Saturday, June 15, 2013

How to tell the parts of the world in forest

As we walked through the forest to our favourite spring for collecting some fresh drinking water, Mamma called us to the one of the trees, saying that she wanted to tell us something. She asked us to look closely at the bark of the tree all around, if we could notice anything. Upon examining the tree, we saw that one side of it is covered by moss. Mom then told us that all the trees grow moss on the northern side of their trunk to protect themselves from the cooler northern winds. Thus, the side with the moss on is facing the North - and from there, you can easily figure out the rest of the sides of the world - South, East and West.

It is helpful to know this quality of trees in case you get lost in woods, so you don't end up going in circles, while figuring your way out. It is also helpful for determining the direction of prayer. For example, if we know that in Latvia the direction of prayer is nearly Southwards (a little towards East), looking at moss on a tree can help us determine the approximate Qibla.



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