Search results for ""Author Canopy"

Create 33 stunning projects for your garden, for entertaining and for gifting – all using concrete. Follow Hester van Overbeek's simple tutorials to make a huge range of unique concrete projects. In Gardening & Outdoors you will find projects to add that extra spark to your garden, such as the Chevron planter and Hanging basket, or the Vertical garden and Recycled planters. To impress your guests, head to Food & Entertaining where you will find centrepieces such as the Fire bowl and Fruit bowl, or the Cake stand and Canopy with lights. Finally, there is Display & Gift, where you can find projects to delight your friends and loved ones such as the Two-tone decorative bowl or Wood and concrete bowl, along with the Patterned vase and Storage jar. In a simple and comprehensive techniques section you will find everything you need to know – what type of concrete to buy, how to use it and how to decorate it. With these projects and many more, you will be able to add that extra splash of flair to all corners of your home. First Published in 2017, this is a new edition.

Read more less

In my year in Vietnam, I walked the booby-trapped rice paddies of the Delta, searching for the elusive Viet Cong, and later macheted my way through the triple-canopy jungle, fighting the North Vietnamese Regulars...I sweated, thirsted, hunted, killed. Somewhere in all my experiences, I overlapped the situations of nearly every infantryman and many others who served. Michael Lee Lanning's journal of his first tour of duty in Vietnam provides an unvarnished daily account of life in the field - the blood, fear, camaraderie, and tedium of combat and maneuver. Fleshed out with narrative and detail years later, the pages of this memorable book, first published in 1987, show an eager young recruit growing before the reader's eyes into a proud but bloodied combat veteran. Subsequent volumes in his ""Vietnam Trilogy"" will detail Lanning's tour as a company commander and his postwar investigation into the mind of the enemy. Through his eyes, readers see the reality of a war that did not always receive glory but was, in his words, ""the only war we had.

Read more less

Transform your love-making into erotic ecstasy with this fully illustrated book that unlocks the secrets of the Kama Sutra – the most ancient, renowned and explicit guide to sexual pleasure. ‘Pleasures are as necessary for the well-being of the body as food.' Kama Sutra ‘The Modern Kama Sutra’ opens up a new and exotic world of sexual pleasure that will change your sex life for ever. Inspired by the ancient text of the Kama Sutra, this fully illustrated book offers over 40 easy-to-follow explicit positions (try positions such as 'Splitting the Bamboo', ' The Congress of the Cow', 'Yab Yum' and the 'Canopy of Stars'), step-by step instructions and practical tips and 200 stunning colour photographs that guarantee to enhance your erotic pleasure and improve your sexual technique. ‘The Modern Kama Sutra’ is for the modern couple, catering for both experienced lovers and for those wanting to experiment. You will learn how to heighten your awareness of your own and your partner’s bodies, and achieve an emotional intimacy and sexual intensity never before experienced. Why not try fast sex sequences for instant pleasure – use all kinds of locations, from the kitchen table and bathroom shower to the living room sofa and even the office floor! Learn how massage and intimate touching can enhance your sexual desire. Discover how to indulge the body and the senses with separate chapters on seduction, foreplay and oral sex.

Read more less

Growth, reproduction, and geographical distribution of plants are profoundly influenced by their physiological ecology: the interaction with the surrounding physical, chemical, and biological environments. This textbook highlights mechanisms that underlie plant physiological ecology at the levels of physiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology. At the same time, the integrative power of physiological ecology is well suited to assess the costs, benefits, and consequences of modifying plants for human needs and to evaluate the role of plants in natural and managed ecosystems. Plant Physiological Ecology, Third Edition is significantly updated, with many full color illustrations, and begins with the primary processes of carbon metabolism and transport, plant water relations, and energy balance. After considering individual leaves and whole plants, these physiological processes are then scaled up to the level of the canopy. Subsequent chapters discuss mineral nutrition and the ways in which plants cope with nutrient‑deficient or toxic soils. The book then looks at patterns of growth and allocation, life‑history traits, and interactions between plants and other organisms. Later chapters deal with traits that affect decomposition of plant material and with the consequences of plant physiological ecology at ecosystem and global levels. Plant Physiological Ecology, Third Edition features several boxed entries that extend the discussions of selected issues, a glossary, and numerous references to the primary and review literature. This significant new text is suitable for use in plant ecology courses, as well as classes ranging from plant physiology to plant molecular biology.

Read more less

This volume includes seven chapters and presents some of the latest advancements in environmental research. Chapter One describes the ecological resources of forests and their ability to absorb greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. Chapter Two highlights the procedure of using eutectic solvents in the extraction of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants. Chapter Three suggests a holistic framework for assessing the environmental sustainability of Bulgarian agriculture. Chapter Four investigates the accountability profile for environmental sustainability of maritime protected areas. Chapter Five discusses the main urban parameters existing in regional models developed at the beginning of the 21st century: The Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model (UCM), the Town Energy Balance (TEB), and the Building Effect Parameterization (BEP). Chapter Six aims to provide information about phytoestrogens and their beneficial and adverse effects. Finally, Chapter Seven proposes two new indexes for measuring particular aspects of environmental stability and sustainable development: the available resource sustainability index and the natural green surface replacement index.

Read more less

In this original and sweeping review of Jewish culture and history, Ivan Marcus examines how and why various rites and customs celebrating stages in the life cycle have evolved through the ages and persisted to this day. For each phase of life--from childhood and adolescence to adulthood and the advanced years—the book traces the origin and development of specific rites associated with the events of birth, circumcision, and schooling; bar and bat mitzvah and confirmation; engagement, betrothal, and marriage; and aging, dying, and remembering. Customs in Jewish tradition, such as the presence of godparents at a circumcision, the use of a four-poled canopy at a wedding, and the placing of small stones on tombstones, are discussed. In each chapter, detailed descriptions walk the reader through such ceremonies as early modern and contemporary circumcision, weddings, and funerals. In a comparative framework, Marcus illustrates how Jewish culture has negotiated with the majority cultures of the ancient Near East, Greco-Roman antiquity, medieval European Christianity, and Mediterranean Islam, as well as with modern secular and religious movements and social trends, to renew itself through ritual innovation. In his extensive research on the Jewish life cycle, Marcus draws from documents on various customs and ritual practices, offering reassessments of original sources and scholarly literature. Marcus’s survey is the first comprehensive study of the rites of the Jewish life cycle since Hayyim Schauss's The Lifetime of the Jew was published in 1950, written for Jewish readers. Marcus’s book addresses a broader audience and is designed to appeal to scholars and interested readers.

Read more less

It is a widely held belief that a climax vegetation of closed forest systems covered the lowlands of Central and Western Europe before humans intervened in prehistoric times to develop agriculture. If this intervention had not taken place, it would still be there and so if left, the grassland vegetation and fields we see today would revert to its natural closed forest state, although with a reduced number of wild species. This book challenges this view, using examples from history, pollen analyses and studies on the ecology of tree and shrub species such as oak and hazel. It tests the hypotheses that the climax vegetation is a closed canopy forest against the alternative one in which species composition and succession of vegetation were governed by herbivores and that the Central and Western European lowlands were covered by a park-like landscape consisting of grasslands, scrub, solitary trees and groves bordered by a mantle and fringe vegetation. Comparative information from North America is also included, because the forests there are commonly regarded as being analogous to the primeval vegetation in Europe. This title is a revised, updated and expanded translation of book published in Dutch.

