Miss Peacock in the Conservatory with the Camera

Allen Gardens Conservatory inspires wonder and not a little mystery. On a chilly winter's day, it looks quite fragile. But on the contrary, there is strength in structure, especially when form follows function. In this case,

a very elaborate place to keep plants.

Very nice plants too as it turns out.

If it's an oasis you crave, look no further.

A bit of tropical air, with a hint of delicious spice?

The air is dripping with nectar as the plants begin to blossom...

 

Their beauty draws you in, and holds you, holds you...

And just as you begin to think, "I'm satisfied", you turn the corner.

...and you are consumed by green. This is what verdant means.

This is why Leda loved to bathe in the Eurotas River, where Zeus saw her and metamorphasized into a white swan so she would love and protect him.

Their union produced Helen of Troy.

This is a place of magic and mystery and golden scaled fish. 

A place where winter can disappear, and you didn't have a clue that it could.

Conserving Heat

When it's -15C and you're getting just a tad tired of winter,

then it's time to head to the tropics.

In Toronto, that means heading to the Allen Gardens Conservatory,

a downtown Victorian glass palace filled with summer.

The five crystal rooms of the conservatory are filled with tropical plants, cactus, succulents, and all manner of lovely, sweet smelling flowers.

I learned of this treasure through a blog that I follow

called Living on the Edge, http://caro-on-the-islands.blogspot.com/

Thanks Carolyn!

I've become a big fan!

Enjoy other worldy sights at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

These Frosted Flakes are Grrrrrreaaaat!

Every once in a blue moon, you come up with an idea that people just buy into. You put it out there, and BAM! it catches on, ignites the spirit, and is an immediate success. It’s a feel good kinda wanna clap your hands like a little kid sort of thing. And it happened here to me and my staff this past week.


The idea? To hold the 1st Annual Parade of Snowmen as part of the local winter festival that we are responsible for organizing.

What if we have a bunch of plywood snowmen templates made? Then provide them to clubs, organizations, businesses, and institutions for free, to decorate however they want? Let them choose a favourite charity, and hold an online silent auction for the works of winter art, with all proceeds raised going to charity?
And then hang’em from the lampposts in downtown? (author's aside: thus creating the largest mass hanging ever in Canada)
And its thumpity, thump, thump, look at Frosty go!!
So, that’s what happened - except that there must have been some magic in the air that day: all of the plywood was donated, the cost of hanging the snowmen (requiring the services of a tree trimming company and their cherry picker for several hours) was also donated, and the snowmen flew out of here in flash, all 20 of them whisked out the door just about the time they came through the door.
It’s really and truly amazing. And it’s what I love about small towns. When "they" decide something is worthwhile, then you sit back and watch miracles happen.
The Silent Auction is running until Feb. 28th so I'm not sure how much money will be raised, but already, it’s got the entire town talking and I know these snowmen are going to create a lot of jolly, happy souls.

Thumpity, thump, thump, thumpity, thump, thump over the hills we go!

Here's a few of the parade participants...to see them all, visit http://www.pembrokefestivals.com/

 

Remembering Summer.

Summer is a place where the view is so lovely, it gets its own frame.

The colours are so vivid, your breath gets caught in between blue and orange,

and the blue poppies take your breath completely away.

Summer is a place where magic surrounds you.

And the sky consumes you.

Winter is not summer.

to see more magic, go to http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Knock. Knock.

Who's there?

No, not me! I'm your common (but cute) garden variety Downy Woodpecker. You see me practically every time you come out onto the porch. You should get rid of the screen so can see me better...and the guy behind me. Knocking.

Yup. It's me. Pileated Woodpecker. PW for short. You can call me Woody.

 Got any food in there? Hahahaha ha! Nope.

This is fun! Food and a swing! Hahahaha ha.

Tastey, too.

Hey check out who else is hanging out today...

American Tree Sparrow!  Like your bi-coloured beak .

And your yard guardian

Pining for some nuts. In a pine tree. Hahahaha ha.

Nice little restaurant. Maybe I'll be back!

Hahahaha hah! Wonka wonka.

Shades of White and Grey

In January, in Canada, the days melt into nights melt into days...nothing is black and white and a million shades of grey are revealed.

A monochrome world that slowly shows its colours...

The magic day arrives, when the sun is blinding, the water becomes

ice and men become boys.

Colour me hopeful.

Spring will come.

We Have to Stop Meeting Like This.

I have to attend many meetings.

Yesterday, I attended  a meeting in which the first forty minutes were spent with the Chair doing all of the talking. The following, directly from my meeting  notes, is what he said:

" talking about having a meeting, what happened at the last meeting , what will happen at the next meeting, how to have a meeting, when  to have a meeting, what to do during a meeting, going through the items without doing the items, then going through the items and doing the items and who are we doing this for, do we know what we're doing and to whom are we doing it.
Any  comments?", he asked when he came up for air.

