Soviet space secrets for sale - thestar.com

This is my brother who is in charge of these items at auction. He asked me to help with one of the descriptions and I am sooooooo glad he did. That was fun and I learned so much about the Russian space programme and it's hero's. This is all fascinating stuff and you can go to Waddington's online to view the items. Click Soviet space secrets for sale - thestar.com     for article.

Queen bees blocked at border - thestar.com

OH, OH ! Better get started on those Mason Bee block houses, we need pollinators!

Queen bees blocked at border - thestar.com

It's ALL ABOUT .......... LENNON

I have to confess, the past month or so I have been a bit distracted. This distraction is an all consuming kind of - love, yes, I am in 'love' again. Only this time, it's going to be o.k. I am not going to get 'possessive' about this new love, I am going to embrace it and go with and see what happens, watch the joy of this love grow. Who is this person who has taken control of my heart and heightened my senses?
His name is Lennon, my first grandson. He is an absolute doll and is so beautifully perfect. Honestly, no one related to this little guy can wipe the smile off their faces. That includes his parents, my son, his wife and her parents. We are all smitten. This has been a snowball effect and it's growing. Yesterday I went to visit my daughter-in-law and her new bundle of joy and she accepted me warmly into her home by handing me her son, my new grandson, immediately as soon as I was settled on the sofa. Sitting there holding him, whilst he was sleeping you are basking in the miracle of life. He slept through it all and apparently likes to sleep through most things in his new life. This makes me happy and looking at my beautiful daughter-in-law I could see by the smile on her face she is truly happy too. My son also has this same look about him, you couldn't wipe the smile off his face if you tried.  A girl friend called last night, apparently she stopped by my sons house to just 'drop off a gift' for Lennon. She immediately was invited in to see the baby and she was also smitten by Lennon, but also smitten by my son, his wife, their smiles and found these smiles they had on their faces was very contagious, she caught these smiles & took them to her exercise class. She was still smiling, laughing when she finally able to call me. So now, that Lennon is here and we are all so blissfully happy, it is time to get to work and start the pieces for my 'Constellation' show.  I do believe that there is a connection between the constellations above us and my new grandson, my new love and this love will guide me. It is safe to proceed.....

CBC News - Technology & Science - Canadian internet slow, expensive: Harvard

Dah! Maybe this will kick in an investigation into the strangle hold Bell has on the CRTC!

CBC News - Technology & Science - Canadian internet slow, expensive: Harvard

Finches drinking water

This morning we have snow on the ground, it snowed small flakes last night, in fact it sort of looked like a fog outside from my windows. This morning, Francis was plowing my driveway for the second time this winter. A cause for celebration, the celebration seemed to be taking place at my bird feeders. The robins are hanging out with the starlings in the juniper tree (Juniperus virginiana)  eating the berries, the starlings are hanging off the suet feeder gorging themselves. Meanwhile, the American Goldfinches are swarming the nyjer & platform feeders. While Boots was watching them I was able to get a shot of him trying to be bad, but he is trapped in the house and the window is his television! It was then I saw a small Goldfinch drinking drops of water from the branch of the Salix out front. He just worked his way along the branch drinking all the drops hanging in a neat row!

Canadian women's rights in decline, report says - thestar.com

Canadian women's rights in decline, report says - thestar.com

Thousands give last rites to dead whale in Vietnam - thestar.com

Thousands give last rites to dead whale in Vietnam - thestar.com

U.S. unveils $2.2 billion Great Lakes fix - thestar.com

U.S. unveils $2.2 billion Great Lakes fix - thestar.com

Seeds and my orders

I ordered seeds from 3 companies, 2 Canadian companies and one American on January 31. I received confirmation emails immediately from Johnny's Selected Seeds (American) and Thompson & Morgan Canada immediately about my order. Henry Fields Canada sent an email confirming my order on February 2, which is the date that Johnny's Selected Seeds sent my order out. I received my order from Johnny's which I had shipped by standard mail, (no pressure there) within a week. It's 2 weeks later and I am still waiting for my Canadian seeds to arrive!! What gives? I wish I knew and wish I had all of my seeds to start planning and planting. Next year I may just order all of my seeds from Johnny's and forget about shopping for Canadian seeds, or maybe I will place my before Christmas and hope I get my seeds from Canada at the beginning of February.

