Self-Reflection Lens...

New buds coming through on a
goat-eaten stalk

It’s Tuesday, mid-morning and its cold. I’m wearing my sheepskin slippers and guacho bombachas, as well as an old sweater that Dad gave me for work. The dogs on the other hand, do not seem phased at all. The grass is still damp, and the little water droplets are like diamonds on leaves of green silk.



I sat with my back against the bark, feeling the rough lumps digging into me. The cat is annoying me, meouwling for attention and butting at me with her soft, velvety head.

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply for a few moments of total “relax”. When I opened my eyes, I felt at home. I know this little patch quite well, and I feel like I’ve been breaking down the metaphorical walls of the farm. I feel as though I know so much more about it. We have developed a much better understanding of one another. It sounds corny, but the reality of it is - no one spends enough time to savour the moment when we are out and about outside. It doesn't take very long at all to start recognizing natural patterns and functions. Today, I am no longer surprised by the amazing subtlety of the huge variety of greens and greys. I know the different bird cries around me ... I don't know which birds they are yet, but their calls are familiar to me.

The little yellow dot is an oxpecker that flew away
as I took the picture!

I feel as though I am beginning to get a grip on what is going on around me. On the surface, it seems as though nature is slow. That things take time. They do - but on look a little deeper and you see ants scurrying to and fro; bees buzzing around getting business done; flies and wasps; big birds cawing, small birds tweeting. There’s a lot of traffic in the airspace over the farm. Little photosynthetic cells are operating in full force, eking out what they can from the cold Autumn's sunshine. Minute bugs are root-ling through horse poo. There is so much going on that one doesn’t even take note of. It only takes 5 months for a perfectly formed little goat to pop out of its Mommy’s tummy, and her body is already producing the substance that it ideally suited (chemically and nutritionally) to his needs. Horses take about a year. Anyone who has ever seen a foal being born, or even just a very young one will know just how damn perfect they are.





I feel a bit impatient, I feel as though I’ve seen this all now. I know that the grasslands are chockablock with lots of plants, big and small, short groundcoverers and tall grasses. Spiky thorns and waxy leaves. I now understand why that particular plant has the leaves where they are, and why they are so prickly and sore if you step on them. I want to see something new, and in a new way again. I know that it won’t take much, but I still marvel at how simple it is, with a little encouragement to open my eyes and “see”, to identify just a little bit more with what it going on, the undercurrent of life. My eyes roam, and I notice how the grasses form a lattice like structure with their “stems” as they carpet the ground. A eucalyptus leaf has blown close, and I reach over, grab and crush. The smell is fading, not as strong as if I had crushed a new leaf - but it is distinctly “eucalyptussy”. There is so much that seems familiar now - but still so much to take pleasure in, and so much to learn. 

Every time that I con back to sit in the same spot, I am delighted to see how the grass has “stood up” again after being sat on for quite some time. The trees are barer that they were a few weeks ago, and I’m surprised how quickly the cold has set in. There’s quite a wind blowing and the leaves are crackling as they get blown along.

I feel as though I am much more in-tune with everything going on around me. I am part of it, and it is part of me. I am able to perceive and appreciate the details of nature so much more - and I feel as though I am sensing much more than in our first nature observations.  So much has changed, and I have a whole new ability to focus in on things, as well as zoom out. I can see more of the micro and more of the macro than ever before.

View from the Well.

The lessons of interpretation are just beginning.  

P.S. Nevermind Bunny slippers.... What about Puppy Slippers¿?

Life's Principles: Nature's Sustainability Barometer...

ProtoPatch

 ProtoPatch was inspired by the African Lungfish’s ability to secrete a thick mucus to cover its entire body, protecting it from drying out during drought periods.

One of the mistakes I made during the creation and development of the prototype was developing something that I do not really know anything about. Let me clarify that - I do not have the knowledge necessary to make this design work. I would not know what materials to use or how to combine them. This makes this evaluation checklist much less accurate - becuase thre are many elements that I don’t know how to answer.

