You may know that its outer 'skin' is so hard and durable that pollen can survive even millions of years. Thus it can be used to date geological and archaeological finds, giving insight, for example, into the processes of climate change.

How then can an insect such as our Long Hoverfly eating pollen access the nutrients inside such a grain?

Well, the pollen grain is 'tricked' - as Christopher Hassall says. When pollen lands on a flower's stigma, the sticky, sweet surface signals it to open a germination pore in that hard outer covering. Through it a pollen tube grows down the style to the ovary to fertilise an ovule which if all goes well will become a seed.

Now, grains of pollen ingested by our Hoverfly into its mid-gut land in a similar environment with nectar and enzymes. They're induced to open a germination pore which gives those enzymes extraction access to pollen's nutrients, thus nourishing our insect and allowing it further life and more pollination work. The empty pollen grains are then normally evacuated.

The photo shows a Hoverfly licking a purple stamen of Field Bindweed for its white pollen. In the middle is the flower's stigma and pistil.

The Hortus now in late Autumn hasn't many flowering plants, but among these is this Cat's Tail. That common English name is applied specifically to Hebenstretia dura, but is suited, too, for our 'dentata', toothed, Hebenstretia. For a detailed photo of a single flower: www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/42882117720/in/photoli....

When a bit of sunlight warmed the flowers up yesterday, our Hebenstretia was soon visited by lots of Hoverflies still out in the chilly weather. Marmalade Hoverfly is one of my favorites. It goes by quite a few common names among them in Dutch the 'snor' (mustache) and the 'pyjama' Hoverfly. The 'mustaches' are evident from the beastie's markings; and the 'pyjama' reminds me of my own PJs as a young boy except that they were blue. The Latin 'balteatus', of course, means something like 'belted', and that's good descriptively as well. And its color is truly that of marmalade.

It was once thought that Hoverflies have very strong jaws able to grind down those hard pollen grains into suitable proteins. Since then it has been found that their process of digestion doesn't include grinding. Rather, Hoverfly produces enzymes which seep into the pollen grains through their pores. They dissolve what foodstuffs are needed which are then drawn out. The now empty shells are then evacuated. So no teeth or molars are required. Just an intricate biochemical process.

These Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) flowers dotted up through the leaf litter at the Springfield Nature Center. They look so bright against all the fall leaves.

The large fleshy root emits a red sap that was used as a dye. The plant was used by Native Americans to treat hemorrhages, rheumatism, fevers, poor digestion, colds, and coughs. Today it is used as a plaque-inhibiting agent in toothpaste and moughwashes.

a favorite of cats wanting something to chew for digestion..it also has other benefits to cat health . This grass also prevents erosion where it grows.

El laurel (laurel nobilis) es un árbol de la familia de las lauráceas,originario del área mediterránea, donde crece silvestre en muchos lugares.

Es una planta de crecimiento lento que suele mantenerse como arbusto por medio de la poda, aunque con los años, si se le deja crecer puede convertirse en un árbol que puede llegar a medir hasta 15 metros de altura.

Aparte de su follaje verde oscuro, perenne y atractivo, sus hojas y flores son muy aromáticas. Por este motivo, las hojas de laurel son usadas como condimento en la gastronomía europea (particularmente en la cocina mediterranea), así como en Norteamérica y Centroamérica.

No se da bien en climas muy fríos pues peligra con las heladas y prefiere la media sombra.

Resulta una planta muy beneficiosa para el aparato digestivo, ya que lo estimula aumentando las secreciones y ayudando a los movimientos peristálticos, lo que facilita la digestión.

Es bueno en dietas de adelgazamiento ya que favorece la eliminación de líquido, y además ayuda a combatir la ansiedad y el estrés, ya que es una planta relajante.

The largest rodents in the world, capybaras are found throughout most of South America. They can grow to over 4' in length. They are highly social and are usually found in groups of between 10-20 individuals.

The word Capybara comes from the Guarani word, meaning 'master of the grasses'. They tend to live in swampy savannas and flooded forests. Having partially webbed feet they are excellent swimmers and are even able even sleep under the water with their noses peaking out. As well as feeding on grasses and aquatic plants they will also eat fruit and bark, and to aid digestion, even their own 'poo'.

They are not endangered, but in recent times have suffered from habitat loss through farming and forest clearence. They are also hunted by for their meat, as well as their skin which is highly valued as leather.

