Known variously as the terrarium, planetarium, or plant case, it can vary from a modest jam jar housing a single plant, through converted fish tanks to an elaborate, purpose-built miniature greenhouse tacked on to the window of a house.

An interesting project for a young gardener would be to create a woodland terrarium using wild plants, interesting branches and stones.

Terrariums are an ideal means of growing plants to keep them away from the hot, dry atmosphere of centrally heated homes, which is so harmful to many indoor plants. A humid micro climate is built up within the confines of the glass case which, combined with adequate heat, suits the more tender houseplants whose natural home is a steamy tropical bushland.

You’ll need a few tools to make a tiny terrarium but nothing complicated to get started.

The community within a terrarium is almost self-supporting, its physical ingredients being cycled and recycled by the plant life. Water in the potting mixture is given off as vapour from their leaves. This condenses as droplets on the glass walls and roof, to run back down into the soil; the atmosphere inside also remains in balance, the plants absorbing oxygen at night and giving off carbon dioxide, reversing the process in daylight.

Julie, the creator of this project leads us through some key dos of light bulb terrariums.

Do use sand or small pebbles; these are good because water drains through them easily

Do use Tillandsia, also known as air plants; these are a great choice for your tiny terrarium because they take all the nutrients they need from the air and a small amount of water. No roots means no wet soil which means no mold. You can buy tillandsia at garden stores or online.

Do choose preserved moss instead of live moss. Preserved moss isn’t living, but it will hold moisture; this moisture raises the humidity level in the terrarium, which makes the tillandsia happy. You can find sheet moss, reindeer moss, and other preserved mosses at garden and floral stores.

Do keep your terrarium in partial sunlight.

Do give your terrarium some water. The tillandsia is alive and will need a small amount of water to stay that way. Water it by either removing it and soaking it in water once a week or, using a spray bottle, give it a small spritz of water every week or two. Pour out any excess water.

Do feel free to use little rocks, pieces of glass, or any other bits of things to help give your terrarium character.

Do not place the terrarium in full sunlight as it will get too warm. A little experimentation with different locations might be needed before it becomes maintenance-free. You will then be able to enjoy your arrangement for many months to come.

Indoor gardening can be challenging, but is never boring. Adding a glass container, however small, suitably planted, will add a quirky feature to your collection.

Before taking the exam, candidates are expected to have at least three years of work experience in the administration, deployment, management, migration, designing, monitoring, and upgrading of Exchange servers. In addition to having prior work experience, many candidates find that they need to review the concepts found on the Microsoft 70-342 exam before the test. Since Microsoft has no formal training requirements for the exam, candidates frequently choose to use TestsLive to review the relevant subject matter.

The largest portion of the Microsoft 70-342 exam will be devoted to designing, configuring, and managing site resiliency. During this portion of the exam, candidates will be required to prove their abilities in planning and implementing Datacenter Activation Coordination. Also, candidates will need to have a comprehensive knowledge of customer node requirements, quorum options, cross-site DAG configuration, CAS solutions, MX records, and DAG networks.

The remainder of the Microsoft 70-342 exam will require candidates to demonstrate knowledge in Unified Messaging, configuring IP gateways, compliance, archiving, and discovery solutions. Candidates will need to have skill in troubleshooting client connectivity, mail flow, DAG replication, and Datacenter activation. They will need to be able to understand RBAC, BitLocker, Smart Cards, and Data Loss Prevention.

These fun and colorful bugs and flowers make adorable kitchen magnets, simply glue a magnet on to the back.

Bottle cap pendants are made in a huge variety with amazing colors and designs to suit different types of outfits. Caps are also used to make earrings and rings although it may appear quite large. With the use of costume jewelry, all types of whimsical jewelries are used by people all over the world.

Fairy Houses can take many forms and can be created in many different places. Sticks, bark, dry grasses, pebbles, shells, feathers, seaweed, pine cones and nuts are just some of the natural materials used. These whimsical habitats are built by children, families, gardeners and nature lovers reflecting their creativity, joy and pride.

Many fairy houses look so natural that they are almost hidden. A fairy house built in the woods will look different than one built at the beach!

The simple challenge of creating a fairy house gives children a unique activity that encourages them to go outside and connect with the natural world, nurturing care and respect for the environment.

Different seasons will give constantly changing materials that you can use.

“Mushroom” describes a variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems, and the term is used even more generally, to describe both the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota and the woody or leathery fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, depending upon the context of the word.

The terms “mushroom” and “toadstool” go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was there consensus on application. The term “toadstool” was often, but not exclusively, applied to poisonous mushrooms or to those that have the classic umbrella-like cap-and-stem form.

In German folklore and old fairy tales, toads are often depicted sitting on toadstool mushrooms and catching, with their tongues, the flies that are said to be drawn to the Fliegenpilz, a German name for the toadstool, meaning “flies’ mushroom”. This is how the mushroom got another of its names, Krötenstuhl, literally translating to “toad-stool”.

Check out the entertaining pictures of the Straw-Land Art Festival in Croatia.

The First Post reported that twenty artists from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Mexico made 20 art installations using 30 tons of straw. The straw-art forms are giant, up to 10 metres or more and are burnt at the end of the festival. Each and every artist chooses his/her biggest work to be burnt in glory towards the end.

A huge dinosaur, a tall man, a huge bicycle and an incredibly large horse were the top straw-works of the festival in 2011. In 2012, the 10-metre high phoenix and the huge butterfly rings caught the attention.

And metall, and damask is very close in spirit to the inhomogeneous beautiful steel. Damascus is obtained by snaring a few plates of different metals. Taken several thin plates and repeatedly prokovyvayutsya, metals and welded Damascus is obtained. Damascus steel is brewed. In the composition and proportions of the alloy and is one of the secrets of this metal. The photo is just damask steel bars, one might say, just out of the crucible.

Of course, the bad, Rezo says that the Georgian wine to the Russian market was closed. And for Rezo worse, after the five-day war in the store was very little Russian – they always were the best buyers. On the other hand, argues Rezo, the closure of the Russian market makers began to think about other markets, the quality has improved, and new joint ventures, including how Rezo says, and with Russian capital.

Source:   http://chistoprudov.livejournal.com/68194.html#cutid1

Ethiopia had the best mud and thatch homes that you can see anywhere in Africa. Along the way, most homes were round with wood or mud plastered sides or completely dome shaped with thatch. Although practical, hardly any ugly tin roofs were seen.