Landlocked Mermaid

When I started this blog, one of the first things I said was that I am a massive shark nerd. Now, I haven't really done much to show this - plushies, bling and tattoos aside. So I thought this top five could be dedicated to my top five sharks. As most of the reasons are "I think sharks are 😍😍", I will include a fact on them too. Top Five Sharks 5. Black Tip Reef Shark Photo from Monterey Bay Aquarium It would be a little weird if I didn't include the shark I have permenanty inked on my skin in the top five. I just think these sharks are iconic; they are your typical shark shape, but they have the black tips to make them just that little bit different and recognisable. I'm fairly certain we had a toy one when I was a child; so the love must have started at an early age! These sharks are sleek, nocturnal, and curious things - known for stealing spears from fishermen! Fact: Their iconic black tip is part of their camouflage.  4. Goblin S...

Between working weekends recently and healing tattoos, I've barely been in the water. Not even gone in the pool until this Thursday just gone! While pining after the water I've been mentally compiling a bit of a diving bucket list. It's only three places long so far, but I can always add to it as I think of them. My Pinterest is partually to blame for this, as it keeps showing me this pin: Scuba Diving Map I'm fairly certain it is available as a poster, so I may be convincing the fella we need one. The Diving Bucket List (So Far) The Caribbean Now this probably stems from watching Pirates of the Caribbean a lot as a teen. I wasn't always oogling Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, I was eyeballing the location and the underwater shots. This wanderlust has been further fuelled by Death in Paradise . Photo from Caribbean Diving The Caribbean is home to sharks, corals, sponges - all sorts of life. The water always seems so clear and...

Dunkleosteus Dunkleosteus skull. Photo from Earth Touch Kingdom: Animalia Class: Placodermi Conservation Status: Extinct (EX) Found: Northern Hemisphere (based on fossil locations) Era: Late Devonian Lived: 358-382 million years ago Diet: Carnivorous, most likely other armoured fish Weight: 1 tonne* Size: 6m (19.7ft)* Habitat: Deep water *Based on the largest of the ten known species. Dunkleosteus were ancient, armoured fish which inhabited the Earth over 350 million years ago, first discovered in 1873. They belong to the Placoderm family, which derives its meaning from "plate" in Greek (plax-) and "derm" in reference to skin. They were fish with articulated armour plates around their heads and thorax. The ocean used to be full of these types of fish and the Dunkleosteus were among the biggest. Well, some of them were. There are ten known species of Dunkleosteus, the largest being D.terrelli . This was the one tonne...

My second person to attain the "Merfolk" title is probably the obvious choice, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Now, I knew he was something to do with the sea, but my knowledge extended as far as that episode of Friends where Pheobe yells, "I love Jacques Cousteau!" After some digging, I have found out he has done basically everything! So without further waffle... Jacques-Yves Cousteau Photo from Smithosian Magazine Lived: Paris, France (or aboard Calypso ) Era: 20th Century Life Span: 1910-1997 Occupation: Oceanographer, Filmmaker, Naval Officer Like I said before, there is very little Jacque Cousteau has not done. He has made over 120 documentaries for film and television. He has written over 50 books. He has created an environmental protection foundation which is still going string twenty years after his death with over 50,000 members. But that is the short version. This man packed a lot of life into his 87 years. In my notes, I feel like I hav...

Over the last couple weeks I have been scrolling deep into Pinterest for recipes. Not for food, I google those, but for beauty and cleaning products. I have been compiling a board, you can check it out here ! I've been toying with the idea of making my own products since I couldn't find a conditioner bar which suited me. And I've finally had an afternoon free where I can make a mess and have some fun! All the ingredients. I decided to start with three, mostly because I was limited by ingredients. But I figured that was a good thing because if I am terrible at this or they don't work then I haven't spent much on it. But if they do work, then I can venture onto bigger things! The three I have gone for are: Hand Scrub Deep Hair Conditioner Facial Sugar Scrub Ingredients aside, I went for these three because I have a greater need for these. My job is hard on my hands - so much cracked skin! - so I need to pamper them more often. ...

I have realised that I am a little bit scared of octopuses*. I don't know if it's their fluidity or the fact I had a dream where one was stuck to my sister's leg or what... But I thought doing some research into the smallest, therefore cutest, octopus would help me love them a little. It's done a pretty good job, I'd say. So let me introduce you to the... Atlantic Pygmy Octopus Photo from Everything Octopus Kingdom: Animalia Class: Cephalopoda Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) Found: The Atlantic; Caribbean, Cayman Islands Diet: Carnivorous; clams and crustaceans Weight: 30g (1oz) Size: Mantle - 4.5cm (1.8in); Arms - 9cm (3.5in); Total - 13.5cm (5.3in) Habitat: Warm, coastal waters, shelf and sea bed It is a widely known fact that octopuses are very intelligent creatures. They are often escaping aquariums , there was that one which predicted the 2010 World Cup , and they are Professor Layton level puzzle solvers . Atlant...

Something I bang on about a lot is recycling. I do it here, I do in real life, hell I do it at work too! It may only be a small step in reducing plastic pollution, but it is an easy step everyone can take. And should take, honestly. But what happens to our household waste when it is recycled? I've seen pencils made from recycled plastics, and certain products do promote the fact they are made from recycled goods. But what else happens to them? So I went digging on the internet. I have found three cool initiatives that I wanted to share with you all. Bottle Bricks Photo from Natural Building Blog Bottle bricks are where empty (waste) plastic bottles are packed with sand or other non-recyclable plastics, rendering them a strong building resource. They are being used to build houses, schools, or even just benches! They are a versitile building block and made from an all too readily available material. A number of projects using this new style of brick are h...

The new episode or Sharks @ 7 & 3/4 is live! Watch Addy and Dylan, my favourite shark experts, go head to head in a quiz about the hunting styles of the Wobbegong, Goblin and Megamouth Sharks. What were they playing for? A doughtnut - the best of prizes. The game was simple. After drawing a picture of each shark, I posed them nine questions. All they had to do was show me the shark they thought was the answers. With nine points to play for, whoever had the most won the doughnut. Find out what happened below: And because their pictures are so beautiful, here they are close up. Left: Dylan's. Right: Addy's.