CBC News - World - Great Lakes fixup plan developed by U.S.

Wow! Talk about action, President Obama must be reading my blog! I am glad someone is and that President Obama is listening. Let's hope and pray Ottawa jumps on board, but I am not getting my hopes up with the current situation in Ottawa, they are still in denial that the tar sands are an environment disaster. As I said before it's about $$. When will the far right realize that there is money in cleaning up and living as clean and as green as we possibly can.

CBC News - World - Great Lakes fixup plan developed by U.S.

Proposal would add $50 to cost of tap water - thestar.com

Proposal would add $50 to cost of tap water - thestar.com

WATER and it's future & our future

This is about WATER. I wish to not be an alarmist but I am concerned about the body of water to the south of me called Lake Ontario & it's siblings, which collectively are named THE GREAT LAKES and the filtering system that feeds into it. This basin of water & it's huge filtering system is the place in which I live. I am concerned because it is how careless we are with the water that we have. I live in a small village and my house sits on a very moist filtering system. This is clearly event first by the creek that flows at the very back of the property.

BiRds

If you want to know all about Birds, then one site to go to with your Sibley's guide or whatever guide you use is Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This site is wonderful for someone like me who has been watching birds for many years, but I am terrible at identifying their songs, calls and vocalizations. Now, I can go to this site, and click on All About Birds and explore each species complete with sounds and photo's! Also, if you have any questions, you can ask an expert. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the page and join their eNews Group. In the section News at the Lab, you can join WeLoveBirds.org to share photo's, videos & thoughts on an interactive site. Good luck, I am going back to listen, so I can maybe hone my skills!

Hedge Rows

I was speaking to my friend Kathryn McHolm this morning and we started off talking about computers, but as usual when talking to Kathryn the conversation soon travels to other areas. Kathryn and I both share an avid interest in the environment, flora & fauna and art. Both of us work in these interests in our lively hoods.
This morning the conversation soon came to roost on the importance of hedgerows in our landscape and how they are at risk because of huge mono culture fields. These fields are huge and it is so sad to see miles of corn growing which only supports more Canada geese, which, because of these practices are becoming a nuisance and are staying here all winter. As well, there are reasons in which to save a hedgerow, they support a whole eco-culture of insects,mammals and birds that actually do help to maintain an environmentally friendly control of unwanted pests and diseases.
So with all of this in mind I will soon be adding a new 'page' on hedgerows and it will list what you want in your hedgerow, like hawthorn and what you do not want such as the invasive European Buckthorn.
Right now I have to get to work on my copper and driftwood.

eBird

Check this out! eBird is an online resource for keeping track of your bird sightings! This is what I consider great news, as I usually fail to participate in National Bird Count Day, but I do the Great Back Yard Bird Count and thought that there should be a place online to make my everyday list usefull! eBird does that and does it well.Set up by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society you add to their data resource base for studies of birds. This the benefit of networking online. So sign up and start making your interest in observing birds really count. Check out the side bar 'How can I make my checklists more valuable?' This helps you in collecting and submitting your data.

Moonflower Blooms

I was finally able to post my moonflower blooming, I had to revert to an older posting style!

What will they think of next? C00L...... BiRdCaM & PlaNtCaMS!!

I was at Landscape Ontario's Congress show last month, this show is not like the fall show in that there is a lot of machinery there along with horticultural 'product'. I have to admit I like machines that work caus' they save me or others a lot of back breaking work!! It is fun to seek 'what will they think of next!', some things you wonder 'what were they thinking?'. There are other ideas that are fun and I think they do have a place in our lives. The Audubon BirdCam is one of those products and so is the PlantCam. The BirdCam is a weather proof, motion activated, easy to use digital camera that will capture photo's and movies of birds on your property. Just think, if you know that there is an animal path on your property and you want to know just 'who' is uses this path you can set up one of these camera's and actually see who does use this path. Or you could set up by your bird feeder to see what is happening while you are at work....?
The PlantCam is a weather proof, time lapse digital camera you can compress a month into 30 seconds!! Just think, National Geographic in your back yard!!
See wingscapes.com for more information on these products.

