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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

An idiots guide O.k. the Asha’s guide to gull spotting.

Has it got red on beak… If no.. What colour are its legs… if green = Common Gull

Has it got red on beak… If yes… What colour are its legs…If yellow – Yellow Legged Gull

Has it got red on beak… If yes… What colour are its legs…If Pink – Herring Gull

If short black legs – Kittiwake.

I am sure there are other factors and Gulls which need adding to this, but as they are most of our local common Gulls. It is a hugh improvement on.. “Oh look at the seagulls Asha” We now have.. Asha what kind of Gull is it.. and Its working.. We saw a Herring Gull in town mummy today… Success!

Pink legs, grey back, small red mark on beak.

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For some time, I have been looking for something which would help me to understand the moons cycles.

I then came across a link on a friends web site, for a diary, which claimed to do such a thing.

Inspired, last week, I asked Steve to get me one. £10 felt an awful lot for a diary, so i was naturally rather worried about it. This morning my diary arrived. Its wonderful. I cannot explain to you the satisfaction of having the different calendars at ones fingertips. Knowing what celebrations are coming up for all my friends, and myself.. and the lunar cycle explained so well.

http://www.moonwise.co.uk/diary.php

Its a limited edition, but well worth still trying to get as well, i only bought mine last week!

I wish we had enough for the calendar as well, but we dont need it this year, but for any of my OU friends who are studing astronomy I can only recommend you take a look at it.

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One of the things that Asha got involved in was an animated video, with some of her friends.

We recently were informed of the result..

Wonderful stuff!

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Dosnt really do the river justice, and i hope you love my thumb.. but

The river during nov floods 09

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Dear Friends,

I know some of you will be familiar with this, for others you may not be aware
of what parliament is about to do in your name. Codex Alimentairus is a law
designed to hand over the control of natural remedies to the pharmaceutical
giants. One more attempt to regulate us – with potentially dire consequences.
Unless we take this last opportunity and act now we will not be able to buy
vitamins or health/nutritional supplements without a doctor’s prescription -
they will be banned from 31st December 2009.

You may think this can’t happen, you may think why haven’t I heard about this
before. The reason is that there are vested interests, giant multinational
pharmaceutical companies, and it’s not in their interest that you know about and
oppose this. They and our lawmakers in Europe are banking on public apathy.
Despite considerable pressure already exerted our government is still planning
to implement this law – UNLESS THERE IS MASSIVE OPPOSITION IT WILL GO AHEAD.

Like many health and safety matters this was started with good intentions, in
1962 by the United Nations, to establish international free trade foods but has
become a major threat to our civil liberties and freedom of choice.

As the song says: YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE GOT TILL IT’S GONE

Please, sign the petition to the Prime Minister . . It takes 10 seconds! This
is for our health, and well-being and the health and well-being of our
children. Please copy and paste the link below …”

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/vitamins/

Popularity: 24% [?]

Asha has been feeding the birds with fat balls for a few months now, and we asked a few people for bird stuff for her for her birthday,  And this is the resulting pictures today from them!

And we must not forget the one on the fatballs in the tree now.

It was fantastic to watch.

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On Monday we went to chester zoo with some friends. We often go to our local zoo, and over the years we have taken 100’s of photographs of the animals in chester zoo, so we didnt take many this time, instead wanting to spend time with the company we had, and to spend time enjoying the new surroundings.

Asha had a fantastic time, but we did get a few good snaps of her being Asha.

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The may day celebrations were at the end of a week of great fun, there had been loads of environmental projects, den building, bug hotels, and crafts.

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When Asha was tiny, we had a kitchen which was even tinyier. So untill
she was about 3, she never was allowed in the kitchen. But we always
made sure we gave her stuff to do just by the kitchen door, if we had
to be in there, when we were on our own. ( i used to bluetak different
shaped sheets of paper onto the walls, and provide her with different
art materials to decorate the paper with.) Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 23% [?]

Yep it snowed today.