Read more less

Raft down rapids to see raccoons, ski across ice to spot emperor penguins and dive underwater to explore the coral reef and learn why discovering animals is SUPER exciting! From the leafy green canopy of the rainforest, where gibbons communicate by singing, to the scorching hot desert where one of the world’s DEADLIEST scorpions lives, planet Earth is full of AMAZING animals that are just waiting to be discovered. Did you know that marine iguanas sneeze out salty sea water after a big swim? Or that a narwhal’s tusk is actually a very, VERY long tooth? And did you know that dung beetles are the STRONGEST animals on earth? Explore a different habitat on every spread, with fun and vibrant illustrations and fact-filled text for intrepid adventurers who want to know EVERYTHING about the world we live in. Readers will be taken all around the globe to discover a world of animals across rainforests and jungles, rivers and rapids, deserts and ice, and much more. Do You Love Exploring? is the third book in the award-winning series by Matt Robertson that includes Do You Love Bugs? and Do You Love Dinosaurs?

Read more less

When we think of jungles, we often think of a densely forested area with thick foliage; this is what is known as a primary jungle. But jungles can also include swamps, grasslands, and cultivated areas. Primary jungles can fall into the category of either a tropical rain forest or a deciduous forest, depending on the types of trees and plants found growing there. A tropical rain forest is typified by having tall trees whose upper branches interlock to form canopies. Yet of all the environments in which man has to survive, the jungle offers the best chance.The SAS have operated in the jungle for years, sometimes staying in the forest for months at a time. They developed a technique whereby they had two sets of clothing, one for daytime use and one for night. Just before they went to sleep they would change from their wet clothing, which was normally hung under the shelter to dry out. In the morning they would change from their dry clothing and put on the wet. It is an uncomfortable change, but one that guaranteed a good night’s sleep in dry clothing.The SAS Guide to Jungle Survival will teach the reader to come to terms with the jungle environment, understand it, and work with it as opposed to “fighting it.” The jungle forest can provide shelter, food, and water in abundance, and this book will show you how. If the jungle offers any problems, it is with disease and wild animals; The SAS Guide to Jungle Survival will show you how to avoid and resist both and come out alive.

Read more less

Discover the secrets and beauty of the world’s rarest trees in this fantastic book filled with more than 300 color photographs. Did you know that the resin of the dragon tree was so prized that it was used and traded as medicine by the Roman Empire? Or that the Bornean ironwood is one of the only timbers dense enough to sink in water? Trees have adapted to thrive on steep mountains, high in cloud forests, on dry savannahs, in parched deserts, and in tropical wetlands. Our own human history—and our future—are interwoven with the trees that define the character and environments of our green planet. Rare Trees offers a stunning visual presentation of 60 of the most fascinating, bizarre, and threatened tree species on the planet, from conifers to magnolias to oaks. With color photographs showing trees and their most unusual features, maps of growing regions, callouts of memorable facts, and examples of poignant cultural and historical uses by Indigenous populations, Rare Trees will give everyone who loves trees an armchair tour of unique specimens from around the globe. You will be inspired to help preserve this critical canopy of life.

Read more less

A Life in Fabric is a celebration of the unique heritage brand - Cabbages & Roses The British heritage brand, Cabbages & Roses was founded in 2000 by Christina Strutt and Bridgitte Buchannan, and for the past 21 years Christina has been dressing both homes and their owners in her trademark faded floral and barely-there striped cottons and linens. A Life in Fabric celebrates every aspect of this very unique Cabbages & Roses lifestyle. Divided into colour-themed chapters, from Charcoal Whites to Raspberry Pinks, Hues of Blue to Berry Goodness and Lilac Loveliness, Strutt takes you on a tour through the fabric-filled homes (and gardens) she has adorned with her muted palette. Be inspired by her endless ways to use fabric and vintage finds in the home, from old quilts and throws in the bedroom, to faded floral curtains, pillows and sofas in the living areas, napkins and tablecloths in the kitchen and fabric draped canopies and deckchairs in the garden. Whatever the room or style of architecture, Christina’s relaxed philosophy and her love of the beauty of imperfection create timeless, accessible and relaxing interiors that are perfect for today’s living.

Read more less

Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. This book: - Presents cutting edge thinking and assessments in forest hydrology across all latitudes and terrains, including state-of-the-art modelling techniques and methodologies - Describes the latest challenges facing forest hydrology, such as increased occurrence of disturbance, due to extreme floods, drought, disease, and fire, potentially caused by climate change - Is written by an internationally renowned team of scientists, engineers, and managers to give a well-rounded review of the subject The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.

Read more less

Exploring the Architecture of Place in America's Farmers Markets explores the elusive architectural states of these beloved community-gathering places. From classic market buildings such as Findlay Market in Cincinnati, to open-air pavilions in Durham North Carolina and pop-up canopy markets in Staunton, Virginia, the country currently has over 8,700 seasonal and year-round farmers markets. Architect, teacher, and founder of the Friends of the Farmers Market, Katheryn Clarke Albright combines historically informed architectural observation with interview material and images drawn from conversations with farmers, vendors, market managers and shoppers. Using eight scales of interaction and interface, Albright presents in-depth case studies to demonstrate how architectural elements and spatial conditions foster social and economic exchange between vendors, shoppers, and the community at large. Albright looks ahead to an emerging typology—the mobile market—bringing local farmers and healthy foods to underserved neighborhoods. The impact farmers markets make on their local communities inspires place-making, improves the local economy, and preserves rural livelihoods. Developed organically and distinctively out of the space they occupy, these markets create and revitalize communities as rich as the produce they sell.

Read more less

From Galileo, who used the hollow stalks of grass to demonstrate the idea that peripherally located construction materials provide most of the resistance to bending forces, to Leonardo da Vinci, whose illustrations of the parachute are alleged to be based on his study of the dandelion's pappus and the maple tree's samara, many of our greatest physicists, mathematicians, and engineers have learned much from studying plants. A symbiotic relationship between botany and the fields of physics, mathematics, engineering, and chemistry continues today, as is revealed in Plant Physics. The result of a long-term collaboration between plant evolutionary biologist Karl J. Niklas and physicist Hanns-Christof Spatz, Plant Physics presents a detailed account of the principles of classical physics, evolutionary theory, and plant biology in order to explain the complex interrelationships among plant form, function, environment, and evolutionary history. Covering a wide range of topics - from the development and evolution of the basic plant body and the ecology of aquatic unicellular plants to mathematical treatments of light attenuation through tree canopies and the movement of water through plants' roots, stems, and leaves - Plant Physics is destined to inspire students and professionals alike to traverse disciplinary membranes.

