One of the most beautiful of all the creatures that live in the oceans is the rare and very seldom seen Venus flower basket. It only grows on the ocean floor at depths of three thousand to five thousand feet, in the warm tropical waters of the South Pacific, mostly around the Philippines and Japan.
This creature is actually a sponge; however it does not look anything like the sponges you use for cleaning in your home. It is extremely beautiful, intricate, and dainty. When full grown the Venus flower basket is tube shaped and about twelve inches long, usually with some slight curvature.
It looks like it is made up of an intricate fine lace expertly spun in glass fibers no thicker than human hair. It is woven in the form of a hollow tube shaped like a rams horn. The smaller, tapered end is anchored to the ocean floor by a multitude of fine glass-like fibers. The larger end has a lacey looking cap over it.
Because it looks like it is woven from glass it is sometimes called a glass sponge.
Its scientific name is Euplectella Aspergillum.
When the Venus flower basket is small, tiny shrimp swim in and out of it. However, as the Venus Flower Basket grows it seals off the open upper end, and at the same time the shrimps grow so that they cannot swim through the side of the Venus flower basket. As this happens, a pair of shrimps, one male and one female, will stay inside the Venus flower basket and become trapped there. This pair of shrimps will spend the rest of their lives inside that Venus flower basket.
To the Japanese this is a symbol of eternal love and being happily married forever. A Venus flower basket is sometimes given as a wedding present in Japan because of this beautiful symbolism.
There is no such thing as divorce for these shrimp couples.
With divorce gaining epidemic portions in some countries, can we learn a lesson from these shrimp? God, the creator of all of us as well as these little shrimps, did not intend, nor does he want, marriages to end in divorce.
If these shrimps have a problem, somehow they work it out.
They share their living space, food, and everything else with each other. Likewise we need to learn to work out the problems in our marriage and make them work. Learning how to share better and more often is a good start.
Spencer W. Kimball, one of the great religious leaders of our time, said that all divorce is the result of selfishness by one or both marriage partners.
Shouldn't we start being less selfish and start serving more in our marriage and family? As we serve and unselfishly give within our homes, our love for our spouse and children will increase, team cooperation will increase, and problems will start being solved in a spirit of love and mutual trust. .
Author: John Edwards Find beautiful and fresh flowers and bridal bouquets which is guaranteed to put a smile on your recipient's face: http://www.flowershoppingcenter.comThe Flower Garden in August
Our flower garden in August can be brimming with activities we can do at this time of year, as we can for most of the year. We have some flower gardening tips to give you and some experiments to try. Feel free to send us your own flower gardening tips for any time of the year. If it is much too hot for you this August to work in your flower garden during the day, make the most of the early morning hours before it gets too warm. Watching the world wake up can be quite exhilirating.
Course morning here comes a little later than other places. ;-) This works well in July too.This month is important in the flower gardening year as its most important work can be taking cuttings. If you have a sunny window ledge within your home or you are lucky enough to have a heated greenhouse, consider taking cuttings of geraniums you planted out in the spring. Not only can you take up and overwinter the older plants from your flower garden, but you can have some newer, younger plants next spring...
The Flower Garden in August
It's Easy to Learn Flower Drying
The Best Methods for Flower Drying Before beginning the process of flower drying, it is important that you choose the right flower for the right project. To do so, you must bear in mind two key characteristics of the blossoming bud. The first truth is that in order to keep that color vibrant, you must dry it as fast as you can. However, the second truth is that the more heat you apply, the more shrinkage will occur. There are two points to keep in mind when you dry a flower.
First, the faster you dry a flower, the more color it will retain. Second, the more heat that is applied, the more shrinkage you will have of your flower. It is good to keep these points in mind as you choose the flower you want to dry and when considering your use of the dried flower. Since silica is actually a form of sand, you can substitute it with clean sand, borax or cornmeal. To use this method, you will need a dry container with a lid.
First, line the bottom of the container with a thin layer...