They are also a leopard's favourite treat! To avoid predation, their eyes are high up on their heads.This enables them to conveniently slip beneath the water almost undetected.

Many thanks for your welcome comments, which are much appreciated.

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (M)

A Schedule 1 Bird.

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (M)

A Schedule 1 Bird.

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

After a rather large lunchtime feast (the traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings plus apple pie for dessert) it was critical to get out an go for a walk later in the afternoon to aid with digestion.

Danielle and I took a jaunt through the woods near our place (these are the same woods I return to time & again) and as we reached Taylor Creek, I looked up. I'm ever so thankful I did.

Centaurea es un género de plantas herbáceas de la familia Asteraceae.

USOS:

Sus usos incluyen la preparación de infusiones y decocciones para tratar heridas, inflamaciones cutáneas y problemas digestivos como falta de apetito y digestiones lentas.

Además, se le atribuyen propiedades diuréticas, antipiréticas y estimulantes de las secreciones digestivas.

FUERZA Y SIEMPRE ADELANTE.

FELIZ NOCHE.

💪💪💪💪🌟☀️✨✨💦🗻️💖💖💖🌷🌷🌷

Photographed in Madagascar - Walking, no cover

Click on the image or press the L key to view at larger size

Photographing lemurs in Madagascar was amazing since they're such interesting and photogenic animals. Moving up and over hills through the thick foliage of the rain forest during the first part of our trip was exhausting but photographing this particular species was much easier because they lived and foraged very close to our lodging. As you can probably tell from this photo, lemurs are very curious primates...this one particularly so.

I previously posted an image of this particular animal...but I cropped this image to get a closer look at those amazing eyes!

=======================

From Wikipedia: Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) is a diurnal, medium-sized lemur of the sifaka genus Propithecus. It is native to Madagascar. Coquerel's sifaka was once considered to be a subspecies of Verreaux's sifaka, but was eventually granted full species level.

Description:

Its dorsal pelage and tail are white, with maroon patches on the chest and portions of the limbs. The coat is generally dense. Its face is bare and black except for a distinctive patch of white fur along the bridge of the nose. Its naked ears are also black, and its eyes are yellow or orange. The bottom of the lemur's hands and feet are black, while the thighs, arms, and chest are a chocolate brown. Like all lemurs, Coquerel’s sifaka has a toothcomb, used for grooming and sometimes scraping fruit off a pit.

Diet:

Coquerel's sifaka's herbivorous diet varies by season. In the wet season, it eats immature leaves, flowers, fruit, bark, and dead wood. In the dry season, it eats mature leaves and buds. It may browse nearly 100 plant species, but the majority of its feeding time is concentrated on about 10% of these. Since it has a very fibrous diet, Coquerel's sifaka has an enlarged cecum and extremely long colon that helps facilitate digestion. These lemurs spend 30-40% of their day foraging, especially in the morning, midday, and evening. Females often take leadership roles during foraging and exert their dominance by eating the preferred food or denying the males food until they are satisfied. These lemurs are beneficial to the environment because they aid seed dispersion. Captive Coquerel’s sifkas eat shining leaf sumac and mimosa.

Social structure:

Coquerel’s sifakas spend the majority of their time in areas of just 2-3 ha. However, they can live in areas with 4-8 ha. Though their home range may overlap with other groups of sifakas, they avoid each other to avoid aggression.[14] When friendly Coquerel's sifakas meet, they greet by rubbing their noses together.

Matriarchy is rare in the animal kingdom as a whole, but common among lemurs. A matriarchal system is particularly pronounced in Coquerel's sifaka. All adult and even most subadult females are dominant over males.[12]

Females have preferential access to food and other resources. When a female is browsing an area or tree, a male waits for her to finish before he moves there to feed. If he gets in the way of the female, she may lunge, smack, or bite him. The male then exhibits submissive behavior by rolling his tail between his legs, chattering softly, and baring his teeth in a grimace before quickly leaping out of her way.

When mating, Coquerel's sifaka commonly practices polyandry. A female may choose to mate with only one male, but most often she mates with several, from other visiting groups, as well as from her own. Males compete for access to sexually receptive females. However, the winner of a fight will not necessarily be the one she selects for breeding. The criteria by which she chooses a mate are evidently more complex.

In some other animals, polyandrous mating is thought to raise the chances of successful fertilization, but this does not appear to be the case in Coquerel's sifaka. Instead, polyandry is thought to be advantageous because when paternity is confused, the likelihood of male infanticide decreases.

