I highly recommend this book.

Fernapple comments on Jan 2, 2019:

Thanks, it is good to get a book recommended, especially since having seen some of your posts I now have an idea of your tastes. It may be that you have to forgive the lack of mentioning the facts on paternally inheritable mitochondrial DNA as this is fairly new science and it can take five or more...

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2019:

@Donotbelieve Thank you I have manage to order it.

Can you live without the Lifeforce Harmonizer...?

Mitch07102 comments on Jan 2, 2019:

This falls under the heading "You just can't make this up."

Fernapple replies on Jan 2, 2019:

Oh. I could make one up. Take me about two days, less cost of copper wire, base, pegs, paint, transport, say 45 max. That works out at about two thousand two hundred dollars per day. Any takers.

Is my brain weird?

Fernapple comments on Jan 1, 2019:

If your brain is not weird you should not be on this site. Thanks for the images they are now lodged in my brain too.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@rogueflyer Well said.

One of the things I've always noticed about the bible belt is they have a grudge against "book ...

Fernapple comments on Jan 1, 2019:

If you only read one book, bad enough. If you only have one book selectively read to you for half an hour every Sunday ? But if there is an intellectual elite in charge of the state in the US, why do they allow people to finish school without a suitable education anyway ?

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@WonderWartHog99 I thought that could be the case, and the sad thing is of course, that the political establishment is viewed by many as the same thing as an elite, (which it is not) including an intellectual one. So that in the popular mind, intellect gets the blame for many of the political establishments crimes, which of course the political establishment loves and encourages. I think that you have a saying in the US "Catch 22".

One thing that I have noticed, is that many of the people who say they believe in homeopathy, and ...

MattHardy comments on Jan 1, 2019:

Herbal medicine according to the excellent David Colquhoun: Giving patients an unknown dose of an ill-defined drug, of unknown effectiveness and unknown safety. At least with homeopathy you know the dose ;-)

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@MattHardy Yes agree with that completely.

Is my brain weird?

Fernapple comments on Jan 1, 2019:

If your brain is not weird you should not be on this site. Thanks for the images they are now lodged in my brain too.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@kauva No of course agnostics and atheists are not weird, but this site is fun, so the ones on here must be.

One thing that I have noticed, is that many of the people who say they believe in homeopathy, and ...

MattHardy comments on Jan 1, 2019:

Herbal medicine according to the excellent David Colquhoun: Giving patients an unknown dose of an ill-defined drug, of unknown effectiveness and unknown safety. At least with homeopathy you know the dose ;-)

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

I do not think that is quite true, many active components of herbals are known, the veg you eat for dinner are not tested for safety either, and though herbals may not be measured to exactitude, is a pill from the doctor sized according to your body mass. Do not however get me wrong I am not a herbal enthusiast, it is just that I think that an inexact dose of something/anything is generally better than where you know the dose, and it is zero. And remember any green stuff is an improvement on a junk food diet, so when the doctors tell people they lack fibre, they are promoting herbalism too.

I'm very excited about this group! I delight in ridiculing woo!

Kafirah comments on Dec 31, 2018:

This is gonna be so much fun!

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

The only thing that worries me is that they may all run and hide, now they know theres a group watching them. You never know, we could be working for the illuminarty..

Inspired by a recent post, I made this - which I thought might be fun to add to some of the more ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 31, 2018:

Boy that would be brave. Having said that there was a post just today, on this very site, about how alien genetics could account for hybrid animals in mythology. A woo hooter would be really useful, if it does not get you banned.

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

@Jnei Found it. Well done.

Mythology’s Hybrids: Human Imagination or Alien Genetics?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Dec 31, 2018:

Occam's Razor: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. People have a general lack of misunderstanding about myth. Myth is a language of metaphor and allegory. Hybrids in myth arise for various reasons, but genetic manipulation by aliens is not one. For example, the Greek centaur...

