Feb 13 2025 - Beavers Get It Done

 

There's a story of Beavers getting a dam job finished in the Czech republic.  It was a restoration project for a natural wetland.  There were delays for planning and permits, and little progress was made.  With all that time on their hands, the beavers constructed dams along the bypass ditch, initiating the wetland restoration process.  Here's the story at the dodo.  there are a few beaver stories at the website.  The next story was about a Canadian beaver dam that is visible from space - 2,790 feet long.  It is estimated that it took 20 years to build.  There are many heart-strings articles on this site about animals - the site is dodo.com - there are themes like dog wellness, cat wellness and happy corner.  All good-feel happy-ending stories.

Here's a heart in a Florida tree trunk. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Dec 13 2024 - Most Popular at Christmas

 

There are many most popular things at Christmas - top of the list is gifts.  There's urgency in the ads - who knows which ones will "sell out" - given gift cards are the top of the list, it doesn't seem likely that they are going to sell out.   Do you know that the top selling toy of all time is Barbie (at a billion).  You can see the most wanted toys for Christmas over the decades or years - think Tickle Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kids, Furby, LEGO, and don't forget Rubik's Cube.  Shopping-wise, the experts say that it is Christmas-themed things - lights, decorations, trees, all that sort of stuff that actually sell the most at Christmas. Christmas decorations are on sale at the floral store year-round, but would you want to buy your Christmas decorations in July?  Michael's had an understanding this year of how popular Christmas items are and how to position Christmas items.  They had some Christmas trees and decor out before Halloween.  It was a heads-up on what's to come, and a nudge to the early birds to get going.  Christmas is a magnet for all kinds of things to be "beloved" and "most popular" at Christmas.  This comes in the form of "tradition" generally. With both a religious event with its traditions and a secular one - Santa and the presents that has generated its own traditions.  There are so many things that align to make special meaning.  Things like our favourite dinner, favourite dessert, favourite cookies and candies - candy canes in particular. And then expand out to Christmas experiences - Santa Claus Parades, Christmas concerts, Christmas movies. We don't do this the rest of the year to such an extreme.  Christmas is the ultimate event for us.  It makes me wonder what would that next level of mass celebration could look like.  Who knows? Here's a Floyd Elzinga sculpture with a few sparkles added.  That looks Christmas-y to me.  And isn't that because we've squished in the Solstice Celebration of lights into the holiday.

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Mar 8 2024 - Tumbleggedon

 

Knowing nothing about tumbleweed makes sense up here in Niagara.  The new hybrid tumbleweed is Salsola ryanii.  It is twice the size of past tumbleweeds so can reach 6 feet tall.  It can weigh 13 pounds.  And the biggest tumbleweed on record was 38 feet in diameter.   So that makes headlines like this:  "A car-sized tumbleweed made quite a scene on a California highway"  - that was in November where the story said this:  "it has gathered a number of fans who have compared it to a giant hairball, belly lint gone wild, and the critters from the eponymously named 1986 sci-fi horror movie."  This larger tumbleweed can travel further distances and can hop fences and farm equipment.  One plant traveled over 2.5 miles in six weeks.  Do they tag the tumbleweed to determine this? We in the north shouldn't be so amused or feel so secure:  tumbleweeds do occur in Ontario.  There is a youtube video of a motorcyclist's encounter with a large tumbleweed on Highway 401.  Here it is if you are inclined - a bit silly.  And when tumbleweeds gather into those huge piles?  They call them "tumblegeddon".  Consider this:  State troopers in Washington state spent 10 hours digging motorists out of tumbleweeds that were 20 to 30 feet high on the roadway.  If the traffic slows down, then the tumbleweeds accumulate.  That would be regular QEW and 401 nightmares if there were big ones here in Ontario.     Monday is the day when the garden centre Sunshine Express opens up.  Here's the sort of thing you will see - spring flowers forever.

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