Read more less

WINNER OF THE FLAHERTY-DUNNAN FIRST NOVEL PRIZEFire Support Base Matterhorn: a fortress carved out of the grey-green mountain jungle. Cold monsoon clouds wreath its mile-high summit, concealing a battery of 105-mm howitzers surrounded by deep bunkers, carefully constructed fields of fire and the 180 marines of Bravo Company. Just three kilometres from Laos and two from North Vietnam, there is no more isolated outpost of America's increasingly desperate war in Vietnam.Second Lieutenant Waino Mellas, 21 years old and just a few days into his 13-month tour, has barely arrived at Matterhorn before Bravo Company is ordered to abandon their mountain and sent deep in-country in pursuit of a North Vietnamese Army unit of unknown size. Beyond the relative safety of the perimeter wire, Mellas will face disease, starvation, leeches, tigers and an almost invisible enemy. Beneath the endless jungle canopy, Bravo Company will confront competing ambitions, duplicitous officers and simmering racial tensions. Behind them, always, Matterhorn. The impregnable mountain fortress they built and then abandoned, without a shot, to the North Vietnamese Army...

Read more less

When seventeen-year-old Jade Reynolds witnesses a violent clash between a protesting tree sitter and a local logger, she runs as far as she can from the battles that plague her home and from the mysteries of the redwood forest. But the ancient redwoods are embedded in her psyche—she feels their call even in the dark and forgotten back alleys of Portland, Oregon where she’s hiding out. She soon becomes entangled with a lovable misfit and a band of radical slackers, environmentalists, and anarchists, and finds herself living 100 feet high in the canopy of a redwood grove, trying to decide whose side she’s on: the logging community she’s known her entire life or the environmentalists who are risking their lives for the future of the forest. To find a way beyond the division between Us and Them, Jade turns to the ancient trees themselves—and the thread-thin web that connects us all. Tree Dreams is an eco-literary, coming of age novel relevant for teenagers and adults alike, for this rite of passage asks the same of us all—whatever our age or life stage, we each must discover our one true voice, and learn how to offer it to the world.

Read more less

Evie and her pet dog, Juno, use their senses to explore the Rainforest in this bright, layered board book which teaches kids all about this vital ecosystem! In this charming and innovative layered board book, Evie and her pet dog Juno visit all the layers of the rainforest, and tell readers what they found there. Watch them as they spot bugs playing hide and seek, chill with sloths up in the canopy and soar above the trees with friendly eagles!Humorous text and bold, quirky illustrations introduce each of the layers of the rainforest. Curved and layered board pages increase in size as you move through the book, developing a child's hand-eye coordination as they turn the pages. Quirky facts coupled with engaging artworkboost pre-schoolers' imagination and spark an interest in the world around them. This bright, layered board book provides a great first introduction to the rainforests. This book is from the Adventures of Evie and Juno series, which sees our two intrepid explorers travel to different places and environments in innovative layered board books which will help young readers develop hand-eye coordination and teach them about the world. Also available is Explore the Planets, which sees Evie and Juno travel to the eight planets, Explore Under the Sea, which sees Evie and Juno travel from the beaches to the bottom of the ocean, and Explore the Earth, which sees Evie and Juno explore the different layers of the Earth, as they share with readers what they find.

Read more less

Are you ready for an adventure? Explore the mysterious world of Minecraft through highly-detailed maps of every biome. Created by an explorer on a quest to find Minecraft's most valuable loot, there's a map for each Overworld biome as well as the terrifying Nether and End dimensions. A beautifully illustrated visual guide in its own right, Minecraft Maps is also a survival tool. You’ll learn which biomes are home to the most dangerous mobs, where to look for to exclusive blocks, how to find naturally generated structures and the best places to search for loot. Once you’ve discovered each biome you can get building – construct an ice palace in the ice plains biome and an entire village suspended in the tree canopy above the jungle floor. Collect all of the official Minecraft books to become the best Minecrafter you can be: Minecraft Let's Build! Theme Park Adventure Minecraft Guide to Exploration Minecraft Guide to Creative Minecraft Guide to Redstone Minecraft Guide to the Nether and the End Minecraft Guide to Enchantments and Potions Minecraft Guide to Farming Minecraft Guide to PVP Minigames Minecraft Guide to Ocean Survival Minecraft Blockopedia Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress Minecraft The Survivors' Book of Secrets Minecraft Survival Tin Minecraft Mobestiary Minecraft: The Ultimate Construction Collection Minecraft is a multi-platform block-based gaming sensation available on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and mobile devices. Whether you're in Creative, Survival or Hardcore Mode, the official Mojang-approved Minecraft books contain all the advice you need to survive and thrive.

Read more less

For many New Yorkers, Central Park is Manhattan's crown jewel and what makes the city liveable year round. For tourists, this urban oasis is a must-see destination on any sightseeing visit. For acclaimed photographer Robert A. McCabe, Central Park is defined by its Ramble-a densely forested 38 acres replete with stunning lake vistas, enormous granite boulders, a canopy of trees, winding paths and streams, and ornate and rustic bridges. McCabe's photographs in The Ramble in Central Park: A Wilderness West of Fifth have captured this wooded labyrinth in its off-the-beaten-path glory in its most photogenic seasons. The Ramble in Central Park is primarily organised by four regions, supplemented by one large map by Christopher Kaeser of the entire area and four close-ups of each section. The text is a series of essays by writers including The New Yorker's E. B. White and C. Stevens. Topics cover the history of the park's creation by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and the failed attempt of Robert Moses to essentially eliminate the Ramble in the 1950s, as well as the Ramble's 250 species of woodland birds and the area's remarkable geology and plant life. A compelling introduction by Central Park Conservancy President and Administrator Douglas Blonsky describes the recent renovation and continued protection of the Ramble. This photography book should appeal to nature lovers, bird watchers, and New York residents and visitors alike. It is the perfect tourist souvenir before or after a visit to Central Park and The Ramble.

Read more less

Like all mega-cities around the globe, São Paulo faces huge challenges. Yet despite these manifold and daunting tasks, the Brazilian metropolis has since the 1960s maintained a prudent policy of investing in communal infrastructure, thus providing inclusive places and spaces for all of its 20m-population. While many cities aim for a 'Bilbao-effect' by funding iconic, tourist-orientated projects such as museums or theatres, São Paulo persistently supports programs and usages that serve its permanent residents. This book, published in conjunction with an exhibition at A.M. Architekturmuseum der TU München, features a selection of these buildings and programs from five decades. Ranging from a simple canopy over a public park to vast multifunctional buildings, they provide spaces for sports and culture, education, healthcare, or gastronomy. Rather than merely serving a specific purpose, their key role is to be places for people spending time together. With contributions by Renato Anelli, José Tavares Correia de Lira, Fraya Frehse, Vanessa Grossman, Andres Lepik, Ana Luiza Nobre, Daniel Talesnik, and Guilherme Wisnik; and a conversation with Paulo Mendes da Rocha and Marta Moreira by Enrique Walker. Photographs by Ciro Miguel Also available: Wherever You Find People ISBN 9783038600268

Read more less

Find peace through this meditative guided journal that will train you to notice and appreciate the wonder of the natural world—without leaving your own neighborhood.Everyone knows that being in nature can help you feel less anxious, more centered, and at peace. The sound of a waterfall, a swaying green canopy, a distant horizon—all of these things slow your heart rate, open your lungs, and calm your mind. But what if—like most North Americans—you live in a suburb or a city and can’t go into the great outdoors every day?Naturalist Andrea Debbink will show you that nature is all around you, even in the densest metropolis and will teach you how to find wildness in a city sparrow, beauty in a roadside dandelion, and stillness on a park bench. Organized by month, this guided journal encourages you to center yourself in the cycle of the seasons through: Nature-inspired meditation exercises Outdoor activities and crafts Flora and fauna trackers Weather charts Urban foraging tips This hardcover journal is perfect for throwing in a backpack and taking to the park, featuring a rounded spine for easy writing, a fabric bookmark to keep your place, and a full-color illustrated design that changes with the seasons.

