First of all I must apologise for an error I made in my August letter when I said the Deposit Return Scheme would be introduced in October 1927 but it should be 2027. Sorry about that! (only 100 years out).
I have a weed growing in our front garden and I have told everyone to leave it alone. It is so tall and pretty with pinky purple flowers. I have been warned that it is invasive but I don’t mind as I would welcome a few more. After all most garden flowers which can cost the earth came from wild versions. I think I might make a plot of wild flowers at the bottom of the back garden just for their beauty and to attract insects and birds.
Perhaps I am one on my own, but I can’t understand why some people spend their lives studying animal behaviour. One woman had spent 20 years finding out if the Tortoise is optimistic or pessimistic – why? Then there are those who study wild animals, even naming them over the years – to what end?
We have been having a few wasps in the house recently and I must admit they worry me. However, they are not all bad and there are reasons to admire them. Around 2,000 years ago a Chinese eunuch called Cai Sun noticed a wasp building a paper nest in his garden. Inspired by what he saw, he started to mulch wood and with it made the first paper. If the story is true perhaps we have wasps to thank for much of our cultural history and development.
A quote from Fanny Crosby, a famous hymn writer, who was blind from the age of 6 weeks.
“Oh what a happy soul am I, although I cannot see.
I am resolved that in this life contented I will be.”
Marie Cove