Fernapple replies on Jan 1, 2019:

Fossils may be another source, the Cyclops may be based on the misunderstanding of the skulls of extinct elephants, and griffins on dinosuar fossils.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@genessa, @Gwendolyn2018 Thank you for that, I love the way that myth and folklore hold up a mirror to the human condition it is always interesting.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@genessa Try the Fliess Weininger, Swoboda and Freud story, also if you can find it there was if I remember an old BBC documentary "Timewatch" I think, which detailed a number of his fictional cases.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@genessa I would have to spend some time on that, it is the distant memory of things learned at coll., but I can say that I do bash T. Edison and I always use Tesla strips. The history however is out there and I will try to get back to you,; if not you will surely turn it up with google.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@genessa Yes it was only the Feudian view of that story that I was reffering to, but having said that, many would say that he set the science of the human mind back, more than he pushed it forward, though I am no expert. But he was certainly one of histories worst plagiarists and frauds, who was happy to quote other peoples findings as his own, and he completely misunderstood and largly ignored Darwinian evolution, which at that time was barely forgivable.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 It is true that many fairy tales have great depth, and many are often retellings of myths, ( Beauty and the Beast, is part of Cupid And Psychi, for example.) But the common usage of fairy tale, here in the UK at least, though it may be different in the US, is, to quote Longmans Dictionary. "A very improbable story." Which was the usage intended.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 Yes, Oedipus is often regarded as the achitype, especially in post Freudian world views, because of the direct sleeping with his mother and slaying his father fantasy, it is said to include. Though Gilgmesh is certainly a lot earlier and I always thought that the Feudian view was overrated. But I was using fairy story in a derogatory and generic sense to include myths as well.

How do I redeem myself from being an asshole?

genessa comments on Dec 30, 2018:

stop being an asshole. that's the only way. g

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@Gwendolyn2018 Yep. That is where the Jesus story starts, in fact most fairy stories.

Does anyone else enjoy reading about the War of the Roses and the Tudors?

Donotbelieve comments on Dec 30, 2018:

I do! Only non-fiction, though.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

Nice to hear that, it means I am not alone. Why read historical fiction when you can read the real thing ?

Tragedy of human beings

powder comments on Dec 30, 2018:

Tradition.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

I was going to write culture, but since you though of a better word I won't bother.

He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions - Confucius

Marionville comments on Dec 30, 2018:

There is no such thing as someone who has the answer to everything....although some like to think they do.

Fernapple replies on Dec 31, 2018:

@pmar074 The watch-dog's voice that bayed the whispering wind, And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind. Oliver Goldsmith.

Slut Shaming Preacher

JK666 comments on Dec 30, 2018:

Destined never to get laid!

Fernapple replies on Dec 30, 2018:

It would be nice to think so and that he may learn from that given time, but unfortunately crazy is not just a male trait.

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 29, 2018:

It is not a matter of wanting. The religious mind set and the skeptical one approach life from completely different ends. The skeptic sees truth as something to be sought at any cost, even if it hurts and means changing your world view in painfully difficult ways; the religious see truth as being ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@HankSherman The best way, I think, is just to set a good example of being a good human, as there get to be more and more of us that alone is bound to get those on the edge asking questions, of their own.

We put a "habitat" garden in our yard mostly to attract humming birds and butterflies.

Fernapple comments on Dec 29, 2018:

And we will be left quite alone with only our parasites for company. Every garden can be and should be a nature reserve.

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@JackPedigo Yes I was including rats and roaches under parasites, we will be the only food and more and more things will find ways to feed on us. Humans and human waste, Yum!

Awoke this morning, always a plus for me, and a thought crossed my mind, (a second plus), any way, ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 29, 2018:

It is not a matter of wanting. The religious mind set and the skeptical one approach life from completely different ends. The skeptic sees truth as something to be sought at any cost, even if it hurts and means changing your world view in painfully difficult ways; the religious see truth as being ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@pasha-one-nine Thanks for the appreciation.

"If you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, he will spend it's entire life believing it is...

Fernapple comments on Dec 29, 2018:

Hard to argue with Albert, as he himself said, his career as an artists model was second to none. So he would be the best go to on the subject of being multitallented.

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@maturin1919 Perhaps not, but I do not know of any comments by Da Vinci on the subject.

So seriously, I think this is the root of our problems.

Varn comments on Dec 28, 2018:

It appears the crux of world-wide problems. Purposely limited my reproduction to ‘replacements’ … only to watch the ignorant continue to bread, ‘christians’ included.. Do my best to limit consumption ..while watching others gobble it up. Fuckers indeed!

Fernapple replies on Dec 29, 2018:

@marmot84 We will grow ever less intelligent and ever more dependent on technology to keep us alive, until a point is reached where we no longer have the means to repair the technology when it fails. Then we go extinct. Or the second possiblity is that as we are now a number one food source for parasites, so that sooner or later there will be a global pandemic, and there are not enough resouces left for us to rebuild civilization, this is the better outcome since we will not then go extinct.

