Grimsby Beach

Yesterday's rain got so intense that it stopped work for for today's plant sale.  I went down to Grimsby Beach to see the flooding, and the first picture is the parking lot, with water covering almost all of it.  The waves crashed against the shore rocks, overwhelming the pier.  The winds whipped up the water turning it brown with the sand.  As soon as I lifted the camera, it was plastered with water on the lens. Today's forecast looks similar to yesterday's.  My plant sale may be a 'wash out'.  I have posted a rain replacement date of Friday May 26th 3:00 - 6:00pm on the kijiji and craigslist ads.  I hope a few people brave the weather today besides me.

Wind Storm Warning

What makes a wind storm warning more significant in the late fall than in the spring? The Tree Expert told me last year.  He said that it is the trees who have suffered some decay or stress during the summer that are the ones prone to problems.  Heavier winds start to occur in the fall, and that's what causes limb failure. Of course there's the possibility of trees uprooting.  How many inches of rain make the soil wet enough that the roots come undone? The experts say that drainage is the major concern rather than rain fall.  Did you know that roughly 90% of a tree's roots are in the upper 18" - 24" of soil? How do you know if a tree in your yard is at high risk for falling?  The expert says:  look at the tree and its environment.  Is the tree leaning? Has the leaning increased in recent years? Is the crown healthy - root problems are often reflected in crown condition.  Are there noticeable cracks in the trunk? These are all signs of weakness and stress. We'll see what today's high wind warning produces.  Today's photos of fall colours in Charles Daley Park are filtered through rain patterns on the car windshield that we experienced yesterday.

View From Above

I went out to see the Autumn colours yesterday.  I started at Beamer Park up on the escarpment.  The park is an example of a preserved Carolinian forest here in Ontario, and has excellent views out across the region.  The view in this picture is towards Niagara Falls, and one can see its high rises. The winds have been blowing the colours off the trees so there isn't the show that one might like for photographs.  And as the winds blew and blew, a storm blew in. The last picture is at Locust Lane, where the Hidden Bench barn is located, and looks out over the Lake. While the Lake is in this picture, there's no Toronto floating on the horizon today. Dezi and I arrived home just in time for the rain to start.

Signs of Winter

This is Charles Daley Park in St. Catharines.  It has the distinction of a long shoreline with dynamic lagoons at each end.  This gazebo stands at the edge of the high embankment between the shoreline and the parking lot. Because of its height, the parking lot has excellent views of the lake. People come by in their cars and have a coffee overlooking the great expanse, or just stop by to take a look at what the lake is up to with its waves and changing shoreline.  You can stop in any time and there will be at least a car or two.  People do get out of their cars.  In winter there are families tobogganing down the slopes on the sunny days.  And there are usually dogs - they have a great time on the beach and trails, so there is a dog or two to meet and greet. 
This is the moment in the year when we welcome snow.  Christmas and snow seem to be the perfect match.  Our image today shows the two sides of snow -  the windy stormy day and then what typically follows for us in Ontario - a blue sky and sunny day for tobogganing.

Stormy Weather

We had a great rainfall yesterday in the Niagara region.  I realized just how much rain fell when I went to St. Catharines for the Grimsby Garden Club field outing.  Along Fifth St. Louth, near my brother's hybridizing field, there were orchards in water.  It is sandy loam, so that means a lot of water came down in the day.

The garden club went to Lilycrest Gardens, my brother, Brian Bergman's lily hybridizing field, and then to Squirrel House Gardens, the 11.5 acre garden of Elisabeth Hilton.  It is also on Fifth Street.