CANADIAN REGION - What are you doing October, November and December 2015

I found half-a-dozen red tulips bulbs that I had mislaid, so in a bit I will dig a hole and plant them.  I had dug them up earlier in the year, meaning to give them some TLC as they had been in that same place since about 15 years ago and were slowly disappearing.  I know they will be late blooming but I will have given them a chance.

I would never have thought that I would be planting tulip bulbs outside in the middle of December.

At the moment we are having nothing but cloudy skies and rain.  It has eased off this morning so I am taking a chance on these bulbs regenerating.  It may take a year or two but they do have nostalgic value to me.

I put some Christmas lights up this morning, and noticed that the buds on my lilac look about ready to burst open. This mild (so far) winter is great for the Hydro bill, but I suspect it will be hard on the garden. A few years ago SW Ontario had a very warm March (temps in the high 60s F), everything bloomed (apples, magnolias, forsythia, berries etc). Then April was cold and we had snow. Apples were in very short supply that fall. My garlic is still asleep so far!

Kelejan: the only thing worse than a tool thief is a bike thief!

I have just looked at the weather forecast for my area of British Columbia and on all seven days it shows snowflakes and sub-zero temperatures that mean that when the snow falls, it will not melt, and so it will get deeper and deeper.

My shovel, snow boots and gloves are at the ready.

I am also getting as much grocery shopping done before I have to trudge through the snow.

Our little city is already preparing the roads by putting down de-icing material and so far all the roads are clear from the snow we had some weeks ago. It all looks as good as when they do the clean-up in the spring.

How are the rest of you in doing in Canada
?

It's been quite mild in Southern and Eastern Ontario.  We were in the Niagara Peninsula last weekend to pick up my mother for Christmas.  On the way back to Ottawa, a 550 kilometer drive, we encountered temperatures up to 16 Celsius (61 F) along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. 

Now we are getting ready for a crazy couple of weeks ahead,  In addition to Christmas and New Years celebrations we have a ton of birthdays:

- granddaughter December 24
- granddaughter Dec 27
- mom Dec 31 (she will be 90)
- daughter Dec 31 (same day as mom)
- son Jan 4

Looking forward to having our son and his family and our daughter and her family with us. And it will be a joy to spend time with the five grandchildren - ages 4 to 8

KJ, Sounds like you are ready. Bbrrrrr

TD, Sounds like you are in for a ton of fun.

Here on southern Great Lakes, El Niño has been well in place. Garlic is up, Canada geese are confused, as are some robins....and plants.

KJ & TD, it was cold here today, but honestly this has been so mild. Sometimes we pay for that with precipitation! Remember '78?

With regard to the weather, gardeners can never win.  Last winter we had little snow, this is in the West in case any Eastern gardeners are reading.  So we had a very wet spring the some  months of dry weather and fires burning everywhere. Then a pleasant spell followed by a couple of weeks of snow that hung around for weeks.  Then another couple of mild spells where I was able to plant tulips bulbs mid-December.

Right now although the forecast was seven days of snow, nothing yet has arrived the last two days.  The weather forecasters do their best, and I bet they are annoyed when things do not pan out as per their forecasts (or as they say, futurecasts).  Tonight the forecast is 10cm of snow by morning.  Nothing in sight yet, but I am sure that one day they will strike lucky.

I haven't seen any bears around lately, but we have a warning to be on the lookout for a big and bold coyote in out part of the town. The coyotes especially like cats and small dogs.

Six days to Winter Solstice.  Looking forward to Spring.

I woke up to about three, maybe four inches of snow this morning.  Just when I decided to go shopping before the snow fell.  

Walked downtown to have coffee with a friend and then to catch a bus to do some grocery shopping. Hard going as the sidewalks etc had not yet been cleared but the roads were alright. Naturally there is no way everything can get done at once, but by the time I had shopped, and got a lift back right to my door, the roads were clear all the way.  I live in a cul de sac so we are last on the list which is to be expected. The sidewalks are the last to be cleared but sometimes that makes it worse as the cleared snow blocks certain parts and one has no option but to plow through a pile of snow deposited on the sidewalk by thoughtless storekeepers. Some people also do not realise that they have to clear the area around their homes/businesses and forget that if you are on a corner you are responsible for that as well.

One good thing is that the snow is light and fluffy and the temperature should remain just below freezing so no slush.

Glad the trip went well, Kelejan, light and fluffy is much easier to handle than fat and wet! We have had flurries a few times but no accumulation, which is really weird. But the weather does what it does! I live where there are no sidewalks, so the streets are the route, but it is far to anywhere from my house.

The snow was so light and fluffy, Scorpio, that when I returned home I cleared the whole of the drive from top to bottom.

That will make it easier when the snow falls again tonight.

Absolutely!

