Fun in 2016

Have there always been this many lists?  Since the internet we can find out so many things with a search, organized nicely into the top 5 and top 10. 5 things to look out for from the Weather Network 1. The South Will Be Cooler Than Average, The North Warmer 2. The South Will Be Wetter Than Average 3. El Nino Isn't the Only Player 4. California Could See Some Minor Drought Relief 5. We Don't Know When or Where It Could Get Ugly What kinds of Fun can we expect in 2016? We can expect the Mazda CX-3 to be stylish, efficient and fun, or the 2016 Mazda MX-5 to be plain, simple fun.  The most striking thing is that cars dominant the "fun" results. If you are looking for FUN:  Did you know that the acronym FUN stands for Florida United Numismatists?  We can go to the FUN show the first week of January. Here are two images for 2015 as it passes and 2016 as it arrives - A Time for Peace and Bird of Hope.

Countdown 2016!

What would you like to count down?  Would it be the New Year 2016 in New York, in Sunnyvale, in Las Vegas?  Would it be the Olympic Games in 2016?  Or the NHL Winter Classic? More likely we're counting down to the first snow storm. The forecast today is scattered flurries this morning.  There's a Southern Ontario storm watch. So I guess we'll be watching the ice and or snow this morning, possibly, and maybe. Going shopping seems unlikely: After a check of the headlines, the theme I take is that Boxing Day/Week shopping is stressful and dangerous. Below is hydrangea flowers in winter and weathered wood.

Charles Daley Park Gazebo - Christmas Day

Every day is a different day View this email in your browser

Christmas Day has arrived.  A pinnacle of a day in the year.  Everyone is sending good wishes, This is one of the few days of the year that the Globe and Mail won't arrive at the door.  So I'll go with the news from the Queen:  *Monarch quotes from the Bible to address a nation shaken by year of atrocities."  She's been a stable figure in our society for decades, so makes a comforting Christmas icon.  You can see the article and more about the Queen here. I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas day and holiday week to follow.  Here's one of my favourites - the gazebo at Charles Daley Park.

That Poisonous Poinsettia

Should I worry if my cat Baxter is eating the Poinsettia?  Only if you are obsessive and can see there's a leaf missing on your plant as there's no easy way to fix that given how brittle they are. But isn't the plant poisonous? That white sap looks terrible - it is thick and oozy.  At best it can cause a little irritation. You can expect Baxter to only eat one leaf as the taste is reportedly very unpleasant.  The Poison Control Centre says that a child who weighed 50 pounds would have to eat over 500 poinsettia leaves to reach a potentially toxic dose of compounds in the poinsettia plant.  That's a very determined child. So let's turn to the real list of things to watch. They are lurking in our food and spice cupboards: Nutmeg: considered safe when used as a spice in food.  But in high doses, can cause flushing, dry mouth, rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting and even hallucinations. Brazil nuts:  these contain selenium and large quantities can be poisonous.  Only eat up to 3 brazil nuts a day. Red Beans:  these have to be cooked in boiling water for over 10 minutes to expel the poisonous part.  Just cooking the beans in water without boiling it can harm you even more. Apricot, plum and cherry pits (apple too):  yes when you get a cherry pit in the pie, put it aside, as it contains poison from the cyanide family. Potatoes: those pesky green spots contain poisonous solanine that does not wear off with cooking or baking.  Don't take off the green parts, get rid of the potato. And for your dogs, look at this list: ground cinnamon onion powder dill seed ground sage mint garlic So we conclude with a look at the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouse display.

Solstice Lights

Decorations get prettier every year - this heritage house on Beamville's Main Street is an example of how wonderful the lights are. We can count on Lifehacker for telling us where to find the best Christmas Lights.  The Places to Visit in Each State for Incredible Christmas Lights showcases a picture of a decorated train and then lists the top 5 places to visit in the U.S. The Canadian search takes us to a Government of Canada website that says the Christmas Lights Across Canada program was launched in 1985 to highlight landmarks and sites along Confederation Boulevard and Parliament Hill, and has a guide to all the capitals to visit. The top display in Canada is listed as Niagara Falls, with Christmas Lights Across Canada (above), and then Toronto's downtown core.

