Oct 3 2021 - Punkin Chunkin

 

What are the games of Autumn for children?  Here are the games listed at Howells Pumpkin Farm:  Zombie Paintball, Apple Cannon and Pumpkin Slingshot. Doesn't that look interesting - Pumpkin Slingshot.   Many of the articles start with Do not DIY... It looks like an innocent  game for little kids at Howell Pumpkin Farm. However, Wikipedia's entry for Pumpkin Chucking shows it is a big-time amateur scientist activity. The World Championship Punkin Chunkin, held annually in November in Delaware by the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association (WCPCA), was the first and largest annual competition. The event ran annually from 1985 to 2013; a myriad of legal and logistical problems caused multiple events to be cancelled after that...and in 2016 more injuries happened. The problems make the headlines with  injuries - 16 year old, 9 year old,  'Punkin Chunkin' producer. The Science Channel seems to get involved in crazy activities.  CNN covered the story HERE.   The producer of the show was severely injured.  Look at the pictures of the launchers and it makes sense.  These look like huge science experiments gone berserk.   Despite all the issues, these remain popular events.  There is a long listing of punkin chunkin festivals in the U.S. in 2021 HERE.  Maybe they are more like Howells Pumpkin Farm with little kids and little slingshots. This is the Bizjak farm stand on Victoria Ave in Vineland.

Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

May 14 2021 -Activity and Rest

 

Yesterday's study didn't seem to talk about the point of restful activities.  By that I mean, the outcomes, goals and objectives of resting.   We often use rest and sleep interchangeably. When rest is used as a term for sleep, it relates to restoring the body's energy, repairing muscle tissue and triggers the releasing hormones that affect growth and appetite.  What happens when you are not 'rested?' It seems to be feeling groggy, experiencing difficulty concentrating, higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, headaches and depression.   What about exercise?  Is it the opposite of rest?   The benefits of exercise are listed as:  Getting the appropriate amount of exercise benefits nearly all aspects of a person’s health. Not only does exercise help control weight, it also improves mental health, mood, chances of living longer, and the strength of your bones and muscles.  Looks like we are primed for activity and rest as the route to "happiness".  Or did I just make a big leap?

Here's a 'blast from the past' - in the Watering Can amongst all the wonderful plants.

Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 22 2020 - More Along Moyer Road

 

I went through the photo archives yesterday looking for more pictures of Moyer Road.  It is on the lower escarpment, and starts at Victoria Ave in Vineland, runs west and then ends at a bend that turns south and becomes Spence Road which itself ends at Fly Road in Camden.  I find this conclusion disappointing. Fly Road is a  rural highway - one of the regional roads where everyone is driving very fast to get somewhere.  Along Moyer Road is Vineland Estates Winery and restaurant, Mark Picone, notable chef's residence and culinary studio on the road.  Crossing over it is the Bruce Trail, which as you know goes on and on until it gets to Tobermory. It has beautiful views north to Toronto across the Lake, and then to the west to Megalomaniac Winery on the top of the escarpment edge. This is a good place for both the hawks flying overhead during migration and the Hamilton Lancaster bomber which flies quite low over the escarpment here during its tourist summertime flights.   I seem to pick Autumn for pictures on Moyer Road, perhaps its most colourful and scenic time of year. Here are two Autumn leaves jokes for us today: What do you call a large colorful pile of leaves? The Great Barrier Leaf. Did you hear about the tree that had to take time off of work in autumn? It was on paid leaf.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

The Biggest Boat

Many people are taking cruises.  This is an extremely popular vacation format.  They discuss which cruise lines have the best value  and offer the best packages for entertainment, meals, drinks, etc. Do you know that the ship Symphony of the Seas with the Royal Caribbean line holds a maximum of 6,870 passengers?  It is the largest cruise ship in the world and was built this year, in 2018.  It is 1,188 feet long and has 18 total decks. It has seven different 'neighbourhoods'.  It looks like it has eight stories above the deck level.  Below is a picture of the historical growth off cruise ships:   Symphony of the Seas Facts The Symphony of the Seas has more pieces of art on board than found in the Louvre Museum in Paris On an average 7-night sailing, over 60,000 fresh eggs are used on board On a week-long cruise, six million coffee beans are required to make the total coffee made on the ship During a 24-hour period on the ship, roughly 500,000 gallons of fresh water are consumed Compared to one eruption of Old Faithful, the Symphony’s 24 pools and water attractions use close to 100x that amount of water Information about the largest cruise ships is HERE.  Or another article is HERE. There were 26 million cruise passengers in 2017, and the estimate for 2018 is 27 million.  The industry has been operating at near 100% capacity.  It is a $100 billion industry. The trend of passengers getting older is true.  And the trend of millennials becoming a major market is true.  The cruise line U by Uniworld imposed an age requirement of 21-45.  That restriction was scrapped before the ships started to sail.  Industry information claims the average age of a cruiser in North America is 46.    I conclude with this cruise ship joke: A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The audience would be different each week so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: the captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick. Once he understood the parrot started shouting in the middle of the show: "Look, it's not the same hat". "Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table". "Hey, why are all these cards the Ace of Spades?" The magician was furious but couldn't do anything; it was, after all, the captain's parrot. One day the ship had an accident and sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean with the parrot, of course! They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for a day and another and another. After a week the parrot said: "OK, I give up. Where's the boat?" Our picture today is luxury living here in Vineland, with a reserved table at the Watering Can, a landmark garden centre in Niagara.

