My dog Arnold has always been a fast learner. So I thought I’d see if he could be trained to swim underwater. Sadly, it seems you can’t teach Arnold dog newt tricks.

Grandad worked in a circus as a lion tamer but it was such a small outfit they could only support a single lion. Other lion tamers laughed at him, and he became a one-lion joke.

Thanks for the heads up garden birds

I get it

Spring’s coming.

Another puzzle I found on John Baez's blog. It seems to have been discovered and published only as recently as 2011. Baez's post gives a reference.

Two touching semi-circles, aligned as shown, are inscribed in a circle.

You might think you need more information, such as the relative sizes of the semi-circles perhaps. But in fact it doesn't make any difference.

I will post my solution on 6 March.

Langeleik

An old Norwegian stringed musical instrument, resembling the zither according to the OED. 

‘Zither’ is interesting itself; it derives from Ancient Greek ‘Kithera’, the origin also of ‘guitar’ and the older ‘cittern’, and possibly also related to ‘sitar’. The latter is from Persian but may be from a common root.

Can you identify a hard white crumbly Welsh cheese? Think carefully.

I've just learned of Jules de Corte, who was a blind Dutch singer and song writer. He wrote hundreds of songs and had an extensive performance and recording career. His songs seems to touch on the business of being human. I listened to his most famous song Ik zou wel eens willen weten, 'I would like to know'. Here is the first verse (courtesy of https://www.dutchsongs.overtuin.net/translation-50-corte-ik-zou.html)

I would like to know the reason
Why mountains rise high in the sky
Perhaps to collect all the snow fall
Or to shield the deep valley from cold air
Or perhaps they are pillars that carry the heaven's arch
That's the reason mountains are high

Ik zou weleens willen weten
Waarom zijn de bergen zo hoog
Misschien om de sneeuw te vergaren
Of het dal voor de kou te bewaren
Of misschien als een veilige stut voor de hemelboog
Daarom zijn de bergen zo hoog

I told the doctor, I keep thinking I’m a rubber band.

But he just said I should “Snap out of it”.

Nuraghes are prehistoric structures characteristic of Sardinia, built between 1900 and 700 BCE according to Wikipedia. About 7000 are known but there would once have been more. They come in a variety of forms and their function is not clear; they might have had various purposes and perhaps different nuraghes were used for different things.

This example is called Losa and is a whole complex of buildings, including later strucures from the Phoenician, Roman and medieval era.

Photo credit: Eiena https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuraghe_Losa.JPG

The video at this site shows what a fascinating monument it is.

While reading the WikiQuote entry for Niels Bohr I came across a striking picture of the stained glass windows in the spire of the Thanksgiving chapel in Dallas.

This chapel is open to people of all faiths or none and is in Thanks-Giving Square, which was dedicated in 1976.

Image credit: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/

This famous painting by Caspar David Friederic is entitled Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. To me it's a kind of commentary on the human condition, but also a perspective on what may have inspired Newton, Einstein, and so many others.