Locomotion:

In the trees, Coquerel's sifaka moves by vertical clinging and leaping. It maintains an upright posture when at rest or when propelling itself between branches or trunks. This style of arboreal locomotion is characteristic of most, if not all, lemurs. This particular lemur can leap from tree to tree up to 35 feet. It has the extraordinary ability to leap to spiny trees and precisely place its hands and feet so that it will not hurt itself.

Occasionally, Coquerel's sifaka descends to the ground to cross open spaces. Its terrestrial locomotion is unique to its species. Like Verreaux's sifaka, it moves in a series of bipedal hops with its arms thrown out to the sides for balance. However, whereas Verreaux's sifaka bounds sideways and crosses its legs one in front of the other, the Coquerel's sifaka bounds forward, like a kangaroo. It leans in the direction of its jump to achieve forward momentum.

A study at Duke University’s Primate Center examined feeding behaviors of captive sifakas to determine their handedness. Given chopped fruits and vegetables, adult male and female sifakas showed a predominant preference for left-handedness, while younger sifakas alternated hands to grab food. Coquerel’s sifakas gain dexterity and hand preference with age, diverging only slightly by gender.

4F3A7163-3_

A morning stroll along the shore of Lake Ontario at Cranberry Marsh. Not a lot of activity, but if you were observant, there were things to see.

A basking Red-eared Slider on a log; it was fairly large, the shell almost 30 cm long.

Although it looks like it is resting, laying out in the sun is serious business for a turtle; regulating body temperature and digestion and absorbing UV radiation for shell health.

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (F)

A Schedule 1 Bird.

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset and Alkborough Flats, lincolnshire.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

Shot on iPhone 13 Pro.

We went for a drive around the Grampians that included an amazing restaurant for lunch and a stroll to a waterfall to help the digestion :-)

Moving on to six-legged wildlife for the next few days, let's start with the Yellow Dung Fly. I first noticed this species on a forest trail in BC, where two of them were mating atop a pile of bear poop. Gross, by human standards; sweet, if you're a dung fly. I guess.

We have them here on the northern prairie, too. One morning I spotted this fly bubbling alongside a trail. I happened to be carrying my tripod and macro lens, and this allowed me to set up quickly for a shot.

It seems the scientific community is not yet in agreement as to what is going on here. Many fly species regurgitate liquid spit bubbles, just like this. It may be part of the digestion process, or it may be a means of cooling off. Perhaps both.

Our perception of insects is quite variable and often personal. A friend of mine recoiled in horror when I showed him some ultra-close shots of insects that I thought were quite beautiful. Butterflies, on the other hand, are universally accepted as pretty. Dragonflies and damselflies can be positively jewel-like, as can many species of beetle. Eye of the beholder and all that. For me, dung flies fall into the category of "mildly hideous" - a step up from "hideous" - because who doesn't look cute blowing bubbles?

Tomorrow: a truly beautiful fly!

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Giant anteaters prey almost exclusively on social insects (i.e. ants and termites). Such dietary focus significantly shapes the physical form and behavior of the species. Giant anteaters do not have teeth; instead, they have tongues can reach as much as 610 mm (2 ft.) in length! As long as the tongue is, it is relatively narrow over the entirety of its length, with its widest point being only 10 to 15 mm (0.4 to 0.6 in.). They use this giant tongue to gather insects for food, extending it up to 150 times per minute.

Their tongues are covered with tiny spines which point toward the back of the throat. Additionally, their tongue is coated with a thick, sticky coat of saliva (which is secreted from relatively enlarged salivary glands). Prior to swallowing, the insect-coated tongue is firmly pressed against the anteater's hard upper palate – crushing their meal and easing ingestion.

The stomachs of anteaters do not secrete hydrochloric acid. Instead, they depend on the formic acid content of their ant-dominated diet to aid in digestion.

They can eat up to 30,000 insects a day.

Despite their coarse fur and thickened skin (particularly about the muzzle), giant anteaters may still be agitated by the large-jawed soldier castes of the ant and termite species upon which they feed. Accordingly, they avoid soldiers both actively and tactically. The anteater's typical feeding profile could be described as a lightening strike - quick feeding action over a short period. Such a clipped feeding incursion generally outpaces a given insect colony's ability to rapidly mount a defense; thus tactically avoiding the aggravation of soldier castes.

