My Brother's Birthday

Today is my brother's birthday.

Here we are - when our kids were young... Both our families had made the trek to Kelowna one summer for a "family reunion" at our parents' house on Lawrence Avenue.

The child at the bottom right (above) looks like Jericho - but it's really his father!

Here's another memory - years later - after Ivy was born. He and his wife had come to visit my mother for her birthday.

And here's a real "blast from the past" from his university graduation...

Good times - great memories!

Best wishes for a healthy, happy year ahead!

The Gentle Days of Winter

Here in Ottawa, we have come to the gentle days of winter - when we lose only about a minute of daylight per day.

These days - the six weeks before and after December 21 - time almost stands still. There's only about a minute a day of variation in length of daylight hours. 

For a week or so, there is may be a slight variation of time of day - a minute here and there of change - but the total number of hours and minutes of daylight remains the same.

Then daylight will slowly increase, starting with a minute a day - in mid-January - before the sun begins to canter, then gallop towards summer and we gain 2 and 3 minutes of sunlight a day. 

I find this annual "dance" of the earth around the sun so fascinating! I sometimes wish I had studied geography and meteorology as my major, instead of languages and literature!

In the Air...

Advent is here - and Christmas is in the air!

For the first time since 2020, I'm sending out a few Christmas cards. (I planned to last year, but Canada Post was on strike!)

My grandson is in full Christmas-fever mode! I spent a PD day with them... The kids made an indoor slide using a foam mattress.

Elves are out...

Decorating for Christmas is in... 

For kids, there's nothing more exciting than counting down to Christmas... and decorating the Christmas tree!

November's Phenology Calendar

I finally completed my phenology calendar for November 2025. 

As I coloured in the month's daily temperatures, I realized that they didn't fluctuate all that much, hovering around the freezing mark, sometimes a few degrees above, sometimes a few degrees below.

Fewer, if any, animal sightings are noted.

There were fewer sunny days in November than in October. It was a cloudy grey month.

Looking back at my first phenology calendar, January, 2025, I was astounded by the many colours that jumped out at me! 

Did I have more enthusiasm back then?! I wonder! Or did I just use more colourful pens and crayons?

Squirrel... Napping?!!

I noticed a dark BLOB on the backyard fence...

 Moved closer. It was a squirrel - motionless - head falling forward... Was the squirrel okay?!

After staring at it for a few moments, I concluded that it had been basking in the sun... and had simply fallen asleep!

Hope he doesn't fall off!!

My Aloe Vera Plants

I tried to grow aloe vera for years - before I found one that does well for me...

Now I have so many!

Time to give some away!

Really?! I'm Shocked!

Terry and I rarely eat the breakfast together ... but recently we were both at the table with our respective (quick) breakfasts - bowls of cereal.

I was eating the one with raisins (which I had accidentally bought, thinking it was another with similar packaging). Terry was eating his favourite, which I jokingly refer to as "cardboard."

I wonder how much fiber they each contain, I commented, (fiber being the main reason I buy "bran" cereals.) So I put on my reading glasses and looked...

I can't believe it! Your "cardboard" has more fiber than my "bran" cereal! Yours has 6 grams of fiber per cup. Mine only has 5!

And when it comes to sugar, your "cardboard" has only 9 grams - while mine has 20!

Time to start pulling out my reading glasses - to check nutritional information - BEFORE I buy anything!