My crab apples "Red Sentinel" often linger right through the winter, they cover the tree and look ...

JackPedigo comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Really nice form and color. I also have a crab with purple leaves. The fruits are pea sized. Crabs are the universal pollinator (which reminds me I don't have one in my orchard).

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@JackPedigo No not a root stock a cutting from the top.

My crab apples "Red Sentinel" often linger right through the winter, they cover the tree and look ...

JackPedigo comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Really nice form and color. I also have a crab with purple leaves. The fruits are pea sized. Crabs are the universal pollinator (which reminds me I don't have one in my orchard).

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@JackPedigo Try rooting a cutting if you like the tree, often trees are just graphted by nurseries as a cheap way to increase the stock, many trees will do fine on their own roots. It is getting late now but just take some prunings, of many lengths and sizes, and put them in the ground with just two buds showing. If you take enough some are bound to root, and that way you will almost certainly end up with a new tree that does not sucker.

My crab apples "Red Sentinel" often linger right through the winter, they cover the tree and look ...

JackPedigo comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Really nice form and color. I also have a crab with purple leaves. The fruits are pea sized. Crabs are the universal pollinator (which reminds me I don't have one in my orchard).

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2018:

They do make good pollinators, and evemn crabs can be used. These are much bigger than pea sized however at about 2cm or 3/4 inch across.

My crab apples "Red Sentinel" often linger right through the winter, they cover the tree and look ...

Cast1es comments on Dec 28, 2018:

Lovely when they bloom , as well .

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2018:

Yes they have a very long season.

It appears that to thrive on this site one must hate our President....

Amisja comments on Dec 28, 2018:

You fail to recognise that this site is not only for Americans. I am British and there are a number of us, in addition to Canadians or Australians. Saying that...Trump is a plonker

Fernapple replies on Dec 28, 2018:

@carlyhorton Plonker. "One who gets drunk on cheap wine, and/or sanctions sexual relationships between his girlfriend/wife and his male friends." Could be.

The apples and onions in store from the harvest, are now getting old.

glennlab comments on Dec 26, 2018:

It looks like you used an egg white wash on the crusts, I do that, but I add a little bit of brown sugar. It looks rough, but the taste more than makes up for it.

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

Mainly yoke of the egg on top, I us the whites in the bottom to stop the mixtures soaking into the lower crust.

The apples and onions in store from the harvest, are now getting old.

Donto101 comments on Dec 26, 2018:

Those delicious but wondering what kind of pies you made with onions? Lol

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

Cheese and onion.

The apples and onions in store from the harvest, are now getting old.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 26, 2018:

Yum, those look so delicious.

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

@Redheadedgammy Today I did some; pear and marmalade, apple and sultana with cinnamon and some cheese and onion.

The apples and onions in store from the harvest, are now getting old.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 26, 2018:

Yum, those look so delicious.

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

The finish is a bit rough, but there is plenty inside.

Please be selective and vigilant about clicking on links.

genessa comments on Dec 26, 2018:

one good thing to remember, apart from just plain not clicking on anything suspicious or even unfamiliar, is that if you hover your mouse over a link without clicking, you will be able to see, at the bottom of your browser, its true destination, even if it's called something else in the post. if ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

Good tip, I usually just use gut feeling, but that is a much better way. Thank You.

I've been thinking about some of the people I have met along the way in my journeys here and there ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2018:

Let not ambition mock their useful toil. Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;- Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen. And waste its sweetness on a desert air. T Gray

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

@CallMeDave Not at all. And is it not special if you see a bloom by a forest track, to know that, you, and perhaps you alone, have met with it and given it a moments appreciation, in all the vast unthinking universe.

Hercules versus Jesus.

Fernapple comments on Dec 25, 2018:

You can also fit Osiris into the myth, as well as Mithra, and half a dozen other demigods, many of whom like Osiris predate both Jesus and Hercules by centuries. The fact of the matter is, that the basic myth had been around for ages before the new testament. In fact if you think about it even Moses...

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

@johnprytz It makes you wonder just how much the gospel writers were going along with the fashions of the times, and how much they were just plain stealing copy.

Speculative perhaps but interesting none the less. [youtube.com]

MojoDave comments on Dec 25, 2018:

That's pretty interesting! Lots of non-existent places.

Fernapple replies on Dec 26, 2018:

Full of non-existent people, doing unreal things on non-specific dates.

