Isn't Life Marvellous?

These have sprung up all round our house. Always think there's something a bit magical about fungi - how they appear out of nothing all of a sudden. These come up in an umbrella shape, and then go flat like this. Got out the Portuguese mushroom book again, but again, no way! A whole series of ones that look just like this, some of which are excelente comestível, some are tóxico, and some mortal - just not worth the risk.

Gratefuls:
- our second "Time to Grow" zoom session, so encouraging - we are not past it yet!
- trip into Reguengos for various tasks, including ordering two new tyres for the Portuguese equivalent of an MOT coming up
- the beauty of the Lake as we went over it, both going and coming - the low sun making a golden path across it on the way back

The Body, ch 18 - In the Beginning: Conception and Birth, p349
One of the most extraordinary features of early life is that nursing mothers produce over 200 kinds of complex sugars... in their milk that their babies cannot digest because humans lack the necessary enzymes. The(se) oligosaccharides are produced purely for the benefit of the baby's gut microbes... As well as nurturing symbiotic bacteria, breast milk is also full of antibodies. There is some evidence that a nursing mother absorbs a little of her suckling baby's saliva though her breast ducts and that this is analysed by her immune system, which adjusts the amount and types of antibodies she supplies to the baby, according to its needs. Isn't life marvellous?

In another life, I was a passionate promoter of breastfeeding, and saw infant mortality where we lived in Brazil plummet as a result... still slightly horrified that Britain has the worst rate in the developed world - just 0.5 per cent after a year.

Forgot to say, my Mum's twin sister had her first great-grandchild, born on Saturday, little Paisley Rae, many congratulations to all!