Giant anteaters tend to pursue the larger bodied social insects, while tamanduas and silky anteaters tend to prey on smaller insect fare. Such dietary segmentation allows for different anteater species to co-exist in the same region without being in direct predatory competition.

Giant anteaters are terrestrial. Unlike other anteater species, adult giant anteaters only rarely climb trees. Instead, its powerful forearms and prominent claws are used primarily for digging and ripping in the search for food.

While the giant anteater has five digits on each foot, their first digit is reduced and the second and third digits exhibit the long claws.

Anteaters are able to detect insects with their powerful sense of smell, 40 times that of man. If threatened, the typically non-vocal giant anteater may make a bellowing noise. Additionally, they will often rear up on their hind quarters and swipe with their (up to) 10 cm (4 in.) long foreclaws.

Anteaters do not walk on the soles of their forefeet. Rather, they flex the digits upward and turn the forefeet inward, such that the large foreclaws do not come in contact with the ground. Anteaters sleep as much as 15 hours each day.

As an outcome of their diet and lifestyle, anteaters have relatively low metabolic rates. As a stark example, the giant anteater has the lowest recorded body temperature of any placental mammal – 32.7° C (90.9°F).

When observed in regions without a significant human presence, giant eaters are diurnally active. However, giant anteaters appear to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle when living in more disturbed areas subject to human activity.

Giant anteaters, save for mother/young pairs, are generally solitary. Usually only one baby is born at a time. It nurses for 6 months and is carried on the mother's back for up to a year.

Sony ILCE-1 + FE 600mm F4 GM OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter

_DSC8732

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (M)

A Schedule 1 Bird.

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (F)

A Schedule 1 Bird.

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

Explored July 21, 2020.

Probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen on the macro scale. I was set up with my macro lens and Raynox DCR-250 in my greenhouse, focused on a chili pepper flower that seemed to be preferred by hoverflies, when a different species of fly landed on a petal. As I watched, it blew huge bubbles of crystal clear liquid out of its mouth, held it for a few seconds before reabsorbing it - simultaneously it ejected fluid from its back end! Then it blew another bubble and the process repeated itself several times. The fly held the bubble long enough to allow a 12-shot focus stack - the detail inside the clear bubble is good enough to show other plants in the greenhouse and even details of the fence outside.

This behaviour has a variety of explanations, one being that it is associated in some way with digestion, which may account for the ejection of fluid out of the end of the fly. But the explanation that seems to be the best concerns thermoregulation - water evaporating from the surface of the bubble has a cooling effect, much like the effect of sweat on our skin. When the fly reabsorbs the bubble it helps to cool the fly down, likely a useful behaviour inside a warm greenhouse.

Oddly enough, having never seen this before, I noticed it again a few days later. This time the fly was resting on the glass outside the conservatory, blowing/reabsorbing bubbles on a cool day! At least my husband got the chance to observe the bubble blowing for himself.

One of the parents offering a feather to one of it's little humbugs. The feathers are said to aid the digestion of fish bones.

A young Red-necked Grebe eagerly ingests a feather on its own. I also observed a young take a feather given to it by an adult that had been preening. Grebes as a family are well-known for this phenomenon. It is thought that the feathers serve to pad the stomach to protect it from sharp fish bones, and slow digestion to allow the bones to dissolve and not pass into the intestine where they could cause injury. Most of the feathers taken by grebes are small, downy, contour feathers, not larger feathers with hard quills. This behaviour was witnessed near Airdrie in southern Alberta, Canada.

Por favor, no utilice esta imagen en sitios web, blogs u otros medios, sin mi permiso explícito. © Todos los derechos reservados

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

El horno más antiguo para cocer el pan se encontró en el año 4.000 a.d.C en Babilonia.

En el Antiguo Egipto existían hasta 15 palabras para definir distintas variedades de pan.

El pan integral y el pan blanco poseen las mismas calorías, la diferencia entre ellos es la fibra que posee el pan integral que además de ayudarnos con la digestión, nos sacia más.

A la cerveza se le llamo en sus orígenes “pan líquido”, porque se elaboraba a partir de un pan de cebada fermentado con agua.

El “pan más caro del mundo”, con oro comestible, se hace en la Serranía de Ronda (Málaga, España). El precio de una pieza es de 117 euros.

Fuente: mundopan.es/10-curiosidades-del-pan-que-te-sorprenderan-f...

Sitting in the train arriving in Tokyo while supposed to delivery pizza, i might have eat one, or two, after all i had to wait during the travel! What a shame, they should had though about mine first!