Read more less

'Bound to excite would-be scientists and browsers alike' - "ALA Booklist". It's teeming with life - many kinds of life. Giant cats and skittish bats. Squawking parrots and upside-down sloths. Even the trees seem animated, with their long, loopy vines. From its earth floor to the top of the tree canopy, "The Tropical Rain Forest" has more things living in it than any other habitat on earth. Stunning drawings, step-by-step experiments, fun activities, and fascinating facts abound in this magical exploration on an essential ecosystem - which may now be in danger of disappearing forever.With this book, you can explore one small square of rain forest, in a zoo as a nature preserve, or at home. This is a welcome new addition to the critically acclaimed "One Small Square" and nature series for children ages 6 to 9. This book includes: stunning full-color illustrations of the habitat and its creatures; motivating experiments and activities, along with clear, diagrammed instructions and safety tips; a picture field guide to the habitat; a glossary-index and resource list. "One Small Square" puts the whole world in perspective for children, one small square at a time. Each book is a thrilling, up-close encounter with the natural world; from the stars above us to the habitats, ecosystems, and creatures around us.

Read more less

Between 1608 and 1610 the canopy of the night sky changed forever, ripped open by an object created almost by accident: a cylinder with lenses at both ends. Galileo’s Telescope tells the story of how an ingenious optical device evolved from a toy-like curiosity into a precision scientific instrument, all in a few years. In transcending the limits of human vision, the telescope transformed humanity’s view of itself and knowledge of the cosmos.Galileo plays a leading—but by no means solo—part in this riveting tale. He shares the stage with mathematicians, astronomers, and theologians from Paolo Sarpi to Johannes Kepler and Cardinal Bellarmine, sovereigns such as Rudolph II and James I, as well as craftsmen, courtiers, poets, and painters. Starting in the Netherlands, where a spectacle-maker created a spyglass with the modest magnifying power of three, the telescope spread like technological wildfire to Venice, Rome, Prague, Paris, London, and ultimately India and China. Galileo’s celestial discoveries—hundreds of stars previously invisible to the naked eye, lunar mountains, and moons orbiting Jupiter—were announced to the world in his revolutionary treatise Sidereus Nuncius.Combining science, politics, religion, and the arts, Galileo’s Telescope rewrites the early history of a world-shattering innovation whose visual power ultimately came to embody meanings far beyond the science of the stars.

Read more less

Soft layers of moss and pine needles carpet the ground as dappled sunlight or misty rain filters through the forest canopy's branches. Western Washington woodlands can be enchanting. Fortunately these magical places are abundant, covering half the state's soil. Affording beauty and recreation as well as economic value, they endure as one of the area's most important natural assets.In Native Trees of Western Washington, Washington State University's Kevin Zobrist examines regional indigenous trees from a forestry specialist's unique perspective. He explains basic tree physiology and a key part of their ecology--forest stand dynamics. He groups distinctive varieties into sections, describing common lowland conifers and broadleaved trees, high-elevation species found in the Olympic Mountains and western side of the Cascades, and finally, those with a very limited natural range and small, isolated populations. Numerous full-color photographs illustrate key traits.In addition, Zobrist discusses notable features, offering information about where to find particular species. He includes brief lists of some common human uses, citing Native American medicines, food, and materials, as well as commercial utilization from the time of European settlement to the present day. The result is a delightful and enlightening exploration of western Washington timberlands.

Read more less

Sir Stamford Raffles came across an unnamed new species in 1821 when he was documenting natural history in Singapore. This elusive primate, the Raffles' banded langur, was later named after him. This book is a one-stop resource for everything we know about the critically endangered primate that is only found in Singapore and Malaysia, including its distribution, diet, family structure, infant development, threats and conservation. The Raffles' banded langur is a large but slender-bodied monkey with black fur and white bands, while the infants are born with white fur and black bands. Exclusive high-quality photographs of the langurs are featured with family trees illustrating individually-named langurs. Interesting anecdotes about their personalities and behaviours are narrated. Living high up in the tree canopy, they eat a variety of local produce and exotic plants, from the red, juicy rambutans, stinky petai beans, to leafy angsana, perfumed wild cinnamon flowers and large sea almond fruits. This book showcases the diverse habitats of the Raffles' banded langurs, bringing us from the freshwater swamp forest in Singapore to the steep slopes of Gunung Lambak and the primary rainforests of Endau Rompin National Park in Johor, Malaysia. The book also highlights the cross-border conservation efforts and future plans to safeguard the long-term survival of the Raffles' banded langur, and promotes a better understanding and appreciation of our shared natural heritage.

Read more less

Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are found throughout the world in a variety of habitats. They flourish particularly well in moist, humid forests, filling many ecological roles. They provide seedbeds for the larger plants of the community and homes to countless arthropods, they capture and recycle nutrients that are washed with rainwater from the canopy, and they bind the soil to keep it from eroding. This photo-based field guide to the more common or distinctive bryophytes of northeastern North America gives beginners the tools they need to identify most specimens without using a compound microscope. Ralph Pope’s inviting text and helpful photographs cover not only the "true" mosses but also the Sphagnaceae (the peat mosses), liverworts, and hornworts. The heart of any field guide is the ability to narrow down a large number of possibilities to a single species, and this book does that with a variety of keying strategies. Traditional dichotomous keys are included, and there are also "quick" keys based on habitat and special morphological characteristics. The organization of the species pages is by plant family, an arrangement likely to resonate with readers with some plant background or botanical interest. Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts also features information on collecting, preserving, and identifying specimens to help hikers, naturalists, botanists, and gardeners find their way into this beautiful miniature world. Sections on bryophyte biology and ecology provide taxonomic and ecological context.

Read more less

A detailed examination of all aspects of parrots from behavior to their conservation.Parrots' colour and charisma, coupled with the fact that they mimic human speech, make them fascinating to many people. They are ancient birds with unique bill and foot structures that enable them to forage on fruits in the canopy of forest trees as well as on seeds in grasslands. Because they depend on fruits and seeds all year round, most species are confined to the tropics or sub-tropics, where the world's biodiversity is at its greatest. There are over three hundred species of parrots, of which more than one hundred are recognised as rare, endangered, vulnerable or threatened with extinction. Parrots are largely distributed in tropical areas of developing countries where economies are weak and uncertain, and where there is great dependence on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly hard wood evergreen forests, which are preferred parrot habitats. Unfortunately, high levels of corruption are common to these regions, with much illegal trade in animals and little or no law enforcement. Collectors of parrots in the first world pay huge sums for rare parrots. However, research, education and conservation actions are greatly reducing illegal trade in African parrots. This book provides complete coverage of all aspects of the biology of extant African, Malagasy and Mascarene parrots, and reviews our knowledge of extinct and fossil parrots from the region. Particular themes include the behavioural and ecological characteristics of parrots, their species characteristics and conservation biology. Current concepts in avian and conservation biology are also discussed. Parrots of Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands is aimed at ornithologists, conservation biologists, avian ecologists, academics, bird watchers and parrot fans alike. It is well illustrated, with high quality original photographs, and includes distribution maps, figures and tables.

