-200 lbs. They can be as high as 40 cm at the shoulder. As you head south, specimens tend to get smaller.


The characteristic 'flag' of the white tailed deer

One of the most notable and well-known physical aspects of the deer are the stag's antlers, which are shed each fall and regrown every year. Only 1 in 10,000 does have antlers. There are a variety of different types of antlers with varying numbers of branches, with food supply and habitat contributing to growth. When the antler's begin to grow in Spring, they are covered with a tissue called 'velvet' which covers the hard antler and is scraped off by the buck. Shedding starts in the fall, after all the does have been mated. The antlers are for the purpose of mating (duh.), and used as both as a display to attract females and to combat rival males who either challenge for the right to mate a doe or compete for control over a harem. During the rutting season in October/November, bucks rarely eat or sleep, mating feverishly. (Woah, what a honeymoon.)

Females give birth to 1-3 spotted fawns in May or June after a seven month gestation period. The fawns (the most famous being Bambi of Disney fame) have small white spots on their back, and are able to stand up within minutes of birth. However, they remain feeble for their first week of life until they have drank enough of mama deer's rich and delicious milk. When their mother's leave them periodically while searching for food, they curl up in the grass (the white spots help with camoflauge) and remain motionless for hours.

Fawn hiding in the grass

Contrary to popular belief, deer are not silent creatures. They use a variety of sounds to communicate, including bleats, snorts, and huffs. They are herbivores, with their diets consist of leaves, grasses, shrubs, bark, herbs, mushrooms and berries. They are primarily nocturnal or crepescular, meaning they feed at dawn or dusk.

hi mom!

Deer interact with humans often, despite their natural timidness and fear. Being highly adaptable and migratory creatures, they often come into contact with farmers and motor vehiclists (though the latter encounters often lead to injury and death on both parts). Deer are often found grazing in farmer's fields and have been known to come into urban areas. Deer are also popular for hunters and cooks, with venison being considered a delicacy by some.

Deer are awesome. There's just something about them that has a hushed, magical quality that makes you hold your breath. You just want to stay as still as possible and watch them.

What do you think?


And do you recall, the most famous whitedeer of all?

Vulpes Vulpes; The Red Fox

Adult Red Fox

I love foxes.

I wrote my first 'book' when I was in grade 8. It was called 'foxheart' and I got about 40,000 words in before I gave up. I have it collecting dust around here somewhere...Foxes have always captivated me. Last year, I went for a walk in my yard around sunset. In the back 4 acres, I had been kneeling down to look at some particularly purple nettle-flowers when I looked up and saw a dog-fox not 50 feet away. He was large, and his fur was an amazing shimmery red-gold. I could see his pupils. I've seen a lot of foxes, but this one was large; easily twice the size of my largest cat. We both just stood there for 5 minutes while we took each other in before he loped off and was quickly lost to sight.

Like I said, I love foxes, and I'm hoping that I can have another such encounter soon.

The red fox, or Vulpes Vulpes, is a small-dog like mammal found throughout Europe and North America and Asia, as well as Northern Africa. Because of their recognizable traits and wide-spread habitat, many times they are just referred to as 'the fox.' Male foxes are slightly larger than females. Sizes vary somewhat between individuals and geographic locations—those in the north tend to be bigger. Adult foxes weigh between 3.6 and 6.8 kg and range in length from 90 to 112 cm, of which about one-third is tail. Their tales are long and bushy and -insert lisp here- FABULOUS.

Contrary to popular belief, not all red foxes are red. Many of them are brownish, and the colours vary according to geographic locations. These include brown, silver, red, orange, black, and grey. Many have black feet/legs and a white tip on the end of their tails. Fox eyes tend to be golden.


Silver Fox

Oppurtunistic eaters, foxes are omnivourous and will eat everything from mice and small rodents, rabbits, cats, to berries. Roadkill and human garbage are also free for the picking. They primarily feed on invertabrates such as insects and crayfish, and have also been known to eat birds and reptiles.

Fox temperament and behaviour is vastly different due to geographic locations. No two fox populations are the same. Some hunt during the day, most at twilight, with many becoming nocturnal in area's of human development. It is a solitary animal and a solitary hunter, forming a mostly-monogamous relationship with a vixen (female fox) each year. The vixen gives birth to a liter of 4-6 kits, also known as pups, who leave the den upon achieving maturity in 8-10 months.

