uncleblogsy

CEO of this Chicken Outfit

I hope you didn’t think we finished up our concerns with the animal world, having covered bulls and horses. We must not neglect the animal frequently associated with farms which writers have often advocated bringing to the city: the chicken. There have always been those writers who, hoping to instill in you aContinue reading “CEO of this Chicken Outfit”

Ranunculus to You, Browallia to Carnation

BROWALLIA JAMISONII “Could You Bear Want?” This shrub is now officially Steptosolen jamisonii. BRYONY “Prosperity” BRYONY, BLACK “Be My Support” This is a climbing plant without tendrils, so it cannot climb without some kind of support. And why did Nature provide us with a climbing plant that can’t climb? BUCKBEAN “Calm repose”* Continue reading “Ranunculus to You, Browallia to Carnation”

The Horse Strikes Back

In our last thrilling episode, we considered our ancestors and their mutually beneficial relationship with the horse, an animal you could easily ride or hitch to a wagon, carriage, or plow. People worked together with horses to make a happy, peaceful society based on a relationship of mutual trust and admiration. Except whenContinue reading “The Horse Strikes Back”

Our Pal the Horse

We’ve discussed this before. Our ancestors, those of the era when sending postcards was far more common, were also more likely to encounter animals on a daily basis. I am not making some pitch to consider them as more harmonious in our relation to nature than our degenerate generation. They had mice gnawing throughContinue reading “Our Pal the Horse”

Ranunculus to You, Bilberry to Broom

BILBERRY “Treachery” This is also the whortleberry, and was originally a chap named Myrtillus. Pelops was racing his chariot against that of Myrtillus’s master, and bribed Myrtillus to sabotage the man’s chariot. Pelops, on winning the race, killed Myrtillus for betraying his master. Pelops was a man of principle, see. Myrtillus, as a sonContinue reading “Ranunculus to You, Bilberry to Broom”

Time Travel

I ran into an article on the Interwebs telling about how old postcards are time capsules, left by people in the past to take us back for a slice of history. It was quite a pleasant article, with nice illustrations (the kind of thing we try to do here) and I DO intend toContinue reading “Time Travel”

Another Day Older and….

We have seen in this space many postcards reminding you of the value of a good day’s work. The virtues of elbow grease in keeping one’s nose to the grindstone, or something like that, was extolled in card after card. AND we have seen cards which complained about tough bosses, long hours, short vacations,Continue reading “Another Day Older and….”

Ranunculus to You, Baby’s Breath to Betony

B *BABY’S BREATH “Reserved” BACHELOR’S BUTTON “Celibacy” Celibacy, strictly speaking, means the state of being unmarried, if you were giggling. All bachelors are by definition celibate, no matter how many of them go along with the popular alternate meaning for this flower, “I With the Morning’s Love Have Oft Made Sport”. I don’tContinue reading “Ranunculus to You, Baby’s Breath to Betony”

Say When Again

Not long ago in this space, we considered postcards suggesting that what the average drinking male wanted from his alcoholic beverage was more. Another load of postcards has come in suggesting there is an aspect of this we did not consider. Anthropologists, as I have mentioned hereintofore, have split the western world intoContinue reading “Say When Again”

Ranunculus to You, Angelica to Azalea

ANGELICA “Inspiration” This struck me as an easy one: angels carried inspiration to humans, right? Claire Powell, a floriographer who has no truck with easy answers, says it derives from the custom of poets in Lapland to sniff it before reciting their latest work. Really great Laplander poets were awarded a crown of angelica. Continue reading “Ranunculus to You, Angelica to Azalea”