A Love Train

Today I am announcing the start of a new blog called A Love Train. The thought popped into my head one day when I heard the song, A Love Train by the O'Jays.



I'm sure you've heard it. 'People all over the world, join hands. Start a love train.'
The way it works is easy. Just write a blog about love... what it means to you, how to share love in your everyday life, one thing you want to do to bring more love to the world, something inspirational that you see someone or some other group doing, a list of ten things that you love, etc. Let me know you've written it by leaving a comment with your url and I will copy the full post with a link to your blog as well. Its kind of like a permanent linky party. Its fun and it can also increase your own blog exposure.

So here is the very first blog post and I've chosen to write a list of ten things that I love:

I LOVE POMEGRANATES. Even though I'm grown, my mom and dad are always surprising me with pomegranates at this time of year. They almost always have one for me when I go to their house. Pomegranates are the perfect snack. Instead of munching on something unhealthy when I have a snack attack, I love to go for a pomegranate because it takes so long to eat. When I was younger I actually used to be quite overweight. Then I found with just some exercise and switching some healthy foods for some unhealthy ones, the weight just dropped. And they make pretty decorations for the holiday season too :)

I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY. I'm just an amateur, but anyone who has seen my blog, knows that I love photos and highlighting photography and photographers I like for my Favorite Foto Friday post. I just got a DSLR a year ago and I can't believe how much I'm in love.

I LOVE THE BEACH. One of my names means 'woman of the sea' and its a perfect name for me. Unfortunately I don't live near the beach now, but I have at many points in my life, in Costa Rica, Florida, California, and Massachusetts. There's nothing like the feel of sand in my toes...

I LOVE PEOPLE. Of course I love my friends and family, but I also just love people in general. Sometimes I have this overwhelming love for people I have never met... and I'm not talking hollywood celebs here. I'm talking about the old woman on the train, the grocery store attendant bagging my groceries, etc.  There are so many wonderful people in this world, all with their gifts and peculiarities - and I think that is what makes this world such a lovely place.

I LOVE PAINTING. It doesn't matter what I'm painting. It can be on canvas (I like doing big abstract pieces) or it can be painting bookshelves, like I was doing today. There is something soothing about having a paintbrush in my hand. I guess I just get into the 'flow'. I actually painted the heart below when I was painting a closet earlier this year.

I LOVE BOOKS/ READING. I could seriously read all day if left to my own devices. Ok. Thats not totally true because I have too many other 'loves', but on certain cold winter days its definitely not uncommon to find me reading for a period of 12 hours at a time. I think my husband must think I've disappeared into the book (and in many ways I have). Anyway, it doesn't hurt that I'm a rare book dealer (although I can't really read those wonderful old first editions), as its a nice environment to spend my days. (By the way, there's still time to enter your name for the giveaway of a signed first edition, which I'll extend until November 9th).

I LOVE CEREAL. I know its weird, but I could seriously eat cereal at any time of the day. (Actually I just had some for dinner). I probably shouldn't be admitting that, but whatever. Love me or leave me. I remember my sister once did one of those 'about me' lists on facebook and she, too, mentioned her love of cereal. I hadn't realized that she was still such a cereal-fiend until then. We must have eaten a lot of cereal growing up.

I LOVE PLANTS. When I'm surrounded by those lovely green beauties with their occasional blessings of floral delights, I feel connected. I feel healthy. I feel alive. My home has plants everywhere... sometimes more than I can handle, but I love it. I used to work at a greenhouse at a science museum and I also used to be an outdoor education teacher, romping around the redwood forests. Although I love my work now, those were definitely some lovely-filled days.

I LOVE SCIENCE. I know its a bit geeky, but I got my first microscope when I was like 9. I remember the first time I saw all the things that were underneath that very un-powerful scope. It changed my life. I love all kinds of science. I got a degree in biology and then a masters focused on microbial disease. I've been a biology teacher and a chemistry teacher. (I think I've had too many varying careers... I just have too many loves, aka the name of my blog :) ). Now I'm into physics. Science is so amazing because it informs us about the world around us... and there is just so much to discover!

I LOVE BLOGGING. I never understood the whole thing about blogs and blogging until I started writing one myself less than a year ago. And then I started reading blogs. And then I started 'meeting' so many wonderful people in the blogging world. It has been such a lovely adventure. Since I live in a small town (pop. 12,000) and work from a home (a somewhat solitary endeavor), blogging has allowed me to meet people from all over the world that I wouldn't normally have the chance to ever know in my entire life. There are so many lovely people and blogs out there, and I hope that as this Love Train takes off, it will be a place for more people to meet, share their loves, and link up their blogs together. I hope you'll join me!

