April 1, 2021
Diamonds, Daffodils, Diamonds
By Eloise Graham
A beautiful sparkling diamond on a light reflective surface.
The common birthstone for April is the diamond; a bright, light reflecting, colorless jewel that has intrigued mankind for centuries. It’s chemical make up is that of carbon, a soft, black mineral but with heat and pressure will change its appearance to that of a very hard, clear gem. The four “C’s” of a diamond are cut, color, clarity, and carat. Cut has the greatest effect on the diamonds beauty. The more precise the cut, the more captivating the diamond appears. Color may occur in many hues ranging from colorless to pale yellow or light brown. Other natural colors are known as “fancy” diamonds. Clarity of a diamond refers to the internal characteristics, inclusions, or external characteristics, blemishes. Most characteristics can only be seen with magnification. Carat refers to the physical weight of the diamond. One carat equals 1/5 gram. (The 4C information was obtained from the American Gem Society at americangemsociety.org.
Daffodils are one of the harbingers of spring. Their bright sunny faces adorn many a flower garden in April. There are over 200 species yielding over 25,000 cultivars in hues of white, pale yellow to gold and even pink. Regionally, the name daffodil and jonquil are often interchanged, but scientifically they are different. Both grow from bulbs and are in the narcissus family, but their differences are in their leaves. Jonquils have slender leaves with rounded tips while daffodils have slim, sword-tipped foliage. Jonquils also tend to have clusters of flowers on the stems. A tip if cutting the flowers for a bouquet: when cut, they secrete a sap that can be poisonous to other flowers. Wait at least 24 hours after cutting before mixing various flowers together.
Diamond, of the “play ball” variety, is the field on which the game of baseball is played. The baseball field is unique in sports. Most team sports are played on a rectangular field, baseball is played on a wedge-shaped field. The diamond is defined by two foul lines running perpendicular, meeting at home plate and extending outward past 1st and 3rd bases.
This year, Major League Baseball is scheduled to kick off the 2021 regular season on April 1st. Locally, the Quad Cities River Bandits will kick off their season on the road on Tuesday, May 4. Their home opener will be Tuesday, May 11.
