Get to Know Nature Scavenger Hunt Round Two - Bing!

A little fun contest with a scientific method of choosing the winner posted by @phoenixwren. I enjoyed the last one, it gave me an excuse to potter around and learn some new things. I thought I would have another go. You still have a couple of days to enter.

Rough and Smooth Bark

I'd been meaning to walk down to this place, just about a mile from where I live, for several months now. I tried first on Wednesday, but was too late and even my secret code couldn't get me past the padlock (should have taken some picks), but today I made it.

I've been fascinated by the variation in tree bark for a while and, following the @runningproject 5k training programme during the winter was a prime opportunity to notice all the differences. I'm planning a project for #treetuesday and for #needleworkmonday, but for now I'll content myself with rough and smooth.

The Attenborough Arboretum is planted in the order that trees and shrubs started migrating to the British Isles after the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago. At that time, sea levels were much lower and seeds migrated through the activity of birds and animals and the wind. About 6,000 years ago this changed, when early humans began cultivating the land (agriculture) and introduced many different types of plants as crops.

I've chosen bark from trees that arrived soon after the ice age and were established here by 10,500 years ago. These are pioneer plants - hardy and fast growing, covering the ground before they are followed by slower growing species.

Rough: This is the (sideways) bark of Aspen in the same family as Willows and Poplars. They like wet conditions (there were lots of willows lining the side if the huge dipping pond).

Smooth: And the sideways bark of Bird Cherry - a tree I haven't come across before.

Scientists date the migration and arrival of trees in the British Isles using pollen fossils. The work of Professor Winifred Pennington in this area underpins most modern work on climate change.

White or Clear Rocks

I knew where I was going for these - New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, which has a geology section and fabulous (local) dinosaurs. Disappointingly, there weren't any white or clear rocks on display. The nearest was marble but it was in a display case with other rocks that made them all look like samples for kitchen tiles. The Museum shop saved the day, though.

What it says on the label 😎.

I thought I was going to have to make do with this rock, which looks a bit like chewed up jelly beans. This is a picture of the magnified rock on a computer screen.

The original was in a little tray with other interesting specimens ...

Which you could view through this microscope. There was some interesting information about how rocks are classified (possibly cheap-as-chips to you-can't-afford-this judging by the shop), but none of the specimens in the tray were named.

A Cactus

I don't know anything about any of these, except this:

I'm sorry steemit is spoiling my little joke, but you get the message 😍.

Sunrise

I have hundreds of pictures of sunsets but I don't think a single one is mine and I'm not sure where they came from 😱. Never mind, I knew I had this somewhere ...

This was taken in August 2014, it says about 4.30am, but I think that is UK time. I was staying at my sister's place in Cyprus for a month, and so it would have been about 6.30am. This was the view from the balcony outside my bedroom.

A Leaf as Big as Your Hand

This is my cut-and-come-again cauliflower plant. It was a tiny little plug plant when it arrived and was thrown straight into the soil before the frosts had definitely finished. Ha! It laughs in the face of poor gardening practice!

This plant just decided to grow in my garden. I'm not sure what it is, maybe common sorrel.

Last but not Least, Some Orange Flowers

One of my favourites - honeysuckle. An untidy rambling shrub, but with lovely smelling flowers.

A cottage garden favourite - marigolds - in my neighbour's garden. We used to use these for "cooking" when we were very small and playing in the mud in the garden. I think I may have persuaded my younger sister to eat them.

So that's everything 😎.

Leicester Race for Life

I'm running in the 5k #raceforlife in Leicester on Sunday 8 July. If you'd like to support me raise money for Cancer Research UK, please vote for one of my running posts:

• Lousy 24 hours. Went for a run.
• Monday morning run.
  Many thanks!