Shahbaz died in a car accident yesterday. He is a wonderful person whose legacy lives on in the spirit of his family and all the friends that he touched with his intelligent, balanced, honest approach to life. I miss him. It is difficult to face death from life. Grief is a part of that process. …
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Category:Home and Garden
BT Notes – Spring!
Nearly every day reflections about things to say in this newsletter occur to me. But I find myself busy and so procrastinate another day. As the days grow longer important changes take place in home and garden – the heating bill goes down, the time children spend outside goes up. A few days ago we …
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BT Notes – good times …
Since our last newsletter we have had some good times. There was the visit of Ed and Mary-Lou from Canada which we enjoyed so much. It was wonderful to share a few weeks with them and we are so grateful for their time here. They pitched in with everything, as usual, and gave us a …
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DNA of potato blight reveals fearsome mold!
Scientists have decoded the DNA secrets of the notorious pathogen phytophthora infestans, or “potato blight”, which still costs the industry more than € 3 billion a year due to crop failures. When comparing P. infestans with similar organisms in the same genus, stretches of the genome stood out as being highly variable, unusually large and …
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BT notes – What a summer!
What a summer! It’s passed so quickly it almost seems as if it hasn’t yet happened. But in fact so much was going on, time just flew by. Having the children at home all the time changes the schedule. Having the whole family at home is lovely though it can pose some scheduling challenges. They …
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Garden tips: the trailer
Here’s an experimental podcast. A brief reflection on the usefulness of the trailer on the smallholding. trailer comments mp3, 422kb, 53 seconds.
BT Notes – solstice, fathers’ day, community games.
Solstice, father’s day and community games. Whew! The great thing about the summer solstice (4.20am this morning) is that it marks the longest day of the year. Sunrise is 4.57 and sunset 21.57, with an extra 60 to 90 minutes of light at dawn and dusk as light spills over the horizon, daylight lasts for …
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The prophecy is coming true!
They said that pigs would fly before a black man became president, and then after Barack Obama had been in office for 100 days, swine flu. Sorry! Just grabbing at straws now … 🙂
BT Notes – singing for a better world, athletic gardening, commmunity spirit …
Nature seems to be on schedule this year. It has seemed for the past couple of years that seasons were a bit confused by weather, but this year, so far, blossoms have bloomed when they are expected. Spring arrived on time and temperatures have been generally as expected. Though Ireland, being in such an usual …
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A different approach – Irish emergency budget.
Ireland’s government issued a revised budget yesterday. It is an austere break from the model being adopted in many other countries. Ireland’s finances are in dire need of repair and the government has reacted by increasing taxes and reducing public spending. It is certain that we need to make adjustments and rebuild our economy to …
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