Maze soft thights are kinda funny, i don't wear it often but i have to say that one i like it a lot! Thanks to FACS!

Get it @ FACS

View it in my blog

Great Crested Grebe taking in feathers to aid digestion

Bohemian Waxwing / bombycilla garrulus. Hassop, Derbyshire. 17/01/24.

'A TIMELY REST BEFORE A DRINK.'

Here is one of the very confiding Hassop Waxwings that I photographed in gorgeous winter sunshine. An added bonus, no distracting background twiggery or clutter!

This Waxwing perched on a thin Hawthorn branch overhanging a field margin that was full of puddles. These constantly attracted individual birds or small groups, from the sizeable flock feeding nearby.

I'd love to know if the haws made the birds especially thirsty, or if a regular intake of water simply aided their digestion. Either way, the puddles acted like powerful magnets, drawing down the birds and this made for some very interesting viewing.

BEST VIEWED LARGE.

Bearded Reedling - Panurus Biarmicus

aka Bearded Tit. (F)

This species is a wetland specialist, breeding colonially in large reed beds by lakes or swamps. It eats reed aphids in summer, and reed seeds in winter, its digestive system changing to cope with the very different seasonal diets.

Often having to take grit in order to help digestion.

The bearded reedling is a species of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate other than eruptive or cold weather movements. It is vulnerable to hard winters, which may kill many birds. The English population of about 500 pairs is largely confined to the south and east with a small population in Leighton Moss in north Lancashire. In Ireland a handful of pairs breed in County Wexford. The largest single population in Great Britain is to be found in the reedbeds at the mouth of the River Tay in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where there may be in excess of 250 pairs.

Other Breeding areas include Norfolk and Somerset and Alkborough Flats, lincolnshire.

Population:

UK breeding:

630 pairs

Europe:

232 - 437,000 birds

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT AND FAVES

ON THE REACTIONS I WILL TRY TO RESPOND BACK

Meidoorn wordt al sinds de 16e eeuw gebruikt om de bloedsomloop te stimuleren. Deze werking komt onder meer door de inhoudsstof rutine, deze stof is bekend om z'n vermogen om blauwe plekken te voorkomen.

Bovendien helpt meidoornthee om de cholesterol te verlagen.

In de Traditionele Chinese geneeskunde (TCG) wordt Crataegus pinnatifida, een soort meidoorn, al duizenden jaren gebruikt. Shan Zha is de pinyin-naam. Het valt in de TCG onder de kruiden die spijsverteringsproblemen oplossen, met name bij problemen met de vertering van eiwitten en vetten.

Ook bij diarree of dysenterie wordt het gebruikt.

In de Chinese geneeskunde wordt het ook gezien als een kruid dat de stagnering van bloed kan verhelpen en cholesterol en een hoge bloeddruk kan verlagen.

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Hawthorn has been used since the 16th century to stimulate blood circulation. This effect is partly due to the substance rutin, this substance is known for its ability to prevent bruising.

Moreover, hawthorn tea helps to lower cholesterol.

Crataegus pinnatifida, a type of hawthorn, has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCG). Shan Zha is the pinyin name. In the TCG it is among the herbs that solve digestive problems, in particular with problems with the digestion of proteins and fats.

It is also used for diarrhea or dysentery.

In Chinese medicine it is also seen as an herb that can remedy blood stagnation and lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Snow partridge is found in the Himalayas from Pakistan to Arunachal Pradesh along the higher ranges, mainly 3000 to 5000 m (rarely below 2000 m) altitude. It is found above the tree line but not on as bare and stony terrain as the snowcocks.Although said to be found in Afghanistan, there is no evidence. The species is found over a large area is generally considered to be of low conservation concern. It is hunted to some extent, due to its habit of being more approachable than snowcock and has declined in population in some areas.

The usual habitat is alpine pastures, open grassy hillsides with grass, lichens, moss, ferns and rhododendrons. Is found among small snow-patches but not in as stony or bare ground as the snowcock. The birds however are very local in their distribution.

The snow partridge is found is small groups, usually about 6 to 8 but up to 30 during the non-breeding season. When flushed, they usually fly up before scattering away with noisy wing beats. The flight is rapid and stirring. It has a habit of sunning itself on rocks during the midday.The call in the breeding season is said to resemble that of the grey francolin of the plains. It has been compared in habit to that of the ptarmigan. It is said to feed on mosses, lichens, berries, and the shoots of plants. It also swallows grit to aid digestion.

