WORDS

[Doodoo]

waste of time
noun phrase
: a bad use of time
The lecture was a complete waste of time.

[Doodoo]

Har·py
noun

1.
a rapacious monster described as having a woman's head and body and a bird's wings and claws or depicted as a bird of prey with a woman's face.
2.
a grasping, unpleasant woman:
derogatory
"clearly, he had us down as a couple of gold-digging harpies"

[Laan Yaa Mo]

When did it begin, this deep and bitter prejudice against dandelions? Some gardeners experience a wave of irritation when they see these little sun flowers daring to bloom on their perfect lawns. Toxic weed killers, constant mowing, fertilisers, specially designed grab tools and even mini flame throwers are used to prevent them from growing. Yet dandelions are strikingly beautiful, and bring life to countless pollinators, birds and mammals. Attitudes are slowly changing though. A decade ago, typing “dandelions” into a web browser would have brought pages listing endless ways to eradicate them; now the same search yields the Royal Horticultural Society advising us that welcoming these flowers into our gardens is a great way to boost local biodiversity.

Jonathan Tulloch

[tamada]

What's the difference between this thread and the Words and their Definitions" thread?

[tamada]

ex·pa·ti·ate
/ikˈspāSHēˌāt/
verb
verb: expatiate; 3rd person present: expatiates; past tense: expatiated; past participle: expatiated; gerund or present participle: expatiating

speak or write at length or in detail.
"she expatiated on working-class novelists"

[Laan Yaa Mo]

April has provided a strange sight on the A168 between Thirsk and Northallerton. While most of the trees growing on this busy roadside were either white with blossom or gradually growing green, a dozen or so larger individuals were glowing red. These were black poplars. Male black poplars have crimson catkins, which can make the whole tree shine like an arboreal ruby, especially on cloudy days. These catkins were once known as devil’s fingers, and it was considered bad luck to touch them after they’d fallen. Black poplars are Britain’s rarest tree, but without genetic testing it would be impossible to determine whether the A168 poplars were genuinely wild specimens or hybrids. Far more common, hybrids are a cross between native black poplars and cottonwood trees.

Jonathan Tulloch

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Shandy Hall in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, gives visitors a fascinating insight into the life of Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy; it also offers the chance to experience one of the world’s finest nature spectacles — a vibrant rookery. The upper branches of the sycamores that lift from the rim of the former stone quarry, which forms Shandy Hall’s woodland garden, are filled with the black baskets of rook nests. The rise and fall of cawing sweeps from these stately trees like the howling of wolves. The rooks are not confined to this visitor attraction, however. Nearby, a huddle of hawthorns also plays host to an offshoot from the main rookery. These nests are a good 50 feet lower than those in the sycamores.

Jonathan Tulloch