Spoon Collecting

On our way to our Peru Mission trip, our route took us through Charlotte, North Carolina.
I saw this ice cream store. Their bowl came with a small spoon.

Some people travel the world collecting souvenir spoons to display in racks and on the wall.

I'm thinking of collecting spoons too. Except I going to collect ice cream spoons.

And if it means having to eat a bit of ice cream, well, I can probably manage to suffer through the emptying of a bowl of ice cream. That's the breaks, that's life.

A Child's Curiosity

Why? Grandpa, Why?

Children are insatiable curious. A poor little caterpillar crossing the road, or the tiny

insects like ladybugs landing on the parsley plants are incredibly fascinating.

Even though we may tire of answering the "Why" question, it still gets asked. Ever wonder why?

Do you smile at the question? Can you answer to the satisfaction of the child?

Some quotes on curiosity:

• “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers” Voltaire
• “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death” Albert Einstein
• “Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” Nancy Willard
• “Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” Arnold Edinboroug
• “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein

Dr Greene has a good explanation and a good way to answer back. (see complete article here)

He says . . .

When children begin to learn real words, the words usually don't correspond exactly to the way adults use them. Often a specific word is used to indicate an entire category or visa versa. "Dog" might mean any animal, while "meow" might mean "cat" -- but only one cat. These early discrepancies are cute and obvious -- and should be caught on videotape if at all possible. But by the time children are able to speak in sentences, it sounds deceptively like they mean the same thing we do. This happens at about the same time their curiosity, imagination, and creativity skyrocket.

They begin to ask, "Why?" "Why?!?!" "WHY, Mommy, WHYYYYY?"

I've found that, when I try to answer children at this stage of development with the reason for something, they are left cold. After conversing with thousands of children, I've decided that what they really mean is, "That's interesting to me. Let's talk about that together. Tell me more, please?" When I've connected with children and begun to spin a tale to answer this question, they've sat enthralled. There was no need to mention because, or therefore, or cause, or effect. They don't need to know why, all they need is animated attention and me saying whatever came to mind about that subject. After a brief interchange, we were both happy. Let me give you an example.

I remember when one of my own sons asked me why the sky was blue. I told him that on sunny days the sky was blue and that on cloudy days it was gray and that at night it was very, very dark. Sometimes in-between day and night, it's a pretty pink or orange. And there are cool things in the sky. The sun gives us heat and light. It's like the stars, only closer. There are planets that go around the sun, and we live on one of them, called Earth.

Notice that I didn't at all answer why the sky is blue, but I did connect with him and answer his real question. He was delighted with our interchange and I got an enthusiastic "cool," not another automatic "why?" We both won.

Do Children Carrot All?

Children love to garden. Especially when they can be big helpers. Teaching children the joy of gardening is so easy, especially when they are young.
What an opportunity to get out of the house, and into some fresh air and sunshine. Add a little exercise, some co-operation, some helpfulness. End up with a the pride of being helpful, the joy of family togetherness, a sense of accomplishment, and a basket full of carrots.
(and a fun way to get some dirt on your hands.)

Digging was easy, the weather co-operative. The little one picked the carrots and put them into the tricycle basket.

"OK, drive the carrots over the lawn to the patio."

"Thank you so much for being a big helper!"

And learn that carrots don't come from a plastic bag at the grocery store. Vegetables are good to eat, they taste good, and I helped to harvest them.

btw the title can be read "Do Children Care At All?"

Apple Sauce Pt 2

Cooked on the stove til done

put through the apple sauce machine

Sauces put into the bowl,

From the bowl into the jars.

About 10 quarts per bushel

Signed sealed and delivered.

Home Preserves and Canning Guide

Apple Sauce part 1

5 Bushels of apples including Mutsu, Empire, Idared, MacIntosh, Northern Spy

Half bushel bag of apples

Washed and clean

Cut and quartered

Wife, daughter-in-law, Mother, daughter-in-law's Mother, Friend,

Helped by Son and Son's Father

Blue Grass & Maple Leaves

Blue Fescue Grass is a favourite of mine. Its unusual blue colour is always an interesting contrast with stones, pebbles and other plants. Design wise, it mimics the vertical blades of the green turf grasses in the lawn, yet contrasts sharply in colour. In the fall, as in this photo, the blue contrasts sharply with the silver maple leaves of red and white. (note how the Blue Star Juniper in the left background complements the blue in the grass.)