Garden Tripod Features December 2015

I contribute to an e-zine on a regular basis and this month's issue has a feature article and one of my images on the cover. You can find the article in the December 2015 Issue of Garden Tripod Art.  I hop you will hope over and take a look.

Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouses Display

At this time of year, when many of our traditions trace themselves back to Britain, George Mikes' manual "How to be a Brit" has been republished after 30 years ago.  Here are a few excerpts to start our day.  Once we know how to be British about them, we can rediscover Lost Christmas Traditions. On not knowing anything One thing you must learn in England is that you must never really learn anything. You may hold opinions – as long as you are not too dogmatic about them – but it is just bad form to know something. You may think that two and two make four; you may ‘rather suspect it’; but you must not go further than that. Yes and no are about the two rudest words in the language. Why don’t the British panic? They do, but very quietly. It is impossible for the naked eye to tell their panic from their ecstasy. Why don’t they work harder? They just don’t like hard work. The Germans have a reputation for hard work, so they like to keep it up. The British find it boring. Then, apart from a tiny and despicable minority, the British dislike the idea of taking part in the rat-race. They will give up certain advantages – knowingly and with their eyes open – in order to be able to stick to certain values and a way of life. How would they fight a civil war? Very, very quietly. Our pretty houses decorated for Christmas are at the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouse.

What is in a Boat's Name?

It is always a great trip to Niagara Falls to see the Showcase Greenhouse Christmas display.  The drive back along the Lakeshore means one can stop at Sunshine Express to see their grand display and then cross the canal at Carlton Street.  But we didn't immediately cross the canal - we watched a boat come through into the lock. Isn't this quite the sign on the boat?  Look over there - it is NO SMOKING making its way through the Welland Canal at Lock 2.  I wondered what the name of the ship is. I  went looking for the schedule - but didn't find an online schedule.  I remember there was a posted schedule at the Visitor Centre last summer, so one could time one's visits for the ships coming through.  Having lived next to the Welland Canal near the Lock 2 bridge on Carlton as a child, one could look down Scott Street and pretty well spot a boat any time.  It was constant, and the bridges when up and down all the time. Of course, there's less traffic now as we're at the end of the season.  The canal is open late due to the good weather.  When the weather gets cold, the locks will be emptied, and one will be able to see how deep they are.  I'll take some photos so you can really see the engineering feat that was accomplished in the 1930's. And then back to the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouses, there were some lovely mourning doves  flitting about and cooing.  There was even a small group of sparrows in the tropical house.

Painted Ladies Wear Winter Coats

These Painted Lady pictures were taken last year.  You likely know this as there's been no snow so far - there was a fleeting moment in November and it disappeared quickly. This pretty section of Grimsby is composed of narrow lanes with little Victorian Gingerbread cottages all packed in together.  They date back to the late 1800s when first used as summer cottages. If we travel just a little west and south (away from the lake) the charm of the cottages gives way to houses built in the 1920s onwards.  Something I noticed yesterday was how the Grimsby Beach cottage streets are lined with mature trees.  But the other sections close to the Lake are missing this feature. It is too bad, as it creates a a more inviting and pleasant environment. These various home styles come to mind as Grimsby is engaged in building right now. The 5th Wheel truck stop has been sold and will become a condo development.  Nearby, at Casablanca will be the condo development called 'Lake House'.  And in the last week, an old apartment building on Main Street near us was demolished.

Parting the Sea of Red

I know a lot more about Poinsettias today.  I visited the Poinsettia Trials at Linwell Gardens in Beamsville.  Wayne Brown kindly toured me through the 160 plus varieties in the trials. Last year they were at Vineland Research Station and open to the public.  This year it was open only to the trade - to growers, breeders and buyers, so the public wasn't able to see some remarkable new varieties. The first is Gold Rush.  We in Canada have a clear space between Thanksgiving in October and Christmas.  This isn't so in the U.S.  There is typically a Poinsettia in the house for Thanksgiving.  That's why an orange colour would be perfect for the American holiday display.  Immediately behind it is a startling chartreuse colour, and behind that the pretty spring-looking pink blooms that we see in the next picture. There are so many different bract shapes - there are the up-pointing ones and the more downward cascading ones.  The shapes vary too - there are hearts, oak leaves and holly bracts/leaves. This 'white room' is where the trials were last week.  Everything was moved to conserve heat as they ship the poinsettias out during the last few weeks of this big season - Poinsettias are the largest crop of pot plants in North America.

