Maidenhair Ferns ~Science Lab~

So today we will be disusing one of my favorite subjects. Science! And this science report is all about ferns. Maidenhair ferns.

Firstly, I will present a short (so don't stop reading, please!) fact file on maidenhair ferns. Here it is:

Name: Maidenhair ferns.

Scientific Name: Adiantum.

Photo:

Habitat: Shrub and woodlands. This fern type likes warm temperatures.

And now you know how very short my short fact file lists really are. ^-^'

Anyway, maidenhair ferns, if you are willing to take out a portion of your time and work, are fairly easy to grow. You can plant them in drained sand, limestone, or loam. They need warm and fairly shaded places to grow. Water it regularly and it will thrive in the dappled sunlight (to much will scorch its leaves).

In short they like humidity, moisture, and half-shade. This is probably because they originated in the Brazilian tropics, where there is plenty of humidity and water (most rainforests receive, in the very least, 80 inches of rain annually. But when you think about it, the entire state of Kentucky receives 40 inches of rain per year. So rainforests' minimum equal to double as much as Kentucky). It has adjusted to this habitat and now requires these needs to thrive.

Now you know how to plant maidenhair ferns!

-KittyLover8
© 2012

A Letter From the Past in the Eye of....a Carthaginian Warrior of Hannibal ~II~

Dear Selena,

Hello, my dear sister. How have you been? I miss you and the rest of the family with all my heart....
       Hannibal held a small meeting today. He tells that we have lost nearly half of the warriors and the journey isn't yet over. We have little supplies, due to carts falling off of the cliff and the remaining warriors starving of exasperation. I hope that I live to return....I shall try my hardest and guide my stead strong.
      I have had hard times today. My horse nearly lost her footing, and three of the supply carts fell off of the narrow path due to horse's or riders falling into the ravine. I, as I wrote yesterday, fear for our welfare's.
      Today we saw some more golden eagles, once again. Hannibal wonders if they're a sign that we are nearing Rome. We still haven't seen any vegetation, though, so we are definitely far from our destination.
      And now I shall answer the questions that you have asked me in your reply to my previous letter.
         Yes, I am well, Selena. As for you, there need be no asking. Just seeing your wonderful handwriting is good enough. I shiver from the cold and shed tears for those who were lost, but I count my blessings to the Gods, for I am alive, and you are well. And that, my dear sister, is all I wish from them. So do not lose faith! The Gods must be worshiped or they may make us feel their wrath.
         You are not foolish or silly for being concerned, Sis, for I find this touching. It brings the warmth of love back into my numb fingers.
         I have seen hardly an animal aside from the eagles. Although, a little earlier on in this trip, I did come across a single Eurasian lynx. Here is a sketch I drew of this beautiful wildcat.

With all of my love,

Kanmi

 -KittyLover8
© 2012

A Letter From the Past in the Eye of....a Carthaginian Warrior of Hannibal ~II~

Dear Kanmi,

Hello, Brother! Oh how I miss you....
       Germelqart? We shall send our blessings....I do not know how that could have happened. Are the gods not watching over us? I believe that I am losing faith. You are nearing a bloody battle and Germelqart has fallen before the battle even begins. Why do they punish us so?
        The family is well. I hold the sleeping baby Quintus on my lap. He had a slight cold before you left, if you remember, but now he is relieved of this sickness. Now he rests without sniffles of sneezes. Didos--you remember our cousin, right?--is relieved that my, Mother's, and her tender care enabled the sweet little boy to become released from the bounds of illness.
        And I am well, too, Brother. You needn't ask of my welfare. Although I miss you, and mentally I am in unimaginable agony. I wish for you to return, Brother. And, if the Gods are guarding us, you will.
        Anyway, I must now ask you some questions. Firstly, how are you? I know that that is a silly question, for you are preparing to go into battle with the most powerful empire of the time. And you're on a steep, unstable and narrow path, which has taken many lives. Abut, I must hear the honest answer.
         Also, I was wondering if you have seen any animals so far? Another silly, childish question, yes, but still one a yearn to learn the answer to. Scene no one has been to the Alps before--or at least hasn't lived to tell the tale--I just wish o know.
         And how are your supplies? Oh how I worry....
         Oh dear. Quintus is awakening. Please write back as soon as possible, my dear brother. Farewell!