It is Christmas Day here in England, and I feel completely numb.

skado comments on Dec 25, 2018:

Hint: (fiction isn’t *supposed* to be taken as literal truth. It’s metaphor. Art is to be *felt*, not analyzed.)

Fernapple replies on Dec 25, 2018:

@skado Basically I agree with you rcandlish. But I think that you missed the most important one of all, “nature”, from your list. I grew up running wild in the fields and woods, (lucky yes), so that I know how deep and meaningful a (especially early) connection with nature can be. I think that it is no accident that the Abrahamic religions grew up in the parts of the world where nature is at its harshest, or that they try to deny nature even to the point of being anti-environmental because they must certainly always have known that nature is the great emotional rival of religion.

Its a cool gray winter so far, suits the cool gray deer perhaps.

Hathacat comments on Dec 24, 2018:

Lovely picture!

Fernapple replies on Dec 24, 2018:

Thank you. I took it on my way home today.

People asked Agnostics.com "Is there a God?" and the site said "There is now"......

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2018:

That is a very very old joke. It was it is so old, it is even used as evidence against young earth creationism.

Fernapple replies on Dec 24, 2018:

@IamNobody Young at heart. Keep taking the pills.

Any one watch Richard Dawkins on YouTube?

Spinliesel comments on Dec 23, 2018:

The writers of these "love letters" are surprisingly limited in their vocabulary. That's what happenes when you do not read books.

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

Yep, as long as someone his happy to read one book to you every sunday, why bother.

The Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness.

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2018:

There was once a rich man and a poor man. The state decides to help the poor man, so to get funds it raises a tax. The rich man's tax adviser tells him where to move his money, when and how to move his money, so he pays very little of the tax, the poor man has no tax adviser and so pays a lot of it....

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@Veteran229 The left wing statest would say that they can spend the money more effectively, the right wing statest would say that he will spend it on sugar and tobbaco not boots, so he is better of without it. Of course they could provide the poor man with a good education, so that he would know why tobaco and sugar are bad for him, but see, that would cost money, and then they would not have any to spend on sugar and tobbaco.

The Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness.

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2018:

There was once a rich man and a poor man. The state decides to help the poor man, so to get funds it raises a tax. The rich man's tax adviser tells him where to move his money, when and how to move his money, so he pays very little of the tax, the poor man has no tax adviser and so pays a lot of it....

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@Veteran229 Then the rich man said. "I am glad you bought your house off your dad, but I hope you are not involved in any coruption?" And the son said. "No it is just left over expenses money." "Oh that's Ok cos' that's legal like tax avoidance."

The christian says "We don't need the logical proof, we have faith! So .

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2018:

My personal advice to you is. Don't ever get married.

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@THHA Good idea.

Hi there. How are you?

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 23, 2018:

To whom is this directed?

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

A hook is not directed it just dangles.

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 23, 2018:

@maturin1919 And were you born able to do that ?

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@maturin1919 Can you do it?

How do you measure intelligence?>

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

First you have to define intelligence, and if you can do that then you are very intelligent indeed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@maturin1919 So if I spend my entire life learning the number of every fire engine in the world, which would be both a skill and knowledge, and in doing so I loose my job all my friends and any chance of a meaningful or sexual relationship, is that intelligence?

How do you measure intelligence?>

dahermit comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Although many have challenged I.Q. tests as the true measure of intelligence, I.Q. is the default and universally used measure.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

There is nothing wrong with IQ test as a way of measuring achademic problem solving skills, but there are a lot of people who have those to the highest level, who still beleive in things like gods. Real world, working intelligence needs to include things like honesty, dedication and integrity, not accepting second class answers, plus caring, taking the trouble to aquire knowledge because you feel it matters.

I fear for our intellectual future:

yamaha45701 comments on Dec 22, 2018:

I owned a new/used bookstore in Athens, Ohio which is home to Ohio University. I had the store for over 25 years and watched sales slowly go down year after year. Our store was named one of the top 5 used bookstores in Ohio and was voted best bookstore in the city in our local paper. Why is my store...

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

Part of the problem, at least here in the UK and I am sure it is the same with you, is that in our failed and broken education system, the only think thought worth while, is to get children reading at all. And therefore any problem with that is met by the easy way of dumbing down. Children don't read, try them with something easier, until you find something that even the stupidist child finds easy. Then they never encounter any real reading, the sort which challenges and excits, which suits the political, and church establishments who control education; because you would not want to train them to ask intelligent questions, would you ? Then they leave school thinking that reading is something they have "done" and that it is unchallenging stuff that serves no useful point. And soon the whole thing becomes a self feeding cycle, because soon you have teachers joining the schools who have never themselves read a challenging book either, and would not know the difference.

