What's outside

Esblygiad.
Esblygiad yw’r ddamcaniaeth fod nodweddion etifeddadwy poblogaethau biolegol yn newid ac yn datblygu dros filiynau o flynyddoedd.
Mae’r broses yn gyfrifol am y cymhlethdod a’r amrywiaeth enfawr sydd yn nodweddu bywyd fel y’i welir ar y Ddaear heddiw.
Mae un cwestiwn mawr yn parhau i fod. ble a sut wnaeth bywyd yn dechrau ?

Evolution.
Evolution is a theory that heritable characteristics of biological populations change and evolve over millions of years.
The process is responsible for the complexity and huge diversity that characterizes life as seen on Earth today.
There remains one big question. where and how did life start ?

Cheers J.P.

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I apologise to you, John and everyone for being so cryptic. Being away from home and my trusty PC with its real keyboard, I didn’t have the energy to type a fuller explanation on the virtual keyboard of my Android phone, but now I’m back, I can do so. “Sgwarnog” was a word completely unknown to me when I came across it in a fantasy novel by Bethan Gwanas called “Gwrach y Gwyllt”. (On the front cover, it says "Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets “Y Stafell Ddirgel” which gives you some idea of it). It’s about a modern day witch (or one who has survived from olden days, but still looks good! :slight_smile: )

In part of the story, we learn that 3 of her witch friends have been turned into “sgwarnogs”. I took a guess at what this might mean, and got it completely wrong… The only dictionary I had conveniently to hand was Ap Geiriaduron, and that didn’t have it. I could have looked in online dictionaries, but didn’t have anything set up on my phone for this at the time (I’m still pretty new to it). Eventually I just did a google search for it, and found it in mymemory.translated (which often finds things I can’t find elsewhere). And that gave “hare”, as you say Dee.

I put “hare” into Ap geiraduron, and got “ysgyfarnog”, plural “ysgyfarnogod” (feminine noun).

That’s what I mean by “sgwarnog” not being the dictionary word. Sorry it wasn’t very clear. It probably is in some dictionaries, but I haven’t checked yet, as I haven’t been home long.
But I guessed it was more of a folk name, and “ysgyfarnog” was a more formal name.

It reminds me a bit of “ysgrifennu”, which can also be said as “sgwennu”.

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That’s what I understood you as saying, certainly! “ysgyfarnog” is formed from the old word for ‘ear’, “ysgyfarn”.
“ysgyfarnog” - “eary” :blush:
So in Welsh, you can have “bushy” (llwynog, referring to his tail) chasing “eary” :blush:

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That’s interesting. Diolch Owain!

Perhaps it’s time for this video … you might spot a certain Aran Jones here

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Thanks for the input, every word has a history (it has evolved), very interesting but a problem for me to remember it all.

@mikeellwood i was expecting a different ending as google also has sgwarnog meaning ‘red herring’ . it all keeps learning fun.

Cheers J.P.

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That makes sense, We have a lot of bushes around here, but not that many houses!
To @Deborah-SSi
re- tenterhooks, that is what I have always said and heard said. If I’d heard ‘tenderhooks’ I’d have thought it a mistake! So, one vote for the wet blankets!!

It’s great to see you actually have ruins in Aus!!!

Envy!!! :blush:

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Heddiw, cuddio o dan rhisgl coed - today hiding under tree bark.

Gwlithen - slug.

Chwilen porffor - violet ground beetle.

Like us they are waiting for the weather to warm.

Cheers J.P.

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Red herring could sort of make sense .: dont we sometimes talk about setting a hare in English? Laying a false trail or distraction, sort of thing (I think).

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I believe Bodacia is reputed to have released one before battle with the Romans to give her a sign of how well the day would go (apparently she misread the signs!).

What a lucky day for me:


Arrhenia s.p. (i think).

A couple of weeks ago a posted a photo of wall screw moss, while looking at it today i noticed these fungi and thought now that is an unusual surprise for me.
This fungi (if i have the correct identification) is a member of the family that are only found in association with moss or algae.
I have once found a different member of the family growing directly on the fronds of moss growing on a pile of rubble, but this one seems to be sharing a root base (and certainly looks different to what i found before). and growing on a garden wall ?
If they are still there latter in the week i will collect and dry one then send it to London for expert identification.

And now for something completely different.


Mystery growth.
The tiny yellow spines could be rather interesting over the next few days as they develop.
I won’t even say what the substrate is.

http://www.llennatur.com/files/u1/Cylchgrawn41.pdf
Llun o sgwarnog a chwilio am’r cadno.

Cheers J.P.

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Yep we have lots of them. Some are pretty spectaular. Massive old reomte homesteads and such

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I have certainly heard that. i presume it derived from a time when hares were common, attractive to hounds, but less valuable than some other prey, so, if you wanted your neighbour to fail to catch ‘your’ deer, you set a hare for his hounds to chase!!!
To @ramblingjohn ‘Our’ heron was back hunting the frogs breeding in our pond yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the distance and the new wire fence made getting pics through the driving rain impossible!! We have spawn, so even if all the frogs got eaten, if it stays mild, we may keep the next generation!!

