h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A Mulberry tree in my garden in fact I have two maybe more ,the birds like to eat the fruit and thank's to reading the above after posting this I am going out to find out what they taste like

Perhaps you should see if you have any Silk moths

Thanks for reading

Websailor

I enjoy reading your posts thank you for postingI will try to find a pic of a silk moth to see what's about , we have lots of flutterbys around and other insects too, many metallic coloured ones and I know I can find lizards if I just go out and look, many with no tails too.Near my other house /houses in Japan their is a large orchard? of mulberry bushes grown for food for silk worms but never figured out who they belonged to, not sure if you knew but I have lived most of my life involved in craft and we have some fantastic programs on tv called "Little Kyoto" about Mingei or Craft , one was about the silk worm industry?they are usually kept in the loft so interesting .

If you don't mind I would like to put you on my friends list

Today is horribly humid it's all i can do to post here

Please do put me on your Friends list.

It is humid with a cold wind which doesn't sound possible but it is draining here too.

That's very interesting about the mulberry trees etc..

Websailor

Hello Websailor and Arnoldgreymoonraker! Here in South Africa lots of people have mulberry trees in their gardens. In fact our neighbours have a large one hanging over into our garden! We used to have one too. Mulberries are very tasty! I also raised silk-moths for a while when I was a kid - it's quite popular over here. The young daughter of a friend of ours also tried a while ago ... she had eggs but they never hatched! Pity ... it's a fun thing watching the little cattypillars munch away and grow up and finally make their little cocoons!

Oh, that's lovely Willem,

You would be surprised how many people have no knowledge of this at all, which is why I did the article. There is so much in Nature that we rely on and take for granted, and it is so interesting.

If I wasn't trying to breed mealworms I think I might be tempted to have a go with silkworms, it is so fascinating.

Websailor

Hi to you two too Just found this thread and what a nice surprise ,it was hiding down lower

I don't think I've seen any silk moths yet,the only white ones I've seen were quite small old half penny size or our 10 yen coin,and I did have a look for cocoons on the trees but nothing there either I will keep checking in the future. my wife likes trees and would plant them all over our land ,I am beginning to enjoy them too , the one and only apple we had/picked last year tasted really nice , I hate shop apples and this year we have lots of apples on the tree,

I think my garden looked very nice in the spring time when all the trees were in flower and the irises were too, just didn't have the cameras then ,I enjoy working with bamboo and cherry wood, all my pottery tools were hand made from them, the cherry was from a good size branch we removed to build the two story gallery workshop at the front of the other house, I had a nice woods man(well he had a mountain side covered in wood that he was slowly cutting drying etc) slice it for me ,he also delivered 4 ton truck loads of pine offcuts I used in my first wood fired kiln I built in Japan and the frame wood for my second workshop here and I have a piece of bamboo in my workshop now just in case I want to make something, one piece is hanging in the carport with onions (from Obachans garden)hanging from it, most people do that here ,

You sound as if you have a fascinating life, very different than anything you would have in the UK.

Like your wife I like trees and I have managed to cram one or two in to our tiny garden. Have a read at this A9177302 and you will see what I mean. Don't be put off by the first paragraph, it isn't mushy!!

I shall look forward to more photos when you have fathomed your zoom. Husband is home so I must go and make it at least look as if I am working

Back later.

Websailor

Thank's for that link It's a nice read I made a large table a few years ago for the outside of a temple , they bought a lot of my work,in the centre of the table were 12 hand made ceramic tiles (not my work) I fixed them to a piece of ply wood surrounded by 50 mill angle iron then, I put white oak slices around that with the outer edge left natural side of the tree just the bark removed, they were about 30 cent wide and 50 mill thick , then i bent 25 mill solid bar around the outside about an 1' away to follow the same line as the wood, it had 50 mill metal legs , they had to bring a truck with a small crane on it to take it away, they were so pleased they asked me to make 4 benches for it which i did using white oak slices for the seat parts each one different.

I like working with green bamboo it's easy to cut and is so useful to use but Cherry is my favourite wood to work with for the feeling and colour.

Yes I think I have been lucky with the way my life has turned out, even if it felt strange at times somehow it has worked for me , I have managed to achieve 3 ambitions which is I think something I can be proud of

One of the nicest things that I found as a compliment is when people are so happy with something I've made for them that they come back for more , that is a pure shot in the arm

My other half does woodwork for restoration purposes, and my Dad used to make cabinets and things. I love the feel of wood, and something that someone has made with their own hands has something special about it which is hard to define.

I am playing truant from housework so I suppose I had better go to it before I get the Red Card

Websailor