The breeding season is May to July. The males are believed to be monogynous. The nest is a scrape on a hill-side under some sheltering rock, either scratched out by themselves or already available, and usually hidden with vegetation. The nest is sometimes lined with moss but well concealed although given away by the male. About 3 to 5 eggs, pale yellow in color and slightly glossy with reddish-brown markings on the rounded end, are laid, and the female incubates while the male stands sentinel. Parent birds may use distraction displays to draw the attention of predators. They call in a comparatively softer lower note to the young, which respond with chicken-like cheep calls.

Apart from Chelopistes lervicola described as an ectoparasite of this species, an Argasid tick Argas himalayensis has been noted

We've never seen Bohemian Waxwings in our area before so even though they were far too distant for a good photo, I had to grab a shot to at least confirm their ID. Sure enough, they were the Bohemians and the large flock of them, also called an "earful" or "museum," fit the habitat description for these birds of being near water and a berry food source. They are one of the few birds that can survive for longer periods on a diet of only fruits and because of the high sugar content, need a source of water to aid with digestion. The number of red tips on the secondary wing feathers are a sign of maturity and it seems that mating pairs choose each other based on their "age groups." You can learn more about them here: youtu.be/Uug6Tuc24FE?si=w2rbMPZfRjqEZaow

This image is heavily cropped and any editing to bring out remaining detail made them look a bit too digitized for my liking. However, with my generous application of sliders, I'm hoping I can get away with it for Sliders Sunday. Happy Sliders Sunday!

a man, his car, his chair and his dog

Davanti all'obiettivo io sono contemporaneamente: quello che credo di essere, quello che vorrei si creda io sia, quello che il fotografo crede io sia e quello di cui egli si serve per far mostra della sua arte.

(Roland Barthes)

Grèbe huppé juvénile (Podiceps cristatus)

Taille approximative : 61 cm - Poids : 750 à 1200 g

Merci à tous pour vos visites, favoris et commentaires.

Bonne journée.

Thanks you all for your visits, faves and comments.

Have a good day.

Apparently bee pollen offers a range of potential health benefits due to its rich nutritional profile, including boosting the immune system, aiding digestion, and providing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is also known to enhance energy levels, potentially help with weight management. As for the taste many people find bee pollen to be pleasantly sweet, similar to honey.

I just bought a sachet of it to phorograph but I will try it later.

Sei ancora quello della pietra e della fionda,

uomo del mio tempo. Eri nella carlinga,

con le ali maligne, le meridiane di morte,

t'ho visto dentro al carro di fuoco, alle forche,

alle ruote di tortura. T'ho visto : eri tu, con la tua scienza esatta persuasa allo sterminio,

senza amore, senza Cristo. Hai ucciso ancora,

come sempre, come uccisero i padri, come uccisero

gli animali che ti videro per la prima volta.

E questo sangue odora come nel giorno

quando il fratello disse all'altro fratello :

"Andiamo ai campi". E quell'eco fredda tenace,

è giunta fino a te, dentro la tua giornata.

Dimenticate, o figli, le nuvole di sangue.

Salite dalla terra, dimenticate i padri, le loro tombe affondano nella cenere, gli uccelli neri, il vento, coprono il loro cuore

Salvatore Quasimodo, Uomo del mio tempo

Il poeta aveva vissuto l'orrore della guerra.

Io, la mia generazione, no. Siamo stati privilegiati.

Che cosa abbiamo sbagliato?

Credo ci siamo riempiti la bocca di troppe, facili, parole ; ma alla fine abbiamo creato una società egoista, stupida, basata sul consumismo, sul piacere personale. Abbiamo chiuso gli occhi di fronte alla povertà, al dolore del mondo, chiusi nel nostro piccolo, fortunato mondo.

Ora ci troviamo di fronte a uno scenario di guerra : spira un vento di violenza che rifiuta il dialogo, la pace e vede nel profitto e in scontri armati l'unica soluzione. Non serve l'esempio della storia passata, non serve vedere il sangue di tanti innocenti, sembra siamo diventati indifferenti, insensibili, chiusi in una pazzia che non può che portare a una catastrofe, dato che esistono le armi atomiche e si parla di armarsi sempre di più.

Forse non occorre essere eroi, andare direttamente ad aiutare o testimoniare nei luoghi di conflitto ( come fanno alcuni, che sono persone speciali ).