Historically, foxes have held both positive and negative positions with humans. The Japanese revered the fox, and stories of fox-maidens, or 'kitsune' were popular. In popular fiction, the fox is seen as a wily and conniving trickster, a little brother to the native american trickster coyote figure. They feature prominently in many fictional and children stories, such as Reynard the fox and Aesop's fables.


Japanese Kitsune

Many farmers used to see foxes as chicken-poachers and pests to be elimnated. While foxes will carry of the occasional chicken and lamb, farmers now tend to now see them as beneficial as well, feeding on the pests that can destroy harvests and get into grainaries. Fox hunts are particularly popular in England, when a bunch of fancy-pants on horses run a fox to the ground and have it torn to shreds by a bunch of exhausted hounds while their horses break their legs. Fun for everyone except the animals involved. Yay.

Fox furs are also very popular, with silver fox fur being used for linings, cuffs and collars and with red fur more commonly used for full-fur garments. In the time of traders, a single fox fur was worth up to 40 beaver pelts.

'Vulpix' and 'Ninetales', based on kitsune, are also admired by pokemon lovers and anime buffs everywhere.



Gotta say, red foxes are awesome. And adorable!


D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

That New Book Smell....

What are you doing here?

Its a balmy 15 out, and it's supposed to go up to 18. Why on earth are you on your computer?

Granted, I haven't posted in a week, but my long-distance boyfriend came down, and we spent the days cuddling, watchign Scrubs, going for walks in the sun, going out for dinner and wandering around down-town Paris. Twas delightful. But this post is going to be short while I write a few more to catch up with my absence. And then I'm going outside. Or I might just grab a few reference books and go outside and write there. :)

My last post was on the mourning dove, a common sight here in the Paris countryside. I think for the next few days I'll keep up on writing about some familiar flora and fauna, since with Spring being here (for those people who say we have more snow or the temperatures going to plummet to regular March weather, shut up. Just shut the hell up.)so many amazing and ordinary things are coming out of the woodwork. So, starting tomorrow, I'll be working through a week-long list of familiar flora and fauna that will seem totally new by the time I'm done with them. I might even start tonight.

Now...for fresh book smell.
This isn't so much of an informative post. It's more of a 'I FREAKING LOVE NEW BOOK SMELL'. I love the smell of fresh-printed ink, glue, white paper. I know many people will agree with me on that, especially book-lovers. IF there ever was a smell that was about fresh-adventures and what not, it would be new-book smell. :)

It's pretty awesome.
What do you think?

Apologies.

I haven't posted in a few days :P
Right now I'm curled up with a 'sleeping' boyfriend who is subtly trying to tickle me. I never see him, so I'm distracted.
I promise, I shall put up two posts tomorrow
One, on the paralympics :)
And another on another yet-to-be-decided subject.

Lots o' Love

-Bananahead

Mourning Dove

also known as Zenaida macroura.

Todays post is about the doves for a variety of reason.
1) My yard is infested with them. Not that this is necessarily a bad infestation. personally, I like them. I think the most we've counted sitting on our deck is 28 at one time. We had only 3-4 three years ago, and belive me when I say they breed like rabbits. No, really. I blame my father. Every winter we put out bag and bags of bird seed to feed our feathered friends, and it's gotten to the point where all the doves are as big as chickens and not afraid of us (or our cars) anymore.
2) Today, I saw my first robin. It's a contest every year in my family for who can spot the first robin. I WON. SPRINGTIME, HELL YEAH. I know robins=doves does not make sense, but re; the point below.
3) With doves, you only ever really hear them in the summer when you're outdoors. Their distinctive coo can be heard in the mornings and evenings. Spring = almost summer, which means eating breakfast outside and drinking tea in the sun, and late nights out in the yard, heading in when the doves start to coo and the air starts to cool.

The common mourning dove is a feathered cousin to the white dove. Its identifying features inclue plump bodies with long tails, short stubby legs, a small bill, and an absurdly small head, and they grow up to twelve inches. They tend to be a delicate brown to a deep tan in colour with small black spots on the feathers. The males and females are practically indistinguishable from one another. They live throughout North America, staying out of deep woods and instead living and breeding in open country. They are especially common in Southern Canada and across the United States. For the most part, many of the more Northern birds are migratory unless they have a large food supply in the area. (Such as my house...)

Mourning doves have diets much like other Canadian birds; berries, seeds, and invertebrates such as beetles and worms. Mourning doves will often feed outside of their nesting ground.

Oddly enough, Mourning doves are monogamous, meaning they have the same parter year after year until one of the partners dies. Breeding and nesting beings in March-Arpil, with the Male cooing loudly to attract a mate. Many nests are in trees, both coniferous and deciduous.