Fate vs (hard) determinism..

Dietl comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Fate or destiny implies that there is some kind of goal, that everything happens for a reason. Determinism is the opposite.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

I am not sure that determinism is the opposite of fate, it just lacks the goal part.

With the relatively mild winters in the UK, we can overwinter a few things outside.

CeliaVL comments on Dec 22, 2018:

Good-looking produce. Do you put sprouts and parsnips in a curry? Seems like a waste, to me.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

Its a fairly mild curry and they go in last, the onions go in first and are browned first, then the apples, which cook down to thicken the sause, it does work quite well.

I have the end wall framed up and the door hung plumb!

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2018:

If you are covering it in plastic and it is still as warm with you as you say. It will be best to get the plastic on as soon as possible since it stretches and goes on far better when the weather is warm, and it then tightens as it cools.

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@farmboy2017 Sounds like a good plan.

All authority is quite degrading. Oscar Wilde

IamNobody comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Ok this one is interesting, wouldn't you say Oscar Wilde was an authority of sorts?

Fernapple replies on Dec 22, 2018:

@IamNobody dokala makes a good point that the word actually has two quite different meanings. And one of those meanings, authority as a sourse of truthfulness includes the fallacy called, the argument from authority, in its meaning tautologicaly. Hope that does not make your brain hurt as much as it does mine.

All authority is quite degrading. Oscar Wilde

IamNobody comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Ok this one is interesting, wouldn't you say Oscar Wilde was an authority of sorts?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

I think that his pose as a voice with authority was in part mocking satire. He was of course, as you know, persecuted through the courts for his sexuality and refused admission to the church of his choice, Roman Catholic, for the same reason.

Happy Winter Solstice, all!

silverotter11 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

Wonderful memes even the last on;)

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@phxbillcee You managed it.

Mars Probe...

Haemish1 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

What is Nougat exactly? Is there an interaction between it and regret?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@BeeHappy Wow! This is really confusing. Since we have Snickers in the UK but it is nothing like a Mars, and a Milky Way is a sort of soft Mouse covered in chocolate. But I guess that the first bit cholate malt nougat could be what lies at the bottom of a Mars, so I am now completely mixed up. But just to add something more to the fun, it is said that some fast food sellers in the UK a few years ago, took to dipping a Mars bar, (very soft to start with) in batter and then deep frying it. It became a running joke for people to mention this, when they were talking about how low fast food could sink. If you look at the photo however this is certainly what we call a Mars in the UK.

Mars Probe...

Haemish1 comments on Dec 21, 2018:

What is Nougat exactly? Is there an interaction between it and regret?

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

Interesting, I think that the joke may refer to the chocolate bar we have here in the UK called a Mars Bar,. It is very popular here but I do not know if you have it in the US, the photo certainly looks like it but the list is probably quite wrong since I do not think it contains any Nougat, which is ground nuts boiled to a paste with honey or sugar.

I find that I’m now host of yet another group, and didn’t even know it! It seems Balou has ...

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 21, 2018:

People come....people go. Eventually we all will leave. The only thing certain is change.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

Lo! some we lov'd, the loveliest and best That Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest, Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before, And one by one crept silently to Rest.

Random photos in my garden from this year.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Beautiful pics. Boy you Canadians can grow some pretty flowers up there. I would love to be able to grow some ferns like you show here, just to dang hot in Texas. Forget about Hostas down here too. Just to hot. My counsins in Golden, B.C. grow some beautiful flowers too.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@flower_nut That sounds like club-moss, they are actually quite interesting plants which are unrelated to the true mosses in a group on their own. Some of them of course especially the Lycopodiums are famous because back in the Carboniferous they grew to be huge trees, and gave us much of our coal. Some are quite beautiful and the spores have been collected for a number of economic uses, (they are water repelent and explosive ) the trade in spores has however left some of them endangered.

Got the door for my hoop house built and ready to install.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Really good doors for hoop houses. Well Done.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@farmboy2017 I like it that you do such a good job, I am ashamed to say that I just prop up old fence panels in the ends of my hoop houses. Though it is a cheap way for those on a budget.

Random photos in my garden from this year.