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Apparently we have the brunt of the storm down south this time, finding a lull in the bwrw glaw was breif to say the least.

Castanwydden Ber - Sweet chestnut (with a natural window, two stem grew together long ago).

The tiny yellow spines of yesterday are as expected turning into Pilobolus sp fungi.
And photographing them has been a frustrating morning, they are up to (taldra hyd) 10mm long with the black spore cap less than (llai na) 1mm diameter. There was too much moisture in the sandwich box so they are covered in droplets which are causing reflections in the clear stem, well that’s plenty of excuses for poor photos.


These are yet another remarkable example of evolution, the bulge at top of stem is where water collects building pressure which will fire the spore cap (black spot at top of structure) away from the substrate onto (hopefully) clean foliage which will be eaten. (note: they follow the sun (or brightest area of sky) so are all facing in the same direction.

The substrate is: tail ceffyl - Horse dung.

Cheers J.P.

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That’s right. You could use either:

  1. the bush
  2. the veld, or
  3. the bushveld
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Mae’n ddau gwiwerod llwyd yn mwynhau ychydig o heulwen y gwanwyn.
Two grey squirrels enjoying a little spring sunshine.

After yesterdays storm we can all enjoy a bit of better weather.
Cheers J.P.

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Interesting to see that they are not 100% grey.

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Blodyn gwrywaidd - male flower.

Blodyn benywaith - female flower.

Collen.
Mae’r collen yn aml torri cyn aeddfedu, ond pan adawodd i dyfu, gall coed gyrraedd uchder o 12m, lle y gall fyw am hyd at 80 mlynedd. Mae ganddo llyfn, llwyd-frown, rhisgl, sy’n pilio gydag oedran, ac yn plygu, blewog coesau. blagur dail yn hirgrwn, swrth a blewog.

Mae’r dail yn cael eu cylch i hirgrwn, ddwywaith danheddog, blewog a phwyntio at y domen. Mae’r dail yn troi’n felyn cyn gostwng yn yr hydref. (Mae’r goeden yn gollddail).

Blodau: collen yn monoecaidd, sy’n golygu bod blodau gwrywaidd a benywaidd yn cael eu gweld ar yr un goeden, er bod yn rhaid blodau collen yn cael eu peillio gan paill o goed collen eraill. Mae’r gwyddau bach gwrywaidd melyn yn ymddangos cyn y dail ac yn hongian mewn clystyrau, o ganol mis Chwefror. blodau benywaidd yn fach iawn ac blagur-fel gydag arddulliau coch.

Ffrwythau: unwaith peillio gan y gwynt, y blodau benyw yn datblygu i ffrwythau hirgrwn, sy’n hongian mewn grwpiau o un i bedwar. Maent yn aeddfedu i ddod yn cneuen gyda cragen prennaidd amgylchynu gan cwpan o bracts deiliog (dail wedi’u haddasu).

rhywbeth diddorol: Y collen (coesyn) mor plygu yn y gwanwyn y gellir ei glymu mewn cwlwm heb dorri. Gwenyn yn ei chael yn anodd i gasglu paill collen a dim ond casglu mewn llwythi bychain. Mae hyn oherwydd bod y collen peillio gwynt paill nad yw’n ludiog. (Mae’r collen yn un blanhigyn nad oes angen pryfed ar gyfer peillio).

Hazel.
The hazel is often cut before maturing, but when left to grow, trees can reach a height of 12m, where it can live for up to 80 years. It has a smooth, grey-brown, bark, which peels with age, and bendy, hairy stems. Leaf buds are oval, blunt and hairy.

The leaves are round to oval, doubly toothed, hairy and pointed at the tip. The leaves turn yellow before falling in autumn. (The tree is deciduous).

Flowers: hazel is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree, although hazel flowers must be pollinated by pollen from other hazel trees.
The yellow male catkins appear before the leaves and hang in clusters, from mid-February. Female flowers are tiny and bud-like with red styles.

Fruits: once pollinated by wind, the female flowers develop into oval fruits, which hang in groups of one to four.
They mature into a nut with a woody shell surrounded by a cup of leafy bracts (modified leaves).

something Interesting :The hazel (stem) is so bendy in spring that it can be tied in a knot without breaking. Bees find it difficult to collect hazel pollen and can only gather it in small loads. This is because the wind pollinated hazel has pollen that is not sticky. (The hazel is one plant that does not need insects for pollination).

Cheers J.P.

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Ymhen, mae’r aderyn hyn hyfryd ddaeth yn agos - At last, this lovely bird came close.


Titw cynffon hir - Long tailed tit. (oes 'na ddigon iddo fo lyncu).

Cheers J.P.

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Amddifad cangarw baban.
We had to take this poor little fella into the the local sanctuary.

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Oh, @Leighton, can a Joey survive with a human surrogate Mama? I do hope so. He/she looks so sad and needs a cuddle, or. I suppose a pouch!! Could a human wear a soft warm bag tied round him/her and carry the poor little tyke in that?
To @ramblingjohn We only just started putting up balls like that and our birds avoided them like poison at first!! “Peril!” they clearly thought! “Strange!” One or two are now trying a nibble, but not exactly digging in eagerly!! And we haven’t seen a long tailed tit for ages!!