Care wise, I recommend that you trim it very low in early spring. This will bring new foliage with better colour. After a few years it may need to be split, otherwise the centre of the plant may grow old and die. When your split the plant, the second half can be given away or relocated to another part of your garden.

Wild Turkey Leftovers

Or Why did the Turkey cross the Road?

This morning, just leaving home, we came across 10 or so Wild Turkeys crossing the road. I grabbed my camera, but with the car moving and the window a bit blurry, I didn't get a terrific photo.
The birds crossed the road and ran into the woods, some running, a few taking to the air for a short flight. They didn't sound like turkeys, but maybe they speak a different gobbledygook

I have not seen so many turkeys in one spot. (not wild ones outdoors, anyways). . . although when we had a picnic on our lawn??

Did these turkeys realize that Canadian Thanksgiving is over? Is it safe to come out? Have the turkey recipes been all put away?

When does turkey hunting season end?

Cactus Fruit -Sweet & Juicy

I've written about the hardy cactus that I have in the garden. They stay outside here in the Southern Ontario snow and winter cold. They do have prickly pear fruits, but they are tiny and thorny.
For taste- Better to eat these supermarket varieties. No thorns = no slivers in your fingers or your tongue.

And these ones have a lot more flesh to savour.

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Johnny come Lately

The leaves of the birches and maples have been slowly drifting to the lawn for days now. The burning bush is showing its flaming red leaves and the climbing bean vine has shrivelled in the latest assault from Jack Frost. Then came a few snow flakes falling today. Is winter about to terrorize the warmth into hiding?

But amidst all the doom and gloom of autumn's nippy temperatures, there are still a few bright spots in the garden. If you look for them you will find a few late comers still gallantly holding fall at bay.
The potentilla's masses of blooms have closed up shop for now, but there are still some hardy golden petals to brighten a corner or two. Even though it has been a constant bloomer, the potentilla is not about to give up. Here are a couple of yellow flowers; not too far away are some pink blossoms as well.

The Shasta daisy usually blooms with a riot of colour in the summer. After that it takes a break. A bloom or 2 may manage to show that the battle is not over. Here's a lonely soldier daisy that has not given up yet.

Lawns keep growing in spite of the cool weather. Maybe because the soil holds the warmth longer than the air and the lawn has a closer relationship to the earth.

Face on the Round

sometimes it's the everyday things that are close by, that we may see and use often that have another facet that we can easily overlook. just more camouflage in the woods of life.

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A pattern is just a bunch of colours, a blur if we glance quickly.

People we see at work or on our trips to the store, bank or church may be more than meets the eye. we just have to take the time, or make the effort to see what is there, who they are, why they are in need.

If we can see others in different ways, we can make this spot on the globe a kinder, more personable. A friendly face to show to those nearby.

what fun to give to others, and receive for ourselves the satisfaction of help well-given.

What we can learn about life in a garden

Nine lessons of patience and trust, growth and letting go.

By Laura Casey

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Craig Chalquist of John F. Kennedy University's School of Holistic Studies in the San Francisco Bay Area says research shows gardening can lift depression, release stress and anxiety, and strengthen the immune system, among its many surprising benefits.

Here are "nine lessons from the garden" that he has learned through years of working outdoors:

(1) Abandon perfectionism.

"When you go out in the garden, the one thing you won't find is perfection," Chalquist says. Pests and weeds will invade even the most cared-for garden. It cannot be controlled, and a gardener must live with that.

"It's an opportunity to look at one's own imperfections."

(2) Things take time to grow.

Chalquist says gardening requires patience and trust in the powers of growth to keep their own schedule. There are no deadlines, and there is no rushing nature.

"This can be a good lesson to learn," he says. "You can take the time and ask yourself, 'What is it that's growing in my life?' "

(3) Detach from outcomes.

"When you plant seeds, you never know what's going to happen," he says. Your efforts sink into the ground, sometimes reappearing as new growth and sometimes just vanishing. Put effort into your life, he says, but realize that the outcome may not be what you expect or hope.

(4) Everything contributes.

Chalquist says the plant you think of as a weed is actually a pioneer - a hardy, fast grower designed to break new ground for ecosystems to come.

"Even when it needs to be managed, everything contributes. And we know if you repress part of a system, you often strengthen it." Every living thing has a purpose, and nothing in the natural world is wasted.

(5) Everything self-organizes.