Two days of no snow, woke this morning at 4:00 and still no snow.  Good, I thought, my friend with a car will take me to the Christmas Market at the other end of town to see another friend who I only see at our Sunday market across the river.

Woke up again at seven to find the snow falling steadily, checked the forecast, it will snow at this rate for the rest of the day and possibly the week. So my friend with the car phoned to say she will take me but I could hear the reluctance in her voice, I know she does not like driving in the snow.  So I let her off the hook, telling her (lying) that my other friend would not make it to market this Sunday. I guess that is my good deed for the day.

Sunday is the one day we have no bus service so going to the Sunday Markets is out for people who have to walk everywhere.  So I have decided to start walking to the supermarket down the road that would be some way towards the market. If I find it too hard I will return home, if I feel good, then I will take my time to walk to the other end. I can make a stop at Tim Hortons, or Common Grounds Cafe, then Kinnaird Market.  I know I can get a lift back at 4pm.  So we will see what happens.

Incidentally, the scene outside looks wonderful, I will have my snow boots, gloves, windproof top as it is not cold, a woolen beanie topped by a Guatamarlin pure wool sombrero and also an umbrella if the wind kicks up.

We had a few snow flakes today but there is really nothing much on the ground. The weatherman is calling for +12 Celsius (54 F) for Christmas Eve. Our five grandchildren will be with us for Christmas and we bought snow toys as Christmas presents for the two boys. They will be disappointed when there is no snow.

My post timed at 16:44 was supposed to have been sent as I went out the door just before noon.

I am now back after an enjoyable afternoon at the Christmas Market with the friend I wanted to see.  It was a hard slog walking from one end of the town to the other, taking me nearly two hours to get there.  Normally it would not take so long but the sidewalks had not been cleared at all and sometimes there were extra layers of snow plowed up from the roadside.  At times I was walking along the edge of the road with my brolly held sideways to stop the splashes from the passing cars.  I wonder how many passing car drivers noticed this little figure trudging through the snow.  

Once I was there I was given a warm welcome and three offers of a ride home. I knew I only had to get there and I would be looked after. As it happened my friend Marg insisted on taking me home right to my door. Now for a belated siesta.

All that walking has got to contribute to your health. You amaze me by what you accomplish.

Taffy Lane is located in the Orleans neighbourhood of Ottawa, Canada's Capital. It's about a twenty minute drive from my house when the traffic is not heavy. Each year, the people who live on Taffy Lane decorate their houses for the holidays. The street which is normally two-way traffic is made into a one way street to accomodate the huge number of cars and tour buses that drive through the area to see the lights and other items. Here are some photos from previous years.

http://tinyurl.com/q8qn9nz

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/deachmans-holidaze-the-christmas-lights-of-ottawas-taffy-lane

And here are the lights on Parliament Hill.

https://www.ottawatourism.ca/ottawa-insider/christmas-lights-across-canada/

Pretty!!

Goin' all out for Christmas! Fun!

It's still mild, damp and sunless here but I did not let that deter me. I got up, did some reading, had breakfast and by 10 a.m. I had built a wooden step for the back door of our garage. Time to relax a bit now before the kids and grandkids descend on us.

Mrs TD did some grocery shopping this morning and came back quite upset. The price of fruit and vegetables has gone through the roof. In fact she did not get some of the vegetables she wanted to buy because the prices were too high. I mentioned that we could grow more things ourselves during the summer to help cut down the costs during the winter. Hint, hint ... an expanded SFG!

The price of co-operation, TD. The more prices go up, the more we save, as well as having good food.

Just about done here (except for the wrapping and endless baking / cooking). Tradition in my family is that Christmas dinner is the job of the men. I will start tomorrow with a tortiere, and the prep for the turkey stuffing and gravy. Eggs Benedict Christmas morning and turkey with all the trimmings, including carrots from the SFG, and a flaming pudding for dessert (and a couple of Guinness  ).

What are your traditions?

My contribution to the Christmas cooking was to bake 48 mini mincemeat tarts and 24 jam tarts. I expect I will consume a large portion of these myself following the holidays.

My mincemeat tarts are made by Mr. Weston. However, my wife inherited her Grandmother's butter tart recipe, so I get the best butter tarts in Canada! (Yes, I do want to start a fight . "Raisins in").

To my American friends, I understand that butter tarts do not cross the border. Imagine a pecan pie, with no pecans, slightly runny filling and endless arguments about whether or not they should have raisins in them.

Just spent an hour sitting outside on our new front porch in beautiful sunshine. The temp is 16 Celsius (61 F).  No coat needed. The only problem is that the wind has increased to 43 km/h with gusts up to 81 kmh (50 mph). But the porch is sheltered from the wind and I could have been out their in shorts. We actually set a new high temp for December 24th in the middle of of the night at about 9 C. The old record has now been totally shattered by the current 16 C temperature.