Each brood will have 1-2 eggs. The birds are devoted parents, and nests are very rarely unattended. When the chicks hatch two weeks later, they are fed pigeon's milk for two days before the milk is slowly augmented by seeds. Fledging takes place about two weeks after birth. The leave the nest, but are continually fed by their parents for another two weeks. Because this process is so quick, in warmer weather a single pair can have as many as 6 broods a season. Meaning 2 birds quickly turns into twelve. However, this prolific breeding is needed for the high mortality rate; 60% in adults and 70% in adolescents.. The birds become sexually mature the year following their birth, where they reconvene in the same area. (Which explains why we have so many....)

Because the estimated population of mourning doves in North America is approxametly 375 million, they are not considered at risk. Hunting of the doves for sport and food are extrememly popular, with the hunting season lasting through October.

The doves are best known for their distinctive coo. Many people may mistake them for an owl. To hear the call of a mourning dove, visit the link below.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/id .

You might have heard it while enoying a beer on your deck, or wandering the countryside, or while camping. I love it; it's soothing and reminds me of warm summer nights.

Some people find them to be pests, but you know what?
I think mourning doves are awesome.

....bet you didn't know I was going to say that.

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Sculptor Extraordinaire

Fountain of Four Rivers, Bernini, 1648-51, Piazza Novena, Rome


Today’s subject is artsy.

All throughout high school, I took art/art history. I love art. I love going to art museums or galleries and standing in front of these paintings, some of them upwards of 500 years old, and just staring at them, noting the brush work and the detail. I’ve stood in front of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’, Tintoretto’s and art from the Group of Seven. I love that feeling you get when you look at something and you’re struck silent, not only because of the sheer beauty or talent and time put into it, but because this was something that was painted hundreds of years ago, something that has outlasted the artist, made him immortal. I love museums for that reason too, because even if I’m looking at a small clay pot, I imagine the creator’s hands shaping it, a young woman using it, a child chipping it. It is something that existed with people just like me. Living, breathing, feeling. When I look at art, I feel a connection to the artist that spans centuries. Sometimes you come across a particularly beautiful painting or sculpture that you can’t even believe was crafted by human hands.

I’m going to talk about such a sculptor, one of the most famous of the Vatican artists and one who is unrivaled in skill. You half-expect one of his figures to start breathing. His art was further popularized by the novel ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown.

Gianlorenzo Bernini was born in Naples on the seventh of December, 1598. Bernini was a sculptor, a painter and an architect, and an outstanding influence of the Italian Baroque, a period characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion and self-confident rhetoric. His sculpture, which I will be focusing on today, was dramatic and natural realism that startled and became deeply admired by the Vatican. (His architecture and painting were also fantastic. For example; he was the architect who designed St. Peters.) A deeply religious man, Bernini accepted many commissions from the papacy after coming to the attention of the papal nephew, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and was knighted by Pope Gregory XV at the age of twenty three. Bernini sculpted dozens upon dozens of figures, many of them religious. He died in 1680, at the age of 81, his legacy closely entwined with the Catholic church and the art of Rome.

While I won’t go in-depth about the life of Bernini, I want you to go look him up. Go on. Look him up. I DARE you. Part of the joy of learning is discovering it for yourself. You don’t need to be an artist to appreciate art (though I think if you haven’t tried your hand at art, you won’t appreciate the difficulty of it quite so well…). If you should ever drop by Rome, go see some of those sculptures in perfect. Stand in front of them and note the amazing detail, think of Bernini’s hand shaping the marble. Believe me, it’ll astound you.

Gotta say, Bernini is awesome.



This is a side-photo of his sculpture 'The Rape of Prosperina', 1621-22, when he was 23 YEARS OLD. look at that detail! My god.




This is one of my favourites. It's called 'The Ectasy of St. Theresa', (1647-1652)
from Bernini's later, more mature subject matter. Yes, she is orgasming or something like that, but it's from the presence of God. Look it up :)

The Delicious World of Maple Syrup.

I lied.
Two posts in one day. Again. -sighs-
But, I had waffles, and waffles are inspiring. So, dear friends, we enter the wonderful world of maple syrup.

Maple syrup. One of the most delicious things on the planet. Sugary and sweet. One of my favourite childhood memories is going to the sugar bush and wandering around the old log cabins learning about pioneer times and sipping maple water. Oh my. Canada, to me, is partially made up by our maple syrup, with Quebec being the largest producer of Maple Syrup in the world.

