Weedy Sea Dragon Courtship Dance

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I've just watched an extract from a forthcoming episode of a BBC programme called 'Life' about the courtship of the Weedy Sea Dragon. These are fish which are related both to pipefish and seahorses which they quite strongly resemble. In the dusk of an Australian spring the male and female perform this courtship dance where their actions mimic each other. It is amazingly graceful and courtly. Afterwards it's the male who carries the eggs on his tail that the femail has transferred to him. It is then his job to look after the eggs until they hatch. The dance is really beautiful to watch so if you have the opportunity to do so I would advise you to take it.

Tax

Image by World of Oddy via Flickr

It is that time of the year when I have to get down to sorting out my financial situation from last year for tax purposes. Is this a task that anyone likes? I dread doing it and have left it to this week as it is the Autumn half-term break and I'm not quite so busy. Still I invent things to do to delay the inevitable chore of going through all the financial bits and pieces. Still it's better to do this than get stuck with a £100 fine in January.

Time Changes

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Early this morning the clocks in the UK went back by one hour to Greenwich Mean Time from British Summer Time. Although I enjoy the extra hours rest I still find it a bit confusing adjusting to the new time as everything seems too early in the day as far as my body is concerned. Usually this only lasts about a week until I've adjusted. At least we will have lighter mornings for a while.

Invitations and Privacy

Image by Denis Collette...!!! via Flickr

Today, when I opened my email I had been invited to give an interview to a company which I had never heard of before. This particular company claims to be a resource directory for creative and marketing people, amongst others. I took a brief look at the questions they would ask me and was surprised to see that one of them related to what time I got up every morning. If there was a question about business or working hours I could understand it but information about what time I get up didn't seem particularly relevant. I always feel ambivalent about contacts of this kind. Yes, it would be nice to contact other people but at the same time I'm very conscious of what information I give to whom and what use will be made of it.

Autumn Winds

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I'm writing this today as I can hear the wind howling around the house. Although we have some degree of breeze or wind in West Cornwall most days of the year, I suppose it becomes more pronounced in the spring and autumn. Today is no exception. It brings images to mind of leaves blown from autumn-coloured trees to land on the ground and I remember the enjoyment my son used to get from kicking the leaves which had landed in piles with his wellies when he was a child.

Power Naps

Image by monicca via Flickr

I'm all in favour of the odd nap during the day. It can help refresh you in a way that caffeine cannot. Granted that often I end up napping involuntarily which can be a bit irritating but I'm sure that this also serves a useful function. Perhaps we all need to disconnect from the here and now every so often to allow another part of our brain to kick in, or show us something we may have forgotten about previously or a new perspective on life.

Houseplants

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I love having plants around the house but have to admit to not having the greenest of fingers! I find that some do very well, over a number of years while others give up on me fairly quickly. I've decided that I'm not very good with ferns even though I love their green leafiness. Somehow I don't keep them moist enough. On the other hands we seem to do very well with 'Money Trees' in the house and have quite a few of them. Sedums do fairly well too. One plant we have in the living room and whose name I've now forgotten has been with us at least 2 years and surprises us with gorgeous magenta flowers every spring. It is coming into flower again now. I look forward to its colourful display.

Blog Action Day - Climate Change

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We have a lot of wind in this part of Cornwall, UK, where I live. It has become more severe since I moved down here, nearly 20 years ago. Also the weather has become warmer and wetter, over the same period. I remember, when my family first moved down here, being able to go for long walks in January when the weather was fine and sunny, if a little chill. We used to go to the beach for a picnic on New Years Day. For the last five years or more, it has been too wet to even contemplate going to the beach for New Year. Also the wetter weather has added to flooding problems which have become more profound. All of this tends to affect the local agriculture and the farmers' attempts to harvest the crops. I do not think that anyone in Cornwall would want the weather to become any wetter than it currently is nor for it to adversely affect local crop production. I am sure there are many other parts of the world who have been adversely affected because of the climate changes in the past few years so obviously anything we can all do as a species to prevent this situation from worsening has to be for everyone's benefit.

