Yvonne Aburrow's Blog, page 22
February 22, 2023
Celtic languages
The ancient Greeks coined the word Celt (plural Celtoi) and it referred to the Galátai / Galli.
The Romans then designated everyone to the west of the Rhine “Celts” and everyone to the east of it (and west of the River Vistula) “Germans”.
In the 7th century BCE, Celtic languages were spoken all over Europe. In the map, you can see the area of Transalpine Gaul, north of the Alps, spoke Lepontic. The Gaulish area on the Italian side of the Alps is called Cisalpine Gaul.
The term “...
February 21, 2023
Large drinks I have made friends with
A poem for SN.
Many large drinks have I made friends with,
That are mentioned in ancient myth,
And cause there to be much frith,
Among all the kin and kith.
The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
Which was definitely vaster
Than empires and more slow,
And Algolian sun tigers’ teeth
Burned in the depths beneath
Its shimmering surface.
A tamarind margarita
Would bring down a medium sized cheetah
Its savoury flavour
Would make grown men quaver.
A piña colada bigger than my face
It tasted like an angel...
February 20, 2023
Nature notes 4
Nature notes, 20 February 2023. 3°C. Sunny with a few clouds. Damp.
Went for a walk in Dumfries Conservation Area. Saw a few ferns, some birch trees, various conifers, a grey squirrel, and lots of chickadees at a feeder by the parking lot. Also this lovely moss. Now that the snow is almost all gone, the forest floor, and stumps and rocks with moss on them, are once again visible.
Moss on a rock
Mossy rock and oak leaves.The Anishinaabe word for moss is waasekmik. The word aasekm...
Vintage nature notes 2013
In 2013, I wrote a series of short posts about nature, reflecting on the small beauties that I noticed each day. The idea of posting about small beauties came from Jacqueline Honeybee Durban.
25 June
A man slowing his car whilst a squirrel scampered across the road, and smiling indulgently as it skittered off, probably oblivious to its near miss. A front door left open to let in the sunshine and fresh air. A man with tiny dreadlocks with rainbow colours of thread wrapped round them. All se...
February 19, 2023
Nature notes 3
Nature notes, 19 February 2023. 6°C, high of 7, low of -1. Went for a walk in Sudden Tract. The ground was still frozen but it was pretty warm. We saw lots of chickadees at the feeding station on the boardwalk and one junco. The ponds were all frozen but the streams were only frozen at the edges.
Dogwood and the stream
Ice threading the stream
Frozen pond
February 18, 2023
February 17, 2023
Vintage nature notes 1992
Some of my nature notes from 1992.
Vintage nature notes
Some of my nature notes from 1992.
February 16, 2023
Nature notes 1
Nature notes: 16 February 2023. Hespeler, Ontario. Most of the snow has gone. Only a few patches left.
Saw a couple of chickadees, two grey squirrels, one black squirrel in the woods. Heard a woodpecker (sound on in the video to hear it). Heard some crows and saw them flying along the edge of the wood. The woodpecker is still drilling away intermittently as I write this.
On the way home I saw two more black squirrels and another grey one.
The sky was grey and overcast.
According ...
