Yesterday, I bought another, from a second-hand shop of the sort I like to pop into in search of my next necktie or woven basket, real-steel hoe or spoke-shave. I found a copy of Olga Marshall's "The Fringes of the Sea". I'd never heard of it, but it's cover-art was gorgeous. The inside pages feature nudibrachs, sumptuously hand-drawn and coloured.
"Melia live on coral reefs and arms itself with two anemones, one in each pincer. It uses these anemones as 'guns' when it is in danger. Few of it's enemies come withing striking distance of these formidable weapons." writes Olga. Though I don't believe that what she's says about melia is true, I enjoy the mythology and atmosphere of her writing and would have loved it as a boy. I'll be more than happy to give this book to my grandchildren when they appear of the scene.
Here is the little crab in question.
5 comments:
What a wonderous book.
I read the same post by MJG and resolved to double my efforts to acquire good non modern books on skills for living. Breeding rabbits for the table, making cheese, basket weaving, saving seeds, glassbowing for beginners, that sort of things. Good tradeable skills.
Nice to think the book will outlive the computer . :)
There's a woman teaching weaving willows tomorrow in Riverton. I'd go but I'm teaching fruit-tree-pruning in Owaka.
I notice there are very few old garden tools in the second-hand shops these days, unlike previously, when they were legion. People are hanging on to them, or buying them the moment they arrive in the shops. That's good. I've got plenty.
Have you changed size of your font?
Must just be my end then...your posts are coming up about half normal size, but comments are normal.
Yikes! 'The shrinkage that comes with age' - it's begun!
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