- Kestrels are sometimes brought into orchards because they eat pests such as insects, rodents, and birds that destroy crops.
2. Owls display how they are feeling through the position of their ear tufts
3. Owls with black eyes are nocturnal, orange eyes are crepuscular, and yellow eyes are diurnal.
4. Warm-blooded animals have to consume a significantly higher number of calories than cold-blooded animals since they generate their own body heat. (Makes sense but I’d never thought about it before.)
5. Grey seal milk contains 53% fat! (Compared to 4% for humans.)
6. Haskaps (also known as honeyberries) are a blueberry-like fruit that we tried in Montreal.
7. Blossom end rot in tomatoes (and other fruit) is caused by a calcium deficiency, which in turn is often caused by inconsistent watering.
8.I’ve only read a couple of Louise Penny novels and I didn’t love them, but I do love the fact that she has opened a real cafe based on the one in her series.
9. Tergiversation means “evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement.”
10. Charles Dickens’ characters (e.g. in A Tale of Two Cities) are personifications of character qualities; he takes our drives, virtues, and vices and creates characters that embody them. In a similar vein his stories are full of symbolism and archetypes rather than realism. (I’m indebted to the smart women in the Schole Sistership for these insights.)
I learned some other lessons in gardening, but I think I’ll save them till the end of the summer.
Fascinating owl info. Wonder where you learned that?😁
An even ten interesting items! In July I learned (from a novel) about ‘mensur,’ a fencing tradition in German speaking countries, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They say the scars on the cheeks were badges of honour. Actually I think your owl facts are more fun to know.