Friday 20 July 2012

Herbs, Rainbows and a Moth

On some of the blogs I am following, pictures of rainbows have been appearing recently. Isn't everyone fascinated by them? More than three years ago, when I had not yet started to add pictures to my blog (at least not often, I think), I mentioned a rainbow in this post, but I can't remember whether I have actually posted any pictures of rainbows before.

Well, here are some I took over the past few weeks - there were several occasions when it was really "raining from the sun", so to speak, and once I even saw a double rainbow.




As usual, the best view of the sky is the one from my kitchen window; anywhere else from my flat there are houses and trees too close to the window for it to make a good shot.

For my birthday in March, I had been given a set of three paper cups with a tiny bag of seeds in each, and a compressed "tablet" of soil. The idea is that you pour water on the tablet and it increases its volume until the cup is filled with soil, and then you put the seeds in and wait what happens. I only started this after we returned from Italy, about a month ago.
The set contained seeds for basil, coriander and thyme. In my previous post (a recipe), I said that I used some of the thyme, but it turns out I actually used coriander - just goes to show what an "expert" gardener I am :-) (or cook, for that matter!)
Never mind, it tasted good. I am a bit worried about the basil. It does look paler than it should, and I am not sure what's wrong - too much sun? Too little? Enough water, or not enough?
For the time being, I shall still buy the potted basil from the supermarket so that we can have our beloved caprese on the weekends.

Some of you (thinking of John and Graham here in particular) are great in taking close-ups of all sorts of insects and other animals. The other night, I found this little beauty on my bedroom wall just above the headboard.
After several attempts that resulted completely out of focus, the best I could come up with was this picture. It was a small moth, probably not more than about 2 cm wingspan, but it was prettily patterned and I just left it where it was. In the morning, it was gone.

16 comments:

  1. I had one of those seed tablets and didn't do anything with it. If it is not too old, I'll give it a go now. I am really impressed by your plants!

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    1. Thank you, Jenny! Yes, just give it a try; some seeds will still be alright even if they have been resting for years.

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  2. My basil which loves the sun and moderate amounts of water has largely turned yellow over the last few days. I think that in my case it's the wind. Basil doesn't like the wind. CJ's looking at the moth at the moment and there is much muttering coming from his corner!

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    1. Good point; it has been rather windy here, too, so maybe that is my basil's problem, too. Perhaps I'll move the pot to the other window, but it won't get as much sun there...

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  3. The muttering has probably not achieved much! The problem is that there are many similar moths in the family Geometridae but I have possibly narrowed it down to one in the genus Xanthorhoe. I would guess at a Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata) - not sure what its German name is.

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    1. Thank you, John - Flame Carpet sounds lovely!

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  4. Basil is notoriously hard to please. I gave up years ago. BTW did you know that a rainbow is in fact a completely circle?

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    1. My Mum grows basil on her balcony, and it is lush and wonderful... but there simply are some things my Mum will always be tons better at than I, and maybe growin basil is one of them.
      Rainbows are complete circles? Where is the other half?

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  5. Love your rainbow photos. The other half of a rainbow is weighed down with the pot of gold, of course!

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  6. "Raining from the sun" - I like that. :-) I have always been fascinated by Rainbows. They seem like the perfect metaphor for hope in dark times.

    Also, I have the same problem when I try & grow basil...I never know if it too much Sun, too much water or a combination of the two! Oh well, glad to know I am not alone in this.

    hug, e

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth! Just this morning, I have the impression that my home-grown basil looks slightly better. The potted one I bought at the supermarket won't have a chance to grow old :-)

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  7. Great blog, I really liked it!
    I'll follow you.
    Cheer from Argentina.
    HD

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    1. Hello Humberto, thank you for stopping here and leaving a comment - and for following my blog!

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  8. What a gorgeous photo of the rainbow! Also, that moth is adorable. But then I have a special place in my heart for moths...

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    1. Thank you, Sonia! I like moths, too, and would never kill one of them on purpose. If I find one in my home, I usually just let them sit where they are, and most of the time, by morning they are gone.

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