Tavern's Member Picture Gallery.

Don't know if you can get these in the states. Don't remember ever seeing them there. In PR they are called guineo manzano (apple banana). They have a distinct flavor of apples (sometimes like strawberries) that I think comes from pectin. They never grow any bigger than you see here. Credit card provided for scale. They grow wild in the back of the property and are my breakfast today.

 

Bananas that taste like strawberries....whoo hoo! The best of both worlds.

 

They are quite good and there's something satisfyingly primitive and connected about walking out through the wet grass and just picking my breakfast from a plant. I know that banana plants would have been completely alien to the Tainos who originally lived on this island, but in the act, I feel a connection.

 

I've never seen anything like those before. Can I order a batch?

 

I think the Swedish Department of Agriculture might have something to say about that.

 

@Wreybies I totally get the going out and foraging thing. I'm the same when I'm camping. I'm quite happy to let nature provide. When camping by the sea I can catch fish, crustaceans, molluscs, various varieties of edible seaweed, dulse (Palmaria palmata) being the most prevalent and easiest to collect around here. It's high in protein and unlike vegetables has all the trace elements a human body needs, as well as being high in protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It is a true super food. When camping in the forest, I pick nettles, mushrooms, berries, seeds, nuts and herbs. And talking of which, wild garlic should just be making an appearance about now. Yum. And for my sweet tooth, birch trees tap well at this time of year too.

Every time you mention your plot of land, (and having seen portions of it) I'm covetous to say the least. Not much grows on my 3ft x 6ft balcony.

 

Bought this dress yesterday, the pictures don't do it justice though. I really like it (also yes, that's the price tag hanging on it still), yay dresses!

 

A friend showed me this picture, I think it's funny.

 

Today the mailman brought my B-Day presents!

EMIL PETAJA The Star Mill (1965)
Cover by Jack Gaughan


... and also:

ANDRE NORTON Witch World (1963)
Cover by Jack Gaughan

 

The Star Mill cover has me intrigued. That cover looks something like the famous Hubble image of a star nursery.

 

If you look at the elements present in both (and especially the Andre Norton cover), there's a fuzzy line between Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Norton cover looks like a Jonny Quest episode. "Attack of the Toucan Men from Space!"

 

The Pillars of Eternity- I love that image and name.

 

New desk at the house home-office means I can put the antique one back to "display only" and has topped off my level of happy for a good bit. Doesn't take much...

 

Won't lie, that is a sexy office.

 

For a change I'm posting someone else's pic. My mate posted it on Facebook this morning as a joke. (The sun has been a stranger of late.)

Me being me, I didn't get the gist immediately but instead thought he was referring to the small, bright mass above the sun.

After reading through a load of astronomical guff, I'm still none the wiser... I'm assuming it's a planet because of the size, but once articles start hurtling numerals at me, my ability to understand what is being relayed falls well short of the mark. My gut reaction on seeing it was that it might be Venus, but what I'm reading is not supporting that idea. (As best as I can tell, Venus is best and most clearly viewed in the evenings at this time of year.)

Could it be Saturn?

I'm hoping someone with an interest in celestial bodies might be able to help here. @GingerCoffee... my first thought was of you, but really I'm asking any member that knows a bit about astronomy. The pic was taken in Belfast at 11.10 am this morning.

​

 

Looks like Venus. Did you check a star chart to see what planets were in the sky then? Even though Venus my be up in the night sky, it is sometimes visible in the day just like the Moon is.

It's not Saturn and I doubt it's Jupiter. Venus most likely. I'll take a look at where Venus would have been then.

 

First clue, only Venus, Jupiter and Mars are ever visible in the daytime. I've seen Venus in the day and it looks like that. I've seen Mars in the day and it looks more like a tiny star. I've not seen Jupiter in the day, but it's bright enough at night that I imagine it's as visible as Venus.

 

Venus is it full right now (because it becomes a crescent just like the Moon at times). But it is an evening star as you say.

Jupiter is a morning star in April. But it's not clear if it sets before the Sun. It looks like it does. I'll have to keep looking.

Saturn is a morning star but unless the rings are dead on to the Earth, it never looks like a globe, the rings are always as bright and as large as the planet itself.

There's this though:

 

If I'm reading this planet data properly, from Belfast, Venus actually rises at 07:48 and sets at 23:54.

It's Venus.

The reason, I think, that all the star charts call Venus an evening star is because at 7:45, it is no longer dark in the spring in the northern hemisphere. To be a morning star it would have to have been up after midnight or closer to dawn. If it comes up after sunrise, and sets after sunset, it's called an evening star.

[Nothing in this post is guaranteed to be correct. ]

 

Thank you so much for taking the time. I can't make head nor tail of star charts unless I'm looking directly at the night sky, so I was completely flummoxed this afternoon. I remember seeing Venus before and the pic looked remarkably similar. With a bit of luck the sky will be clear tomorrow so I can see it for myself.

 

If you see it, check it a few times during the day and see if you can follow its arc into the evening sky. You may lose it in the midday sun but it should be visible again before sunset. That will confirm the conclusion. It should follow a low arc, not one that goes directly overhead. After dusk Venus should already have passed as high as it's going to get and it should be descending, setting around midnight. I'd love to hear what you find.

 

I have a great view to the East, but poor visibility West. My apartment block is at sea level and the lower regions of the sky to the West are obscured by the 'burbs and a big hill, so it looks like I'll have to try and get myself to higher ground to catch it later on. There's loose cloud cover tonight, but the air feels dry, so hopefully I'll be able to get a fix on it in the morning.

 

Is it not supposed to be Nibiru? AKA Planet X? I think that's what the afficionados are calling any object in the sky that seems odd. Although,surely scientific astronomy would be able to locate and identify any space objects at any given time.
Was this what your friend was trying to illicit from you? Maybe?

 

Is this dress white and gold, or blue and black?

Lol,sorry,couldn't resist.

 

It's a picture, not a doomsday myth.

Venus happens to be very bright in the sky right now. From Spaceweather.com today: