The good and bad chestnuts

It's the time for conker hunting but there's a lot you should know. Conkers come from horse chestnut trees and they grow inside green shells covered in spikes. The shells are soft but the spikes can be very sharp so it's tricky to open them. Squirrels, deer and wild boar like eating them but conkers are poisonous to other animals including dogs and humans. Horse chestnuts contain a toxic chemical named aesculin. 

Although I discussed horse chestnuts mainly, there is an edible type called sweet chestnut. Sweet chestnuts are high in vitamin C. These come from spiky shells but they look different to horse chestnuts although they're the both a reddish brown colour. Conkers, or horse chestnuts are round. Edible sweet chestnuts are teardrop shaped and resembles chocolates. Horse chestnuts are from Aesculis trees or "buckeyes". Sweet chestnuts are from Castanea trees. 

The sweet chestnut trees can live for about 700 years and they mature after 25 years. These trees were introduced by the Romans into Britain and can be found in mainly the south of England. These trees are found all over Europe, Asia and the Americas. The pollen from the flowers growing on sweet chestnut trees are a rich source of food for wildlife. It must be mentioned that conker trees/horse chestnut trees come from the Balkans area and were introduced into the British Isles during the 17th century. Horse chestnuts grow flowers called "candles" that attract pollinating bees. While horse chestnuts are bad to eat, there's medicine properties within them. Horse chestnut is an astringent, this may help swollen wounds, and is used for inflammations. There's only good and bad chestnuts as far as what's good or bad to eat. Both types of chestnuts are valuable. 

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Autumns dark side

 

Autumn is a beautiful season but it's got a grim side. While it's a season to be enjoyed, with gorgeous colours of leaves, walking through piles of crunchy leaves, conkers, apples, the smells of bonfires and pumpkins, the many warm celebrations of harvest, Halloween, Mabon, Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving and much more, there are down sides to Autumn too. This includes the chilly weather, going back to school, big spiders, hauntings and most of all, nasty virus bugs that bring cold viruses and flus. 

People tend to overlook the seriousness of colds and flus but these illnesses can be horrible for those suffering, as it depends on the type of flu and the health of the person with it. Some can shake off colds quickly but not everyone. Colds can be a hard time and can render someone ill enough to feel at deaths door. Those with a fragile immunity can actually die from a common cold. There are some ways of boosting a low immunity and the main ingredient is zinc. 

Zinc can be found in food, but more is located in herbs like basil, Asiatic pennywort, asparagus, poppy seed, chervil, thyme, celery seeds, mustard seeds, dill seeds and false daisy. Zinc is also found in red meat, shellfish, legumes, nuts, eggs, dairy, whole grains, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, brown rice and garlic. 

Free your home of stray spiders using natural repellents like lavenders, lemons, conker shells, tea tree, eucalyptus, cinnamon, cedar, citronella, peppermint and vinegar. Cats are a fantastic way to rid of mice and spiders, but they're also able to get rid of annoying ghosts too. Garlic keeps away spiders as well as vampires, ghosts and insects. Clean your indoors, eat plenty of zinc based food and enjoy the season of Autumn.

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Thunder stuff

 

A lot of thunderstorms have been going on here. Here are some interesting facts about such weather, and I felt like posting about it today.

The sound of thunder is so loud that it can be heard about 15 miles away. Lightning is so powerful and bright that it's visible as far as up to 100 miles away.

It's estimated that thunderstorms are far more dangerous than hurricanes and tornadoes. It kills about 2,000 people each year.

Thunder and lightning can happen during a snowfall, called "Thunder snow."

Thunder and also lightning that appears during a volcanic eruption is called "Dirty Thunder."

The ancient Greeks including philosopher, Aristotle, believed thunder was caused by thick clouds banging together.

Lightning is able to strike 25 miles from the origin of the thunder cloud.

Lightning bolts have 100 million volts of electricity.

Storm Valkyrie