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Fairies' Thimble / Bellflower (Campanula cochleariifolia), Switzerland, 2006. Photographed by Wikipedia user Amada44; released to public domain by creator. From Wikipedia Commons.

Latin is a wonderful thing.While the common name of this flower is fairies’ thimble; it is a type of bellflower, of which there are nearly 500 known species. Some of it’s near relatives are the harebell, Canterbury bells, Carpathian harebell, marsh bellflower, chimney bellflower, and giant bellflower.

This is where the wonder of Latin botanical nomenclature comes into play. Because of this naming system, you can specify exactly which species of bellflower you are talking about, and be understood by another flower-lover anywhere in the world – even if their ‘common’ name for this flower is different!

Though there were botantical classification systems before Linnaeus, his system – published in 1753 – brought in the innovation of binary names to commonly refer to plants. A binary name, scientifically, consists of the plant’s genus (the first part) and an epithet, usually the species, but it can also be a subspecies, section, or other division below genus.

This means that you can say that this flower is Campanula cochleariifolia (‘fairies thimble’), which distinguishes it from all 472 other Campanula species, such as: Campanula rotundifolia  (harebell), Campanula lactiflora (milky bellflower), or Campanula medium (Canterbury bells). Ah, the joy of Latin! *grin*

This wonderful photo of Campanula cochleariifolia was taken by Wikipedia user Amada44 in her backyard in Switzerland. She released the photo into the public domain on Wikipedia Commons, where I was lucky enough to find it. Click on the photo to see it / download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

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Two Women's League Roller Derby 'girls' jump over two fallen ones, March 10, 1950. Al Aumuller, photographer. New-York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOC #LC-USZ62-133382. No known copyright restrictions.

Ah, summer. Roller skating up and down the block. Well, nowadays, it’s rollerblading up and down the block! But, I hear, the professional Roller Derby women are still at it and going strong! These days, they wear a little more safety equipment though!

But I just love this photograph. It is so full of action, and the expressions on the faces of the women show that they are truly enjoying what their are doing. Even one of the ‘fallen’ ones is smiling!

Okay, technically this isn’t ‘public domain’ per se; but there are ‘no known copyright restrictions’ (slightly different than public domain), according to the Library of Congress records, so I consider it safe to pass on. Click on it to see it in all its full-sized glory!

Peace,

Bekka

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The building resembled upstate country houses that Vaux  [one of the architects who designed Central Park - B.] had previously designed in his private architectural practice. At night, the building was described in Baldwin’s Guide to the Central Park as “brilliantly illuminated with gas from handsome pendants.” During the day patrons would drive up in their carriages to visit the Casino, sit under the Wisteria Pergola at the western edge of the site, and listen to the strains of music from the Wednesday and Saturday afternoon concerts on the Mall below. In the summer seasons refreshments from the Casino were served at tables placed under the archway leading to Bethesda Terrace. [Accessed 4 June 2010]

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Okay, it isn’t exactly a houseI’m envying, and it’s not owned by a single individual but rather the government of Germany. [It's the seat of parliment for the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.] And if it was mine, I’d have horrible utility bills, not to mention having to staff the darn thing. But still, the little girl ‘I wish I was a princess‘ in me still wishes for a castle all my own.

And what ‘house’ am I envying? Schweriner Schloss (Schwerin Castle) in Germany:

Schweriner Schloss (Shwerin Castle), photo by Wikipedia user Niteshift, 2007. Released into the public domain by the photographer.

 Isn’t is magnificent? There’s been a castle here since the 10th c., though much of the current architechture dates from the 16th c. Ah…magnificent! It has an orangery – a specialized greenhouse designed for growing citrus trees in cold climates (though they often didn’t bear fruit, the orangery kept them from dying from the cold and frosts).

It’s also out in the middle of a lake, with a bridge to get to it. Imagine having your own boat dock right there, ready to go. Or sitting among cool breezes on a hot summer day! Of course, it was originally built out on the lake for defensive purposes, since having only the bridge for access severely limited an attacking army [unless they had a lot of boats and were willing to brave arrows from the defenders to attack the castle from across the water].

Schweriner Schloss (Schwerin Castle), Germany, photo by Daniel van der Ree, 2006. Released into the public domain by van der Ree on Wikipedia Commons.

So there you have it folks, my ‘house envy’. Ah for a castle of my own…. *smile*

Peace,

Bekka

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