Sunflowers and Old Selfies
Views of my sunflower gardens, back in the '90s. I've grown helianthus for over 25 years. Besides being beautiful, they're good for the environment.
In recent years, bee populations have come under stress and declined. Pesticides are largely to blame for this problem. Here, bees can gather all the pollen they want without encountering poisons of any kind.
A more recent pic, showing the garden of 2013.
Selfies, from that same period. At the time I used single use cameras.
posted by starman at 5:04 AM
39 Comments:
I'm glad that you planted those flowers. You stated a good point; pollination is very important for the environment.
Right and helping pollinators is crucial. Do you do any gardening?
By the way, this morning I saw Mars, now entering the constellation Scorpius. It appears close to Beta Scorpii.
January 31, 2018
I don't do gardening now, though I have helped my paternal grandmother (who is now deceased) with gardens that they have planted in the past. Those gardens had mainly vegetables, for example, okra, potatoes, onions, and squash. A few fruits were grown. It's great that you got to see Mars; I need to get a telescope.
At times I grew vegetables and fruit but I like helianthus. :)
You don't need a telescope just to see Mars, though I did use 70mm binoculars to get a good view of the planet and its stellar background. The 2018 World almanac said Mars would enter Scorpius today, the 31st. This morning before dawn I saw Mars just east of Beta Scorpii--exactly where the constellation boundary between Libra and Scorpius is. So the red planet is indeed passing into the celestial scorpion.
January 31, 2018
You have a very good background in astronomy. I have gotten up early sometimes to get a look at Mars. As we know, that planet has two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
When did you get up early to see Mars? Was it back in 2003? There was a close opposition that year--the closest in maybe a millennium.
One problem with growing helianthus (sunflowers) is squirrel raids. I don't know how much of a problem pests are over there, in Arkansas.
January 31, 2018
You hit the mark with pinpoint precision. That was in 2003. You're right; pests are not too much of a problem with flowers here in Arkansas.
I thought it would be 2003 because the exceptional nearness of Mars caused more widespread awareness of the opposition. I didn’t have a good telescope then but even a small one revealed a disk. The red planet sure was bright wasn’t it?
How fortunate that pests aren’t a problem there.
February 1, 2018
You're right; it was very bright. As we know, the ancient Greeks called that planet Aries and the Romans referred to it as Mars. It would be easier to land a spacecraft on Mars than on most other planets in our solar system. I've been reading news articles about planned manned missions to Mars in the future.
Of course probes have been landing on Mars at least since 1971, when a Soviet device came down. It failed, but the US Viking landers of ‘76 and recent Spirit and Opportunity rovers added greatly to our knowledge.
A manned mission to Mars may seem like a great adventure but I don’t think it would be the best investment of NASA’s money. In my opinion it would be better to have more missions like Kepler, to learn more about exoplanets which are more Earth-like than Mars. The red planet has only a tenth of earth’s mass, and very little atmosphere. Several exoplanets appear more promising.
February 1, 2018
I've read about those rovers that we put on Mars. You're right; there are exoplanets
that are substantially more attractive than Mars. If we could ever come up with a hyperdrive (faster than light propulsion), it would be great for exploring those exoplanets with manned missions.
Correction: Before dawn on January 31, I saw Mars just WEST of Beta Scorpii, where the constellation boundary (between Libra and Scorpius) is.
On one board there is talk of a gravitational Field Propulsion system, which is said to be capable of superluminal travel without time dilation effects. Fascinating—if true.
A number of exoplanets seem much better for exobiology than Mars.
Sprit and Opportunity were triumphs of American engineering. Originally designed for six month missions, they’ve been going for years.
Do you know anyone who likes sunflower blooms? They may like these pics. :)
February 2, 2018
Great Sunflowers! Where is Mars now?
Yes sunflower blooms are pretty. :)
As for Mars I just saw it again in the predawn dark. It has passed Beta Scorpii, and Omega Scorpii. It was fairly close to Omega 2 Scorpii, just East or northeast of it.
Jupiter of course was also in the morning sky, to the west of Mars.
February 3, 2018
That gravitational Field Propulsion system sounds interesting. It might eventually facilitate interstellar exploration. If I learn of any other people who are interested in sunflower blooms, I'll tell them about the pictures.
One topic that fascinates me is the issue of how life forms have evolved on exoplanets. I think that it is very likely that they originated in seas.
I'm not an expert in physics but the person who expounded Gravitational Field propulsion seemed well versed in it. It would be great if we now know the principle which can grant us access to the Universe.
Like is long thought to have originated in the seas but I also recall the clay hypothesis of Cairns Smith. Wherever life originated here it is likely to have arisen in the same environment elsewhere.
February 4, 2018
Correction: I meant "LIFE is long thought to have originated in the seas..."
February 5, 2018
If that type of propulsion can be understood and utilized, it would open up great opportunities for exploration. I agree; Life on other planets most likely originated in seas. I have heard about the hypothesis that on some planets it could have arisen in seas composed of liquids other than water. Intelligent life forms are probably bipedal in most cases. Some might have reptiloid forms, i.e. having a resemblance to theropod dinosaurs.