When I got my first Canon digital camera it had a movie mode on it that lasted for 20 seconds. I had fun making 20 second movies of life around me. Some not so interesting but some are great. Every year I grow Ipomoea alba, 'moonflower', it blooms large trumpet shaped blooms up to 6" across, late in the afternoon.These blooms can open fast and have a fragrance that attracts moths to pollinate them, hence why they bloom for night. Here in Ontario, it's dicey growing these vines. If we have a summer like last year, it was cool, wet and not much sun the moonflower will not bloom, just grow. One year I had a bumper crop of blooms and it's those years that make growing this vine worth while. With my new little camera I filmed one bloom opening in less than 20 seconds. These are photo's of that year, I have to dig further into my external hard drive to find the movie. You can see how large the moonflowers blooms are compared to the end of the day regular morning glory's in the last photo. Unfortunately, I am unable to load a movie so here are some pic's of moonflowers opening.

 

  

 

Great Backyard Bird Count !!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on for February 12, 13, 14 & 15th, so stock up your feeders and get your pencil & paper in hand to count the birds that you see. You can count for as long as you like, anywhere that is convenient to you, such as your window feeder or just out your window. This information you will post on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site and you can follow the counts coming in from across United States and Canada. All of this information is used to look at winter birds and their numbers, where they are and watch for declines. All good, easy to do and fun! Boots my cat is already practicing, he sits on my desk and counts the birds at the front feeder....

Boots counting finches

Morning workout at Etobicoke school helps kids focus - Parentcentral.ca

Here is an excellent idea for kids who have a hard time at school for many reasons.
Morning workout at Etobicoke school helps kids focus - Parentcentral.ca

Bees

In my quest for spring, I have decided to make nesting boxes for mason bees. These bees are of the quiet kind, but are necessary for pollination. Hey, if I can help a bee and they help my gardens, I don't mind giving them shelter. I need a block of wood or a log to drill holes with a 5/16" drill bit, about 3 - 5" deep, you do not want to go through to the other side. I would drill up at slight angle to keep the rain out. Also, make sure your hole is cleaned out properly, they dislike clutter. Then all you have to do is hang it under an eave in a sheltered spot and the bees will come. I just read an article where they used paper straws (I dislike plastic) and bundled them together with white glue and then placed the bundle snugly in a coffee can and the bees came. I am looking forward to my block of wood. I guess I had better go talk to Francis to get another piece of wood. Here are some pic's I found online about doing this project. These are nice homes for bees, when I complete my bee box I will post it as well.

February

It's February, finally January has gone and with a full moon to boot!! This January until February 13th The Art Gallery of Northumberland http://www.artgalleryofnorthumberland.com/  is showing part of it's permanent collection and the show is titled 'Figurative Works and Portraits'.  Mom and I went to see Paavo Airola's 'The Sauna', a painting that she donated. I got this great shot of her just as she sat on the bench. If Mom poses for something like this it's not a great photo, but catch her unaware and it can be a wonderful shot. She looks great, does she not?

 

Paavo was a good friend of my parents and our families spent time together. Dad gave Mom Airola's paintings for her birthdays, Christmas or Mother's Day. Mom painted with Airola, so did many others, he was a great teacher here. This one particular painting she donated to the Art Gallery in Dad's memory. Mom has been a member of the Art Gallery of Northumberland right from the beginning and I don't think there are a lot of 'those people' here now. This painting was painted by Airola before he came to Canada, but the frame is Northumberland. He made all of his own frames and they are as wonderful as his work.
That is my high light of January, but it was a really good day. The weather was miserable for January, not much snow, too much rain. I dislike this idea of having rain more often in the winter, not fair!
Now I am thinking ahead towards spring and hoping February goes smoothly, it already is giving more light. It's not dark at 5:30 anymore! This month there are seeds to come, the copper and other metal pieces to create for the spring show and time is running short. How short we will see how I do this month, it has to be better than January.