Read more less

Cacti are full of contradictions. Although they can be found in some of the harshest, driest and most barren environments on earth, some are delicate tropical plants that grow high among the branches of the rainforest canopy. Many examples bristle with ferocious-looking spines, while others are completely bare. Nearly all exhibit remarkable floral displays - some having flowers that are even larger than the plant itself. Cacti have played a prominent role in human history for thousands of years. Some species were revered by ancient civilizations, playing a part in their religious ceremonies; other varieties have been heavily cultivated for food or for the production of the bright red dye cochineal - which is actually derived from a parasitic insect that feeds on the prickly pear cactus. Native to the American continents, cacti have spread worldwide and have become an important feature in many gardens and collections. Although not often in the culinary forefront of people's minds, a number of varieties of cacti are delicious to eat - it is a cactus that produces 'dragon fruit', which is fast becoming one of the world's more popular tropical fruits. In Cactus Dan Torre explores the natural, cultural and social history of cacti, with particular emphasis on how these remarkable plants have been represented in art, literature, cinema, animation and popular culture around the world. This is a highly original, entertaining and informative book that will appeal to everyone with an interest in cacti.

Read more less

Fitting a Camper Van Interior is a definitive guide to modifying or upgrading a camper van interior at home. This book offers guidance and advice on how to maximise the interior space, style and functionality of any camper van model. The book breaks down each task down into step-by-step photography and instructions, from the initial design stages, right through to expanding the camper van with awnings and elevating roofs. With safety tips throughout, the book covers: considerations when purchasing your camper van - classic or new model? How to assess an existing interior and determine what you need from your camper van. There are ideas and suggestions to help decide what you need to include inside a camper van. How to strip the inside of a camper van and prepare it for a new interior, including fitting insulation, sound proofing, rust protection, flooring and panelling is covered. How to make your own seats and fit them, restore a rock and roll bed and fit a hammock. There are step-by-step instructions on making your own kitchen units and fitting equipment such as a fridge and stove. Camper van electrics including hooking up at a campsite, running a leisure battery and other ideas for operating electrical equipment are all covered. Finally, expanding a camper van - how to make a canopy and fit an elevating roof.

Read more less

Automation in agriculture is made possible by the integration of advanced agricultural technology and precision agriculture management. This book, uniquely, will focus on applications of automation to the important industry of tree fruit production. Written by experts in agricultural automation technology from around the world, chapters in this book cover topics such as automated tree fruit production systems, plant stress sensing and high-throughput phenotyping in precision horticulture, the economics of automation in tree fruit production, light interception sensing systems for canopy management, precision irrigation and water management, precision technologies for pest and disease management, opportunities for the application of robotics in tree fruit production, and the mechanical harvesting and handling of fruit crops. The book is a representative, concise overview of the variety of technologies currently being applied to tree fruit crops around the world and the challenges faced by engineers and farmers that these technologies raise. It is aimed at researchers and graduate students of agriculture systems, agricultural and biological engineering, crop and soil sciences, horticulture, precision agriculture, and other relevant disciplines. It will also be of use to agriculture consultants, engineers, and other professionals such as agricultural equipment manufacturers and management professionals who use precision agriculture technologies. Key Features: - Takes a systematic approach to how to apply precision and automation technologies to fruit production. - Combines the disciplines of economics, horticulture, and engineering. - Illustrated by case studies throughout describing actual applications of automation technology.

Read more less

The treehouse in its most simple and fundamental form enables us to escape from the everyday pressures of modern life and feel closer to nature. It can also be an architectural wonder, showcasing the most creative of small space design and engineering solutions. This beautiful book shows how the treehouse can be many things: from simple structures based on centuries-old woodworking skills to modern geodesic forms strung high up above the treeline. There is something magical about treehouses – whatever your age. These boltholes perched above the ground appeal to those of us who want to get close to nature without forgoing any creature comforts... there are treehouses with wood-burning stoves, some with copper baths and some with elevated linking walkways obscured by the canopy of trees above. Then there are the handmade simple structures using recycled materials and the branches of the trees for both internal and external support and design. There are also free-standing structures on stilts inspired by the physical tree but not attached in any way. The book offers both visual inspiration from the specially commissioned photography but also the human stories behind the creation and design of these treehouses. The text covers topics such as the plan, structure, materials and decoration, colour palette and texture, and style notes to bring to life the personal and interesting story behind each treehouse featured in the book.

Read more less

This book focuses on light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, mainly for the commercial production of horticultural crops in plant factories and greenhouses with controlled environments, giving special attention to: 1) plant growth and development as affected by the light environment; and 2) business and technological opportunities and challenges with regard to LEDs. The book contains more than 30 chapters grouped into seven parts: 1) overview of controlled-environment agriculture and its significance; 2) the effects of ambient light on plant growth and development; 3) optical and physiological characteristics of plant leaves and canopies; 4) greenhouse crop production with supplemental LED lighting; 5) effects of light quality on plant physiology and morphology; 6) current status of commercial plant factories under LED lighting; and 7) basics of LEDs and LED lighting for plant cultivation. LED lighting for urban agriculture in the forthcoming decades will not be just an advanced form of current urban agriculture. It will be largely based on two fields: One is a new paradigm and rapidly advancing concepts, global technologies for LEDs, information and communication technology, renewable energy, and related expertise and their methodologies; the other is basic science and technology that should not change for the next several decades. Consideration should be given now to future urban agriculture based on those two fields. The tremendous potentials of LED lighting for urban agriculture are stimulating many people in various fields including researchers, businesspeople, policy makers, educators, students, community developers, architects, designers, and entrepreneurs. Readers of this book will understand the principle, concept, design, operation, social roles, pros and cons, costs and benefits of LED lighting for urban agriculture, and its possibilities and challenges for solving local as well as global agricultural, environmental, and social issues.

Read more less

This unique hiking guide to the southern Appalachian mountains leads readers to explore the rich forest ecosystems and other natural communities visitors encounter along the trail. Drawing on years of experience guiding forest walks throughout the region, Steph Jeffries and Tom Wentworth invite hikers and nature lovers to see their surroundings in new ways. Readers will learn to decipher clues from the tree canopies, forest floor, and other natural features to appreciate more fully the environmental factors that make the southern Appalachians home to an amazing biodiversity.These thirty popular hikes in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia range from short walks along Blue Ridge Parkway pull-offs to longer day trips in the region's backcountry. Offering spectacular mountain scenery and natural wildflower gardens, these trails are the perfect place to gain a new appreciation for the natural communities of the region.Features include: A summary including distance, difficulty, and GPS coordinates for each hike, a narrative description of each hike, including the unique natural features waiting to be discovered, detailed instructions to keep you on the trail, best seasons to go for wildflower and foliage views, contact information for each area, photos and maps to orient you, an illustrated guide to southern Appalachia's most common trees and shrubs, including tips on identification.