Maple syrup is quite possibly one of my favourite foods. Up till very recently, I would go to farmer markets and buy the tiniest amount of syrup available in jug form. I would then repeatedly dip my finger into it and then lick it. The process of emptying the jug would take about two weeks. I have a notorious sweet tooth, well known to friends and family alike. It is feared. The hushed whisperings at family gatherings can attest to that.

There is no known date where people in Canada first started making maple syrup. Native Americans were doing it when we arrived on the shores of Canada. Their way of making maple syrup differs from the modern way, though it still is very similar.

Maple syrup comes from the sap of some maple trees, primarily the sugar maple and the black maple, with the red maple and silver maple being used as well. The tree is tapped at a convenient height with the holes being drilled between 2.5-5 cm deep. Some trees may be tapped up to four times. Immediately after the drilling, a plastic or metal spile is driven into the wood. The spile leads to a metal bucket (sometimes a hose is also used that leads to a sap tank) that is attached to the tree. The bucket has a metal lid in order to prevent bugs and other animals getting at the delicious sap (or maple water). The sap is like sugar water; I remember our tour guide letting all the children taste it straight from the tree. This type of sap collection is the traditional way, with the plastic hose being the modern approach.

When the buckets have a fair amount of sap in them, they’re collected and dumped into a mobile tank, often on a wagon or tractor. The sap needs to be collected daily in warm weather. Once the sap is collected, it’s taken to a sugar hut or sugar shack. The sugar shack is essentially a small building used for the boiling of the sap and the production of maple syrup. The sap is then filtered and is passed through an evaporator unit (in the modern approach), where it is passed continuously through and becomes more concentrated, acquiring that deep rich colour. It passes to a flat pan and once finished, is filtered once more. More traditional maple-syrup makers will boil their maple syrup in large vats, and when it is finished, it is filtered. The syrup is finished when it reaches a temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius above the boiling point of water, which differs with varying altitudes. If the maple syrup continues to be boiled, it can be made into soft or hard maple sugar candy. You need approximately 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of genuine maple syrup.

Here are some fun facts on Maple trees and maple syrup;

A maple tree lasts at least 30 years and is 12 inches in diameter before it is tapped.
As a tree increases in diameter more taps can be added, up to a maximum of four.
Tapping does no permanent damage to the tree.
Only 10% of the sap is collected each year.
Each tap yields an average of 10 gallons of sap per season,
yielding about one quart of syrup
Warm sunny days (above 40º F) and frosty nights are ideal for sap flow.
The maple season may last 4 to 6 weeks, but sap flow is heaviest for 10 to 20 days.
Sap flowing in high volumes is called a "run".
The harvest season ends with the arrival of warm spring nights and early bud development in the trees.
30-50 gallons of sap are evaporated to make one gallon of syrup.
Maple Syrup is boiled even further to produce Maple Cream, Sugar and Candy.
It takes one gallon of syrup to produce eight pounds of candy or sugar.
A gallon of pure Maple Syrup weighs 11 pounds.
The sugar content of sap averages 2.5%
The sugar content of syrup averages 66.5%

Maple syrup is awesome for a variety of reasons. Just think; not only is it delicious and wonderful, it’s one of those things that come from something right outside our doors. It’s a natural resource. I know I may not be getting that across as well as I’d like, or be able to share my enthusiasm for it, but the process and the history behind maple syrup staggers me. Nature has given us something delicious and amazing.

Hopefully, I’ll be dragging my boyfriend to the Sugar Bush next week, so I can share with him my love for maple syrup and the process behind him, and I can turn back into an 8 year old filled with simple wonder and joy, dipping my fingers into a bucket of maple sap and getting them all sticky all over again.

Yup, Maple syrup sure is awesome.

Recovering from Oscar Night

Did anyone else watch the Oscars?

I missed the first hour; I had to work at the restaurant on a really slow night. On the bright side, I DID get a free cake from my boss. So me and the delicious cake quickly changed into a pretty dress, got made up, and dashed to darling Sam's house. (she is the aforementioned friend who fell off the cliff.) There me and some of my old high school friends gorged ourselves, played games, watched the Oscars, and I finally watched I am Legend before stumbling home sleep babbling while awake. (I have a horrible problem with sleep-talking. The other day I told my boyfriend 'Don't be a bad collie') Go Me.

