Native American Proverb

Pam Brown

As I headed to work this morning the rain was torrential and there were rivers of water on the road and there was a distinct autumn feel to the air.  I noticed on my short walk from the car park to my office building that the leaves on the trees now had slight autumnal hues whereas on Friday they were completely green.  Some of the leaves had fluttered to the ground and I managed to enjoy the view despite the rain.

The back of my skirt got absolutely soaked as I made that short walk and when I arrived at my building I found that the office was freezing.  Many people were still wearing their coats so I knew it must be bad. It was so cold my skirt didn’t dry out until around lunch time.  Most unpleasant!

Although I am very fond of autumn I can’t help wondering what happened to summer?  I seem to have blinked and missed it.

This weeks prompt was:

Next week it begins.
Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
Spring in the Southern.
I love the change over of seasons.
Out with the old,
In with the new.
The changes may be subtle at first.
But they are there…
Do you see the changes happening
around you?

The Season’s Beginnings gallery is here.

On the weekend of the 21st and 22nd April, the National Trust are opening over 200 of their houses and gardens for free:

Join us for our free weekend on 21 & 22 April and explore over 200 of our houses and gardens for free – as well as all the countryside spaces we care for (which are free all year round).

To take advantage of this offer, you need to download our voucher and take it along with you on the day of your visit.

Long before I was a National Trust member I enjoyed an unexpectedly free visit to Croft Castle.  I think the free days are a great idea, it encourages non members to visit and see the work that the National Trust does.

This is another theme I struggled with.  I haven’t got any photos of schools or school days and even my photos of fish aren’t quite right because some of the fish are pointing in the wrong direction.  But I shall share this one with you, which is the best I have to hand.

From Wiki:

In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling (pronounced /ˈʃoʊlɪŋ/), and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling (pronounced /ˈskuːlɪŋ/).^[1] In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely.^[1] About one quarter of fishes shoal all their lives, and about one half of fishes shoal for part of their lives.^[2]

Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate. It is also likely that fish benefit from shoal membership through increased hydrodynamic efficiency.

Fish use many traits to choose shoalmates. Generally they prefer larger shoals, shoalmates of their own species, shoalmates similar in size and appearance to themselves, healthy fish, and kin (when recognized).

The “oddity effect” posits that any shoal member that stands out in appearance will be preferentially targeted by predators. This may explain why fish prefer to shoal with individuals that resemble themselves. The oddity effect would thus tend to homogenize shoals.

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

Last week one of the girls at work was commenting that the youngest member of our team will soon be turning 20. Then she went on to remark that she was old enough to be his mother and I was old enough to by his grandmother. I know I have joked in the past that I am old enough to be his mother (which I am) but the figures don’t add up to turn that into grandmother status. The comment about me caused a stunned silence all around the office. I am not sure if the comment was supposed to be humour or if it was just thoughtlessness (again).

This girl has always had a hang up about age and loves to comment on other people’s ages and point out who is ahead of her in years. This year she is having one of those ‘will life change?’ ‘0′ birthdays!

Later in the day she got onto her favourite topic I felt obliged to tell her that she couldn’t possibly do that sort of thing any more. She has been telling us all for years that you shouldn’t after a certain age because that was just disgusting :-O