Read more less

This title offers scientific and practical information on cork oak woodlands and the cultural systems dependent on them. Cork oak has historically been an important species in the western Mediterranean - ecologically as a canopy or 'framework' tree in natural woodlands, and culturally as an economically valuable resource that underpins local economies. Both the natural woodlands and the derived cultural systems are experiencing rapid change, and whether or not they are resilient enough to adapt to that change is an open question. "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" provides a synthesis of the most up-to-date, scientific, and practical information on the management of cork oak woodlands and the cultural systems that depend on cork oak. In addition, "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" offers ten site profiles written by local experts that present an in-depth vision of cork oak woodlands across a range of biophysical, historical, and cultural contexts, with sixteen pages of full-colour photos that illustrate the tree, agro-silvopastoral systems, products, resident biodiversity, and more. "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" is an important book for anyone interested in the future of cork oak woodlands, or in the management of cultural landscapes and their associated land-use systems. In a changing world full of risks and surprises, it represents an excellent example of a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to studying, managing, and restoring an ecosystem, and will serve as a guide for other studies of this kind. Co-sponsored by the Society for Ecological Restoration International and Island Press, this series offers a foundation of practical knowledge and scientific insight that will help ecological restoration become the powerful reparative and healing tool that the world needs.

Read more less

It matters whether we believe in God or not. No one can prove that there isn’t a god and no one can prove that there is. However we can find signposts. In an interesting new book, A New Vision: A Fresh Beginning, Alexander Woolley looks for them and claims to have identified them. Current Christianity is often like a Christmas tree hidden under a canopy of decorations which camouflage the truth. All sorts of improbable ideas have been developed without there being convincing evidence to support the claims made. This book throws these decorations away and finds a real tree underneath it all. This is done by looking for the source of the Fourth Gospel. The access to information about discussions and decisions in the High Priest’s household and entourage is explained because the very young witness had business there, was intensely curious and addicted to running. They knew he was associating with Jesus but his charm and youth enabled him to get away with this. The witness was a constant companion of Simon Peter, but, like Peter, he was illiterate and so his vivid tales of Jesus were unknown until the theologian writer of the Gospel met the witness late on in the lives of them both. The writer was so excited by the discovery that he composed the Gospel. The two met in Ephesus, in modern Turkey, after the witness had saved the life of someone in the public baths there, and so aroused the amazement of the writer. The Gospel was the result of this encounter. Tombs to two Johns were recorded there and A New Vision suggests that these were the tombs of the two Johns responsible for the last canonical Gospel. A compelling, fascinating read for anyone interested in theology.

Read more less

A handsome photographic tribute to The Ramble, the untamed “wild garden” of Central Park in New York City. For many New Yorkers, Central Park is Manhattan’s crown jewel and what makes the city livable year round. For tourists, this urban oasis is a must-see destination on any sightseeing visit. For acclaimed photographer Robert A. McCabe, Central Park is defined by its Ramble—a densely forested thirty-eight acres replete with stunning lake vistas, enormous granite boulders, a canopy of trees, winding paths and streams, and ornate and rustic bridges. McCabe’s photographs in The Ramble in Central Park: A Wilderness West of Fifth have captured this wooded labyrinth in its off-the-beaten-path glory in its most photogenic seasons. The Ramble in Central Park is primarily organised by four regions, supplemented by one large map by Christopher Kaeser of the entire area and four close-ups of each section. The text is a series of essays by writers including The New Yorker’s E. B. White and C. Stevens. Topics cover the history of the park’s creation by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and the failed attempt of Robert Moses to essentially eliminate the Ramble in the 1950s, as well as the Ramble’s 250 species of woodland birds and the area’s remarkable geology and plant life. A compelling introduction by Central Park Conservancy President and Administrator Douglas Blonsky describes the recent renovation and continued protection of the Ramble. This photography book should appeal to nature lovers, bird watchers, and New York residents and visitors alike. It is the perfect tourist souvenir before or after a visit to Central Park and The Ramble. .

Read more less

James Robert McCrimmon faced countless horrors while travelling with the Doctor, but when the Time Lords returned the Highlander to his rightful place in history, almost all those memories were lost to him. Now the Doctor is back and needs his old friend by his side for more adventures — but this time they’re missions set by the sinister Raven. From the streets of 18th century Edinburgh, to the deserted corridors of a medical facility in the far future, and a human colony where darkness reigns, Jamie must first confront the greatest trauma of all – his own memories. Jamie by Mark Wright. Mysterious dreams of lives never lived haunt an ailing prisoner in Edinburgh Castle, in the year 1776. Meanwhile, the Doctor arrives on another reluctant mission for the Time Lords, with the enigmatic Raven observing his every move. How is the Doctor’s erstwhile travelling companion, Jamie McCrimmon, connected with the terrifying deaths that plague the streets in the shadow of the castle? And will Jamie ever really know his true self again? The Green Man by Paul F Verhoeven. Perched hundreds of miles above the forest canopy of Florestus Prime, The Grove rehabilitation centre promises to help the staggeringly rich of the galaxy cheat death. When a reunited Doctor and Jamie are despatched by Raven to investigate the disappearance of a Time Lord, they are greeted by Chief of Medicine, Overseer Fuller. Watching from his room at The Grove, an incapacitated Doctor helplessly observes the facility from afar. Who is the lone patient waving from across the courtyard? Why is Overseer Fuller doing rounds late at night when the Grove appears to have no other patients? And what precisely does Raven know about the ‘Green Man’? The Shroud by Robert Ayres. Arriving on the planet Ninevah, the Doctor and Jamie find a desperate human colony fighting the effects of a devastating super weapon – the Shroud. Nullifying all light, the Shroud has rendered the humans blind in the face of aggressive alien invaders dubbed ‘Squids’, and it’s only a matter of time before the colony falls. The Doctor and Jamie are caught between helping the humans fight back against the ‘Squids’ and investigating their latest mission for the Time Lords – but as they haven’t been told what that mission is, the pair are in the dark in more ways than one.

Read more less

From the international bestselling illustrator and Queen of Colouring Johanna Basford comes a beautiful new colouring book that takes you on a wondrous expedition through the jungle. Also features a large double-sided pull-out poster to colour and keep'The colourists have a queen, and her name is Johanna Basford' -- New York Magazine'Consider trading in your yoga mat for a set of markers and peruse the gorgeous gardens of Basford's imagination' -- The Huffington Post************************************************************************************************Follow ink evangelist Johanna Basford down an inky trail through Magical Jungle and discover a forgotten world of flora and fauna just waiting to be coloured in.Through intricate pen and ink illustrations, colour-inners of all ages are invited to explore an exotic rainforest teeming with creatures large and small. Encounter speckled tree frogs and dainty hummingbirds, prowling tigers and playful monkeys. Let your imagination run wild in the leafy treetop canopy or find yourself drawn to the delicate world of sensational blossoms and tropical plants below. There are ancient relics to be found along the way, each one leading toward the mystical treasure hidden at the heart of the magical jungle. Only the bravest, most inquisitive colourers will discover what lies hidden at the end of this inky quest.For Magical Jungle Johanna has picked a crisp ivory paper that accentuates and compliments your chosen colour palette. The smooth, untextured pages allows for beautiful blending or gradient techniques with coloured pencils, or are perfect for pens, allowing the nib to glide evenly over the surface without feathering.