Take Cover - It's the Winter Cover Crop

I found this scene at the beginning of November this year up on the escarpment.  I was driving around looking for good bronze fall foliage landscape scenes.  Such an interesting contrast to see the end of autumn paired with spring.  I looked this up and think it is a canola cover crop. Its benefit:  "Grows fast; adds huge amount of humus". "Comments: Excellent catch crop after an early harvest. This cabbage relative sprouts and grows fast, produces large, nitrogen-rich leaves which crowd out weeds. Deep roots loosen tough clay soil. Matures in 8 to 10 weeks; large vegetative mass decays fast, makes a wealth of humus when turned under. Cover crops should be turned under several weeks before the area is planted with crops in order to allow sufficient decomposition."

Poinsettia Fever - keeping away Cabin Fever

My theory goes that cabin fever starts in November as the horizon lowers and the day shortens drastically.  Poinsettias seem to be the perfect 'pick-me-up'.  They are vivid eye candy to the eyes.  They are so varied now with all sorts of variations on red white and pink (aside from the horticultural spray painting of blue). They signal a good time ahead. So you can guess what makes me visit Sunshine Nurseries. A visit to Sunshine Nurseries last week was a feast of poinsettias.  As far as you can see are stripes of red, white, pink - all the colours and varieties of poinsettias imaginable. There are three locations for poinsettia trials in North America - Florida, South Carolina and Niagara.  This year it is taking place at Linwell Gardens, one of the growers.  Last year it took place at Vineland Research Station and there was a great public showing and voting. There are over 160 varieties on trial this year, and I hope to see them on Monday afternoon when I interview Wayne Brown, the chair of the activity.

How Big is Toronto?

We think of size by population - typically.  But today's views of Toronto show its size on the horizon.  These are from Grimsby area landmarks.  The first is Grimsby Beach, where the Peace Garden and Pump House are located.  It used to be a popular boat landing destination. The second is from Peninsula Ridge, the winery that marks the Beamsville/Grimsby line so is the east section of town. What a remarkable difference of the clarity of the Toronto skyline.  Some days it seems to be within walking distance, and other days seems to be far away.

The Lake View at Niagara with the Grinch's Trees

The count down to Christmas has a long tradition with the Advent Calendar's little numbered flaps so that one is opened each day. This is a 'famous German tradition', and the first known Advent Calendar dates from 1851.  There are also Advent candles and Advent wreaths. Today's image of Christmas decorations has its origins more recently - in the Grinch that Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.  If you go to Pinterest there are hilarious pictures of Green-stockinged back ends in the Christmas tree as part of the decorations.  Take a look HERE We also have a great view to Toronto with a freighter in the foreground - the CN Tower seems to be keeping the cloud line from descending on the city.

Justin Trudeau and the Queen

Isn't it so great to have a Prime Minister who makes headlines for saying funny, witty things.  Justin Trudeau's toast to Queen Elizabeth told her he was the 12th Canadian prime minister to serve during her reign and his father, Pierre Trudeau was the fourth.  Her Twitter response was: "Thank you for making me feel so old",  It isn't every day that the news headline is a light-hearted remark. I took these pictures last Saturday - the last of the grape leaves on the vines.  These had red, orange and yellow in such intense tones.  I drove by later in the week on Thursday and everything was gone - the leaves and the colours.  It is so remarkable how quickly the colours can disappear.

Frosty Red Maples

There was a lot of frost early yesterday morning so I was able to get some Japanese Maple leaves in the grass.  They look like they are coated with sugar and could decorate a cake. Today is roast turkey, candied yams, giant balloons and American football.

Boston Ivy Days are Finishing

I have the leaf-retaining Red Maple out front.  It will be the last tree to lose its leaves and is still holding on to them. Last week I saw the last of the boston ivy.  I was fascinated by the wall at Vineland Research Station with the long leafless stems about 8 inches long.  They must have adapted to the light conditions and are able to reach out beyond the shade to catch the sun.  The more typical boston ivy habit is shown in the bottom two pictures with the brilliant golds and reds..