Image: By C T Johansson [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons


Today's word: scathefire (n.) a vast, destructive conflagration.


There are 173 different species of Banksia plant - named after Joseph Banks, the botanist who discovered them. All but one are native only to Australia. What makes these plants unusual is that they are extremely good at surviving bushfires that destroy most other flora. From Wikipedia:

About half of Banksia species typically survive bushfires, either because they have very thick bark that protects the trunk from fire, or because they have lignotubers from which they can resprout after fire. In addition, fire triggers the release of seed stored in the aerial seed bank -- an adaptation known as serotiny.


I recently wrote my first ever tanka. As a result of that effort, I decided I really needed to improve my skills with this form. So I plan to do a fair bit of practice with the entries for my "Pot Pourri" book. This is my second attempt at the form. Please feel free to offer criticism or suggestions for improvement.


My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

Thanks for reading.

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