Ye canni ca it curl-doddie, that’s for the deil’s bit scabious frae the Scabiosa family, an dinni snigger.
An dinni be pinging them seed heads at me neither.
Nor peltin me wi the stalks.
Translate:
curl-doddie, curl-doddy: The devil’s bit scabious, the seed-bearing stem of the ribwort plantain, clover, both red and white and other such round headed flowers.
You cannot call it curl-doddie, that is for the devil’s bit scabious from the Scabiosa family, and don’t snigger.
And don’t be firing off these seed heads at me either.
Nor pelting me with the stalks.
′kʌrl′dɔdi
The Scottish Word: curl-doddy with its definition and its meaning illustrated and captioned with the word used in context in the Scots language and in English.
Dearth of Life.
Lying in the grass on a summer’s day about fifty years ago I would have been surrounded by loads of buzzing bees and other insects. And I do remember those days and I see the difference now.
We only have around 3 in ten of those insects left nowadays – and decreasing. Bad news for birds too.
Take it from me, we live in impoverished times in terms of the living environment.
Don’t let the lifeless padded brick and concrete be your comfort against that awful reality.
Evidenced Confirmation.
This link is from the Ecological Society of America which involved a long term insect study in Colorado. “We sampled insects weekly from 1986 to 2020 in a protected subalpine meadow in Colorado, which is embedded in an undisturbed natural landscape. During the study period, summers became warmer, while winters became drier. Insect biomass declined by ∼47% and abundance declined by ∼61.5% over the last 35 years.”
This link is to a series of science based articles on insect decline in phys.org run by Science X. “Science X provides thorough daily coverage of the full sweep of science, technology and medical news. We are dedicated to our readers: scientists, researchers, engineers, tech enthusiasts, academics and lifelong learners alike.”
Finally a link to an article from the Natural History Museum on having to understand the decline of insects in order to save them.