Poinsettias in Niagara

Justin Trudeau's eulogy to Castro as a 'remarkable leader' has given rise to responses that raise our national reputation for satire to new heights.  Here are two replies: 'Though not universally liked by his compatriots, Mr. Ceausescu was a leader in urban design and affordable housing' 'Today we mourn the loss of Norman Bates, a family man who was truly defined by his devotion to his mother. ' Read more responses "here" at #TrudeauEulogies. Today we have a few more close-ups of the wonderful Poinsettia.

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.

When will there be a blue lily?

In the late 80's, we worked on the information technology strategic planning methodology.   We distinguished between data, information, knowledge and wisdom, showing the logical relationship between them.  Wikipedia has these graphical representations - often we did it as a pyramid with wisdom the peak - a pinnacle of thinking processes.  If we achieved wisdom with technology, we would achieve the ultimate.  The components are described here. The Wikipedia article continues with a section on criticisms:  Rafael Capurro, a philosopher based in Germany, argues that ... any impression of a logical hierarchy between these concepts "is a fairytale". What do others say in this discussion?  In my search,  I found this very fun and quotable assertion.  It was my "morning smile". "Owning a state-of-the-art CD player is pointless if you use it only to listen to polkas played by a kazoo ensemble." - T.H. Davenport and L.Prusak in "What do we talk about when we talk about knowledge?" Our picture today brings together the bizarre and the beautiful.  The bizarre is that this is a fasciated lily in the Lilycrest hybridizing field this year.  It is a mutation caused by growing conditions that cause a flattened stem which produces dozens of flowers crowded together in a 'bouquet'.  The beautiful is the blue lily - it's been given a blue wash in one of my photography filter programs. A blue lily isn't achievable with its normal dna. Likely a Delphinium will need to get spliced into it to get this colour range.

RBG Rock Garden

I finally got to the Royal Botanical Garden's newly renovated Rock Garden yesterday on a beautiful November day with the sun lowering in the afternoon sky. It took a few years, and quite a bit of money to renovate the gardens.  It boasts a grand modern entrance building, and accessible walkways down to the rock garden.  It is significantly revamped.  As I looked at various areas, I could see how different it is now.  Even with the mature trees still in their places, the renovation is profound.   The water was emptied from the ponds so the full effect is missing in the late fall.  Still the autumn colours are showing in the Japanese maples, dogwoods, viburnums and the grasses. The landscape architect firm was Janet Rosenberg Studio.  I looked for reviews by the professional trade to see what the verdict is.  I found one article in Canadian Architecture covering the basic overview of what was accomplished. Nothing else so far.  I wanted to know if the result has elevated the rock garden to star status. A sunken garden has the potential to be pure magic. So it was great to see the re-do of the ponds and paths as they were in poor shape.  The new ponds and waterways are the major features and they are empty now, so I may have to wait till spring to get the full effect of the fountains, waterfalls and bridges.  It might be possible to capture some snow images - I checked to see if the Rock Garden is open in winter and daily hours are posted, so we'll see what happens.

Toronto From Across

This is Toronto - on the other side of the Lake.  So where is the best view of Toronto?  The top picture is from Grimsby Beach, the second one from Mike Weir Winery on Locust Lane, and the third one from Flat Rock Cellars on 7 Avenue in Jordan.  The bottom picture shows the Flat Rock Cellars Building from the road leading to it.  The view from Flat Rock is excellent with the vineyards stretching out below it. I was on Locust Lane last week and took pictures from the Mike Weir winery.  They feel they have best view.  I've also heard Vineland Estates consider itself to have the best view. And Peninsula Ridge is very proud of their view. So there are a few more locations to visit. I wanted to find the answer the easy way and did a google search.  But there don't seem to be any blogs or articles on the best scenic views across the lake. The search did retrieve a great view from the Skylon Tower. What the articles tell me is that the density of the air plays an important role. The air temperature and the water temperature are important factors.  Right now the Lake is the warmest it has been for many years but this isn't the condition needed for the towering Toronto image.  The towering Toronto image occurs most often when the water is relatively cold compared to the air temperature.  So I may have to wait until next year for this to happen. I live just under the escarpment where Beamer Park is located - with a great elevated view across the Lake. When I was there last, there were Lake Effects, so there was a "gray" across the Lake with no distinction between Lake and sky. There's a lot of ground to cover so I'll keep you posted on "Toronto From Across".

