...just announced a hosepipe and sprinkler ban on their eight million customers from April 3. But they are unsympathetic. "Alan Titchmarsh says it doesn't matter if your garden goes brown, it will soon perk up when it rains," says a spokeswoman. But since the hosepipe ban has been introduced because of a shortage of rain, this argument seems a little circuitous. The brown-is-beautiful spokeswoman also refers me to the advice section of Thames Water's website, which is full of warnings on the evil of power showers but of less value to distressed gardeners. Adam Pasco, editor of BBC Gardeners' World magazine, is of more help. He says gardeners shouldn't panic - their gardens need not be Saharan wastelands. His call to arms is a decisive one, with no ifs but plenty of butts. "Lots of rain falls," he explains, "but we just give it back to water companies through our drains and then pay for them to send it back to us. We should collect it instead." He says consumers fail to value water and the current drought is a "wake-up call" that will lead us to adopt a more conservationist approach, with metering, recycling and under-patio reservoirs all on the agenda. As we probably can't build an under-patio reservoir by July, he offers a few short-term expedients. Use "grey" water - bathwater and washing up water - on the garden, as long as it doesn't contain large quantities of detergents. Mulch your flowerbeds by covering the soil with compost to lock in the moisture. Don't mow lawns too...
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...Gutters Protect Your Home From Water Damage: 3 Tips To Ensure Your Gutters Work Properly Gutters protect your roof and home from water damage. It's important to have a gutter system on your home and to maintain it so it works properly. Otherwise, you could run into problems with water near your foundation, rain seeping under the siding, and rain backing up under the roof. A wet house leads to problems with mold, wood rot, and insect infestation. Gutters work properly when the are free from debris and sloped towards the downspout. Then, rain easily flows away from your house so it causes no harm. Here are a few tips for making sure your gutters work like they should to protect your home during all seasons of the year. Replace or Repair Old,...
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...An island garden is one that sits alone in your yard surrounded by lawn. Such a garden is meant to be viewed from all sides; therefore, some serious thought should be given to the planning and planting of an island garden. I have seen numerous island gardens where the homeowner has planted some type of tall ornamental grass, such as pampas grass, in the center of the island garden. Around the ornamental grass would be planted a circle of the same kind of plant; e.g., salvia or clumps of catmint. A final third circle would consist of an even lower growing type of plant - for instance, some type of ground cover. I have seen other island gardens that consist of a bunch of blooming perennials, with no method to the madness. Shorter perennials are lost in the middle of taller...
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...Cat in the rain by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. The story begins with the description of the hotel where American couple stopped. It was raining, that’s why the couple stayed at their room and just a cat in the rain attracted the young woman’s attention. The man was reading and almost didn’t pay any attention on his wife. He was absolutely indifferent in that cat; but the woman wanted to get the cat inside. Then we saw the woman’s attitude to the owner of the hotel. She really liked him and there were words to prove it: “She liked the hotel-keeper. The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he wanted to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands.” The woman went downstairs in order to bring the cat at her room...
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...have weather. But it is (loosely) separated into four seasons. For the gardener each season becomes early, middle and late. For instance, early spring is February to March, mid-spring is March to April, and so on throughout the year. Be Patient It's easy to succumb to the temptation to rush into the garden on the first sunny day of spring, especially for those of us who spend six months a year re-reading seed catalogues and peering wistfully at the garden through frosty windows. Indeed, for many of us, the asthmatic coughing of two-cycle engines, rudely awoken and pressed into service before the completion of their well-earned period of rest, is a truer harbinger of spring than the return of migrating birds. But it's often better to wait for the first rush to the garden centres to subside before undertaking anything more than an exploratory expedition into the garden. Some crops, such as peas, can be safely planted in cold soil; but, for most plants, it's much better to wait for the soil to warm up before planting. A good rule of thumb is never to work wet soil. Heavy soils, especially, will compact horribly if you rush out to till them too early in the season or after a heavy rain. Trampling about in clay soil will make you feel as though your legs are about to fall off at the hips, and will repay your eagerness to re-enact the Battle of the Somme by leaving a legacy of soil that's almost impossible to cultivate in the heat of summer. The first warm days of spring are meant...
