Flowers for Friday

It’s going to be crazy busy this weekend with all those stressed and delirious Christmas shoppers clogging up the roads and the stores. I hope all of you are prepared for whatever your holiday season involves, but in case you’re among the stressed and delirious I thought I’d give you a moment of calm with some wonderful flowers sent in by Nightjar. These are all flowers that have survived in her garden until December and I am amazed at the variety. I’m also a bit envious, but not too much because we do get to share the life-affirming beauty of flowers in winter. Thanks, Nightjar.

Fire Rose, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved

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Jack’s Walk

Thin Ice, ©voyager, all rights reserved

The sun is trying to shine today, but it’s weak and can’t quite overcome the gloomy clouds that fill the sky. Nonetheless, we had a pleasant walk down by the river this morning. We saw a few ducks, heard a lot of crows, found some mud and even saw a few shards of blueish sky. Jack really wanted to go swimming, but I didn’t think it was a good idea so soon after surgery so I kept him on dry(ish) land with the help of a few liver treats. He’s a good boy and does what he’s told, but he really wanted to get wet. Oh well, I did let him hunt for mice (he won’t ever catch one) and get some mud between his toes (fun!) so he was happy enough.

Jack’s Walk

Bottoms up. ©voyager, all rights reserved

I think this sad little group of mushrooms looks like Can Can dancers who’ve fallen and can’t get up. Or maybe ballerinas in tutus twirling on their heads. Or even quite possibly like the petticoats of fairies bent over to touch their toes. Whatever the case, Jack and I stopped to say a cheerful “hello” before continuing on our way.

The End of Australian Spring

These are the last of the Australian spring flowers sent in by DavidinOz and that makes me a bit sad. It’s been a treat for me to have so many bright, happy flowers to work with during the short gloomy days of late Canadian autumn. In 2 days time it will officially be another winter to endure Up Here, but that also means that it’s another summer to enjoy Down Under and I’m hoping that David will have a chance to share some of the flora that grows in Australia during their hottest season. Hint, hint.

Thanks for spreading so much joy, David. [Read more…]

Jack’s Walk

Hurry up, mum. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Ha! I found the battery charger for my camera and as I predicted it was in the last place I looked. Actually, it was found by an out-of-town friend who reminded me that I had the charger with me when I visited her a few weeks ago. She was certain that I hadn’t left it behind so I took the short walk to the cupboard and finally found the damned thing in the pocket of my suitcase. I am relieved. And embarrassed. But mostly relieved. The photo today is my sweet Bubba enjoying life without a grapefruit sized lump in his armpit. If you look closely you can just see the shave growing in on his right arm. He was prancing around the woods today like a puppy with his tail set at sail and obviously happy. I think that some of the slow down that I’ve been attributing to age might have just been Larry The Lump™ giving Jack the pip.  He’s a bit frustrated in this photo because I am taking too many pictures!

 

Tree Tuesday

Our tree this week is a bit of a show-off, being laden with both flowers and fruit in December. The photos are from Nightjar and they were taken on December 2 of this year. I double checked that date because I could hardly believe it.

This is a strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo, no relationship to strawberries except for whatever was on the mind of the person who came up with the english common name), bearing flowers and fruits at the same time as is to be expected from a tree that blooms once a year and whose fruits take around 12 months to mature. Native to the Mediterranean region, the flowers feed the bees (the resulting honey has a unique taste) and the fruits feed the birds. I like to eat the fruits fresh, although only a handful at a time because they can become cloying fast. They also bruise very easily, so there is no point in picking more than what one can eat in that moment… unless the goal is to make the traditional fruit brandy or jam, but I like neither of those things. Anyway, I think the tree is very pretty and it seems to be relatively unknown outside of its native range, so I thought I would share it!

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

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Jack’s Walk

I was all excited earlier this morning because it began to snow. Hooray, I said to Jack, thinking we would get a nice fresh, white blanket to cover up the dull grays and browns of a soggy December. Then the snow stopped and what few flakes had fallen melted away leaving behind only gloomy skies and the same slippery, gray landscape. Sigh.

This pretty little fungus reminded me of a flower. ©voyager, all rights reserved

 

December Light

At this time of year the days are almost at their shortest and the world can seem gloomy and dull. Nightjar has found some light, though, and she’s used it to create magic.

Still playing around with light! For me December isn’t just Christmas lights, nature can put on quite a show too and there is nothing like getting up early on a dewy December morning to fully appreciate all the magic of December light. The last photo of the ruins and olive tree is just to illustrate how lush the fields look right now, it’s not a morning shot but I liked the light in that one as well. We don’t get snow here, so that is exactly what my concept of winter is like: green.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

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Friday Feathers

These are from David who notes:

If it’s a murder of Crows

and

It’s a Parliament of Owls,

then surely it must be …

A brothel of shags?

shags

©David Brindley, all rights reserved

shags

©David Brindley, all rights reserved

 

To me a s a German, English collective nouns are both a delight and a bane. I mean, a pride of lions and a murmuration of starlings?

In German it’s quite easy: If it flies or swims, it’s a swarm (Schwarm), with the exception of marine mammals (they have Schule, schools like in English). Carnivores that hunt together are a Rudel, a pack like wolves. Grazers? Herde (herd). Trees? Forest, unless you’re my husband who once famously couldn’t remember “forest” and kept talking about a “pack of trees”.