Redheadedgammy comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Beautiful pics. Boy you Canadians can grow some pretty flowers up there. I would love to be able to grow some ferns like you show here, just to dang hot in Texas. Forget about Hostas down here too. Just to hot. My counsins in Golden, B.C. grow some beautiful flowers too.

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

@flower_nut Hard to tell from the photo , but I think that it may be a club-moss.

Just a good story about sailing round the world. [youtube.com]

Cast1es comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Recently saw a different version , by a British woman . Her version was so screwed up a ten year old would recognize her mistakes .

Fernapple replies on Dec 21, 2018:

I thought this one was very clear, and I really liked the graphics though a few modern photos of places and relics would have been nice as well.

What could possibly go wrong?

Elganned comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Wolves becoming rats. Evolution gone horribly wrong...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

Would not matter so much if they were even healthy rats, to be cripled and face lives riddled with genetic weaknesses just because someone thinks it makes you look cute, and forced your parents into incest. That is sick.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

cava comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Frederick Jameson said: "it is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism," Capitalism is the way the majority of world's economies operate with no realistic alternative in sight...socialism/communism will not change how the marketplace is practiced. Governments are now ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Agreed, the problem is that capitalism uncontroled leads to feudalism, socialism uncontroled is already a form of feudalism, since, as the left fail to understand, the political establishment is an institution which exists, first and formost, to obtain wealth and power for its inner members: because it is impossible for any institution to do otherwise. The only hope for the vast numbers of people in any age is the one thing which both the left and right hate the most, and that is strong active and well informed democracy. Almost impossible to obtain, very difficult to sustain, but as good as it gets.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Yes of course Baseball players can be greedy, people in every walk of life can be greedy, but I meant that when "playing" it is not greedy to want more runs, since that is the point of the game. Ditto it is not, always, greedy to want your beusiness to earn more money since that is the point of the game. The big failier of the left (and I am on the left a lot of the time,) is the failier to understand that human nature does not change because you work in the private sector or because you work in the public sector, Greed is a failing of many people in all walks of life, but it is not a failing of everone nor is it exclusive to the private sector.

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

@maturin1919 Very true, but self interest and scoring well is not the same thing as greed, there are many reasons for being in business it does not have to be alruism or greed. You would not say that a Baseball player is greedy because they want to score as many runs as possible,

Most f the ideology supporting laissez faire capitalism is based on Adam Smith's THE WEALTH OF ...

WilliamFleming comments on Dec 20, 2018:

Not every trader is driven by greed, herd instinct, and fear. I would suggest that those so driven are a small minority and that people like that are generally not successful. The most successful small business owners are thinking of ways to provide services to the public. Counting your winnings at ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 20, 2018:

I agree the vast majority of business is still run by small businsses who are always service led. The idea that the only reason for being in business is greed is just silly.

All caps. Ugh

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Even more irritating than no caps at all. 1. The shift key is the one between, Control and Caps Lock. 2. Caps Lock is the key you push, IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR LIFE COMPLETELY.

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

@jlynn37 Its called irony, I am sorry it is something we do in the UK, sometimes I forget this is an international site.

A message for the festive season from E.

IamNobody comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Need more coffee to process this one

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

@IamNobody To true. Coffee goes well with wine, beer, good food, coversation, reading, sex and sitting by the shore watching the waves. And that is about everything.

Population growth. [youtube.com]

Mitch07102 comments on Dec 19, 2018:

So sad he is no longer with us.

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

Yes, it was not just the insights he gave but his humour was always wonderful too.

It is a lesson which all history teaches wise men, to put trust in ideas, and not in ...

Paul_Clamberer comments on Dec 19, 2018:

Anyone got a job for an unemployed history teacher? ;-)

Fernapple replies on Dec 19, 2018:

Everyone should have.

"The planet is fine, the people are fucked" ---George Carlin

camne comments on Dec 17, 2018:

Pity the next evolution of intelligent life on this planet, after humans have gone extinct. We've taken the easily accessible fuel/power sources, and metal/mineral resources, and turned them into the poison that killing us. What's the next species going to do?

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

It may not be able to develope technology so quickly , and that means it may live longer.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

jos2588 comments on Dec 18, 2018:

For the first time in my life, I will be spending time alone on xmas. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

Good for you.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

Tinocca comments on Dec 18, 2018:

I feel lonelier during the holidays than other times of the year. I would welcome visitors stopping by. There are none for me. I agree simply "remembering " people in your thoughts is annoying, but I would love to receive those well wishes in person, and maybe a hug or two.

