Almost-invisible furniture

A design trend that has picked up momentum over the past 2 years and has been utilised in residential and commercial decor applications, is one that you might not notice at first... literally. This is the use of acrylic as a material for furniture and decor items.

Laser Edge Designs had been in the acrylic fabrication business since the beginning of 2006, with their primary business focus being to manufacture top quality point-of-sale displays and signage. Laser Edge Designs, has since evolved into a producer of high-end furniture, accessories and homeware. with the launch of its acrylic (sometimes known as perspex or plexiglas) range called AcryLuso in 2013 to address the influx of requests for decor items and furniture pieces using this unusual material.

A combination of 'Acrylic' and 'Luso' meaning luxury, the word AcryLuso has become synonomous with luxury acrylic furniture and home decor pieces. Their AcryLuso range of products is designed in-house and includes a variety of chairs, tables, display units and objet d'art. Home styling products include trays, storage boxes, organisers, tissue boxes, plinths, ornamental display stands etc.

Each product is hand-crafted by skilled artisans with absolute precision and flawlessness, as every part of the furniture item or decor piece is transparent. Acrylic pieces are safe to use in bathrooms as steam and water won't damage them.

AcryLuso is available at exclusive stockists and through decorators. It is also exported to markets in the UK, North and South America and some African countries.

View more information on Laser Edge website or visit their Facebook page.

Winged monster on ancient rock art debunked

Three decades later, a geologist mused that the figure was similar to a pterosaur (a member of a group of flying reptiles that went extinct some 66 million years ago) and the stage for controversy and an ongoing quarrel was set.

Because pterosaur fossils have been found in the area, young-Earth creationists, who believe our planet is between 6000 and 10,000 years old, began citing the painting in the late 1990s as proof that humans and the winged reptiles had inhabited the region together. In the past few years, some have even argued they can identify the species: Quetzalcoatlus northropi (the largest known pterosaur) with a wingspan of more than 10 meters.

Rock art researchers and archaeologists have disagreed strongly with that interpretation. In the mid-1990s, several scientists with eyes trained to recognize one of the region's most famous styles of rock art (known as Barrier Canyon style) first argued that the so-called pterosaur was actually five figures: two humanlike ones and three animals, including what looks like a bighorn sheep and a horned serpent. Such pictographs are common in Barrier Canyon style, which is recognizable by the tiny 'attendants' which include people, birds, ungulates, and snakes, among others nestled among the humanlike and often life-sized figures and are notable for their large eyes and elongated bodies.

To the untrained eye, the image is perhaps a bit less clear. That's partly because the painting has been exposed to the elements for at least a thousand years. Rain, when it does fall, has slowly leached some of the pictograph's red ochre pigment, causing it to bleed and fade in places. And, as is often the case in such desert settings, a thin coating of calcium carbonate has also glazed the paint, further obscuring its exact edges.

Recently, researchers have marshaled two modern techniques to analyze the ancient painting: a photographic enhancement program known as DStretch and a technique called x-ray fluorescence. The researchers first employed DStretch, a tool that can be used on computers and some cameras to boost and sharpen the original pigments of rock art, rendering colors that are sometimes invisible to the naked eye. Not satisfied yet, archaeological chemist Marvin Rowe then used x-ray fluorescence to measure the iron content of the red ochre pigment, composed of iron oxide, to reveal exactly where there was (and wasn't) paint on the sandstone rock.

The two methods revealed clearly that the five figures that had been suggested previously, rather than a solitary pterosaur, graced the canyon wall.

Source: Science Magazine

Nitrogen's role in plant health

Because nitrogen is a constituent of amino acids, which are required to synthesise proteins and other related compounds, it plays a role in almost all plant metabolic processes. Nitrogen is an integral part of chlorophyll manufacture through photosynthesis. (Photosynthesis is the process through which plants utilise light energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. Carbohydrates (sugars) provide energy required for growth and development).