Basterebbe essere umani, più accoglienti, meno razzisti. E interessarci un po' di più a quello che accade senza chiudere gli occhi, smettendo di sostenere Stati assassini, o liberare torturatori, stupratori e omicidi, come sta succede con il caso Almasri. Anche se non ci conviene .

Perché in fondo i lager libici, che esistono ormai da anni ( e anche i centri di detenzione italiani ) ci fanno comodo e dei bambini Palestinesi che muoiono in fondo a molti non importa nulla. Basta non vedere immagini scioccanti in Tv, che turbano la nostra digestione.

Comunque ora soffrono loro, i poveri. Un pochino anche noi : il rincaro della vita, la mancanza di lavoro , la violenza che dilaga. Ma non illudiamoci che finisca qui.

Ho scritto di getto, triste, preoccupata. Ora rileggerò.

Il mare da Tellaro, Liguria

Controsole

Stay human

felip1969.wix.com/intangibles?fb_ref=Default

Taken on our after dinner walk. It's supposed to help with digestion, lower blood sugar and triglycerides, and other benefits. Plus we get to see a nice sunset on our inner coastal.

Better for the eyes and soul in the light box. Press L

Image 297 of 366 in 2016

How close this tiny fly came to becoming lunch! Big Mama didn't seem to notice this visitor and it flew safely away.

I noticed that in this moment captured, the fly appears to have a bubble of liquid near its mouth parts. (Enlarge for best details).

I've done some reading/research and there appears to be many reasons as to why flies (and other insects) do this. For example, perhaps the cleaning and flushing of mouth parts and playing a part in digestion.

Eriophora transmarina orbweaver, 15 mm body length

© All rights reserved.

some of these droplets are glue-like and others are for digestion.......

personally i'm glad i am not a fly

🇫🇷 Ils possèdent au total 18 dents (en général 10 en haut et 8 en bas6) à croissance continue, canines et prémolaires6, qui leur servent à mâcher des feuilles.

Leur métabolisme, deux fois inférieur à celui des autres mammifères, Leur température varie de 23 à 32 °C au cours de la journée

Le sol est, et de loin, le lieu de sa plus grande vulnérabilité, cette espèce ne descend pour faire ses besoins qu'une fois par semaine, et se libère alors de plus d'un tiers de son poids. Ce mode de vie assez remarquable est dû aux feuilles coriaces que le Bradypus variegatus mange, qui entraînent une digestion particulièrement lente.

🇬🇧

They have a total of 18 continuously growing teeth (usually 10 at the top and 8 at the bottom6), canines and premolars6, which they use to chew leaves.

Their metabolism is half that of other mammals, and their temperature varies between 23 and 32°C during the day.

The ground is by far the most vulnerable place for this species, which only goes down to relieve itself once a week, when it loses more than a third of its body weight. This rather remarkable lifestyle is due to the tough leaves that Bradypus variegatus eats, which result in particularly slow digestion.

🇪🇸 Tienen un total de 18 dientes en continuo crecimiento (normalmente 10 superiores y 8 inferiores6), caninos y premolares6, que utilizan para masticar hojas.

Su metabolismo es la mitad que el de otros mamíferos, y su temperatura varía entre 23 y 32 °C durante el día.

El suelo es, con diferencia, el lugar más vulnerable para esta especie, que sólo baja a hacer sus necesidades una vez a la semana, cuando pierde más de un tercio de su peso corporal. Este estilo de vida tan extraordinario se debe a las duras hojas que come el Bradypus variegatus, que provocan una digestión especialmente lenta.

🇩🇪 Sie haben insgesamt 18 ständig wachsende Zähne (in der Regel 10 oben und 8 unten6), Eckzähne und Prämolaren6 , mit denen sie Blätter kauen.

Ihr Stoffwechsel, der nur halb so groß ist wie der anderer Säugetiere, Ihre Temperatur schwankt im Laufe des Tages zwischen 23 und 32 °C.

Der Boden ist bei weitem der Ort ihrer größten Verletzlichkeit. Diese Art steigt nur einmal pro Woche zur Verrichtung ihrer Notdurft hinab und befreit sich dann von mehr als einem Drittel ihres Körpergewichts. Diese recht bemerkenswerte Lebensweise ist auf die ledrigen Blätter zurückzuführen, die Bradypus variegatus friÿsst und die zu einer besonders langsamen Verdauung führen.

