Weather Report x 2

I was checking out the Weather Report for Grimsby - warm summer temperatures for the next few days.  At the same time, a Weather Report song was on the radio on JazzFM.  They regularly play two of the jazz fusion band's songs -  "A Remark You Made" and "Birdland".  I think it is Jaco Pastorius' bass lines that draw my attention to the songs every time I hear them. Our Canadian Thanksgiving is concluded - and what does every Thanksgiving meal finish with?  Of course it is pumpkin pie - it has to be one of the delicious desserts. Pumpkins are a member of the gourd family and are also considered winter squash.  Pumpkins have been grown in North America for about 5000 years Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and healing snake bites  Pumpkins are 90-percent water The world record for giant pumpkins remains in Germany! For the second time in 3 years, the world record for giant pumpkins has fallen at the European Weigh-Off in Germany. German grower Mathia Willemijn brought this behemoth pumpkin weighing 2,624.6 pounds to the weigh-off on October 9, 2016. Here is a picture of a person paddling on a pumpkin in the water as part of the world record pumpkin pictures.  I thought I should insert it as you might not believe it could be true. Our picture is shows the garden rendezvous with night lighting, part of my experiments for "The Night Garden".

Thanks Giving

Our Thanksgiving holiday weekend celebration completes, and next is Halloween and its traditions.  Our Thanksgiving tradition came about in 1957 with the declaration of a holiday.  The date varied before then. Unlike the Americans, there isn't a "First Thanksgiving".  But it seems to me theirs varies too.  The "First" is said to be October 1621 and lasted three days - and is about the Pilgrims (who were not Puritans).  However, there is a Shrine of the First Thanksgiving at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia.  The date of that Shrine is 1619.   Our pictures today show our current decorative traditions - a 'country' scene displaying the pumpkin and squash harvest, corn stalks, and chrysanthemums in harvest colours. These were taken at Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington. The last picture is in Hendrie Park across the road from the greenhouse display. The entrance gates are beautiful and the plaque beside indicates the dedication to the Hendrie Brothers.  William Hendrie, a Scottish immigrant, purchased the land in the 1870s for his racehorse farm. In 1931 his son George donated the property to Hamilton Parks Board as a memorial to William and his brothers. Ten years later the property became part of RBG. I await the light this morning to 'see' the fog - there's a fog advisory that says visibility may be near zero in some places.

Thanksgiving Madness

This is American Thanksgiving and we visit what's whacky as reported by the Huffington Post a few years ago.  Colored Turkeys at Gozzi’s Turkey Farms You can order your Thanksgiving bird from this Connecticut farm, but that’s not what visitors come to see. Every year around Thanksgiving, Gozzi’s dyes its live turkeys all shades of neon and gives kids a chance to feed them. Says a Yelper, “I thought pink, purple, green, and yellow turkeys were just in coloring books. But Gozzi’s got them.” The Fifth Third Turkey Trot Well, it’s actually the 31st instalment of this Detroit footrace, named “Fifth Third” after the bank that founded it. The titles continue their wonkiness on race day: there’s the 10k Turkey Trot, 5k Stuffing Strut, and Mashed Potato Mile (completing more than one is a Drumstick Double). Don your craziest costume, and you might win the contest! The Turkey Testicle Festival That’s right, the catchphrase at this 21-and-over bar fest is “hot nuts.” A thousand pounds of actual turkey yarbles will be served alongside pizza and beer at Parkside Pub in Huntley, Illinois on the eve of Thanksgiving. Catch some local bands and leave with a story to tell around the Thanksgiving table. The Green Lake Gobble Seattle ends their Thanksgiving 5k with a hefty serving of side dish: in the Mashed Potato Much Off, the one to shovel the most potatoes in four minutes wins a pile of cash. You might also score prizes if you beat the runner who wears a turkey suit during the race. Here's our orange Poinsettia for the American Thanksgiving table.

Pumpkin Chasing in Niagara

This is Pumpkin Patch weekend for Canadians:   all things pumpkin for Thanksgiving. Yesterday, I went on the pumpkin trail - to places where Thanksgiving is in full swing. I started at Hildreth's,  This farm has a large farm market stand close to my home.   It is much bigger than just a 'stand'  - it is a large parking area in front of the house with large canopies covering tables and shelves of local fruit and vegetables.  In fact, it is a mini-store with all kinds of local produce besides their own. One of the biggest attractions is the home-made pies - home-made by Hildreth's.  The fruit is typically is from their orchards or fields, and the pies taste like a home-made pie because they are. I wanted to catch the pumpkin display before it got bought out.  People were parked everywhere and it wasn't 10:00 on a Saturday morning.  I drove past later in the day on my way back home and there were more cars. I expect there were a lot fewer pumpkins. This year I bought a bushel of squash.  A bushel seemed too large last year, but this year, I bet that when it is available easily, the squash are used up quickly.  I started yesterday - one down. After a visit to the St. Catharines market and Lakeland Meats where Dezi and I checked out the chickens in their chicken run, I drove along St. Paul Street and made a stop at Calamus Winery in Vineland.  At the winery, I found a piece of the Rusty Shed on the ground, and they let me take it home.  They are close to Balls Falls and the Vineland Art Festival - such a large festival that there is $5.00 parking in the middle of orchards. Next I dropped into Beamsville's bakery 'The Post' and saw the pumpkin pies moving quickly.  I wondered if there is a busier day of the year, but didn't want to hold up the line to ask. Finally, I checked out my favourite garden centre, Cole's.  Harry, the owner, celebrated 30 years of ownership this past week. He showed me the slide show of the garden centre - including pictures when it was owned by the Cole's 125 years ago.  Lex sent this link of Benchscape - which is for sale.  This is the residence where I garden the raised beds of herbs and edible flowers, along with the decorative pots.  You can see them right at the beginning.