"The ground you walk on hosts fungi that stretch over wide expanses to manage which nutrients go to which plants and trees: Earth's quiet, weblike nervous system," Chalquist says. "The wisdom hiding in the ground resembles the wisdom within instinct, intuition, the gut: capable of meaningful arrangements if we allow ourselves to trust and get comfortable with it."

(6) Things decay and die.

Chalquist says the garden teaches that some things need to go away; some old structures should decline. Many can become compost for new forms of growth.

"It is a time where you can ask yourself, 'What is dying in my life? What needs to go away?' "

(7) Trust the senses.

When you taste something that grows in the garden and it's bitter, you spit it out.

"The garden teaches me that there are things my body doesn't find nutritious and that I should not let it into my system," Chalquist says.

You may have people in your life who are like a sour fruit or a bitter herb. If they are tearing you down psychologically, remove them from your life, he says.

(8) Nature has multiple ways of doing things.

With pollination, if there are not enough bees, then wasps, moths, and other creatures pick up the slack.

"In any given ecosystem, there are multiple ways of getting things done," Chalquist says. "If we want a community or nation to really work, these one-size-fits-all solutions aren't going to be the right ones."

(9) Nature bats first and last.

Chalquist says the living world will have the last say after you are done with it. Despite all of our anxiety and doubt, loneliness and uncertainty, the forces of life and the cycles of seasons always have us firmly in hand.

In the Garden

A few dozen eggplants. Ready to get grilled
White Cabbage Caterpillar on a pumpkin background. Last photo before sentencing.
Silver Dogwood - looking good right now. Cornus alba 'Elegantissima' Elegantissima Dogwood

Glad, Glad, Glad

My mother and my wife are both big fans of gladiolus. I've never gotten around to growing any. This year saw a few packages near the end of the season in the deep discount bin.

So planted about 30 bulbs- small ones- and hoped for the best.

Well, they finally came up and I cut a bunch for the kitchen counter. Beautiful blooms. They bloomed right up to the top. Removed the spent blossoms off the bottom and re-cut the stems as needed.

Even with 30 bulbs, the problem with the gladiolus was that sometimes there were only one or 2 at the same stage to cut and bring inside.

Rose Mallow Hibiscus

Rose Mallow is a hibiscus species that grows huge flowers. We have white, pink and red.

Hibiscus flowers only last one day. Showy, huge flowers.

Squash That Hunger

Last year I purchased some squash seed. A variety called . Uchiki kuri from William Dam Seeds in Dundas. Even though we have done well with our butternut squash in past years, we wanted to try this interesting squash some more. The first year, it did poorly and the few fruit we got rotted out too soon.

This year in spite of the wet summer, we have gotten a decent crop of this Japanese Hubbard type squash.

We have always liked barbequing the butternut squash using various flavours including mustard, Patak's curry sauces, butter/cinnamon, barbeque sauce and even plain (just oil). When we barbequed the Uchiki kuri, early in the season, it wasn't bad. At that time it was more like a summer squash. We could cook and eat the seeds and all.

As the squash matured, however, it wasn't as good on the BBQ. Mostly because it wasn't as moist.

Change of venue. Baked in the oven, the finished product was much more moist and much tastier.

Bat Cave under the Patio Umbrella

Earlier this month I opened one of the patio umbrellas. This was in the early afternoon. A few moments later, I saw a bat flying around the patio. Not a normal sight at that time of day. (Actually the first one that I have seen that close in our yard.)

A few days later, I opened the same umbrella. This time the little fellow just fell onto the table. Perhaps a little shaken. And, scared- I think he left a puddle.

But the bat flew off into the wild blue yonder. Hasn't been seen since.

Thinking of how can I get him to stick around so he can feed on the bugs. At the same time, maybe I'll have to build him (or her) a bat house somewhere else. Maybe somewhere on the other side of the lawn.

Maybe some swallow nesting spots or a purple martin house at the same time.

Chelsea Buns

From Village Bakery in Dundas- Chelsea buns. Really soft moist. Best ones we've had in ages. Reminds me of the food on Friday nights at Kingsway College and Mrs Watson's chelsea buns. What fun for food!

Ruthven Wedding August 30

White Rolls Royce. Horse drawn carrieage. Outdoors at Ruthven. Wedding for Emily and Shawne.

Hardy Cactus

2 views of a hardy cactus that I grow outdoors all year round.

This prickly pear cactus has yellow or yellow-orange flowers in the summer.