Nitrogen Deficiency

Nitrogen-deficient plants exhibit slow stunted growth, and their foliage is pale green. Deficiency symptoms generally appear on the bottom leaves first. In severe cases, the lower leaves have a 'fired' appearance on the tips, turn brown, usually disintegrate and fall off. In contrast, too much nitrogen causes excessive vegetative growth, delays maturity, increases lodging, fosters disease and poses an environmental threat to surface and ground water.

Nitrogen deficiency generally stems from inadequate fertiliser application, denitrification by soil microbes, or leaching loss due to excessive rainfall. Leaching occurs most commonly in sandy-textured coastal plain soils during periods of excessive rainfall. Nitrogen is also lost through volatilisation from surface applications during periods of hot, dry weather.

Nitrogen deficiency can be corrected with an application of nitrogen fertiliser. Crop response to fertilisation with nitrogen is generally very prompt, depending on the source of nitrogen, stage of plant growth, rainfall and temperature.

For more information on Plant Nutrients read our prevous articles Plant Nutrients - part 1 and Plant Nutrients - part 2.

Relaxing afternoon in the Cape

Its calming atmosphere and farmstyle appeal, mixed with its casual, but professional service, and its delicious menu, closes off a hard working week effectively.

Their starter menu currently consists of duck consomme with slivers of smoked duck breast and enoki mushrooms; deep fried camembert in a light beer batter with a fig and red wine puree; snail popcorn; wild mushroom tart; panfried creamy duck livers in a creamy sherry and thyme sauce; tuna carpaccio served with a wasabi and avocado aioli and a lovely, charcuterie platter.

While their main courses consist of smoked Cape Malay style snoek fishcakes served with a mango atchar aoili and pickled cucumber; a mildly spiced, creamy butter chicken curry served with almond basmati rice, a poppadom and mango chutney; chicken & leek pie; crispy roast duck served with an orange and Van der Hum sauce; pork loin chop stuffed with apple, cranberries and pecan nuts, accompanied by a parsnip, apple and cider puree; tender cubes of Greek lamb, red onion, aubergine, feta, baby spinach, lemon zest and garlic baked in phyllo pastry and served with minted Greek yoghurt; lamb shank so tender it falls off the bone, slow cooked in a red wine jus with carrot, celery, onion and fresh herbs, served on a bed of herb mash; rump steak topped with Cafe de Paris butter and deep fried onion rings; Springbok hot pot slowly stewed with carrots and mushrooms in a red wine and thyme jus; and wild mushroom risotto infused with lemon thyme, drizzled with truffle oil and topped with wild rocket and pecorino shavings.

Doesn't that tickle your tastebuds just reading about it.....

For more information visit The Wild Fig Restaurant.

Its flower time

Aloe Ciliaris
(Climbing Aloe)

Family :

Description :

Flowering time :

Conditions :

• Full Sun
• Little water
• Evergreen
• Some frost tender
• Wind resistant
• Well drained soil

View more detailed information on this plant in our plant directory.

Make a feature of a wall or floor using natural pebbles.

Utilising different sized pebbles and/or differing shapes of pebbles will bring in highlights to your design, and enhances a pattern by bringing attention to specific aspects of the pattern.

Or simply let the pebble shape and size dictate the pattern with its own textures en masse. Textures on the pebble wall or floor are pleasing to the touch and an active visual sensation.

Black eyed beans

Seeds can be sown or plants can be planted for the following herbs and veggies this month:

Vegetables Beans Beetroot Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Celery Cauliflower Cucumber Eggplant Lettuce Mielies Pumpkin Radish Spinach Squash Sweetcorn Swisschard Turnips

Herbs Basil Coriander Chives Chamomile Dill Mustard Oreganum Parsley Rocket Thyme Watercress

View our full planting plan in our resources section of our website.

We all love a chance to test our own brain capacity with brain teasers. Try see if you can figure out this one...

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Contact Cheral:

Cell: 082 82 509 82
Email: info@livingmatter.co.za
Website: www.livingmatter.co.za