I don't maintain life arose in seas. It could have originated in clay, as Cairns Smith proposed.
I agree that intelligent lifeforms are most likely bipedal. (In fact the bulk of reported UFO entities are humanoid or basically manlike.) You alluded to Russell's "Dinosauroid," his speculations on how Troodon might've evolved into an intelligent being. I don't think most scientists concurred.
February 5, 2018
I'm not absolutely sure that Troodon would have become an intelligent being. However, some intelligent creatures superficially resembling Troodon might exist elsewhere in this universe. Nature often has exceptions to rules, so life could conceivably originate in soil somewhere in the universe. It might be very difficult for humans to learn the languages of some of the extraterrestrial intelligent life forms. There are some sounds that humans cannot reproduce with their vocal cords. If an ET life form spoke an language with sounds that humans cannot make, there would be a problem. However, humans could design a machine that could make those sounds and use it to verbally communicate. Of course, some ETs might not be able to speak some sounds made by humans. It would be interesting to see what types of scripts that ETs use for writing.
Advanced ETs may no longer use verbal communication or writing but telepathy. In some UFO cases, witnesses reported aliens speaking in some strange language, others reported telepathy or communication in English or other Earthly language.
As for the dinosauroid, some people have claimed to have seen “reptoid” ETs. I suspect, though, that such beings, like insect-like entities, are not naturally evolved but artificial creations.
February 6, 2018
I can see how some ETs would know English. Monitoring and recording TV and radio broadcasts of humans would result in plenty of data gained on the language. They could use advanced equipment and techniques to decipher it. It seems likely that some ETs are already trained in English and probably some other languages of Earth. As you said, it's likely that some ETs use mental telepathy.
The allegedly reptiloid ETs seem more plausible than the supposedly insect-like ones. As we've discussed, it seems that the vast majority of intelligent ETs are humanoid.
For advanced ETs, mastering earthly communication would be no problem. I have doubts about even reptoid ETs since no reptile here has come close to developing high intelligence. Only endotherms have, although octopi are also pretty bright.
Btw I've received requests for donations to help pollinators but I think by planting sunflowers (and avoiding use of poisons) I'm already doing my part.
February 6, 2018
Intelligent ETs would have an extensive knowledge of mathematics. That is a prerequisite for developing civilizations. They would have different symbols to denote numbers and functions, but the calculation processes would be very much like ours. I agree; you are definitely doing your part in helping pollinators by planting sunflowers.
Last summer I noticed, on a dentist’s property, a large number of helianthus blooms. They weren’t as tall as some of mine but very prolific and pretty. Have you noticed similar sights where you are?
February 7, 2018
I've seen a few of them here in Arkansas. It probably won't be long before jonquils start blooming. They are the first flowers that bloom in Arkansas.
Here the first bloomers are crocuses. Forsythia blooms not long after (producing bright yellow flowers) then tulips etc. I'm not sure if I'm familiar with jonquils. What do they look like?
February 7, 2018
By the way, Neal, I just aded a new pic of sunflowers, above. Notice that not all helianthus are yellow. I like to include flaming red varieties. Have you heard of Velvet Queen?
February 7, 2018
I've heard of it. From what I've been told, it is a popular flower to grow.
I’ve grown the Velvet Queen variety of helianthus for several years. The flowers are enthralling. :)
By the way, we just got a lot of freezing rain. Good thing there wasn’t an outage.
February 8, 2018
We had some freezing rain in Arkansas a couple of days ago. Several people in my area have greenhouses. There has not been an outage here, either. We had one during the later summer of last year.
Skies have finally cleared here. I just saw the waning moon above Mars. With Jupiter nearby, it was a beautiful predawn scene.
February 9, 2018
That is great; I would like to have seen that. You have an excellent telescope. Maybe I can order a telescope on Amazon.com.
I didn’t need a telescope to see Mars and Jupiter, but for extra clarity I had 70mm binoculars. Telescopes tend to be pretty expensive, especially the bigger ones.
February 10, 2018
You're right; telescopes can cost a substantial amount of money. I'll have to save money for a while if I expect to get one. I have decided to put some astronomy posts on my FB pages soon.
It may not be worthwhile to get a telescope unless you plan to use it fairly often. With all your other interests you may not have time. You may be better off just getting information from the internet.
Btw Mars passes above Antares today but cloudy, rainy weather prevents me from seeing it....
February 11, 2018
That's a good point that you mentioned. My main focus now is on paleontology. I have to prepare for that upcoming fossil dig that my friends and I are planning. I wish that you could have had clear weather for viewing Mars passing above Anatares.
So you and friends are planning a fossil dig--where? In your state, the Hell Creek of MT or?
Missing Mars passing above Antares was no great issue since the conjunction wasn't even close, and there are better upcoming events.
Btw could you reply to this in the ankylosaurus thread--assuming it's mostly about paleontology? That may be more appropriate.
February 12, 2018
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