elledark:

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” ~ (George Orwell .. 1984) ..  (possibly the best start to a novel ever)

stilllifequickheart:

Jeffrey T. Larson

Squash and Strainer

2010

collectivehistory:

Making the flame of Liberty ca. 1876

Time Frame Surveys, 2013
Douglas Prince

darknessbecomesme:

The Corrs- Toss The Feathers

dendroica:

Why is the shamrock a sham?

There were, for example, fanciful linguistic suggestions that the name was originally Persian, but the word ‘shamrock’ simply means ‘young clover’ (seamair óg). However, three very different types of clover grow in Ireland, so which one is it? The small yellow-flowered Trifolium dubium? The larger, white-flowered T. repens? Or the even bigger red-flowered T. pratense? Or perhaps, something else entirely? Seamsóg is the similar-sounding Irish name for wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), sometimes known as sourgrass and – here’s a clue – ’false shamrock’.

So, in the 1890s a Dublin naturalist set out to answer the question once and for all.  Nathaniel Colgan began his detective work by writing to clergymen around the country, and asking for people to send him rooted samples of ‘shamrock’ around the time of St Patrick’s day. According to Dr Jebb, Colgan received dozens of samples, all trefoil plants that looked much the same. The rooted specimens were planted out and Colgan waited patiently till they flowered in early summer, at which point they could be formally identified.

Colgan found that he had five very different species of plant, which were being used around the country as shamrock:

• the yellow, white and red clovers (in that order of popularity); also
• wood sorrel; and,
• a small herb called black medic (Medicago lupulina), that resembles a cross between a clover and a small creeping buttercup.

Intriguingly, there were regional differences: yellow clover was most common in the southeast, and white clover in the north-west….

Official & legal ‘shamrock’

While there is no single ‘scientific’ shamrock species, the Department of Agriculture had at some point to nominate an ‘official’ one for commercial licences to companies that export shamrock.  It chose the most popular species, the yellow clover (T. dubium) – something you can easily check, if you plant out one of the commercial living shamrock specimens, and check the flower colour in summer.

(via Ingenious Ireland)

monsieurlabette:

Barbara Sandler

(Source: toinelikesart)

Time Frame Surveys, 2013
Douglas Prince

classic-art:

Madonna and Child

Albrecht Durer

wasbella102:

Cool!