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

You never know someone may think you are worth a visit, and if you do get one then you will know you have a real friend.

Pagan celebrations

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2018:

Great photo. Soon the solstice will be here and the long slow return of life begins. Enjoy some good feasting.

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

@Shelton Yes, you sort of get a let down in Jan, just when you need a lift the most.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

AmiSue comments on Dec 18, 2018:

For me the bigger issue is: Why do I feel particularly alone during the holidays? My siblings are estranged every day of the year, why is it so acute now? Why am I finding 'triggers' that make me sad during the holidays? I am striving to deal with whatever loneliness or holiday induced sadness that...

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

It is not the same for everyone, I am lucky in having a good friend who I spend the day with, cooking and making merry. But if you are lonely anyway then it must be extra hard. The sympathy may sometimes be welcome, but even so I think that a little practical help and an invite is worth a lot more than thinking and prayers. If you are ever in England at Christmas I will be happy to cook a dinner, for you.

There are a lot of things to dislike about Christmas.

AnneWimsey comments on Dec 18, 2018:

I have Open House all day, with traditional feast foods, for members of my over-55 singles club. Some years I get 10, some years 1 or 2. We have a good time, eat, play cards, yak

Fernapple replies on Dec 18, 2018:

For the day I usually go to a friends and we cook a meal together.

Dear Believer: Why Do You Believe?

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2018:

Given the amount of proselytizing that religions do, I think that your small act is a long way from even balancing the scales, and you did not (hopefully) use any social pressure to compel him to accept any of this, therefore you are only stating your case, which is not proselytizing. Thank you ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 17, 2018:

@irascible Yes its so sad, and "if you don't use it you loose it".

I made many mistakes today.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2018:

Please explain tiger candy, it looks lovely.

Fernapple replies on Dec 16, 2018:

@LadyAlyxandrea Lovely thank you.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

HeathenFarmer comments on Dec 13, 2018:

North? This is December where is the snow those fields are green, I won't see that colour again for at least 5 months. Hope you save it.

Fernapple replies on Dec 14, 2018:

North is relative, but it is frost not snow which kills tree ferns, infact if we got snow i would not have to wrap them.

To what degree should instincts be reined in?

Fernapple comments on Dec 11, 2018:

Depends on how you define instinct, but since I am happy to accept genetic determinism, that is what I will call instinct and I will go with my own usage, to say. We are sailing ships. Instinct is the wind, emotion the sail and reason the rudder. Loose any one of the first two and you are a ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 12, 2018:

@Meili I don't myself see any difference between instict and emotion, and regard them as the same parts of the whole genetic complex that we obtain for our heritage. (Except perhaps that one is the mechanism and the other the outcome we see to some degree.) Some people do however see them as different, and I have had long pointless arguments with too many people, over the issue of the usages of these words, all arguments about words being pointless to me, since they are just movable tags we put on ideas. Some people however, especially those inclined to fall for tricks like religion, are so lost and trapped in human culture, (I would call them culture victims) that they loose all contact with nature and all taste of objective truth, and they think of human cultural artifacts like words as having their own inherent truth. To avoid such debates therefore I threw them that as a sop in the anology.

To what degree should instincts be reined in?

Donotbelieve comments on Dec 11, 2018:

Good question. I'm going to think about it for a while and then respond in a more suitable fashion. Really good question!

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

Good answer, I wish we all, espcially me, did that more often.

Can compost get too old?

RussRAB comments on Dec 10, 2018:

My grandfather used horse manure on his gardens. He said it was never good until it had aged several years. Overall, compost is good for your garden, but it can also have a short term negative effect of binding up nitrogen. I don't recall the details, but nitrogen generally needs to be "fixed" into ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

Nitrogen use by compost decaying in the soil is not likely to be fast or too serious, unless there is a very high carbon content in the compost such as when using a lot of sawdust in it. And as too much nitrogen can make growth soft and vunerable to P. & D. I would only bother to add a fertilizer if I wanted especially fast growth especially or if there are signs or nittrogen depleation such as yellow leaves.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 11, 2018:

@Hebert54 Watford gap that's it, I could not remember the exact location, but will now.

"When overseas you learn more about your own country, than the place you are visiting.

IamNobody comments on Dec 10, 2018:

It does help to expand horizons for comparison purposes. Works the same each way.

Fernapple replies on Dec 10, 2018:

My thoughts exactly. I think that it is very good even to travel outside of human culture itself and look back from natures viewpoint, if you can.