In terms of adapting and evolving, I don’t know if the design is locally attuned and responsive, because I see that as being dependant on how the gel can be manufactured. Ideally - it would be, but it would depend on the building blocks used to create the gel, and how the actual chemical make up of the lungfish’s mucus could be mimicked as accurately as possible.

ProtoPatch is not cyclical, and although not currently designed for dis-assembly and reuse, I can see that being a possibility. Currently, it does not respond to feedback from the body either, but maybe it could be developed to receive “signals” from the body and monitor the healing of the wound, so that the patch drops off once the wound is fully healed, a bit like a natural scab.

The design is indeed resilient - and can withstand disturbance whilst maintaining function. On the other hand - I don’t think that much “information” is decentralized or distributed. There are no opportunities for cross-pollination or mutation; or co-evolving either.

Optimization or maximising? I’d say optimising --- because the design allows for a single application of the product, instead of constantly replacing bandages and gauzes and plasters. However, it does not integrate multiple functions. ProtoPatch’s functions have minimal energy and material use though, as the body is the actual healer involved. The patch just acts as the protector, the barrier to pathogens.

Benign manufacturing, once again depends on the Biology side of things --- It would depend on what material would actually work in creating the ProtoPatch, and how accessible they were, and the energy needed to process them in the correct way. Ideally, these materials would be the same, easily accessed chemicals used by the African Lungfish, and processed under the same temperatures and conditions as in nature. Self assembly is another thing that I did not take into account, but what if it could self assemble? Further more, what if the gel patch could “breed”? This would lower manufacturing energies even more! Although it is not specifically built to shape, as it is a gel, it can be used to fit the wound shape, i.e. one wouldn’t need to use more gel than necessary.

The ProtoPatch gel does not really create a symbiotic and cooperative relationship with the human body, because it itself does not receive anything in return. But let’s hypothesise. Imagine IF the gel was “semi-alive” and reacted to heat. As the body works on fixing itself, the gel could improve its antibacterial properties by being “fueled” by the body’s heat. In it’s own way, the gel does create conditions conducive to life, only but protecting wounds that otherwise could become septic, and/or gangrenous - creating all kinds of problems that are definitely NOT conducive to life (or at least Happy Life!). ProtoPatch does, to a certain extent avoid competition expense by finding a new niche. Although in the medical field there are many ways of sealing a wound, there are few (none?) that can be applied in one go and left to do its own thing, without need for check ups and changing. ProtoPatch can also be applied “on the go”, on the soccer field during a match, on the battle field, in the playground.

This AWESOME image is one I'm definitely going to refer back to! 

There is so much that could be improved on the ProtoPatch design --- I’m almost embarrassed at how few of the “Checklist Ultimatums” that the design DID meet and how many (LOTS) that it didn’t meet... But I suppose that one has to start somewhere.

On the shortlist of To-Do’s (the most vital in my opinion)  in terms on design improvement (to make the design more conducive to life and adaptable) are:

• LOCALLY TUNED AND RESPONSIVE
• Using free local energy
• Using simple, common building blocks
• Buildig from the bottom up
• INTEGRATES CYCLIC PROCESSES
• Adaptation to seasons
• Redesigning for disassembly and possible reuse
• Reusing/Recycling materials (possibly waste from other manufacturing processes) in the manufacturing of the gel
• Responding to feedback from the body
• RESILIENT
• Healing after disturbance
• Increasing rate of adaption
• OPTIMISING RATHER THAN MAXIMISING
• Integrate multiple functions
• BENIGN MANUFACTURING
• Life-friendly material usage
• Self assembly
• Done at room temperature
• LEVERAGING INTERDEPENDENCE
• Foster symbiotic and cooperative relationships
• Co-evolving to increase adaption rate
• Self organizing

Phew! That’s a long to do list, but very necessary to make a product more in tune with nature.

Image attributes:

• somethinbizarre.blogspot.com
• http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/evolution/what-is-the-evidence/morphology/evolution-of-lungs/index.html
• http://www.alphachimp.com/poptech-art/2009/8/7/janine-benyus-biomimicry.html

Life's Principles Lens....

