US Economy Up. UK Consumer Confidence Down. Wood from the Ohe Ohe Tree

Wood from the Tetraplasandra or Ohe Ohe Tree of Hawaii

Well, it seems as if the US economy is ignoring all the kerfuffle and shenannigans of politics. The Dow index is up, unemployment continues to decline and apparently US exports are rising, though there is still a deficit with China. In the UK, the economy is slowing down as consumers cut back. There are also suggestions that Prime Minister Theresa May and the government may finally reveal some of their ideas for the continuing EU Brexit negotiations. Let's hope it doesn't involve Baldrick's Turnip and "A Cunning Plan" a la Blackadder.

After a fascinating morning catching up with our work plan I settled down to an afternoon of reading a new manuscript. Inbetween, I had the PC combining focus stacks of photos of wood sections that I took last night. The structure of wood under the microscope is characteristic of the tree from whence it came. It can also be very pretty and is often confused by some of being pictures of modern knitting. The most unusual wood in the collection viewed was from the Ohe Ohe or Tetraplasandra tree of Hawai, which can grow to a height of 20 metres and is spread throughout the Hawaiian islands.