Climate Change

Image by ecstaticist via Flickr

I live near the sea in the south west UK, in Cornwall. This is an area which is known for its mild but wet weather as well as beautiful scenery. Various parts of Cornwall have had serious flooding in the past and extensive work has been undertaken for flood defence. With climate change there is an increasing chance of water levels rising as the ice in the Arctic melts. This may well exacerbate the problem with the flooding. Indeed I wonder how much of the UK would survive some of the worse flooding scenarios. Maybe all that would remain would be a collection of islands where the mountain ranges currently exist. In any case, obviously, all that can be done to avoid this particular scenario is in the interest of us all.

Cows

Image by pdeee454... Trying to catch up.......... via Flickr

As I sit here typing, I can see the cows in the field outside my bedroom window. They look so placid as they eat grass and chew the cud. It's probably just as well if they remain placid, on the whole. On one occasion in my past I went for a walk with a small excitable dog which barked at a herd of cows. The result of this was to have the cows circling around me and the dog at a high speed. It was definitely an uncomfortable and rather scary moment but fortunately the cows didn't injur either the dog or myself. I can still vividly remember the event and would strongly recommend against taking excitable dogs near any cows!

Autumn Butterflies

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Despite the autumn weather, which is very changeable, I have noticed some butterflies around still. On Friday I definitely noticed a Red Admiral butterfly plus others which I didn't get the chance to identify before they'd flown away.

Bird Watchers

Image by Kimphotos via Flickr

During my walk down the valley this morning I saw a number of bird watchers, complete with binoculars, telescopes and cameras, hunting for a bird. I continued on my walk down to the coast and admired the view over the sea which had a blue-grey luminous quality. On my way home I asked one of the bird watchers what they had been looking for and he told me that it was a Yellow Browed Warbler. Our local valley is on the migration path of birds travelling back and forth from Europe (and sometimes from the US and Northern Europe depending on the wind strength) and we often have many unusual birds arrive in the spring and autumn who pause during their migration further north or south (depending on the season). When I came home I found that the Yellow Browed Warbler is normally found on the Continent, so obviously its appearance here is quite something for the bird watchers. I wish them every luck in their efforts.

Precognition

Image by ecstaticist via Flickr

This is a very useful ability when it works! Knowing that something is going to happen shortly before it does can really assist in everyday life. Twice today I've felt pretty certain I knew who was on the phone before I picked it up (no - I don't use caller ID) and have been right both times. The only problem is, I find, that this ability can sometimes be very fickle and just depart without due notice or warning. Still I enjoy the times when it works more or less OK.

Spiders

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Over the past few weeks I've become really aware of spiders coming into the house. Perhaps they're aware of the shorter days and the oncoming of Autumn. In some ways they are quite amazing animals, spiders. The beauty of the webs they create can be quite stunning sometimes, especially if they're enhanced by dewdrops. And some times they're so strong. Quite often I will find a spider's web attached to my car wing mirror and it stays intact through the journey to my destination and home again.

Creativity and Depression

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I was reading an extract of a fascinating article which may at least partially explain why there is such a strong link between depression and creativity. Scientists have now found that a particular molecule found in depression attaches to the neurotransmitter Seretonin. This molecule appears to have been an evolutionary feature of primate mentality and assists in the concentration necessary to analysing problems without being distracted. The positive side of depression is that often it forces one to consider what is wrong in one's life and then to analyse why that is in order to find a solution. This molecule, apparently, helps with the analysis necessary in scientific and mathematical breakthroughs, as well as many other creative endeavours, which can, in turn, be linked to depression which is often the motivation for the analysis in the first place.

Imagination

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Imagination is such a wonderful mental ability. To be able to imagine something could be different than it currently is allows for the possibility of change and improvement. We can see our current position, where we might wish to be in the future and imagine a way to get there in order to improve our situation or relationship. For an aspiring writer, imagination is vital. For me, this is an ability which varies considerably from day to day, as I suppose it does for many people. Currently, my imagination is lacking a little and could use some boosting!