Read more less

Shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize 2020 ‘An astonishing novel that is beautifully written but underpinned by a quiet simmering anger about injustice and unrealistic expectations of a family – and of life in contemporary India’ Peter Frankopan ‘A shattering study of disaffection and belonging … This is a concise novel of staggering depth …Disturbing, deep and utterly extraordinary’ Bidisha, Observer An Irish Times Book of the Year 2019 Escaping her failing marriage, Grace has returned to Pondicherry to cremate her mother. Once there, she finds herself heir to an unexpected inheritance. First, there is the strange pink house, blue-shuttered, out on a spit of the wild beach, haunted by the rattle of fishermen in their catamarans. And then there is the sister she never knew she had: Lucia, who has spent her life in a residential facility. Soon Grace sets up a new and precarious life in this lush, melancholy wilderness, with Lucia, the village housekeeper Mallika, the drily witty Auntie Kavitha and an ever-multiplying litter of puppies. Here in Paramankeni, with its vacant bus stops colonised by flying foxes, its temples and step-wells shielded by canopies of teak and tamarind, where every dusk the fishermen line the beach smoking and mending their nets, Grace feels that she has come to the very end of the world. But Grace’s attempts to play house prove first a struggle, then a strain, as she discovers the chaos, tenderness, fury and bewilderment of life with Lucia. Luminous, funny, surprising and heartbreaking, Small Days and Nights is the story of a woman caught in a moment of transformation, and the sacrifices we make to forge lives that have meaning.

Read more less

A richly illustrated natural history of ants, covering their diversity, ecology, anatomy, behavior, and morePlentiful and familiar, ants make up an estimated one-third of the world’s insect biomass and can be found in virtually every part of the globe, from rain forest canopies to city sidewalks. But their importance is about more than numbers: ants are fundamental species in a range of habitats and their interactions with plants, fungi, and other animals ensure the survival of many fragile and complex ecosystems. This beautifully illustrated book explores the extraordinary diversity of ants and offers insights into their elaborate social systems, investigating the key collective and competitive behaviors that operate within their varied colony structures.Featuring exceptional close-up photographs and clearly organized thematic chapters, the book covers anatomy, evolution, life cycle, ecology, and other important topics. Each chapter also features profiles of standout genera, chosen for their fascinating characteristics, including Leafcutter Ants, who build nests containing up to 7,000 chambers; Pugnacious Ants whose colonies can destroy populations of crabs within hours; and Honeypot Ants whose worker caste store food in their stomachs for other colony members to consume. Drawing on current research, Ants offers an inviting and accessible introduction to these remarkable insects. Includes more than 200 stunning color photographs, plus infographics and diagrams Presents full profiles of 42 iconic genera from across the world Features clearly structured thematic chapters

Read more less

If John Fowler was – in the words of the late Duchess of Devonshire – the Prince of Decorators, and Nancy Lancaster undoubted doyenne of English country house style, Imogen Taylor was their crown princess. She joined Colefax and Fowler in 1949 and was for many years John Fowler’s trusted assistant. John – and Nancy – had total faith in Imogen’s ‘perfect taste’, and when John retired in 1971 he passed on to her all his clients – who ranged from HM The Queen, through duchesses and film stars, to ladies of the night. From this time until she retired in 1999 she was, along with Tom Parr, the firm’s principal decorator. Over the years she extended the clientele she had inherited from John and developed her own subtle, comfortable and charming version of English country house style. In this unique combination of social history and style bible, Imogen Taylor brings a sharp eye and ready wit not only to decorating style but also to the social history of the latter part of the twentieth century. Here you will learn about how fabric walling was done, how the famous ‘twelve different whites’ were applied, how to oil gild, how the passementerie was made for Buckingham Palace and Windsor, about Bessarabian carpets and trompe l’oeil painting and Nancy Lancaster’s broderie anglaise lamp shades, ‘like a child’s skirt or a ball dress’. You will also find the Duchess of Windsor dismissing the Duke (‘David, you’re not needed − go and buy some brushes or something’), Dolly Rothschild’s iron bed (‘like a school or hospital bedstead’), Harry Hyams’ reluctance to sign cheques (‘It’s like spilling my own blood!’), John Fowler in a tantrum yelling at the Duchess of Cornwall (she was a girl assistant at the time, not a client), Imogen being summoned to Howletts because ‘a young Siberian tiger, who had been in bed with Aspinall and his wife, had ripped down the silk hangings on the inside of their canopy bed.’

Read more less

A witty and informative account that busts the myths about Britain's most captivating butterfly species. When summer is at its zenith and the sallow foliage develops a bluish tinge, a giant butterfly – beautiful, bold and brazen – flies powerfully over the tree canopy. Females of this species, wary yet determined, haunt the sallow thickets, depositing their eggs, while the males establish treetop territories and descend to the woodland floor in search of indelicacies to feed upon. Mysterious, elusive and enthralling in equal measure, this is the butterfly that Victorian collectors yearned for above all others: His Imperial Majesty, the Purple Emperor. A wondrous enigma, the Purple Emperor is our most elusive and least-known butterfly – we glimpse it only through fissures in its treetop world, yet this giant insect has fascinated us for centuries and has even inspired its own 'Emperoring' language. Matthew Oates became captivated by the Purple Emperor following his first sighting as a boy. He has studied it assiduously ever since, devoting his life to trying to unravel the Emperor's secrets. His Imperial Majesty takes us on a journey, beginning with a dalliance into the bizarre history of our engagement with the butterfly, with daring doings and gross eccentricities from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Subsequent chapters explore all aspects of this remarkable butterfly's life cycle, including behaviour, habitat preferences, life history and conservation, all relayed in Matthew's unique, informative and witty style. Not so long ago, our knowledge of the Emperor was largely based on a blend of mythology and assumption. This book dispels the fabrications and reveals all about the Purple Emperor – the king of British butterflies.

Read more less

From Lewis Miller, the celebrated floral designer and "Flower Bandit" himself, an intimate and joyous behind-the-scenes look at his signature Flower Flashes as they introduced bright moments of natural beauty into the city when they were needed most. Before dawn one morning in October 2016, renowned New York-based floral designer Lewis Miller stealthily arranged hundreds of brightly colored dahlias, carnations, and mums into a psychedelic halo around the John Lennon memorial in Central Park. The spontaneous floral installation was Miller's gift to the city - an effort to spark joy during a difficult time. Nearly five years and more than ninety Flower Flashes later, these elaborate flower bombs - bursts of jubilant blooms in trash cans, over bus canopies, on construction sites and traffic medians - have brought moments of delight and wonder to countless New Yorkers and flower lovers everywhere, and earned Miller a following of dedicated fans and the nickname the "Flower Bandit." After New York City entered lockdown, Miller doubled down, creating Flower Flashes outside hospitals to express gratitude to frontline health workers and throughout the city to raise spirits. This gorgeous and poignant visual diary traces the phenomenon from the first, spontaneous Flower Flash to the even more profound installations of the pandemic through a kaleidoscopic collage of photos documenting the Flower Flashes, behind-the-scenes snapshots, Miller's inspiration material, fan contributions, and more.