Monday - Midday

It’s cool and windy, and although it’s sunny there is a definite nip in the air. I should put on proper shoes, but my slip-slops were under the kitchen table this morning. It was a case of easy access.
I pottered down to the poplar tree, and made myself comfy.

The temperature drop means that mozzies aren’t really a bother anymore. The wind on my face, I closed my eyes for a while - just enjoying being outside with the elements. There’s a strong smell of wet dog but what I love is the aroma of freshly cut grass. We’ve been cutting the weeds, and some of them exude a strong menthol like smell when they get chopped. We use a tractor with a “cutter” drawn behind it, and I wonder when and how we are going to be able to “green” that side of the coin. At the moment, it’s just not viable to work without machinery --- even though it should be. I think about how they worked the land one hundred years ago, and how I should look into getting an old horse drawn plough to teach Ferdie (BIG horse) to work for his keep. But that’s nonsense - it’d take months to do what take us a week with the tractor. My mind rumbles on along the mumbo-jumbo lane, as I listen to the soft farm-y sounds of the leaves, a horse neighing a distance away, another horse (closer) is stomping at the flies and I can hear his tail slice through the air. Then I hear Bina! Baaa baaa baaa. She’s seen me, and I have a bag of goodies with me. (Pen, notebook, crayons and camera - but she doesn’t know that!). She starts out determinately towards me - but gets side tracked by a clump of grass.

I looked at her carefully. Her pointy little face and v-shaped nostrils. Her hard and “sharp” horns, her funny little tail curled over towards her back and her long, thin ears. Her neat little hooves. Everything has been so well made - seemingly with a purpose. I just don’t know it. I leaned back against the tree, shifting slightly to get a better view of all of the goats. The number of “building blocks” in their make up is astounding. Each animal is an organism made up of their unique organs, that operatedifferently to other animals’ organs. They have been “put together” like a puzzle, with the exact pieces that they need for optimum animal performance. Goats also make up a community - which one could also view as an “organism” i.e. the herd, which has its own habits and needs. As a herd, they also make a significant impact on the functions of an ecosystem. An ecosystem that includes goats is a very different place to one that does not.

TOP SIX Life’s Principles:

Life creates conditions conducive to life

1. Optimizing Rather than Maximizing
Example of: Using multi-functional design
Natural Model: Goats’ Horns

Description: Goats’ horns are very useful items to have around. I, in particular, find it much easier to catch, lead or restrain a goat when I can grab hold of his horns. To a goat on the other hand, they are much more useful and meaningful. In terms of herd hierarchy, horns are very important. The bigger your horns, the less likely it is that someone will challenge you for power. Horns are also used for protection. Where we live, there are lots of stray dogs, farmer’s dogs that are “sheepkillers” and people who will herd up your sheep in the middle of the night (using dogs) and away they go. I prefer goats. They chase and “butt” the dogs. No more dog problem. But, in all seriousness, horns are the goats’ defense mechanism. (They also make extremely good back-scratchers). Also, the core of the horn is jam-packed with nerves and blood vessels; and they act as thermal cooling devices. This is vital when one is dealing with a variety of temperatures, and/or with working goats.

Design Concept: Multifunctional design is definitely the way forward. I like to think of a kitchen. Instead of having one set of beaters for mixing, one liquidiser (blender?), one coffee machine, a toaster, one electric kettle, an electric grinder (for coffee beans), a food processer (chopping machine), a dehydrator - or whatever have you... Each item has a long history of “heat, beat, treat” - combined with packaging, and seeing as most things are made in China these days, their own hefty carbon footprint. What if you had ONE machine that boiled, sliced, diced, combined, chopped, whizzed, whirled, mixed, ground EVERYTHING for you. (Reverting to a whisk, knife and chopping board would actually be the better way to go - but hey!) One box, one apparatus, instead of shelves full of appliances. Less materials, lass waste, less chemicals, less carbon burped into the atmosphere. It would be great if benign materials could be used too.

