Happy Birthday Year to Canada

Here we are in 2017 and already a leap second was added to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 31st 2016.  The  Earth's slowing rotation needed synchronizing.  A few things we can look forward to in 2017 according to cnn.com are:  Drones delivering food and maintaining inventory in Wal-Mart warehouses; an Italian surgeon planning to do the first head transplant; and milk made without cows.  In terms of anniversaries, it is 20 years since Diana died and a spring exhibition is planned of her most famous outfits. It is the 20th anniversary of the start of the Harry Potter novels.  Not an anniversary, but very notable is that the documents amassed by the JFK Records Act will be revealed to the public in October.  And don't forget that this is Canada's 150th birthday and the celebrations began on December 31st. The Mosaicanada display that was initially proposed for Niagara Falls will be in Ottawa.  These are large-scale sculptures made of plants.  OK the first spoiler alert of 2017 - the Mosaicanada site is French-only as it is actually situated in Gatineau, Quebec.  Today - the portal to the New Year - one of my favourite images, taken at Winterthur. For those with January 1st birthdays, I send out double wishes. And while we celebrate Canada's birthday on July 1st, why not start the celebrating right away!

A New Year Tradition - The Pickle

Remember the tradition of the pickle in the Christmas Tree?  There are some unusual New Year's traditions. The most famous ritual in the U.S. is the dropping of a giant ball in New York City's Times Square. Dillsburg Pennsylvania drops a pickle in celebration of the stroke of midnight.