Someone in Washington State really doesn't like Jehovah's Witnesses... [msn.com]

Bendog comments on Dec 10, 2018:

I live about an hour away. This sounds personal. Someone who left the cult is now pissed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 10, 2018:

Almost certainly.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Donto101 comments on Dec 9, 2018:

I never thought of using bubble wrap. Thanks for sharing

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

Thats OK. but you do need to attach it well or cover it with something else.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Zoohome comments on Dec 9, 2018:

It's interesting because in southern Brazil, there is a native tree fern. It grows on the mountains (like our mountains are far from any decent height). But snows and get cold there. No one covers them. It puzzles me what is different on that weather that some plants survive and I cant get them to ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

@Zoohome Mine are D. antarctica.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Zoohome comments on Dec 9, 2018:

It's interesting because in southern Brazil, there is a native tree fern. It grows on the mountains (like our mountains are far from any decent height). But snows and get cold there. No one covers them. It puzzles me what is different on that weather that some plants survive and I cant get them to ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

Rainfall, and when it comes, has a lot to do with it, most tree ferns need to be wet year round, yet if a ball of ice forms iin the crown, then they are dead. Some plants can not take ice at all and can only take low temps if it is dry, others need water from the ground so they can take air frost but not frozen soil. Some alpines can take overnight frost because they have natural insulation, but only enough for one night, if the cold goes on therefore they die. Other plants rely on snow cover and will die if the snow thaws. Some need low fall temps to get them dormant. It all gets very complicated, but then, that is the fun of the gardening challenge.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

flower_nut comments on Dec 9, 2018:

Lots of work but if it saves the ferns I'd do it too. I only have one plant I religiously protect each year by covering with leaves. A voodoo lily I'm hoping will bloom next year after being moved a few years ago.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

I cover some things with leaves as well, and because winters can be wet in England and that will often kill many things even more that the cold, it is a common custom to place a sheet of glass at an angle over plants such as alpines and succulents to keep them dry.

Wintering a Tree Fern, in the north.

Cutiebeauty comments on Dec 9, 2018:

Looks like a lot of work.. How many you have to do?

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

I have three, but they can cost one or two hundred pounds each, so it is worth the effort.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2018:

@Red_Cat London is where England has its capital yes, but it is a separate country like the Vatican in Italy inhabited by a people called cockneys, who do not speak English, having their own language and culture. They are kept apart from the rest of England by a barrier called the M25, thought they think of it as a ring road. They have many strange beliefs, such as thinking that they live at the centre of the earth. ( Which must mean they think of the world as flat.) They are very fearful and keep a destroyer moored on the Thames with its guns pointed at a service station on the road in, just in case they are invaded from the North. They regard all animals except for pigeons as unclean, and these are the only livestock they keep. They are very primitive and the wealthy among them display their wealth in the form of buttons, imported from abroad, which they sow all over their clothes, not seeming to understand the proper use of them.

A cool little documentary about saving the island fox: [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Dec 8, 2018:

Wonderful creatures I had never heard of them before this video, thank you for posting.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Maiasaura Yes that lack of fear in island species can be the biggest problem, that's what some people say killed the Dodo, and saw of several of the giant tortoise. Lets hope people are more aware of the dangers these days. Great Photos.

Support Animal

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 8, 2018:

The support is mutual....I rescued him and he rescued me. My little man. My best friend. My rattie roommate. ????❤️❤️❤️❤️

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Donotbelieve Yep, nearly as bad as having children.

Support Animal

SkotlandSkye comments on Dec 8, 2018:

The support is mutual....I rescued him and he rescued me. My little man. My best friend. My rattie roommate. ????❤️❤️❤️❤️

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

Looks like he really lives well.

Hello all i just joined and just to say hi from Norfolk .

Fernapple comments on Dec 4, 2018:

Hello from Lincolnshire that's the equally cold and windy place just round the Wash. Good to know that there are Two of us in the North east at least, anyway if it gets told cold and bleak then at least now we have this site for distraction.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

@Red_Cat The Tower of London, is as the name says in London, not England which is a quite different place.

While in Cyprus this week I found that a lot of gardens had Bougainvillea in flower.

MsHoliday comments on Dec 8, 2018:

One of my favorite flowers, we don’t have them here in Ontario. Boo. I didn’t realize that about the leave.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2018:

They do not grow for me here either, but if they did grow in the cold north then perhaps we would not appreciate them half so much.