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...Analytical essay of ”Crossing” - Mark Slouka “No love is greater than that of a father for His son” – This quote can be related to the short story crossing, which is written by Mark Slouka. The father (Narrator) has a past where he failed a lot on the family-front, now he is trying to make things better by trying to improve his bond to his son. A relationship between a son and his father is difficult to maintain when the sons father and mother are divorced. The custody is typically awarded to the mother of the child. How would a father behave when he get the chance to strengthen the bond between his son and himself? Mark Slouka has used third-person limited omniscient narrator. This means a few things for the narrative technique. Typical for a third-person narrator is the use of pronouns like “he, she, they, them” which is shown in the short story Crossing. EX: “When the first car appeared he could see it from a long way off…” “When they came out of the trees and onto the stony beach…” Third-person limited omniscient narrator also means that the narrator knows everything but he does not necessarily disclose everything, which is to make the reader want to read the story to get all of the veiled parts of the story. The omniscient narrator is also shown here, because the reader get to know what he thinks.“… he thought, maybe – maybe he could make this right” The short story takes place in the state Tacoma, Washington, USA. This can be seen in the very beginning of the...
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...Attack Combos In the Pokémon games, there are many different strategies you could use to win against a clever foe. Some strategies can be used just to lay down an all-out assault on a foe, and some are more skilled and use a combination of defense and more adept move usage. Some Pokémon's heaviest hitting attacks rely on a combination of different moves, some more useful than others. This guide outlines some of those move combinations that you can use against an opponent. Use them on the right Pokémon, and they could be extremely dangerous. True Combos In Black & White, there are Combination Moves which are done by using two seperate moves with two of your Pokémon during Double or Triple battles. These moves will then combine and have an added extra effect. These effects vary from simple status afflictions to doing damage to the Pokémon. Only one of the Pokémon will do the damage to the Pokémon selected, but the effect will occur and lasts for several turns Grass Oath + Fire Oath | Moves Required: Grass Oath & Fire OathEffect: When you use the move Grass Oath and then the move Fire Oath during a Double or Triple battle, the move will combine and create a field of fire which causes small amounts of damage to your opponents each turn. | | Fire Oath + Water Oath | Moves Required: Fire Oath & Water OathEffect: When you use the move Fire Oath and then the move Water Oath during a Double or Triple battle, the move will combine and create a a rainbow over...
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...many different forms such as oceans, glaciers, icecaps as well as the atmosphere. When talking about the water, it is crucial to remember we are talking about the chemical substance H2O, which include liquid, solid, and gaseous form (NESTA, 2008). The climate changes produce many different variations in the hydrologic cycle, and the different routes the water takes between these reservoirs as mentioned are called the pathways or flows. The main ways of travel between the various types of reservoirs are evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and surface and underground flow (Egger, 2003). These more specific pathways or flows are evaporation, precipitation and snowmelt runoff. The evaporation transports the water to the atmosphere, rain and or snow than falls back down to the earth surface, and snowmelt turns into a liquid that consequently flows back down to river and seas to restart the cycle....
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...What has gone wrong probably is that we have failed to see ourselves as part of a large and invisible whole? For too long we have based our lives on a primitive feeling that our “God-given” role was to have “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” ‘We have failed to understand that the earth does not belong to us, but we to the earth.’ Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer. I agree with the statement. Man has failed to see himself as part of earth; instead he views himself as owner of earth and rules over the inferior, even a fellow man like himself. Biblically, everything was created before man. Man being intelligent was given the role to take care of the world by God. It was mere naming of animals but man has taken it to a whole new level. We think that the earth belongs to us but in actual sense we belong to the earth. Since time immemorial animals have been inferior to man. He has even likened his domestic animals to slaves. Animals have offered cheap labour force to man ever since we can remember. The horse donkey and mule have been part of labour to man. They are referred to as the beasts of burden. Having no form of authority to man, they have to bear the fact that man bears rule over them. The birds of the air have been interfered with numerous aero inventions conflicting with their natural flight environment. The beautiful creations are being harassed but to their dismay...
