Thursday, January 15, 2009

Bamboo

Today's Wonder of the World is...Bamboo!

Flickr photo by Adrasteia9
Three cheers for bamboo: the fastest growing plant on the planet!
That's even faster than kudzu.
But kudzu needs something to climb on, like old cars or telephone poles or slow moving Southerners.
Bamboo just looks up, heads for the sky...

Flickr photo by Russell Cox
And pretty soon you've got a bamboo forest.

Bamboo isn't just fast.
Steam the shoots and you get dinner--at least part of it. Anyone have chopsticks?

Flickr photo by aloalosabine
Perfect! Most chopsticks are made of bamboo.
Of course, not everyone eats with utensils.

Flickr photo by Tea and Oranges
Forget the steaming. Who needs it?

After your meal, you might want to write the chef a thank you note.
Here, use these pretty cards of bamboo paper.

Photo by smockpaper.etsy.com
I found them here, at etsy, of course.

Bamboo isn't just for flimsy paper.
It's strong enough for scaffolding.

Flickr photo by jazzpic
Once the building's finished, I hope they'll put in bamboo floors.

Flickr photo by shi shelia

I don't have bamboo floors, but I do have a bamboo coat rack by my front door.

Feel free to hang that knitted hat on it.
Is it made of bamboo yarn?

Photo by WhimzyPinzy.etsy.com
Yes, that's 100% bamboo! Another etsy find, here.

Once you hang up your hat and coat, how about we relax with some music?
If we lived near the St. Joseph Church in the Philippines, we could walk over and ask someone to play us a song on its bamboo organ.

Flickr photo by Lawrence OP
Impressive, huh?
Or we could just buy bamboo flutes from etsy, here, and try to make our own music.

Photo by FluteDesigner777.etsy.com
Sorry I'm not more musically inclined. Let's take a moment and listen to a bamboo flute played by someone who actually knows what she's doing. It soothes the soul, and since the boys are home from school tomorrow for a four day weekend, I might need to listen two or three times!

Have a wonder-full Thursday, y'all!
Love, Becky

16 comments:

Unknown said...

A bamboo organ? What a beautiful musical instrument.

a Tonggu Momma said...

LOVE THIS ONE!!!! Then again, you know how much I love pandas. And Asian instruments. Oh, and my new pajamas made from bamboo. (How cool is that?)

Suzie said...

Its also good to hit people with.

Anonymous said...

I love crunching into a bamboo shoot!

the Amateur Book Blogger said...

Becky - all your wonders are wonderful, but bamboo, yes, truly a wonder of the world. I saw a documentary only last night, in which they tested wooden floors - oak, pine and bamboo - they walked across them in stiletto heels, dropped glass, roller-bladed around the room, spilled juice - and yes, bamboo was the winner in durability and lasting look. And for clothes, it's a wonder all oevr again in stretch, feel and flexibility. It's a tonne better for the environment than even organic cotton, (doesn't use up a whole lot of water in processing) yes, bamboo just about single-handedly saves the planet. As you can tell, I am a BIG fan! What a great wonder, yet again. You made my day with this one.

lotusgirl said...

I love the bamboo flute. That sound is so soothing.

Terri Steffes said...

Becky! What a fun, informative post! I sent my fourth grade teachers here to read it. They are studying amazing plants!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Terri's fourth grade teachers!
Welcome to the blog!

And hey, the rest of you friends. I hope you're keeping warm today!

Unknown said...

Oh, that bamboo forest is beautiful!

Renee said...

Amazing as usual Becky.

Love coming to your blog.

Love Renee

Ronnie said...

Hey, that's nothing. I can play Dixie on a harmonica.
She is a great triller though and never even smeared her lipstick. That's saying something.
Thanks for the bamboo lesson,Becky and for the sweet things you said about pie girl.

May Vanderbilt said...

Bamboo is the new hemp! Remember when everything was made of hemp?

I must say, bamboo scaffolding is still de rigeur in modern-day Hong Kong.

It was astonishing to see these sleek skyscrapers being built with it.

judy in ky said...

I had never experienced bamboo floors until we went to Hawaii on vacation. Our cottage had bamboo floors and I loved them! They felt soft and smooth on bare feet, and looked beautiful.
By coincidence, I had also bought a new nightgown made of bamboo for the trip... and I loved it, too.

Susan said...

I guess Suzie and I are the violent ones here, I thought of bamboo nunchucks. Lots of great info and who doesn't love the panda?

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Bamboo yarn is really wonderful. I was surprised, but it is!

CC said...

Bamboo yarn? huh!

We have a bunch of bamboo that we love in our yard. The problem? It droops down, down, down when covered in rain (all the time) and actually blocks our sidewalk and leans onto our car.