Towards Cupid

In Roman mythology, Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of love.  In greek mythology, he was known as Eros and was the son of Aphrodite.  And so on.   I am interested in another development out of Valentine's Day: Sweetheart Candies. These are small heart-shaped sugar candies sold at Valentine's Day.  Each one has a message - for example "Be Mine". A U.S. company started the candies in 1847 with a machine to cut lozenges from wafer candy.  The original candy was often used for weddings.  The says were more extensive:  "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting". Many shapes were tried - horseshoes, postcards, watches, baseballs, and then sweethearts came about in 1901.  Things have evolved over the years and a different candy recipe is used to achieve the same effect today. Here is a sampling of the messages: All Yours Be Mine Call Me Cheeky Boy Date Me Dream On Email Me Great Guy Hot Lips Kiss Me My Boy New Love Text Me U Rock You're Mine The British company that produces Sweethearts had a competition in 2008 for new messages.  They are:  "Think Pink", "Joyful Jo", "Granny P", "Me Julie Best Mum", "Juicy Jessie", "I Luv Alan", "Happy Harry", "Heart Baby", "Kin of U Home" and "Mermaid Eloise".  We can check things out at the official British candy website where the emoji message love hearts are displayed:  Swizzles.com.  Scrolling down one sees the history of British events and Royal Family members.

Celebrating Imbolc!

February 1st-2nd marks a confluence of several feasts and occasions including: the Celtic feast of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, Candlemas, Feast of the Presentation, and Groundhog Day! Imbolc is a Celtic feast that is cross-quarter day, meaning it is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox.  The sun marks the four Quarter Days of the year (the Solstices and Equinoxes) and the midpoints are the cross-quarter days.  In some cultures, lis Ireland, February 2nd is the official beginning of spring.  St. Brigid is said to bring the first sign of life after the long dark nights of winter. She breathes into the landscape so that it begins to awaken. Snowdrops, the first flowers of spring are one of her symbols." These words come from the abbeyofthearts.com.  This link has the free resources for becoming a monk in the world (of arts). Can you imagine having snowdrops now?  I am waiting and waiting for the little buds to blossom in the greenhouse.  I had hoped they would come out at Christmas, and here we are a month later.  Still, we're a month closer to spring.   And also consider that in Ireland Spring starts February 2nd.  In China, Spring goes from Feb 4 - May 5.  We could be in the southern hemisphere and summer started December 1 and ends February 29 this year.   This is the month of Camellias blooming in the Longwood Conservatory.

Romantic Flowers and Romance of the Railroad

Niagara seems to be spared the massive storm that has engulfed the Eastern U.S. At Grimsby Beach yesterday, the shore ice crowded into the beach, with the ducks and geese standing around instead of floating.  In some places there are ice banks forming between the water and the shore. In a typical year, there's 15 to 16 per cent ice coverage on the lakes.  There's almost no ice formation in the Lake so far this year. I found out that there are 16 types of ice.  They are labeled I through XVI.  Ice IV is the kind we have in our freezers.  Ice III is denser than water, and would sink if put in a glass.  I don't remember learning about this in school.  I wonder if any of you covered this. We all know, though, that ice is everywhere in space, and that it is a signal of possible life on a planet. Our pictures today show warmer times. I've included the cover and images of the Romance of the Railroad Calendar available on Redbubble. The site is listed in the bottom section of the email. There's also a Romance of the Railroad portfolio on my site there.

Garden Benches

Hi everyone,
I seem to be drawn to garden benches.  They are meant for us humans, so make the garden a human place.  They are invitational to sit and enjoy, and they provide a resting place for the eye in the landscape too.

Everywhere I go, I just seem to find them.  Of course, going to a lot of gardens does mean I find a lot of them.  If you know of any beautiful benches, it would so wonderful to hear from you.

My favourites so far this there have been the Royal Botanical Gardens benches in the Mediterranean Greenhouse with that beautiful variegated Bouganvillea framing it and in the Rock Garden with the tulips framing the bench with their vivid colour display.  These pictures are from April 2013.

This last bench is in the Harry P. Lieu Garden in Orlando Florida in February.  It is particularly pretty with the Camellias framing it, and the light patterns.

All my best,
Marilyn