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...Steven Herrick’s The Simple Gift was published in 2004 by Simon Pulse. The story focuses on Billy, who is sixteen years old and living in Australia. Billy’s father is abusive. To escape familial turmoil, Billy hops on a freight train and settles in a small town. For his trip, he packs his school bag, cigarettes and alcohol, and says goodbye to his dog. Billy gets on a train going west in a rain storm. He ends up at an old railroad town called Bendarat. He is a survivor and figures out how to find food and keep clean. His homeless condition is a status that he accepts, and yet he also prides himself with his street smarts, which enable him to survive. He meets and falls in love with Caitlin whose life could not be any more different from Billy’s homeless life. She is from a wealthy family and largely dissatisfied with her life. Billy also becomes friends with Old Bill, a homeless drunk. He shows Billy how to earn money. Caitlin notices that Billy takes the leftovers off the tables in a McDonald’s and seeks to learn more about him. She has the menial job of mopping floors there. His compassion is a welcome change for Caitlin. This is the third novel that Herrick has written in free verse. The chapters are marked by the characters’ names. In the eleven chapters, each chapter begins with a brief extract from one of the poems within the chapter. A black-and-white image appears with the quotation and captures the essence of the section. The free verse poems are told by the three...
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...“Gooseberries” affect the story? Does it set a mood? Does affect the action of theme of the story? Does it do anything to change the story? The Gooseberries, it is an entertained story to read. It is packed with details and lot of information in reference to the environment, characters and themes of the story. After reading the story and amused myself, I was able to determine that the rain is not a relevant or main factor in the story. The story tells the reader about the trip of two friends Ivan and Burkin were doing, where rain was present; also, it tells us about a friend of Ivan and Burking named Alekhin, who is where Ivan and Burkin found shelter in the middle of that rainy day. The rain plays a passive roll throughout the story but it does contribute to it. This story begins with two friends Ivan and Burkin doing a trip; where based on the great details given by the author we have the privilege of pictured the wet and rough environment they were going through. At the beginning it describes how cloudy and dark the sky was. The story states that both kept on thinking when the rain was going to come. It also gives as an idea on how long they were walking since the story tell us that they walked until they were very tired; in addition the author describes to us the way how the dogs were wet and also the amount of mud these tow friend had in their boots. Another character that caught my attention was Mr. Alekhin. He was the individual that gave shelter to the two adventurous...
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...slave... Is this what I am now?" Udyr's reflection became turbid as the drizzle turned into a solid hail. He welcomed it. Storm was raging in the bar-less prison of his mind. "Is this my lot in life? Shackled on this puny piece of land, obediently following the orders of vapid summoners?" The rain chased every living soul into cover. The last bit of tedious smell coming from Demacia was washed away. The irony made him chuckle. It was not so long ago when he had to fight beasts in order to secure a shelter from the rain. And now... the rain was his only shelter on this civilized island. Udyr gave his wound an indifferent look. He cupped water from the pond and spattered it on the cut. "At least they know how to fight back. In the open world it's not an everyday event to push myself to the edge of my limits and beyond." He closed his eyes and concentrated on the rhythmic, violent song of the raindrops. Hours passed but the wave of relaxation refused to come. Frustrated Udyr stood up and started walking without any thought as to where he was going. "I'm not myself as of late. All that effort the monks put into trying to calm me down was a waste of time." It was now that he realized the rain had stopped and a new dawn has broken. His pace quickened. "I tried to get a hold over my anger, but the animal in me would not die. Maybe it's this place of constant conflict with no real purpose that is destroying my last shreds of humanity." When he finally came into a halt, Udyr felt...
