Dec 1 2023 - Favourite Month

 

On this rainy first day of December, I wondered whether the month will be an enjoyable one.  I assume that's what we think of when we decide a month is "our favourite".  Is December a favourite month?  It is in the U.S.  Forty percent of American's consider it their favourite month.  After that comes October, then June and then May. That was a poll by YouGov in February 2021.   What would make us assume December is the favourite month?  My sense is that it is packed with festivities, traditions, events, and celebrations.  There are twinkly lights everywhere.  There is something for everyone - for the bargain hunting shopper, for the party-goer, for the food lover, for the Christian traditionalist.  Music-lovers get beautiful music in December.  Here's one I hadn't thought of: Harry Kramer - Kellog School of Management Professor and former CEO of Baxtert.  It is his favourite because he goes on a three-day silent retreat at a Jesuit Retreat House.   Here's one of those dumb jokes from places like Good Housekeeping, followed by a food-lover's pun: On the 31st December around 11:59 pm. Do not go outside your house otherwise, chances are, you will not come back until next year! I wasn’t going to visit my family this December, but my mom promised to make me Eggs Benedict. So I’m going home for the hollandaise. There's nothing like Christmas decorations in a conservatory.  This is Toronto's Allan Gardens.

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Dec 1 2021 - The Month of New Beginnings

 

It is December and time for a calendar - I took some of these pictures last year on this day.  For me, December is the start of winter weather - even the start of winter. I seem to be weather-based in my idea of seasons.  December should be the start - it is magical with the landscape's transformation and holiday lights, decorations, mythical and religious stories, themes and colours.  All of the senses are delighted in December.  Many people weigh in that December is their favourite month - Google has determined this with how it interprets the search "december favourite month".  The case seems to be that many people seem to think their favourite month is based on it being their birth month.   That seems perfect given the latest story of birth - Barbados is now a republic. While it did happen November 30th, I am sure December will be a celebration month. While Prince Charles was there to denounce slavery and give it its place as a sin of the past, he is wondering what the price is going to be in reparation demands and negotiations. They now have a ceremonial President as head of state and a Prime Minister who is the head of government.  The last Governor-General is now the President.  The country is a republic within the Commonwealth.  How will that work I ask?  Maybe ask Mauritius as it became a republic in 1992.   It has had turbulent political times since, but then it didn't enjoy good times before becoming a republic.   The UK split off the Chagos Archipelago and other islands from Mauritian territory to form the British Indian Ocean Territory, expelling the local population. I wonder if the UK has obeyed the International Court of Justice decision in 2017 and in 2019 ordering the UK to return the Islands.  This circumstance makes me realize that colonialism is still with us. It isn't surprising that Barbados has been on the republic journey a long time - commissions in 1979 and 1996, and then a planned referendum in 2008 that didn't happen. A proposal in 2015 was made by the Prime Minister that the country would move towards a republic.  By 2020 there was a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament, so the vote went through.   And here we are, in what will be the favourite month for Barbados, with their new "Celebrity Queen" Rihanna. The final picture is a second place winner in the Betterphoto contest.  These pretty Cyclamen were at the Niagara Falls Botanical Garden.

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Under the Overpass

I have never seen such a massive overpass structure at ground level.  I just drive on them above the landscape not even thinking of what's below.

This is at the Royal Botanical Gardens hiking trail beside the Hendrie Gardens.  I was overwhelmed with the tall concrete columns receding into darkness and the chain link fence.  The graffiti display seems to ground the massive structure and brands it as a human structure.  I looked at this like it was some modern temple. It seems to have the visual impact that the Pyramids would have, or so I thought.  

It gave me an impending sense of the ending of things - the Gates of Hell in the distance.  I wondered what the purpose of Gates to Hell would be - to keep mortals out or to keep  immortal residents in.  

I went back to the serene beauty of the marsh, with Kingfisher, Hawk, Chick-a-dees, Muscrats, Ducks, and the subdued palette of the December forest.

December Celebrations Start with the December Calendar

December is such a celebration time full of visual delights.  Here is the start with the December Calendar.

Last Days of December

December is the month when the light dwindles each day, bringing an end to the garden season with a sense of poignancy.  I was downtown this week in an overcast sky and found a perfect setting at Up Country to portray this.