Lucky Charm

"There is no greater beauty or charm than what we can find in nature." ~ Todd Romano.

The four-leaf clover is a universal symbol for good luck and its leaves are said to stand for faith, hope, love and luck. The word 'shamrock' refers only to a clover with three leaves.

The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common shamrock. Clovers can also have five, six or more leaflets but these are even more rare. What causes the extra leaves?

Scientists have determined that the extra leaflets are caused by genetics, mutations and environmental conditions. A dominant gene in white clover produces three-leaf clovers. However, when a recessive gene is expressed or the structure of a gene is changed, four or more leaves are produced. The fourth leaf is often smaller or of a different shade of green. Environmental conditions such as weather, growing conditions, certain chemicals or levels of radiation also affect clover. 

According to a study, the extra leaf is more frequent at a certain temperature because clover prefers cooler weather. Also, exposing flowers to gamma rays during the pollination stage results in more four-leaf clovers. Hence, multiple factors impact the production of this relatively rare clover.

The fourth leaf is considered good luck so I’m hoping that luck spreads to all.

Make way for the goslings!

The best way to predict the future is to create it.-Peter Drucker

Nature is a fascinating source of inspiration.

The wild creatures do not strive for beauty or attention.

Thy simply are there; that is my definition of “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.”

Meadow of golden poppies

"Through the dancing poppies stole a breeze, most softly lulling to my soul." - John Keats

The beautiful California poppy is the state flower of California. These perennial bright fiery orange and yellow blooms are known for their silky petals, vibrant colours, and golden luster. California poppy is a symbol of imagination, messages delivered in dreams, beauty, success, luxury, extravagance, and even peace in death. It's beauty is a constant inspiration for poetry, music, and art. Presenting the magnificent sight of these gold meadows.

Field Boundaries

The future will be green, or not at all- Jonathon Porritt

A field border is a strip of perennial vegetation established on the edge of a cropland. Common borders include hedgerows, stonewalls, watercourses, annual weeds, legumes and shrubs. How are field edges benefitting the farmers?

• Manage soil and reduce erosion due to strong winds and rain.
• An increase in organic matter from leaf litter improves the soil’s structure and reduces surface water run-off.
• Act as shelter for crops by protecting them against drought, regulating moisture in air and raising soil temperatures in early spring and late autumn.
• Provide important over-winter refuges, nesting sites, pollen and nectar feeding sources for pollinators such as bees and hover flies throughout the year.
• Increase water infiltration, thereby resulting in better water management.
• Provide wood which increases energy efficiency and adds to the revenue.
• Cut pollution by creating a physical barrier to reduce spray drift, capture pollutants and ammonia from livestock units.
• Provide “edge” habitat for game birds such as pheasant and partridge.
• Lead to a rapid increase in insects, which can in turn attract birds and small mammals, there by conserving wildlife.

Sharing a few pictures of field borders from the countryside. This is my last post for the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Thank you my Blogger friends for being with me this whole fortnight of this contest reading my posts and leaving your valuable comments and I wish all the best!

‘This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.’ 

 https://www.theblogchatter.com/

 

Combating Wildfires

 “Wildfires are a result of temperature conditions, of soil moisture conditions; and, of course, something has to start it.”— John Holdren

(PC - David Gray / Getty Images)

The year 2020 saw unprecedented wildfires and forest fires around the world. On a hot summer day, when drought conditions peak, a spark can ignite a raging wildfire. Wildfire is a part of nature. Sometimes, fires occur naturally, ignited by heat from the sun or a lightning strike. Naturally occurring wildfires play an important role in nature by burning  decaying matter and returning nutrients to the soil. They also remove disease-ridden plants and harmful insects from an ecosystem. However, the majority of wildfires are the result of human carelessness such as:

• Arson
• Campfires
• Discarding lit cigarettes
• Improperly burning debris
• Playing with matches or fireworks

How firefighters fight it out?

• By depriving the fire of one or more of the fire triangle fundamentals  which include heat, oxygen and fuel. 
• Dousing existing fires with water and spray flame retardants. 
• Clearing vegetation from the land around a fire to contain and eventually starve it of fuel. 
• Creating backfires to remove undergrowth, brush, and litter from a forest thereby depriving an otherwise raging wildfire of fuel. 

The raging fires definitely complicate an already perilous profession. 

Presenting pictures  of the heroes of our life in action. These are clicked on Fire station Open Day which I attended. The firemen demonstrated how to tackle fires to raise awareness of this important job. Their bravery is inspiring and admirable.

Passionate Nature

"Animals are not property or "things" but rather living organisms, subjects of a life, who are worthy of our compassion, respect, friendship, and support."-Marc Bekoff

Life is very vivid to animals. In many cases they know who they are. They know who their friends are and who their rivals are. They compete. Like us they fight for survival, get food and shelter, and raise their offspring for the continuation of their specie.

Research provides compelling evidence that many animals experience emotions as joy, fear, love, despair, empathy and grief. Their presence here on Earth maintains our ecological balance. 

As human beings, we must consider their emotions and treat them with respect rather than as possessions and numbers.

Strawberry Production Systems

"Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit." -Henry David Thoreau

Strawberries are grown in a wide range of different production systems with the objective of producing high yields of quality fruit with sufficient flexibility to meet market demands and labour availability. I have come across these production systems during my recent visit to a strawberry farm:

High tunnel strawberries:

High tunnels are simple polyethylene-covered unheated structures placed over drip irrigated ground beds. They are used to extend the production season of a wide variety of crops including strawberries. The tunnels provide protection from unfavourable weather conditions, such as wind, hail, frost, and excessive rainfall resulting in better survival rate of strawberry plants. High tunnels also provide a sheltered environment for pickers at the time of harvest.

Tabletop strawberries:

Tabletop systems enable growing strawberries off the ground in grow bags. Following are the advantages of this system: plants are easier to pick, there are no weeds, no soil borne diseases and no slugs.

Matted row strawberries:

Mother and daughter plants grow side by side with plants trained to run in narrow rows. The noted advantages of this system are relatively low initial investment costs and exploiting the natural growing habit of the strawberry plant.

With improvement in technology the quality and quantity of the agricultural produce can be increased thereby expanding the nutritional options as well as quality of life available to people.Technology and nature can work together to feed a growing population. 

Strawberries are a gift of nature to mankind and as humans we should appreciate this and encourage their growth in abundance.