Thursday, January 20, 2011

a special book or two

you may have caught on to my passion for books (ha!) but maybe not to my passion for field guides and natural history books. old ones, especially. the dedication of natural historians amazes me. they take their time. they look. they listen. they look and listen more. they record with pencil and paints. 
at school we take the students to job sites three times a week. one of our sites is a library.  each year we help with the friends of the library book sale, we sort, arrange, and after it's over box potentially salable books and throw away many, many others. it's painful to throw books out. i retrieve a few that the library is happy to donate to us. and i'm happy any time a student wants a book. (maybe they'll read it.)
who knew anyone would study these?
apparently pollen loads on bees can be color traced.
look at those reds! 
and blues. and i'm not sure, but i think she painted these! possibly not, but they are wonderful, thick paint chips.
 dorothy hodge traced these pollen loads by color to their flower sources. by season. 
and now i wonder about the pigments in pollen! 
she painted and drew all kinds of color chips and bees and pollens.
and another cool book
such treasure!
more pollen loads.
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18 comments:

  1. ValeriannaJanuary 20, 2011 at 7:19 PM

    Wow! I LOVE the pollen loads.... a stunning array of paint chips. I've been trying to land on the PERFECT color to paint my upstairs, I think one of those greens would be wonderful. Now, I wonder if Benjamin Moore has a pollen load color schemes chart for me to pull from?

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2011 at 7:26 PM

    oh my. Who would have thought,pollen colour coded to the blossoms. The colour chips are marvellous. I, too am a bookaholic but this year I'm going to cull some. Otherwise there is no room for new ones and that wouldn't do.

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  3. Velma BolyardJanuary 20, 2011 at 7:32 PM

    the pollen book is stunning. and i keep acquiring more books, no matter how many i weed out. sigh. it's like having a really cool library, sometimes, and others? like a tidal wave!

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  4. india flintJanuary 20, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    this is really thrilling stuff!!

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    Outstanding! What a TREASURE! I've got to tell my beekeeper friend! She'll love this!

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  6. judeJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:05 PM

    oh this is too good to be true, calling by brother!

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  7. Velma BolyardJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:20 PM

    don't we all know a naturalist who would love this? and me, i love it mightily!

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  8. ronnieJanuary 20, 2011 at 9:37 PM

    mighty mighty yummy stuff (as a bee or book girlie would say!)

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  9. Fiona DempsterJanuary 20, 2011 at 11:14 PM

    Fabulous! Such dedication, passion and knowledge. And what a special treasure to keep!

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  10. Ursula AchtenJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:32 AM

    Hello Velma,
    I'm popping in from India's site:
    Sometimes we stand in front of our hives and watch the bees coming home with some strange coloured stuff...We're always so curious and the colours so beautiful...this book is a jewel!!

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  11. neki desuJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:04 AM

    colored pollen!!the blues are exciting.

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  12. FionaJanuary 21, 2011 at 5:32 AM

    I am over awed by the work and dedication that must have gone into compiling those pollen charts. I wish I had a passion like that.

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  13. Velma BolyardJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    i think this kind of attention to detail of such an obscure thing is what makes this book so wonderful.

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  14. kaiteMJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:19 AM

    how absolutely extraordinary, pollen in different colours, and that nectar gatherer is a really handsome critter. k.

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  15. Deb GJanuary 21, 2011 at 7:45 AM

    Really, really love this.... Books, I've decided that as long as they bring me joy, there is no such thing as too many!

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  16. JenniferJanuary 21, 2011 at 2:30 PM

    Wow! And to think I have only ever noticed bees laden with yellows & oranges. Looking forward to spring when they'll be out again! I am glad you are saving those books, protecting them really!

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  17. Velma BolyardJanuary 21, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    and i think why ever are pollen loads loaded with color???

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  18. SusanJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    Hi Velma.

    these books! I collect nature theme books too - but these you have shown are something else. those swatches - who knew

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