I'd like to say that today I will be investigating something, but I'm not sure if I will. But I make time for my posts in the morning, and am unsure if I will be able to st some later point today. Quite frankly, I'm tired. The world is still awesome, but I'm tired. And currently lying in a big plush armchair with the sun and a hot cup of tea listening to summery sounds (in March!) is making my brain feel lazy. I might just stay here and melt for the rest of the day.

So, to make up for the current lack of an intelligent post, I give to you the video that inspired the name for this blog.



What do you think are some awesome things about the world?
Boom de Yadaaaa!!1

Sea Glass

I've always had a bit of a fascination with sea glass, having first read about it in one of those 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul' books I used to get every birthday and Christmas. My chance to finally collect some arose last March, when I was in Spain for ten days. Me and four friends were perusing the beach and the shells (none of us were inclined to join the 20 people long tanning line of our classmates) when I found a small sliver of sea glass no bigger than my finger tip. Excited, I began to look for more.

Turns out, I'm very very bad at finding sea glass. My eyes just register all the colours of a blur. Three of my friends however, were very, very good. The promise of a beer for whoever could find me the most sent them all scurrying. I left Spain with a giant box full of sea glass of all different colours and sizes. Alllll righhhhhtttt.

Sea glass is regular glass that has been thrown in the ocean. Over time (sometimes as long as years) the sharp edges and gloss of the glass is worn down by the tides and waves, and the salt content of the oceans and the sand etches the glossy side. The most common colours are kelly-green, brown and clear, with the rarer colours being blue and red/pink, black, and yellow. The majority of my glass came from heineken bottles, and the green was absolutely spectacular.

Artificial sea glass can be made using a rock shaker, and it can also be found in inland lakes. However, in the lakes and rock shakers it lacks the etched sides that are found in sea glass.

There's not a lot of science to sea glass. I'll admit that's part of why I'm writing about it; I'm tired and grumpy and don't feel like going into detail. But it it an awesome thing. The ocean takes this horrible litter and softly wears away the sharp edges, recreating it into something beautiful and valuable and sought by artisans and beachcombers worldwide. Just that act, making something dangerous and potentially hazardous, taking our horrible horrible waste and smoothing it, is awesome. The product is awesome.

And because of anti-littering campaigns and laws, sea-glass is becoming increasingly rarer. Which is sad, but overall a good thing.

And well, I like to think that ocean is giving us a gentle reminder. Which is just another reason why sea glass is awesome.

The Wonderful World of Taraxacum Officinale

also known as the common dandelion.

I will pause before going into my long rambling on the awesomeness of the common dandelion for a few moments to explain my love of them. They're pretty, stubborn, and honestly one of those less-explained and misunderstood miracles of the natural world. Also, I love to blow the seeds. My love for them furthered even more when I found out that my boyfriend, at the age of two, would go along counting the dandelions (up until twenty) and tried very very hard not to step on them. My twelve year old brother does the same, and both of them paint adorable pictures.

Back to the yellow plant.
The dandelion (common name taken from the french dents-de-lion, or teeth of the lion for it's jagged leaves and bright yellow 'mane) is flowering perennial plant. The latin name, Taraxacum Officianale, means 'medicinal'. Bet you didn't see that coming. Though commonly thought of as a weedy plant (it grows just about anywhere and in copious amounts), it has both culinary and medicinal uses the whole world over. Rad.

Medically;
-it's rich in vitamins; A, B complex, C, And D
-has iron, potassium, and zinc.
-Is highly prized in Asia for it's medicinal qualities
-leaf concotions are used to purify the blood
-is considered a diuretic
-is often used to help ailing livers and kidneys
-the milky latex inside of the stem can be used as a mosquito repellant
-stimulates the production of vile
-Native Americans also used the dandelion to cure skin problems/rashes, upset stomach, swelling, kidney problems, and heartburn
-Asian medicinal practitioners used it to treat digestive problems, appendicitis, and breast problems
-English doctors used/use it for fevers, boils, eye problems, diabetes and diarrhea
-Has mild laxative effects
-traditionally used for diabetes, however studies have only been done on mice as of yet.
-Dandelion root is exported from the US (do we not have enough here in Canada!?) and is a registered diuretic drug

Culinary
-used to make dandelion tea ($4.95 at my local zehrs)
-used to make dandelion coffee, or 'poor man's coffee' in smell and taste, it is identical to regular coffee without the caffeine or bad effects of coffee, with all the benefits listed above
-used in salads and soups (anyone who has spent money shelling out for a healthy dandelion salad know that they're pretty expensive..)
-Wine can also be made from the flowers

It's kind of amazing that we have this amazing plant in our backyards and often try to destroy it without realizing that it's a nutritious food source and one of the oldest medically used plants in the world. I can't wait for the snow to finish melting so they can start popping up their little golden heads and I can go out and just marvel at something that seems so ordinary. I think it's something that's overlooked and in need of a little more appreciation. They're pretty awesome when you think about it.