It's Easy to Learn Flower Drying
Flower Seed
Flowers have been grown and nurtured over years for personal and business purposes. A flower provides visual bliss in addition to a soothing aroma and an array of delightful colors. One can give cut flowers as gifts to celebrate events, express feelings or just grow them in a backyard.
It may sound strange when a botanist refers to singular divisions of a flower while referring to male and female reproductive organs. However, this is true.
Flowers are used as a reproductive organ only in certain angiosperms plants. A pistil is located in the center of a flower and it contains female organs. It has a rounded lower base, which is the ovary. These contain reproductive cells called ovule.
Pistils contain a style and a stigma, which are sticky. Pollen grains stick to the stigma through fertilization or pollination from insects, wind or other means.
This facilitates the development of pollen tubes inside the style, which navigate down to the ovary....
Flower Seed
Online Florists
Flowers say you care. A gift of flowers brings about feelings of love, joy and contentment. Whether the occasion is a birthday, anniversary, or a gesture to tell someone you love them or are thinking about them --flowers are the way to do it. Flowers can really say it all in a very special way.
Today, with Internet technology, sending someone flowers is as easy as sitting in your bedroom in your pajamas and surfing through various florists online to choose a gift.
There are thousands of online florists and virtually millions of arrangements to choose from. You can surf as many virtual flower shops you want, look through several designs, varieties and price tags before deciding on a purchase. It's so much easier than going to a flower shop.
Most online florists also stock additional gifts, in addition to flowers to add a little something extra to your delivery. These may include exotic plants, artificial flower bouquets, chocolates and cuddly toys. Virtual...
Flower Seed
Flowers have been grown and nurtured over years for personal and business purposes. A flower provides visual bliss in addition to a soothing aroma and an array of delightful colors. One can give cut flowers as gifts to celebrate events, express feelings or just grow them in a backyard.
It may sound strange when a botanist refers to singular divisions of a flower while referring to male and female reproductive organs. However, this is true.
Flowers are used as a reproductive organ only in certain angiosperms plants. A pistil is located in the center of a flower and it contains female organs. It has a rounded lower base, which is the ovary. These contain reproductive cells called ovule.
Pistils contain a style and a stigma, which are sticky. Pollen grains stick to the stigma through fertilization or pollination from insects, wind or other means.
This facilitates the development of pollen tubes inside the style, which navigate down to the ovary....
Flower Seed
Cut Flower Gardening For Beautiful Bouquets
Imagine a never-ending supply of beautiful flowers for your home, bouquets and arrangements to give to friends, flowers to pluck at will for gifts, get-well visits, anniversaries and birthdays. By planting a garden stocked with flowers that happily give up their blooms for your pleasure, you can have fresh flower arrangements in every room in your home all throughout the spring and summer.To create your own bouquet garden, start with a sunny spot in your yard. A garden spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day is ideal. It should be within easy reach for watering, since a cut flower garden will need daily watering during any dry spells. You'll also want to design it to make it easy for you to reach all the flowers in it, so a raised bed that can be approached on four sides is perfect.
If you decide to plant against a fence or as a border, make sure that you can get to all the plants without stepping on others by putting in footpaths or trenches for walking.The best way to...
Cut Flower Gardening For Beautiful Bouquets
WiMAX Facades Unsullied Challenge to Broadband and DSL
In the US a technology known as WiMAX is being conceptualized that will make high-speed wireless Internet services available in areas much larger than a typical Wi-fi coffee bar. These wireless hotspots would match the size of Philadelphia or a rural community in the American heartland.
WiMAX would be developed to spread Internet facilities across cities, using radio networks with much wider ranges than Wi-fi, a system available in coffee shops. However, it is questionable how...
Bagless Vacuum Cleaners Better Value in the Long Run
Ever since the early nineteen nineties, bagless vacuum cleaners have been chipping away at the market dominance of their bagged vacuum cleaner counterpart. Claiming to best the bagged variety of cleaner in a number of different ways, bagless vacuum cleaners generally carry a higher price tag too. For the most part, you get what you pay for with bagless vacuum cleaners; so even if you are on a budget, dont let the price tag put you off.
Purchasing a vacuum cleaner is, for most...