2. Leveraging Interdependence
Example of: Fostering cooperative relationships
Natural Model: Goats and Other Farm Animals.

Description: I’d never thought that having a different variety of animals on the farm would or could be beneficial. It was a case of getting one kind of animal, then another with no real thought of the relationship between the species. In fact, the diversity that we have on the farm is beneficial to all. While there is no direct link between one particular animal or another, within the “micro ecosystem” of the farm - their habits are interrelate. When grazing, all of the animals graze together most of the time. The goats generally wander with the goats, the horses with the horses etc. What is important for me though -is what they eat. Goats, generally prefer shrubs, weeds, leaves and twigs. They aren’t big grass eaters, and when they are, they are especially selective. Horses on the other hand, are not big on brush and wildflowers, but prefer grasses. This m

akes them ideal pasture-partners. Behind them come the chickens who scratch around in the dung of the animals, looking for tasty morsels, and spreading around the fertilizer and grass seeds in the process. This fertilizer helps give nutrients to the existing plants, and also gives the seeds a better chance of healthy germination and growth.

Design Concept: Industry and manufacturing should work in the same way as the animals in their environment. This could be achieved by creating company “partnerships” where each industry has its own individual needs. This would mean no fighting over resources, and that, at the end of the process, something has to go back into the environment - that benefits it!! This, in turn, displays the need to create benign manufacturing processes.

3. Benign Manufacturing
Example of: Using self-assembly
Natural Model: Goat Horn.

Description: The goats’ horn is made of keratin, just like our hair and finger nails (and rhino horn). When a kid is born, he is born hornless, and the growth process only starts (slowly) when the goat is a few days old. The horns continue to grow throughout the animal’s lifetime. An age-ring grows once a year (so you can tell a goat’s age by his horns).
Horns often break, in fights of when an aggressive buck bashes into things. As long as the soft tissue core of the horn is alive, new horn will grow and mend the break.
Design Concept: Imagine a strong, impact absorbing material that could “fix itself”. Goat horn reminds me a bit of fibreglass. Both materials are strong, weather resistant and durable, the main difference being in the method of manufacturing. Fibreglass is made in large furnaces at high temperatures, chemicals are used to “size” the material - and that’s just the first step! Mimicking goat horn could be the next step to finding a benignly manufactured material that could be used in the many applications of fibreglass.

4. Locally Attuned and Responsive & 5. Integrates Cyclic Processes
Example of: Learns and imitates & Feedback loops
Natural Model: Goats - Alpha Female
Description: In the social structure of a herd, goats have two leaders. An alpha buck who is the “macho” of the herd whose role is to breed his choice of does; to maintain discipline and to protect the herd from predators. The “real” leader however, is the alpha female, the “herd queen”. When she moves, all, including the alpha buck follow. When she halts to browse, everybody else stops to eat too. Herd queens are also those who “test” the food before anyone else eats it. Goats are notorious for eating “everything” - when in fact, many things are poisonous to goats (e.g. tomatoes). No one will eat anything before the queen. If she samples a plant or a shrub, and its nasty, she will make a great show of spitting, sputtering and wiping her mouth on the ground. If she keeps on eating the others will know its OK. Alternatively, the alpha female will stare at the alpha male with a long hard look, he will come and start eating, followed by the rest of the herd.
Design Concept: In terms of “learning and imitating” - I think we need to think of education. Not just at schools or colleges, but educating the common man on greener design choices. Courses like this one are fantastic because they open people’s eyes - but how many people (percentage wise) are actually exposed to a more biomimetic, natural design. And if they are, how would they know what they were looking at? Businesses and Industries need to be educated. Creating a new, eco-friendly product may not be what they have in mind, so the seed needs to be planted. In many cases, although research etc may cost them, in the long run, they will save on costs - no expensive furnaces and machines, the

manufacturing will take place at room temperature - no complex, fabricated elements and chemicals to create their products - but free, simple building blocks. Jeez -- they’re a long way away, but they have to start the process at some point. Right?