And you can make wishes!

Japanese Tea Ceremonies

All right.
So, like I mentioned before, I hate beginnings. So it was amazingly difficult to figure out what I wanted my first actual post on awesome things to be about. The answer came to me while sipping a green tea liberally laced with honey.

Japanese Tea Ceremonies. I know not everyone would be able to understand or have the patience for a tea ceremony, but I think it’s still something that we can marvel at. Any martial artist would know that the tea ceremony is like a kata; it is an art form. It involves breathing, controlled action and concentration, and a singular state of mind. Also known as ‘The way of Tea’ it is an ancient and culturally important ceremony meant to be savoured. The ceremony is based around the preparation and presentation of Matcha tea, a powdered green tea.

The ceremony generally takes place in a room or small hut designed specifically for a tea ceremony called a chashitsu. The guests to the tea ceremony, generally numbering four, purify themselves and enter through a small door, reminding them that they are all equal in tea no matter social status or possessions. There are as few as four or as many as thirteen components to the tea ceremony. Students spend years trying to perfect it to become tea masters. Many samurai were also masters at the tea ceremony.

While I can’t go in-depth without writing pages and pages on the ceremonies and their intricacies (something right now neither you and I probably have time for). I highly encourage you to look up the tea ceremonies and view the video below. I know that some of the actions may not make sense to you (Why are they taking so long to prepare TEA!? As my baby sister said), but I hope you take the time to appreciate it and its beauty. It is a refined practice hundreds of years in the making, and I wish I had the time/space to go in-depth here instead of just giving you a few facts without any real substance.

There is a deep and peaceful beauty to the ceremony. It’s something I can sit in awe of and it inherently soothes me. When you think of not only the history behind it, but the time, care, practice and preparation that goes into the ‘simple act’ of making tea, you can’t help but wonder.

No denying it, Japanese tea ceremonies are one of those truly awesome things.

Hello World!

Well.

Hi :)
I don't exactly know where to start. See, this is a problem I have. When I write a book, or a short story, or an essay or anything really, I always write the end first. I hate beginnings. And this, being a very first post, is a beginning. Not that I don't like beginnings. I just hate writing them. So this first post is going to be jumbled up and have absolutely no bearing on any following posts, except I guess as an explanation.

This blog was borne out of of three things, as follows.

1) The world is awesome.
Yes, it is. Think about it. There are so many things on this tiny blue planet that are absolutely spectacular. Especially the things that seem ordinary. They're only ordinary because we're used to them. It doesn't make them any less extraordinary. If you look at it with a bit of wonder captured in your eyes, you CANNOT believe it. Or at least, that's the way I view it.

2) I am infinitely curious.
It's a fatal flaw, really. A few years ago, a few friends and I were hanging out in the quarry behind my house. I strayed a little too close to a 'cliffside' (only about thirty feet from the edge to the ground. But it was a steep fall. With lots of pointy rocks.) because I wanted to look over the age. Needless to say, I slipped and dangled out over a bunch of sharp pointy rocks. My friends, in their rescue mission, only managed to cause my best friend to fall with me. At this point we were dangling from the same root. I won't go into details, but we both survived, albeit scratched, and my friend had a gigantic bruise on her hip that she showed off until it faded. Because of this infinite curiousity, I like to research things for fun. I can tell you a lot about Rasputin, the Cretaceous period, Dandelions, Sharks, so on and so forth. I'll admit, some of it is useless knowledge, but it's interesting knowledge nonetheless and makes for good conversation starters and helping one keep up a sense of wonder.

3) I like to share. :)
The first rule of kindergarten has always been foremost in my brain.

So this blog is an exploration of the world. Some of it far away, some of it right outside my door. Sometimes the posts will be long and rambling and filled with facts and have tons of knowledge just crammed in. Other posts will be short and sweet and just a 'WOAH! Check this out!' I'll try to sort of group them together thematically (eg. 5 posts on the ancient world. 5 posts on plants) but I know that that resolution will quickly fall apart. I'll try to post everyday. Key word try. But, I'm actually going to try and upkeep this blog. My last one fell apart after three entries when I found that my life is rather blah. But this one's about the world, and there are way to many possibilities to allow me to get lazy.

So, lets go adventuring.