BLUE MOON

Okay, here it is the Blue Moon. Not so rare really but it happens only once in a long while. To-night there is a blue moon in Canada, that is a second full moon in one month. Or for the more particular on such things it is the extra full moon in one season. Then in this case this will not be a blue moon. The last full moon was on December 2nd.
To-day is also my Daughter's birthday so here is an opportunity to wish her a very best HAPPY BIRTHDAY


Side note, because of the manipulation of the picture the one edge is blurred. sorry about that.

Happy New Year

These were some of the Fireworks from Christmas Night at the Falls, but I am posting them for New Year's Eve Night. For every one Happy New Years, 2010. God Bless you all. Further I hope and pray that the New Year will be the best ever for you all.

Winter Wonderland

This was a great snow day around here. Our second snow fall of the year. My little girl just loved it. Still she does not like the snow on her paws but that barely slowed her down in the white winter wonderland of to-day. The other pics are of the garden as it sleeps threw the next three months.

The Olympics come to Dunnville

 First Picture. My home decorated for the Moment
Second Picture. Olympic Torch coming down Main Street
Third and Fourth Pictures are the Flame
The Last is my Dad and his Wife (Joy) enjoying the moment

What a wonderful day for our town. The Olympics came here to-day from 3 to 4 PM. A HUGE crowd came out for the celebrations at hand. I would say half the town was out on the streets for it. Vancouver Olympic Games start in February and it has a long way to go to get there. Up until  now the flame has gone from the Most Western, Northern, and Eastern points in our Huge Country. In the next day it will be at our Nations most Southern point, then off to Windsor. It will be in LONDON, Ontario for Christmas. This torch run will be when completed the longest relay in Olympic history in a single country.

  Poinsettia, Was named for an American Diplomat to Mexico in the 1800 hundreds, He liked the plant!!!!!! His name was Poinsette

Care.

Poinsettia Care

History
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulchenima) is native to southern Mexico and Mesoamerica and unlike today's commercial cultivars, they grow into straight and tall trees often up to heights of 3 meters. It was cultivated by the Aztecs of Mexico for its brilliant flower and was processed to make dye. Poinsettias were introduced into the United States in 1825 by the first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsette from the USA. The common name for the plant, poinsettia, came from his last name. Poinsette, a renowned botanist, had several plants sent to his home in Greenville, South Carolina, which he later distributed to various botanical gardens. Today, poinsettias are one of the most important floricultural crops in the United States with a production valued at several hundred million dollars.

In the early 20th century, the Ecke family at their ranch just north of San Diego began outdoor production of poinsettias for use as a landscape plants and as a cut flowers. Today more than three-fourths of the cuttings sold in the U.S. come from the Ecke Ranch. The most popular seller is the Freedom series. Jingle Bells (speckled bracts) is second in popularity and a novelty variety, Winter Rose, is third. Winter Rose has curved or curled instead of flat bracks.

Selection.
The usual life expectancy for poinsettia flowers is from 2 to 4 weeks. With some of the newer varieties, however, the bracts may last unit late in the spring. The colourful parts of the poinsettia, the bracts, are actually modified leaves. The poinsettia flower is small and situated in the middle of the bracts. Flowers that are green or red and fresh looking will last longer than ones with yellow grains of pollen on them. After purchasing your plant do not expose it to cold drafts of air. If the temperature is below 13 0 C, have your plant wrapped to protect it as you carry the plant to your car.

Care.
The poinsettia you buy for Christmas was grown at temperatures between 17 an 21 o C , with high humidity and as much sunshine as possible in the greenhouse. You will need to simulate these conditions as much as possible to ensure the plant lasts for a long period after your purchase. You will want to place the plant in a well-lighted location free from drafts and extremes in temperature.

Keep the plant from touching cold windowpanes. Poinsettias thrive in bright but not direct sunlight. It should have at least 6 to 8 hours of direct natural or artificial light and placed in a window facing south, east or west. If possible, keep the plant with other plants or place the pot in a gravel-filled pan with water. This practice will keep the humidity a little higher around the plant in an otherwise dry, winter home.

Examine the plant on a regular basis for watering. When the soil surface feels dry to the touch fill the pot to the top with water and allow it to soak in until the excess begins to drain out the bottom. Do not leave the pot setting in a pool of water. Over watering will damage the roots and will result in wilting or leaf problems (turning yellow and dropping prematurely). Insufficient light, drafts and lack of nitrogen may also cause the leaves to turn yellow or drop. Freezing temperatures or cold drafts may cause wilting of the leaves.

Toxicity.
Various reports over the years have led many to believe that poinsettias are toxic to humans. Careful research at several universities has shown that poinsettias are not poisonous. However, some people are allergic to the white milky sap (latex) and may develop a skin rash when exposed to this material. It is wise to avoid breaking the stems and leaves and to keep plants out of the reach of small children and pets.