6. Resilient
Example of: Redundant
Natural Model: Goats!
Description: Goats are a lying out species i.e. does hide their newborns in the grass as shelter from predators, returning several times a day to feed them. Newborn lambs on the other hand, shadow their mother within hours of birth. Does usually give birth to one kid in their first pregnancy, then two the next year. After that they normally have two or three kids every spring. (Three is a problem when she only has two teats - there are some breeds that have more than two, but not many). Having more than one baby at a time increases the survival rate of the species. If a doe only had one kid, and it died, she would have to wait another year before giving “kidding” again. A lot can happen in a year.
Design Concept: Redundancy basically revolves around the concept of “back-up” (from what I’ve understood). Be it generator back up, extra water tanks for dry spells, extra materials in case of a duff up - or a “Plan-B” should the prototype not come out as planned. Redundancy = Planning, and thinking about the consequences of what we do, where, how, what we use to complete the “mission”, and how it affects our global backyard... Something that we haven’t really been doing until now.

I feel as though there is so much to be done, but so little that I can do to make a significant difference. I wonder how many people feel this way?

The bees knees...

Ok, so, this post isn't actually about bees' knees as such, it's about what is the bees' knees - and that's the way that bees build. Common honey-bees are THE green architects.

In our world today we are constantly facing new challenges in terms of our environment and the way we live in it. More specifically, how our homes, workplaces, schools affect and are affected by the environment. We use thousands of tonnes of materials, and exuberant amounts of energy to build structures that we hope will stand up to the rigorous demands put on them by us and by nature. Bees on the other hand, create enormously strong structures under everyday conditions. No excessive heat or pressure, no chemicals added, no toxic waste - in fact, no waste at all. Charles Darwin, in "The Origin of Species", commented on the superior strength of the honeycomb, as well as economy of labour and material used in the construction process.

The real strength of honeycomb lies in Geometry... The most common structures in nature are build with equilateral triangles (60º angles) or hexagons (120º angles). Using these angles creates less pressure on any one particular point, and means that the "weight" or "stress" put on the structure is evenly distributed. Nature does indeed know what she is doing! In fact, the shape of the honeycomb is so perfect that master masons use it in their symbology.

It was in 1638 that Galileo Galilei recognised the importance of "hollow solids" and their ability to resist and support substantial loads without being of any considerable weight themselves. Appreciating the qualities of honeycomb is by no means a new trend.

"The extraordinary strength is exemplified by a comb 37 centimetres by 22.5 centimetres in size, which is made of 40 grams of wax but can contain about 1.8 kilograms of honey."

- asknature.org

If only we could use the bees' techniques to create structures that could support that kind of strain!

The Beehive Tower, as envisaged by Rory Newel and Lucy Richardson from the University of Nottingham, is an example of how by imitating nature, we can improve our own lives and that of our planet. It is described as a "vertical farm" where people will live, as well as cultivate their own plants and food within the city confine of London. Each hexagon is 8 stories high and contains 8 duplex apartments. Many of the hexagons are dedicated to gardening and productivity. The hexagons face different directions so that sunlight is received on all sides.

Fundamentally, the "Hive" is the future's sustainable apartment building. It contains homes and greenhouses for food production (talk about local produce!). These greenhouses will be active in converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, providing clearer air and an oxygen rich environment in which to live (a real treat in a large city). The crops will be irrigated using a rainwater collection system, and electricity produced by wind turbines on the roof of the "Hive". Compared to today's apartment buildings and skyscrapers, the Beehive Tower would be a breakthrough in terms of an ecofriendly lifestyle. If one considers the oft used phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" - the Hive will reduce the energy used in ones' food; transport and packaging costs will be expunged (as will the problem of "packaging" itself); material usage and waste will be greatly reduced; and rain water is reused.

