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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MAY 2022 11 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 812. Hare's tail grass WHEN we think "flowers" we picture colourful fragrant things buzzing with attendant insects. And so they often are, but not for grasses. Grasses too make flowers, but they found ways of shedding their pollen and dispersing their seed that didn't involve making a contract with insects. For this reason the flowers of grasses are nei- ther fragrant not colourful, they have nothing to advertise! But they can still be attractive. One grassy beauty is the hare's tail grass (M. denb il-fenek). It is in full bloom right now, and grows profusely, of- ten on disturbed ground. Although a modest greenish white in col- our and with no petals whatsoever, this aptly-named mass of fluffy blooms bobbing in the breeze catch the eye nonetheless. Victor Falzon | Photo: Desirée Falzon www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 700: To find out more and enter the quiz, please follow this link: www.foemalta.org/quiz Last chance to win a €100 voucher from Core Green: Organic & fairtrade food & The Veg Box at The Farmoury! Friends of the Earth Malta is putting you to the test! We have come up with a quiz to pick your brain about local farming within a larger context of Europe- an policy. We also want to hear from you about of local produce and farming. It only takes a minute to fill it in so participate now!! Find out more and win a prize here www.foemalta.org/quiz or scan the QR-code in the picture. The quiz is available until 2nd of May, so hurry! Bring the Dialogue – Green European DEAL and the CAP' (Bridge DEAL & CAP) is funded by the IMCAP Programme of the European Union. The con- tent of this publication represents the views of the author only and is their sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foemalta.org/donate Don't miss this Il-Hajja – Exhibition by Mario Agius Start date: 28 April Place: Malta Society of Arts, Valletta Gozitan sculptor Mario Agius (b.1956) will be launching a personal exhibition of sculptures named IL- HAJJA at our Art Galleries. Mario studied sculpture and design with the late Maltese artists Anton Agius and Harry Alden and furthered his studies in the UK with sculptor Ian Norbury. His sculptures are in constant dialogue with our surroundings and aim to create connections and parallelisms between human life and natural materials such as olive trunks, Carrara marble and Gozo hardstone. Entrance is free, Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member St Publius feast in Floriana Date: 4 May Place: Around Floriana A typical Maltese 'festa' lasts three days or longer. On any one of these evenings, you are bound to see hundreds of people in festive mood. Traditional and fast food stands vie with each other to sell their wares to the crowds of merry-makers. Typical products are Maltese type nougat and other sweet delicacies. The evenings often end with spectacular ground and aerial fireworks displays in an explosion of colour, firecrackers and loud petards. Join this special event the whole day around Floriana! A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK The first all-private crew to travel to the International Space Station, comprised of three millionaire businessmen and their former NASA astronaut escort, is returning to Earth this week. Their journey to the ISS was meant to last a little over a week but in the end lasted more than two. Tesla Inc lost $126 billion in value on Tuesday amid investor concerns that Chief Executive Elon Musk may have to sell shares to fund his $21 billion equity contribution to his $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc. The American, Canadian and Israeli businessmen arrived at the space station on Saturday 9 April after paying $55m each for the rocket ride and accommodation Tesla is not involved in the Twitter deal, yet its shares have been targeted after Musk declined to disclose where his cash for the acquisition is coming from