THE WEDDING DRESS

There is a Royal wedding this Saturday, and people will be remembering the Royal wedding that riveted the world - that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles in 1981.  It is a Royal wedding event that is revered and referenced by the press.  Her children are the subject of the global obsession with Royal weddings. I went looking for the most remarkable Royal Wedding Gowns of all times - and there are a lot of them. There still is a lot of Royalty out there - Norway, Monaco, Sweden, Jordan, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark - even Luxembourg.  There's a picture of the Queen of Bhutan in traditional costume.  She is the world's youngest living ruler. There are two weddings for Prince Charles - the second with Camilla Parker Bowles in the Harper's Bazaar article.  Diana's is 29 of the 41 weddings covered. What about Vogue's coverage of the most famous wedding dresses?  It is HERE.  It covers all kinds of celebrities and the dresses that made the news.  There's John and Yoko's wedding portrait, Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and (  ) fill in the name as there are quite a few. Grace Kelly and Princess Diana seem to be 'markers' for beautiful wedding dresses. Grace Kelly's dress had 25 yards of silk, Princess Diana had the longest train in history. The last picture in this article is also perhaps the most notable   It shows Queen Victoria's wedding dress in 1840.  This is the dress that started the tradition of white wedding dresses. Our Spring show in the orchards is coming to an end as the green leaves sprout on the trees.  This orchard is  on 23rd Street in Vineland. I checked on the Jordan Wisteria yesterday, and it is just starting to show colour.  We're in the midst of the Redbud season and the show is beautiful this year.

Demolition Derby all Done

Prudhomme's was a Niagara landmark for decades.  The Prudhomme resort, which started as a 16-room motel in 1949, blossomed into a 1,000-seat summer theatre that doubled as a curling rink in the winter. Stars like Eva Gabor, Eve Arden and John Forsythe appeared in the theatre’s week-long productions. I found a few pictures on the internet - the first showing the 'garden centre' at its height.  The second shows the results of a 1971 fire that destroyed the Olympic-sized swimming pool, bowling, alley, and arcade.   There was a waterpark until 2002 and it is pictured here along with lost Crystal Beach and Maple Leaf Village. So our pictures contrast our June Fun run with some of the hotel showing in the background with what is there now - almost nothing. The plans are underway for what will arise next as the land has been purchased.  This is the most significant development site in the Niagara region - on the water with QEW access and 80 acres - very large.

Poinsettia Trials - Pick your favourite!

December 5th was a great day for both the gardener and photographer in me.  Grimsby is very close to the Vineland Research Station and it had its Poinsettia evaluation open house yesterday.  They grow poinsettias for evaluation by the commercial trade to find new and better poinsettias for market.  There are only a few places where the poinsettia trials take place, so it great to be invited to vote on our favourites so that they get a sense of what is popular with the public.

What would make a better poinsettia?  It would be things like: One that grows straight up so that the branches don't break off when you take it out of the plastic sleeve.  One that has lots of coloured petals to make a big show.  One that grows quickly to come to market sooner.  

So there I was with Brian, my brother, who is the lily hybridizer, going from plant to plant looking at the differences and improvements.  I saw so many fellow gardeners too - it was a wonderful event.  

Check out Vineland Research at: 

http://www.vinelandresearch.com

There's a cogeco video at:

http://www.vinelandresearch.com/news/poinsettias-research

Here are some of the highlights:

Vineland Stories in Urban Extractions

These are the stories told by cars in the car wrecker's yard in Vineland Ontario. These Urban Extraction abstracts have bright colours, textures, and shapes.  They tell stories of landscapes, sun rises and pretty summer days.