A Few Dunnville Lights

With a week to go, I thought I would show a few of our town's light displays.
The First is of an Anchor that was brought up out of Lake Erie near Dunnville
The Second is for the Shipping on the lake and the Light House. There are a few light houses in the area.
The Third is for the RCAF which had a training base here during the war. That is a Harvard
the Fourth is on the side of the  Haldimand War Memorial Hospital. Which was the second hospital in Canada dedicated to the WW I dead (1914 to 1918).

We have a wonderful tree done up in the town centre, but I was too cold already for that bit, So I will do that this weekend.

Hole in the Ice

Here is the Fish Pond to-day. A rather cold one -5 o C. The ice is about 2 cm thick so not to bad. I leave the fish in the pond all year round and they do not mind it. The biggest and most important key to over wintering fish out doors is to have the pond opened up even a small bit through the ice. Also to have a little water movement. This helps remove toxic gasses from the water which is the killer.

As you can see what snow we did have is gone. Still a bit would be nice now for Christmas, and winter protection

A week to go!!!!

 Christmas decorations in my Dinning-room.
With a week to go till Christmas, I hope every one is enjoying the season at hand.
I always have Christmas set up on my Grandmothers Birthday which is to-day :)

My Grandma's Birthday

To-day December 17th would have been my Grandmothers Birthday. I am only mentioning it here as this site is dedicated to her. She would have been 96. She just passed 3 short years ago.

Anyway this picture of my Grandparents was taken in 1955 at the time of my Parents wedding in Dunnville, Ontario.
Personal side note I miss her very much.
Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

My Back Door

Here are a few pics from the other evening. I hope that they are enjoyable to see. Yep the trap. The Falls are still very beautiful even this time of year. We have big Christmas light shows which are amazing as well. And the Friday Night Fireworks.

The First pic is a LED  light display at one of the garden lakes above the Falls
The Second is of the Skylon Tower. from below the cliff
The Third is of the Niagara Falls, City Sky-line, from one of the huge parking lots, near the Falls
The Fourth is the top running edge of the Canadian, or Horseshoe Falls
The Fifth is as well but at the very edge at Table Rock, also my new display pic
The Sixth is the Bridal Vial Falls, on the USA side
and The Seventh is the American Falls, also on the American side

I am heading back there this weekend so I will share some pics of the LED light displays.

It's Winter

Home Sweet Home!!!!!
It had to happen and it finally did. We have the snow. YUCK. If I can think of a bright side to it I would!!! All in fun.

Anyway everything is ready now for winter and in good time as well. Christmas is just two weeks a way and I am going crazy with that idea. I get really smart and stay away from all the hassle.

The December Garden Look

The garden is just about completed as of now, and in good time to boot. We had some small snow flurries this morning. The first of the year. Did I use that horrid 4 letter word (SNOW)? "What can I say", it is all about being a Canadian. How I wish at times I lived in Victoria, British Columbia, or that Canada was an Imperial Force and conquered a small Caribbean Island. This way we could have palm trees, 30 o C winters, and never leave home!!!!.
By spring we will have this very unique Canadian look, all pale and deathly looking!!!!!

4 Churches in Dunnville

Here are four lovely churches in our town, we have many of these treasures here. The top one is Knox Presbyterian, second is St. Paul's Anglican, third is Grace United, and lastly  that one is Christ Church Anglican out near Lake Erie in Port Maitland.

I will post a few more in the near future.

Storage of Tropical Plants

O wow, here we go again for another 5 months of having plants in the house. This is just one bunch of them. All said the reward is wonderful in the summer. Here it is important to slow down the growth as the light and other conditions are poor for these guys. I backed off on fertilizer in August, this helps to slow them. In September I potted them all so they will get used to the conditions of being potted. Then I backed off on their watering in October. All this stops them from growing. I really try to leave them all out side as long as possible. This year I was lucky and was able to wait till the other day, Dec 01. This is a slightly heated back room to the house so the average temp stays around 5 o C. They do not freeze so all is cool for them.

the Harvest

I just took up a bunch of tubers, bulbs, and corms. Lots of fun doing that. Can be a lot of work getting them all ready for winter storage and next years garden showing.

The real trick to this is "not" to store them damp, dirty, or with imperfections still on them. I wrap mine in news paper however, saw dust, or packing material works very well also. I also add a bit of fungicide powder to the wrappings as well. This can be important to do, if you have a fungus anywhere in the packaging it can or will spread through everything.

What I am showing here are Cannaceae:, Canna Lillie's, Iridaceae gladiolas:, Gladiolas, and Ipomoea batatas:, Sweat Potato Vines (two types). This is just a small part of the whole. Now to bring in the Dracaena:, Spikes!!!!!!!

This house does get taken over by the garden during the winter months. I will show a pic later to-day of how this can look.

The Big Fish

I posted a while back a picture of the uncompleted Monument as it was being erected. It is now completed and I thought I would share it with you all. This Fish is a representation of the Mud Cat. It is about 18 meters long and wonderfully realistic. It is the largest fish monument in the world to-day.

If I have a compliant at all it is that the pole that holds up the tail is distracting. It takes away from the whole. Maybe they will add a green water leaf or something to the pole to hide it.