This Micusfonsscriptus needs a refillSince this hover fly (otherwise known as hoverfly or syrphid fly or flower fly, or—by most people, a wasp, which would be a mistake) mistook a paper on my desk for a toilet, I've taken the liberty of naming it with a name that is, I would bet, more accurate though linguistically inept, than the name it most likely bears in ignorance.
For who amongst the odd visitors here who have perched for a moment, doesn't love the feel and look of a fountain pen not made for people who love gold and glitz, but the pure pleasure of ink flowing from a pen onto a receptive sheet.
This Pelican needs feeding, too.Of course, if anyone can put an official name to the beautiful creature above, I'd be grateful if not exactly thrilled. For vicarious thrills, see Mark Isaak's delightful Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature.
it looks like a wasp (a saw fly) to me though. the only things that land on my desk are dust and dejection.
ReplyDeleteYou could well be right. I think in future, I should just say I suspect this is probably an insect and not a mushroom.
ReplyDeleteSawflies also have thick waists, and we certainly do have many spitfires around these parts. Here is one picture of a sawfly from the Australian Museum, and see their Sawfly description page.
Dust! My dear friend, that is nature's quilt, and it shows that you don't waste your time dusting, a more sterile way to spend time I don't know of. The only way to dust is when there's enough of it to pick up in your hand. What it buries can be a treasure when you unearth it again, and it provides shelter and comfort for countless uncounteds.
As for dejection, it is horrible to think of that emotion being able to snide its way into your presence. It doesn't matter which post, for instance, that I could pick, of yours. Every one has so much to astound, interest, teach, enthrall. Just the other day I was thinking yet again about horseshoe crabs, and even wrote about them, as I think of them often, especially the way they're considered willing donors who can do without a good deal of their vital fluids without flinching. But YOU actually wrote about them from the best point of view. Viewing them, knowing about their relationship with us, and thinking about them in relation to the world including the Timeworld. Even your two titles are marvelous, your wit as usual, tossed off without a pointer to it, so casually.
And then, with 98% of the chatting world obsessed with food but few thinking of the meaning of it, every illustrated report by you is refreshing as a tamarind, always telling so much more. Your latest Khao soi is typical. Food tastes good to us because of all the associations our brains make with it, and history is an ingredient that cannot be imitated. So this also, is a viscerally pleasurable experience that you've given to others. You need to get some of that feast back yourself, maybe in a good-tasting reflux? if there could be such a thing...
when I visited the synchrotron in Melbourne, scientists were analysing the ink on an antique document; they believed one of the ingredients was wasp gall - so if this were a wasp, it would be most appropriate - a poignant visit from a descendant of one of the proud insects whose secretions were once used to grace the paper he can but drop his dung upon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a picture. Thank you! Highly recommended: This fascinating recent post Making Iron Gall Ink by John Daniel on his always fascinating blog The Endless Swarm.
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