A-Z Blogging Challenge: Narwahls

So I was sick recently and spent a lot of time watching nature documentaries including one about a pod of orcas (better known as killer whales) that moves up the coast of the Canada into Arctic waters during the short Arctic summer where they prey on narwahls which have moved south to breed.

I had, of course, read about narwahls before and they are curious and fascinating creatures. It proved very difficult to find a clear photo so I had to settle for this drawing published in 1820 and now in the public domain. It's not a bad representation, though.

	In: "An account of the Arctic regions with a history and description of the northern whale-fishery", by W. Scoresby. 1820. P. 588, Vol. II. Plate XV. Library Call Number G742 .S42 1820.

A member of the toothed whales, they are unique in having no teeth in their mouths. Adult males (and rarely females), though, have a long tusk, which can be close to three metres in length, and is formed from a canine tooth extending from the left upper jaw. It is straight with a spiral twist ending in a smooth polished tip. Why they grow this is unknown as is much else about the narwahl. Males average 4.1 metres in length (not including their tusk) but can reach 5.5 metres while females are slightly smaller, averaging 3.5 metres.

The beluga whale is the closest relative of the narwahl and that they spend their winters under the Arctic pack ice, gathering around fissures to breath. These fissures can close unexpectedly and leave the narwahls relying on them to suffocate.

Narwahls are predators that feed on mostly Greenland halibut, polar and Arctic cod, cuttlefish, armhook squid and shrimp. They are some of the deepest diving marine mammals diving between 800 and 1500 metres up to fifteen times a day and taking up to 25 minutes for each dive. They are believed to suck their prey into their mouths.

With only between 75-80,000 narwahls remaining they are regarded as near threatened and, although Inuits are allowed some subsistence hunting, trade in their ivory is banned in much of the world. Their future seems uncertain if the Arctic pack ice continues to melt and it will be sad if they disappear completely.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Milk Rant

I'm not a great lover of milk but I do use it in my coffee which is where this rant comes from.

Where I live milk comes in plastic bottles like this.

With a sealed lid like this

 When you twist the lid you break the seal and the you can pour the milk.
Now these seals are secure against tampering so why would several milk companies decide to add another layer of security to their milk? I assume it's because occasionally a few drips seep out if you lie a bottle on its side but this doesn't allow any way that the milk could be contaminated. So they have done this.

As you can see there is a firmly - very firmly - fixed cover which has a tab attached. This you are supposed to pull up to remove the cover. Looks nice and neat, doesn't it. Trouble is for those with arthritic fingers, carpal tunnel and any other grip problem as well as those with large or weak fingers this is impossible. We have to resort to sticking a knife or other sharp implement in and sawing the cover open. This means that not infrequently we - and the floor, bench top, cupboard doors - get splashed with milk.

At least there are a few companies still showing a modicum of sense but why cause a problem in the first place?

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Limes?

I grew up thinking I hated limes. This was because my mother loved a "lime" flavoured cordial (I think it's called cool aid elsewhere. It's a "fruit" flavoured sugary syrup, which is mixed with water to make it very diluted for drinking and much loved by children). To me at least, the lime version was frankly revolting. Where we lived can be very hot - 38-39 C is not uncommon in the summer and every year we manage to hit plus 40 C on a number of occasions - and this means plain water gets less than thirst quenching. Cordial was a cheaper option than most other flavoured drinks and is still popular, of course. But I'm digressing. The point is that this was my introduction to "limes" and I never wanted to try them or go near them again.

Fast forward quite a few years and TV chefs are rhapsodising over limes. They're using them in all sorts of ways and I cannot understand why anyone would use let alone like them. They're revolting, right? Then one day a friend gave me three limes from his tree and I felt obliged to use them. I dug out one of Nigella's recipes and was blown away. It was delicious, even the scent of the lime was delightful and nothing remotely like that of my childhood memory. I got more adventurous and experimented, even substituting lime for lemon in various recipes. All equally yummy.

So now I'm hooked and I have my own little lime tree.

As you can see it's had a bit of a tough summer - almost all the citrus in our area have been attacked by aphids and leaf curl this summer - but it's recovering with new shoots coming.














It's a dwarf so it will always remain in a pot but even last year it produced half a dozen full size fruit although it is no more than three years old at most. This year's crop is already looking impressive. Fingers crossed it lives up to its promise.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Koalas

I doubt if many people from anywhere in the world haven't seen an image of the koala. They are as iconic representatives of Australia as the kangaroo and emu - by the way, for Americans the last is not pronounced "eemoo", but "eemyou" and you can't imagine how confusing this mispronunciation is to Australians when we hear you say it this way on TV or in a movie.

Okay back to the topic. The koala - often miscalled a koala bear although it's not a bear or even related to the bears - is an Australian arboreal marsupial and it's remarkably cute to look at. It is an adept climber, lives on a specialised diet of eucalyptus leaves and, due to the low nutritional value of its diet, spends much of its time sleeping although it can move quite quickly when it wants to. They are perceived as placid, even lazy, as they sleep in among the tree branches with those at sanctuaries regularly trotted out and given to visiting VIPs and celebrities to hold, most of whom are lucky enough to get away with not being peed on.

So that's the standard view of the koala but there's more to it than that, of course. The koala is found in the coastal eucalyptus woodlands of eastern and south eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland to south eastern South Australia. It has been reintroduced to the area near Adelaide and Kangaroo Island and in ancient times was also found in the south west of Western Australia. Northern koalas tend to be smaller in size and paler in colour and population density is very varied with those in Queensland, for example, being numerous in south eastern areas and uncommon in other areas while they are only common in The Pilliga State Forests in New South Wales, but, on the other hand, are abundant throughout Victoria.

