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

We went for a guided walk in the woods this afternoon. It was a beautiful September afternoon and we met up with the group at half past one. The guide took us around the Roman and Celtic remains scattered between the trees and interspersed the walking with a mini-wine-tasting (bring your own glass )

Although the event lasted 3 1/2 hours, we only walked about 3-4 km and stopped at many interesting sights - plants (imported and indigenous), funghi, the Celtic burial mounds, and the Roman road that went through the area. We talked about the way the Celts made their own wine at first, then the Romans introduced superior wine and wine-making technologies, having decided that it was quite a bother to bring their own wine all the way over the Alps. The Celts who had loads of forests and were good at coopering (?) provided the barrels..

We also heard that the Romans were pretty scared of the forests, as they didn't have many down their end of Italy - partly because of the climate, partly because they had all been chopped down for shipbuilding and burning.

But today there was nothing scary as the sun shone through the leaves (this area of woodland has quite a high proportion of deciduous trees) and the flowers and butterflies made it all quite idyllic.

What a lovely thing to have done. glad the weather held for you.

So, the Romans drove the Celts to drink more?

I doubt that, because remember that in those days, water was not an option if you wanted to survive any amount of time. The Celts had wine, if not so good as the Romans, but, as far as I know, they also had beer.

The graves which we passed dated back as far as 1600 BC, not sure what they drunk then. Mead, I suppose.

One of my favourite things is to be in woods with the sun dappling through the leaves. It sounds lovely.

Deb

Sounds lovely indeed - I like walking under trees and seeing dappled sunlight through leaves, too

I like 'dappling'


‘Dapple’ as a verb is one of those words first recorded in Shakespeare:

“Look, the gentle day, Before the wheels of Phoebus, round about
Dapples the drowsy east with spots of gray.” (Much Ado About Nothing)


‘Dappled’ as an adjective is older. Interestingly, the French equivalent is ‘pommelé’.

There's a huge oak sixty or seventy feet away, but its branches stretch over most of my yard, making for some interesting dappling effects. Oak leaves are best fertilizer and mulch for most of the woodland plants growing in my yard. Asters and shade-loving sunflowers are in full bloom right now, with dozens of bumblebees toiling around the clock.

‘Dappled’ as an adjective is older. Interestingly, the French equivalent is ‘pommelé’.

You mean it really is d'appled?

The dictionary certainly implies a connection.

Really?

Well, there'an apple dapple cake, but I figured that was a case of being clever by using two words that rhyme....
http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/apple-dapple-cake-30514