"Yes," I said. "The guy sitting  to the right of me snores when he sleeps, and the guy to the left of me left. I think the guy across from me is dead, he died of boredom."

I believe I will resign from this committee.

Note Bene:

I promise to do my best not to use the following words heretofore:

heretofore

validation

confirmation

brainstorming

conflab

It's Not My Fault Line

 This is the view out my window early this morning. The white expanse is the Ottawa River, which forms the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This is my fault line. The odds of there being an earthquake in this area are very high, and they do, in fact, occur quite regularly. The municipal emergency planning exercises are often based on the presumption of a large scale earthquake happening. In the event that it does, it is also presumed that all six dams on the Ottawa River would be fatally damaged, and massive flooding would then occur. This view would then cease to exist.

This map shows the tectonic plates of the earth. If you clasp your hands together, and push very hard, you are simulating what tectonic plates do. Push harder, then quickly pull your hands apart. That swooshing feeling is the earthquake...it occurs when the plates separate, and then whatever's above on the earth's surface rushes in to fill the void. If it's the Rocky Mountains above the shifting plates, then the chances of major damage caused by the vibration and separation is much less than if it's water, and much more porous substances, like volcanic sand. Like exists in Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the western world. Its next door neighbour, Dominican Republic, is considered much better off - by Haitian standards at least.

See, this home has electricity, and I believe, television.

I don't think the  same can be said about this home. These are not sought out dwellings. This is a typical street scene in the Samana region of Dominican Republic. By Canadian standards, it is desperately poor too. I consider all of this from the warm comfort of my home surrounded by gadgets that make my life vastly comfortable. Tonight I will eat well, and sleep in a warm, clean bed, secure in the knowledge that tomorrow will likely offer the same creature comforts.

But before I do, I will visit  http://www.unicef.org/

and I will make a donation so that the people of Haiti may be a little more comfortable too.

Something's Happening Here

But it just ain't exactly clear...

Perhaps if I'd paid more attention in Brownies or Girl Guides I would know what kind of  animal wiggled his cute little butt across the snow, hip hop drag the tail and into the hole I go style. A mouse? A mole? A mink?

During the winter my commute to work generally takes about 15 minutes down a snowy road, bordered by trees. It is not unusual to see wildlife...deer, fox, bear, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, sable (once), beaver, otter, squirrel, coyote.  It's often a fleeting view of the animal as it races off into the woods, unless, of course, it's a porcupine who really doesn't care if you're heading his way or not,  because he knows you're not going to pick him up and try to cuddle him.

But in the dead of winter, such as the case is now, I see all sorts of evidence of animal life in the snow, and frankly, it's driving me a little nuts...look!

I think this is an owl print. The owl spots its prey, praying in the snow, not to be seen by an owl, and BAM! Owl dives down, wings outspread, grabs the poor little mouse, and flies off with lunch. That's what I think...but I could be completely wrong, because when we were learning this stuff in grade five, I was busy trying to make it look like I had breasts and pulling my sweater tight so Tommy Cavanaugh would notice me. Boy, was I concentrating on the wrong stuff! Now, check out these tracks...

Let me explain- this is an area about the size of a piece of plywood ,

so 4' x 8'. Look  at all the tracks! There's at least three different kind, and I don't have a clue who made what, or what made which, and it bothers me! I should know this stuff for some odd reason. Or I should know a track interpreter who can tell me about this party to which I wasn't invited!

This one is a larger version of the very first photo...bum chuckerucka, bum chuckerucka.. I ask myself, what animal moves like this? Bounce on bum, drag the tail. Again and again and again, creating a giant zipper in the snow. And I don't have a clue! And we're not done here yet!

So beastie # 1 went for a short spin, did a wheelie, came back and sat down. And watched while his buddy came over, said hello, and left the way he'd come. Coyotes? Wolves? Aliens?

Now THIS one I know...

It's a deer track. Definitely! And I know this because I actually saw the young deer that made the track ...as I was pulling over to take his picture, he made tracks and left.

And I THINK that this is a fox...

 It's definitely canine, and it's too small to be a big dog, and I just want it to be a fox. So be it.

I'm really not sure where this need to know comes from, but everytime I see a trail leading off into the bush, I want to stop and follow it.

I wonder where they're going, what they're doing, and what they are exactly. But I can't. I have to keep going, get to work, do stuff, and be human.

 It's my nature.

Degrees of Separation

Canada to Cuba - a five hour flight

separated by 50 degrees...

and several layers of clothing.

Visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/ for more Skywatch photos.