Apart from the obvious inspiration of the hexagonal "building blocks" that were inspired by honeycombs, one has to appreciate the likeness between what the "Hive" will be and what a bee colony is. The concepts of like-minded communities living and working together to produce sustenance whilst living gracefully, and making as little impact on the environment as possible have been used in every beehive since the first bee made the first waxy hexagon.

One thing that I have noticed with the Beehive Tower, is that no effort has been made to “naturalise” the materials used in the construstion itself or imitate the beeswax's qualities. Beeswax is a natural product, produced waste-free. (No “heat, beat and treat”.) It is also very good at absorbing impact e.g. the trauma and shaking of an earthquake would not affect the structure of honeycomb. Had this been taken into consideration, the Beehive construction would be an inspiring example of benign, enduring and dynamic architecture.

In terms of function, the Beehive Tower maintains physical integrity and, due to the unique pressure distribution if the hexagon shape, it manages structural forces.

For more info (and a cool video):

http://inhabitat.com/beehive-tower-is-a-honeycomb-inspired-vertical-farm-for-london/

Image attributes:

http://www.droid-life.com/2010/08/19/after-gingerbread-android-will-be-called-honeycomb/

http://www.kathykwylie.com/blog/2010/10/geometric-shapes-in-quilts-hexagons/

http://inhabitat.com/beehive-tower-is-a-honeycomb-inspired-vertical-farm-for-london/beehive-tower/?extend=1

Function Lens....

Clear skies, warm breeze at midday. Perfect nature discovery conditions!!

Windy and I wandered into the middle of the field where the poplar is, she decided to swim in the horses' water and I made myself comfy in the recently cut, prickly grass.

Sure enough, a newcomer always attracts attention and I had a few horse visitors - just coming to check me out. Horses' muzzles are lovely things - velvety soft and warm, with their thick, hairy and inquisitive upper lip. Human hair is also a lovely thing to a curious horse (*insert rubbery lip "shmooshing" through my hair here*)! Horses eyes are at the sides of their head and they can't see their noses, so nature kicks in with her own fine-tuned sensors. All around the muzzle, there are heaps of thick, strong hairs that function as "object detectors". When they touch/brush up against something, alarm bells ring at the end of the hair, and the horse knows not to go there. (Unless of course the something is a feed bucket and there's something tasty inside!)

These hairs protect the horse's nose and mouth from serious injury, they normally can feel things coming. Sea anemones have the same kind of "feeler" strands; and most mammals have these "whiskers" around their eyes and mouth area too. In many cases, animals cannot see very well, either due to eye placement or ability to adapt to variations in light - these whiskers come in handy!

Wouldn't it be great if visually impaired humans could "feel" the table 3 inches away, before they walk into it? Or if your car had a sensor that told you when you were 6 inches away from the vehicle behind you when you a trying to back out of a parking spot?

Horse's hooves are also marvellous. During evolution, they lost four out of the five toes and starting running on the fifth toes, rather than using their whole foot. This has given them an advantage in terms of speed - they run much faster on their toes that they would otherwise. Horses are herbivores and herd animals. When in comes to predation, they are animals of "flight" rather than "fight". Thus, the ability to outrun the enemy is what ensures survival. The nail of this toe has been altered to create a hard, protective shoe-like casing around the toe. Thus, the hoof is born -a tool that enables the horse to run faster and further than most of their predators. Most ungulates (mammals with hooves) have two or three toes, horses and their family have one. Horses are all-terrain animals, and their hooves can heal themselves if they get damaged. The hard casing is constantly growing and being regenerated. Imagine if you never had to buy a new pair of shoes again - because the pair you had grew with you, and never wore out. These shoes are manufactured totally benignly, and when you are through with them, they will biodegrade.

Carqueja leaves remind me of the coloured lines in a tube of toothpaste. They have three "panels" of leaf that come out in the central stem line. These panels twist, spiraling down to where the leaf joins the other leaves, at the base of the plant, at the roots. I wonder if this spiral shape is in place as a natural irrigation/water movement system. The rain water that hits at any part of the leaf will spiral down the leaf like a child down the slide at a water park. The water is channeled directly to the plants roots.

