Where's Fido?

There are well-know dog names - Fido, Rover and Spot.  Where do these names come from - particularly Fido?  Here's a case on not remembering much Latin from Grade 10 Latin class.  Fido means "to trust, believe, confide in".   Did you ever meet a dog named Fido?  If you had known Abraham Lincoln, you would have met his 'faithful' dog Fido, always by his side.   It was in 1941, when Fido became one of the best known dogs in Italy,  and then around the world.  This dog came to public attention in 1943 because of his demonstration of unwavering loyalty to his dead owner.  Fido was a rescue dog brought back to health by Soriano.  They would go to the bus stop each day and Fido would watch Soriano board the bus for his job.  Fido would stay in the town square for the day, and be there at the end of the day to greet his friend at the bus stop. However, this was during the second world war, and one day Soriano did not return - the factory had been bombed.  Fido waited and waited for Soriano on the day of Soriano's death, and then finally went home.  He returned every day for fourteen years - watching and sniffing the air, waiting for Soriano.  Soon Fido's unwavering loyalty became widely known.  Magazines ran stories of Fido, movies were made, and he was awarded a gold medal.  Even Time Magazine covered Fido in 1957.  He had his own sculpture created "Monument to the dog Fido" - this was during his lifetime - he was famous and revered. When Fido died in 1958, his obituary was in the paper, and he was buried near his owner.   Are there other dogs with such remarkable stories?  Yes - there are at least three who are famous for similar reasons - the Japanese dog Hachiko, the American Shep, and the Scottish Greyfriars Bobby. Today's picture is a yellow Baptisia blooming in the Sunshine Express greenhouses.

A Dog's Breakfast

How did a dog's breakfast get such a bad reputation? in the 1937 Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, the expression is listed as "a mess."  It is suggested that this dates from before the time of canned dog food when a dog's breakfast consisted of dinner leftovers from the night before.  This should not be confused with "a dog's dinner" which means the opposite and is normally expressed as "all dressed up like a dog's dinner" and sarcastically means over-dressed or showy.  This comes from makingheadsortailsofidioms.com where the list of expressions is quite fun.  More on the dog's dinner from a New York Times article ON LANGUAGE: Dog's Breakfast: "Why have you got those roses in your hair?" asked a character in "Touch Wood," a 1934 novel by C. L. Anthony. "You look like the dog's dinner ." This expression was defined by the Oxford English Dictionary Supplement as "dressed or arranged in an ostentatiously smart or flashy manner," probably derived from the 1871 usage "to put on the dog ."   And lest we forget, the New York Times examines the well-worn expression - 'dog-eared.' I found this picture of Dezi on a spring search under the wisteria.  Is it for a dog's breakfast or a dog's dinner?

Another Hour

Another hour before Spring is here at 6:29am.   Poets have given us beautiful Spring verses for as long as there have been poets.  So let us revel in its first moments. In Spring, everything is full of promise.... The child sporting upon the lawn, and the season, sympathize together, and nature rejoices in her virgin loveliness. ~Charles Lanman, "The Dying Year," 1840 It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Detective The year’s at the spring And day’s at the morn; Morning’s at seven; The hillside’s dew-pearled; The lark’s on the wing; The snail’s on the thorn; God’s in His heaven - All’s right with the world! ~Robert Browning It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, That o’er the green corn-field did pass, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; Sweet lovers love the spring. (As You Like It, 5.3.15-20 Our Grimsby Garden Club members planted the town's hanging baskets yesterday at Trillium Hill Greenhouses, located at the west end of Grimsby.  This year, the group celebrated the event with a Lilitopia moment.

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.

Four Geese and a Dog

Dezi made a brisk exit last week as we checked out the view across the lake.  The geese seemed to march up the hill in formation.

Country Living

This is a moment where country living is wonderful. This is at the home of friends who live in Pennsylvania, quite close to Longwood.  Dezi is on the dock - we were watching the large fish swimming in the water, and she was wondering about how to chase them.   Below are Irises that have fallen against the water - looking like there's a midnight sun.