Flower - Saxifrage

A beautiful flower, as via a nomination on facebook by my dear friend, and amazing artist Rowan Blair  He writes the most exquisite poetry:

The Flower
A Poem by Rowan Blair Colver

Bringing petal tips against the velvet of evening, like candle flicks that lightly glaze the air,
In stillness and enticement, some wonderful feeling of inner excitement, the flower opens.
Spilling pollen, aroma and life bringing colours, dusted with nectar and silk.
 Alluring sensual milk of the fiery eye, behind half closed lid in pressure to absorb,
Sensations. It is silent, almost silent, apart from the heart that pounds inside,
And the movement of the dream that forms in bubbles and quilts around the very mind,
It comes. Like the fox from a burrow, with its whiskery nose and flash of red, allowing the presence

Of whatever awaits to greet its awareness from outside the confiding of safety

Courtesy of Rowan Blair Colver weebly page  for more of this beauty check out this, and get weekly updates

Science day - Plants

Today, with another family, we did a number of explorations and experiments to explore plants and how they grow.  To plan for this day we have been growing beans with different variables changed.

#1 - Demonstrating oxygen evolution during phosynthesis using Cabomba pondweed

This was such fun, we followed a number of the experiments in the linked to page.

#2  Exploring the variables affecting growth on a bean plant

Excitingly our beans planted at the same time about 3 weeks ago showed differences depending on their environment.  The plants germinated at Su's house (warmer and brighter) grew really well, whilst ours failed to thrive. The photographs give an indication of what they were like.  The bean which had been left without water failed to germinate at all, whilst the bean with water but no light germinated and grew quite well, but the small leaves which grew remained small and yellow.  The plant appeared to try hard to find light, seeking out fractions of light at the edge of the cupboard it was in.

#3 Exploring the different parts of a flower

#4 Hapa Zome - Exploring the colours found in plants

Hapa Zome printing is the process of extracting the colour from a plant by bashing and thereby transferring the colour onto fabric underneath.  It was the most wonderful satisfying experience and everyone enjoyed it, including me and Su.