Anyway, here is a picture to help realise exactly HOW cold it is today, but also how beautiful it is.

Asha spent some time on the field, and some time building snow men and throwing snow balls at daddy. He might put a photo up

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A NOCTURNAL moth has become the first animal known to see colours in the dead of night. They use this visual talent to find yellow, nectar-packed flowers in the dark, but the finding reported in New Scientist suggests that other species also use colour vision at night.

Nocturnal moths were thought to find flowers by looking for bright petals against a darker, leafy background. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 19% [?]

Yep that is right, stalactites fall down.. and stalagmites crawl up.

When I was in senior school I remeber weeks of our geography lessons being spent discussing these things, and it was sooo boring! Last week the kids at CLAS had great fun playing with them, and asking questions and taking photographs of them.

I hope to take Asha tomorrow to the river to look at ice a bit more, but in the mean time, some information for you on ICE, Stalactites and Stalagmites.

Read the rest of this entry »

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I have been sent the included feathers in an email. Now I am assuming they are guinine
art work, as I know the person who sent me them is very involved with this area

I just thought some others may like not only to read the small story behind them, but also see the works!

God’s Wings -

A little something to put things in perspective…

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest

rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage.

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under  their dead mother’s wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast …because she had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.

Enjoy!

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Dawn here Maldwyn Jones’ Daughter the fisherman who went missing back in April. i’m after a favour, i’m doing a walk up Snowdon 2 May 09 and wonder if you could post it on here for me to get the sponsorship money up, i’m doing it for the Porthdinllaen Lifeboat who were out looking for my day, it was also printed in the Caernarfon Herald today

For more information on the walk, or to donate money, email Dawn at mcfc_76@hotmail.com

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We have moved house. We have space to play and privacy to do what we want.

Asha is 100 times happier than we have seen her for a long time.

We have painted, played bump, fed the birds, made magic gardens, cleaned the cat tray, done the vacume cleaning, had friends around to play and basically had a ball of a time so far.

I hope to get some pictures up soon. However we have fantastic views to the front, and a mountain garden to the back.

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removed for now

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welsh translation sign

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated”.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Now why do I find it ironic that this peice of work is being removed by the council....

Westminster City Council said it would paint over the 22ft-high (7m) mural on Newman Street, off Oxford Street, which is a criticism of CCTV in the UK.

There political excuse being this

Mr Davis, who is also chairman of the council’s planning sub committee, said: “I take the view that this is graffiti and if you condone this then what is the difference between this and all the other graffiti you see scrawled across the city?

“If you condone this then you condone graffiti all over London.”

The mural is painted on a wall of a building shared by Royal Mail and another business.

The council said once it was established who owned the painted wall the artwork would be erased.

Now considering the amount of work which councils have sold… I just hope the wall owner says NO!

Just because the truth is out and the council don’t like it!
bbc web site

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When it is 609.6 meters above sea level.

A Welsh hill has been upgraded to a mountain after three walkers found its official measurement was just too low.

Mynydd Graig Goch in Snowdonia was originally put at 1,998ft (609m), just short of the magic 2,000ft (609.6m) that qualifies as a mountain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7623904.stm

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O.k. not really that interested in this. Because out here we battle for any rubbish collection, and I can never get to the local recycling center.

But I want to make some changes. We only spend about £7 a week on electricity. We dont have mains gas, but our bottle for the cooker lasts 6 months Oil.. corr thats expensive! Well we go through a tank a year, so hardly wastefull in this area. But wood! Yes wood. we burn it. It comes from a forest less than 3 miles away. The guy drops it off on his way home, so no extra mileage, but i need to find a way of useing less.

Heavier curtains in certain rooms would be good.. I am going to cut up a shower curtain for the bathroom as soon as  i can get one cheap.  I need some kind of heating for the kitchen, and I need to get onto the council for storm guards for both doors.. or do I just buy some?

What do you need to do, to keep your bills down.. Is there anywhere you can make savings?

Popularity: 14% [?]