My A level Biology students get to use the word “fart” in exams which is something I feel they should be excited about. What other subject would let you get away with that? The farts in question are emitted from the rear ends of cows and are said to contain significant amounts of methane, an important greenhouse gas. Technically, the gas is much more abundant in cow burps but the word “burp” doesn´t quite have the same appeal. This methane is a by-product of the complex process of cellulose digestion and is actually produced by microorganisms residing in the cow´s intestines rather than the cow itself.
Category: Other bits and bobs
In Southern Andalucia we are spared the worst extremes of seasonal change. The cold does not hit us as hard as further north in Europe, and even Spain. But the changes of the seasons are evident from the passage of birds in the skies overhead as they make their way from Africa into Europe in the spring and summer and returning once again in the autumn.
There is one bird which is due to make an appearance soon and which, to me at least, signals the change of season as clearly as a leaf fall in the autumn. This is the bee eater… Continue reading
Vultures are in trouble. In India their numbers have crashed by some 75% and the cause of this appears to be drugs used to treat cattle but which prove lethal to the vultures which feed on their carcasses.
One of these, a drug called diclofenac, has been licensed to be manufactured and used in Spain. It is estimated that populations of vultures could crash if even one percent of the carcasses on which the vultures feed are contaminated with the drug.
Sometimes being Irish can be a bit of a drag. For one thing your political overlords are an inept bunch, the economy is teetering, the cutbacks are digging in everywhere. And, of course, the weather is always crap. Continue reading
For some time now I have been painting trout in watercolours and, slowly, after many failures and abandoned efforts, they are beginning to take shape. Continue reading
For some time I had been hoping to make a painting of the lovely brown trout my pal Mark McCann caught up in the Lough in Leitrim that we simply call the “Mountain Lough.” And, finally, I have completed it after several false starts and the usual distractions. Continue reading
There is a brown trout in Gore, on Southland´s famous Mataura river, that must be fifteen feet long at the very least. Maybe more. I have often stood in awe beside it. If you don´t believe me you just need to look at the photo Harry sent me. I´m hardly going to make up something like that! Continue reading
Murray Thompson was kind enough to send me some pictures of Lake Onslow, and of his fishing hut where I had the pleasure of staying with friends on several occasions many years ago. Onslow is a wonderful lake and it is full of fine trout. I know I have a tendency to bang on about things and so I will shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves. Continue reading
On Wednesday a photograph of the long drop at Lake Onslow was sent to me and I have never been so excited to see a picture of a toilet. Continue reading
fishydreams 