🇮🇹 Hanno un totale di 18 denti a crescita continua (di solito 10 in alto e 8 in basso6), canini e premolari6, che usano per masticare le foglie.

Il loro metabolismo è la metà di quello degli altri mammiferi e la loro temperatura varia tra i 23 e i 32°C durante il giorno.

Il terreno è di gran lunga il luogo più vulnerabile per questa specie, che scende per liberarsi solo una volta alla settimana, quando perde più di un terzo del suo peso corporeo. Questo stile di vita piuttosto notevole è dovuto alle foglie dure di cui si nutre il Bradypus variegatus, che comportano una digestione particolarmente lenta.

Sloths are among the slowest-moving animals on Earth; they can swim but are virtually unable to walk. This makes them an easy target for jaguars, eagles and people that hunt sloths for their meat.

Brown-throated sloths have the ability to rotate their heads like owls. They can turn their heads up to 300 degrees due to their unique neck structure.Sloths evolved to expend very little energy because their diet does not provide them with a lot of calories and nutrition. Brown-throated sloths primarily eat tough, rubbery rainforest leaves. These leaves are also full of toxins (a form of protection for the rainforest trees). But sloths have developed a digestive system to handle these highly indigestible leaves. Their stomachs are multi-chambered, similar to a cow’s stomach, and house a mix of bacteria which helps to slowly break down the leaves. It takes two weeks for a sloth to digest one meal — the slowest digestion time of any mammal! and they only descend from the rainforest canopy to urinate and defecate once a week.

Sloths are specially adapted to live among the treetops. Their fur hangs upside down, running from their stomachs to their backs. This is because sloths themselves usually hang upside down. The orientation of their fur helps the rain water flow away from their body. But sloths take the risk to climb down to the ground because of a symbiotic relationship they have with the flora living in their fur. Sloth fur is rife with macro- and microorganisms like algae, fungi and moths. While these organisms benefit from having a sheltered place to live among the long coarse hairs, the sloth also gains from the relationship.

The algae provides supplemental nutrition for the sloth and tints the fur green, which helps camouflage the sloth among the leaves. The fungi helps fend off parasites known to cause diseases like malaria and Chagas disease. The moths provide fertiliser for the algae.

Another unique trait of sloths is that they rely on solar energy to regulate their body temperature. With such a slow metabolism, sloths must sunbathe in order to keep their body temperature up. In this way, sloths are similar to reptiles.

Male brown-throated three-toed sloths can be easily distinguished from females because they have a bright orange patch with a black stripe on their backs. This patch has scent marking glands that attracts female sloths. Alpha males have a larger patches than other males.

Las arañas son animales depredadores que paralizan a sus presas con el veneno de sus quelíceros, piezas bucales. Una vez paralizadas por el veneno les inyectan jugos digestivos, que producen una digestión externa del animal dentro de sus propios tegumentos, sorbiendo a continuación la papilla resultante. Por eso se observa a las arañas permanecer inmóviles durante largo rato mientras sujetan su presa inmóvil.

The elephant pees, poops, and covers his excrement with sand.

All in one go. All in the lovely African evening light.

Wishing a super delicious weekend to everyone!

Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook and a good

digestion.

- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the

demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food,

a place to live, entertainment - they are and remain unhappy

and low-spirited: for the demon waits and waits and will

be satisfied.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

PHOTO:

Appetizers. Restaurant "Alladin", Jaffa, Israel.

Taken 11 November, 2006.

A parent feeds one of her little humbugs a feather which helps with the digestion of fish bones.

Tras una buena comilona, llega la hora de tomar el sol y hacer la digestión. Sierra Morena.

Project 365 - Image 127/365

Woohooo, it's finally Friday afternoon - work is finished for the week and all that remains is a quick sleep before the long trip overnight to Glasgow by car.

Poe decided that it would be easier for me to fall asleep if he was to read me some of his favourite poems such as "To Be Ugly or Not To Be" and "There's Cookies On The Starboard Bow" by the famous author from Uglyworld, Sir Reginald the Ugly.

Here's a few quick lines from the poems mentioned above:-

"To be ugly or not to be ugly, that is the question

If the cookie's in your belly, it's time for digestion

Where to look next, for that next elusive batch

Anywhere, everywhere, just find them and snatch!!!"

"There's cookies on the starboard bow

Starboard bow, starboard bow

There's cookies on the starboard bow

So someone save them now..."

It worked, time for my sleep...

From the Uglydoll blog at adventuresinuglyworld.blogspot.com/