Carqueja grows everywhere in Uruguay, from the coast, to the interior; from wet to dry; hot to cold. This water harvesting technique must be responsible for the survival of the plant in some of the rougher terrains. There are areas in Uruguay where water scarcity is a part of life, and in dryer times - things can become quite difficult for people and animals. The sketch below shows what the spiral shape would be like if the carqueja leaf only had one "wing" - it has three, thus tripling its water collection ability.

Surface area needs to be taken into consideration when creating "raincatchers". If the surface area could be increased by going upwards and using spirals - it is possible that we would be able to harvest more rainwater before it returns back to the earth, and in many cases, be contaminated through toxics such as herbicides and pesticides that are present in the soils.

"Horneros" are "ovenbirds" because they build their little houses/nests out of mud, and they look like the old mud ovens that one uses to bake with coals --- and to make fantastic pizza! They build the nest for protection for themselves, the eggs laid by the female and for the hatched young. They collect up soils and mash them up, constructing the foundation for their hut on top of telephone poles, in the "V" created by branches, on walls, on fence posts - wherever they can. Who knows why they build such sturdy nests while other birds prefer lighter, more makeshift models. It may be due to rain, or wind conditions. Maybe to protect from the heat or from the cold (mud is a great insulator) or possibly to safeguard themselves against predators? These are factors that all birds have to deal with. Ants arethe only other organism that I can think of that create homes from mud. Mud was used in some of the first buildings and homes created by man. It is a plentiful resource, can be used for building with little need for expertise or experience, and does not require "heat, beat and treat" processing.

Seed dispersion and propagation is one of nature's principle concerns. Plants nuture their seeds with all of their being, their fruit is their only legacy. Protecting these seeds while they mature and later, making sure that they are given a head start is the duty of any responsible plant. However, in today's day and age - with all the environmental threats that a simple little seed is faced with, one has got to have some serious ambition to get anywhere.

Above left is my attempt at drawing butia, a sweet and pulpy berry-like fruit that grows on some palm trees. The ants, birds, goats and cattle all love it (so do I). The birds peck away at the flesh, and the seed falls to the ground. Hopefully, while eating, the birds will have left some fertiliser at the base of the tree where the seed falls. Goats and cows eat the entire fruit, often swallowing the pip. This means that they are later deposited with their own nutritional starter pack. This is definitely a win-win situation. The animal gets food, and the seed gets to travel, and they have a head start in terms of having a nice place to germinate!

The grass on the left, also uses other organisms to spread her seeds far and wide. They are sticky! And will stick to animal legs and tails, human legs, socks - you name it!

Below, on the left is a sketch of another kind of parent/seed relationship. I don't know what the plant is called - but it is SUPER thorny! The stem, leaves, seed are all covered with thin, sharp thorns 2-3mm long. I tried to grab one but the spikes penetrated the card I was using to protect my fingers --- I left it well alone. This is a case of over-protective parenting! But, one has to admit, no one is going to mess with that baby! Later on in the season, the seed casing will split open and thousands of tiny splinters will be distributed around, scattered in the wind. This process is not unlike that of the dandelion (below right) whose seeds are weightless - and when they are mature - float off effortlessly into the breeze and are gone, off into the world!

I found this orange flower on my walk back to the house. It is so different to any other flower that I've discovered during previous nature observations. The bright colour is so eye-catching and appealing. I wonder if it being more colourful (and bigger) than the vast majority of the flora on tha campo makes it more attractive to bugs and polinators? I did notice that while I was drawing, it was visited by a large number of tiny tiny flies - like fruit flies. I couldn't pick up any particular scent - but it could be that it was too subtle for my big, insensitive nose.

What I really loved though was the strange shape and bright colours (I couldn't get good photos of the sketches, the flash made things too bright, but without it, they are very dark -- Sorry!).

I hope you enjoyed our foray into nature's funcionality! I know I enjoyed trying to figure out why things are the way they are... as well as what we can learn!