Read more less

In this first comprehensive treatment of plant biomechanics, Karl J. Niklas analyzes plant form and provides a far deeper understanding of how form is a response to basic physical laws. He examines the ways in which these laws constrain the organic expression of form, size, and growth in a variety of plant structures, and in plants as whole organisms, and he draws on the fossil record as well as on studies of extant species to present a genuinely evolutionary view of the response of plants to abiotic as well as biotic constraints. Well aware that some readers will need an introduction to basic biomechanics or to basic botany, Niklas provides both, as well as an extensive glossary, and he has included a number of original drawings and photographs to illustrate major structures and concepts.This volume emphasizes not only methods of biomechanical analysis but also the ways in which it allows one to ask, and answer, a host of interesting questions. As Niklas points out in the first chapter, "From the archaic algae to the most derived multicellular terrestrial plants, from the spectral properties of light-harvesting pigments in chloroplasts to the stacking of leaves in the canopies of trees, the behavior of plants is in large part responsive to and intimately connected with the physical environment. In addition, plants tend to be exquisitely preserved in the fossil record, thereby giving us access to the past." Its biomechanical analyses of various types of plant cells, organs, and whole organisms, and its use of the earliest fossil records of plant life as well as sophisticated current studies of extant species, make this volume a unique and highly integrative contribution to studies of plant form, evolution, ecology, and systematics.

Read more less

As a farmer with decades spent working in fields, Scott Chaskey has been shaped by daily attention to the earth. A leader in the international Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement, he has combined a longstanding commitment to food sovereignty and organic farming with a belief that humble attention to microbial life and diversity of species provides invaluable lessons for building healthy human communities. Along the way, even while planning rotations of fields, ordering seeds, tending to crops and their ecosystems, Chaskey was writing. And in this lively collection of essays, he explores the evolution of his perspective—as a farmer and as a poet. Tracing the first stage in his development back to a homestead in Maine, on the ancestral lands of the Abenaki, he recalls learning to cultivate plants and nourish reciprocal relationships among species, even as he was reading Yeats and beginning to write poems. He describes cycling across Ireland, a surprise meeting with Seamus Heaney, and, later, farming in Cornwall’s ancient landscape of granite, bramble, and windswept trees. He travels to China for an international conference on Community Supported Agriculture, reading ancient wilderness poetry along the way, and then on to the pueblo of Santa Clara in New Mexico, where he joins a group of Indigenous women harvesting amaranth seeds. Closer to home on the Southfork of Long Island, he describes planting redwood saplings and writing verse under the canopy of an American beech.“Enlivened by decades of work in open fields washed by the salt spray of the Atlantic”—words that describe his prose as well as his vision of connectedness—Scott Chaskey has given us a book for our time. A seed of hope and regeneration.

Read more less

This Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route guidebook is perfect for independent travellers planning a longer trip. It features all of the must-see sights and a wide range of off-the-beaten-track places. It also provides detailed practical information on preparing for a trip and what to do on the ground. And this Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route travel guidebook is printed on paper from responsible sources, and verified to meet the FSC's strict environmental and social standards. This Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route guidebook covers: The City Centre; V&A Waterfront, Robben Island and De Waterkant; Table Mountain and the City Bowl, Southern Suburbs and Cape Flats; Atlantic seaboard; The False Bay seaboard to Cape Point; The Winelands; The Whale Coast and Overberg Interior; The Garden Route; Route 62 and the Little Karoo; Port Elizabeth, Addo and the private reserves.Inside this Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route travel book, you'll find: - A wide range of sights - Rough Guides experts have hand picked places for travellers with different needs and desires: off-the-beaten-track adventures, family activities or chilled-out breaks- Itinerary examples - created for different time frames or types of trip- Practical information - how to get to Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route, all about public transport, food and drink, shopping, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, tips for travellers with disabilities and more- Author picks and things not to miss in Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route - Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Ocean Safaris, Township Tours, Zeitz Mocaa, Cape Point, The Bo-Kaap, Winelands, Mother City Queer Project Party, Neighbourhood Markets, Chapman's Peak Drive, Canopy Tours, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Robben Island, Cape Town International Festival, V&A Waterfront - Insider recommendations - tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money, and find the best local spots- When to go to Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route - high season, low season, climate information and festivals - Where to go - a clear introduction to Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route with key places and a handy overview - Extensive coverage of regions, places and experiences - regional highlights, sights and places for different types of travellers, with experiences matching different needs- Places to eat, drink and stay - hand-picked restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels- Practical info at each site - hours of operation, websites, transit tips, charges- Colour-coded mapping - with keys and legends listing sites categorised as highlights, eating, accommodation, shopping, drinking and nightlife - Background information for connoisseurs - history, culture, art, architecture, film, books, religion, diversity- Essential Afrikaans dictionary and glossary of local terms - Free download of the eBook - available after purchase of the printed guidebook to Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route - Fully updated post-COVID 19The guide provides a comprehensive and rich selection of places to see and things to do in Cape Town, the Winelands & the Garden Route, as well as great planning tools. It's the perfect companion, both ahead of your trip and on the ground.

Read more less

As a farmer with decades spent working in fields, Scott Chaskey has been shaped by daily attention to the earth. A leader in the international Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement, he has combined a longstanding commitment to food sovereignty and organic farming with a belief that humble attention to microbial life and diversity of species provides invaluable lessons for building healthy human communities. Along the way, even while planning rotations of fields, ordering seeds, tending to crops and their ecosystems, Chaskey was writing. And in this lively collection of essays, he explores the evolution of his perspective—as a farmer and as a poet. Tracing the first stage in his development back to a homestead in Maine, on the ancestral lands of the Abenaki, he recalls learning to cultivate plants and nourish reciprocal relationships among species, even as he was reading Yeats and beginning to write poems. He describes cycling across Ireland, a surprise meeting with Seamus Heaney, and, later, farming in Cornwall’s ancient landscape of granite, bramble, and windswept trees. He travels to China for an international conference on Community Supported Agriculture, reading ancient wilderness poetry along the way, and then on to the pueblo of Santa Clara in New Mexico, where he joins a group of Indigenous women harvesting amaranth seeds. Closer to home on the Southfork of Long Island, he describes planting redwood saplings and writing verse under the canopy of an American beech.“Enlivened by decades of work in open fields washed by the salt spray of the Atlantic”—words that describe his prose as well as his vision of connectedness—Scott Chaskey has given us a book for our time. A seed of hope and regeneration.

Read more less

With its iconic bubble canopy and advanced helmet-mounted displays, the F-16 Fighting Falcon is one of the supreme Fourth Generation air-superiority fighters in the world today. First flown by the US Air Force in the mid 1980s, Lockheed Martin have since delivered about 4,600 F-16s to over 25 countries and more than 3,000 F-16 fighters are currently operational worldwide. The Fighting Falcon is highly adaptable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack in a variety of conflicts over the last 40 years. The F-16’s versatility and durability has meant it can be adapted to a number of roles, including air superiority, reconnaissance and ground attack. In an air combat role, the F-16’s maneuverability and combat radius exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. USAF F-16 multirole fighters were deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm, where more sorties were flown than with any other aircraft. These fighters were used to attack airfields, Scud missiles sites and a key military infrastructure. Other allied air forces, such as Israel, have heavily adapted the F-16 for their own use, and the Israeli F-16I Soufa (Storm) has proved itself in numerous combat situations in the 21st century. Today, constant technology and weapons’ upgrades mean the F-16 is planned to serve through to 2060. Packed with 100 vivid artworks and photographs, F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact reference guide for lovers of this iconic aircraft and aviation enthusiasts.

Read more less