I'll Take Mine Fried

I made it in time to capture the fiery foliage of the Cemetery Japanese Maple.  It is entwined around a headstone, which is not visible in these photos.  November is their month for vivid colour - as long as it doesn't get too windy.  That's always a dilemma here in Grimsby with the wind off the escarpment or the Lake. I planned to capture the large tree in front of one of our heritage homes and the leaves are gone - they dropped in one day.    And around the corner from me is the largest Japanese Maple I've seen in Niagara, with the glorious red colour on the tree and in the driveway. From the den garden website: "In Japan, maple trees are known as kaede (楓/"frog's hands"), as well as momiji (紅葉), which means both "become crimson leaves" and "baby's hands". Momiji is commonly used as the term for autumn foliage in general in Japanese, but it is also used as a term for maple trees. These names come from the appearance of the leaves, which resemble the hands of a baby or a frog. The scientific term for Japanese maples is Acer palmatum."   "In Japan's Osaka prefecture, the red and orange maple leaves are a sight to see during the fall. As is the case in the rest of Japan, people go out in droves to see the beautiful fall scenery. However, in Osaka, locals also go out in droves to collect the leaves and turn them into a deep-fried delicacy! Fried maple leaves are a very popular snack in Osaka, and apparently have been for at least a thousand years. The city of Minoh, located in the north part of the prefecture, is particularly famous for their fried leaves. The maple leaves are dipped and fried in tempura butter, which give them their unique taste. The secret of Minoh's success with fried leaves really isn't much of a secret at all. Chefs there usually store their leaves in barrels of salt for one year, which makes their leaves particularly tasty!"

Tonight's the Night - Will Everything be All Right?

We wonder if Tonight's the Night when everything will be all right. There's a 2016 Election Countdown Clock online.  It tells me it is not available at my location.  The headlines below it want you to click on sites based on these tantalizing headlines.  Which one would you choose to look at?  Math Trick to Win any Lottery (7-time Lotto winner spills the beans) 20 Photos that Donald Trump didn't want released to the Pubic Hillary Clinton's leaked IQ will shock you! Trump's IQ will shock you! Another countdown site had this teaser headline: Stephen Hawking's prediction shocked everybody You can find the article here. Stephen Hawking's 'prediction' isn't about the election but that 'we can now access 100% of the brain'.  We are to order our supply of Focus Nutra Intellgex to make it happen. Our pictures today are of the scenery along Locust Lane with the Hidden Bench vineyard.  Then we stop at the Mike Weir winery to see the Toronto skyline across the lake.

Lake Effects with Autumn Gold

It was 'Lake Effects' day yesterday.  There was so much mist and moisture in the air, that the sun was a great orange ball in the sky at 8:30am. Then it disappeared into the clouds and the hazy mist. Dezi and I went for a walk at Beamer Park - that's the park on the brow of the escarpment where the hawk watch occurs in Spring and Fall.  There was no view to 'soak up' - but there was the intense golden colours of the maples.  Predominant are Sugar Maple and Red Oak.  We met a few fellow photographers, and one metal detector enthusiast who showed me a coin dated 1847 that he found last week.   The hay bales in the first picture will go to Andy's farm - Our Gate to Your Plate - and will feed his cattle.

November is Chrysanthemum Month

We don't usually think of November as a 'highlights in the garden' month.  And yet this is the start of Autumn colours for Japanese Maples, Dawn Redwoods, Cypress,  and Weeping Willows.  Our pictures show the turning colours of Hosta leaves in my garden.   The Chrysanthemum is the 'birth flower' of November.  Longwood announced its Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum Tree has more than a thousand blossoms again this year - 1,523 flowers on a single stem. The link takes you to a youtube video showing the growing technique over its 18 month life.  Close by to me are the Chrysanthemum Festivals of Gage Park in Hamilton (finished October 30th), the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouses (all of November),  and then Allan Gardens and Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto. Their growers have been to Longwood for training and expert guidance, and the results are displays of beautiful, large blossoms standing tall on single stems in many colours and shapes.