Love,

Selena

 -KittyLover8
© 2012

A Letter From the Past in the Eye of....a Carthaginian Warrior of Hannibal

Dear Selena,

I miss you so much, Selena. How are you doing? How is the rest of the family? I have so many questions....
      Well, scene it's so hard to send letters, I suppose that I'll write a little on what I'm doing right now. Although I really do wish that I could be home right now, instead of being precariously balanced on this  awful, narrow ledge....
      I know that I sound like I'm complaining, and I probably am, merely using this letter as an excuse  to bemoan about it. Though, I must say in me defense, it is hard not to bellyache
   Anyway, Sis, right now me and the rest of the warriors are camping on what there is to camp on. I fear for my and my many companions' lives. Every day, someone falls of the edge into the impervious hands of Fate. Or dies of overexposure or of something equally likely and awful as that.
   Germelqart, I sorrowfully and tearfully say, died yesterday. As he was making is way along this calamitous and sender ledge. His horse...lost its footing on the slippery and icy 'trail', as Hunnibal calls it. They plunged into the ravine.
   At first, when I was writing my letter to you, I put it off, for I knew that you would be as distraught as I was. After all, there are enough hardships to face as it is. I hope that you understand, Sis.
    Anyway, We must get onto the less negative things, for there is only so much paper to write on. We shall send our blessings to our poor lost friend, but we must move on. As I know, there are many who suffer just as we do, some suffer even worse.
     We are nearing Rome now.  Abut, though Hunnibal is positive, I know that there are others who fear what I fear. What if we have lost to many? What if we are overcome by the massive rankings of the Roman army, who is superior to us? What if all of those lost warriors died in vain...?
      I know that it is wrong to lose faith in our leader, but I don't see how we can keep the trust we once had in Hunnibal. It is the impossible, as most of us believe.
       And now I think of all of those happy times we and the rest of the family spent together, as you told me to. I shall forever cherish  these wondrous, dream-like memories, but they just seem to make me sadder and wish to be back home even more....

Yours sincerely,

Kanmi

-KittyLover8
© 2012

A Letter From the Past, in the Eye of....

'A Letter From the Past, in the Eye of....' is basically going to be a written history report. I will do a letter or a dairy entry or a short story or something-or-other in the eye of a person from the past or a historical figure or a person who knew a historical figure or whatnot.

I decided to do this because, lately, I have been writing a lot of history reports on The Purple Paw. I said to myself, "What the hey? I'll slap a label on it and....whala! It is an organized series instead of many different, shorter series miscellaneously scattered about the archive."

Now it will be organized and a reader who wants to learn a little will be able to without a big, time-wasting search.

I hope that this helps!
-KittyLover8
© 2012

Cushion Moss

This is a report all about.... cushion moss!

First of all, what does cushion moss look like? Well, cushion moss grows in small dome-like, rising clumps. These usually form on stones or wood (usually dead), as most types of mosses. And, like all moss, it depends on water for food.

All mosses, because they have no steam or leaves, cannot photosynthesize. Instead, mosses wait for water to carry the nutrients they need to them. This is why and in what way mosses depend on water. They can only exist in wet places such as bogs, wetlands, and forests.

But secondly, we must discus this moss type's size, for this is an amazing fact about the cushion moss. In short; cushion moss is tiny. Look at this photo to get a better idea of how small these mosses really are.

Its a real shocker. Look at how miniscule the hundreds of individual fibers are compared to the tiny copper penny.

Now that you know how mosses, including cushion moss, get their food and how small this type is, what happens to these tiny plants when the winter snows blow in?

Well, mosses of all types prefer humidity. So when the snow comes in, it will undoubtedly turn brown, or in the least become brownish. But a few warm days will save it. Permanent frosts will probably kill it.

Anyway, cushion moss is spongy and soft, giving it its name. It can be many different shades of green on its outside, but has a more or less tan inside.

for my report on cushion moss. Moss, the simple life form with the big story behind it. Moss, the little plant that many creatures depend on. Moss, the first plant to grow on land, to dig its roots into the soil. Moss, the plant of beginnings.


-KittyLover8
© 2012