A Whole Lotta Love,

Adrienne

Fabulous Flora

I'm a bit of a plant fanatic. I love gardening, but I especially love strange, tropical, or unusual plants. Here is the listverse top ten coolest plants:

Plants are some of the most beautiful and abundant things on earth. There is just something so calming about standing in a dense forest taking in all of the amazing trees with their dizzying heights. Plants are not just for show either; they provide much of the oxygen we breathe while we offer them our exhaled carbon dioxide in return. Here is our top 10 list of coolest plants.

10. Aloe Plant

Aloes are succulent plants that need very little attention in the garden and give a nice show whether in bloom or not. Their healing and first aid properties from the semi-sticky fluid within the stems is well known. Aloe has been added to burn-healing products for years which can be taken gingerly from a plant itself.

9. Amorphophallus (Misshapen Penis Plant)

As is normal of this plant family, these species develop an elongate or oval ‘sheath’, which usually envelops the flower itself. The flower can have different colors, but mostly brownish-purple or whitish-green. On the inside, they contain ridges or warts, functioning as insect traps. Despite all of that information that describes the plant itself, it emits a foul odor smelling of rotting fish.

8. Nepenthes (Pitcher Plant)

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a ‘pitfall trap’. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favoring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. Basically, prey flies or crawls in, and can not possibly get out.

7. Rafflesia arnoldii

Although technically a member of the plant kingdom, Rafflesia challenges traditional definitions of what a plant is because they lack chlorophyll and are therefore incapable of photosynthesis. And according to all accounts of those who have gotten close enough to tell they have an odor similar to a carcass in advanced decomposition. Get one for your home today!

6. Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon or Voodoo Lily)

The odor that bursts from the flower on the day it opens smells somewhat like rotting meat attracting flies as its chief pollinator, an attribute that needs consideration when you decide where to plant this flower. Fortunately the odor dissipates after the first day, allowing you to enjoy the exotic beauty of this unusual plant! The 10-12 inch flowers range in color from deep maroon to nearly black and last for 7-10 days. The lovely green foliage appears in March but the flowers wait until early May to make its appearance.

5. Sundew

Sundews are found throughout the world. These unique carnivorous plants attract their victims with a glistening morsel of nectar, or so the insect thinks! Once the insect gets stuck, the tendrils will close around the victim to sting and release an enzyme to start the digestion process. These plants make watching the action far easier as well.

4. Hydnora africana

The only portion of Hydnora that appears above the ground is the upper portion of the flower. Most of the flower is below the soil surface. The flower is thick and succulent in texture. The portion of the flower above the ground surface is tubular and has three openings, one of which is shown in the image. These plants are parasitic and emit quite harsh odors. Looks Like Audry 2, huh?

3. Welwitschia mirabilis

An adult welwitschia consists of two leaves, a stem base and roots. That is all! Its two permanent leaves are unique in the plant kingdom. They are the original leaves from when the plant was a seedling, and they just continue to grow and are never shed. They are leathery, broad, strap-shaped and they lie on the ground becoming torn to shreds. The stem is low, woody, hollowed-out, and sturdy. It grows to about 500 mm in height.

2. Stinking Titan Arum (Corpse Flower)

A flower taller than a man, stinking strongly of putrefying roadkill and colored deep burgundy to actually mimic rotting flesh… sounds like something fun to witness, doesn’t it? But Indonesia’s titan arum—or “corpse flower” as known by locals—is a real, if rare, phenomenon, pollinated in the wild by carrion-seeking insects.

1. Venus Fly Trap

The leaves of Venus’ FlyTrap open wide. On the leaves are short, stiff hairs called trigger hairs; when anything stimulates them, the two lobes of the leaf snap shut trapping whatever is inside. The trap will shut in less than a second. When the leaves close over food, the cilia, finger-like projections, keep larger insects inside.

Plant Ponderings

I LOOOOOVE plants. I love the peace and serenity I feel when I'm around them. When I was a kid, I especially loved picking flowers and gardening (still do!), but then when I was in high school I used to think plants were a little boring... they just weren't as interesting as animals. Then I spent a semester in Costa Rica and another doing an agricultural internship, and I was hooked! My senior yr. I worked at the Museum of Science greenhouse in Boston, and after that I always hoped that I would have my own greenhouse some day. Now I do, and I'm so looking forward to spring!

Fortunately, I also have an indoor greenhouse which sustains me through winter. This is my absolute favorite room in my house. I fell in love when I first walked in. Even though we have a formal dining room, we've never actually eaten in it because we love having our meals amongst the beautiful tropical foliage.

The following is one of my absolutely favorite plant documentaries, although its only the first part. I love David Attenborough and I love the high-speed videography. It really helps you see how plants live and move. Sometimes I think about what we would look like from a plant's perspective if they had eyes.. we would be like flies buzzing around because we move around so fast compared to them. Anyway, this is great to watch even if you're not obsessed with plants like I am. I used to show these videos to my students when I was teaching, and they always expressed how it brought botany alive to them. I hope you enjoy!