The Canada Geese Have Returned

 Taken this Tuesday, above and below.  We had a light dusting of snow that day.  Little did we know what was in store....

This is today (below).... a different field, this one across the street from our place, with a pair of Canada Geese trudging through the snow.  Earlier a coyote crossed the field near where this shot was taken.  Mother Nature seems to be mixed up. You know how it goes... April showers bring May flowers... (I recall very rainy Aprils as a child) well it looks like winter is not ready to give up and has been dumping snow upon us, most heavily overnight.  My son is travelling to Vernon BC with his fiancé this weekend to take care of last minute preparations for the reception there.  I hope the highways are much better than the city roads are today.

On another note, it's Easter weekend, today being Good Friday.  Easter egg hunts will likely have to be held indoors this year.  How would you ever find them in this?  I sure hope the weather is much more spring-like where you are.  

Happy Easter everyone!!

Upside Down Rainbow

January 29/14

I just realized today that I hadn't posted this!!!  As the sun was getting low in the January afternoon sky, my son and I spotted this overhead.  It looks like an upside down rainbow.  There were sun dogs on either side of the soon to disappear sun and this phenomena was directly overhead in the middle of the sky.  

According to Wikipedia, this is called a circumzenithal arc (CZA) or Bravais' Arc.  

"...it arises from refraction of sunlight through horizontally-oriented ice crystals, generally in cirrus clouds, rather than from raindrops. It forms no more than one-quarter of a circle centered on the zenith and on the same side as the sun. Its colors are from blue on the inside to red on the outside of the arc. It is one of the brightest and most colorful halos. Its colors are purer than those of the rainbow because there is much less color overlap in its formation. The first impression is that of an upside-down rainbow.

The circumzenithal arc has been called "a smile in the sky". It is rarely noticed because it occurs so far overhead. Cirrus clouds which cause a sun dog can cause a circumzenithal arc when they reach the zenith, if the Sun is low in the sky.

The light that forms the CZA enters an ice crystal through its flat top face, and exits through a side prism face. The refraction of almost parallel sunlight through what is essentially a 90-degree prism accounts for the wide color separation and the purity of color. The CZA can only form when the sun is at an altitude lower than 32.2°. The CZA is brightest when the sun is at 22° above the horizon, which causes sunlight to enter and exit the crystals at the minimum deviation angle; then it is also about 22° in radius, 3° in width. The CZA radius varies between 32.2° and 0° depending on the solar altitude. Towards either of the extremes it is vanishingly faint. When the sun is above 32.2°, light exits the crystals through the bottom face instead, to contribute to the almost colorless parhelic circle." (Wikipedia)

Have you ever seen a smile in the sky?

Living the Gardening Life

"The Gardening Life" blog has slightly altered its name to better define the content and personalize it just a little.  Now introducing "Living the Gardening Life."  Same blog, more fun posts not strictly limited to gardening, and a new name.  I want to continue to share my love of nature in all forms so I feel the new title represents me as an active participant in living the life of a gardener and lover of nature.  

Orchids, You are an Obsession.....

April 5, my friend Kim, son Matt and I attended the annual Orchid Show and Sale at the Enjoy Centre in St. Albert.  I took over 300 photos but don't worry, I'm not going to share ALL of them here!  I've chosen a selection of some of my favourites, the most unusual and most dramatic of those I've seen.  For the most part I've left out commentary so you can just scroll through and enjoy.  I hope you do.

 I don't know about you, but this looks like a tulip.  Anguloa, commonly known as tulip orchids, is a small orchid genus closely related to Lycaste.  This genus is found on the forest floor at high elevations from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador to Peru.  There are nine species of tulip orchid.  (I learned so much as a result of attending this orchid show.) Source:  Wikipedia

Stunning Classic Beauty of Orchids

The Risk to Bloom

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. 

Anaïs Nin

Best known for her candid diary, writer Anaïs Nin (born February 21, 1903) also appeared in the work of experimental filmmakers Kenneth Anger and Maya Deren.

Joe Lamp’l’s Pallet Garden | Cityline

Check out the article below for more information on making a vertical garden with a pallet:





Joe Lamp’l’s Pallet Garden | Cityline

Seeding Time Has Arrived - Here are Some Tips to Help

Alberta Arborists posted this on Facebook.  

It's a valuable table for those who love to get a head start on seeding.

Show-off!

The amaryllis is blooming again!!  This is the second stalk and 

it appears it will have four flowers once it is completely open. 

Do You Prefer Home-grown Remedies? Then I Have the Book for You!

Natural remedies are nature’s gift to us. From alternatives to side-effect ridden prescriptions to solutions that will amplify the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle, evolving research suggests that plants may have more power than we could ever have imagined. Now two of Canada’s top authorities in their fields, gardening expert Frankie Flowers and natural healthcare practitioner Bryce Wylde, show readers how they can harness the powerful healing of plants simply and inexpensively by stepping into their garden.

Power Plants introduces you to a carefully curated list of 49 plants that can be grown in almost any Canadian garden. Frankie’s easy instructions lead readers from planting to harvest, where Bryce picks up with clear guidelines on how to put the plants to work fighting everything from constipation to heartburn, high blood sugar to bad breakouts. It even includes simple substitutions for those whose ailments include a thumb that is more black than green. Let Power Plants supercharge your health with a simple trip into your garden.   http://www.amazon.ca/Power-Plants-Simple-Home-Remedies/dp/1443426768