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...Descriptive Composition Assignment Step 1: Step 2: Sight: * Cloudy skies * Blue water * Tall trees with coconuts * Sand * heatwaves Hear: * seagulls swarming into the air * the waves of the sea * the noise that a Cicada bug makes in hot tempuratures Feel: * The cool of a shadow * The warm water * The hot weather * The smoothness of the sand Smell: * Ocean breeze Taste: * Coconuts * Crabs * Any insect that you can find * Berries on the bushes Step 3: 1. Cool 2. Spectacular 3. War fun 4. Great 5. Significant 6. Gentle 7. Hot 8. Sunny 9. Majestic 10. Rich 11. Smooth 12. Calm 13. Peaceful 14. Reaxed 15. Warm 16. Thrilling 17. Racing wind 18. Tropical 19. Seasonal 20. Beautiful 21. Tasteful 22. Pleasant 23. Desolate 24. Sandy 25. Sunburn 26. Humid 27. Happy 28. Scenery 29. Breathtaking 30. Glamourous 31. Sheer 32. Lush 33. Isolated 34. Breezy 35. Splendid 36. Unique 37. Virtuous 38. Looming 39. Gentile 40. Superb Step 4: * Imagery * Personification * Simile * Metaphors Step 5: The dominant impression that my piece of writing will make you feel relaxed and peaceful. It will kind of make you feel like it is a commercial and it is very appealing to all the senses. The reader will wan t to go to the place when they...
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...How patiently and anxiously the people wait for its arrival. And if unfortunately the rains are delayed, the people go to temples, mosques and churches to say their prayers. Sometimes they perform “yajnas” to please Indra the god of rains. Relief from heat In a hot country like India where the summer is very hot is natural for the people to wish for arrival of rains. The earth gets hot and parched. The ponds and lakes run dry. The water level in the wells sinks low. There is scarcity of water everywhere. The hot winds and dust storms make life miserable. The whole land beards a horrible look. And then rains begin. The dark and rolling clouds cover the burning sun. They hide from the weary looks of the people. A wave of pleasure fills the atmosphere. It is filled with a deep feeling of joy. There is singing and dancing and merry making everywhere. The young ladies swing Thula handing from a neem or peepal tree. They sing songs of love and adventure. The children bathe in the shower. They swim in the little pool of rain water. They shout with joy. Nature at her best The nature is at her best in the rainy season. The old earth becomes young. Her wrinkles change into green and long grasses. Her looks become quite fresh and young. The dry and sandy beds are again alive with flowing water. The murmuring sound of water fills the heaths of the young with pleasure. Importance of rains for agriculture The rainy season is the life of the agriculture in India. The failures...
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...droplets make the air cool and environment calm. When it starts raining slowly every one rushes to safe place to save them. Women rush to roof to take their cloth down to save from getting wet. Small children gets excited. You can easily see them jumping and trying to come out to take a feel of rain. Have you watched the scene on roads when it starts raining. … ha ha its funny scene. Some people try to escape by running/ some try to take shelter under other’s roof / some take bag or books magazines on their head and try to escape. But this is all when it is weak rain. … but when it is heavy rain one has no way. Even umbrellas are insufficient. The heavy lightning with thunderous sound….. God save us! Prays the poor in his hut. Every one comes out on window and peeps out side scene. If you have a field in front you will hear songs of frog. Have u seen them when they speak/ their vocal sac. This seems like a baloon. The old ponders the rain scene and remembers his child hood and young days. He never forgets to guard his grand children waiting to jump in rain. Still u see the eager ness of children if they could have been permitted to take a bath. What is more that when it rains with heavy wind. U shut your door and window. And still manage to peep out side! …Ha ha ha !… Hands off to God ….on this beautiful scene creation. How beautiful is the scene of nature! The black thunderous cloud, the fading day light due to its darkness, birds rushing to their nests. And...
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