Tomatoes, beetles & tattoos – hooray for diversity!

I just wanted to share a picture of my tomato harvest.

The little ones are Moneymakers, the yellow ones are Golden Sunrise, the stripey ones are Tigerella, the normal looking ones are Gardener’s Delight. I also have giant pumpkin looking ones which are called Marmande, but they weren’t ready yet when I took the photo. They are all delicious and taste subtly different. If you post me a self-addressed box, I will post you a sample. Teehee.

My potatoes are also pretty much ready. I just need a sunny day to harvest them. They are Desiree (normal, red skinned), Pink Fir Apple (bobbly, a bit like ginger in shape) and Salad Blue (purple on the outside and inside!). I like to remember that potatoes come in all shapes and colours too.

I was also sent a list of 17 beans for 17 bean soup the other day. I had never even thought of all the different kinds of beans there must be in the world!

Musing on the idea that there is an incredible diversity of species for most things, I thought this quote,

“The biologist JBS Haldane was supposedly asked once if he could say anything about God from his study of nature. Haldane replied He must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.”

And the website where I found that quote also had another mini cosmos of diverse beings on it – the Science Tattoo Emporium. A place where scientists who have got tattoos to do with science can send in photos and explainations. You’ve gotta see this. I’ve never really liked tattoes very much as most modern, western designs I’ve come across seemed very whimiscal to me, the lack of content seemingly unsuitable for such a permanent medium. But these have made me change my mind. Some are the best tattoos I’ve ever seen. “Fitting the Foundations of Mathematics On One Arm.” Now that’s a tattoo you could think about for a while.