They tend not to be social animals but mothers and babies remain together until the mother becomes pregnant again in one to three years. Pregnant and lactating females can be aggressive as can males in dominance battles over territory or breeding females but otherwise they tend not to waste energy on fighting.

Like all marsupials, the baby koala or joey is little more than an embryo when born and it (there is usually only one although twins do occur occasionally) makes its way from the birth canal through the mother's fur to her pouch where it attaches to one of her two teats and suckles until it emerges fully from the pouch at about nine months to ride on its mother's back or abdomen until fully weaned.

For relatively small animals, koalas have a large range of very loud calls to communicate and signal breeding availability. These can be heard as far as several miles away. You can hear some of their sounds here, here and here.

Sadly many populations of koala are being affected by the STD chlamydia which is having an impact on fertility but a recent breakthrough by scientists in Queensland raises the hope that a vaccine is on the way.

There's much more to know about these fascinating creatures and you could look here , here and here if you're interested.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Jainism

I recently watched a documentary on Jainism in India. Many Jain villages there have an animal sanctuary but this documentary was about a particular village where the people live so strictly by Jain principles that they welcome wild animals into the village. They are fed and those that are injured in any way cared for. As a result even timid animals like deer show no fear and wander wherever they want.

The main principles followers of Jainism live by are:

1. Non-violence. Jains believe as far as possible in avoiding harm to all living creatures in a descending order from humans through animals and insects and even including plants. Violence or war in self defence is allowed as is use of plants when they are essential for food but they must be harvested with care so as to cause the least harm. Some even avoid eating root vegetables because other organisms may be injured when they are harvested and even if such injury is caused by carelessness it is not an acceptable excuse. As a result most Jains are lacto-vegetarians - that is they eat vegetable and dairy based foods but not eggs or flesh - although some take it even further and are vegan, eating only vegetable foods.

2. Non-absolutism. This means open-mindedness and recognition of different perspectives including tolerance of other beliefs.

3. Non-possessiveness. This means avoiding greed and therefore using only what you need and sharing what you can.

While I don't agree with all Jain beliefs, it seems to me that, no matter what our faith system, following these principles would only improve the world.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Island Dreams

Ah yes, islands. They have such a hold on our imaginations, don't they. So many of us dream of our own island, away from the cares of daily life. Usually these fantasies are small pieces of tropical paradise surrounded by white beaches and enclosing a lagoon. No interfering busybodies, no demands on us or our time. What could be better?

Well, a lot probably. Most islands aren't idyllic paradises. Many are too small, too isolated or lack a water source. The climate may be arid, too hot or too cold. It could be too windswept to grow anything. Perhaps it's no more than a rocky outcrop, a patch of low lying infertile sand or overshadowed and threatened by an active volcano. And how do you survive if you're the only person on an island or even if you're part of a tiny community? What happens if you are injured or get sick? Do you want some of the trappings of modern civilisation like electricity? Would you prefer to buy clothing or, if you have the time and inclination to make your own clothing, would you prefer to have someone else make the cloth? After all it takes many hours to spin and weave enough to make even one garment. Living a subsistence life is all very well but how do you get extras without something to trade or the money to pay for it? How do you get work to earn money for things you might consider essential. On a small, isolated island with a tiny community there's not going to be many options. What happens if you fall out with your neighbours? More, what future is there for your children? How do they get an education? So many questions.

Still there are islands that do fit our fantasy. These are islands large enough to support a fair-sized population, where there are job opportunities from a variety of sources ranging from agriculture and fishing to tourism, but are small enough to feel special. I'm thinking of islands like the medium sized ones in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. Even in those places difficulties remain with a drift of the younger folk to the mainland where there are more opportunities in education and employment.

I'm still drawn to an island life, though, and given the chance - like winning a major Lotto prize which would obviate most of the problems listed above (money after all is a great facilitator) - I would happily move to one, just as long as it wasn't too far from the mainland.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: "H"

and, no,  I didn't forget to put in the subject heading. I'm talking about the letter itself.

Poor little letter "H". It's not its fault it gets into all sorts of trouble and involved in controversy.

Let's start with what it sounds like. According to the various dictionaries I've looked at the standard pronunciation is "aitch" and that's what I grew up with. Those who said "haitch" were generally regarded as uneducated. Of course, given that there are other English dialect speakers (even in other parts of Australia) who favour "haitch", the Irish, for example, this is obviously unfair.

So poor little "H" is already struggling with competing views of correctness. You'd think that would be enough but, oh no, it's not so lucky. It also has the problem of the indefinite article that precedes words beginning with "H". Should it be "an historic event" or "a historic event", for instance? What about "an hotel" or "a hotel"? After all no-one would say "an horse", would they, or "an heart"? Then there are words like "hour" which always have "an" as its indefinite article. Are those who insist that words like "historic", "historical" and "hotel" should be preceded by "an" pretentious as I read recently or are they correct?

Well some research shows the rule of thumb is "a" is used when the "h' is sounded as in "habit", "horse" and "hospital",  and "an" when the "h" is not sounded as in "honour"  or "hour". Then things get murky because it depends partly on pronunciation with some people using a less aspirated "h" beginning some words making it a softer sound. This means it's harder to actually say the "a" and "h" in succession so "an" is easier option. As well, it can depend on whether the emphasis is on the first syllable of the word or the second with "an" being used for words like "historic" and "historical'.

So is "an" used for "historic" and its fellows pretentious or logical? I suppose it depends on where you were born, what form of English you speak and how comfortable you are in your usage. Despite strident claims on various websites, either remains acceptable according to more reputable sources although some suggest that "an" is on its way out. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.